Published writer, compulsive reader, Old School Whovian, Match Game enthusiast, NKOTB fan, data hoarder, and - surprisingly, given that list - married with four kids. Welcome to my take on life, fatherhood, entertainment, and whatever strikes my fancy. Enjoy!
If you had the misfortune of missing any of my (future) VIVI Award winning commentary on our Disney vacation, you can catch up on it here:
Our Departure and the Magic Kingdom: Part One and Part Two
Our Final Day at Sea and Our Return Home
I think that's all of 'em - if I've missed any, or put any out of sequence I'll touch it up tonight.
Hope you enjoy!
Our last day on the cruise was spent entirely at sea, doing a leisurely 7-8 knots, as opposed to the 22 knots we did on the way to the Bahamas.
It also began later than usual. The girls were exhausted and we let them sleep in, waking in time to catch the tail end of the breakfast buffet in the Parrot Cay restaurant.
After that we dropped the girls off at the Oceanneer Club, their first quasi-extensive time there. Lu would participate in Mouseketeer Training, then Picture This! where she would make a picture frame and take a pic with Goofy before having some 'Slide Time'. YaYa would have some lab time before taking part in Eggsperiments, an engineering hour involving, natch, eggs.
[Later I went back to the Club to pick up the copy of Lu's photograph with Goofy. I tore through the pile twice for the pic but never found it. After returning frustrated Lu finally broke the news - she hadn't bothered taking a photo with Goofy because she didn't 'like him]
Lis and I spent part of our time alone just wandering around, enjoying the ship. For a good half hour we camped out in deck chairs on the 4th Deck, watching a cargo ship in the distance grow larger as we approached, then slip away as we traveled past it.
How's this for a view?
We decided to scrap two of our longest-standing plans for the day. First, we cancelled the private dinner at Palo's we had reserved, on the grounds that the 'normal' dinners on board had been extensive and formal enough to meet our needs. Secondly we cancelled a private spa appointment, for no reason other than we just felt like loitering on the ship instead.
On one pass through the ship we came across the Queen of Hearts, and in an effort to fill up the girls autograph books we asked her to sign for us. We were informed that she would do so only if I, and I alone, bowed to her.
"Sure," I said. "I'm used to bowing to women anyway"
So we got the pic.
A short while later we stumbled across an entire table of Disney characters signing for their fans. We joined the line and got a bunch of great autographs for the girls. Here's Mulan:
And Wendy Darling from Peter Pan
And Alice and the great Mad Hatter
Peter Pan was there too. He wanted to sign but Lis asked him not to because of YaYa's fondness for Hook at his expense. You would think that a guy dressed up in tights would take things with a dose of good humour, but he seemed genuinely hurt and angry. A wee bit uncomfortable for a minute there, let me tell ya.
Since both girls were provided a meal at the club, Lis and I took lunch on the furthest point of the ship, a delicious buffet lunch of sushi (my 2nd time ever) and Asian food.
Here's some more shots of the Oceaneer Club
and one of YaYa on the comp when we picked her up
We then took the girls back up to where we ate, to snack on some ice cream and enjoy the view as a family.
Here's some shots YaYa took of her and I
Not the greatest shots, but I dig them. Anyway, one of the benefits of those last minute cancellations was a little more cash in my wallet, and I promptly blew some of it to get the girls hair done, Bahamas' Style.
This hair wrap led to a cute little saying that continues to this day:
"Where'd you get your hair done?"
"In da Bahamas mon!"
Here's two great shots of the ship:
We followed this up with a return to the Club, as the girls were set to graduate from Disney Sea University. The 'ceremony' was held in the Walt Disney theater and featured all the stops - Mickey Eared graduation hats, T-shirts to commerate the event, guest speakers, and of course, Mickey.
The girls were ecstatic, especially Lu who approached the whole thing with a sense of wonder and glee - really a sight to behold!
After that it was on to Parrot Cay for our final dinner of the cruise. This one wasn't the greatest - Lu had a fit walking in that continued through the first few minutes of the meal, and the food itself (while great) wasn't up to par with what we'd had before on board.
