Sweet Sixteen on the Dream! The Good, the Bad, and the Crazy!

[mousetravel]

Join me for another Mom/ Daughter trip report!
Cruise dates were June 12-17, 2011.


We had a wonderful time on the Dream! BEST VACATION EVER!!!!!


Quick introduction of us:

I am a single mom to DD. We love to travel together. Here's a couple of pics from the party so you can "meet" us.

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/***********/018.jpg

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/***********/015.jpg


This was a trip to celebrate DD's 16th birthday, which would actually be while we're on the cruise. I decided to have her party, which mainly consists of family, the same night we were leaving. Our Amtrak would be scheduled to leave at 1:44am!! So I tried to do what I could to keep us up & going till time to go. The party was 7pm-9pm, then it would be time to get on the road to Columbia, SC, which is 2 hours drive. The party extended on till after 10pm, so were rushing out the door! This is the main common factor of everything about this trip...LAST MINUTE!!!

So on this TR, I will be doing reports on not only the cruise, but also

*16th "early" birthday party
*our trip on the Amtrak
*our hotel in the Disney area
*day at MK
*Downtown Disney
*hotel at Port Canaveral
*Cocoa Beach, FL
*the DREAM CRUISE!

**and a special edition of WHY we had to extend our trip an extra day!!!
(You will just have to stay tuned for this one!)



Adding a disclaimer here: I will also be adding the "bad" portions of this trip. I wouldn't really call it horrible or anything, but after reading some negative reviews and points of the Dream, I will be adding in some of my "not so magical" moments. Don't worry, though, wasn't enough to ruin the trip or anything, but enough to where I'd like to share with my Dis-friends.

So join in with me, as I get this party started!

 

[MagicMe]

Ready for the party!!

 

[DisneyOHFan]

I can't wait to hear about the trip. That is SO wonderful that the 2 of you get to create such great memories together.

(BTW, we have mixed reviews for the Dream too )

 

[UGAFan0829]

Whoop whoop!! I'm here!!
I'm so glad to know this this was y'alls best trip ever! I can't wait to read all about it! And I'm sure I will have tons of questions for you!!!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

I'm here...

 

[jlwatkins]

Great start!
Love the cake!

 

[mousetravel]

Ready for the party!!

I can't wait to hear about the trip. That is SO wonderful that the 2 of you get to create such great memories together.

(BTW, we have mixed reviews for the Dream too )

Whoop whoop!! I'm here!!
I'm so glad to know this this was y'alls best trip ever! I can't wait to read all about it! And I'm sure I will have tons of questions for you!!!

I'm here...

Great start!
Love the cake!

Thanks everyone for joining in!!!!

 

[Bashful in TN]

Coming over from our meet thread. I can't wait to read about your experience on the Dream!

 

[mousetravel]

Here's a few more pics from the party.

The CAKE!!! It was wonderfully made by a lady that has done cakes for her before.
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/***********/011.jpg


I'll throw in this pic, also, of a cake she made for DD's b-day after our 2009DCL.

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/***********/Marissas14thBirthday019.jpg



http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/***********/062.jpg


With the little ones
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/***********/040.jpg

With me, my Dad & my Sis
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/***********/141.jpg

With Grandma
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/***********/053.jpg


Here's a couple more of the "party animals"

My chihuahua
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/***********/022.jpg

and Grandma's shihtzu
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/***********/024.jpg


I had these sling-bags and T shirt made for her, for her to take on the cruise.
The lady that made these is on the Disboards!!!

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/***********/198.jpg

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/***********/194.jpg

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/***********/196.jpg

Being silly!
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/***********/052.jpg


http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/***********/036.jpg




Hope you all enjoyed a few of the party pics!
Coming up......our transportation there on the Amtrak!!!!

 

[UGAFan0829]

Those are great pics! I love the one of her on your back...way too cute!! She is really growing up and is such a beautiful girl!!

I LOVE both the cakes, but especially the one from 2009!!

Can't wait for more!

 

[mnrhannah07]

totally subbing! Your trips are always so fun and laid back..Kinda go with the flow which is the best way to vacation!!!

 

[teatah]

I cannot wait to read more!

 

[mousetravel]

Those are great pics! I love the one of her on your back...way too cute!! She is really growing up and is such a beautiful girl!!

I LOVE both the cakes, but especially the one from 2009!!

Can't wait for more!

