May 15, 2014 - At Sea

Just like I start to get a little sad on the last few days of vacation, knowing that it's soon over, I start to get a little sad when writing the last few days of a trip report!  Thank you to everyone who has been reading along!

Our blackout curtains allowed us to sleep in late that morning! Rachel and I woke up and were talking, and Max announces from the other side of the room, "No one is trying to sleep over here." "Max, it's 10 o'clock." "10 o'clock!? No way!"

Breakfast - Enchanted Garden

We caught up with my parents to go to Enchanted Garden for a late breakfast. When we arrived, we requested to be seated in one of the circular booths. The hostess told us that the table only seats four, but then another host walked up and said that we could fit five in the booth. So we did. But I should note that while the booth can seat five adults just fine, the table is really only intended to be set for four... there isn't much room for an additional place setting.


Breakfast in Enchanted Garden is buffet-style. A server brings your drinks and takes your omelette order, but there is a buffet for all other food.



It's not a Disney vacation without Mickey Mouse waffles.







After breakfast, we passed by the Princess Gathering in the lobby atrium.



Look at that madness!



I haven't been giving updates about Fish Extender gifts, but we had been getting them randomly throughout the cruise. We got some really cool gifts that morning. Someone had personalized straw cups for all three of us with vinyl! I actually had a similar craft in mind for our Fish Extender gift, but the vinyl I ordered didn't arrive until after the cruise (A month and a half later! I wasn't happy). Probably for the best, as that type of craft looks really time-consuming and like something that would have stressed me out even more.

Disney Animation - Staging a Scene

The entire gang went to Disney Animation.  The room was quite crowded, as it was a sea day and the only animation class of the day, not to mention the final class of the series.  There weren't any tables left, so we had to sit at the benches along the perimeter of D Lounge.

First, we learned about storyboards and how to stage a scene.  We had picked up paper with four squares.  Inside the first square, we were to draw our character.  In the second square, we put him in an environment.  For the third square, we introduced a conflict.  And in the fourth square, we resolved the conflict.

I really enjoyed Rachel's storyboard...



She created Wedgie, the slice of cheese who gets cut in half, but then finds his "other half". Pretty darn cute!

Dad's is also funny...



I think it's a flower. Another flower flips him the bird. And I suppose there is no resolving that conflict.

We then drew Winnie the Pooh. They gave us paper with pre-drawn circles which was really nice because drawing the initial circle is such a pain.



The key is to keep his eyes really small. The eyes that I drew are a bit too big which give Pooh a weird alien-looking appearance.

After Pooh, we tried to tackle Tigger...



A very Muppet-looking Tigger.

If you'd like to learn more about Disney Animation classes on Disney Cruise Line, I suggest that you read my post on "The Persistence of Disney Animation" class and my tips on what to bring to improve your animation class experience.

Satellite Falls (adult-only sundeck)

This is funny.... for the first and only time all week, I was (kind of) ID'd. I was walking up to Satellite Falls and was a bit ahead of Max when a bartender says, "Excuse me, miss. This area is for adults 18 and older, please." Uh, yeah... that's why I'm here. "I'm 22."  He looked skeptical, and then I was a bit sassy, "Here - I can show you my card. It has a big 'A' on it for Adult." "Oh, no. I trust you. I trust you." And then he quickly walked away, avoiding eye contact. UGH! I HATE it when bartenders say, "I trust you." Trust me?? You don't have to trust me because I just proved it to you. It is a fact that I am adult.  That's when you apologize and perhaps awkwardly compliment me for my youthful appearance.  I think he was just really embarrassed and ready to get away as quickly as possible, but I was peeved.

What's weird is that I was a lame target.  I was alone (if he didn't see Max), and I walk like I'm on a mission.  So even if I was a teenager, it's not like I was being loud or disruptive, and perhaps I just needed to find my parents quickly.  On the other hand, I am very glad that Disney enforces its adult-only areas, I suppose even if that subjects me to awkward encounters with bartenders who confuse me for a child.  It's just completely strange that the one time I got mistaken for someone underage, it wasn't when I was purchasing an alcoholic beverage.







Max and Dad had been talking all week about having a beer chugging contest. Loser fills the other's mug.



Place your bets!



And the winner is....



Max!









Max and I went to Flo's V8 Cafe. That's when I realized that they were serving Mickey Mouse-shaped pretzels. The pretzels were all plain, and you added the salt or cinnamon yourself. Because we love Walt Disney World, we really enjoyed finding Disney Park food on the ship.

Disney's Believe - Walt Disney Theatre

Like Disney Wishes, Disney's Believe is a mash-up of popular Disney songs.  Dr. Greenaway is so focused on his garden that he overlooks his daughter Sophia's birthday.  He is stressed about a flower which won't bloom, so Sophia tells him that he just needs a bit of magic.  Dr. Greenaway doesn't believe in magic, so Sophia makes a special birthday wish to turn her dad's watering can into a magic lamp.  Out pops Genie (yes, the same spectacular Genie from Aladdin - A Musical Spectacular) to grant Dr. Greenaway's accidental wish to believe in magic.

