"Where are your kids?" "We are the kids!!" An adults-only Dapper Day/DCL/USO trip FINAL UPDATE 8/29

[dolewhipdreams]

loving your TR!!

Thanks so much! It's been a blast getting to relive it.

You guys are an adorable couple! Really enjoying this TR

Aw shucks! Thanks for following along

 

[dolewhipdreams]

PIRATE DANCE PARTIES ARE THE BEST DANCE PARTIES

We got back on ship in the early afternoon so we still had several hours before any of the evening festivities. The first order of business was getting something to eat. As I had mentioned, we were trying to spend minimal money at Nassau so we opted to eat lunch on the ship since it was already included. What we didn’t figure was that we would get there in that awkward period when Cabanas was closed for lunch but not yet open for dinner. Neither of us felt like what they had at Flo’s Café, so we decided to be indulgent and order from room service…for the very first time in our lives! (Okay, room service is included so it wasn’t that indulgent, but still).

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One of my absolute favorite parts of the cruise was this meal. Not because the food was anything spectacular (it was good, but nothing compared to any of the main dining options), but because we got to eat mac and cheese…on a verandah…overlooking Paradise Island…and the horizon. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and it was just such a peaceful moment.

Alright I’m about to spill some info that may cause you to lose some of your respect for me, but I want to be honest. At that point in our lives, neither one of us had ever had a Mickey Bar before.

[Insert various gasps/appalled sounds]

I know. We’re awful Disney fans. On my previous trips I either A. Didn’t know they existed (that was my very first trip) B. Would rather spend my money on snacks that seemed ‘better’ and C. Didn’t yet realize the magnificence of Mickey-shaped and chocolate-covered ice cream.

Well, we decided to take the opportunity of free (ahem *included*) Mickey Bars from room service and swipe our MB-cards. And man, I’m glad we waited until we did. For those who have had the blessed experience of tasting even one bite of a Mickey Bar, you know that they defy logic. What should taste like any ordinary chocolate-dipped ice cream bar actually tastes like dreams coming true. It’s real Disney magic, folks. And while that taste rings true anywhere you have a Mickey Bar, there is something even more sensational about experiencing your very first Mickey Bar while atop a floating city and gazing out at the Cinderella-blue seas.

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It was magical. Absolutely magical.

And we proceeded to eat many, many more Mickey Bars over the following few days.

ANYWAY, after we got our fill we decided to pop down and meet Peter Pan!

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I love the way the character greetings are set up on DCL. First of all, they’re inside in the air-conditioning. Second of all, there are so many available within just a few feet of each other. Third of all, even though the line-up time isn’t very long (like 15-30 minutes per session), as long as you’re in line before the cut off, you are guaranteed to see the character! No more waiting in line for 30 minutes only to find out Ariel needs to take a break. Unfortunately, since the line-up times are a little short, it’s difficult to meet multiple characters who meet at the same time.

After meeting Peter and convincing him that we weren’t pirates, we went upstairs…to get dressed like pirates. Well, I went upstairs to get dressed like a pirate. Jon just got dressed like normal and added an eye patch. I had spent months planning out an Elizabeth Swann Disneybound and I think it turned out pretty good!

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Once we were all pirate-ed up we headed down to the show for the evening, which was Villains Tonight. The show was alright. I’m not huge into the villains, but I do love Hades who was the main character of the show. I did cry (because that’s what I do), but also I laughed a lot. Hades is my fave because of his sass and they definitely tried to bring that out.

After the show was dinner, which was pirate-themed. I wish I would have taken a photo of the menu or the server’s outfits or SOMETHING exciting but all I’ve got is a picture of the napkin as a boat. They really do go all-out for pirate night. Dinner was something else that was exceptional, and I ate until my belt was ready to pop off (which will cause a problem later….you’ll understand).

