The TCD Gang Sails Again!: A Four Night Disney Dream Trip Report

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

I am wondering how you handled dropping your last DD off at The Swamp?

Does it feel like an empty nest yet?

I love having my kids around. It is weird to think that someday (in a relatively short amount of time), they wont be here.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Great pics! Thank you for posting. DD1 just wanted to go to Disney for HS graduation. DD2 is a Senior now & wants a cruise so I won't let her see this.

 

Smart.  Have you looked at the DCL cruises sailing out of Galveston?  I think they've had trouble filling those, and they're offering discounts.

 

The only way you won't drive over the draw bridge is if you come down from the Air Force Base.

 

Funny you should mention the Air Force Base.  I missed the turn I was supposed to take to head into town, and found myself approaching the Base guard shack.  I had to do a U-ey.  Me and MP's have a history.  But that's a story for another day.

 

In, Jack!

 

Alright!  Welcome aboard.  Pun intended.

 

Yay! Contemplating a cruise myself...Can't wait for more!

 

I will be posting some more in just a bit.  Stand by.

 

Okay, I will take page 2 bragging rights seeing as Dave hogged most of page 1.

I am so glad to see the return of the list of fun! When we went to Hilton Head last year we had a list of fun, inspired by your cruise report from last year. Looking forward to seeing how you all complete it.

And I did notice the anchor shorts immediately but I thought they were boxer shorts

 

Yes, because of Dave's antics, page 2 bragging rights are on the level with page one for this report.

 

That is cool that you made a list of fun.  I need to make one for the Fort.

 

Boxer shorts?  No way.  Those are Lilly Pulitzer designer shorts.  I think that's the designer du jour for the college girls at the moment.  It takes a secure man to pull off that look.

 

 

We're in! I just showed George the pic of the cold shrimp. I think he could have parked a chair right in front of it and lived there the whole cruise. Can't wait to read more.

 

Pull up a chair?  I may need to steal that idea.

 

I never got the whole "cruise" thing until we took one, now I am hooked. We have another sailing for a 7 day on the books. Just so I didnt have to waste time getting used to the layout, we got exactly the same room on the Fantasy as we did on the Dream......

 

Brilliant.

 

What deck are you going to be on?  And when is the cruise?

 

Thanks a bunch Dave and TCD, I didn't even know TCD went cruising and he cost me money.  We are heading out on the Dream for 3 nights in a few weeks.

 

Oh yea BDD, we are hooked also, I just can't figure out how to win the lottery to go on a 7night.

 

Cool!

 

You will love it!

 

Have a great trip!

 

 

Here!

 

Considering my epic tardiness when it comes to trip reports, page 3 is as good as page 1 in my book.

 

Love the "List of Fun." The photo of the big list reveal was great.

 

I do believe I will need to borrow this idea for our upcoming trip. 

 

RIP Ron Palillo.  In two days, we will mark the one year anniversary of his untimely passing.

 

So, you're thinking about a FW LOF?  I think that's a great idea!

 

Page 3. Boo hiss..... Worked to hard outside and went to bed early one night....just one night and TCD slips a TR in one me.

 

Hey, at least you're here!

 

Page 3 is cool.

 

Soon we'll be on page 4.

 

TCD

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

 

Funny you should mention the Air Force Base.  I missed the turn I was supposed to take to head into town, and found myself approaching the Base guard shack.  I had to do a U-ey.  Me and MP's have a history.  But that's a story for another day.

  I want to hear or read that story!

 

 

 

That is cool that you made a list of fun.  I need to make one for the Fort.

There may or may not be a LOF for WWW 2014.  Be afraid.  Be very afraid.

 

Boxer shorts?  No way.  Those are Lilly Pulitzer designer shorts.  I think that's the designer du jour for the college girls at the moment.  It takes a secure man to pull off that look.

  That would be a very long "jour" as my friends and I were wearing Lilly Pulitzer in 1981!  I bought mine at the Lilly Pulitzer store in Bayhead, NJ!  Gotta love the Jersey Shore!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Page three!!!

Page one is so last year!

All the cool kids are on page three!

 

Yeah. Page 3 is the new page 1!

 

If it makes you feel any better, you are on page 5 on the tapatalk app.

Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk 4

 

Really?

 

I have never used the tapatalk app.  Is there any advantage to using it as opposed to just accessing the full site on your mobile device?

 

I missed the last few trip reports bit I'm on board for this one! We cruised on the Wonder a couple of years ago and loved it. Castaway Cay is awesome.

 

Agreed.  Castaway Cay is in the top five of my favorite places on earth.  Stay tuned, as we spent another glorious day there.

