A Whole New World of Disney ~ Lia's Birthday Shore & Sea Dream Trip! UPDATED 6/24!!!!

[__disneygirl]

Can you believe there are so many things?
In the big blue world, i'm gonna go explore!
In the big blue world, that I've never seen before!
So many creatures swimming 'round the sea
In the big blue world and all of them are waiting for me!

You ever just want to sail away?

I did!

Welcome. It's me AGAIN. I'm so sorry. I just keep on going to Disney. I'm going again in a few weeks. I don't even know, you guys. I don't know. I don't know.

Guess what? I went on a DISNEY CRUISE this time!

What a hoot that was. Seriously. I've never been on any kind of cruise before! I haven't even been to the Caribbean in 10+ years. Unless I'm doing a day trip to a surrounding state (I live in New Jersey just outside of NYC), I go to Disney or I travel around America to see Hanson. That's the extent of the traveling I do, both fortunately and unfortunately. I have a deep, aching desire to travel the world and see everything outside of this magical land, but I am so endlessly addicted to Disney that I can not stop going back. So I took a baby step. I shortened my Disney World experience to 3 days and spent the rest of my trip AT SEA!!!

A Disney Cruise is obviously not *that* big a departure from going to Walt Disney World. The same characters are there, the same flawless service, the same attention to detail. However, you get to venture out a little bit more. You get to see attractions that simply can not be duplicated at Walt Disney World, most notably the divine Castaway Cay, which was far and away my favorite part of the entire cruise experience.

It had been a long, long time since I left the mainland, and I am still in shock that I got to go on the Disney Dream for my birthday week. I can't wait to tell you all about it!

However, that will come later. Because first I went to WALT DISNEY WORLD ON MY ACTUAL BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

You recognize the princesses in the above photo, right?

Let's review.

There's ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm Lia! I am not content with a sparkling candle on top of a sundae from Friendly's for my birthday. I need to fly 1,800 miles away to a land of fantasy. I usually DON'T require sailing away on a 1,115 ft long luxury liner, but that's all changed now! My interests include: men who swing back and forth on large floats, princess gatherings, customized birthday buttons, private islands, getting glitter dumped on my head, and having conversations with members of the underworld!

Next we have JESS:

You know her as the author of the biggest trip report ever! She loves street rats, making her friends feel like princesses on their birthday, being a Disney character paparazzi, boys who can fly, and pursuing her Disney dreams.

Finally, you all remember GINA:

Gina has been one of my best friends since we were in 4th grade. She enjoys her traditional stop at the Poly for a dole whip, buying me awesome presents, getting tattooed before going to an Aerosmith concert, obsessing over Ichabod Crane pins, buying Mickey Mouse backpacks in secret, and dancing with me on Main Street at 2am.

Jess and I were in Disney from April 7th-10th, Gina joining us for most of that time.

Then, on April 10th, Jess and I left for our BIG CRUISE!

We sailed off into the big ol' blue to experience what truly is a whole new world of Disney entertainment, hence the title of this report! It really was interesting for us, as two people who know Disney inside and out, yet have never seen this side of the company firsthand. So, in addition to this report being an account of the total blast us girls had on the high seas, it will be a review of Disney Cruise Line from the toughest critics of all: two girls who have Disney ingrained in who they are.

So heres the story of my latest Disney adventure. Come on! Do you trust me

Index

Day 1: April 7, 2014
Day 1, Part 1 In Which Two Best Friends Are REUNITED!
Day 1, Part 2 In Which I Scare A Photopass Photographer
Day 1, Part 3 In Which I Stuff My Face While Traveling The World!
Day 1, Part 4 In Which I Grossly Overestimate My Stomach Capacity
Day 1, Part 5 In Which We Sway With Goofy

Day 2: MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Day 1, Part 1 In Which I Get A Happy Birthday Spittake
Day 2, Part 2 In Which We Are Pixie Dusted Princesses
Day 2, Part 3 In Which Eugene Does Not Slip, Fall, or Die! YAY!
Day 2, Part 4 In Which The Peoplemover Dries Up All The Rain
Day 2, Part 5 In Which MEGGGGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!
Day 2, Part 6 In Which There's Too Much Magic and Hilarity To Even Describe
Day 2, Part 7 IN WHICH WE CHECK INTO OUR ROYAL PRINCESS ROOM!!!!!!!!!!!

