Baby's 1st Cruise on the Fantasy!

[schmass]

Hello! Welcome to my first pre-trip report!

In the past 6 years, I have been to Disney World 8 times, Disneyland once, and on 2 Disney cruises, and yet this is the first time I’m going to attempt a report! What has changed that suddenly makes me want to start documenting my Disney vacations?

This little guy:

This is our DS - Rory. This picture was taken when he was just a few days old. He is now 14 months, and will turn 16 months during the cruise. He has changed our lives in the best ways possible, and I don’t want to forget anything about the wonderful moments we share.


So, here goes… In 58 days we will be setting sail on the Disney Fantasy. It will be our first time on the Fantasy. Our first cruise was on the Dream, and our second was on the Magic. We will be on the September 6th Eastern Caribbean cruise and we can’t wait!

You’ve just met DS, but here is the rest of the cast:

Me:

This picture was taken during this year's Princess 1/2 marathon. I’m the Dis-nut of the family. I grew up going to the World during summer vacations and then didn’t go back for several years due to college, etc. My first trip back after a long hiatus was in 2008 and got hooked again. I am the planner of the family.

DH, Michael:

DH had been to Disney a couple of times as a kid, and I think he was surprised at how much he enjoyed our first trip together as adults. He likes our Disney World vacations, but LOVES the Disney cruises. It was after our first cruise that he even suggested we become DVC members (which I couldn’t say no to)!

My MIL and FIL will also be joining us on this cruise. They live across the country, so they don’t get to see Rory as much as they would like to. We’re hoping this will be a win-win for all: they can spend time with him, and we can spend some time in the adult areas of the ship.

Coming up next: our plans so far!

 

[schmass]

I decided that I didn’t want to take any chances with flying into Florida the morning of the cruise. And since we are DVC members, our hotel is basically free, right? I chose a flight that left at 7:15pm on Friday evening and got into Orlando at 10:15pm. I figured this would be good because A) Rory would sleep on the plane, and B) we would still be able to work a full day and wouldn’t need to take any time off for that day.

Rory is a pretty experienced traveler by now, and has done very well on each of his flights so far. On almost every flight we have taken, someone usually comments as we are leaving that they didn’t even know there was a baby right behind them. As he is getting older, he is more squirmy and wants to climb on everything, so flights during his normal sleep time are important!

Here’s a picture of him on his first flight at 4 months old:

I just got an email from JetBlue saying that our flight now leaves at 8:30pm and lands around 11:15pm – ugh. Hopefully we can ALL sleep on the plane. By the time we get to the resort, we’ll all just crash (hopefully!), so I will have to leave exploring the resort for the next morning. We are taking the DCL bus to the port since we aren’t bringing a carseat, so I think we’ll have some time to check out our surroundings and maybe even hit the pool!

My in-laws will also be flying in on Friday, I believe, but we won't meet up with them until the next day at the port!

Up next: Where we are staying

 

[schmass]

We’ll be staying at…

Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village

It’s our first time staying here. I’ve always wanted to stay here, yet I never actually do because I’m scared that it’s too far away from the parks. We usually stay at the Boardwalk, because we love to walk to/from Epcot and DHS. When we went this past February, we stayed at Bay Lake Tower and loved being able to walk to MK. I figured that a one night stay would give us a feel for the resort even though we’ll only have a few hours to spend there on Saturday morning. If anyone is actually reading this – have you ever stayed at AKL/AKV? Thoughts on the resort?

I’m hoping that we won’t be up at 5am after going to bed around 1am, but Rory is pretty consistent. We went away for a few days this past weekend and every day at 5am he would spring up in that pack n play, ready to start the day!

My goal is to go get a quick breakfast at the Mara. I had originally entertained the idea of going to Boma for breakfast, but I think we’ll be eating plenty for the next 7 days and I don’t need to add a breakfast buffet on top of that!

Then hopefully we can hit the pool for a little bit!

We are taking the DCL bus to the port – does anyone know around what time we might expect to leave?

 

[schmass]

Does anyone want to join me? Anyone? Bueller?

 

[KatMark]

I saw you post on my TR or PTR (hard to remember when you have two reports going) and saw your link...so here I am.

