Saratoga Dreaming Oct / Nov 2016: Day 13 - Farewell farmer Mickey, Ahoy Captain Mickey!

[bambikate]

Day 13: Farewell farmer Mickey, Ahoy Captain Mickey!

Breakfast at Garden Grill and boarding the Disney Dream

We had a busy day ahead today, an 8:15 breakfast reservation at Garden Grill, back to our hotel to check out and then driving down to Port Canaveral to board the Dream for our 3 night Bahamian cruise!

We woke up at 6am, added the final things to our luggage and got ready then drove to Epcot and arrived at 8:05.

The park was almost completely empty, it was our first early breakfast reservation at Epcot so it was really cool to see it like that. We walked towards the land pavilion and checked in at the desk for our meal.





One of the servers showed us the location of a super secret hidden Mickey but I just couldn’t see it! Andy could! I still can't now! Anyone? Where is it?



We saw Chip, Dale, Mickey and Pluto. We only did a half rotation round the whole restaurant before we were full. The food was really good but there was a lot of it. It was all you care to enjoy but served family style in a skillet.

There was POG/jungle juice, coffee, water, sticky bun bake, which was a giant cinnamon bun in a skillet,There were hash brown croquettes, fruit, Mickey waffles with chocolate hazelnut sauce, ham, bacon, scrambled eggs.









We were visited by Chip, Dale, Pluto and finally by Mickey (in a fetching little farmer outfit) he had obviously just been collecting vegetables from the land.



















Mickey couldn't stay for long as he had to get changed and head down to Port Canaveral so he could get ready to Captain the Dream!

I kind of wished we had room for more food as it was so good!

Our server noticed we’d slowed down on the eating and asked if we would like any more to if we were full. We told her we were full and she said that they were about to open the park, did we want to get in the Soarin’ line before it got busy? We agreed and she whipped the bill out from behind her back. It was very efficient (even though she was probably just kicking us out ready for the 9am breakfasts )

We went down the escalator and joined the queue, it was a ten minute wait and we were sat at the very end so everything was really bent again but still a great ride.

We were still feeling really full, we were at what we call “second breath stage” where you have to stop and take an extra deep breath just to get your breath over. Ughhh not good. I know what will help! Test Track!

We had FP but as it only cuts out the beginning end of the queue and from the design stage you’re in with everyone else, it was pretty crowded and the total wait was actually 25 minutes before we got in the car. It was awesome though and a fab last ride of the holiday.





We went in to Mouse Gear for a quick browse for sweets to use up our credits (we are aiming to use our snacks and QS better this year) we had 10 snacks and 7 QS (another 21 snacks) to use! We asked if she could exchange the QS for snacks here but she said that could only be done at your resort? We bought the snacks instead but she was getting so muddled and kept doing it wrong and saying “this isn't a snack credit” when we had bought it earlier in the holiday as a snack credit. It took twenty minutes and she had to call her manager over in the end to sort it out. I was starting to get worried it was getting late for us to check out now, we had to be out of the room by 11am! The manager apologised and gave us an additional two bags of candy for the trouble

We fast walked out of the park and to the car.

Ruuuuuuun!





We made it back to our room by exactly 10:58 and wheeled our suitcases out to the car. Phew!

We drove to Carriage House to pay off was was left on our magic band.. ouch again… (Trader Sams, the Tiki light, drinks and make up) this was the first Florida holiday we had overspent from what we had budgeted.

We asked about converting QS meals into snacks and they said “Oh that can be done anywhere you are buying the snacks from!” Grrr that’s not what that woman told us…

We went into Artist’s Palette and picked up a shed load of candy and mints etc. The girls had chosen stuff they would be giving to their friends in class (it wasn’t all for them!) the lady behind the till was really helpful and when we were a couple short was showing us what else was a snack credit. We managed to spend them all. We got a selection of lollies, bagged candy, cookies, pez dispensers and mints.

We got in the car and the sat nav was now playing up again; it wouldn’t stay on. I just wanted to make sure we were going in the right direction to begin with as I knew the majority of the journey was straight. I had visions of us merrily driving the opposite way and missing the cruise!

