Trip Report What time is it? MICKEY TIME. August 2014

Is it entirely possible to have two extremely amazing Disney trips in a row? One would think the first trip’s fun and happiness could not be duplicated again…


Unfortunately, I am home. Real home. Not my Disney World bubble. Getting over this harsh reality is like a kick straight to the stomach, after eating a really gigantic meal. What is this life I live? Why am I not waking up on property? Oh the harsh truths we must face when exiting that bubble! Writing a trip report will help cure my Disney depression, it’s a statement I keep uttering to myself while I slowly grip the fact that my trip is OVER. WHAT?! Months of planning and excitement and poof! DONE. GONE. Is it time to go back yet? PLEASE?! Peeling the magicband off my wrist was painful.. PAINFUL I TELL YOU!!



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My name’s Nicole and I am a Disney freak. (I’m the girl on the left.) If there ever is a rehab program for people who are overly obsessed with Disney, you can bet some of my friends, my boyfriend, and my family would check me right in. I love the little mermaid, and change my favorite park depending on the day. I don’t know what my favorite ride is, some days it’s Soarin’, some days it’s Splash, sometimes it’s even Tower of Terror. Whatever is the last ride I’ve been on, that’s the one I will probably tell you. Ugh, I’m indecisive!


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For those who didn’t follow along on my pre-trip report, here’s a quick recap. I flew to Disney World August 17th, and stayed at the Wilderness Lodge until August 21st. The lovely people of WDWmagic convinced us to upgrade from Art of Animation since we had a pin code. From there it was off to Port Canaveral, for my first ever Disney cruise, let alone cruise. Had three nights on the Disney Dream, and then back to Orlando for a day at Downtown Disney. I came home late August 24th, which gave me 8 full days immersed in Disney. This trip was the second trip with my best friend; we went last July for 10 days and had a wonderful, unforgettable time. We knew Disney missed us. :)



Originally, we were supposed to go in June and stay at Art of Animation, then go on the Dream, but due to massive amounts of snowstorms in lovely New Jersey this past winter, we had to postpone to August. Now everyone was warning me about the heat, and let me just tell you all, YOU WERE RIGHT. It may have been the hottest, sweatiest (sorry!) trip of my life, but it was one that I will never forget.


Shall I begin?


It all started not too long ago, at the wee hours in the morning.


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I slept at my friend’s house so her parents could take us to the airport for our flight at 5:59 in the morning. We would be in Disney at 8:30 A.M. Who needs sleep?


Made it though security fairly quickly, and decided it was perfectly acceptable to eat our first meal of the day at 4:30 A.M.


First food picture of the trip! LOL.. and it’s in bags.. Big fail, Nicole.


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Probably not a good idea to drink iced coffee when you are aiming to sleep on the flight down, but with all that excitement I guess it didn’t matter! Do you guys remember the commercial with the little boy who says, “I’m too excited to sleep!” Yep, that’s me in a nutshell on Disney eve.


We took so long eating, we didn’t realize our plane had already boarded and as we were walking to the gate, we heard them announce the final boarding call. We booked it! Could you imagine if we missed our flight? Oh the horror! I don’t know why we didn’t realize that you’d need to be on the plane prior to 5:59 in order for it to take off. Hey, it was early. I’m using that excuse :)


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We made it on and were off! My friend slept for maybe 20 minutes, I didn’t sleep at all. Too much excitement! We read and chatted about what was yet to come.


We landed early (YESS!!!), and navigated our way like champs to the B side of the airport. Last year we got lost…this year we were pros. Haha.


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We scanned our matching pink magic bands at the magical express counter, saw that first mickey head light up green, and we’re off! It was time for our first Disney ride of the trip…a bus ride!


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Wilderness Lodge, get ready for us!!
 

DisSplash

Well-Known Member
It took a while for me to catch back up with this report, but I am on track now! I loved your hats around the world - the sombrero and the animal hats from the African Outpost were definitely my favorites -- what a statement! I am also impressed with your drinks around the world, as that is something I could never do. I can barely ever finish a Mike's Hard lemonade ...

That's too bad that you were too full to really enjoy Biergarten. That place is so amazing, and deserves a re-do whenever you get back down there. The cheese soup alone has me excited to go back! Although, that is probably not the most appetizing thing on a hot and humid August day ...