Day 3: April 9, 2014
Day 3, Part 1 In Which We Live Like There's No Midnight
Day 3, Part 2 In Which Gina Eats Vegetables
Day 3, Part 3 In Which Gina Eats Dessert

Day 4: April 10, 2014
Day 4, Part 1 In Which WE GO ON A FREAKING DISNEY CRUISE!!!!!!!!!!!!! W H A T
Day 4, Part 2 In Which We Eat Our First Epic Meal of The Cruise!
Day 4, Part 3 In Which We Bend Over & Shake Our Tail Feathers
Day 4, Part 4 In Which We SAIL AWAY WITH MICKEY AND THE GANG!!!!!!!!!
Day 4, Part 5 In Which We Are in the MIDDLE OF THE OCEAN.
Day 4, Part 6 In Which We Cry Because Disney is the Best
Day 4, Part 7 In Which A Turtle Attempts To Communicate With Me As I Eat Four Desserts
Day 4, Part 8 In Which Snow White Looks Into The Magic Mirror

Day 5: April 11, 2014
Day 5, Part 1 In Which We Don't Visit Nassau
Day 5, Part 2 In Which We Get Royal Up in the Palace
Day 5, Part 3 In Which Peter Pan Totally Judges Us
Day 5, Part 4 In Which We Get A Surprise Visit From The Underworld!
Day 5, Part 5 In Which We Have ANOTHER Surprise Character Meet!

Pre-Trip Post For November 2015 Trip
Post-Trip Update From November 2015 Trip

Day 6: April 12, 2014
Day 6, Part 1 In Which We Gather With Princesses
Day 6, Part 2 In Which We Explore Disney's Private Island!
Day 6, Part 3 In Which I Do Not Get Fire Sea Coral Lice
Day 6, Part 4 In Which For The First Time Ever, We're Seeing It I2I
Day 6, Part 5 In Which We Say Farewell To Our Friends
Day 6, Part 6 In Which We Meet The Get Ups!

Day 7: April 13, 2014
Day 7, Part 1 In Which the Dream is Over

FINAL THOUGHTS

​

 

[__disneygirl]

APRIL 7TH, 2014
Day 1, Part 1 In Which Two Best Friends Are REUNITED!​

Here I am the night before my big birthday adventure! Princess alert.

Here is the autograph book I made for this trip:

As much as I love my official Disney World books, I think the characters really appreciate home made ones. At least, that’s what I heard, and it turned out to be spot on. I’m telling you, if you want some extra attention for your child (or yourself), make your own book!

What I did was used an old scrapbook I bought in the Target dollar section literally years and years ago and never put anything in. I bought some supplies from Michaels and then I pulled out my old issues of the Disney magazine. Does it even exist anymore? I don’t know. But I used to be a subscriber and so I had these issues laying around. I cut pictures of the characters I knew I would meet on the trip and glued them to the pages. One page for a photo and the one next to it for the autograph. I had a lot of fun making it and the characters went crazy for it. It was awesome because having met all these characters before many times, having a new experience with them was lovely and added extra magic to the trip!

The other thing I had to make for this trip was a pirate costume! If you’ve read my other reports, you know I always make my own costumes and this was no exception. We won’t get to pirate night until Night 2 of the cruise, but I had a lot of fun putting together my costume which literally cost me no money. So between that and the book, I was quite creatively busy before this trip! So much fun!

Also, I have to include the AMAZING Birthday Ribbon that Lee-Anne mailed me before the trip! I was SO excited to wear it!!

Thank you, Lee-Anne!!!

The morning I was leaving I woke up long before the crack of dawn after getting approximately 30 seconds of sleep. Actually… I had to wake up around 3:30, so I believe I took a sleeping pill and a half around 10pm. IT WORKED! Thank God, because out of every crazy trip I’ve had, this one was the most tiring. If I hadn’t gotten any rest the first night… oh man, that would have been bad.

My mom drove me to Laguardia which is usually a nightmare, but since most other people are normal and don’t go to Disney World at 4am, the roads were clear! Yay! MAKE WAAAAY FOR PRINCESS LIAAAAAA!!!! Hey, Lia is totally “Ali” mixed up. I know Prince Ali was just a facade, but I still think we should date if our names are mirror images of each other. Just saying.

This is what I ate for breakfast in the car:

It was a quality meal.