The narration and story line in Disney's Believe isn't quite as corny as Disney Wishes.  However, I found the set changes and choreography to be more impressive in Wishes.  For a great portion of the show, the setting remained in the garden and Disney characters came there.  It wasn't until later that the set began changing.  I suppose you could look at the set changes as symbolic of Dr. Greenaway's ability to believe in magic.  As he becomes more open to the idea of magic, he is able to leave the garden and enter new, fantastical worlds.

This show wouldn't be nearly as impressive without Disney's incredible cast.  The actor who plays Genie is very talented and adds the perfect dose of comedic relief throughout the show.  At first, I wasn't too sold on the actor who played Dr. Greenaway, but throughout the show we hear more of his great vocal talent.  Also, this show incorporates an incredibly catchy original song, "What Makes the Garden Grow" which we found ourselves singing the rest of the week.

Disney's Mirror Mirror

After Disney's Believe, we decided to check out Mirror Mirror in the D Lounge.  It is an incredibly cute game show hosted by the Huntsman (who didn't kill Snow White) and his wife.  The banter between the wife and the huntsman is hilarious, and the entertainment team does a great job hosting the show.  The game show was judged, of course, by the Magic Mirror.



The room is split into teams by six of the Dwarf names.  The seventh dwarf, Dopey, was there with us to help with the game.  We just happened to be sitting in the team which consisted only of adults.  The first game was a Disney quiz which our team did really well on.  The guy answering for us knew a lot about Disney movies.  The second game required two team members to go to the stage, and the host actually sent two little boys from a different team up for us.  I suppose it was so that we wouldn't have had an advantage because the game was finishing the lyrics of Disney songs and had Rachel and myself gone up there, we would have crushed our competition. The little boys representing our team didn't do so hot. Not one answer.  And the third game was a crazy relay for which Rachel and my mom were selected!



My mom had to dress up like a dwarf (that's her in the green), and Rachel brought her gems to place in the holes. They were supposed to place their color gems, but it turned out that some teams didn't have colors in the treasure box at the back of the room, so everyone was just placing random gems wherever.



Run, Rachel, Run!

Ooh La La - Champagne Bar

We had to take Mom and Dad to Ooh La La for pre-dinner drinks. Once again, the lounge was practically empty.





This time, I tried the Pomegranate Passion (left), and Dad had the Blue Angel.

Dinner - Royal Court Captain's Gala

It was our third time in Royal Court that week. I am glad that of all three restaurants, Royal Court was the one that we had three evenings in because it was our overall favorite.



For a starter, I had the Oysters Rockefeller on the Half Shell.



For a second course, the Garden Fresh Salad.



And it was lobster night, so we had Oven-Baked Lobster Tail all around! I was happy to see that Disney presents the lobster to you in the shell and then the waiter removes it for you. I appreciate the presentation which it seems like other cruise lines are doing away with. On our Carnival Breeze cruise, the lobster was already removed from the shell when we received it.



And for dessert, I had the Warm Chocolate Lava Cake... which I personally enjoyed more than the Chocolate Souffle at Palo.



Max finally got his Chocolate Cheesecake. It was actually on the Sugar Free menu.



And Rachel got her Mickey Mouse ice cream bar (offered every night on the kids' menu). What lovely presentation!

Buckets N Boards (adult show)

Max and I were planning to meet my dad at the Rhythm and Comedy of Buckets N Boards adult show, but by the time we arrived, The Tube had reached maximum capacity, and they had overflow seating in La Piazza.  We went to La Piazza where they had set up a large screen with a projector.  I think I would have enjoyed the show more if I was actually in the venue.  Max and I both agreed that the percussion part of their show was really entertaining, but they took too much time for the "comedy" part which wasn't even really funny.  The breaks between musical numbers were ridiculously long, and it didn't really keep my attention.  At one point in the show, one of the guys ran over through La Piazza and high-fived us all for watching in overflow.  After that, Max and I left, so I'm not sure how the show ended.

My dad had come later and was able to get into The Tube because some people had left, so he watched the show from in there.

Movie PremEAR: Million Dollar Arm

What is unique about Disney Cruise Line is that they show first-run movies at sea.  And because they own their own movies, they can also premier their movies at sea when they premier on land.  I was really excited to find that Million Dollar Arm would be premiering while we were on our cruise because it was a movie I was truly interested in seeing.  The movie stars Jon Hamm (Mad Men), Suraj Sharma (Life of Pi), Madhur Mittal (Slumdog Millionaire), and Pitobash (debut).

While throughout the cruise, first-run movies are played several times a day in the Buena Vista Theater, the PremEAR event was held in the larger Walt Disney Theatre.  Before the movie, Rachel, Max, and I went to the pool deck to fill up cups of soda to bring into the theater.  We also bought popcorn outside of the theater.  It's a little funny that of all of the food that Disney does not charge for (Mickey Mouse ice cream bars, Mickey Mouse pretzels, turkey legs...), they do charge for popcorn.  It's $3.50 for a small popcorn or $7.00 for a large reusable container with $3.50 refills.  If you think you'll get popcorn several times throughout the cruise, it might be wise to purchase the refillable container, as you get a large popcorn for the price of a small.

The PremEAR was surprisingly uncrowded.  The next morning was Castaway Cay, so I think many other guests were going to bed early since they had an early morning the next day.



How do you spend your sea days - going to shows and activities, or all day at the pool?  What is your favorite Disney Cruise Line dining room?  Comment below!

NEXT: Day 7 - Castaway Cay