 

I am wondering how you handled dropping your last DD off at The Swamp?

Does it feel like an empty nest yet?

I love having my kids around. It is weird to think that someday (in a relatively short amount of time), they wont be here.

 

Actually, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  We dropped her off on Saturday.  I took my oldest DD to the airport yesterday and she flew back to Alabammy.

 

Twin #2 is home on her break for this week, so we still have one bird in the nest.  She goes back on Sunday.

 

I have dreaded the twins' leaving for the past year or so.  When the day came, though, it was surprisingly a happy occasion.  It is a good feeling to see you children growing up into fine adults and being able to live on their own.  Until then, though, enjoy every moment, and don't miss a moment to drill something important into their heads.  It's a scary place out there.

 

  That would be a very long "jour" as my friends and I were wearing Lilly Pulitzer in 1981!  I bought mine at the Lilly Pulitzer store in Bayhead, NJ!  Gotta love the Jersey Shore!

 

 

Funny.

 

My mom has an old Vera Bradley bag that she has had for years.  She got it way before that stuff became popular with young girls. 

 

A year from now, Lilly will be out, and someone new will be in.

 

I'm still going to wear my anchor shorts, though.

 

TCD

[arthuruscg 34]

Tapatalk loads quicker and there are alot of other forums that are available on the app, so it makes it easy to get a quick updates. Also, I receive notificaions when some one quotes my posts.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Tapatalk loads quicker and there are alot of other forums that are available on the app, so it makes it easy to get a quick updates. Also, I receive notificaions when some one quotes my posts.

 

Oh- I didn't know about the extra features or that it was quicker.  I may give it a test drive one of these days.

 

TCD

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

Is it another day yet?

 

I want to hear the MP story.

[BigTom 76]

I am ready for another update. Starting on Friday, knowing you don't post on weekends was mean to us who look forward to your reports.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Is it another day yet?

 

I want to hear the MP story.

 

No, it's not time for the MP story.

 

But I'll tell you what.  I'll share it in the bonus features.

 

If I forget, please remind me.

 

There was a time when I literally had to hide from them.

 

I am ready for another update. Starting on Friday, knowing you don't post on weekends was mean to us who look forward to your reports.

 

I know.

 

But, I wanted to get started as soon as I could. After all, we just got back the day before.

 

And, in my defense, I did post two updates on Friday.

 

And there will be another one posted momentarily.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

We are long overdue for an update, so here it comes.

 

So far, we have boarded the ship, chowed down at the buffet, and Mrs. TCD and I have found a spot on Deck 11 next to the pool, while the girls have explored the ship.

 

While we were in port, there was a group text going on to keep track of everyone's whereabouts.

 

Not long after one, the girls texted to let us know that they had made it in to their cabin.  Here's a photo of what it looked like before they took it over:

 

 

That backpack you see on the bed in that photo is the returning cruiser gift.  As Silver Castaway Club members, we received those backpacks on our last cruise.  Before that, the gift was two different versions of a beach bag, and before that, it was a beach towel.  I thought as Gold Members we were going to receive a different gift.  It turns out I was right, but that was delivered later that evening.  I've got photos of the other goodies we got, which I will share when the time comes.

 

In the meantime, Mrs. TCD and I were enjoying the sunny day and some cold beers.

 

The girls were waiting for our cabins to open before changing into their suits and coming up to the pool.

 

Not long after that, they arrived.  And here we are on the steps to the Aqua Duck:

 

 

The Aqua Duck is a water roller coaster which circles above the top deck.  Awesome.  On the first day of the cruise, the lines are generally short early in the afternoon.  They progressively grow after that, and later in the afternoon, you will have a long wait to ride.  But we hit it early enough that our wait wasn't bad.

 

As usual, I had to do some people watching.  I spotted this guy with a Gator t-shirt and a Michigan lid.  How does that happen?:

 

 

I am torn on the title of this next photo, so you can choose which you like better.  I call it either:  "Picking a winner," or "Digging for Gold" :

 

 

Whoever designed the Aqua Duck did a great job, in my opinion.  As soon as you begin the ride, you go through a tight turn that brings you right past the folks standing in line.  Like this:

 

 

That's fun for everyone.

 

Want to see something cool?

 

That big building you see across the water there is the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center.  That's where they build giant rockets, and where the Space Shuttles were assembled, back when we had a space program:

 

 

I have never taken photos of some of the next things we will be looking at.  On our previous cruise, there were signs posted at the entrance saying no cameras.  And I think it also said no shoes.  They had cubbies there for guests to put their stuff in.  That sign and the cubbies were nowhere to be seen this time.  The sun was blaring down, and the deck was really hot.  A lot of guests had flip flops on, and I remember that last year this was a big no-no.  So, since there was no sign, I brought my camera.

