Sunday, May 18, 2008

Disney Part One

Wow!  We had an incredible time on our vacation to Disney!  We went on the Disney cruise and spent some time in Disney World as well!  I can't even begin to say enough good things about the cruise...it was amazing.  I really think that everyone should do it.  It is definitely the way to do Disney with little ones, I think.  You get to see all of the characters and there is no stress involved in anything.  Hardly ever a line.  We had no meltdowns.  It was wonderful!  So, here is a little recap...

We started out by meeting the Guesses in Disney world.  Somehow, Kim and I thought that we were staying at the same hotel, but realized that we weren't.  No big deal, we still found each other and got to let the kids swim together.  Then, we had a quick dinner and headed to bed before the cruise!!

The next morning, we got up and took Sam fishing at the resort before we loaded up on the bus to take us to the cruise.  It was really nice to have something to pass the time while we waited to get to the bus!  When we got on the bus, we got to watch Disney videos all the way to the cruise!  When we got to the port, we went through security and checked in and then headed to the boat.  We got in our room and settled a bit and then toured the ship.  By then, it was time for our safety drill.  Hilarious.  We all had to get our life jackets on...even Jacob.  I couldn't even hold him we were both so engulfed in our life jackets.  As soon as the workers saw Jacob, they told us that we could take him out and head back to our room.  So, we did and then we went to the children's area called the "club."  This place was wonderful!  It had a huge slide and all sorts of toys (even monster trucks) to play with.  Sam loved it!  We played in there for awhile and then headed to dinner.  Dinner.  It was wonderful!  The food was great, but the service was impeccable!  (I forgot to mention how clean the place is...whenever you are walking into an eating place, there is a person standing outside to hand you a wipe for your hands) I got a salad and steak...and Sam got steak, too.  And, our servers cut up Sam's food...and mine since I was holding Jacob!  So sweet and thoughtful!  That night, we put Jacob in the nursery and Sam in the club and went to a stand up comedian show that was great!  Of course, we missed them like crazy after one hour and went and picked them up.  We went back to our room, where the "host" had turned down our beds, put chocolate on them and made an animal out of a towel for Sam's bed.  It was so fun!

The next day, we docked at Disney's private island, Castaway Cay.  We were some of the first on the beach, so we got some chairs (in the shade) and played on the beach.  Jacob fell asleep in the stroller and we made sand castles and played with monster trucks in the sand.  David and Sam went out into the water on a raft and Jacob and I cuddled.  The Guesses met us out at the beach and so the kids got to play together for a while.  It was so very relaxing being on the beach!  We have never taken Sam to the beach, so it was great to see it through his eyes.  He loved having sand in between his toes and thought the water splashing up was hilarious.  After a while on the beach, we went back to the boat and let Sam play in the pool.  He went down a huge slide and played in the pool for hours until it was time to take a nap.  He fell asleep immediately and so did I!  Jacob and David toured the boat while Sam and I napped.  We got up for dinner and then went to the Toy Story show.  Sam only lasted a few minutes into it, but was hooked on Buzz Light Year.  And, of course, we got him a Buzz.  We then headed to bed, where our host had made a monkey out of a towel that was hanging above Sam's bed!  

The third day, we ported in Nassau, but we just stayed on the boat.  Sam played in the pool from 10 am til 4 pm.  He was wiped out!  We took a short nap before dinner and then played in the club after dinner before bed.

The last day, we docked at Castaway again and spent the morning on the boat.  I got to go to the spa for an hour while the boys hung out at the pool!  I am so spoiled!  I think that this was the only time that Kim and I got to have a complete conversation!  We saw each other in the spa after we both had our treatments and talked for a little while!  It was just hard to see each other since we both have nursing babies who are on completely different schedules!  Anyway, after that, we went out to the beach for a while, where Sam and David went back into the water.  This time, they saw a sting ray and some large fish swimming around!  We played in the sand some more and then we got to go on a glass bottom boat tour.  Sam loved it.  He got to feed the fish and see a ton of fish!  We went to dinner after that, and then went to bed for the last time on the boat.  

Then, the next morning, we had to leave.  I literally teared up when we were leaving.  But, we had Animal Kingdom to look forward to!  We got off the boat and went back to Disney world.  We just rode to Downtown Disney and had lunch at the Rainforest Cafe and played in the biggest toy store I've ever seen and then went back to our hotel to rest.  

On Friday, we went to Animal Kingdom for the day.  Sam was in awe of all of the animals!  We even saw a daddy lion with a full mane!  He was beautiful!  Then, we went back to Downtown Disney, where Sam fell asleep in the stroller (which, he has never done) and ate dinner.  After that, we went back to the hotel and let Sam swim until it was time for bed!  Then, we came home!  I'm tired now!  

This really was my favorite vacation ever.  We are so relaxed after being together for a week.  We had no stress and just enjoyed each other's company.  

5 comments:

Ashley Turnbull said...

Loved the (both) recaps! I am so happy ya'll had a good time (and that is a praise, right?). That's what family vacations are all about =). Can't wait to see pictures...please post soon!

The Wiggins Family said...

Wow! Sounds like a lot of fun. We want to go next time. I love all the pictures. Carlee will be visiting your blog often with Goofy on it.

Amanda said...

It sounds absolutely amazing. I am thinking so hard about when we should go. I'm glad you guys had a blast!

The Skains Family said...

Sounds like you guys had a blast. Makes me want to go! I loved all the pictures, especially of Jacob in the sink. That was hilarious!

Janelle and Ella said...

Disney...they really think of everything!! My family is a huge fan of Disney World, but we've never been on the Disney Cruise. This post just convinced me that we need to do that! It sounds amazing! Did you get to ride on the fun bus that has windows like port windows on a boat? I always see those busses when we are walking in the parking lots of the parks and they look so fun.