Rory is absolutely adorable!!! I just want to kiss those sweet cheeks.

You are going to LOVE AKL/Kidani. This will be our third time there. As for it being far out, yes, it is. But we always have a car (I hate Disney's transportation) so it doesn't bother us. The resort is simply stunning and you will fall in love with it.

 

[schmass]

I saw you post on my TR or PTR (hard to remember when you have two reports going) and saw your link...so here I am.

Rory is absolutely adorable!!! I just want to kiss those sweet cheeks.

You are going to LOVE AKL/Kidani. This will be our third time there. As for it being far out, yes, it is. But we always have a car (I hate Disney's transportation) so it doesn't bother us. The resort is simply stunning and you will fall in love with it.

Yay, my first reader!

Thank you, we think Rory is pretty cute too. We swear he hides food in those cheeks to save for later!

I'm very excited to check out AKV - I just wish we'd have a little more time there!

 

[schmass]

Cruise plans so far - Sea days

We haven’t made a lot of plans so far. When we go to the parks, I plan everything out, but on a cruise I like to be more laid back. I guess I kind of have to be since we don’t get the Navigator until the night before, right?

Sept 6 – Embarkation – Depending on what time the DCL bus drops us off at the port, we’ll meet up with the in-laws and then board the ship. I’m setting my expectations for this to be around 2pm, but hoping it will be earlier.

Immediately after boarding, I need to tell a Cast Member that I need to attend a “Dining Session” (more on that later…). I’m hoping that we’ll be able to get lunch at this point. Does anyone know what time the dining rooms/buffets stop serving lunch? We’ll probably be pretty hungry if we eat an early breakfast, but I don’t want to eat too much since we have the early dinner! I think Rory will like the Sail Away party as he loves music, so we’ll catch that. Other than unpacking, I’m not sure what else we’ll fit in this day. I do want to see if we can sign up for Mixology, too!

Sept 7 – Sea day – I’m sure we’ll take time to explore the ship and take Rory to Nemo’s Reef. He is going to LOVE that! I’d like to see if there is a morning spin class being offered; I did that on the last cruise and really enjoyed it, although it was much different than the spinning I do at my gym at home. Maybe Michael and I can hit the Rainforest Room if the in-laws will watch Rory for a bit. I’m sure we’ll really have to twist their arms for that…

Sept 8 – Sea day – Michael and I have a Palo brunch reservation! This will be our third Palo brunch experience.

I imagine we’ll also probably have more pool time, Nemo’s Reef, maybe we can attend an Open House at the Kid’s Club so Rory can check it out. Hopefully more gym time (work off the Palo brunch!), Rainforest Room, and maybe even a movie.

 

[KatMark]

I know nothing about cruises since we've never taken one and haven't really read many TR's about them, so I don't know a lot about what you are talking about.

I do know that I have read several reviews on Palo and it always gets high marks.

What is a spin class?

 

[VFG]

I can't wait to hear how he likes the cruise. We are taking our toddler on a cruise in April.

 

[schmass]

I know nothing about cruises since we've never taken one and haven't really read many TR's about them, so I don't know a lot about what you are talking about.

I do know that I have read several reviews on Palo and it always gets high marks.

What is a spin class?

Yes, Palo is unbelievable. I normally eat a very healthy diet, but at Palo, it's anything goes, because it is all worth it!

A spin class is a group exercise class on stationary bikes. So much fun and a great workout!

I can't wait to hear how he likes the cruise. We are taking our toddler on a cruise in April.

Welcome! How old will your toddler be? Where are you going?

 

[schmass]

I checked JetBlue yesterday, and noticed that our flight had been pushed back even further. Now we weren't scheduled to land until 11:30pm! I told Michael about it this morning and said that the next latest flight was a 4:30pm departure, and if I was even able to change it, that would mean we'd have to take a 1/2 day off of work. He was fine with that and said he wanted more time to check out the resort.

I called JetBlue this morning, not knowing if they would be willing to switch it, but they were! They said because the change was more than an hour different from the original flight that they could. So now we depart at 4:30pm and land at 7:41. We'll still arrive too late to really check out the resort that night, but this way we'll be able to get a decent night's sleep and be wide awake for Rory's 5am wake up call!