 

Which allowed me to get photos of some of the cute signs they have posted along the stairwell leading up to the slide:

 

 

 

You can tell that Twin #1 took this selfie, because it's not blurry:

 

 

Before we got to the top of the stairs, I put my camera in my pocket, just in case they weren't allowed.  The problem with that is it took me half the ride to get the camera back out to take some photos.  But, I did get it out by the time I had circled the second smoke stack, and was on the way back.  You can see the AD entrance there on the right of the big smoke stack:

 

 

Another look at the entrance, which still has a short line.  That yellow slide you see on the left is the Mickey slide, which is for kids under a certain height.  The thing is that that slide is about the same size as the slide at the Meadow Pool at Fort Wilderness- and it would be fun for adults too, but it's reserved just for younger kids on DCL.  The good news for them is that the line is always super short:

 

 

I went down first, so I got to get an action shot of the twins at the end:

 

 

We love the Aqua Duck:

 

 

After that one ride, the line still wasn't bad, but the girls wanted to do other things.  So, they headed off, and I fixed Mrs. TCD and me another beer:

 

 

I should get extra credit from the site owners for the beer coozie.  Mrs. TCD and I picked those up when we dropped our oldest off at school earlier in the summer.

 

By the way, that's a beer I brought from home.  Disney lets you bring your own alcohol onto the ship.  That is a huge deal.  They now say you aren't supposed to drink your own booze in public areas on the ship, but we did, and several CM's walked by us and didn't say a thing.  I think that new rule is just there so they can break up any problems with guests drinking excessively or causing a problem.

 

In just about 30 minutes after our ride, the Aqua Duck line extended all the way down the stairs and around deck 12.  I told you so:

 

 

Wait.

 

Did you see the sky in that photo?

 

That was the only big dark cloud in the sky, and it just so happened to be hovering right above the Dream.

 

I had a bad feeling about this:

 

 

And my bad feeling was right.

 

It started to rain just then.

 

Hard.

 

But it was around three, and we had enjoyed about two hours of sun, and it was a good time for us to go and get unpacked before the mandatory lifeboat drill at 4.  So we headed down to our cabin.

 

It was raining hard outside of our porthole:

 

 

But, looking off in the distance, I could see blue sky, so this was just going to be a quick burst, and then we would be good:

 

 

During the first afternoon on the ship, the crew brings you luggage to your cabin doors, and leaves it out in the hall for you to drag in.  It's kind of a crazy time, and doors leading to backstage areas that are normally closed during the cruise are open.

 

I took advantage of the easy access and did a little exploring right down the hall from our cabins:

 

 

This bulletin board had a lot of interesting things posted on it:

 

 

Look at this- those surveys they give you at the end of the cruise are really important for the CM's:

 

 

This is a look down our hall from the backstage area.  Our cabins are the first two on the left.  By going backstage here, I saw that there were no crew cabins or anything next to ours:

 

 

We unpacked fast, and slid the suitcases under our beds.  The life boat drill would be at 4 pm.  We only had to go up one flight of stairs to the theater on the next deck up, so there was no need for us to rush. 

 

I tried something new this time- I called room service at around 3:30 to see if we could get something delivered before the drill.  They said no problem.

 

Room service is free on the Disney ships.

 

Free.

 

24 hours a day.

 

You want a cheeseburger at 3 am?

 

Free.

 

You want a Mickey Premium Bar before the lifeboat drill?

 

Free.

 

I ordered some chicken wings too.

 

Free.

 

The rain had already stopped, which was good.  You can see two of the dock workers hardly working here:

 

 

The chicken wings and Mickey Bars arrived just in time:

 

 

The room service menu says those are Buffalo Wings.  But they're BBQ.  And they are really good.  I ate many orders over the next four days.

 

This is a good place to stop.

 

Up next, we go to the safety drill.

 

And then it's time to sail!

 

TCD

[DaveInTN 3,247]

True story.....Jack skipped the safety drill.  Had he gone, he would have known that there was plenty of room for him on that board next to Rose. 

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

Can you order a GAG or MSB cinnamon roll?

 

With all that available, I think I would be constantly ordering stuff to the room.

 

Bringing your own beer on board would seem to equal a pretty decent savings too.

 

Looking forward to more!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I forgot a photo in that last update.  There was an address sign posted on the wall facing the ship:

 

 

I can't figure out why it's there.

 

Does the DCL captain drive in to the boat harbor and look for the correct address?