I don’t remember much about this part of the trip except I couldn’t believe that I was, AGAIN, off to Disney World. They recently re-did Laguardia, I was in one of the new areas, and it was looking pretty good. I don’t know why everyone complains about that airport. Probably because if they didn’t have something to complain about their lungs would collapse and they would die instantly, and airports are a pretty easy target.

The only thing was that everything is so absurdly expensive, as they are in all airports, but still. Like, I’ll dance around dressed like Miley Cyrus before I spend $5 on a croissant. There was a sign next to this croissant that said it was “shipped in from Balthazar.” Balthazar is a fancy bakery with multiple locations around New York City, aka the same city this airport is in. It’s not like they shipped it in overnight from Italy. Calm down, people. I was about to ship myself to Epcot and I needed that $5 for a rum dole whip and other delicacies found at the Flower & Garden Festival.

Croissant-less, I moved on and saw this:

Biergarten!!! I jumped for joy knowing that soon I would be in the same park as THE Biergarten, aka the restaurant in Epcot’s Germany that I have always wanted to go to but never have - YET. I don’t often jump for joy before noon hits, so this was a big moment for me.

Because I booked this trip so close to the date I was leaving, I had to accept the doom of a connecting flight. Usually, I do not mind paying more for a direct flight but there was quite an absurd difference in the prices so an hour after taking off from NYC I found myself in Washington, D.C.

I also found this.

@babybritney: I love you, I thank God for you, you are the wind beneath my wings

I’ve driven through D.C. plenty of times, but only actually visited the city for Hanson reasons. Hanson is why I do 99% of things, so it’s really no surprise. Because of my lack of historical experiences in D.C., I was quite excited that I could see the Capitol Building from the window. I just love traveling, I love looking out the window and seeing something I usually never see.

Hula Timon was extremely ready for our flight to Orlando!!!!!!!!!

Jess and I were texting each other from our respective airports. You see, she had just taken a trip back home to visit her family, so we were flying in on the same morning! That worked out pretty perfectly.

I texted her this photo of my crazy-eyed excitement:

I’m kind of surprised she didn’t cancel the entire trip out of fear after seeing that photo. What can I say. she’s a good friend.

I don’t remember my flight at all really, except for this moment that I tweeted:

@babybritney: Listening to Let it Go right as your plane lands to Orlando is pretty epic and tear inducing. RECOMMENDED

Once I got off the plane I was like an exploding firecracker. I could not believe I was at MCO, where Jess was waiting for me, to drive us to DISNEY WORLD, for my birthday, that would then be followed by a DISNEY CRUISE!!! I know you’re probably like, “Um, Lia, you go to Disney kind of often, get used to it already.” But I NEVER WILL. I don’t care if I live in Orlando, every time I pass through those gates I will thank God that I am lucky enough to be there. It means everything!

Ah, The Magic of Disney store. Once you pass that, you’re golden, man.

I practically ran down to Baggage Claim and then caught sight of JESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!! God, reunions are the best. I couldn’t believe that we hadn’t seen each other since November. It was surreal to see her again and just cemented that this trip was really happening!

After we got re-acquainted, I went in the bathroom to change into my Epcot dress. We were headed to Epcot and so it was only appropriate! Jess said “WHERE did you find an Epcot DRESS?!” It’s actually a large men’s shirt from Urban Outfitters that I turned into a dress. Jess was like, “You’re always makin’ stuff!” hahaha, that’s me.

Then, we headed out to the parking garage to find the one, the only, BROOKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you aren’t familiar, shame on you, because Brooke is Jess’s car and has been a large part of many Disney adventures in her time. Love ya, Brooke.

Jess’s Hot and Fancy Magical Express then took off out of MCO and to EPCOT! I remember saying to Jess, “I can’t believe I’m back with you, in Brooke, on our way to Disney AGAIN.” We blasted Hanson and Hilary Duff like usual and just had a blast! AHHHH THIS TRIP WAS UNDERWAY, BABY!

We arrived at the Epcot parking lot and I saw THIS BEYOND GORGEOUS SIGHT!

I absolutely could not believe my eyes when I saw Spaceship Earth. I WAS LIVING, DUDE!

We parked Brooke and made note of where she was. We did not want to make the same mistake we have made several times of forgetting where she was parked. Brooke, we’re so sorry. We won’t do it again. Except we totally did.

We’re BACK! A Princesses Story….

