Sunday, September 25, 2011

Day (9/25/11) - The Disney Dream

We arrived in Port Canaveral around the time boarding was scheduled to begin.  The check-in process was extremely smooth and efficient.  In fact, we were on the ship less than 30 minutes after pulling into the parking lot.  Before exploring the ship, we stopped by our room to drop off our carry-on luggage and then enjoyed a buffet lunch where Ryan had his first of many chocolate ice cream cones!






After lunch, we decided to walk around the ship to see all the fun activities it offered.  On the top deck, we discovered a miniature golf course.  Ryan was amazed that we could play miniature golf on a boat!  The boys played a couple of holes before continuing to explore the ship.



By mid-afternoon, the boys were exhausted.  Since we knew we had a long night ahead of us we encouraged them to lay down for a short nap.  Ryan rested, but refused to sleep, afraid he might miss out on something.  Gavin was unconscious by the time his head hit the pillow!



After the mandatory lifeboat drill, we returned to the top deck for the Sail Away Party where the Disney characters made their first appearance.  The boys enjoyed the celebration as well as watching the police boat lead us out of the harbor.



For dinner the first night, we were assigned to the restaurant, Animator's Palate.  On our previous cruise, this was the dining room that transitioned from black and white sketches to full color pictures throughout the meal.  On the Disney Dream, Animator's Palate, includes large interactive screens that feature characters from the movie, Finding Nemo as well as activities to keep the children entertained during the meal.  Throughout the meal, Crush (the sea turtle from Finding Nemo who speaks like a surfer dude) would appear on the screen and personally chat with guests sitting at the nearby tables.  I'm not sure how an animated character was able to have an unscripted discussion with guests and respond appropriately - I guess it's the magic of Disney!  I was impressed enough with the Mickey Mouse shaped ketchup blobs and paint brush shaped knives!







After dinner, we went to explore the Oceaneer Club, a children's activity center with various themed rooms, including  Andy's Room (from Toy Story), Monster's Academy (from Monster's, Inc.), Pixie Hollow (from Tinkerbell ) and Disney's Explorer Pod (the submarine from Finding Nemo).  It also included a room with child-friendly computers and video consoles, an arts and crafts room, an animator's studio, and a lab for cooking fun recipes and performing "super sloppy science experiments."  While we were there, the Green Army Men showed up for Toy Story Boot Camp where Ryan learned basic military maneuvers such as how to salute.




Next, we went to the Walt Disney Theatre to see The Golden Mickeys, "a musical live show celebrating the star in all of us.  The Golden Mickeys is an awards show in which Disney movie Characters are nominated in several categories, including heroism and romance. As the awards ceremony is set to begin, the Master of Ceremonies fails to appear, leaving a shy stage manager to host the big event. During the course of the show, the stage manager learns—through spectacular musical and dance numbers starring some of your favorite Disney Characters—the valuable lesson that anything is possible and dreams really can come true when you believe."





Finally, we returned to our stateroom eager to see what type of towel animal awaited us.  The boys were excited to discover their towel had been turned into a crab, with chocolate bars as its eyes!  Ice cream for lunch and chocolate before bed - that's what vacation is all about!

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