After dinner was over it was time for the pirate fun to begin! First off was a family-centered pirate gathering hosted by Mickey & Co. I believe it was supposed to be up on deck but it started raining so they had it in the atrium. It was a tad crowded but still fun.

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After a little while the rain cleared up and they were able to hold the Buccaneer Bash! This was awesome- it was a big dance party with the fireworks show up on the main deck. I didn’t get any photos of the fireworks, but I filmed the whole thing. This was a neat fireworks show to see, not because it was on a massive scale (it was actually quite small, which is to be expected as they’re shooting the fireworks off of a ship) but because they went off so close to you that they were timed perfectly with the music. With regular park fireworks they’re usually just the littlest bit off-beat due to the distance. But this show was timed to the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack (which is one of my favorite scores of all time) and all the pops and bangs were right in time with the songs.

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After the fireworks it was pretty much just a huge dance party. As mentioned, I love dance parties. Two in two days seemed too good to be true! Jon was a good sport and bobbed along for a bit of it. It started to sprinkle after about 15 minutes so the space cleared out and it was just those of us devoted to dance left out on the deck. It was great, soggy fun.

After dancing our hearts out (okay it was just me doing that), we went wandering back inside only to find that they had a whole buffet set up! This is where the belt-popping dinner would become an issue. They had sooo much yummy food and I was seriously too stuffed to eat much. Which never ever happens so that’s how I knew it was real. I did eat a delectable fruit tart (because it’s fruit which is always good for you no matter how it comes packaged, right?) and snapped a photo of one of my favorite fruit carvings.

[Do you fear vitamin C?]​

Once we got every last morsel we could possible handle in our mouths, we decided to call it a night. We went back to the stateroom, planning to get a good night’s rest and sleep in since the following day was our day at sea.

 

[tac08]

Loving your TR! One of my dream vacations is a Disney cruise.

 

[dolewhipdreams]

Loving your TR! One of my dream vacations is a Disney cruise.

Thank you! It was truly magical and I think I'm addicted to cruising now...

 

[Texans_loyal]

finally, someone else that love Hades! he is everything!

 

[dolewhipdreams]

finally, someone else that love Hades! he is everything!

Yes I love Hades! My DH didn't understand why I liked him so much until I made him re-watch Hercules and now he understands.

 

[absolutmey]

loving your TR!

 

[dolewhipdreams]

loving your TR!

Thanks! It's my first one and I'm finding out how fun it is to relive the trip like this I look forward to many more!

 

[Raeven]

Alright I’m about to spill some info that may cause you to lose some of your respect for me, but I want to be honest. At that point in our lives, neither one of us had ever had a Mickey Bar before.

I've never had one either! I'm not a big ice cream fan.

After meeting Peter and convincing him that we weren’t pirates, we went upstairs…to get dressed like pirates. Well, I went upstairs to get dressed like a pirate. Jon just got dressed like normal and added an eye patch. I had spent months planning out an Elizabeth Swann Disneybound and I think it turned out pretty good!

I love it! Your outfit is really good.

After the fireworks it was pretty much just a huge dance party. As mentioned, I love dance parties.

Me too!


The Pirate Night looks really fun.

 

[dolewhipdreams]

I've never had one either! I'm not a big ice cream fan.



I love it! Your outfit is really good.



Me too!


The Pirate Night looks really fun.

The sad thing is I'm a HUGE ice cream fan and I still hadn't had one...

Thanks, I literally worked on it for months and I'm pretty pleased with how the outfit turned out.

Pirate night was DOPE. Definitely check it out if you go on a Bahamas cruise

 

[dolewhipdreams]

WHERE’S PEPE’S DOOR AGAIN??

After exhausting ourselves (myself) by dancing our butts (my butt) off at the Buccaneer Bash we slipped blissfully into a food-induced coma and didn’t wake up until we were good and out to sea. We took our time getting ready then started puttering around the ship.