Lis did join the girls for a Mickey ice cream bar tho'
Here's the least attactive pic of YaYa EVER featured on this site lol:
After dinner I went to the customer service desk (er, it's equivalent) to pay the tips on our servers.
We didn't have the $ to tip them the way Disney recommends (and who does, short of a milliionare) but we treated them pretty good :)
Just in case we didn't, here they are: If you go on a Disney cruise, ask for them by name, they're great!
Kecha Langkaweekhet - Server
Veronica Ceretti - Ass't Server
Dalton Boyce - Stateroom Host
Arnold Cummings - Dining Room Head Server
At 8:15 we went to see a performance of Disney Dreams, the musical that closes the cruise. It was highly touted by the crew and fellow passengers, but I think we all agreed it fell short of the standard set by the Golden Mickey's show.
Here's a neat thing. Earlier in the day - in fact I think it was right before the show - YaYa bemoaned the fact that she had never run across the girl she hung out with at the hotel the day we left for the ship.
Wouldn't ya know it, that same girl wound up sitting in front of us at the show!
After the show we packed our bags and put them in the hall. Lu stayed in the room to watch a movie with Lis while I grabbed YaYa and (strictly by Lis's foresight and wishes) took her up to the Oceanner Lab to make Flubber.
There was a make-up session scheduled, but naturally, the show ran late and we wound up getting there too late. I pleaded my case and they were kind enough to make an exception and walk YaYa through the process. She was honestly thrilled - I was surprised how much so!
On the way back to the room we ran into Goofy and got an autograph
Then it was back to the room. I ordered room service, then ventured up to the 9th deck for some sodas (running into Kecha at the finale party taking place there), then we fell asleep watching Disney movies.
At one point I was so saddened at the thought of leaving the ship and returning to my 'normal' life that YaYa asked what my favorite animal and color was, then produced a coloring book page of a blue bird. Baby that I am, I couldn't stop hugging her.
In the morning we grabbed a quick breakfast, and then, on that rainy morning, headed home.
A long bus ride back to Orlando, where we managed to bump up to an earlier flight, which still left us time to kill in the airport's shops:
and then the flight home. I helped a woman traveling alone to Milwaukee by carrying her seven day old baby aboard (she had a 2 year old with her too - my Lord!) then we took our seats. Unlike on the way out, this was a 2-across jet, and Lu again sat with me. On the entire trip she seemed very close to me.
The kids fell asleep on the flight.
And then that was it - our trip was over, and it was back to everyday life. What a great time; what a great great time!
Our second full day aboard the Disney Wonder began as the first, with a breakfast buffet at the Beach Blanket Buffet. This time I thought ahead however, and stashed a spare banana and apple in our away bag.
Oh, one thing was different. We'd set a wakeup call and Mickey himself called to wake us up!
From there it was off the ship and on to gorgeous Castaway Cay, the beautiful privately owned island that Disney operates for its cruise ships.
Our first stop was the scheduled excursion of the day, the Glass Bottom Boat tour.
Here the girls again erupted in tantrum mode, and we began the trip wondering what we ever did to deserve them ;). They turned it around on a dime though, once the trip got going.
And it was worth the money - heck, it was almost worth what we paid for the dolphin encounter.
It wasn't that it was mind-bogglingly impressive, but it held the girls attention, which let me tell you is 99% of the battle. Moreover the guide was friendly, well versed in the fish and geography of the area (he should be, as a native), and was GREAT with kids since he has six of his own!
At one point the girls were made to stand on the boats step ladder and feed the fish some Quaker Oats, a treat which brought the local wildlife streaming their way.
How's this for a view?
Later the girls were allowed to sit on the glass bottom itself - well, the youngest in each family was allowed. YaYa kinda stretched the point to get herself down there, but she wasn't the only big sister to do it ;)
I was kind of nervous at times, with the boat going full speed and the girls' lacksadaical about hanging on, especially since both girls shared the boat with friends they'd made at the Oceaneers Club, one set of which was from San Diego.
Or as they put it "We're friends from the club".
Preoccupied with socializing, they all seemed oblivious to the water around them at times. Or I'm just paranoid.
This is LuLu telling folks her age.
Lu really adored our guide!
After the boat trip it was a quick tram ride to the family beach
[Here's the wreck of the Black Pearl.]
