Goin' with the Flow- TCD's Disney Dream Trip Report

[DznyRulz 1]

Wherever the TCD family goes they always look like they're having a great time. I can't wait for the next installment.

[Lou... 3,118]

I may not read TRs but I sometimes look at the photos.

Uh, whadya think, I'm blind? Did I notice, of course I did. But I have to ask the obvious question.

In case you didn't notice, Mrs. TCD is a stone cold fox.

[Lil Lisa 53]

Lovin' the report! Maybe you might even be able to convince me to take a cruise...

[We4mickey 6]

The Aquaduck line was shorter when we were in Nassau too. Your family always looks like they are having so much fun! Can't wait to read the rest. Hurry!

[4mickey2 41]

great tr-tcd! i'm so glad all the fiends take us along on their trips. i absolutely love the big screen shot!! :rofl2: that was awesome-definitely bragging rights there! :)

[Lou... 3,118]

absolutely love the big screen shot!!

that was awesome-definitely bragging rights there!

You mean this one.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

As per usual, there are a lot of comments to which I must respond.

Thanks to all reading along, and please keep the comments coming!

Nice, Page one!

NOT!

But I am in.

Looking forward to hearing about TCD wrestling a shark and zipping through the Bermuda triangle on a Jet Ski with one hand on the wheel!

Not quite page one, but page two is good.

Not to worry, there will be adventure and danger in this trip report. Sorry to tell you that none of it involved a jet ski or a shark. I'm pretty cool, but I am no Fonzi.

I just can't wait to see which deck the pop up went on

Funny you should ask. If I could have brought it, I would have. We would have had more room that we did in our cabin.

Love the sail away party. Looks like you all had a blast. Was the line for the Aqua Duck always that long? Yikes!!

Yes, we had a blast. For five straight days.

No, the Aqua Duck line was not always that long. We were able to ride it plenty. I thought the line would have been shorter right there at the beginning, but apparently that is the first thing everyone wants to do.

I am in too!

I love the list idea. Did you get them all done?

That is a good question.

I need to post a copy of the list, and they we will see how we all did as we go through the cruise.

It's cool that you got the whole clan together.

As the kids get older, I really cherish the times that we are all actually altogether.

You can't get much more together than on a boat in the middle of the ocean. I'm happy for you big fella.

When you are right, you are right.

I can't think of anything better than a cruise to provide some real quality family time. One thing that was great is that the rule for our family on the cruise is that all phones get turned off when we sail. You can pay for internet access, but I decided not to. So we were all off the grid for 5 days. Where else can you do that?

Welcome back.

Love the family beach photo! So sweet to see you all together.

Who'd a thunk a hot, male, fedora wearing model would be posing in front of a crappy tourist shop in Port Canaveral? Guess you were just in the right place at the right time to snap that photo.

(Looks like some nerdy, attention craving guy on your boat, also bought one of those fedoras)

Great start as always! ^-^

Geez, Stef, your computer monitor must be broken. I am not seein any nerdy attention craving guy with a fedora in any of the photos.

WooHoo! A Dream Report!! We LOVED sailing on the Dream last year!

Woo Hoo is right!

I remember your Dream TR, and we LOVED sailing the Dream too!

:yay: I made it in before I was 10 pages behind!!!

Yes. Your wife is beautiful, but then again so is the entire TCD gang. It's great seeing your whole family together. I'm sure you agree with that. :)

Looking forward to the rest.... impatiently of course.

ETA: I am very sorry the lady in the shrunken swimsuit decided to dance beside twin #1. Cruises must do strange things to people. ;D

Thanks, KFK.

It is always great to get the whole family together. And that is getting hard to do.

You are right about cruises doing strange things to people.

This report will have more proof of that.

Woo Hoo, cast off the lines we are ready to cruise

Yes, time to get this TR sailing!!!

I want to ride the Aqua Duck and I am curious about those lines.

Poor Twin #1 at the Sailaway party... other than that TCDMR.

Congrats on making the big screen first. I hope you didn't let them forget it.

There are lots of opportunities to ride the Aqua Duck with short waits. As you can imagine that means going at off times. But, that is fine with us.

Yeah, I made the big screen first, but it was just one of my many firsts on the cruise, so I didn't rub it in too much.

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

More comments!

I wish I could multi-quote more than ten at a time.

But I still can't.

So, stand by while I get this batch taken care of:

What an awesome beginning to your trip. Thank you bringing me along.

I am looking forward to the Villian show.

PS-Love that you appreciate your family so much.

