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.