And now you are up to your CRUISE!!!! Two Jersey chicks cruising the World! I can't wait to hear more about your experience and all the fun things you did.

Me, I am still scheming on how to get back on the DREAM, or any other cruise ship beginning with the word "Disney" ... I am hoping against hope that you re-booked while onboard. I knew to do it, but still missed out on that discount opportunity as we waited too long and ran out of time. Boo. :(
 

lebeau

Well-Known Member
YOU ARE GOING TO LOVE IT. I don't know if there's one person on the face of the planet that would dislike a Disney cruise.

I'm certain my dad would HATE it. He's been on two non-Disney cruises and hated them both. Adding Disney would only detract from his enjoyment.

I am hoping my family enjoys the trip. But my wife has some pretty serious claustrophobia. The Peoplemover is a white-knuckle thrill ride for her. She can't ride Spaceship Earth. Heck, COP nearly induced a panic attack. So this could be a terrible idea. But we're giving it a try anyway.
 

prfctlyximprct

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Hey Nicole!! My hubby and I are vacationing at WL right now...right BELOW your lovely room...we are in 5010...and that extra floor must make a difference because we can't see your castle :( BUT we had an AWESOME view of Wishes last night, so all is good!!! :happy: :D :joyfull:


I WANT TO VIEW WISHES FROM MY ROOM!!! HOPE YOU ARE HAVING SO MUCH FUN!! :)
 

prfctlyximprct

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Fun trip report! Thanks for sharing!!

I may have missed this in the pages, but did you make your ears? They are great!! Would love to know how you created them as I would like to make pluto ears - mickey style. :)

We ordered them off etsy! They have a lot of Disney items on there, you should check it out! Unfortunately, I am not that artistic! LOL
 

Tuvalu

Premium Member
I WANT TO VIEW WISHES FROM MY ROOM!!! HOPE YOU ARE HAVING SO MUCH FUN!! :)
We are!! And last night we got to watch Hallowishes from our room :joyfull: :joyfull: :joyfull:

Actually, we got to watch the Frozen fireworks first, then as we walked to our car in the DHS lot we could see Illuminations, and then got to cap off our evening with Hallowishes! Perfect way to end the day for a fireworks junkie like me :D
 

prfctlyximprct

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We took quite a few balcony shots that first night. I think we were just extremely overwhelmed with our upgrade! And how many opportunities do you get in life to take a photo on a cruise ship balcony!


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Our first night on the high seas! We are just so excited! :)


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Room 9138, stop being crazy!!! :)

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When you could not see anything but blue water for miles, it was breath-taking! Just water, water everywhere! Even though the view seems constant, I could have stared for hours. We had to pry ourselves away to go to dinner. And that is truly unlike us! :)

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Such a beautiful world :)

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This is when the captain should have told me to get inside! LOL

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Okay, okay, enough with photos of of ourselves! It was time to eat!

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On our first night, we had dinner at Animator's Palate. They have huge interactive screens everywhere. If you've ever been to Turtle Talk in Epcot, just picture that times 100! We were again blown away by the details. Look at those chairs! All the characters from Finding Nemo were swimming around on the screens, interacting with the guests. They kept telling us it was a human aquarium haha.. IT WAS SO COOL!

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We were seated with two couples, one couple was on their honeymoon! I was so happy for them, they had gotten married at Grand Floridian. :) Oh my dreams!They were all super nice, and it made dinner time extra fun! I love getting together with other people who love Disney as much as I do! It's crazy how much there is to talk about when you all share a common passion. I'm glad Disney sat us with people in our age group. It made for fun and interesting conversations.

Photographers come around and take your picture, and they would pose the two couples so nicely. I guess they thought my friend and I were "together" and wanted us to pose in the weird mushy pose. We were both cracking up saying we couldn't do it, we were only friends. I think it cleared the air at our table LOL.. I guess two friends in their twenties don't go on Disney cruises together that often? We both joked about it for the rest of the trip!

First up, I got baked potato and cheddar cheese soup. It was yummy! Look at the paintbrush butter spreader they had.. DETAILS PEOPLE!!


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My friend got wild mushroom risotto, she said it was super delicious. We could not believe that you could just order whatever you wanted. You want three appetizers and two entrees? You can order that. You want three soups, and three steaks? You got it. IT BLEW MY MIND. The servers were so friendly, we were laughing and joking with them throughout our meal.