We will be going to the Villians show soon.

I do appreciate my family. More than words can say. One of the reasons I love ff.net is because I am among like-minded people who also appreciate their families. Unfortunately, that is not a common thing in today's society.

Great update. the fedora is awesome and you have my compliments for not only pulling it off but continuing to wear it to embarrass your daughters! I cant wait to do things just to embarrass my kids when they are teenagers otherwise it would be much less fun having teenagers. Looking forward to more!

Thanks, Aaron.

Truth be told, you don't need to do very much to embarass a teenager these days. Just being around is enough. The TCD girls are actually past the embarassment stage. They just shake their heads knowingly. Just like their mom.

Great start TCD. I must tell you that the last and only time my family has been on a Dis-cruise was the Magic in the summer of 1998, just after its maiden launch. Mrs. BassMaster was pregnant with my son, so we can actually say that the entire family was on that cruise. Unfortunately, that it was one of our least favorite cruises ever, but we all know that they have worked out the bugs, bigtime. Of course, they've had 13 years to make it MAGICal. Thanks so much for sharing. BTW - the smiles on TCD family faces tell it all. They would make the Cheshire Cat jealous. Bravo, dad.

Thanks, Ben.

We didn't sail DCL until the bugs were all worked out, so all of our DCL cruises have been magical.

You ought to give them another try before that son of yours leaves the nest.

I too am curious to hear about those AquaDuck lines. Are they always long?

Furthermore, I am disappointed to hear that the apple munching whack job was a stowaway on the ship. Please tell me you alerted the captain to her presence? Was she thrown in the brig? Or made to walk the plank??

No, the Aqua Duck lines were not always that long.

Since I didn't bring my camper along, I didn't have my spankula handy to chase SW away. I will remember to pack it on the next cruise, though.

Ok, I haven't gotten to page two yet, but I wanted to weigh in...your family picture on the beach is beautiful.

And obviously, Twin #1 is a genius!! A TCD List of Fun!? Where do I get one?? I'd like to place my order! :jumpforjoy

Can't wait to read more. Thanks for sharing as always!!

Thanks for reminding me to post the LOF. I meant to do that, but I didn't have a good photo of it up close. I will take care of that in my next update.

Love the TR! It makes me so happy to see that your girls still love doing things as a family.....mine is growing up too fast, and you give me hope, lol! I've never thought about doing a cruise, so I'm excited to see yours!

You are right about the kids growing fast thing.

Disney World and Disney Cruises are places where we can all get together as a family and find something for everyone.

BTW, my 16yodd has a hat just like that with a different band. I think she looks better in hers that you do in yours, but probably just because i am her mother. Oh, and she is gorgeous.

I have not doubt that your DD (or anyone else for that matter) looks better in her hat than I did in mine.

The Aqua Duck lines are much shorter on Castaway Cay day.

I have heard that.

But, when we are at Castaway Cay, we are off the ship for as long as possible.

Great update!

Thanks, Gwen.

There is still a lot more to come!

Really enjoying this one so far! Happy Anniversary to you and Mrs. TCD!

Thanks.

I hope you keep reading, as this one is just getting off the ground!

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Andrew, You have one Beautiful All American :usa: looking Family there my Fellow Fort Fiend..

I knew going in this would be an outstandingly Awesome TR, and it is in picture and detail.

Thanks for letting us Sail Along. :)

Thanks, H.

Yes, there will be a lot of detail.

So stay on board!

Late to the party (that's what I get for traveling) but I am here now. Good job on marrying up. :)

Better late than never.

Yes, I married up.

Big time.

My favorite part of this TR so far:

"In case you didn't notice, Mrs. TCD is a stone cold fox."

Love that you think that still about your wife and love that you reached so far back into our youthful days for that expression!

Love the List as well and looking forward to y'all completing the fun activities!

What do you mean you love that I think that? I am just stating a fact.

And this isn't some dusty old saying- I was quoting that wise sage Ricky Bobby from the classic film Talladega Nights.

I'm late! Didn't get too far behind. Happy Anniversary!

No, you aren't far behind at all.

We are just getting started!

Wherever the TCD family goes they always look like they're having a great time. I can't wait for the next installment.

Sorry for the wait on the next installment, but it is coming soon.

I may not read TRs but I sometimes look at the photos.

Uh, whadya think, I'm blind? Did I notice, of course I did. But I have to ask the obvious question.

So, what's the obvious question?

Is it: How was Mrs. TCD able to snag me?

