A Disney-addicted mom goes on a "Dream" cruise *update 7/6*

[DrMomof3]

I'm going to make an attempt to write a Trip Report about our recent trip. We had one night at the Swan, 5 nights on the Disney Dream as part of Podcast Cruise 3.0, and then a 3 day weekend at Fort Wilderness in a Cabin.

Cast:
Amanda (drmomof3) age 40. I work full-time as a pediatric urologist and am obsessed with running Disney races.

Me at the More Magazine Half Marathon in April. It took place in Central Park.

Tom age 42. He's an adult urologist. He pretends not to love Disney but he does.

Playing mini-golf at Vero Beach.

Nathaniel age 8. A neurotic, perfectionist artist being treated for anxiety and depression. A sweet and charming genius or the instigator of sibling rivalry. Or both.

Nathaniel and I at Vero Beach.

Jessica age 6. The consummate middle child. A Disney diva. Age 6 going on 16.

The Pirate Princess at Vero Beach.

Zachary age 4. An ex-preemie with very mild Cerebral Palsy. Obsessed with Disney Junior and would live at Disney if we allowed it.

At Vero Beach in April.

We recently lost our beloved dog, Buffy, who died of metastatic cancer a few weeks before our trip. She would have turned 11 years old yesterday.
We also have 2 kittens, Oreo and Munchkin, who stayed home.

Munchkin and Oreo

Amanda

 

[DrMomof3]

Chapters:

Background Part 1
Background Part 2
Are we there yet?
Under the Boardwalk...
Boardwalk-area pictures
Epcot Adventure
Dinner in Italy
A rainy Sunday morning
Bon Voyage Part 1
Bon Voyage Part 2
Bon Voyage Part 3
Castaway Cay 1 Part 1
Castaway Cay 1 Part 2
Nassau Part 1
Nassau Part 2
Nassau Part 3
Day at Sea Part 1
Day at Sea Part 2
Day at Sea Part 3
Double Dip
1st day at the Fort
1st day at the Fort, Part 2
1st day at the Fort, Part 3
Day 2 at the Fort
Day 2 at the Fort, Part 2
Last day at the Fort
Background to August trip
Arrival Day - Part 1
Arrival Day - Part 2
DHS Day - Part 1

Amanda

 

[natebenma]

I'm here.

And I'm first!!!

Now back to read!

Dee

ETA- all caught up. Great start and great intro pictures from Vero.

When did you get the kittens???

Your Oreo looks just like our Oreo.

.

 

[ddluvsdisney]

I'm here too!
Happy 4th! Nice pics of the kids

 

[blessedmom4]

Found you! Love the pics!!

 

[DrMomof3]

I'm here.

And I'm first!!!

Now back to read!

Dee

ETA- all caught up. Great start and great intro pictures from Vero.

When did you get the kittens???

Your Oreo looks just like our Oreo.

.

We got the kittens in early November after Nathaniel was in the hospital. Your Oreo does look like ours!

I decided to use some Vero Beach pics since I doubt I'll ever write a TR of that trip....

I'm here too!
Happy 4th! Nice pics of the kids

Welcome! And thanks!

Found you! Love the pics!!

Thank you!

Amanda

 

[DrMomof3]

I've been interested in trying a Disney Cruise for a long time. From everything I knew I thought it would be an ideal vacation for our family. A bit more relaxing than racing around WDW but still enough entertainment to keep us out of trouble.
As part of my Disney obsession, I listen to several Disney-related Podcasts. For those who don't know a Podcast is an audio file that you can download via iTunes and then put on your iPod. I listen to Podcasts while driving to work or while running (sometimes I listen to music instead - depends on my mood). The owner of Disboards.com leads a Podcast called "The Dis-Unplugged" which is one of my favorite Podcasts. Other good Disney Podcasts include Lou Mongello's show (WDW Radio), and WDW Today. There are many other good ones out there but those 3 are probably my 3 favorites. (I also listen to some running podcasts - my current favorite is The Extra Mile).
Anyway the DIS-Unplugged podcast crew has organized several events over the years, including the Harry Potter event that Nathaniel and I attended in December. And they've organized a few group cruises via the travel agency that most of the podcast crew is involved in (Dreams Unlimited Travel). This was their 3rd Podcast Cruise (or Podcast Cruise 3.0 - PCC 3.0 for short). They announced the cruise about 19 months ago on a podcast and I actually booked the cruise in December, 2010.
We decided NOT to tell the kids right away because we knew that booking a vacation so far in advance meant that we might end up canceling. We finally announced the cruise on Christmas by giving each child a Disney Cruise Line pin as a present (my friend Teena who works at Beach Club helped me get the pins). My kids had been begging to go on a cruise for about 2 years so I thought they'd be happy. And they were!