We pulled in to the gas station at Disney Springs and I was frantically trying to get it to work. I eventually got it working just in time as Andy paid $33 for a whole tank - at least something was cheap this holiday!

The sat nav initially told us the journey would be 1 hr 45 minutes, I remember reading it was less than that, I saw a button at the bottom saying switch to toll roads (we had the Orlando sun pass included in the car rental) so we did that and it cut down to an hour and 5 minutes - hooray!

I also had printed directions just in case from the Disney Cruise website as a back up but luckily, these weren’t needed.

We managed to get the sat nav to stay on the whole journey. The drive was really easy and pretty much straight all the way down. It was really handy having the toll pass.







Excitement level: 1000





Port Canaveral itself was pretty well signposted anyway. We told the girls they could take a nap if they wanted so they had some energy for later. Imogen took up the offer and fell asleep almost instantly (she’s inherited her Daddy’s skill there!) and Izzy decided to stay awake as she liked watching outside.

We eventually went over a bridge and then a second one and we spotted the Dream in the background! It was a really exciting moment! Imogen woke up just in time to see it. We took the exit and followed the signs to the port.







We pulled up to the security guard and he asked if we were checking in bags, I said yes and he directed us over to the men wearing orange high viz jackets. I didn’t even know this was an option! It was an outside company who worked for the port not for Disney. I realised I had forgotten to put my tags on for the cruise, the guy helping said not to worry he would put them on for us and they would be in our room by later this afternoon! I have to say, it was well worth doing! We tipped him and then drove round (now with just our hand luggage - we checked in the girls Trunkies too) to the long stay car park, it was $64 for a three night cruise and the car park was connected to the terminal itself, so just a very short walk.

Just a note to say - At the end of our holiday, Peter from COTD mentioned that we could have shortened our car hire with him and he would have done the transfers to the Port and the airport which would have saved us hiring a car for three extra days for it just to be sat in a car park that we were also paying for… Doh! At least we know for next time

We came to the security desk and they asked for photo ID, we showed them and were allowed through, as we were walking away the lady shouted “Ma’am! Your cell phone!” I’d left it behind! Thank goodness she noticed! It had all the pictures and videos on it of the whole holiday. I thanked her about 1000 times and then went down to the bag check area. It was basically like airport scanners. Once we had done this we were in the main hall area where you checked in. The girls nipped to the loo then we joined the queue to get checked in. We were later than our specified Port Arrival Time but we were assured by a CM it didn’t matter and it meant there wasn’t a huge queue to check in, which was nice. As we joined a CM directed us to the Castaway Club queue and said we could join here to save time perfect!

It took about five minutes to check us in and was really easy. We had photos taken and these were registered to each of our cards. The cards were used to open our stateroom, check in and out of the kids club and when getting on and off the boat as well as making purchases (we registered a credit card to the card) It also had printed on it what dining rotation we were on. Ours was RAE - Royal Palace, Animators Palette, Enchanted Garden

[bambikate]

OK, we are ready to board!





We joined the queue to board the ship – the girls couldn’t wait for them to introduce our family as we boarded.





We scanned our cards and had a quick family photo done and went up the ramp where one of the crew asked our surname and introduced us as we boarded.
≈
The girls loved it and we stopped in the main lobby to admire the ship’s beautiful interior for a few minutes and let the girls hear all the other family announcements.







We were quite late boarding so we thought we would check if our room was ready and went up to the sixth floor. It turns out it wasn’t just us that had that idea as the staircase was rammed solid of people waiting for≈ them to open the side doors to access their staterooms.
≈
Luckily it was only a couple of minutes and then everyone dispersed to their respective rooms.

We eventually found our stateroom and put all of our hand luggage inside, then we hung our Fish Extender up and the girls decorated the door with the magnets I made.



We unpacked a little and had a browse around the room. We were really pleased that we chose this room type.







