Day (9/29/11) - Heading Home

Very few times in their lives have I had to wake the boys up in the morning.  However, our scheduled time to vacate the room was 7 am.  Luckily, we had to have most of our luggage packed the night before.  But, we still had to be up, dressed, finished packing any miscellaneous items (pjs and toiletries), and at breakfast by 7 am.  What a way to end vacation, huh?! 

We were sad to leave the ship and the carefree, laid-back, unscheduled days of vacation behind (not to mention the people who fed us and cleaned our room!).  Although all good things must come to an end, we are looking forward to our next Disney vacation, whenever and whatever that may be (we're thinking the time to visit the actual parks rather than a cruise is quickly approaching).

Like last year, we decided to break up the long drive home with an afternoon stop in Savannah.  We ate lunch at Blowin' Smoke, the delicious barbecue restaurant we discovered last year.  We then spent the next couple of hours strolling along the riverfront watching the tug boats, cargo ships, and river boats chug up and down the Savannah River.  We also tried to burn off some little boy energy by playing Simon Says, Red Light Green Light, and Freeze Tag in a grassy area near the end of River Street.  Before returning to the car for the long, dreaded trip home, the boys played at a little play area shaped like a boat, while I went to look for some homemade pralines.  Despite Gavin's nap on Daddy's shoulder during our walk, both boys fell asleep quickly and slept until we reached our stopping point for the night in Rocky Mount, NC. 

Day (9/28/11) - Disney Day Four

Our last full day on the Disney Dream was spent at sea enjoying all the activities (and food!) the boat had to offer.  We were on the pool deck soon after breakfast and spent hours standing in line and going down the Aqua Duck and Mickey slide, swimming in the Mickey pool, and splashing around in Nemo's Reef.
  

Once we had enough of the water and sun, we dried off and visited the Arrgh-cade a final time.  I'm not sure if Gavin realized that we never paid for him to play an actual game.  He was content to sit on the different vehicles and watch the screen, never realizing that "push start to play" was constantly flashing across the bottom!  Below, he sits on a Harley making his tough guy "game face" to scare off any competition (or any other kids who actually wanted to play the game!)

Then we attended the Sea Ya' Real Soon! farewell event in the Lobby Atrium where we got to meet some of our favorite characters.  This was another one of those times when I realized how grateful I am to be a boy mom.  All of the girls we saw were absolutely adorable, but looked like they had spent hours getting ready to meet their favorite princesses (e.g., fancy dresses and matching shoes, curled hair and tiaras, painted fingernails and toenails, and sparkly makeup).  We went with damp bathing suits and clothes, smelled of chlorine and suntan lotion, and had unbrushed, unruly pool hair!  And, while the lighting and clarity of some of these pictures is less than ideal (we had to rely on others to take the pictures), they are some of my favorite family photos from the trip because they represent the real us - laid back and sporty!

After bidding the characters farewell, we returned to our room to relax and start getting cleaned up for dinner.  While Mike and I got ready, the boys watched old Disney cartoons. They giggled at all of Donald and Goofy's silly antics, proving that classic cartoons are equally, if not more, entertaining than the newer, flashier versions.  We just enjoyed listening to them giggle.  Little boy giggles are contagious!  We couldn't help but stop what we were doing and smile and watch them giggle at the TV!

This is what three over-tired boys look like!

The final show was called, Disney's Believe, a touching story of a "workaholic father who–through the power of Disney magic–reconnects with his daughter and learns a valuable lesson about what is most important in life" - a powerful reminder as we were about to return to everyday life the next day (not that I think we needed it since we try to always put family first and maintain a healthy work/life balance).

Day (9/27/11) - Disney Day Three

Today we woke up to overcast skies and light rain showers.  However, that didn't stop us from getting off the boat to explore Disney's private island, Castaway Cay.  We found that bad weather means shorter lines for the island tram, a better selection of lounge chairs, and less crowded picnic areas! 

As we prepared to disembark, Daddy handed out everyone's Key to the World Card, an identification card used as a room key and charge card for all on board activities.

Since many people stayed on board the ship, we had no trouble finding chairs with an umbrella on the beach! 

Since our last cruise, Disney has added a new water play area called Spring-a-Leak that is similar to the Nemo's Reef play area on board the boat.  The water spouts kept the boys entertained for hours!

There is also a floating platform called Pelican Plunge with two water slides that empty into the lagoon.  Outfitted with a life vest, Ryan braved the water slide once, but quickly decided it was too scary for him!  Luckily, Daddy was able to go down the adjacent slide first and was waiting at the bottom for Ryan.

While Ryan and Daddy waited in line for the Pelican Plunge, Mommy and Gavin played in the water.  Gavin loved the crystal clear water where he could see schools of tiny fish swimming by.

After lunch, we were able to meet Pluto, the boys' favorite Disney character.  Gavin was a little unsure what to make of him, but Ryan offered him high fives and hugs!

As the weather worsened, we decided to return to our room so the boys could nap and we could start getting ready for dinner. 

Tonight was Pirates in the Caribbean night, which consisted of a pirate-themed dinner and a buccaneer bash deck party featuring a duel between Captain Hook and Pirate Mickey and concluding with the only fireworks spectacular at sea.  Mike, in particular, really got into the spirit of pirate night.  He attracted a lot of attention with his shoulder parrot and nose ring!