She gets asked this all the time.

I guess she was just lucky.

Or, as I tell the TCD girls, her Dad paid me a lot of money. (and then I say I should have asked for more).

Lovin' the report! Maybe you might even be able to convince me to take a cruise...

Keep reading, LL.

I hope that I do convince you to take a cruise.

I think you would love it.

And, I'm pretty sure the rule is that gentlemen must wear shirts to the dining rooms. I didn't see anything about sleeves. So Bruce is golden.

The Aquaduck line was shorter when we were in Nassau too. Your family always looks like they are having so much fun! Can't wait to read the rest. Hurry!

This one I can confirm-Nassau day is a good time to ride. But, there are even slower times. I will get to that soon.

And, I will get cranking on the rest of the report. I just have to get the next batch of photos organized, and we will be ready to go.

great tr-tcd! i'm so glad all the fiends take us along on their trips. i absolutely love the big screen shot!! :rofl2: that was awesome-definitely bragging rights there! :)

Thanks.

As I mentioned, though, I have lots of bragging rights from this cruise.

You'll see.

You mean this one.

Hey- is that the same male model that we saw outside of Cocoa Beach t-shirt shop?

What is he doing on the ship?

TCD

[mikmouse 3]

I'm just loving your trip report! Your family is beautiful and it looks like you all had a great time. I love the Disney horns! I love that the Port Canaveral web cam now has sound and just this weekend I saw/heard the Dream go out and they played about 4 songs right in front of Fishlips. So cool. I look forward to hearing more.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I'm just loving your trip report! Your family is beautiful and it looks like you all had a great time. I love the Disney horns! I love that the Port Canaveral web cam now has sound and just this weekend I saw/heard the Dream go out and they played about 4 songs right in front of Fishlips. So cool. I look forward to hearing more.

Man, I can't believe how much I don't know.

I didn't know that the webcam had sound- that is cool!

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

OK, we are on page 4, and I think we can get this thing back on track.

I left off with the sail away.

The next event will be attending the first night's show.

But, first, we will need to backtrack for a moment.

Sorry about that.

But, Nancy came through with her photos, and I also snagged some of TCD Twin #1's Day One photos. Plus, some others that I swiped from the girl's Facebook pages to fill things out.

Several of you asked about the List Of Fun (LOF).

This is the second time we did this. It was a way to build excitement before the cruise.

Leading up to our last cruise, we kept discussing all the things we planned to do once on the ship. That was a three night cruise, and we joked that we should make a list so we didn't forget anything. Twin #1 took that literally and made up a list. We had a lot of fun with it, and since we were travelling with another family on this cruise, we decided to make up another LOF.

Here it is:

There are some things on that list which will likely leave some of you scratching your heads.

Not to worry, it will all make sense eventually.

And that list will explain some of the things that you will see in this report.

You will note that one of the items on the list is to get a photo with Rex or Mr. Ray.

The girls had seen photos of the kid's clubs on board, and they looked amazing.

The two older girls in our group turned 21 this year, so they were too old for any of the clubs.

The TCD twins are 17, so they were still eligible to go to the teen club, Vibe.

But, on the first day of the cruise, all of the clubs have open houses, and anyone can visit.

So, while the adults were drinking Mojitoes, the girls were touring the kid's clubs.

First stop was Andy's room:

Here's Twin #1 and her new friend, Mike:

The oldest TCD DD snagged the first photo with Rex:

One of the clubs has a really cool interactive dance floor:

This handwash station caught the girls' eyes. I guess you just stick your hands in, and it washes your hands for you:

The ship is crawling with characters that first day.

The girls ran in to Pluto somewhere:

In the meantime, the old folks got to meet Goofy:

I told you that I thought Nancy had some photos from the bar in the adult area from that first day. Well, she did.

Here are the adults at the bar. That is Maria there at the cash register:

Notice how the two 21 year olds were right there with us.

That was weird.

Seeing my baby girl drinking alcohol.

Nancy took that photo, and a nice gentleman at the bar offered to take one of the whole group so she could be in it:

The only thing wrong with that photo is that it cut Maria out.

But, Nancy got this photo of Frank with Maria:

I can see now from looking at Maria's name tag that the spelling of her name was not as complicated as I thought it was. It's Marija. Just one extra letter.

Note that Frank has his LOF hanging around his neck there in his lanyard.

While the adults were drinking, the TCD twins snuck in a ride on the Aqua Duck. They were the first, so bragging rights to them:

The oldest TCD DD took that photo, as well as this one, which documents her first Bahama Mama:

I think that gets us caught up.

