On our first game, we did a Muppet mystery which led us to Pepe s Door - a small pint-size cabin doo

We ve been to Disney World in Orlando twice in the past two years, and we wanted to do something a little different china train travel this summer. Still, the kids campaigned { hard } every day for another Disney vacation china train travel . After hearing rave reviews from friends and co-workers, James suggested trying a Disney Cruise this summer.
I ve only been on one cruise in my life and it was not a pleasant experience. china train travel In fact, the things I most vividly recall when I think back to that other cruise is claustrophobia, anxiety and horrible cafeteria china train travel food. So I was skeptical, but agreed to give cruising another try– and I am here to tell you today that I am SO glad I did.
Since we were traveling with little ones, upon boarding the Disney Fantasy, our kids had to register for the Kids Club and were given   wristbands to check in and out of the highly secured kids club. The wristbands were also able to track your kids  anywhere on the boat! Each guest room was  supplied with 2 on-board cell phones that your kids (and their counselors) could call at any time. All of this was a huge sigh of relief for this slightly neurotic  always china train travel worrying Mom.
Surrounding this party area, there are themed rooms that make kids feel like they are living out their favorite Disney movies.  James loved Andy s Room,  Laina loved dressing up in Pixie Hallow but my favorite china train travel was the Monster s Inc. Scare factory- (Monsters Inc. is my favorite Disney movie).
The Oceaneer s club has different themed parties and crafts. Laina loved the night that Crush from Finding Nemo came on the plasma and interacted china train travel with the kids. She also loved Pluto s Pajama party- because what s cooler than being able to wear your Pajamas out to play? She colored a cute pillow case that she is now using at home.
Oceaneers Lab   [Grade-school]  This is where my son (7) spent most of his time. In addition to games and crafts, there were science labs and Anyone can cook cooking classes, as well as Wii challenges, Cup stacking races and a ginormous iPad where my son and his cruise friends played china train travel air-hockey all night long.
Although I didn t have kids in the tween and teen clubs , I kept an ear on the buzz around the ship when I ran into a teen and tween- and they all seemed to be loving it- visiting the clubs daily- which when dealing with teens and tweens? I found impressive.
As much as we do love traveling as a family, there is no denying that typically traveling with kids leaves you with exhaustion china train travel that begs a vacation form your vacation- but the Disney Cruise is the polar opposite.
One of my favorites had walls of TV screens china train travel that looked like you were looking out into different European china train travel cities- If you looked closely you could see moving traffic and people in windows. Every few minutes pixie dust would come down the screen and the city would change.
I knew Trevor would hold a special place in the heart of our family vacation when he picked James out of the audience at the Sail Away party to dance on stage (see that moment china train travel in our music video recap - its pure awesome-sauce).
There are 2 adult-only restaurants onboard the Disney Fantasy, Remi and Palo . Both are no- jeans, no- sneakers or sandals - which personally I like, because I like getting dressed up for date night.
80% of the Disney Fantasy has a balcony view! When we booked, we booked at the   VGT level - which basically means we took a risk of getting a  {gasp}  partial view and paid less for a deluxe suite with  bunk beds for the kids. We ended up getting a fabulous view, but truthfully- there is so much to be seen- you aren t often in the room, so if I d recommend the gamble on the VGT rate (They only pop up occasionally from what I hear, so check the website often).
For dinner, Disney Cruise line has what they call rotation china train travel dining . Which means like other cruises you always have the same table number and servers but unlike other cruises- you are always experiencing a new atmosphere.
All of the Disney Cruises have a Pirate Night that everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) on board takes part in.  A Pirate accessory package on board is $35, but if you plan ahead you can bring your pirate gear from home.  The Bippity Boppity Boutique on board also has a pirate package that includes face painting.
china train travel The Pirate Party onboard takes place on the main deck- where they cover the pools and everyone gets to enjoy a pirate show and fireworks at sea. Disney is the only cruise line that does fireworks at sea, and it is a sight to be seen!
Disney s private island, Cast Away Cay was the highlight of the trip for all of us.  It is the ultimate vacation island. It s not over crowded. No one is chasing you down trying to make a deal over tanzanite earrings (Yes, that happened in Cozumel)
My son is still talking about his time  snorkeling  where he not only saw tropical fish (or as we call them Nemo-fish), but  hidden Disney gems on the ocean floor , such as a Mickey Statue and a shipwreck .
On our first game, we did a Muppet mystery which led us to Pepe s Door - a small pint-size cabin door located by the Oceaneers club. My kids became obsessed with it. They were dying to know how to get in (you can t) and I heard many MANY kids talking about this famous door though out the cruise.
I really could go on and on about this trip. There are SO many things that I loved about it, but lets be honest? No one wants to read a 2,000 word post so I will stop at 7. I will tell you that we already booked our next one!
Filed Under: Notes , Travel Tagged With: Disney Cruise , disney world , Family Vacation , Fantasy Cruise , Fireworks At Sea , Kid friendly Cruises , midship detective china train travel agency china train travel , pepes door , Pirate Night , Travel Family Travel , Travel with kids
The Disney cruises just cost SO much more than the other cruises we ve been on. And as awesome as it sounds it doesn t sound THAT much better than the other cruise lines we ve used. (And I love Disney so it s not that I don t get the whole Disney thing).
Agreed china train travel that it is not a low-cost cruise. Price wise from what we saw it is comprable to Royal Caribbean s Allure Of the Seas, however that ship has 1,400 more passengers . and our kids aren t ready for the whole zip-lining, rock wall climbing activities. So I guess overall, for us, it came down to personal preference between the two. Our kids are young and very much Disney obsessed, so all of the Disney touches were well worth it- and actually came out to be cheaper than our past vacations at Disney World Orlando.
I would just like to start out this post by saying that most of the time when the hubby and I sit down to watch the Oscar's we've only seen the animated films. This year, in addition china train travel to Brave and the animated china train travel Read More
Family Sunday is usually hosted at my mother's house. My stepfather loves to cook and he is always whipping up something new and delicious –but don't tell him I said so. He tends to get a big head about it Read More