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For dinner, I had lemon-thyme marinated chicken breast on top of mashed potatoes. My friend had a pasta dish. We both struggling to finish even one entree, I don't think we could have handled two. After realizing the sheer amount of food available, we knew we'd be prepared for tomorrow. We needed to learn to pace ourselves! :)

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I loved this restaurant. I tried to take a picture of the film strip around the ceiling. It was lit up in all different shades of the rainbow. The restaurant just gives off this happy vibe. It was a great first experience! Crush even talked to our table. We had to start a wave from our table to a table at the other end of the restaurant. Crush would swim back and forth on the screens. I could not believe this was possible!

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Even though dinner made me stuffed, I of course had to try the dessert! I got the cookies and cream ice cream sundae and Mmmmm Mmmmm Mmmm!!!!

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I can't for the life of me remember what my friend ordered! :( I need to keep better mental notes.. it looks good though!

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The best table was table 33! :)

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Dinner took about 2 solid hours, from start to finish. We enjoyed chatting with our new friends, and just taking the time to eat SLOWLY. This had been a big problem for us in the parks, we would scarf down our food in such a rush because we had places to go and attractions to ride! It was nice to follow a leisurely pace on board the Dream!

We meant to go check out more of the ship, but we were exhausted! It was 10:30 PM and we were set for bed! Instead of going to a few drinks, as most normal adults on a cruise would do, we went back to our room and watched Hercules. :) :)

They have a library of every Disney movie, it was so hard to choose! We watched and relaxed, and were rocked to sleep by the waves. I thought laying in bed would be the killer for me, but I felt like a baby being rocked into the deepest sleep. And good thing, we had an early day in the morning!

Nassau, Bahamas, here we come!
 

prfctlyximprct

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 2!

We woke up to the sun filtering through our glass doors. What a wonderful way to wake up! We watched the water for a bit, it looked so gorgeous with the sun's reflection.

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We then made our way to Cabanas, for an amazing breakfast! Look at that spread! :)

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We ate, and ate, and ate some more. If you ever go on a cruise, bring only stretchy clothes. You will need that extra room!!! :)

Headed back to our room to watch the ship pull into port! Hello fellow cruisers!

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Here comes the Dream!

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We were massive compared to these little fellows!

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It was soon time to disembark, but we watched the princesses arrival on our way out! Hello Ariel!

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I was pretty upset we didn't have time to go meet her in her green dress! She looked so pretty!! My sadness wore off in about a second, but I knew we were headed out into paradise!

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I have watched numerous shows and movies that have taken place in the Bahamas. I have dreamed about going to the Atlantis resort ever since Mary-Kate and Ashley went there for one of their movies. It has been a constant fantasy in my mind. I have obsessively looked at the website, checking prices, but never bringing myself to actually book a trip. One day, I will stay there! My dreams were finally coming true, I was getting to visit!!

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We were on a bus for about ten minutes before pulling into heaven!

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And now, let me bombard you with photos of the Atlantis.

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Just chilling with my YACHT.

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They led us in, and through the front of the resort, showing us where we needed to go for certain excursions. I don't think I breathed this whole walk. I could not believe I was actually here! This place, that I have wanted to come to for years, I was here!!! I think my eye balls almost bulged out of my face because I kept looking all around trying to take it all in.

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:)
 

prfctlyximprct

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
My friend and I both went a little picture crazy! I'm sure if you have made it this far with me, you are aware of this though!

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HOW PRETTY!!!

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I remember reading this royal suite costs like $10,000 a night to stay in.. and this was back in 2006. I wonder what is costs now!

Maybe someday this will be MY royal suite. Muhahaha!

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We are both horrible picture takers, and these look like they could be postcards. The place is just too pretty for words.

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I may have cried just a tad.

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We made our way over to Dolphin Cay, and watched the families interacting with dolphins! Our turn wasn't until 11.. it was only 10:15 so we had some time to just relax on the beach!

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I don't even know how to explain this paradise. It didn't seem real. I think I pinched myself 100 times in an hour.

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Hello dolphin :)

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Times 2!

