Joe Jr was invited to this Social Media conference (SMMC)
which entailed a stay of two nights at a Disney Resort and a three-night
cruise, at a reasonable price. He was
bringing Emmie, Jess didn’t want to take too many days off, so we got invited
to come along. We returned from
Australia on February 3 (original plan was to return on the 5th),
but we weren’t going to pass up the opportunity to spend some time with our
granddaughter, so we joined them.
Prolog. All four
of them traveled together on the 4th, with the expectation that Jess
and Harrison would leave on the 7th.
Since this was before the start of the conference, they rented a room at
the same Disney resort. Joe decided to
keep the room for a couple of extra days, so four of us don’t all have to
squeeze into the same room. (Of course
four of us will have to squeeze into a small room on the cruise ship.) All well and good.
February 7, Tuesday.
Yesterday Jess left her backpack on the Disney bus depot, and had to
leave early today so she and Harrison could get on the flight home without her
ID. Evidently that was possible,
although there was a 45-minute stretch during which the TSA agents seemed to be
calling for instructions.
.
Anyway, we left around 6:30 am so we could make our
flight at 8:30 am. Turned out to be a
bit tight as there was quite a bit of commuter traffic and EZWay Parking didn’t
have a van ready to go. We were the last
in Group 1 to board, and had some trouble finding stowage in the first class
section (we were upgraded.) After we
landed, it was rather straightforward to get to the Disney buses, although the
signs seemed to make us go around a big circle, and we got to our hotel at
around 1 pm. Joe and Emmie met up with
us at around 1:30 pm after spending the morning in Magic Kingdom, so we all
took a nap while Joe went to one of the SMMC events. Emmie went for a swim, grandparents in tow,
after nap time.
At 6:30 pm we boarded a bus with other SMMC guests and
had dinner at Wild Safari. I was
surprised at how big the gathering was (each participant having brought along a
few guests). Afterwards the group was
treated to a preview of the “Rivers of Light” show and walked by the Tree of
Life Awakenings show before we headed back to the hotel. A long day.
SMMC Name Tags.
Emmie and Anne at the Pool of Port Orleans - Riverside.
Parts of the Rivers
of Light Show.
Accommodations.
Disney Port Orleans – Riverside.
(Room 3735, 2 nights.)
February 8, Wednesday.
Joe Jr had an early event, so we had Emmie for the morning. The park that she picked was Magic Kingdom,
so we dutifully went and got on a few rides.
Emmie was here last year and took in everything (that was reasonable for
her age); this year, however, she was a lot more cognizant of the scarier
aspects of the indoor rides, including “It’s A Small World,” which surprised a
little. So we filled the morning with
rides on the Race Track, Dumbo, the Carousel, and getting autographs from
Disney characters. It looks like the
love Joe Jr has for Disney is not shared by his daughter, at least for now.
Dinner was a pizza and pasta party at PizzeRizzo at Hollywood
Studios, sponsored by Alamo Car Rental.
The evening concluded with a Star Wars-themed fireworks show.
Emmie on the Carousel.
Liberty Square Riverboat.
Dinner at PizzeRizzo of Disney's Hollywood Studios.
Star-War Themed Fireworks.
February 9, Thursday.
Joe Jr again had a morning meeting, so Anne and I took Emmie to
breakfast at the hotel café (Riverside Mill Food Court.) Things are not that expensive, the meal cost
about $20.
At about 11:15 am the whole group (a few hundred?)
boarded several buses to head out to Cape Canaveral where we would board Disney
Dream for a 3-night cruise to Castaway Cay.
The check-in process was quite straightforward. As the room wasn’t ready yet, we had lunch at
the Cabana on Deck 9.
If memory serves, Disney Wonder is about 300 meters long,
has close to 900 rooms, can accommodate 2400 guests and a crew of about
900. Not big by today’s huge cruise ship
standards, but 3 times around the deck still equals a mile.
After checking out of the boat for a bit, it was dinner
time at Tiana’s Place at 5:45 pm. I had
the Ahi Tuna Tartare, Seafood Soup, and the Sea Bass; the meal was okay, not
spectacular.
Buffet lunch on Disney Wonder. The last time Emmie ate so heartily was when we were in Germany a couple of summers ago.
Our Stateroom in the Disney Wonder. This sofa turns into a single bed, and another drops from the ceiling. That's where Joe and Emmie slept.
Accommodations.
Disney Wonder, Room 7088 (3 nights.)
February 10, Friday.