We stayed in stateroom 6514 (which happened to be the EXACT stateroom that the Dibb’s very own Aimee and Lauren stayed in before! What are the chances! There was plenty of space, 2 large portholes with seats, a desk area, TV, wardrobes, bathroom (bath with shower over) and a sofa which converted into a bunk bed! It felt very roomy as we were able to keep our cases under the bed.
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Our Navigator!











We were all a bit peckish so decided to find Cabanas and grab a bite to eat.

Interactive artwork on the way…



I have to say, I felt a little out of my depth, I have been so used to holidaying where I know exactly what I am doing and where we are going I feel really comfortable but it was so busy and all really new I felt a little overwhelmed and ended up coming back with an empty plate. Andy picked up on my stress levels and took both girls to fill up 4 plates bless him. I’m not really sure why I got stressed about how crowded it was, maybe everything was just a little overwhelming after a long day travelling as I soon settled in later on.



Window seat



We had a random selection of items as you tend to do at a buffet including ham, chips etc. The food was good and there was a huge selection.

Throughout the stay we were impressed by the level of cleanliness on the ship, nothing ever looked dirty or unkempt and they handed you antibacterial wipes upon entering and exiting every restaurant.

Everything was open house so we thought we would pop down to the Oceaneers Club to see what it was all about! The girls LOVED it and we signed them up and got them registered with magic bands (we had done the pre-registration online so it only took a couple of minutes)

Cute mirrors



Hand washing stations


We stayed for a little while and played some games there and we got first second and third place on this game where you have to jump up and down to catch the flies.



≈More cute mirrors














*Considers leaving husband here…*



Toy Story area













It was nearly time for the mandatory fire drill so we went back to our room to unpack and then made our way to the designated fire assembly point. This was a bit crazy but everyone eventually got to where they were supposed to be (ours was assembly point D in the Walt Disney Theatre.)

They went through the emergency procedures and then announced that we were now free to enjoy our vacation! Woohoo!
≈
When everyone got up to leave Imogen was really disappointed as she thought we were about to watch a show!
≈
We headed back to our room to shower and change.

Our bags were waiting for us outside along with a note to say they had confiscated a “rice cooker” from my luggage! (It was a Mickey waffle maker I bought to take home!) I think they thought I was going to be rustling up some Mickey waffles in our room! It wasn’t a problem and we just collected it when we disembarked.

And we’re off!



Tonight’s dinner was at the Royal Palace! We managed to find the restaurant pretty easily following the on-board maps and we were greeted by everyone as we walked in. It was a gorgeous restaurant and all the staff looked very smart in their uniform.





We chose main dining and had also put a request in before our cruise to be seated on a table of four, not because we are unsociable (well, we are a little) but because we thought it would be nicer to be sat on our own table and chat together as a family. Our request was granted and we were given a table near the centre of the room but still with a view of the ocean through one of the large portholes.





Our main server was Mario and our beverages server was Federick. As you probably know on the cruises the staff rotate in the restaurants the same as we do, so we had them for all three nights of the cruise. They were really good at what they did and Federick was really chatty with the kids.

Izzy was quite happy to chat with him but Imogen went into super-shy mode whenever he came over. I guess it’s difficult for kids when you’re always talking about stranger danger to them to then be more relaxed about talking to strangers all of a sudden!

Choices choices




Bread!


We chose the duck confit (Andy) and the brie with cranberry and orange chutney (Me) to start,





We also decided to purchase the classic three night wine package which meant we could choose a bottle from the classic list each night of the cruise for a set price (it worked out better value than buying one by one). We went for a Rioja tonight as we were going to be having beef and duck.

I had to take Imogen to the loo part way through the meal but this meant leaving the whole restaurant as there were none there. Annoyingly the photographer came around whilst we were gone and took a photo of just Andy and Izzy (which I could have taken anyway) and then never came back to our table!

I have to say, I am SO GLAD we didn’t pay for the photo package beforehand. After the excellent value of Memory Maker and the abundance of Photopass photographers and opportunities at WDW this was a stark comparison and the people doing the photos were few and far between and felt very amateur. In fact we didn’t buy a single photo on the cruise and just took our own.