The first thing we did was check out the Mid-Ship Detective Agency, which may seem like it’s marketed for children and families (because it is) but is also a great deal of fun for those adults who are children in big bodies, like us. There were two options, an easy version involving the 101 Dalmations and the harder version centered on the Muppets. We are no strangers to challenge and so we embarked on the brave and noble journey to solve the mystery! If you’ve never heard of MSDA, it’s this interactive mystery game that takes you around the entire ship on a search for clues to help solve the mystery that’s explained at the beginning. It took us about an hour to complete and we definitely got our steps in for that day. I highly recommend this to anyone, regardless of age, who has some spare time and wants to do more than sunbathe.

When we were finished we decided it was high time to sunbathe, so we changed into our suits and headed up to the adults-only area of the ship, which is quiet and peaceful, but sadly lacking in soft serve dispensers. The water was nice and warm but there was a steady breeze that made being out of the water a less-than-enjoyable experience so we didn’t last long out at the pools.

[Stopped for a quick #shoefie before heading down to the theater]​

We checked the Navigator and saw that Dr Strange was playing in the movie theater. When we went on our cruise, Dr Strange was still in theaters and we hadn’t seen it yet so we figured we would see it for ‘free’! We had to grab snacks and decided to forgo the paid concessions right outside the theater in favor of some of the included options…Mostly ice cream.

But how did you get ice cream into the theater when they specifically say no messy snacks allowed- including ice cream, you say?? Well sit back and I’ll tell you. Since we had brushed up on our logic and practical thinking skills during our stint as detectives earlier in the day, we devised a plot to bring that deliciously sweet frozen dairy treat in with us to the movie theater. We went and got cups from the soda station, filled those up with ice cream, put a lid on, grabbed a spoon, and there ya go! So what if we’re rule breakers? We paid thousands of dollars to use that movie theater and by golly we were going to enjoy doing so with some chocolate-vanilla swirl soft serve in our tummies.

Anyway, Dr Strange was good but…strange. If you’ve seen it, you know it’s a very visual experience with lots of eye tricks and kaleidoscope-looking effects. These were even more trippy because we watched them while moving up and down with the waves. It was an interesting experience.

After the movie we decided it was time for some movement so we went up to the main deck to check out the sports area (but don’t worry, we stopped for ice cream on the way). We started out with some putt putt, which was very cute and a nice quiet game to play as the light was falling around us. Then we headed to the basketball courts where Jon (who is a hardcore baller) showed the children the what-for when it comes to shooting hoops. We almost thought about asking some of them to start a pick up game with us but decided against it so that they could hold on to their dignity.

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Just kidding. Any of the kids there would have creamed us so we just played Mickey by ourselves.

By that time we were ready to get ourselves gussied up for the optional formal night for dinner. We once again donned our Dapper Day looks and went in to dine at The Royal Palace, where the food was once again spectacular and precisely what dreams are made of.

[I feel like a pretty princess]​

After dinner we wandered around in our fancy get up and happened upon one of our good friends in his fancy getup, so of course we had to get a photo.

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We still had some energy left so we went down to the Evolution club to watch some of the game shows that were going on there. At one point they had a dance off to see which couples would participate in the Newlyweds Game-style event and we moved it and shook it but were not chosen. It was funny to watch the couples on stage go through the game though. And I’m not sure I would have been comfortable answering some of the questions they posed so we were okay with sitting that one out.

Once that was over we went back to the cabin because we wanted to be up bright and early for the main event- CASTAWAY CAY!

 

[dolewhipdreams]

EVEN IN THE CARIBBEAN, YOU CAN’T ESCAPE FROZEN

Upon awakening we were overcome with emotion- the day was finally here! Castaway Cay day!

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We rushed through breakfast at Cabana’s and hopped off the ship, ready to explore the island. The first thing we did was walk to Serenity Bay (Castaway Cay’s adults-only beach). Even though there’s a tram, we wanted to take in the sights and sounds of the island and we thoroughly enjoyed the walkthrough.

