Our little "Cinderella" with her "Fairy Godmother" and "Prince Charming."
Katy loved meeting Princess Aurora!
We took another Disney cruise- this time a Halloween themed voyage- aboard the Disney Dream. The destinations (Nassau and Disney's own island, Castaway Cay) were irrelevant as there was lots to do aboard the ship! We had lots of fun taking part in all the boat had to offer!
First off, this was the first cruise that we've taken where Katy was old enough to partake in the children's activities. She had a blast in the Oceaneer's Club and was begging to go back. I have to admit, the kids' area was pretty cool! Each "room" had a different theme- Monsters Inc., Toy Story, Tinkerbell, etc. The kids were free to roam throughout the supervised areas, all the while their special "bracelets" located them throughout the space. Katy has fun playing and Ted and I get some time to ourselves? Yes, please!
As expected, Katy was crazy about the Princesses! The very first morning aboard the ship, we were up bright and early to get in line to meet six of the princesses- Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Tiana, Belle and Ariel. Katy walked right up to them and happily had her pictures taken with the lovely ladies.
We met some other characters along the way- Goofy, Donald, Mickey, Minnie, Daisy, Chip and Dale, Pluto- but Katy found them less approachable. She still wanted to see them, but just not really (willingly) get her picture taken with them. One thing about the Disney Cruises- it's WAY easier to meet the various Disney characters without the huge, long lines. Sure, there were lines (especially for the princesses!), but nothing compared to the parks.
We rotated through the three on-board restaurants- Enchanted Garden, Royal Palace and Animator's Palette- each night. We ended up in the Animator's Palette (per our request) and ended up sitting right next to the screen. Throughout the dinner, Crush, from Finding Nemo, "swims" around the room and interacts with the guests. If you are lucky enough to sit close enough to the screen, Crush may interact with you. Crush caught Katy waving to him and started asking her where she was from, how old she was, etc. To our pleasure, she responded and interacted with him. It's great fun for the kids and definitely keeps them entertained throughout the meal.
Of course, we took in the live shows, in the evenings. We even got to watch Planes (complete with popcorn, of course!).
The second night aboard the ship was dedicated to "Halloween." Everybody got dressed up (even Ted and I as Prince Charming and the Fairy Godmother, respectively) and had (non-spooky) fun! The kids even got to go "trick-or-treating" throughout various stations in the main atrium of the ship.
We got off at Castaway Cay, Disney's own island, on the third day of the cruise. Ted did their Castaway Cay 5K in the morning (good job, Honey!) and then we all went ashore to play in the sun and sand, in the afternoon.
Katy stayed up way past her bedtime, ate too many french fries and chicken strips, but we ALL had a great time! Until the next time....!
