Organised Chaos: September 2012

Today we were up and at 'em nice and early. Today was Mickey boat day!! We ended up cancelling our breakfast ADR at 1900 Park Fare. I was a little disappointed as I would have loved seeing inside the Grand Floridian but it was probably a good idea as it was a huge day. We ate all sorts of random items from the fridge for breakfast then packed the car and said goodbye to Windsor Hills.

Loaded up!

Ready to go

We hit the road with our GPS set for the Dollar Car Rental office in Cape Canaveral. First we had a few quick stops to make. We went to the Publix supermarket to see if we could get stamps and to change a $500 travellers cheque for cash. Well they only had local stamps and they didn't carry that sort of cash. Can you believe it? What kind of supermarket doesn't have $500 cash? Anyhow they were helpful in pointing us in the direction of a few doors down to a mail place. It was really good as they had all sorts of stamps and could send anything, anywhere in the world. I have noted this place for next time. We then took a quick detour to Downtown Disney so I could post some postcards back home.

Fountain at Downtown Disney

World of Disney Store

We then headed towards Cape Canaveral. We stopped at a Publix not far from the Port to grab some snacks and to try and change the travellers cheques again, once again it was fruitless. We then got back on the road and caught sight of the gorgeous Fantasy in port waiting for us <3. We then made our way to the rental car office and Steve went in to drop the keys while I unloaded car seats etc. We then boarded the shuttle bus and had to wait about 20 mins before we left for the ship.

There she is!

We arrived at the Disney Cruise Terminal after dropping off some Carnival passengers. We dropped our luggage off to a porter and went straight into the terminal. We went to the international check in line which is a lot quicker than the US citizen one and within minutes we were checked in and given the ok to board. We took some quick photos of us with Minnie in her nautical outfit and also a few around the terminal and then we headed on to board. The line to check the kids into the club was long so I decided I'd check them in on the ship.

Disney Cruise Terminal Building

Nautical Minnie

Model Ship

Mickey Ear tunnel

Heading onto the ship

We were announced as we entered the ship and I was blown away by the beauty. The Disney Dream is gorgeous but I think the colour scheme on the Fantasy was more my style. Wow! We headed straight up to Cabanas for lunch. They had a big spread of assorted deliciousness so we dove right in. After lunch the kids and Steve got dessert from the Eye Scream station. It was then time to go check out our room.

Heading to lunch

Lamb, crab, mash potato, asparagus, salad

Cake

The Mickey slide that Brandon loves

Eye Scream

Self service yumminess!

Oh how I love the rooms on this cruise ship, they are small but totally liveable and functional. The bed is so comfy and I love the red cushion that says "A dream is a wish you heart makes, when you're fast asleep" I really wanted to buy one and they do have them for sale but at $189 for a cushion I couldn't justify it. The kids love the pull down bunk and the lounge that converts into a bed too. When we got to the room we had so many surprised waiting for us. First was our Castaway Club member gifts. We got a backpack, Chip n Dale snacks and a keyring. We were also given Silver Castaway Club Lanyards at check in. The second gift waiting was what I ordered from The Perfect Gift. Shirley is well known in the cruise section of the Disboards and makes up cruise gift baskets with a personalised touch. I emailed her about it a few weeks prior and gave a list of snacks, drinks and candy we liked for a kids basket each and a joint one for Steve and I. She just chose stuff we liked and put it together. It was fantastic and I'd do it again. The last gift was from our TA at Dreams Unlimited, Kelsie. Just a few weeks prior they had started trials of gift baskets for those booked with Dreams unlimited on a 7 night cruise out of Port Canaveral. This was an awesome surprise that I didn't even know about until we got to our room. It was so thoughtful!!

The pretty pillow/cushion

Our waiting goodies

Adult Tote

Kids cruise baskets

Dreams Unlimited Gift

Castaway Club Backpack

Contents of the Dreams Gift

Adult basket contents

The kids were dying for a swim so I made them wait while I decorated the door then we took them. Before long it was time for the safety drill. It seemed to take a lot longer than the one we did on the Dream the year before. The kids were really painful and antsy the whole time. I was glad to be released! Then it was time to be Sailing Away!! The sailing away party is always fun and noisy so the kids liked it. We stood by the railing and watched as we departed Cape Canaveral.

Our stateroom door - Covered in magnets and our Fish Extender

On our way to the pool

My alcoholic beverage!

The Mickey Pool

Crowded much?

Randoms on the Aqua Duck

Leaving the port

Cocoa Beach

We then headed back to the room to get ready for dinner. Our first night we would be dining at my favourite, Royal Court. The food was delicious. I loved everything I ordered but especially the lamb. At home we eat lamb at least once a week, it is a favourite here. Over in the States it is a lot harder to come by.

Brandon

Cute

Bread

Cauliflower soup

Steak

Lamb......drool

Peytons Vanilla ice cream

Mickey Bar!!

Grand Marnier Soufflé

Oh my absolute heaven!

After dinner we went to book the kids into the club. As the majority of this was done online earlier it was a pretty simple process. I just had to round them up for their Mickey bands. We left them there and went to relax with some peace and quiet in the room. I took some photos around the place while Steve watched a movie. I picked them up at around 10:00pm. We had invitations to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and some chocolates and a cute towel monkey in the room, the kids loved the towel animals. They then had showers went to bed.