Today is an at-sea day. As I type
this we are whiling away the time sitting in the middle of the ocean, somewhere
near us were docked a few other boats.
It is a short distance from Cape Canaveral to the Bahamas, after all. While there are some activities on board, in
our jet-lagged state we haven’t joined any of them. One thing I did was laundry. Self-service laundry costs only $4 (wash and
dry), an amazingly reasonable deal for a cruise ship.
Breakfast again at the Cabana (we are not into fine
dining.) Joe Jr is in a meeting, Emmie
with Kid’s Club, and Anne and I are sitting here on Deck 9. It is a bit cooler than expected, though.
Lunch was at Triton’s with Emmie, Joe was still involved
with his group meetings. I had the
Ginger-flavored Carrot soup, meatloaf, and apple pie (no sugar added.) Emmie really enjoyed her halibut and saffron
rice, and ate the ice cream that came with my apple pie.
For tonight’s dinner Joe booked Anne and me into the Palo
Dining Room. An extra fee ($30 each) is
tagged on for eating here. The dining
room is mid-level grade, food was okay.
The meal started with an antipasto; Anne had the fried calamari and
prawn, seared sea scallops, and the almond soufflé; I had the cioppin soup,
rack of lamb, and the chocolate soufflé.
Our server is from Serbia.
Top Deck of Disney Wonder.
Photo Opportunity with Frozen's Anna and Elsa. I have no idea what the story is.
Antipasto and two appetizers: Calamari & Shrip and Cioppin.
Rack of Lamb at Palo on Board Disney Wonder.
Vanilla Souffle and Chocolate Souffle.
It was a Pirate-Theme Evening. This is as fierce as Emmie looks.
February 11, Saturday.
After crawling along for about 36 hours, the ship finally docked at
Castaway Cay, a private island in the Bahamas owned by Disney. Anne, Joe and Emmie went on the island first,
I followed a bit later. We spent most of
the time on the beach; and it was a comfortable stay as the temperature was
moderate (high of around 80F), we had an umbrella providing shade, and the fine
sand felt cool to the touch if it wasn’t under direct sunlight. Lunch consisted of BBQ chicken, ribs, and
assorted side dishes. I headed back to
the ship after lunch, the others rented a couple of bikes to ride on the island
a bit.
Dinner was at Animal’s Palate. It was then back to the hotel room to pack
for disembarkation.
The Ship docked at Castaway Cay.
One of Several Beaches on the Island.
Dinner at Animator's Palate.
February 12, Sunday. Ship docked probably around 5
am. It was zipping along at 22
knots. We had breakfast, disembarked,
and took the Dinsey-provided shuttle to Orlando International Airport. We stuck around for a while before getting an
Enterprise rental car to drive down the Fort Myers. Arriving at around 3 pm, we drove in Ding
Darling National Park to look for birds – not much success there.
We met up with Miss Ruth and York and had a nice dinner
at Sanibel Marriott’s restaurant. It was
good to be able to see them.
Meanwhile, Joe Jr’s flight was delayed because of
mechanical issues. That plane eventually
took off – about 7 hours late. Joe opted
for a flight tomorrow; the uncertainty of waiting at the airport probably too
much for a 4-year old. Turns out Boston
schools are closed tomorrow (Monday) anyway.
Roseate Spoonbills at Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge.
White Pelicans.
Dinner with Miss Ruth and York at Tarpon House, Marriott Sanibel Resort and Spa.
Accommodation: Residence Inn Fort Myers Sanibel (1
night.)
February 13, Monday.
This is about 4 pm, we are sitting in the RSW airport. This is a very quiet airport, much bigger
than the current traffic warrants, but as a result provides a quiet place to wait. Free wifi on top of that. In any case, our 1:30 pm flight has been
delayed multiple times, and is now slated to depart at around 5:30 pm. Airlines of course tell their passengers that
a little at a time, so we could make decisions only a little at a time.
What we ended up doing was revisiting some of the places:
Marina South in Cape Coral, North Star Yacht Club in North Fort Myers, and Lee
County Manatee Park. Had we known we
would have 3 additional hours on our hand, we would most likely give Ding Darling
Wildlife Refuge another shot.
We happened upon this OK UK Fish-n-Chips place. Rather good, and inexpensive. Third-generation from the UK.
We stopped by Lee County Manatee Park to watch manatees. Saw a few glimpses. If you zoom in you will see the back of one.
It was quite straightforward to pick up our car and
return home.
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