Holidays in the parks

After the cruise Jenn and I spent a day in Animal Kingdom. We enjoyed a couple of attractions and seeing the holiday decorations.

After Christmas some friends came out unexpectedly for almost a week. We were able to spend a couple of days in the parks. At Epcot we enjoyed the Festival of Holidays. 

We also spent some time at Disney Springs. It was pretty crowded with all the holiday shoppers. 

Finally, we spent a day at Sea World. We caught a couple of animal shows and the kids rode the roller coasters. I enjoyed a couple too. The new Icebreaker roller coaster was operating, but I wasn't willing to wait in line for it, and Sea World has started construction on another coaster that will open next year.

Castaway Cay

Wednesday was our second stop, Castaway Cay, where we enjoyed a day at the beach. We mostly stayed in Serenity Bay, which is for adults only. Dinner that night was pirate themed. We ate in the Marvel restaurant again.   

 

Thursday was at sea, so we mostly hung out around the pool. The AquaMouse slide was pretty cool, but the areas for lounging on the top deck seemed smaller and more crowded than on the Dream and Fantasy. Like the other ships. there are three Broadway style shows in the theater. On the Wish, they are Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Disney Seas the Adventure.

We had a really good serving crew at dinners. We especially liked talking to our head server each night. We took a photo with them on the last night, when we ate in the Frozen restaurant.

We arrived back at Port Canaveral this morning.

Bahamas

  

Our first port was Nassau in the Bahamas. Unfortunately, the Hard Rock here had closed during the pandemic. Susan and Jenn looked around the shops a bit near port, then headed back to the ship. 

I walked through town up to the Queen's Staircase to check out the view from Bennet's Hill.

Fort Fincastle was built on Bennet's Hill in 1793 to protect Nassau from pirates.

There was a nice view of the ships at port and the Atlantis resort from the top.

Rapunzel graces the back of the Wish. 

Merrytime Cruise

 

Monday morning, we drove out to Port Canaveral to board the Disney Wish for a four night Merrytime Cruise to the Bahamas. Susan and I had spent November working and getting stuff done, so it was nice to slow down.

This was our first time on the Wish, and it was decorated for Christmas. While still a Disney ship, it definitely has some differences from the Fantasy and Dream. The atrium features a statue of Cinderella, and her story influences the decor in much of the ship. 

The main dining rooms are completely different than the Dream and the Fantasy. They are 1923, Worlds of Marvel, and Arendelle: a Frozen Dining Adventure. Monday night we ate in 1923. Named after the year Walt and Roy Disney started their first studio, it contains displays of artwork and maquettes from Disney animated movies. 

 

We enjoyed the show in the Marvel restaurant last night. Screens around the restaurant showed Ant-Man and Wasp demonstrating the quantum cores on the table, and the finale has them walking through the diners. 

The Star Wars Lounge was pretty cool. While the other Disney ships have several bars and lounges in one “entertainment district”, on the Wish they are more spread out. We really liked the greater selections of foods available around the pool. Beside pizza and burgers, the Wish has BBQ and tacos and burritos. The buffet area on the upper deck is called Marceline Market.

Holidays arrive

As soon as Halloween was over, the decorations at Magic Kingdom were switched to Christmas, and it started holding Very Merry Christmas Parties, after a two year hiatus. 

Last weekend Bryan and Jenn drove out to Texas to attend a wedding of some of Bryan's friends.

At Epcot the Food & Wine Festival ended, and after Thanksgiving, the Festival of the Holidays started. 

Early November

The kids celebrated Halloween with friends at Universal. 

The first Saturday of the month Jennifer attended a book convention held in a hotel near Disney Springs. She hopes to start going to these conventions as an author soon, rather than just a fan.

The kids got some traveling done in early November. Last week, Jennifer flew up to Boston to visit a friend, and while there they drove into New Hampshire and Rhode Island. Meanwhile Bryan went out to Portland for a long weekend. 

Cozumel

 

Thursday morning we stopped at Cozumel, Mexico. Susan and Jenn shopped a bit, then went back to the ship.  