To be continued...

Amanda

 

[cogero]

I am here. I used to listen to pod casts all the time I should get back to it.

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Im here but crazy busy(the suns out what can I say)

Will be back to read later (or maybe tomorrow at this rate)

 

[DrMomof3]

I am here. I used to listen to pod casts all the time I should get back to it.

Hi Chiara! I love listening to podcasts.

Im here but crazy busy(the suns out what can I say)

Will be back to read later (or maybe tomorrow at this rate)

I totally understand!

Amanda

 

[DrMomof3]

I knew from reading the boards and reading the Passporter's Guide that we should plan to arrive in Orlando on Saturday, June 23rd for a Sunday cruise departure. I booked our flights on JetBlue out of White Plains Airport - a teeny little airport about 15 minutes from our house. Our flight had a 10:30am departure and a 1pm arrival. We've learned the hard way to avoid the 6:30am flights. The extra time in Orlando does NOT make up for the 4am alarm. It seems that our kids are so tired and crabby by the time we get to Disney that we lose the day anyway.
I now needed to decide our pre-cruise stay.
We've previously had a really good experience staying at the Hyatt at the Orlando Airport. With a 1pm arrival time, I was worried the kids would be bored staying in the airport hotel all day. After asking around we decided to book a stay at the Country Inn and Suites near the Port. There were a few problems with this idea. First, there is no on-site restaurant and we weren't planning to rent a car to the Port. Second, I wasn't sure how we'd get to the Port on Sunday (see previous comment about no rental car ).
Only a few weeks before the cruise an elegant solution presented itself. Dreams Unlimited had gotten a fabulous deal at the Swan for both pre and post cruise stays. Because the Swan only allows 4 in a room, we had to book 2 rooms but this was still a good deal. And we could take Dreams Unlimited private transfer to the Port on Sunday.
The post-cruise stay was harder. Despite booking the cruise 19 months in advance and getting a group deal on our stateroom, the cruise was still a pricey proposition. Furthermore we were traveling at the beginning of peak summer season which would limit our room discounts (we have APs). I also knew that we'd barely have 3 days (2 nights) at Disney post-cruise and figured we should try something new and different. Although BC is my DH's favorite resort on property, I thought we should try something more remote like AKV or Fort Wilderness Cabins. I finally settled on a Cabin because it was so much less expensive than a 1-bedroom villa. We reserved a Golf Cart and figured we'd give it a shot.
I will confess that I was extremely worried that Tom would hate staying in the Cabins. Tom is 6'4" tall and needs a decent bed. The double beds in the Cabins gave me pause. Plus I didn't know how he'd feel about a Moderate when we've only ever stayed Deluxe or Villas. I was hoping that the more laid-back feel of the Fort would make up for any short-comings.
I then dealt with transportation. FL Tours is our usual car service in Orlando but they were fully booked for the morning of the cruise. We did use them to get to the Swan on Saturday. We used the Dreams Unlimited Travel transfers from the Swan on Sunday. And I ended up renting a car from the Port to the Cabins for the rest of the trip. I think we benefited from having the car so it was worth it.
I'm usually a mega-planner. Matching t-shirts. Homemade coloring/activity books. Surprises. Etc. This time I did quite a bit less. I did order embroidered pillow cases from Etsy for the kids. And door magnets for all of us. Not to mention the tie-dyed shirts we made. Ok. I guess I did quite a bit....
The week leading up to the cruise was quite busy. And it was the last week of school for the kids. But I finally had us overpacked and ready to travel...

Amanda

 

[blessedmom4]

Thanks for the great details on the Podcasts! I might actually try to listen since i now know what they are!

Yes, reading your planning, decisions and clothes, I would say you did a LOT!

I can't wait to learn more, I would LOVE to go on a cruise someday!

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Hi Amanda I finally got back to reading today Love all the photos and descriptions of your kids personalities (def think Jessica has the supermodel pose down pat). I've never been on a cruise. Have a bit of a thing about being in middle of the sea without land that I can swim to if needs be I blame it on almost drowning while canoeing aged 13! Who knows maybe after reading all about your trip I'll want to try one

The kids look like they enjoy having kittens to play with! Looking forward to reading more

 

[DrMomof3]

Thanks for the great details on the Podcasts! I might actually try to listen since i now know what they are!

Yes, reading your planning, decisions and clothes, I would say you did a LOT!

I can't wait to learn more, I would LOVE to go on a cruise someday!

Thank you! I really enjoy listening to podcasts. It keeps me in the Disney spirit even when I'm not there. And I've learned a ton from the various podcasts! I've even had some questions answered.

