Adventure In The Great Wide Somewhere

My dear prince charming is handsome, kind, chivalrous, and (very occasionally) dead wrong. When I first took serious interest in the Disney Cruise Line while overdosing on Travel Channel (my pregnancy bed rest companion), Ben didn't exactly hop onboard. He thought we or the kids would get sea sick , that we would be bored, that it was out of budget , and that it just wouldn't have the same pixie dust as Walt Disney World . There's one in every family. Boy, do we laugh about that now! Despite finding out that there are many ways to save your Disney dollars while heading to sea, we found that sometimes, Disney Cruise Lines even saves us money over Walt Disney World. There are several things that really helped win over my reluctant mouseketeer. Catch the Show Watch a show, video clip or DVD about Disney Cruise Line with your reluctant mouseketeer. Use This Strategy For: Young Mouseketeers who love Disney but seem uncertain about setting out to sea. Ad...

Two years into this blog and I've gained a lot of friends, a lot of tips and adventured all over in the process! Rather than wrapping out the year with a whimper, I'm looking back on the top ten posts of 2014.  (Honestly who doesn't love a good list?)  You've made it through all of this year's obstacles, time to celebrate! Can you think of a better way to launch into a brand new year than with a little extra pixie dust? If you missed them the first time around, give them a click. If you've already read them all, please skip down to the comments and let me know which one you liked the most! 10.) The Beginner's Guide to Disney Cruise Line Ever wonder exactly how you get from "I think it might be nice to actually try out a Disney Cruise" to actually counting down the days until embarkation? This is the least you need to know to figure out the when and how of booking and packing. It's a good place to start. 9.) Dollars and Sense | I...

Where can you find a magical group of kids who have spent more time at the Disney Parks than the average mouseketeer?   The DisKids , those pint-sized pixie dust experts, (and the children of the Disney Moms Panel finalists) provide big advice for the most magical vacations!

I slept like a baby that first night on the ship, actually every night on board. Something about the rocking motion and the sea air is very relaxing. I woke up bright and early and ready to run.  Mickey and Minnie I walked down past my favorite magical painting to deck four to hit the boards and run for a while.  This Is The Deck That Does Not End As I watched the sun rise, the thought occurred to me more than once that this is a significantly larger than the Magic and Wonder. First off, it took a lot longer to run a lap and second, you can hardly see one end of the deck from the other.  You sure can't complain about the view, though. Inside, it was still very quiet, so I took a couple pictures before I headed back to the room.  Mademoiselle Minnie Mouse Peacock Motif Continues Throughout the Ship's Holiday Décor The Stunning Chandelier Lovely! Then I decided a shower was in order so back up the stairs. Past The Artwork Show...

Then I look up and really start to take in the lobby with not a little bit of shock. The atrium on the Fantasy is huge and elegant and very impressive. The "we're not in Kansas anymore" faces. Thankfully a cast member spotted us and rather than heading out to Cabanas or Enchanted Garden for lunch, we were escorted to the forward elevator bank to take us straightaway up to the concierge lounge for a bit of a snack. On the elevators opening, we got our first peek at the lounge. Ahhh. All dark wood, and animation maquettes of Remy, Minnie and friends and a model of the Fantasy. We met Julia right away and she wanted to get right to work starting a personal itinerary for us. She suggested we grab some snacks off of the snack boards and catch some sun up on the concierge sun deck since all the tables in the lounge were occupied. The concierge terrarium sun deck. What a relaxing space! Kylee enjoying a lounger. The only time we ever saw more than tw...

We stepped forward and surrendered a key to the world card to the cast member at the supervisor desk as we asked if any upgrades were still available. She said that there were in fact two upgrades available. She said that an upgrade to a one bedroom concierge suite was available for a little over a thousand dollars. (That's about when the ridiculous grins broke out, because we were under our discussed budget and would be cruising concierge!) Then she scanned sideways on her grid and said that the Walter E Disney suite was available for a little over three thousand dollars. Ben and I discussed it in depth. In advance. So, grinning like the Cheshire Cat, we turned over all of our stateroom 5052 key to the world cards. (They let Kylee keep her old card after it was deactivated, just so she could have a card in her lanyard.) They charged the upgrade to our room, then they handed our new (gold) key to the world cards to a concierge cast member who walked us to the...

After taking their sweet time settling down to bed the night before, I was quite startled when Kylee woke up at four in the morning. Eastern Standard Time. When we're from the Central Time Zone. Well anyways, we were up. Chris stayed asleep, so I let Kylee crawl in on my side of the bed hoping that everyone else could stay asleep and maybe I could get some winks in too. By five-thirty it became painfully obvious that Kylee wasn't going to go back to sleep, so we grabbed her "embarkation day" Ziploc bag. (We always pack full outfits for the kids together with bows and accessories to make it easy to hand out clothes for the day.) While Kylee brushed her hair, I took a quick shower. Since we were still on the dark o'clock side of things, I dressed and got ready for the day because Kylee loves watching me get ready and it keeps her calm and quiet. Deluxe King Hyatt Regency-pardon the mess Ben admitted defeat and dressed as well and last of all, Chris rustled...