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

[Heidi-meetsTCD@TSM 5]

That sounds like a great trip you have planned. Have fun!

Yes, I did get to spend a night at Crater Lake Lodge. That place is breathtaking. I have never seen water bluer than the water in that lake. I'd love to see photos of it.

TCD

Thanks TCD!

I am sure I will take a bunch of photos. If I can figure out how to post them here, I will!!

Thanks for all the updates today! Looking forward to hearing what you did on your second day on Castaway Cay!

Heidi

[Lil Lisa 53]

There are some really interesting pieces of equipment up here on this deck:

I am not sure what this thing is, but I do know that I was closer than 1 meter to it:

Um.... dude, that's the marine radar. I certainly hope you were wearing your lead lined tighty whiteys! If you stand there long enough you can soak up some serious microwave radiation. On your next cruise, bring your brats and hotdogs up and you can hold them up and cook them in front of it.

Even more interesting is that they made a seating area directly below the weather radar. Doppler is pretty much directional (up and out), but some of it scatters. I bet that little overhang has some lead in it just in case...

[caveat lector 181]

OK, it looks like we are finally go for an update.

I was going to post one earlier today, but someone broke this site.

....

TCD

Maybe they are trying to figure out how to let you multi quote more than 10 at a time.

[caveat lector 181]

You are like Picasso with words.

The pics of Donald's butt just make me giggle. Yep, that proves it, I'm mentally immature.

Did you end up with an unusually red sunburn by standing so close to the microwaves? If so, it might take a little more than aloe.

Stef's comment about a joystick.........yep, also made me giggle. Maybe I'm even more mentally immature than originally thought.

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Maybe I'm even more mentally immature than originally thought.

that depends on who you are talking to....

[stefa70 205]

You really took a lot of photos on this trip, and I like it!

Thank God Lisa explained all the radiation you were basking in.......AFTER the fact.

Rephrasing a quote from Cousin Eddie:

Every time Mrs. TCD fires up the microwave, I pee my pants and forget who I am for a half hour or so.

I have always been amazed how well they dock those huge boats, but even more so since we bought ours.

16 whopping feet long and I'm still not so good at either end.

If I drive, I'm afraid I'm gonna approach too fast, so I go R E A L L Y slow. Now I'm backing up the line of others who want to dock!

If I stay in the bow to grab on and tie off, I end up with smashed fingers and torn rotator cuffs.

Maybe my idea of applying for boat captain isn't such a good one.

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

Did you have a piece of government plastic underneath your part to keep the microwaves from getting in Eddie....i mean TCD?

I was thinking of Adam Sandler in the Wedding Singer regarding the information provided about the radars...." once again things that could have been brought to my attention YESTERDAY!!!"

:)

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

Having seen some of the pictures from this TR, my about to be 10yob has decided he would like to go on a Disney Cruise for his honeymoon. I showed him how much it would cost, and he figured out that he could afford it in 109 years, based on getting $25 on his birthday each year. I didn't have the heart to tell him 1) The price goes up every year or so and 2) the sweet couple that give him the birthday money will be long dead by then.

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Awesome updates, Andrew!

[fortpartyof4 108]

WOW. And that is an understatement. Breathtaking photos. Peaceful - I can almost hear the sea.

Thank you so much for another fantastic TR. And you're not even done yet!

I did check on rates for DCL in the next 60 days, they seem to be pretty much the same as for trips further out. Maybe next year.

Good thing you're done having children, after being so close to that radar thingy, could have caused some problems.

[Southern Blessings 4]

I love all the pics of an empty ship! It really shows the beauty of it! Looks like it's shaping up to be a gorgeous day there!

[MinnieMom 4]

Great early morning photos TCD! Now I really really want to go on a cruise. It is something that my family has always wanted to do and my daughter has decided she would rather go on a cruise that have a graduation party in 2016. I priced it on the disney website and it will cost the 5 of us $10,000!!! I guess I had better start saving my pennies now.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

You know the drill . . .

My new desktop background

That is awesome, Scot. That is a pretty sweet photo. Like always, though, it is a poor representation of the real thing. There is nothing like standing at the top of a giant ship cruising through the water and having the feeling that you are the only one on board.

There is a sense of peace in the last few posts. The lack of people, the abundance of rising sun pictures, the watching land approach.... almost like a gift.

Exactly right!

That is why the sun rarely catches me in bed at the Fort- and I will not sleep in as much on my next cruise.

Very cool!!!

Indeed.

Thanks TCD!

I am sure I will take a bunch of photos. If I can figure out how to post them here, I will!!

Thanks for all the updates today! Looking forward to hearing what you did on your second day on Castaway Cay!