, where we set up shop on a lounge chair and hit the water for OUR FIRST EVER SWIM IN THE OCEAN!
[No, the penned in dolphin water didn't count]
Naturally, the first thing I did was taste the water.
And ya know what? The ocean is salty.
Oh, I knew it was, but I always assumed it was a subtle thing, a flavor that crept up on you, or some mild concoction that just left you parched.
Imagine my shock - seriously - when it was every bit as salty as the water my Grandma used to make me gargle when I had a sore throat!
The stuff stings when it gets in your eyes, too.
On the other hand it was crystal clear, a gorgeous pale blue, and warmer than Lake Michigan gets even in the height of summer. And the sand was so white and perfect . . what a way to get introduced to the sea.
Here's how the 45 minutes we spent on the beach went down. After a quick family swim LuLu and I spent the rest of the time in the water horsing around. Meanwhile Lisa supervised YaYa as she methodically hunted for seashells on the beach and the waters edge.
[BTW - for the first time in months, LuLu has actually referred to her sister as YaYa]
At noon we broke off for a quick bite at the Disney barbeque, where the girls had hot dogs and burgers and I tried couscous and mahi-mahi for the first time ever - and loved both.
Then we dropped the girls off at the Castaway Cay beach events; an archelogical dig by YaYa to uncover a whale skeleton and a scavenger hunt for musical instruments for LuLu.
Unfortunately, Lu was getting tired and bugged out about being left there. We stayed for a good 15 minutes to try and talk her into staying - heck, I even built a 5 tower sand castle with her - but it was no go.
We signed her out and went to pick up YaYa, who was having loads of fun, and luck too, having uncovered three different parts of the skeleton on her own!
[Side note: the kids began calling one of the Club teachers 'Picklehead', which I guess was a nickname he allowed, based on a skit he did with Captain Hook the day before]
Lisa was worried that I was annoyed/saddened/depressed that I got to spend so little time on the beach, as I'd stated all along that was my big 'thing' on the trip, but it was enough. I did what I set out to do, had some fun, and was in a good enough mood to put my kids first (and not be annoyed by it). So no big deal. I'll be back.
It was Lisa's idea to hit the famous Mickey Pool on Deck 9 while it was near empty with everyone on shore.
For a good hour we had a good time in the shallow water. YaYa went down the water slide about a zillion times
, and yours truly, Mr. Stick in The Mud himself, loosened up a bit and played a good deal with the kids, chasing them in the water and having Lu jump in to cadences of "Bada Bing, Bada Boom, Bada . . . Splash!"
Here's some views of the Cay from Deck 9 or 10:
A solid nap followed for all (tho' YaYa outlasted us all and just lay quietly) and then it was back to Animator's for dinner.
Yeah, forget losing weight, I'm almost as heavy as the ship itself after this trip. The food . . ..crab cake appetizer with a jerked chicken salad and an entrée of melhi-melhi. Oh man. And desert . . .
It was Pirates In The Caribbean day at the restaurant (and on the ship) and as part of the festivities I donned a Pirate Doo Rag, as did the girls.
I also chipped in about a thousand "Arrr, cap'n" throughout the dinner. Here's Lisa's dessert. Note the 'parchment treasure map' menu for the night.
At the end of dinner all the kids danced around the room with the servers and limboed.
Then the girls were off to Oceaneers Club for an hour, LuLu for Story Time with Belle and YaYa for Flubber making, while Lisa and I had our first ever game of shuffleboard, then retreated to our stateroom for some, uh-hem, melhi-melhi of our own.
Alas, a screwup with the Club's clerical records left YaYa in LuLu's age bracket, thus denying her a dose of Flubber. She was disappointed and we were ticked off (does she look three???) but there was nothing we could do after the fact . .
We then went as a family to another show in the Walt Disney Theater, this time the Golden Mickey's, an 'award show' complete with elaborate renditions of some of Disney's greatest movie songs. Very good, and certainlyentertaining.
LuLu was a little vocal, but nothing over the top. Both girls enjoyed it.
Back in our room we ordered cookies from room service and settled in to watch the end of Toy Story and the start of Beauty and the Beast, and then off to sleep for another day . . .