Now, hopefully the little guy will still fall asleep on the plane...

 

[KatMark]

I checked JetBlue yesterday, and noticed that our flight had been pushed back even further. Now we weren't scheduled to land until 11:30pm! I told Michael about it this morning and said that the next latest flight was a 4:30pm departure, and if I was even able to change it, that would mean we'd have to take a 1/2 day off of work. He was fine with that and said he wanted more time to check out the resort.

I called JetBlue this morning, not knowing if they would be willing to switch it, but they were! They said because the change was more than an hour different from the original flight that they could. So now we depart at 4:30pm and land at 7:41. We'll still arrive too late to really check out the resort that night, but this way we'll be able to get a decent night's sleep and be wide awake for Rory's 5am wake up call!

Now, hopefully the little guy will still fall asleep on the plane...

Awesome that JetBlue did that!

 

[schmass]

Awesome that JetBlue did that!

I know! I love JetBlue and have always been very happy with their customer service, but wouldn't have been surprised if we weren't able to change it. Now I'm wondering if I should have re-scheduled to the 2:30pm flight. Although we probably still wouldn't check in until around 7, and Rory would need to go to bed then anyway. And chances for a 4:30 nap are better than a 2:30 nap!

 

[schmass]

The next few days are our port days, and this is what I have planned for each port. It is definitely more challenging planning port days with a baby than when it was just Michael and I!

Sept 9 – St. Maarten – For our St. Maarten day, I am planning to just take the water taxi over to the main beach. There weren’t really any excursions that appealed to me, especially since the choices are fairly limited with a baby. This way I don’t need to worry about a car seat, and we can spend as much or as little time at the beach as we want to. I figure we will get more pool time, etc, back on the ship, too.

Rory's first time at the beach was last weekend!

Sept 10 – St. Thomas/St. John – I have heard that St. John is very beautiful and not to be missed, so we wanted to head over there. Most of the beach excursions for St. John require a minimum age of 5, so I have reserved the St. John Island Tour for all of us. To be honest we’re not big relax on the beach people anyway, so I think going to the beach at St. Maarten and Castaway Cay will be sufficient. Does anyone have any experience with this tour? It is 4 hours long, so after that I think I might check out Yacht Haven Grande and do a little (window) shopping when we return.

Sept 11 – Sea day – probably more of the same activities that I listed for our other sea days

Sept 12 – Castaway Cay – I’d like to do the Castaway Cay 5k. I did it in 2011 and it was really informal, but it seems like maybe it’s a little bigger production now? Either way, it was really fun, although very humid! We also plan to rent bikes on the island, and hopefully we can get one with a baby seat so we can ride as a family! This is also Michael’s birthday!

 

[schmass]

Sept 13 – Disembarkation – Disembarking is always so sad. I was surprised exactly how sad I felt when we were preparing to disembark on our first cruise. Even on a 4 night cruise, we got so attached to our dining servers, stateroom hosts, and the other people we were seated with at dinner. Michael had to remind me to stop being so sad because we were headed to Disney World and that perked me up. So, I figured that we better head to Disney World this time, as well!

We’ll be taking the DCL bus and heading to another new (to us) resort. We are heading to…

The Grand Floridian Villas!

The rooms here are pretty expensive per point, so I’m not sure how often we’ll be able to stay here. I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to check it out! I was very excited that I was able to get a reservation at 7 months out.

At this point I’m not really sure what our plans look like for the weekend. We are flying out the next evening at 6:30pm, so I’m figuring our Magical Express pickup will be at 3:30. I’m really hoping that we will be able to head to Magic Kingdom either on Saturday or Sunday, but one-day tickets are so expensive!!! I have a former co-worker whose dad worked for Disney and he still gets an allotment of passes. He said that he may have a few extras that we could have, so I’m REALLY hoping this works out.

I should know soon if that is going to happen. So here is my dilemma(s):
1. If we don’t get free tickets – is it worth $200 to go to MK for one day?
2. If we do get tickets (free or purchased) – should we go to MK on Saturday or Sunday?

