Cruisin with the Sod God Day 7 Character Breakfast & 2nd Dip of Castaway Cay!!
The Mouse tells us hes still so darn glad were here and that were not in rehab from all the Panama Hats consumed the prior day, and hey, theres big doins yet againcome to my Character Breakfast!!! WOW with an early dining seating that Character Breakfast is EARLY---I mean SERIOUSLY!!! (Hah, just wait for TOMORROWthey really sock it to you on departure day!!)
Ours is scheduled in Parrot Cay for 8:00 a.m., it sure was rough getting those teen boys up to have breakfast with a bunch of Disney characters!! This was REQUIRED Forced Family FunI lifted this phrase from my DF Judy at work!! LOL!! There are many things in life that we dont want to do, when youre a teenage boy 
that means MOST family thingsif you have teenagers, you can surely relate. The 3 Fs come into play many times while on vacation! Dinner every night with the rents and Character Breakfast were both mandatory FFF requirements on this trip.
By the time we got to breakfast, we still werent to CCYippee, our table (#10) is right by the window!!! Wow did it get noisy when we reversed and backed in!! Breakfast was GOOD (Id heard all kinds of horror stories about runny eggs, etc.), but it was pretty darn tasty! I would equate this with a character breakfast at Chef Mickeysthey all would stop at a table, sign autographs if you wanted, then you posed for a picture (Shutters crew only took ours with Mickey)they waited for us to get our own shots in, as well, so that was really nice. Here are some pix:
Look at this cutie patootie--DF Janet & Mikes' DS Jack!!
We got off the ship and headed to She Sellswe found out in the shops the night before that there would be EXCLUSIVE! TWICE THE MAGIC! MERCHANDISE! AVAILABLE ONLY ON CASTAWAY CAY! GET THERE QUICKLY! OK, so we are suckers and want to brag that we did, in fact, double dip at CCbought a t-shirt for DH, and a tote bag for meits a really cute design! Tried to get shirts for the boys, but they wanted no part of it. Headed to our fave spot at our little corner of the Family Beach (apparently where Bethipoo4 and Igbees were also hanging out)!! Bummerthe hammocks we were so spoiled with the first day were all occupado---oh well, cest la vie!! What a gorgeous day!! Sunny, breezy and warm. Forced the darling children to pose in the water with the ship in the background for a possible Christmas cardthat was sucking my will to livethey were not very cooperative--Id rather stick pins in my eyes!! Apparently DFPM was having the same issue with her DSs!! Oh well .(sigh)
We were in the water when a huge school of flying fish came right by us!! We couldnt believe how many!! The group near us was trying to catch them, but Im guessing they werent successfulthose suckers were fast!! Then shortly after that a STINGRAY swam right up to us in the shallow waterkeep away boys, that might not be a DISNEY (barbs removed) stingray!! Heres our friend the stingray:
Some of our gang (mostly Sod God's family) enjoying the beach:
DS 15 and I had the Stingray Swim at Castaway Ray's at noon--DS 17 decided he wanted to parasail again, so he was scheduled for the 1:30 parasail, DH is just not into animals!! This was really cool!! First we had a debriefing to learn about the rays and what to expect--here's us getting ready:
Talk about hands on!! Those rays just swam up onto the platform, let you "pet" them and then we all took turns feeding them--that was a freaky feeling! They kept swimming around us in the water, it was pretty weird!! After that, we got to snorkel with them, which was fun for about 10 minutes, when the salt water started getting in my contacts. Overall a very cool excursion!! DS 15 and I caught up with DH to grab some lunch at Cookies--DS 17 and his friends that were parasailing with him ate quickly and headed to Marge's Barges to parasail. We were eating lunch with the gang, when we noticed some very dark, large clouds--ruh roh....not looking good for the parasail. After lunch we headed back to our spot on the beach and there were the kiddos, parasail canceled. (That was a bummer--we were so glad he got to parasail the first CC day!) So we overheard a CM say that there were funnel clouds around the island--the lifeguards cleared the beach within a minute, I swear!! Everyone scattered and some went back to the ship, but we all headed to the sports pavilion where we figured we could take shelter and the kids could hang out playing basketball or ping pong.