Thanks!!

totally subbing! Your trips are always so fun and laid back..Kinda go with the flow which is the best way to vacation!!!

That is so true about us! At MK, we don't really use any kind of "plan", we just do things that we want, as we get to them. We're not the "running around the park from ride to ride" kind!
The only time we even used fast pass was for Space Mountain & Peter Pan. Everything else was less than 30 minute wait! But I'll definately get more into that on my MK portion of the TR.

I cannot wait to read more!

Thanks for joining in!

 

[tessasmom]

Subbing! Can't wait to hear more!

 

[mousetravel]

Can you believe I didn't really take any pictures of the Amtrak?? I took some video of it, though with my camcorder, but don't know how to load it onto youtube or anything. I have just a couple of pics, but they were taken at night, mainly to show how much space we had. I'll post those.

Our Amtrak would leave at 1:44am. So my goal was to leave Grandma's by 9:30pm, just to be sure to get there on time, get luggage checked, etc. We didn't get out of there till after 10pm, so we were running out the door, cause we were leaving straight from Grandma's, instead of going back home.

I have an obsession about, if I left my stove on, anything plugged up, etc. So I figured if I went back home, I would be triple-checking everything again!

So we get there in plenty of time, get luggage checked in, etc. Then they said the train is running about 20 minutes behind anyway, so we're good.

The seats are not "assigned" but they say they do their best to seat families together. Me & DD got seated next to each other both ways, so no problems there.

The Amtrak has tons of space and plenty of leg room. The seats go back further than on a plane, and you can hold all your carry on's by your feet, or in an overhead bin that is also larger than a plane. The overhead bin doesn't have a "door" over the storage area, it's open space with a divider thing (think of a book-end type thing). Also, there is a foot rest that you can pull up to rest your legs, kinda like a recliner chair foot rest.

The only thing we didn't like, was our inability to sleep on the train. My DD did get a little sleep, but I didn't sleep at all!

So as morning approached, we headed to the dining/snack car. It had booths to sit in along with tables. We got breakfast. I got some donuts, and DD got a bagel w/cream cheese, and we shared a Sprite (with 2 cups of ice ). We sat there for a while watching the scenery.

We arrived at Orlando on time, even though the train was late arriving in Columbia.

For your luggage, when you get it checked in, they give you a tag that has a # on it. When you go to claim your luggage, they have to match your # up with the # on the tag. I really liked this idea!! (for security)

So after we gathered our luggage, I go over to the rental car desk. It's actually in the train station, so no worries there!!!! I had it reserved already, so I got it fairly quickly.

So here's the few pictures I took, even though it's dark, to give you an idea of the space. (These were actually taken on the way back, but it's the only pics I took)

My DD got into the seats across from me, because they were empty. The workers never said anything about it)

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/***********/DisneyDream2011858.jpg

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/***********/DisneyDream2011857.jpg


This is where our car meets up with the dining car. (It was a little scary walking in between the cars in those little walkways!)

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/***********/DisneyDream2011856.jpg

 

[DisneyWhirled]

Subbing! I love your reports!

Your daughter is lovely. Happy 16th! Beautiful cake!

Can't wait to read more!

 

[Toria]

Can't wait to read more.

 

[mousetravel]

Subbing! I love your reports!

Your daughter is lovely. Happy 16th! Beautiful cake!

Can't wait to read more!

Thank you!!

Can't wait to read more.

Thanks for being here!






I forgot to add about why I decided to take the Amtrak. Well, there wasn't any real "reason", I just didn't feel like driving this time!!

I always do the driving on our trips by myself. To Florida & back is about 10 hours each way. It's really hard to make that drive without a shared driver. I was trying to decide between flying or Amtrak. And the more I looked into it, the Amtrak just seemed better. Even though the travel time was longer (about 8 hours there), I loved being able to take more stuff, and not worry about security pat downs, etc.


Up next: Arriving at our hotel!!

 

[WestCoastMama]

Subbing! Sounds like quite an adventure! I think it's great you took the train. My kids would've loved that. Can't wait to hear more.

 

[UGAFan0829]

How far is the Amtrak station from Disney? I've often thought about taking Amtrak, but everytime I've looked at the prices it was much cheaper to drive, and it takes 2 days just to get there. For some reason, the train that leaves here goes up to Washington DC before coming back down to Orlando! There is an Amtrak station here in the city where I work, so it would be cool to take a trip on it once, but I've just never been able to justify the price or the travel time!