 

BTW- if you add Port Canaveral to that address and use Google or Bing to look it up, you can see an aerial view of the DCL terminal, and on Bing, the Wonder is docked there.

 

Oh, and don't miss the Hidden Mickey up there on the roof canopy near the bus lanes.

 

TCD

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Gotta love room service!

 

So far it looks like you've had a great first day.

[alexwyattmommy 181]

Room service any time?  I want.

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Loving these pictures because I finally talked Jason into a cruise! But he wants me to look at Royal Caribbean too. I'm using these pictures to work on him, so write quickly!

 

Have you ever done a 7 night Disney? They're more than twice the price of a 4 night. I'm wondering why. Not sure we could afford it, but I'm worried 4 nights is not enough.

 

I think I already said this but I love the lists of fun!

 

I'm surprised they let you carry on glass beer bottles. They must trust you to be careful.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

I'm surprised they let you carry on glass beer bottles. They must trust you to be careful.

 

And glass sangria bottles.

And glass wine bottles.

And glass rum bottles.

And glass scotch bottles.

And glass vodka bottles.

And glass whiskey bottles.

And glass tequila bottles.

And....you get the idea. 

 

It's a wonderful policy. 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

True story.....Jack skipped the safety drill.  Had he gone, he would have known that there was plenty of room for him on that board next to Rose. 

 

Wow.  I didn't know that.

 

What a dummy that Leonardo guy is.

 

Can you order a GAG or MSB cinnamon roll?

 

With all that available, I think I would be constantly ordering stuff to the room.

 

Bringing your own beer on board would seem to equal a pretty decent savings too.

 

Looking forward to more!

 

That's a negative on the MSB cinnamon roll and the GAG.  But, there are plenty of other offerings that will suffice until you get back on land.

 

As far as I know, there is no other cruise line that allows you to carry on alcohol in unlimited quantities like DCL does.

 

I am surprised that they allow it, but they do.

 

Gotta love room service!

 

So far it looks like you've had a great first day.

 

Yes, so far it was great.

 

The thing to remember is that to this point. we've only been on the ship for about four hours!

 

Our first day is just beginning!

 

 

Room service any time?  I want.

 

Yes.  Any time.

 

Except the last night, they cut it off at 1:30 am.

 

By the last night, it's hard to eat anymore, so it is fine.

 

Loving these pictures because I finally talked Jason into a cruise! But he wants me to look at Royal Caribbean too. I'm using these pictures to work on him, so write quickly!

 

Have you ever done a 7 night Disney? They're more than twice the price of a 4 night. I'm wondering why. Not sure we could afford it, but I'm worried 4 nights is not enough.

 

I think I already said this but I love the lists of fun!

 

I'm surprised they let you carry on glass beer bottles. They must trust you to be careful.

 

I've been on Premier, Carnival, Princess and many times on Royal Caribbean.  You need to go on Disney.  Yes, 7 is better than 4.  But, since it's your first cruise, save the money and go for four.  It's just the right length.  You'll see.

 

You aren't supposed to have glass out on the deck.  In the past, the servers would come around and give you a plastic cup.  But they didn't this time.  I drink quick and throw the bottles right away.  But, it would be better not to have glass out on the deck.

 

And glass sangria bottles.

And glass wine bottles.

And glass rum bottles.

And glass scotch bottles.

And glass vodka bottles.

And glass whiskey bottles.

And glass tequila bottles.

And....you get the idea. 

 

It's a wonderful policy. 

 

What about gin?

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

At 4 pm sharp we darted out of our cabins, up one flight of stairs, and into the opulent Walt Disney Theater for the safety drill.  We found out on our previous cruise that this was the lifeboat station for guests staying on Deck 2, Forward, and that was one of the reasons I booked cabins almost right next door to the ones we had last year.  No more standing out in the hot sun, which is where we've been on previous cruises.  Of course, when we were in the hot sun, the lifeboats were right there where we could see them.  According to what we were told at the safety drill, in the event of an actual emergency, we would be led in small groups from the theater to our lifeboats.  I don't think that's such a great idea, and I don't believe it.  Probably we would just be left here.  But, you get what you pay for, right?  I wonder if they would still bring room service if the ship is sinking?  Maybe I would just stay in the cabin and eat Mickey bars.

 

After the safety drill, we darted down the stairs, and waited a bit for the crowds to clear before grabbing an elevator up to Deck 12 for the Sail Away party.