After awhile, nothing happened, so we headed back to the family beach where people were back in the water! The teens played volleyball, and we were enjoying the beach which had REALLY cleared after the storm warning. Time for a Konk Cooler for me!!! OMG it was sooo good, they floated the rum on top--quite tasty!! The teens headed back for their "repeat" banana boat ride (this one they LOVED--no complainers on board!!) and we lounged in the water. The teens headed back to the ship, and some VERY NICE woman took a pic of them with Capt. Jack--we are hoping she is a DIS'er and she can email us the pic --we put a little note under her cabin door with our email address--hopefully DS got the cabin # right!!
When we heard the Magic's whistle calling us back to the ship, we didn't want to go!!! We started packing up when we notice DF Mike's Costco cooler (it was a piece of *&%$, so he said he was leaving it on the island, like we left ours in the shower)!! Well, my DH decided he wasn't getting off that easy--let's bring it back to him!! So off we headed back to Sea Shells, picked up some VERY last minute souvenirs, and hung back so we all could be the LAST ones off of CC (DFPM currently held that honor EACH time we went to CC, but she was nowhere to be seen). So we walked slowly, let other people pass us, posed for pix, then told the CM's (as we were using our wet wipes, of course) that we wanted DFPM to hear them page us that we were still on the island. This was a stupid move in hindsight, as Capt. Thord overheard me tell the CM's that and he ushered us right onto that ship (dang it!!!) We technically WERE the last ones on CC, though!
Here's DF Denise (w/her DS Will 5), DF Lisa, and DF Pat:
DF Hor-hay, DF Pat, and DH Kevin--technically THE LAST ONES ON!
Dinner tonight was the "Till We Meet Again" menu and we were at Parrot Cay. Here's a pic of that cute menu:
Look at this pretty cocktail!!! (Auswalt, my main man, thought I would like it--he was CORRECT!)
OK, time to give DF Mike his cooler that he "accidentally" forgot at CC!! Hey Mike, I cannot believe you left this AWESOME cooler at the beach!! DH Kevin went to sooo much trouble to return it to you, it's rightful owner!! Look, Mike, there's ONE BEER left!!
(Guess this was a location joke, you had to be there!!) Mike TRIED to get the last laugh on us and actually put one of our luggage tags (we had Minnie Mouse (when DF Rick asked me, I told him, like a dummy) with our name and address on it and left that &%$# cooler outside of his door, so it would end up with our luggage when we picked it up at the port. In our bleary-eyed state that morning, we didn't even notice that darn cooler, since we only counted up the number of our bags--nice try, Mike!! Sorry DCL if you found that piece of *&%$ cooler (maybe at least he left the one beer????)
This was the "It's a Small World" parade of nations show, and at the end they brought out the flaming baked Alaska. We handed out our tip envelopes to Silvio, Auswalt, and our head server (???) just in case we didn't make it to that god-awful 6:45 a.m. the next morning. Then we headed to get our Lifestyle pics taken--yippee, no line!! Here's the boys pic--love it!!:
DF Christy's DD 15 Amanda was singing in the talent show, so a bunch of us headed to Rockin' D to hear her--she sang "Part of Your World" and did a great job!! Here's miss Amanda before the song:
The boys headed to the final show, but DH and I decided we'd better start packing--luggage had to be out tonight and the room was a nightmare!! Plus I wanted to see the "Goodnight Kiss" in the Atrium at 10:15 (I'd never been to that)--poor Sompop waited patiently outside our cabin to turn our beds down but they were full of suitcases--we kept saying "5 more minutes!"--FINALLY finished packing and put our suitcases outside the door and headed to the Atrium--what a cute little show!! I'm so glad I went--when they sang the song "Now it's time to say goodbye to all our family" and the pixie dust
exploded all over the place, I must confess that again, this marshmallow had a tear or two in her eyes!!
