crusin'minnie
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2000
DH and I began planning our Disney Cruise vacation 13 months before we actually went. Two months into the planning I found this fabulous site and I was glued to it until the end. DH laughed at my meticulous (he called it compulsive/obsesive) planning, but it really paid off.
We told our DD's (9&4) that if they wanted to go on the Disney cruise they would have to ask Santa and that would have to be their main christmas present. They agreed- and boy did Santa deliver with lots of goodies for the trip; planning videos and books, disney beach towels, activities for the car, a pooh countdown calendar and most important a computer generated very official looking certificate entitling them to 5 nights at DL then a 4night Disney Wonder Cruise followed by 2 nights at WL. They were ecstatic, we all were ecstatic.
We were scheduled to leave on June 9. On May 6 I received a phone call from a hospital in Jackson, MS (3 hours from our home). My dad (78) was driving in from Memphis that day so I knew the instant I saw the caller ID and my heart almost stopped. Those were the longest seconds of my life as I waited for the nurse to communicate to me what I knew was bad knews. He had been in a wreck. No other people involved. He was coherent and wanted us to bring his glasses, he had lost them in the wreck. She said he had a broken ankle and crushed pelvis. I could not talk to him, but I told her to tell him we loved him and were on the way.
My husband and I left immediately. My mom, 2 sisters and brother in law soon followed.
When we got there we found out things were much worse than we had initially been told. For the next 17 days he fought for his life, but his injuries were too severe. They had him so heavily sedated that he was never able to communicate with us, but we think (hope) that he was able to hear us.
I contacted the travel insurance company about a refund on the cruise. They were very nice and immediately sent out a claim form. My husband and I were very undecided about whether or not to try and make the trip. We ultimately decided to go. I realized that my whole life changed in one instant. If we didn't take this trip now we might never go. My kids had been through a nightmare- losing their grandpa whom they saw almost every day of their lives. And quite frankly-I wanted to run away.
Dixie Landings-
or POR as it is now called was wonderful. We stayed in Magnolia Terrace and had a fabulous time. They parks were as magical as ever. Our 4yr DD, whom we figured would not ride anything fast or scary, rode Thunder RR (5X), Space M, Splash M (4X), Test Tr (2x) and her absolute favorite ToT (7X). Highlight meals included; Mama Mels fantasmic package (highly recommend!!), 50's prime time cafe (after our first meal here, I changed our plans up at the end of the trip so we could eat here again! Excellent), Tusker house-great for lunch, San Angel (our favorite) and a character dinner at 1400 Park Fare. (Pooh characters-great interaction.)
Cruise-
We were completely unprepared for just how majestic and beautiful the Disney Wonder would be. Those were absolutely the most magical 4 days I have ever experienced. DH and I agreed that cruise was without a doubt the best money we ever spent.
We had a Cat. 6 stateroom midship with a private balcony. I cannot describe just how fantastic it was standing on that balcony after dinner, all dressed up with DH both DD's safely tucked away in the kids club, tropical drinks in our hands, moonlight, a light breeze and the sound of the waves. GET THE BALCONY!!!!!
The food on board was scrumptious, totally scrumptious! Our server Tomas was from Hungary and he was the best. The first night he could not entice either DD to order a dessert. "Nothing" they both said (these can't be my kids-no dessert!) So here comes Tomas with 2 plates with the word nothing written in chocolate syrup!
Both DD's had a blast at the kids club's. Little DD (4) kept asking us to come back in 5 more minutes when we tried to pick her up.
Castaway Cay did not set my family free. Probably our fault. We were so tired that we slept in that morning. Not the best idea. We had a hard time finding a spot, by the time we did and DH and DD(9) went to rent snorkel equip, bad weather was coming in and they had everyone come out of the water. The sky looked so dark that I herded the family back onto the boat and then it cleared up. Would do this day completely differently.
Nassau Day we had rented a room at Comfort suites so that we could go to Atlantis. The Atlantis hotel was beautiful and the water slides were fun, but there were long lines. They did have nice beaches and pools. But next time we will stay on the ship, because there were so many things to do onboard that we just ran out of time. We all decided that there were lots of things we had wanted to do that we just missed.
The shows were great, especially Disney Dreams! The show is about a little girl learning to fly. It was so enthralling that at the end my DD(4) stood up and put her hands in the air as though she were going to fly. DH and I looked at each other and we both got teary eyed. That is Disney Magic!!!!!!!
We also got to see the movie Atlantis before it was even in theaters. DD's really loved that.
Wilderness Lodge-
We enjoyed WL immensely. DD's voted the pool their favorite of any on the trip ( and they swam in a lot of pools on this trip). They also really loved their bunk beds. We got to see some ducks and bunnies right off our back porch.
I am so glad that we went on our trip. I think my dad would have been glad too. I adored him and losing him has been- well words really can't describe it. I needed that break, so did my DH (who has been so supportive) and my DD's. We have beautiful memories that I will treasure all my life.
Thank you for reading my post, I had intended after first reading these boards to post a very detailed trip report, but once I returned to the real world after our trip, I realized that although I had run away from the pain and managed to shut it out for 2 weeks it was waiting for me when I returned and so my heart was just not in it until now. You guys have been like friends, I feel like even though I don't know any of you, you are very much like me. You are a little obsessive and know that planning a Disney vacation is almost as much fun as taking one. You love Disney and you are not so grown up that you cannot enjoy the "magic".