For main I had the Chateaubriand with red wine jus, béarnaise, green beans and dauphinoise (which ended up being mashed potato and new potatoes) it was very nice. Andy had the duck (yes, duck again!) with sprout leaves, parsnip puree and parsnip crisps.





The girls went for pasta and marinara

[bambikate]

We also decided to try a cocktail each:

Double Crowned (Crown Royal, Chambord, Cointreau, Cranberry juice, freshly squeezed lime juice)



Imperial Illusion (Absolut mandarin, Apple pucker, Blue curaçao, pineapple juice)



We both opted for the Trio dessert called “Sweet Temptations” which consisted of raspberry mousse slice, mango cheesecake and Tahitian vanilla creme brûlée. It was really good.





After dinner we asked the girls if they would like to try out the kids club for a little while. The idea was to just leave them for an hour at first collect them and see how they got on and if they liked it then they could go again whenever they wanted.

We went to the Oceaneers check in desk and scanned them in. They happily waved us off and went straight to use the automated hand washing machines on the way in!

Conveniently(!) Pink lounge and Skyline lounge are very close to the Oceaneers club and we took a stroll down one level to check them out. They were pretty quiet but still had great atmosphere and looked very cosy and inviting. We had the wave phones with us in case the girls wanted collecting (they can ask a CM any time and they will send a text to the phone).

We decided to pop into Pink and browse the menu, after just enough time to look without feeling rushed the lady came over to take our order.





We had heard about the trio so decided to share that, it consisted of three champagne flutes of Moet – Moët Vintage 2000, a Moët Imperial, and a Moët Ice. I just loved the glasses they were served in.





The champagne was gorgeous too and it was so relaxing to chill out there. There was someone playing live music and it just felt really chilled. I found myself checking the wave phone for message all the time which didn’t exactly help in my relaxation! We did consider ordering another but wanted to check on the girls, the last thing I wanted was for them to feel like we’d shoved them in the kids club so we could be on our own! As we left we explained we were going to check on the kids to the lady at the bar. She said “How long have they been in there?” We said “about 45 minutes” and she said “Ohhh don’t get them yet they’ll be having a whale of a time!” We chuckled but I just wanted to see if they were OK so we went up anyway.

They were in the middle of an interactive game and as she predicted they didn’t want to go yet! I asked the CM what time the game finished and agreed with the kids we would come back then (about half an hour)

Sooo… after being proved wrong that our kids really didn’t want us to collect them yet, we decided to check out Skyline lounge. We chose a cocktail each and shared each other’s.

Light up menus!











They were great cocktails and we absolutely loved the atmosphere here and the fact the backgrounds and music kept changing between the different cities. It was really fun and reminded us of our holiday to New York together. It was really nice to be spending some time together without the kids after two weeks in the same room together! (J) Not that we don’t enjoy spending time with our little angels, of course!

After our cocktail we signed the bill (everything gets charged to your room including tips) and went up to collect the girls. They had now finished the game and we were able to get them to leave with us by mentioning the Aqua duck!

They showed us the crafty things they had made and talked≈ to us about the games they had played whilst they had been there. We asked if they would like to come again at any point on the cruise and the answer was a resounding yes!

We went back up to our room (after adding the newly made magnets to the door) and got changed into our swimming gear. I’d seen on many videos and photos online how awesome the aqua duck looked at night and were so excited to see this!

We went up to the upper deck and it was surprisingly quiet! The ride itself was a walk on, which was awesome!



We had our GoPro with us but when we got to the entrance to the ride the guy said that cameras weren’t allowed! I was quite confused as obviously I’d seen videos of people riding them so it’s either a new rule or there are a lot of rebels on youtube I left the camera with him and collected it at the end.

I was really nervous about getting a bruised bum on the bumps in the ride after I had read a trip report on the Dibb ages ago so I was wincing in anticipation of the pain when we went down the bump but luckily we escaped unscathed (but very drenched! )

We went back on another two times, again, no queue! I think as it was cooler than the day time it put some people off but it wasn’t that cold.

Here’s a video someone kindly shared to show how awesome it was!