To the gift shops for one last fly by, and what do you know, but the EXCLUSIVE! TWICE THE MAGIC! MERCHANDISE! AVAILABLE ONLY ON CASTAWAY CAY! GET THERE QUICKLY! was onboard----hmmm!! That was kindof funny, but I'm glad those who didn't get an opportunity to grab some of this limited edition stuff could do so on the ship. Then to Shutters where they switched us to the package deal to save us $$$ on our pix that we just couldn't pass up.
Headed to Diversions to watch the Pub show--this is hilarious (we had seen it on the Wonder in October, but this crew was funnier!!) Can't give it away, but it is definitely for ADULTS!! We sortof took over this couple's booth, who were very nice to share (there are a LOT of us!!) The funniest was when they all went in to change and the little "window" was open right by that booth--I thought DF Lesa was going to lose it, as she wasn't quite sure exactly what she was seeing--clothes coming off, etc.!! The couple that shared their booth with us were cracking up, especially when we told them that DF Lesa was the Assistant Principal at our Catholic Elementary School!!! After the show we headed to Sessions, where we all enjoyed a nightcap and toasted a wonderful cruise (I had my VERY FIRST Mojito--I guess now THAT is my new favorite cocktail)! Headed down to deck 2 to our now very empty cabin where the kiddos were ordering room service. Here's a small group of them enjoying room service (with requisite apple juice!) on their very last night on the Magic:
Our towel animal tonight was a snake with DS 17's "FOakleys"--here's Christopher with it:
The Mouse tells us hes still so darn glad were here and that were not in rehab from all the Panama Hats consumed the prior day, and hey, theres big doins yet againcome to my Character Breakfast!!! WOW with an early dining seating that Character Breakfast is EARLY---I mean SERIOUSLY!!! (Hah, just wait for TOMORROWthey really sock it to you on departure day!!)
Ours is scheduled in Parrot Cay for 8:00 a.m., it sure was rough getting those teen boys up to have breakfast with a bunch of Disney characters!! This was REQUIRED Forced Family FunI lifted this phrase from my DF Judy at work!! LOL!! There are many things in life that we dont want to do, when youre a teenage boy that means MOST family thingsif you have teenagers, you can surely relate. The 3 Fs come into play many times while on vacation! Dinner every night with the rents and Character Breakfast were both mandatory FFF requirements on this trip. By the time we got to breakfast, we still werent to CCYippee, our table (#10) is right by the window!!! Wow did it get noisy when we reversed and backed in!! Breakfast was GOOD (Id heard all kinds of horror stories about runny eggs, etc.), but it was pretty darn tasty! I would equate this with a character breakfast at Chef Mickeysthey all would stop at a table, sign autographs if you wanted, then you posed for a picture (Shutters crew only took ours with Mickey)they waited for us to get our own shots in, as well, so that was really nice. Here are some pix:
Look at this cutie patootie--DF Janet & Mikes' DS Jack!!
We got off the ship and headed to She Sellswe found out in the shops the night before that there would be EXCLUSIVE! TWICE THE MAGIC! MERCHANDISE! AVAILABLE ONLY ON CASTAWAY CAY! GET THERE QUICKLY! OK, so we are suckers and want to brag that we did, in fact, double dip at CCbought a t-shirt for DH, and a tote bag for meits a really cute design! Tried to get shirts for the boys, but they wanted no part of it. Headed to our fave spot at our little corner of the Family Beach (apparently where Bethipoo4 and Igbees were also hanging out)!! Bummerthe hammocks we were so spoiled with the first day were all occupado---oh well, cest la vie!! What a gorgeous day!! Sunny, breezy and warm. Forced the darling children to pose in the water with the ship in the background for a possible Christmas cardthat was sucking my will to livethey were not very cooperative--Id rather stick pins in my eyes!! Apparently DFPM was having the same issue with her DSs!! Oh well .(sigh)
We were in the water when a huge school of flying fish came right by us!! We couldnt believe how many!! The group near us was trying to catch them, but Im guessing they werent successfulthose suckers were fast!! Then shortly after that a STINGRAY swam right up to us in the shallow waterkeep away boys, that might not be a DISNEY (barbs removed) stingray!! Heres our friend the stingray:
Some of our gang (mostly Sod God's family) enjoying the beach:
DS 15 and I had the Stingray Swim at Castaway Ray's at noon--DS 17 decided he wanted to parasail again, so he was scheduled for the 1:30 parasail, DH is just not into animals!! This was really cool!! First we had a debriefing to learn about the rays and what to expect--here's us getting ready:
Talk about hands on!! Those rays just swam up onto the platform, let you "pet" them and then we all took turns feeding them--that was a freaky feeling! They kept swimming around us in the water, it was pretty weird!! After that, we got to snorkel with them, which was fun for about 10 minutes, when the salt water started getting in my contacts. Overall a very cool excursion!! DS 15 and I caught up with DH to grab some lunch at Cookies--DS 17 and his friends that were parasailing with him ate quickly and headed to Marge's Barges to parasail. We were eating lunch with the gang, when we noticed some very dark, large clouds--ruh roh....not looking good for the parasail. After lunch we headed back to our spot on the beach and there were the kiddos, parasail canceled. (That was a bummer--we were so glad he got to parasail the first CC day!) So we overheard a CM say that there were funnel clouds around the island--the lifeguards cleared the beach within a minute, I swear!! Everyone scattered and some went back to the ship, but we all headed to the sports pavilion where we figured we could take shelter and the kids could hang out playing basketball or ping pong.
After awhile, nothing happened, so we headed back to the family beach where people were back in the water! The teens played volleyball, and we were enjoying the beach which had REALLY cleared after the storm warning. Time for a Konk Cooler for me!!! OMG it was sooo good, they floated the rum on top--quite tasty!! The teens headed back for their "repeat" banana boat ride (this one they LOVED--no complainers on board!!) and we lounged in the water. The teens headed back to the ship, and some VERY NICE woman took a pic of them with Capt. Jack--we are hoping she is a DIS'er and she can email us the pic --we put a little note under her cabin door with our email address--hopefully DS got the cabin # right!!
When we heard the Magic's whistle calling us back to the ship, we didn't want to go!!! We started packing up when we notice DF Mike's Costco cooler (it was a piece of *&%$, so he said he was leaving it on the island, like we left ours in the shower)!! Well, my DH decided he wasn't getting off that easy--let's bring it back to him!! So off we headed back to Sea Shells, picked up some VERY last minute souvenirs, and hung back so we all could be the LAST ones off of CC (DFPM currently held that honor EACH time we went to CC, but she was nowhere to be seen). So we walked slowly, let other people pass us, posed for pix, then told the CM's (as we were using our wet wipes, of course) that we wanted DFPM to hear them page us that we were still on the island. This was a stupid move in hindsight, as Capt. Thord overheard me tell the CM's that and he ushered us right onto that ship (dang it!!!) We technically WERE the last ones on CC, though!
Here's DF Denise (w/her DS Will 5), DF Lisa, and DF Pat:
DF Hor-hay, DF Pat, and DH Kevin--technically THE LAST ONES ON!
Dinner tonight was the "Till We Meet Again" menu and we were at Parrot Cay. Here's a pic of that cute menu:
Look at this pretty cocktail!!! (Auswalt, my main man, thought I would like it--he was CORRECT!)
OK, time to give DF Mike his cooler that he "accidentally" forgot at CC!! Hey Mike, I cannot believe you left this AWESOME cooler at the beach!! DH Kevin went to sooo much trouble to return it to you, it's rightful owner!! Look, Mike, there's ONE BEER left!!
(Guess this was a location joke, you had to be there!!) Mike TRIED to get the last laugh on us and actually put one of our luggage tags (we had Minnie Mouse (when DF Rick asked me, I told him, like a dummy) with our name and address on it and left that &%$# cooler outside of his door, so it would end up with our luggage when we picked it up at the port. In our bleary-eyed state that morning, we didn't even notice that darn cooler, since we only counted up the number of our bags--nice try, Mike!! Sorry DCL if you found that piece of *&%$ cooler (maybe at least he left the one beer????)