If we go on Saturday – Pros: more time to spend at the park, could catch the Festival of Fantasy parade Cons: busier park day (easywdw has it as Not recommended), we’d miss rope drop, would be anxious to get on the DCL bus and get to the park quickly

If we go on Sunday – Pros: less crowded park day (easywdw has it as most recommended, get there for rope drop, Saturday would be more relaxing Cons: only have about 5 ½ hours to spend at the park, we’d miss Festival of Fantasy parade

Any suggestions?

 

[KatMark]

Your plans for your excursions sound great.

Rory looks adorable with his toes in the sand.

I have heard that the points for the GF Villas are high (Mark only wants to try one night wtih the Dumbo bed; otherwise he is not a fan of the GF...just not his style at all).

I personally would go on Saturday...but that's just me. I just can't see spending all that money for only 5 - 5-1/2 hours playing (and that doesn't count bathroom stops, etc.). I have never paid attention to any of those touring plans and we've been very fortunate.

 

[schmass]

I personally would go on Saturday...but that's just me. I just can't see spending all that money for only 5 - 5-1/2 hours playing (and that doesn't count bathroom stops, etc.). I have never paid attention to any of those touring plans and we've been very fortunate.

Thanks for the input! I am really struggling with this decision! And of course my husband doesn't have an opinion because I "know best".

 

[Dugette]

Joining in! I finally made it over here and caught up!

Totally agree on the importance of flying during normal sleep time! Makes a huge difference with a toddler.

We stayed at AKL once in 2010 and LOVED it!! Such a great resort! Loved the rooms, loved the food, loved the views of the animals, etc. I’ve also heard that Kidani has a great toddler splash pad area, so you may want to check that out.

Sounds like you like the Palo brunch. Good to hear, as we are thinking we’ll want to do that when we go on the Dream in May (first Disney cruise).

Hmmm, with the earlier flight you may be able to check out the night-vision goggles to view the animals when you arrive, if you’re not too tired.

Yes, getting off a cruise is so sad! It feels like you’re being kicked out of a fantastic place and another group gets to take over. But going to WDW should help, you’re right!

Hmmm, tough call on the park day. If you get the free passes, would they only be for one day? Are they upgradable? Will the Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party have started yet? Maybe you could go for that, if there was one on Saturday night and then use tickets on Sunday? Or you could be like me and get an Annual Pass and plan a return trip in under a year.

 

[schmass]

I found out yesterday that we will be able to get the free tickets! I'm so excited! I was also told that if we want to be signed into another park, that we might be able to do that, too.

So now I'm thinking, maybe we can hang out at the resort on Saturday afternoon and then head over to Epcot, get signed in, take the generous man who is signing us in and giving us the park passes to dinner. Maybe we could catch a ride or two, and if Rory is cooperating, stay for Illuminations.

Then Sunday would be hit MK at rope drop and stay until 2:30.

 

[schmass]

Joining in! I finally made it over here and caught up!

Welcome, I'm glad you made it over here!!

Totally agree on the importance of flying during normal sleep time! Makes a huge difference with a toddler.

We stayed at AKL once in 2010 and LOVED it!! Such a great resort! Loved the rooms, loved the food, loved the views of the animals, etc. I’ve also heard that Kidani has a great toddler splash pad area, so you may want to check that out.

We will definitely have to check out the splash area at Animal Kingdom. Rory loves to get soaked!

Sounds like you like the Palo brunch. Good to hear, as we are thinking we’ll want to do that when we go on the Dream in May (first Disney cruise).


You are going to love your first Disney cruise - how old will Izzy be then?

Hmmm, with the earlier flight you may be able to check out the night-vision goggles to view the animals when you arrive, if you’re not too tired.

That would be awesome!

Yes, getting off a cruise is so sad! It feels like you’re being kicked out of a fantastic place and another group gets to take over. But going to WDW should help, you’re right!

Hmmm, tough call on the park day. If you get the free passes, would they only be for one day? Are they upgradable? Will the Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party have started yet? Maybe you could go for that, if there was one on Saturday night and then use tickets on Sunday? Or you could be like me and get an Annual Pass and plan a return trip in under a year.

My original thought was to go to the Halloween Party, but they don't offer it on Saturdays, unfortunately. I thought about getting APs when we were buying our tickets for this past February, but I think we'll take next year off...