Hi Amanda I finally got back to reading today Love all the photos and descriptions of your kids personalities (def think Jessica has the supermodel pose down pat). I've never been on a cruise. Have a bit of a thing about being in middle of the sea without land that I can swim to if needs be I blame it on almost drowning while canoeing aged 13! Who knows maybe after reading all about your trip I'll want to try one

The kids look like they enjoy having kittens to play with! Looking forward to reading more

Jessica totally has the supermodel pose down! We were talking at work about how all these girls know "The Pose." It's so funny.
I think the cruise ships are plenty big that you wouldn't be too worried. Maybe don't get a room with a verandah (which costs extra anyway!).

Amanda

 

[DrMomof3]

Saturday, June 23rd arrived whether I was ready or not. I knew that I had probably both terribly overpacked and forgotten something important but the airplane waits for no woman. We were bringing 5 loaded suitcases plus our carry-on bags. Part of the challenge in packing was that I needed stuff for our one night at the Swan (PJs, toothbrushes, contact lens stuff, stuff for visiting Epcot, clothes for going to the ship, etc.) but I didn't want to have to dig through 5 loaded suitcases to find it. So I packed and re-packed. I tried to have ONE bag just for the weekend - including the stuff we'd want to carry onto the ship. It wasn't perfect but it worked pretty well.
Tom made an early morning trip to the bagel store for some breakfast. I had him buy a few snacks for the road. Kids didn't eat very well but I tried.
My wonderful nanny arrived at 8:30 to drive us to the airport. Tom had already loaded up the car. 5 suitcases. 5 carry-on bags. Several "personal items." One stroller. 3 children. 3 adults (only 2 of whom were traveling). All packed into one minivan. And off we were.
There was already some bickering in the car on the 15 minute drive to the airport. Not exactly an auspicious sign of things to come but not shocking either. There's something about sitting together in a car that seems to bring out the very worst in my children.
We arrived at our little airport. Curb-side check-in is definitely our friend! We said good-bye to Karin (our nanny) and headed over to the security line. I swear this was the longest security line I've ever seen at White Plains Airport! Which means it took about 10 minutes to get through security. We found some seats in the one big waiting room (there are technically 4 gates but it's all one big room with a coffee counter that sells food and drinks, some vending machines, and some bathrooms).

Nathaniel being silly.

Jessica rockin' out!

Zachary showing off Jedi Mickey.

Tom chillin' out.

And, of course, no pictures of me. Although I will say that Tom hasn't uploaded the DSLR pictures yet and I'm sure there are more pictures of me on the camera he uses.

We definitely had some whining "Our flight is never going to take off!" It's the curse of getting to the airport with plenty of time. We boarded on time and were ready to go. Our flight was pretty uneventful. Some ear popping but nothing terrible. We bought some snack boxes that JetBlue sells. Kids were fine. My only issue is that the flights on JetBlue from White Plains are 2 seats on each side. Not great for a family of 5! We put Nathaniel with Tom and then Zachary and Jessica sit together with me across the aisle to supervise them. It works fine but it means I spend the flight supervising instead of relaxing. Tom definitely has the easier job!

We arrived in Orlando and took the airport monorail. Our FL Tours driver called while we were on our way to baggage claim. He met us at baggage claim, we retrieved our bags, and made our way to the van. He was my least favorite of all the FL Tours drivers. Not bad but not super friendly or helpful. Tom and I were each wheeling/carrying more bags than he was. We couldn't get a grocery stop without paying $15 extra so we went straight to the Swan.

My Happy Place!

Our check-in was smooth and our adjoining rooms were already ready. I must confess it was really nice having 2 rooms! The extra space was totally worth the cost.

To Be Continued....

Amanda

 

[ddluvsdisney]

Sounds like a smooth start!
We had issues with our limo service last year, so now I'm so afraid to use a car service again.

 

[Shannon84]

Im joining in!!

 

[firecracker725]

Jessica age 6. The consummate middle child. A Disney diva. Age 6 going on 16.

The Pirate Princess at Vero Beach.

This picture is killing me. Diva is RIGHT!

 

[DrMomof3]

Sounds like a smooth start!
We had issues with our limo service last year, so now I'm so afraid to use a car service again.

We've used FL Tours several times and they've always been good. This driver was perfectly good - he was there on time and got us to the right place quickly - but he wasn't as friendly as some of the other ones. I'm sure it was a busy time for them because of the Podcast Cruise. They're an official sponsor of the DISboards so I know a lot of people on our cruise were using them.

Im joining in!!

My marathon buddy! HOORAY!!!

This picture is killing me. Diva is RIGHT!

That's Jessica! She's really a very good girl. With Diva tendencies.

Amanda

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

WOOT! I'm here! Cannot wait to read more Amanda! If you make me want to go on a cruise though (which I have previously had NO interest in) I may have to curse you...or at least have you flip part of the bill when I book one!