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Before long, it was our turn! I was so excited, yet so nervous! I do not ever have any desire to snorkel, or swim with fish, but seeing dolphins was another story! My friend and I both agreed to try this out. I must admit I was a little bit afraid! We did the meet and greet package, not the swimming one, because we wanted to stay in shallow water. It was such an amazing experience, and I am so glad I went out of my comfort zone and tried this out! How many people have freaking kissed a dolphin?! :):) I have!!!

Our dolphin was only two years old, and his name was Sands. He kept going off doing his own thing, but he would always return to us for a fish! They told us he is just learning, so to please be patient with him. He was so cute! What a cute little baby! They told us that dolphins can live up to forty years old, I never would have thought it! Our trainer kept saying "Let's give it up for Sands!" He said it with his accent and it just the best ever! We were all clapping and cheering.

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He was so friendly, and felt like a huge wet cucumber! He splashed us, and did tricks on cue.. it was something I am so glad I got to do. We each got to feed him a fish, and pet him, kiss him, hold him, give him a high five. Altogether, we were out there for about an hour. I had such a great time! I didn't want it to ever end!

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Just chillin' with our new bestie!

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I just had to purchase the pictures. I look at them and reminisce about one of the greatest days of my life so far! :)

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The day had only begun. Atlantis, I love you!!

:) :)
 

TheMouseFan

Well-Known Member
Your dolphin excursion looks awesome! The kids have already decided we WILL be doing Atlantis on our next Dream cruise! I absolutely love dolphins, and I think all of us could enjoy this together! I have serious reservations about getting in the deep water and swimming with them, but I would love this type of interaction. Can't wait to read more!!
 

stevehousse

Well-Known Member
DOLPHINS.

I want to swim with them so bad, but then I've seen Blackfish and am all - don't support keeping big marine mammals in tanks. Except then I turn around and go DOLPHINS. I love them. Gah.

Also, you both have the best swimsuits. I'd love to know where your friend gets hers. We share a similar curve appeal.

Also, also, that breakfast. The donut, next to the hash browns, chilling by a waffle. I think I would explode. Some people can keep a lot of alcohol down - girl you can keep more food down than anyone I've ever seen.

Also, also, also: I pick my FP+ in two hours!!! My trip is finally closer, considering I started planning when you were writing last years trip report.
Do not judge your opinion on that movie alone, it's garbage and most of it is edited to make it look worse than it is in real life. Do some digging about how the movie was edited to exclude a lot of truth!
 

Longers

Well-Known Member
Wow you just continue to have a blast. I had never even thought about a cruise but after reading this do far I am seriously considering it.
Looove that you watched Hercules rather than drinking in the bar that is something I would do!
You have some beautiful photos to cherish from your dolphin encounter. They came out so well.
Is all food free on board? I think I would probably just eat desserts the whole time. Love that restaurant, like you say it's the little Disney things.
Love the videos too. Keep em coming
 

Ariel1986

Well-Known Member

I actually squealed at this pic! :D I had been excited about a cruise with the food (omg that breakfast!!) and the seeing places- but this... well this confirms it! I am soooo on a Disney cruise!!

As always great reporting still! I don't want this report to end! Love the dolphin encounter. Another thing on my to do list! :) Oh and he he I too was a Mk & A film watcher!
Lastly... your fridge! Like a mirror image of ours on holiday! Ha ha! :D
 
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JenTen1585

Active Member
DOLPHINS.

I want to swim with them so bad, but then I've seen Blackfish and am all - don't support keeping big marine mammals in tanks. Except then I turn around and go DOLPHINS. I love them. Gah.

Also, you both have the best swimsuits. I'd love to know where your friend gets hers. We share a similar curve appeal.

Also, also, that breakfast. The donut, next to the hash browns, chilling by a waffle. I think I would explode. Some people can keep a lot of alcohol down - girl you can keep more food down than anyone I've ever seen.

Also, also, also: I pick my FP+ in two hours!!! My trip is finally closer, considering I started planning when you were writing last years trip report.

I believe, if it's the same place I went to in Nassau, that the dolphins are not kept in a tank. They told us that they have freedom to swim back to the ocean and they swim all around and through a huge bay that connects to the ocean ... they call them with whistles and they return because they want to, they are trained to, and because they know they will get fed if they do. At least that is what they told us when I did the dolphin experience.

Loving this report!!!!
 

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