Adventure In The Great Wide Somewhere

Welcome Wordless Wednesday Blog Hoppers! Thank you to Focused on the Magic for hosting!  

Welcome Wordless Wednesday Blog Hoppers! This Wordless Wednesday is brought to you by my favorite Disney royalty, Mademoiselle Minnie Mouse! Mademoiselle Minnie Mouse Thank you to  Focused on the Magic  for hosting! To see what it's like to live as Disney royalty on the Disney Wonder or the Disney Fantasy check out my trip reports . 

Since this was the kiddos fourth cruise, they fully understand that Palo is a place just for moms and dads. A very special place that they look forward to visiting on their cruises after their birthdays. When we let them know that they could try Palo, just because of our lovely concierge hosts, they were *very* excited. Chris, despite starting to have a hoarse throat (Long nights? Kids clubs? Air travel?), could hardly contain his excitement as he has heard tell of the legendary Palo chocolate soufflé .  Starters, Saladas, Antipasti, Breads and Risotto Our server brought in all of the appetizers, salads and starters at one time and promised to return with the main course and finally the desserts. The chef split the antipasti onto a plate of meats and cheese (or as the server said, this one is not for the vegans) and one of olives, pickled vegetables and artichokes. Two salads had been sent for Kylee and I while Ben and Chris mixed and matched from the risotto and the mozzarell...

After an hour or so of enjoying the sun and sky, we decided to wander indoors and see what was going on around the ship. Yep. It's beautiful. As we neared the atrium, crowds gathered on each deck made it clear that something was about to happen, but the only vantage point as of yet untaken was directly at the top of the stairs. The line of site to the third deck blocked by a screen though it was, at least seemed uncrowded. I figured if we couldn't see a single thing, we could wander off to the Vista Café and get some drinks.  Right next to the suspiciously roped off portion of the atrium. We stood right next to a roped off section of deck four where the kids met Stitch the other afternoon. At the least, we wouldn't be in the way of passersby, but I hoped, perhaps we might get a little bit better than that. Clayton introduced a video clip on different holiday traditions of the crew members (we could see the video through the back of the screen, interestingly e...

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...

Welcome to the start of another fantastic trip report! I'm so thankful to get the opportunity to set sail aboard the Disney Fantasy from Port Canaveral and finally get to experience the Dream class ships!  Also known as the cruise of the selfie. Before diving into an in depth review, here is a brief overview of what you can look forward to in the coming trip report. Our first cruise on a Dream class ship, so lots of amazement and magic. Hot cocoas, sunscreen, and Jacuzzis. Qualifying trip for next year's Disney Parks Moms Panel  applications. (Best. Conciliation Prize. EVER!) Super fish extender group, so lots of fish extender fun. How to score an upgrade on a cruise. Progeny partaking of Palo's pastas in their pajamas. Christmas Decorations, Carolers, and making our own Gingerbread House. Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Stitch, Ariel, Tiana, Daisy, Jasmine, Cinderella and a few hundred magical moments. The Walter E. Disney Suite on the Dis...