 

We made it just after the festivities had kicked off.  There's our cruise staff up there on the stage dancing away.  That big screen you see up there is called the Funnel Vision.  The LOF says we have to get projected up on there.  Also, note the Donald Duck legs sticking out over there to the left of the screen.  That is a cute detail we will look at a bit later:

 

 

That young lady you see dancing up there on the stage is Jo- she was the head of the cruise staff on this cruise.  Those are the folks that we generally get to know very well.  They run the shows and contests and such on the cruise:

 

 

Hey wait a second.  Take another look at that last photo. Up there on the Funnel Vision.  Who is that handsome young man there between the bald guy and the guy in the Gator hat?  There, at the bottom of the screen.  Is that a captain's hat he's wearing?

 

You can see him better here.  He's doing the John Travolta pose from Saturday Night Fever.  And he's wearing anchor shorts:

 

 

Get on the big screen?

 

Check!

 

Twin #1 asked to borrow my hat- and I let her:

 

 

All of these people were behind me.  Note that the Aqua Duck was open and guests were riding it during the sail away party:

 

 

I guess that iPad photography is officially a thing now.  iPad guy was up there at the top of the stairs doing it:

 

 

There was a family in front of us with clever names on the backs of their shirts:

 

 

This guy won the TCD Award for Best Name on the Back of a Matching T-shirt:

 

 

Great shirt, but I'm pretty sure God doesn't appreciate that kind of humor.  I wouldn't risk it.

 

You can see the Duck Butt again in that last photo- up there on the side of the smoke stack.

 

Now the characters came out on the stage to fire up the crowd- that meant we would finally be moving soon:

 

 

Some random AD riders:

 

 

Captain Mickey came out.  He just says a quick hello, because he will be driving the boat pretty soon:

 

 

They didn't have those shaker things for us on the last cruise, but lots of people had them on this cruise.  I didn't know where to go to get them.  But, a nice CM came up and gave us some:

 

 

And we danced:

 

 

More characters came out:

 

 

Mickey and Minnie's big finish:

 

 

Then, there was a countdown.  On zero, streamers were shot off.  I missed this shot last time, and pretty much missed it this time too.  Next time, I'm going to get the streamers in the air so help me:

 

 

This guy over here stuck two of those shaker things in his glasses.  Cut him off:

 

 

They clean the Disney ships like they used to clean the Disney theme parks.  No sooner had the streamers hit the deck than a CM appeared to sweep them up:

 

 

 

Usually the captain sounds the horn at the end of the countdown, but for some reason it was slightly delayed today.  But, the captain did blast the horn.  The song "A Dream is Wish Your Heart Makes" played. That moment always gets me:

 

 

Then the ship rumbled and began to move.  The TCD gang got caught on the Funnel Vision in the upper left corner in this shot- look for the orange shirt- that's me- with my head cut off:

 

 

Mrs. TCD made it on the screen here:

 

 

More checks on the LOF's!

 

People love to see themselves on camera- that's why it's on the LOF:

 

 

 

Jo then stepped off the stage and began to interview people in the crowd.  You know, what's your name, where are you from, that kind of thing:

 

 

Then she spotted me and said "I've got to go over here and speak to the captain:"

 

 

Jo is a brave lady to be shoving a live microphone into my face.  But, I played nice and said my name and where I was from.  Then I couldn't resist- I said I'd love to stay and chat, but I had to run and find out who was driving the ship.  I'm the captain, you know.  That brought some polite laughter from the crowd.

 

But, we really did have to go.

 

The TCD gang always goes up on to Deck 12 to watch the ship leave the canal and sail out into the ocean.

 

We will be heading there next.

 

Think about this:  We have already had a bunch of fun, and the ship has only just now started to move!

 

TCD

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

 

Yes, so far it was great.

 

The thing to remember is that to this point. we've only been on the ship for about four hours!

 

Our first day is just beginning!

 

 

I don't like the sound of that!  Hoping nothing terrible happened!

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

Good job getting on the screen and playing along for the crowd.

 

 

Is that Undercover Yuri with the camera in the middle of that photo?

 

No way that 70s stache is real, unless that guy is Dominican.

[alexwyattmommy 181]

You're the captain.  LOL

 

Looking forward to so much more.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

More like Thurston Howell III. 

[Grumpy and Grandma 739]

And glass sangria bottles.

And glass wine bottles.

And glass rum bottles.

And glass scotch bottles.

And glass vodka bottles.

And glass whiskey bottles.

And glass tequila bottles.

And....you get the idea. 

 

It's a wonderful policy.

And if you run out when you get to the next port your can restock, no problem.

[disney4dan 68]

Fourth page bragging rights (the new and improved FPBR).

 

I've got to stop letting my life get in the way of FF Net time.

 

Maybe a cruise is in the future for us soon. I'm enjoying this TR and you haven't even left port yet!