Cindy
We told our DD's (9&4) that if they wanted to go on the Disney cruise they would have to ask Santa and that would have to be their main christmas present. They agreed- and boy did Santa deliver with lots of goodies for the trip; planning videos and books, disney beach towels, activities for the car, a pooh countdown calendar and most important a computer generated very official looking certificate entitling them to 5 nights at DL then a 4night Disney Wonder Cruise followed by 2 nights at WL. They were ecstatic, we all were ecstatic.
We were scheduled to leave on June 9. On May 6 I received a phone call from a hospital in Jackson, MS (3 hours from our home). My dad (78) was driving in from Memphis that day so I knew the instant I saw the caller ID and my heart almost stopped. Those were the longest seconds of my life as I waited for the nurse to communicate to me what I knew was bad knews. He had been in a wreck. No other people involved. He was coherent and wanted us to bring his glasses, he had lost them in the wreck. She said he had a broken ankle and crushed pelvis. I could not talk to him, but I told her to tell him we loved him and were on the way.
My husband and I left immediately. My mom, 2 sisters and brother in law soon followed.
When we got there we found out things were much worse than we had initially been told. For the next 17 days he fought for his life, but his injuries were too severe. They had him so heavily sedated that he was never able to communicate with us, but we think (hope) that he was able to hear us.
I contacted the travel insurance company about a refund on the cruise. They were very nice and immediately sent out a claim form. My husband and I were very undecided about whether or not to try and make the trip. We ultimately decided to go. I realized that my whole life changed in one instant. If we didn't take this trip now we might never go. My kids had been through a nightmare- losing their grandpa whom they saw almost every day of their lives. And quite frankly-I wanted to run away.
Dixie Landings-
or POR as it is now called was wonderful. We stayed in Magnolia Terrace and had a fabulous time. They parks were as magical as ever. Our 4yr DD, whom we figured would not ride anything fast or scary, rode Thunder RR (5X), Space M, Splash M (4X), Test Tr (2x) and her absolute favorite ToT (7X). Highlight meals included; Mama Mels fantasmic package (highly recommend!!), 50's prime time cafe (after our first meal here, I changed our plans up at the end of the trip so we could eat here again! Excellent), Tusker house-great for lunch, San Angel (our favorite) and a character dinner at 1400 Park Fare. (Pooh characters-great interaction.)
Cruise-
We were completely unprepared for just how majestic and beautiful the Disney Wonder would be. Those were absolutely the most magical 4 days I have ever experienced. DH and I agreed that cruise was without a doubt the best money we ever spent.
We had a Cat. 6 stateroom midship with a private balcony. I cannot describe just how fantastic it was standing on that balcony after dinner, all dressed up with DH both DD's safely tucked away in the kids club, tropical drinks in our hands, moonlight, a light breeze and the sound of the waves. GET THE BALCONY!!!!!
The food on board was scrumptious, totally scrumptious! Our server Tomas was from Hungary and he was the best. The first night he could not entice either DD to order a dessert. "Nothing" they both said (these can't be my kids-no dessert!) So here comes Tomas with 2 plates with the word nothing written in chocolate syrup!
Both DD's had a blast at the kids club's. Little DD (4) kept asking us to come back in 5 more minutes when we tried to pick her up.
Castaway Cay did not set my family free. Probably our fault. We were so tired that we slept in that morning. Not the best idea. We had a hard time finding a spot, by the time we did and DH and DD(9) went to rent snorkel equip, bad weather was coming in and they had everyone come out of the water. The sky looked so dark that I herded the family back onto the boat and then it cleared up. Would do this day completely differently.
Nassau Day we had rented a room at Comfort suites so that we could go to Atlantis. The Atlantis hotel was beautiful and the water slides were fun, but there were long lines. They did have nice beaches and pools. But next time we will stay on the ship, because there were so many things to do onboard that we just ran out of time. We all decided that there were lots of things we had wanted to do that we just missed.
The shows were great, especially Disney Dreams! The show is about a little girl learning to fly. It was so enthralling that at the end my DD(4) stood up and put her hands in the air as though she were going to fly. DH and I looked at each other and we both got teary eyed. That is Disney Magic!!!!!!!
We also got to see the movie Atlantis before it was even in theaters. DD's really loved that.
Wilderness Lodge-
We enjoyed WL immensely. DD's voted the pool their favorite of any on the trip ( and they swam in a lot of pools on this trip). They also really loved their bunk beds. We got to see some ducks and bunnies right off our back porch.
I am so glad that we went on our trip. I think my dad would have been glad too. I adored him and losing him has been- well words really can't describe it. I needed that break, so did my DH (who has been so supportive) and my DD's. We have beautiful memories that I will treasure all my life.
Thank you for reading my post, I had intended after first reading these boards to post a very detailed trip report, but once I returned to the real world after our trip, I realized that although I had run away from the pain and managed to shut it out for 2 weeks it was waiting for me when I returned and so my heart was just not in it until now. You guys have been like friends, I feel like even though I don't know any of you, you are very much like me. You are a little obsessive and know that planning a Disney vacation is almost as much fun as taking one. You love Disney and you are not so grown up that you cannot enjoy the "magic".
Cindy
