Adventure In The Great Wide Somewhere

We hit the pool deck right before the Mickey Pool opened for the day. <<< Waddle This Way As the cast member finished clearing away the net over the Mickey pool, Pumbaa and Timon helped us remember how important it is to be "Wild About Safety." Watching Pumbaa pay homage to Ariel, the little mermaid is worth watching the safety video. The pool opened and the kids flocked in with several of their new best buds. The AquaDuck didn't open for another half hour so I huddled under a towel as there was quite a high wind blowing about the deck. Watching the crew prepare the AquaDuck while keeping an eye on our kids, they set out several "beware high winds" notices and a sign that said that no single riders would be allowed on the AquaDuck. Five minutes before the 'Duck was set to open, Kylee could not wait another second, so we decided to begin the queue. After passing the height check with flying colors, Kylee and I mounted the stairs up into the ...

The first time we took the plunge (so to speak) the ship looked beautiful, the staterooms comfortable but would "rotational dining," prominently featured in the Disney Cruise Line planning DVD live up to the Disney magic? Besides, what is rotational dining? Do I need to make ADRs? What about snacks, room service, and coffee? Rotational Dining   n. an innovative and unique dining plan where a family and serving team rotate to each of the three main dining rooms together and in turn so that you can experience each of the different restaurants. Main Dining or Late Dining? During booking, the option to select either the main or late seating for dinner pops up after you enter your cruiser information. During each dinner seating the Walt Disney Theatre hosts the evenings show so while main dining enjoys dinner then a show, late dining enjoys the early show followed by late dinner. This is really a matter of personal preference. Late diners enjoy t...

Although Disney lists limits on dress (no swimwear in the dining rooms, etc.) here on their website, what exactly do people "normally" wear?   I've got you covered. Formal, Semi-Formal, Cruise Casual, Optional Dress Up, or Pirate will be noted as the evening attire on the front corner of your Personal Navigator each day. So let's break those down Formal These evenings, most guests seem to go with somewhere in the range of "Sunday Best" to cocktail dress. Some opt for tuxes and ball gowns (when else can you really wear one?) Jackets, although requested on the website, seem pretty rare. Dark slacks and a button down are more common.  Rocking the sweater vests and tiaras. The little princesses often choose a favorite costume from their wardrobe (yes, leftover Halloween costumes, tiaras and fairy wings are welcome) while the boys range from tiny suits to khakis and sweater vests and full length jeans are not unheard of in the elementary set. ...

Welcome Foodie Friday Blog Hoppers! Peppermint Tea Location: Room Service, Dining Rooms and Drink Stations, Disney Magic Cost: Included in Cruise Fare So for all of the coffee drinkers on the ship there is a full on café to meet your every whim. But for those of us on the tea drinking side, we luck into getting our drink of choice included pretty much all over the ship. Ahhhhh. After pretty nearly every meal on board I'll enjoy a nice cup of tea (almost always peppermint) and feel super civilized. At home I rarely (if ever) drink any kind of tea. It's super easy to make tea, it's just a matter of taking the time to sit, relax and go through the process. Now that I think of it, I feel like it is more special to me because I only ever drink tea on vacations! Do you have any foods you save for vacation?

  Welcome Tiggerific Tuesday Trivia blog hoppers.   Thanks again to Jodi from  +Magical Mouse Schoolhouse , Heidi from  +Heidi's Head , Jenn from Disney Babies Blog  and  +Mike Ellis  for co-hosting! Did You Know... If you just don't feel like eating at the crack of dawn breakfast (6:45 AM breakfast anybody?) assigned to the main dining rotation on disembarkation morning, you don't have to starve? I highly recommend taking the last opportunity to say goodbye to your serving team, but sometimes the hectic nature of preparing for debarkation doesn't make that easy or smooth. Or maybe one of your children managed to somehow sleep in until a reasonable hour and your assigned breakfast. (They only assign breakfast times the last morning.)  Yes, Kylee is eating peanut butter directly from a tub with the back end of a fork. What can I say, she loves peanut butter. Available on request or near the toast and jellies. Room se...

Welcome Blog Hoppers to The Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere "Shorts Saturday" Blog Hop for the week of November 9, 2013. Every week, I host this link up blog hop to let all Disney bloggers share a short and sweet version of their Disney love as we answer Disney related questions. I'd love for you to grab the button and link up your post! We all love comments, so half the fun is visiting each other's blogs and commenting on their thoughts. For more details, see the bottom of this post or the Shorts Saturday tab at the top of the page.   Our Shorts Saturday prompt this week is "My Favorite Restaurant < 50 words"  Want unparalleled and unstuffy service in an intimate “adults only” setting? You want Palo. This romantic restaurant serves a delicious menu prepared by chefs who will create vegan off-menu dishes even my carnivore husband craves. Almost outshining the panoramic ocean views, my favorite server, Sylvester treats me like a princess...