The Disney details (as most of you know) are incredible. Some are minute and some are in your face, like Olaf here, who is surprisingly solid for being a snowman on a tropical island.

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Once at Serenity Bay we claimed a spot with our towels. The people at Serenity Bay were certainly serene but the water was decidedly not. It was very choppy and a little on the chilly side, so we did not get in the water much or spend very long at the beach.

We had purchased the Port Adventure that includes all day snorkel and tube rentals, as well as the bike rental. The tip was to snorkel as soon as possible before the water got crowded and the sand got too stirred up so we went and picked up our gear and headed to the snorkeling lagoon!

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As I mentioned in an earlier installment, we purchased a GoPro to use on the trip so we got that out to chronicle our snorkeling adventures. This time with the camera worked a lot better than our trial on Nassau. Not only was the water much more clear, but there were actually things to see!

[Can you tell that we’re total GoPro noobs?]​

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[We looked for this thing for so dang long]​

We were in the water for about an hour and it was awesome. Recently we have both fallen in love with snorkeling and this was a great experience. Toward the end of our time, we happened upon a rather large fish that we decided we wanted to get some footage of, so Jon tried to swim up beside it to get some close ups. Well, the fish didn’t like that and he turned toward me which was when I got a glimpse of his massive TEETH. Yep. We were in the process of ticking off a barracuda. Great job, fam. Right at the time Teeth McGee turned toward me I got at terrible cramp in my calf and I thought that was how I was going to die. Torn apart by a barracuda in front of hundreds of children.

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Obviously that didn’t happen (or did it- did my spirit stay behind to complete my life’s purpose of writing this trip report??). The Toothy Monster decided I didn’t look tasty enough and swam away and we decided it was time to dry off.

Next up- a biking tour of Castaway Cay.

 

[Jason2015]

Enjoying your trip report. It is making me rethink my doubts about going on a cruise.

 

[dolewhipdreams]

Enjoying your trip report. It is making me rethink my doubts about going on a cruise.

Thanks for reading along! What kind of doubts are you having? Maybe I can help address them This was our very first cruise and it was absolutely amazing!

 

[dolewhipdreams]

GEEZ, HOW LONG IS THIS PATH?

Following our near-death barracuda experience, we turned in our snorkel equipment and dried off. Then we headed to the bike rental shack. The Port Adventure package that we had included a 1-hour bike rental and we asked the cast members at the rental shack how strict they were on that. They told us not very, just make sure you don’t have it all day.

We headed out toward the trails and rode first along the main “runway.” We were told there were two paths, one that was a loop out to a lookout tower and the other was a pathway along the private cabanas. The entrance to the lookout loop was first so we took that.

[It’s the very obvious loopy one here.]​

The path was very jungle-y. It was a good reminder that only a small portion of Castaway Cay is actually developed. The area back here reminded me of the wetlands at home, but prettier.

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Once we explored around the base of the tower, we climbed to the top and the view was great, but very full of trees. Castaway Cay is a small flat jungle island, after all.

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After having another mini photo shoot, we finished the second half of the trail loop and ended up back at the runway.

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Then we went on a search for the second path. This one was less obvious but eventually we found it. We passed by all the private cabanas (which looked very nice and also very expensive). We rode for what seemed like forever and several people who were heading the same way as us turned around at some point. But we do not give up so easily. Nay, we were resolute to persist until we completed our quest of determining where this mysterious path led.

After another round of riding forever, we finally reached the end of the path and what did we find but a beautiful secluded beach! Which was barricaded off and not accessible, but still pretty. We took some time to appreciate it and take a few photos (and let’s be honest also we needed to catch our breath. It was a fairly long path the bike after 3 days of nonstop eating).

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We caught our breath and realized that our tummies were grumbling and it was just about lunch time. So, we turned our bikes around and made the journey back to the rental shack then caught the tram to the Serenity Bay lunch station (I’m sure it has a very cute and well-themed name but for the life of me I can’t remember it and I’m too lazy to google it right now).