Hey, that would actually make a good TR title. Oh well, maybe next time!

@babybritney IM IN EPCOT IM BACK IM HOME IT'S SO WARM IM SO HAPPY

We made our way right over to the World Showcase. We were pretty hungry and did not want to waste any time at all before hitting the lands of deliciousness AKA the countries of the world.

Once we arrived, I promptly had a moment when I saw these:

and said, “Oh my God, the flamingos from Fantasia!”

Jess stopped dead and was like, “Flamingos?!”

I realized that I meant to say ostriches but some weird brain fart caused my mouth to say FLAMINGOS. We died laughing. It was just too much. Already this trip was becoming more hilariously memorable than the last, and that was really saying something!

The first thing I desperately wanted was the Violent Lemonade from the Pineapple Promenade booth!

It was just as deliciously violent as I remembered! This is seriously one of the most refreshing drinks ever made. I could drink them until I croak.

Our next stop was La Hacienda’s quick service because Jess really wanted some tacos. I want tacos literally every second of the day, but since I can get them any time at home (we have the best little Mexican place in the next town over that I order from WAY too much) I saved my stomach space for some other choices from the Flower & Garden booths. And thank God I did, because I ended up eating WAY TOO MUCH later on as it was, but I’m getting ahead of myself here!

One thing I didn’t know was that if you buy from La Hacienda’s quick service, you don’t have to sit at the outdoor tables. You can go inside and sit! I thought that was just for people eating at the table service. ~The more you know~!!! Though, I don't think you can do that during dinner time... but I am not sure.

I had never been inside there before and I really liked the atmosphere. I would love to make an ADR to eat there sometime soon!

I rarely meet characters in World Showcase and I have been meaning to do that more often. I looked up the times and what do you know, Aladdin and Jasmine were coming out soon! If you know anything about Jess, you know that it did not take much convincing for her to agree to go and do that LOL. She's pretty open about the fact that 90% of her parkgoing activities involve meeting Aladdin and Jasmine.

Before heading to Morocco, we went back to Pineapple Promenade so I could get the glorious rum dole whip. You can get white or black rum and I chose the coconut rum.

The first sip I took was RIGHT from the bottom of the cup and so I got a giant swig of rum right away and I was like WHOA WHOA WHOA I’M IN DISNEY WORLD HERE SLOW IT DOWN. I mean, I don’t know what I was expecting. I guess that the rum would be more mixed in with the ice cream but that doesn’t really make sense. It was much more enjoyable after I mixed it up a little with the straw. Oh man, I loved it. I also think it’s the perfect size. The dole whips at Magic Kingdom are just too big for me… as much as I love ice cream, I usually don’t gorge on it, so for me it’s one of those things that’s better in a normal dose. Plus, unless you go in December or something, half the thing melts before you even get to it. So I appreciated the smaller portion. It was exactly what I needed!

Off to Morocco we go!

On the way over to see Lad and Jas, we passed Mary Poppins! I recognized Mary Poppins’ friend as someone who is also close with Aurora and Belle. I had met her with those princesses before and just thought she was so gorgeous and talented! I would have loved to meet Mary, but we really wanted to make Aladdin and Jasmine’s time and the line was pretty long. Another time! Sidenote: I’ve actually never met Mary Poppins before, I don’t know what I’m doing with my life.

When I took that picture, Mary had just said to that boy, “So lovely to see you again. It’s been since Christmas!” in her perfect little English accent. The boy melted and basically so did I!

​

 

[LittleBlueFlower]

I was just thinking that I should check if You had started another trip report AND HERE YOU ARE!!! Yay!

 

[katt789]

Yayayayayaya!!!

SO glad to be starting on this trip report!! I can't wait to hear about all the adventures!!

MAN! This was the trip that we ALMOST MANAGED TO MEET! Possbily even that first day? I have no idea...I totally heard you guys calling too, but when I couldn't see anyone I figured it was someone yelling "dad"....it sounds the same.... SAD DAYS!

LOVE the epcot dress, that's so cute! And lucky you guys getting to go straight into a park, not even stopping at a resort! Lol.

That drink will forever remind me of Tangled!!

AH! Mary Poppins perfectness!!

 

[Cinderella16]

I am here!!! Can't wait to hear about the cruise part considering we just booked our first one yesterday!!!!! Love your Epcot dress! Anxiously awaiting more updates.