Welcome Foodie Friday Blog Hoppers! White Bean Crostini Location: Palo, Deck 10 Aft Disney Magic Cost: $25 plus cost of cruise fare After arriving at Palo, getting a glance at the open kitchen design and enjoying a lovely Specialita’ Del Palo: Antipasto Freddo, the ordered portion of your dining experience begins. If you have any form of allergy or dining restrictions, this is where the chef begins to dazzle. One of the lovely parts of a Disney Cruise is the opportunity to try some truly delicious appetizers and those of us who eat slightly off menu (I'm a vegan) enjoy the royal treatment at sea. My last cruise I received this lovely new creation from Chef Silvio Jr.   Vegan White Bean Crostini A warm, aromatic white bean served rustic style atop crostini easily made a dent in my appetite. Homey comforting and garlicy (my three favorite food words after basalmic) this playful vegan appetizer satisfyingly sated my appetite without fe...

Welcome Foodie Friday Blog Hoppers! Palo Brunch Location: Palo, Deck 10 Aft, The Disney Magic Cost: $20 $25 For all Disney cruisers over 18, Palo is synonomous with attentive service, delectable dining and adult only romantic ambience. As of tomorrow's sailing on the Dream, all Palo brunch and dinner reservations will increase by five dollars. Disney plans to honor the $20 price for previously booked diners. (Score one for planning ahead!) So once again, we're back to the old million dollar question. Is Palo worth it for brunch? Memo to me, get a panorama of the buffet next cruise. Palo brunch consists of a buffet of various freshly baked breads, rolls and pastries, grilled marinated vegetables, Alaskan king crab legs, made to order pizzas, smoked salmon, pancakes, tiramisu, lemon meringue, cold cuts, marinated artichokes, cheeses and more desserts and tarts than you could ever eat. Hot dishes made fresh to order include the beloved chicken parmesan, pastas of ...

Thanksgiving Dinner, y'all!   Our servers said we were welcome to keep these menus!  So happy. Heading to the aft and Parrot Cay, our table already had the cornbread service and butter out, along with some nondairy rolls for the vegans. All apparently super yummy. Love this! Aromatic, light and flavorful. Kylee and I had preordered stir fried veggies and the servers brought us more couscous, since we’d liked that the other day. You aren't in danger of starving. They also brought us the Gingered Soba Noodles, “just to try it”. Stir Fried veggies. I think the noodles were pretty good, the couscous was quite yummy but the stir fried veggies had this greasiness that was hard to get around. Chris and Ben enjoyed their standard Thanksgiving Dinner with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry jelly, and cornbread and honey butter. I ran to drop Kylee for a short time in the club and headed back in time to eat some dessert. This showed up… Tort...

Welcome Foodie Friday Blog Hoppers! Specialita’ Del Palo: Antipasto Freddo Prosciutto, Bresaola, Parmesan Reggiano, Marinated Olives and Sun-dried Tomatoes Location: Palo, The Disney Magic Cost: $20 per person for the brunch plus cruise fare On arriving at Palo for dinner, after seeing the kitchen and being escorted to your table, you receive a beautiful bread course (which is a Foodie Friday post unto itself.) Then, while nibbling on bread and perusing the menu, your server wheels around the "Specialita’ Del Palo" the antipasto cart.  Beautiful Antipasti Plate Selecting delicate nibbles based on your preferences, your server loads up a plate. Then drizzles it liberally with your selection of vinegars (go for the balsamic!) and olive oil, unless you would prefer your plate plain, of course.  The vegan antipasto offered generous portions of olives, artichokes, olive tampenade and artichokes.  Thankfully, most of your bread is untou...

Welcome Foodie Friday Blog Hoppers! Gorgonzola and Grape Pizza with a Port Wine Reduction Sauce Location: Palo, The Disney Magic Cost: $20 per person for the brunch plus cruise fare I know, it sounds weird.  Grape Pizza?  Grapes? Yep, actual red grapes grace the top of this savory, sweet delectation. Ben enjoyed this for the first time on our Thanksgiving 2012 vacation during brunch. (Pizzas are not available at the dinner seating.) Ben puts this in a very close second as his favorite food on deck following the Palo Chocolate Soufflé Ben says that this is an indescribably weird and delicious brunch selection and definitely a must try.  For what it's worth, he's ordered it twice since then eschewing sampling the rest of the brunch offerings in favor of this oddly topped, perfectly crisp crusted pie. If you aren't willing to commit to a whole pizza worth of grapes, they allow you to order half each of two types of pizza. Being v...