The food was good- better than I expected for sitting under a heat lamp in the Caribbean sun for an hour. My favorite part was all the fresh fruit, which was especially satisfying after our cycling excursion. There was also chicken and some steak and other various picnic type sides. There were a few desserts but none really amazed me. Not surprisingly, the only photo I took of the food was the strawberry-banana soft serve (which is life changing).

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Belly rumblings satisfied, we decided to walk back to the main family beach and see if there was a good spot to just chill and relax for a little bit.

Next up- our final hours on Castaway Cay and our last night on the Disney Dream.

 

[dolewhipdreams]

WHERE ARE YOUR KIDS? WE ARE THE KIDS!

Side note before I begin: I realize that I have been slacking hardcore on this TR. I’m leaving for a trip to WDW next Friday (#10days) and I promise I’ll be done with this one by then!! I think there will only be one more installment after this one Then you can check back in to see how my first FD adventure goes (if you want- totally won’t be offended if you don’t. Okay maybe I will be a little offended but I don't actually know who you are so does it really matter?).

After wandering around the family beach for a while, we finally found a pair of unoccupied chairs to set our stuff down. We sat for a little bit (like 10 minutes tops) just to soak in some sun, then decided that the waterslides at Pelican Plunge looked like too much fun to ignore. So, being the overgrown children that we are, we swam out to the platform and got in line!

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It was a beautiful time of day and we enjoyed waiting in line taking photos of the beach and ship.

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We rode both slides multiple times (one is faster and one has more turns) and they were so much fun! It was the first time either of us had gone down a slide into the ocean. We were definitely the only people there over the age of 12 but hey there’s no age restriction!

After exhausting ourselves on the slides we decided that it was time to finally pick up our tube rentals and end our time at Castaway Cay by doing a little floating. By this time the water was practically empty. There were a few families in the water and a few more on the beach but it seemed like the majority of people had returned to the ship, even though it was still an hour and a half until the last horn was going to blow!

We had our GoPro out again and were having fun trying to take silly photos and playing with birds that landed in the water. We got to chatting with a couple next to us and they eventually asked us where our kids were. I think you know by now how we answered that question

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One of the best things about Jon is that he has managed to find the perfect combination of fun and responsible. When I say that he is childlike, I don’t mean that he is irresponsible or neglectful of any of his adult duties. But he does take so much joy in the small things in life and finds ways to light up every situation. He has mellowed me out and introduced me to the happiness that comes with just being silly sometimes. There’s nothing wrong with being the only adults on the water slide (as long as it’s not against the rules!) or seeing who can do the best (or worst) British accent or even skipping around while holding hands. The more I learn about Walt Disney the more I come to realize that Jon is the kind of adult guest that he had in mind when he built his parks- someone who decided that he didn’t need to leave the best parts of his childhood behind just because he has to pay bills now.

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Anyway (gushing aside), after sunning ourselves for a little while longer we thought we better head back to the ship. We turned in our tubes and got on a tram and said goodbye to Castaway Cay.

[Pro tip- even though the line is longer when you get off the ship, take this photo at the beginning of your day. Because at the end you look like...well...this]​

[Look, Ma! Snow in the Bahamas!]
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I really don’t have any photos of our last night on the ship and I can’t really remember what all we did. I know we had dinner at Animator’s Palate (which was my favorite of the MDRs on the dream). Crush was awesome and the interaction was so cool! We had a great time with our dinner group once again and to this day I regret not getting anyone’s contact info so we could keep in touch.

At some point we packed and went to bed, only to wake up back in Port Canaveral. Breakfast was at Animator’s Palate. I know I got waffles but they weren’t Mickey waffles so I was a little bummed. Then it was time to say our final farewell and start the disembarking process! That part was long and boring and I won’t make you suffer through the details.