I hope you were able to follow along.

I was a bit confused myself trying to keep everything in order.

Next up was the Villians Tonight show.

It is a show that none of us had seen before.

They don't allow any photography in the theater.

It used to be OK to take photos with no flash.

But, I guess there were too many idiots.

So, now it's no photos at all.

None.

So, I have no photos of the show.

You will have to use your imagination.

The story is based on Hades, from the Hercules movie.

He lost his evil, and had his sidekicks Pain and Panic help him get it back by bringing in a bunch of Disney movie villians.

It was a really good show.

And, boy, what talent!

Hades was a comedic role, and the actor did a great job delivering the jokes.

We all loved it.

If you have never been on a Disney Cruise, let me take a moment and explain how the evenings work.

There are two dinner seatings in each of the dining rooms. All guests get assigned to one.

The guests who have late seating don't eat until 8:15, and there is a show each night around 6-ish that they attend before dinner. The main seating guests eat at 6:15, and then have a show around 8-ish each night.

The shows last about a half hour or 45 minutes, so there is usually time to do something else before dinner.

On this first evening, I took Mrs. TCD to one of the bars for a drink.

The rest of the gang hung out in the atrium and met more characters.

The girls got to meet the ship's captain:

And they walked outside on the promenade deck, where you can walk all around the ship.

They saw this cloud formation that looks like the front of a cruise ship and a rainbow too!

Look:

How cool is that?

Then they met a couple of guys who were on vacation from the Fort:

There is a really beautiful throne set up in the atrium area.

Twin #2 decided to give it a test drive:

And then Frank gave it a whirl. The dude is chill:

The twins also got to meet a VID (Very Important Duck) before dinner:

Mrs. TCD and I arrived at the dining room right before we were to be seated, and we all went in for our first dinner aboard the Dream.

I will have some photos of that in my next update, including some food pics for you foodies.

TCD

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

Great update TCD. Props to the Twins for Aquaduck bragging rights!

I can see how that would be weird drinking with one of your kids for the first time. At least you knew she would not be out driving afterward!

If Chip and Dale were on vacation, who was holding down the smores and sing along at the Fort? :panic:

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

Busy first day!! The twins look so pretty all dressed up for dinner. I agree it is very weird drinking with your kids but trust me you get used to it.

Looking forward to the first dinner on board!

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Was Twin #2 upfront? I think she should get the bragging rights. She was the first through the tube!

Love all the exploring that the kids did. I would love to see Andy's room!!

Looks like much fun... can't wait!

[DaveInTN 3,247]

The ship looks beautiful. And the Aquaduck looks like fun. I'm looking forward to the dinner pics. Surprising, right?

[mgsmom 9]

Enjoying your TR so much! Great pics from the beach - you have such a beautiful family! I think God knew you needed lots of sweet ladies around you... :heartsmiley:

I have more than an earful of cruise questions, but will start with this one. If I am assigned to eat at 6, but don't feel like eating at 6, what do I do? We are considering a Disney cruise next summer.

Can't wait to hear more!

[stefa70 205]

Ya know, I wasn't going to act like an ungrateful brat, but what's up with leaving me at home?

"Sure Dad, I'll watch the house"

I had 20 random friends over, we ate everything in the fridge, someone threw up in your bed, and Rocky had his first glass of hunch punch. That'll teach ya!

I think I'm going to join the Statz family where they treat all their daughters equally.

:raspberry:

The girls look beautiful all dressed up!

'Gymnastics in the atrium' please tell me you got bragging rights on that! Can't wait to see those pics.

[charitycase20....Charity 10]

Awesome report! Now I REALLY want to take cruise!! :wave1:

[dvccamper 32]

Coming aboard late (pun intended), and am loving the cruise report. Would love to do a Disney cruise, DH says no. But I can't complain, he allows me my Disney fix regularly. I think I need to make him read your report to show him how much fun it would be.

Love the list of fun, that is something my kids would be all over. Can't wait to find out if Mrs. TCD had to carry two turkey legs (do they really have those on the cruise?!?!). Oh, and Happy Anniversary :)

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

Ya know, I wasn't going to act like an ungrateful brat, but what's up with leaving me at home?

"Sure Dad, I'll watch the house"

I had 20 random friends over, we ate everything in the fridge, someone threw up in your bed, and Rocky had his first glass of hunch punch. That'll teach ya!

I think I'm going to join the Statz family where they treat all their daughters equally.