 

[scschulla]

aww! i love love love your trip reports and coming home after a long day of work and finding a new one made me happy! i love reading of your adventures! it gets me super super excited for my upcoming trips!

 

[PlutosRHM55]

YAY! You've started it! I'm in, per the norm!

I love the ribbon Leanne sent you! It suits you to a T.

That's so awesome how you and Jess ended up landing around the same time. It must've been the best reunion ever.

YAY EPCOT! And I love the Epcot dress, so creative.

*gasp* You've never met the practically perfect Mary?! *gasp gasp* Yes, that should be changed very soon. She is always so sweet and actually practically perfect. That should be on top of your list for character meets this month now that Eugene is out of the picture (sadness, still sadness :''''( ), but really she's fab.

Can't wait to read more!

 

[Volkswagenphreak]

Joining in! love it so far! That purple drink looked delish!

 

[a*lil*bit*goofy]

SQUEEEEL whohoooooo finally a new Trip Report! This should keep me busy until my trip in 50 some odd days. yippiee!!! now please oh please keep the updates coming fast and frequent!

 

[Disneymom77]

So excited for another awesome trip report!

 

[Neeny17]

Yay you started it! It must be so good to just be able to run to a park as soon as you get there. Haha gotta love the ostriches/flamingos!

 

[bambi0921]

So excited for your new trip report! I love reading your TRs. They make me feel like I'm almost there and get me through the stretches between my own trips. I'm also a big Hanson fan and will be seeing them in Epcot next month for the first time. My brain can't even comprehend this. Disney + Hanson... Like, what? Very psyched. Thanks for writing such awesome TRs and sharing your experiences with us!

 

[Credit Man]

I'm in! RUM DOLE WHIPS, of course I'm in !!!

 

[Tracy161]

Wouldn't dream of missing out on this one!!!

 

[KelleyK75]

Yay for a new TR! I love reading yours and can't wait to hear about your cruise. Great start so far. Love the birthday button and your dress! It sounds like a fun start at Epcot. Can't wait to hear more.

 

[JulieODC]

Joining in -- fabulous start, and can't wait to read the rest!

Isn't DCA a cool airport to fly in/out of? We live a few miles away, and flying in with the views of DC never get old!

I am dying to try to the dole whip with rum --- but note to self, make sure to stir first!!

 

[HomeSweetDisney]

Hi there! I'm a long time lurker...well not that long, maybe a couple of months. I started reading your last Halloween/Christmas TR & that led me to all your other TR's. I ended up "binge" reading them

You're so funny and cute and I love your enthusiasm for all things Disney! I am the same way and am raising my son to be a Disney fanatic too I also share your love of Hanson! Been a fan since I was 11 (I'm 28 now) and have seen them in concert many times. They are amazing! I was also lucky enough to see them in wdw once back in 2005 when I did the wdw CP. It was at House of Blues though, not at EPCOT. Sadly I have not been there when they played F&W. One day though!

Anyway, excited to read this new TR! It's off to a great start! I did a Disney cruise a loooooong time ago (I think I was 16) and loved it. It sounds like you had a great time too! Can't wait to read more

 

[Glennie5]

Very excited to have found this TR at the beginning! Can't wait to read about all of your new adventures with Jess.

 

[stinkerbell007]

Yay! A new report. I am so glad that you are continuing to write these trip reports. I know it has become difficult for a few of my favorite writers to keep up with the disboards, what with LIFE getting in the way and all.... I miss them.

Anyhoo, I found myself literally biting my thumb nail as I began to read. I was so excited for more great stories and great writing and great pictures, and I was so disappointed when I got to the end of the entry. Gah! I can't wait for more!!!

I am also glad to know that you already have another trip lined up. So I get to follow you via social media. Sigh. Can't wait for my next trip - next summer for my nephew's high school graduation. (Florida. June. Hot. jeesh. can't wait. But really. I CAN'T WAIT despite all those things.)

Ciao for now!

Linda

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Here Lia!! I haven't read many TR's about a Disney Cruise, but for sure I want to read this one. A Cruise has never been high on my list of to do's, but somehow I have a feeling that reading this will move it up the list. If anyone is going to make a Disney Cruise must do, it's you.

I can attest to how amazing it is to be in Disney on your actual birthday. A birthday trip is fabulous, but there is something extra special about being there on the actual day. Best Birthday Ever!