Next up: Two more days at Universal before heading home!

 

[dolewhipdreams]

WE DEFINITELY ONLY CAME BACK FOR THE BUTTERBEER

Howdy y’all and welcome to the final installment of my first Dis TR! These last two days were all Universal so if you don’t care about that then I guess you can leave now.

After the long process of getting off the ship and through customs, we went and picked up our rental car. For this part of the trip it was going to be cheaper to rent a car then pay for the Uber/Lyft back to Orlando and around Universal. It took a little while to get to the rental shop but once we had our wheels, we were off to Hogwarts (again)! Well technically we went to our hotel first. But then it was off to Hogwarts for real!

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This trip was our first time at Universal with Park to Park tickets and I loved it! I could definitely live without it if money was tight, but the freedom to go between the two parks (not to mention ride the Hogwarts Express) was awesome.

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The last few times I was at USO, the line to meet Stan and Ernie at the Knight Bus was longer than I wanted to wait but on this day there were only like two people waiting! So I hopped in line and I’m so glad I did.

[Hufflepuff on three!]​

These two are a hoot. They were making fun of me being a ginger and it was hilarious. Ernie said “Stan I think we scared her- did you see how ‘gingerly’ she walked over here?” Then they found out I was a Hufflepuff and teased me about that, as well.

After wandering about both parks and riding our favorite rides a few more times we decided to head out early because there were two things we definitely needed to do. One was get a milkshake for the Toothsome Chocolate Emporium and the other was go to Disney Springs and check out the Christmas Tree Trail, which had just opened.

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I had seen a lot of hype for Toothsome and not just the food. I liked the concept and I thought it was a cool idea. Plus I’m a huge fan of beautiful and outrageous ice cream so the milkshakes were calling to me. I gotta say, though, we were a little disappointed. We got the peanut butter shake and it really lacked flavor. It was more ice-y than creamy and we were a little bit sad.

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But at least it was pretty.

After our disappointing milkshake, we went for one more fix of some Disney magic. Disney Springs opened their Christmas Tree Trail and we decided to go take a look and just hang out at the Springs for a couple of hours. Parking took forever (hello Friday night) but we finally found a spot and made our way through Disney Springs to the trail (stopping at a few stores, of course).

The Christmas Tree Trail was really cute. It wasn’t super amazing but I’m glad we went and walked through it. If you’ve never heard of it, it’s a trail of about a dozen or so trees that each have a theme like Mary Poppins or the Little Mermaid. I thought they were fun and creative. It was full dark at this time so none of my pictures turned out- I guess you’ll just have to go see it this year for yourselves!

After walking around a little more we decided we were exhausted enough to head to our hotel, which was the Holiday Inn across from Universal.

The next morning we had most of the day to spend at Universal until our flights left and we did more of the same. We did make a special point to stop for one last butterbeer ice cream, though.

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Welp, that’s our trip! Thanks for all of those who have tuned in- it’s been a blast reliving these memories (even though they’re almost a year old). Be on the lookout for my next TR of our trip that starts in TWO DAYS!!

See ya real soon ​

 

[chunkymonkey]

See ya real soon ​

Yay only 3 more days for us before we're on our way back to the Oven that is Orlando. What can I say, we're crazy!
I will FB text you when we get to DHS on Monday morning. See ya real soon!

 

[dolewhipdreams]

Yay only 3 more days for us before we're on our way back to the Oven that is Orlando. What can I say, we're crazy!
I will FB text you when we get to DHS on Monday morning. See ya real soon!

SO. EXCITED.

 

[Elizabeth Smith]

I really enjoyed your TR! I have been thinking that for our next big vacation after WDW this November that I would like to do a cruise. Like you guys, my husband and I are in our early 20s with no kids. I want kiddos, but I want to travel and spend money on air fare and not diapers. Every time I read a trip report, I think about putting off kids another year.