Magic-al Thanksgiving Cruise - Go For The Ears

 After picking up pointers from Marisol, I finally let her go enjoy her cruise. We picked up the kiddos and took them back to the room for some rest and snacks. While they play with them endlessly, the counselors don't feed snacks in the clubs. If we hadn't picked them up they would've gotten hungry and super grump-tastic.
I talked to a very kind lady at the room service number, who said that we couldn't order vegan cookies through room service. Well I knew (based on previous Disney trips) that perhaps I'd only caught the wrong cast member. I called right back and got someone else who said they'd be delighted to make us a plate of cookies, but that it takes a couple hours since they don't keep allergy free foods on hand. I asked if we could just order a plate for four the following afternoon. She said yes.

But the kids still needed snack...so I ordered Chris his first ever Mickey Bar as well as one for Ben and a bowl of fruit for Kylee and me to split.

Of the list of things I'd never thought of as something you need to explain to your child, eating a Mickey Bar was somewhere well below don't talk with your mouthful.
But on unwrapping and handing it to him, I realized that some things require being taught, as he sat there smiling at it. He was happy as a clam, just didn't know how to eat it.


So Ben obligingly demonstrated.

See, you go for the ears first!

Oh, okay.

After fruit and a bit of chilling out resting, I gathered up Kylee, a packet of Skittles, our tickets and Kylee's autograph book and pen and headed over to Studio Sea for our turn at Tea with Alice. We ran into Kathryn and her daughter waiting outside the Studio and we chatted a bit while the girls peered down into the atrium while we waited to be admitted. A cheerful cast member showed up and started admitting those with tickets. Kylee examined the set up at the front of the room and then selected a little table for just the two of us.

Alice and the Hatter's Tea spread

It was an adorable layout, with some non-vegan cookies (memo to me remember to order vegan cookies when I pick up tickets) and tea cups from all over the ship (creating a cute mad tea party effect) and apple juice in a thankfully non-breakable teapot. After a short while, Alice and the Mad Hatter both came out, sang for a bit invited up two guests to be the March Hare and the White Rabbit and taught the rest of us how to pour and drink tea "The Queen's Way."

Not quite the "Queen's Way"

Alice helpfully demonstrated the do's while the Mad Hatter ran through all the don’ts to hilarious effect. He even taught us how to sip tea with our pinkies up.

Kylee quite enjoyed pouring tea, eating her Skittles and watching the capers of Alice and The Hatter. Afterwards, they lined everyone up for "pictures please, but no autographs." This fell apart almost as the cast member announced it as behind him, by the table, Alice and the Hatter paused in the middle of autographing the first few guests’ books.

So everyone got photos and autographs. Kylee loved talking to Alice, especially as Alice told her about her cat Dinah and asked after Kylee's cat, who Kylee explained couldn't come with us on board. Dinah couldn't come to wonderland either, so they had that in common as well.
After a quick restroom run, we found Ben and Chris, who had been enjoying the shuffleboard while we were busy at tea and wandered the deck a bit before Kylee insisted she was starving and settled for some french fries on deck from Pluto's Dog House.

French Fry Happy Dance

Much to Ben's chagrin, she decided she did want to head back into the club at this point.
This post is Part 7 of an Ongoing Trip Report Covering Our Thanksgiving Cruise 2012