We had eaten at the Hard Rock Cafe in Cozumel back in 2017, so didn't need to go back. I did stop by the shop and bar near the port, but the bar appeared to be closed due to covid.  

Bryan and I took the ferry to the Playa del Carmen on the mainland. It took just under an hour to cross, then we spent about an hour looking around.

We had a drink at the Hard Rock Cafe there (No. 33), then took the ferry back to Cozumel and reboarded the ship.

After another day at sea, on Saturday morning we cruised back into Miami, disembarked, and headed home.

Castaway Cay

Our first stop was on Castaway Cay, Disney's private island. We were lucky to snag a cabana for the day, and although it was pretty pricey, we enjoyed it and having someone come by to bring us snacks and drinks. 

We spent most of our time hanging out in it, although we did find time to swim, eat at the BBQ, and go for a bike ride. The Cabana was in the Serenity Bay Area, which has an adults only beach, and a bit more selection at its BBQ area. Serenity Bay is the farthest area away from the ship, but there are trams that go between the areas. 

That night many guests wore costumes to dinner. Jennifer wore a Rapunzel outfit, and Susan and I went as Carl and Ellie from Up. 

Wednesday we were at sea. We spent most of the day lounging around, then had a formal dinner that night.

Dream Cruise

Monday morning, all four of us drove down to Miami. We had lunch at the Hard Rock near Miami Beach (No 32), then headed to the Port of Miami, where we boarded the Disney Dream for a five night cruise. This summer Susan had transferred to a job with the Cruise Line, so we are now able to get a great rate on last minute cruises.

The Dream is the sister ship to the Disney Fantasy, and we once again enjoyed veranda staterooms, rotating through the ship's three dining rooms, and sitting by the pool and eating at the buffet. We also enjoyed visiting with the DVC representatives on board.

It was a Halloween cruise, so there were decorations and special activities, and the characters wore special costumes at times. The character featured in the Dream’s atrium is Donald Duck, in a navy officer’s uniform.

The stern of the ship features Sorcerer Mickey. The three live shows playing in the theater were Golden Mickeys, Beauty and the Beast, and Believe. The projection sets of the Beauty and Beast show were pretty cool. 

Dinosaur World

At the end of September, Hurricane Ian blew through central Florida. Disney closed their parks for two days. The wind really howled the night it came through, and the next morning we found several of our plants blown over. 

Epcot celebrated its 40th anniversary on October 1st. We also spent some time at the park last week.

Jennifer celebrated the release of her second book with a trip to the Magic Kingdom.

Today Susan and I had to run out to Tampa, so we stopped at Dinosaur World on the way back. It's a rather simple place, consisting mostly of walking paths with statues of dinosaurs along them.

At about 20 acres, it took us about two hours to walk all the trails.

Coral Gables

 

We try to get out and make short visits around Florida. Last week, Jennifer wanted to attend a book signing down in Coral Gables, so we headed down for the day.

 

For lunch, we stopped at my 31st Hard Rock Cafe. This one was located inside a casino in Hollywood Florida, north of Miami. 

Next to the casino is a guitar shaped hotel.  

Although she is pretty busy writing and selling her books, Jenn occasionally spends some time in the parks. Last week she met some friends at Universal, and this week at Magic Kingdom. Last night we all went to dinner at the Yachtsman's Steakhouse. I really enjoyed it.

Earidescent Evening

Last week Susan and I attended another Earidescent Evening, this time at Epcot with Bryan and Jennifer. 

We enjoyed free snacks and rode the new Guardians of the Galaxy roller coaster as well as a few other attractions.

This week we attended a special cast shopping event at ESPN Wide World of Sports and a DVC Moonlight Magic event at Typhoon Lagoon.

Jenn in Paris

While Bryan and I were driving back to Florida, Jennifer went to Paris for a convention. While there she spent some time in the city, including seeing the Eiffel Tower at night.

 

She also checked out the stores on the Champs-Élysées. 

One day she went out to the Disney resort to visit the parks with a friend. Disneyland Paris was celebrating its 30th anniversary. 

Over in the Studios park she checked out the new Avengers Campus.