Adventure In The Great Wide Somewhere

Moments after finishing up Jedi Training and giving the training instructor their thank you notes, we hastened across the park to Toy Story Midway Mania. Our window on our 10:25 FastPass+ slid shut just after we arrived at 11:25.  Doesn't Duffy need glasses too? As we wound through the queue, Kylee noticed something a bit...unsettling. Duffy ran around all morning with us in his bear-thday suit! I assured her this could be quickly rectified after our trip through the midway.  High above the Midway Games The Midway held the top spot on my list of "I Have Never" attractions , so I was a bit intrigued to try my hand at it. I STINK at Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, so I figured I wouldn't have a prayer at a high (or even non=embarrassing score) on this ride, so I decided to help Kylee aim while she did the pulling.  Three to a seat at Toy Story Midway Mania I think this game was easier to play in many ways than Buzz, and certainly more f...

On fetching our cereal boxes and fruit from the lounge, Julia mentioned that they happened to recently complete the cabanas at the end of the family beach if we happened to be interested. The Lounge Hallway Intrigued, I let her know I'd check with Ben and get back to her. We ate breakfast. Thought it over. Looked at the bill for the cruise so far (it had been delivered either the night before or early that morning and was still well within our budget) and decided to go for it. Kylee takes Jazz. Not that you can tell or anything. Since we had gone back a time zone, (back to eastern from Atlantic) we were up very early. After wandering around the ship, we decided to drop off the last of the Fish Extender gifts. Ben joined us for handing out gifts, usually he sits out and we both remarked how the halls jagged to the right and left as you walked up the passenger decks. At the Art of Animation tour, the cast member had explained this was to avoid the endless hallway effe...

In case you've been on a deserted island for the last two years, Which come to think of it, doesn't sound like such a bad plan. Frozen is kind of a big deal. It passed Toy Story 3 as the highest grossing animated film. It won two Oscars for best animated film and best original song for "Let It Go." The soundtrack went triple platinum and (in a totally non-scientific observation) almost every other girl dressed as Elsa for "Elsa-ween 2014" despite the movie being nearly a year old at that point. After drawing waits upward of 300 minutes (yes, five hours, not a typo) at Walt Disney World meet and greets, it only seems natural that you should be able to see Anna and Elsa on the high seas. Last summer, the sister visited guests aboard the Disney Fantasy, the Magic and the Wonder and finally in the last month, the Dream. So how do you get to meet the princess and the ice queen? Do you need FastPasses? Do they even do that on the ship or do the lines g...

The exciting evening the night before and cruising into the Atlantic time zone combined to make our rising considerably later than normal. Like, the sun was up in the sky! So strange. After breakfast in Cabanas, the children begged to head over to the Oceaneer Lab. So off they went. Ben and I headed up to Meridian to wait for the beginning of what is usually one of our favorite presentations, the Art of the Theme Show Ship Tour. Everything the cast member told us about was a fascinating tidbit, but forty-five minutes of the tour were us sitting in the lounge. So it was more a tell than a show and tell and I missed that angle on the presentation. My favorite new fact from this particular rendition? From a family perspective, the reason that many people find vacations stressful is the complete swap of the routine. By allowing for the family to separate for individual activities and regroup for other activities, you preserve a sense of normal daily life. I love that Disney thinks abou...

Welcome Foodie Friday Blog Hoppers! Thank you Disney Day By Day for hosting. Mickey's Island Jam Character Breakfast Location: Parrot Cay, Disney Magic, May 2013 Cost: Included on 7+ night cruises on the classic ships On arriving at our appointed character breakfast, we joined our usual servers at our usual table. After taking our drink orders we perused the menu. Chris received his usual short stack of gluten-free pancakes and bacon while Kylee enjoyed dairy free pancakes and a fruit cup. Our servers remembered how much Chris loves his gluten free donuts and muffins and brought out enough on a plate to serve five. And Chris broke out his gluten free muffin happy dance for the occasion. The entertainment team got on the microphones to announce that our breakfast guests would be there shortly and that you needed your cameras out and autograph books at the ready. Our table either got it's food faster or something, but our kids finished their breakfast lickety-split....

Welcome Foodie Friday Blog Hoppers!  Tea With Alice  "Is this going to be girly mom?" Location: Studio Sea, Disney Magic Cost: Included in Cruise Fare, Ticket Required ( Pick up tickets for your party on embarkation at Guest Services) We arrived at Studio Sea (on the Re-Imagined Magic, this space is now known as "D Lounge") several minutes before our tea time. Seating is first come, first served and my daughter and son are on the petite side, so front row viewing is worth the extra time. This is not a high tea nor a traditional afternoon tea, as a matter of fact all the "tea" is apple juice! This matters little to the Oceaneers it is aimed for, but I figured a heads up was in order. Each table set beautifully with whimsically mismatched mugs, chocolate chip cookies and tea pots. The entertainment hostess made sure that a gluten free snack (read fruit plate) replaced our cookies. Fairly bouncing with excitement, Chris and Kylee tried t...