We wrapped ourselves up and walked back to our stateroom, where we found some people had already given the fish extender gifts and oh my… they were SO GENEROUS! We couldn’t believe how much was there already! The girls were super excited and it felt Christmassy We took all of our goodies inside and when found that our stateroom host had left Ghirradelli chocolates on our pillows and the girls bunk beds had been pulled down ready for sleeping

We opened some of our FE gifts, we had been given some drinks holders and buckets and spades for Castaway Cay tomorrow, it was so kind of them and really handy as we had no room for stuff like that in our luggage













We were all pretty tired so the girls climbed into their bunk beds and Andy and I browsed the Navigator and filled out our breakfast order for the morning before hanging it on the door and then called it a night.



Tomorrow: Castaway Cay!

[sheluk]

Leaving Disney must have been sad (especially that fab room and resort - how funny we got the same one and you got another Dibbers cabin too ) but what a great morning to finish it off. Garden grill looks amazing that cinnamon roll alone is telling me I need to visit!

So glad you were enjoying your cruise. Know what you mean about it all seeming a bit daunting when we Dibbers are so used to planning, planning, planning. Love the aqua duck - although it was a bit colder at night in January lol we only braved it once! Was you on the early seating? Xx

[Loopylooloo]

Loving your cruise pics already, I am a cruisaholic, we are lucky enough to cruise every year as I work for a small cruise line, but we have never been on a Disney cruise ship! I would love to, maybe one day!

[alansmed]

Ok so it took me quite a while but I found the hidden mickey in your photo from Garden Grill...he's hiding behind the leaves in the top left of your photo. About 4/5 leaves from the top. He's got an open mouth and he's looking down towards the flowers.

Really enjoyed reading about the first day of the cruise. We've never been on one but think we will definatley look into adding it onto next year!

[mick]

Great day

Joan

[2littleboys]

Loving your cruise pics, looks amazing! I totally get what you mean with unfamiliar places and overcrowding, my anxiety levels kick in when I feel like that, I remember feeling totally overwhelmed at Disney last year on my first day as I just didn't have a clue what I was doing xx

[bambikate]

Originally Posted by sheluk

Leaving Disney must have been sad (especially that fab room and resort - how funny we got the same one and you got another Dibbers cabin too ) but what a great morning to finish it off. Garden grill looks amazing that cinnamon roll alone is telling me I need to visit!

So glad you were enjoying your cruise. Know what you mean about it all seeming a bit daunting when we Dibbers are so used to planning, planning, planning. Love the aqua duck - although it was a bit colder at night in January lol we only braved it once! Was you on the early seating? Xx

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I know, I couldn't believe it, what are the chances! The food really was lovely there.

Oooh I bet that was a bit chillier. Glad its not just me that feels like that sometimes! x

Originally Posted by Loopylooloo

Loving your cruise pics already, I am a cruisaholic, we are lucky enough to cruise every year as I work for a small cruise line, but we have never been on a Disney cruise ship! I would love to, maybe one day!

See more...

Oh wow lovely! Thanks for reading x

Originally Posted by alansmed

Ok so it took me quite a while but I found the hidden mickey in your photo from Garden Grill...he's hiding behind the leaves in the top left of your photo. About 4/5 leaves from the top. He's got an open mouth and he's looking down towards the flowers.

Really enjoyed reading about the first day of the cruise. We've never been on one but think we will definatley look into adding it onto next year!

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Ooooh I', going to try looking again with your description thank you! Glad you enjoyed! That will be awesome! Thanks for reading

Originally Posted by mick

Great day

Joan

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Thank you!

Originally Posted by 2littleboys

Loving your cruise pics, looks amazing! I totally get what you mean with unfamiliar places and overcrowding, my anxiety levels kick in when I feel like that, I remember feeling totally overwhelmed at Disney last year on my first day as I just didn't have a clue what I was doing xx

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Oh bless you! I guess it's more common than people realise. It's not a nice feeling. Thanks for reading x

[Excited6910]

I think you've confirmed for me that we need to try Garden Grill too. I have it on a list of possibles but I think were moving it to a definite. I've really enjoyed your trip report so far, thank you for taking the time to write it