This was the "It's a Small World" parade of nations show, and at the end they brought out the flaming baked Alaska. We handed out our tip envelopes to Silvio, Auswalt, and our head server (???) just in case we didn't make it to that god-awful 6:45 a.m. the next morning. Then we headed to get our Lifestyle pics taken--yippee, no line!! Here's the boys pic--love it!!:
DF Christy's DD 15 Amanda was singing in the talent show, so a bunch of us headed to Rockin' D to hear her--she sang "Part of Your World" and did a great job!! Here's miss Amanda before the song:
The boys headed to the final show, but DH and I decided we'd better start packing--luggage had to be out tonight and the room was a nightmare!! Plus I wanted to see the "Goodnight Kiss" in the Atrium at 10:15 (I'd never been to that)--poor Sompop waited patiently outside our cabin to turn our beds down but they were full of suitcases--we kept saying "5 more minutes!"--FINALLY finished packing and put our suitcases outside the door and headed to the Atrium--what a cute little show!! I'm so glad I went--when they sang the song "Now it's time to say goodbye to all our family" and the pixie dust
exploded all over the place, I must confess that again, this marshmallow had a tear or two in her eyes!!
To the gift shops for one last fly by, and what do you know, but the EXCLUSIVE! TWICE THE MAGIC! MERCHANDISE! AVAILABLE ONLY ON CASTAWAY CAY! GET THERE QUICKLY! was onboard----hmmm!! That was kindof funny, but I'm glad those who didn't get an opportunity to grab some of this limited edition stuff could do so on the ship. Then to Shutters where they switched us to the package deal to save us $$$ on our pix that we just couldn't pass up.
Headed to Diversions to watch the Pub show--this is hilarious (we had seen it on the Wonder in October, but this crew was funnier!!) Can't give it away, but it is definitely for ADULTS!! We sortof took over this couple's booth, who were very nice to share (there are a LOT of us!!) The funniest was when they all went in to change and the little "window" was open right by that booth--I thought DF Lesa was going to lose it, as she wasn't quite sure exactly what she was seeing--clothes coming off, etc.!! The couple that shared their booth with us were cracking up, especially when we told them that DF Lesa was the Assistant Principal at our Catholic Elementary School!!! After the show we headed to Sessions, where we all enjoyed a nightcap and toasted a wonderful cruise (I had my VERY FIRST Mojito--I guess now THAT is my new favorite cocktail)!
Headed down to deck 2 to our now very empty cabin where the kiddos were ordering room service. Here's a small group of them enjoying room service (with requisite apple juice!) on their very last night on the Magic:
Our towel animal tonight was a snake with DS 17's "FOakleys"--here's Christopher with it:
WOW did this vacation go by quickly, but what a wonderful time weve all had. We savor breakfast, fully aware that it is back to reality just as soon as we get home, i.e., no one waiting on us constantly and giving us WHATEVER we request WHENEVER we want!! I give Silvio and Auswalt quick hugs and thank them for such an awesome week, then hugs all around to those of our friends who actually made it to breakfast. Went to buy that last picture at Shutters and headed to the atrium and off the ship. (BTW, we easily made it to MCO for our 12:05 flight back to STL via rental car--this past week's recent events may affect that, though)....
Michelle, thanks for all of your help with bookings and planning this third group tripit just goes to show you that even a lurker can glean valuable info from the DISboards!! 
My family was right next to your room in 2530 and 2532 -- there were so many times I thought of leaving you a "hello from a lurker" note on that green sign (impossible to do while running after my 2-yo), and then it disappeared. But I get it now!
I couldn't help remembering how I loved doing stuff like that (late night gatherings, not laundry!) when I was a teen; and I can totally picture my oldest son (now 9) doing that kind of thing w/ a bunch of friends when he's that age. One of the great things about a cruise!
and we enjoy the breakfast at the Marriott. (OK, RUSH through the breakfast--I was freaking out to get an early boarding number, as 9 of us still needed brunch at Palo, and I REALLY wanted to get that (DF Princess Michelle scored some ressies for our group 90 days out at 3:00 in the a.m. and I was supposed to get ours, but we overslept and they were sold out when we finally got online). Then that dang 60 day mark passed and I missed it again (time really does fly, guys, if you're waiting for your trip, it'll be here before you know it!)