:raspberry:

The girls look beautiful all dressed up!

'Gymnastics in the atrium' please tell me you got bragging rights on that! Can't wait to see those pics.

Apparently he only adopted you for the extra tax break. :rofl2:

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Great update TCD. Props to the Twins for Aquaduck bragging rights!

I can see how that would be weird drinking with one of your kids for the first time. At least you knew she would not be out driving afterward!

If Chip and Dale were on vacation, who was holding down the smores and sing along at the Fort? :panic:

I'm pretty sure that there must have been a helicopter or something to take Chip and Dale back and fort to the Fort.

Busy first day!! The twins look so pretty all dressed up for dinner. I agree it is very weird drinking with your kids but trust me you get used to it.

Looking forward to the first dinner on board!

Yes. I am already used to the fact that my oldest daughter can drink. Fortunately, she takes after Mrs. TCD in that department, and isn't really much of a drinker.

Was Twin #2 upfront? I think she should get the bragging rights. She was the first through the tube!

Love all the exploring that the kids did. I would love to see Andy's room!!

Looks like much fun... can't wait!

Good point, Twin #2 was the first to complete a ride on the Aqua Duck.

Bragging rights to her.

The ship looks beautiful. And the Aquaduck looks like fun. I'm looking forward to the dinner pics. Surprising, right?

The Aqua Duck is fun. More fun than I expected it to be, actually.

Food pics will be in the next update.

Enjoying your TR so much! Great pics from the beach - you have such a beautiful family! I think God knew you needed lots of sweet ladies around you... :heartsmiley:

I have more than an earful of cruise questions, but will start with this one. If I am assigned to eat at 6, but don't feel like eating at 6, what do I do? We are considering a Disney cruise next summer.

Can't wait to hear more!

You are assigned either Main or Late seating. You are also assigned a restaurant rotation. There is some room on both of those for you to make requests, but eventually everyone is assigned a seating and a dining rotation.

But once you have your assignment, you either eat when and where you have been assigned, or there is a dinner buffet that you can go to, or room service, or one of the quick serve places up on the pool deck (burgers, pizza, chicken fingers, etc.).

This is just for dinner. Breakfast and lunch, there are all kinds of options, but dinner is not flexible.

Ya know, I wasn't going to act like an ungrateful brat, but what's up with leaving me at home?

"Sure Dad, I'll watch the house"

I had 20 random friends over, we ate everything in the fridge, someone threw up in your bed, and Rocky had his first glass of hunch punch. That'll teach ya!

I think I'm going to join the Statz family where they treat all their daughters equally.

:raspberry:

The girls look beautiful all dressed up!

'Gymnastics in the atrium' please tell me you got bragging rights on that! Can't wait to see those pics.

I thought Rocky was acting a little weird when we got back.

Sorry for not bringing you along, Stef.

I'm not sure how Mrs. TCD would have felt about it.

Yeah, I did some gymnastics in the atrium. It used to be cartwheels in the atrium, but it was broadened for this trip. You will have to wait until a bit later in the report to see my mad gymnastics skills.

Awesome report! Now I REALLY want to take cruise!! :wave1:

Well then you should!

Coming aboard late (pun intended), and am loving the cruise report. Would love to do a Disney cruise, DH says no. But I can't complain, he allows me my Disney fix regularly. I think I need to make him read your report to show him how much fun it would be.

Love the list of fun, that is something my kids would be all over. Can't wait to find out if Mrs. TCD had to carry two turkey legs (do they really have those on the cruise?!?!). Oh, and Happy Anniversary :)

Yes, there were turkey legs on our previous cruises. But only at a special time and place.

We weren't sure if there would be turkey legs on this cruise.

You will have to wait and see.

Apparently he only adopted you for the extra tax break. :rofl2:

Not true.

That is not the only reason.

TCD

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

Great update!! You were still allowed to take pictures of the shows when we were on the cruise, but I didn't have a great camera then, and the few shots I did take were awful. I wish, I wish now I had better show pictures.

[kampfirekim 260]

I loved this update. You're right... there WERE a lot of characters on the first day (and I don't mean mice or ducks). I have a feeling they were there for the entire cruise. ;D

This is really making me want to take a cruise. I've never been certain that I would like it but I do believe I would.

[Hotmamac aka Misty 11]

Thanks for sharing the List Of Fun! If Twin #1 doesn't mind, I think I might plagiarize a nit of it for our upcoming trip. My kids LOVE scavenger hunts and things like this so it will be totally up their alley.