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.

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 up the Queen's Staircase to check out Fort Fincastle and the view from Bennet's Hill.  

Our other stop was at Castaway Cay, where we enjoyed a day at the beach.  

After a day at sea, we arrived back at Port Canaveral.

Disney Wish

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 main dining rooms were completely different. We enjoyed the shows in the Marvel and Frozen dining rooms.  

The Star Wars Lounge was pretty cool, and we liked the greater selections of foods available around the pool.

The AquaMouse slide was also pretty cool, but the areas for lounging on the top deck seemed smaller and more crowded than on the Dream and Fantasy. 

We had a really good serving crew at dinners. We especially liked talking to our head server each night.

Merrytime Cruise

 

This 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.

The kids got some traveling done in November. 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. 

Just before Thanksgiving they drove out to Texas to attend a wedding of some of Bryan's friends.

Cozumel

 

After a day at sea, we stopped at Cozumel. 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 (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.

Dream Cruise

Monday morning, we 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 a veranda stateroom, rotating through the ship's three dining rooms, and sitting by the pool and eating at the buffet.

It was a Halloween cruise, and we enjoyed the decorations and special activities. There were also three live shows in the theater: Golden Mickeys, Beauty and the Beast, and Believe.

Our first stop was on Castaway Cay, Disney's private island. We were lucky to snag a cabana for the day, and spent most of our time hanging out in it, although we did find time to swim, eat, and go for a bike ride.

Dinosaur World

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. 

We continue to enjoy stuff around Disney World when we can. Last month we attended a DVC Moonlight Magic event at Typhoon Lagoon, a special cast shopping event at ESPN Wide World of Sports, and ate dinner at the Yachtsman Steakhouse.  

We also spent some time at Epcot this month. The park celebrated its 40th anniversary on October 1st.

Coral Gables

 

We try to get out and make short visits around Florida. This 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. 

Last load from Oregon

While Jennifer was in Paris, I flew to Bend to bring the last of our stuff to Florida. Bryan had spent the summer working in Bend, so he drove back with me and we towed his car.

This was my 21st time driving across the country. We drove east through Idaho, Wyoming, and Nebraska, then turned south when we hit Missouri. We didn’t stop much, although we did check out a new Buc-ee’s in Leeds, Alabama.

Last night 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.

Jenn in Paris

Last week, 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.

Backstage Magic

 

This month I was able to attend three behind the scenes tours of attractions at Disney World. First I learned how Rock N Roller Coaster at Hollywood Studios works. I toured the ride with some Friendship Boat Captains.

The next week I did a backstage tour of the Tower of Terror at Hollywood Studios, again with Friendship Boat Captains.  

Last night Susan and I got to do a behind the scenes tour of Ratatouille in Epcot.

Denver

We just got back from a trip to Denver, where Susan attended a convention. While she was doing that, I spend sometime exploring the Capitol and grounds. The Capitol building was impressive and the grounds were nice, although the number of vagrants hanging out on the streets near the Capitol was a little disconcerting. I also visited the History Colorado Center, which had some nice displays.

Before we left town, Susan and I made a trek down Colfax Avenue to the nearest Voodoo Doughnut. We also walked around downtown a bit.

July at WDW

 

Last week some friends from Oregon came out to visit, and we spent a few days in the parks with them. On Tuesday we went to Animal Kingdom, and on Wednesday we visited the Studios. Disney had erected a giant Baymax in front of the Studios to publicize the new series on Disney+.

We also invited them to enjoy the Independence Day fireworks at our subdivision. Although it was nowhere near as good as one of Disney's shows, it wasn't bad. 

Thursday they came to visit me at work at Epcot, and were able to snag a boarding pass for the new Guardians of the Galaxy roller coaster, which they really enjoyed. Last night we joined them for dinner at Trail's End before they headed out.

Cast Special Events

Earlier this month we attended a special cast showing of the Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue at Fort Wilderness before it reopened to regular guests. It's a fun show and the food was good.

I also got to do a backstage tour of Dinosaur! in Animal Kingdom with some Friendship Boat captains. We learned about some of the theme details in the Dinoland area, and after it closed for the night, got to ride with the lights on. After that we were able to walk the track and see the animatronics up close.

Last night Susan and I went to a special cast night at the Magic Kingdom. We rode a couple of rides and enjoyed free snacks, as well as visiting with fellow cast members. 

The canopy for Tron looked cool lit up at night.