Heidi

If you can't figure out how to post photos-send me a private message, and I will walk you through it step by step. Once you see how it's done, you will be surprised how easy it is.

Have a great trip!

Um.... dude, that's the marine radar. I certainly hope you were wearing your lead lined tighty whiteys! If you stand there long enough you can soak up some serious microwave radiation. On your next cruise, bring your brats and hotdogs up and you can hold them up and cook them in front of it.

Even more interesting is that they made a seating area directly below the weather radar. Doppler is pretty much directional (up and out), but some of it scatters. I bet that little overhang has some lead in it just in case...

Now you tell me.

Thanks, weathergirl.

I have to believe that if that thing was really dangerous, it wouldn't be out there in the open like that. But, I will bring some hot dogs up there next time and see for myself.

Maybe they are trying to figure out how to let you multi quote more than 10 at a time.

Very good!

I wish.

You are like Picasso with words.

The pics of Donald's butt just make me giggle. Yep, that proves it, I'm mentally immature.

Did you end up with an unusually red sunburn by standing so close to the microwaves? If so, it might take a little more than aloe.

Stef's comment about a joystick.........yep, also made me giggle. Maybe I'm even more mentally immature than originally thought.

Somehow, I don't see you as the giggling type.

Have you been drinking?

You really took a lot of photos on this trip, and I like it!

Thank God Lisa explained all the radiation you were basking in.......AFTER the fact.

Rephrasing a quote from Cousin Eddie:

Every time Mrs. TCD fires up the microwave, I pee my pants and forget who I am for a half hour or so.

I have always been amazed how well they dock those huge boats, but even more so since we bought ours.

16 whopping feet long and I'm still not so good at either end.

If I drive, I'm afraid I'm gonna approach too fast, so I go R E A L L Y slow. Now I'm backing up the line of others who want to dock!

If I stay in the bow to grab on and tie off, I end up with smashed fingers and torn rotator cuffs.

Maybe my idea of applying for boat captain isn't such a good one.

Stef- I have a crazy suggestion that might help with your boat driving- maybe not so much punch?

Did you have a piece of government plastic underneath your part to keep the microwaves from getting in Eddie....i mean TCD?

I was thinking of Adam Sandler in the Wedding Singer regarding the information provided about the radars...." once again things that could have been brought to my attention YESTERDAY!!!"

:)

I love me some Adam Sandler. Not a big fan of the Wedding Singer. I'm going to have to take another look now, though.

Having seen some of the pictures from this TR, my about to be 10yob has decided he would like to go on a Disney Cruise for his honeymoon. I showed him how much it would cost, and he figured out that he could afford it in 109 years, based on getting $25 on his birthday each year. I didn't have the heart to tell him 1) The price goes up every year or so and 2) the sweet couple that give him the birthday money will be long dead by then.

A math lesson?

I love it.

There must be some other variables and assumptions that can be thrown it there to give that kid some hope.

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Awesome updates, Andrew!

Thanks, Gwen.

I am hoping for two more today.

WOW. And that is an understatement. Breathtaking photos. Peaceful - I can almost hear the sea.

Thank you so much for another fantastic TR. And you're not even done yet!

I did check on rates for DCL in the next 60 days, they seem to be pretty much the same as for trips further out. Maybe next year.

Good thing you're done having children, after being so close to that radar thingy, could have caused some problems.

Two things:

1. I was looking at the DCL site last night, and those dirty boogers have released Florida Residents rates for all the September cruises. If you put in the code FLR on the options page, those rates will come up. There are some amazing deals there. I am tempted.

2. What do you mean I'm done having children? I was trying to figure out how we could get us a baby for the Diaper Dash. Maybe we could win a medal that way? Maybe all that radiation would give the kid superpowers, like how Spiderman got his from that radioactive spider?

I love all the pics of an empty ship! It really shows the beauty of it! Looks like it's shaping up to be a gorgeous day there!

Look at you posting like a fiend I mean Fiend.

Great job!

And I like your optimism.

Stay tuned to see if it ended up being a gorgeous day,.

Great early morning photos TCD! Now I really really want to go on a cruise. It is something that my family has always wanted to do and my daughter has decided she would rather go on a cruise that have a graduation party in 2016. I priced it on the disney website and it will cost the 5 of us $10,000!!! I guess I had better start saving my pennies now.

They don't have 2016 prices on there already, do they?

There is no way you need to spend $10K on a cruise. There are much, much better deals out there. Plus, you have four years to find one.

TCD

[MinnieMom 4]

No, they don't have 2016 prices on there yet. But lets face facts, prices are only gonna go up. and I know there are deals out there and we probably won't need to spend that much. Better to be prepared for it though. And, I think I might be willing to spend 10 grand to not have a grad party hosting all of our out of town relatives. I am certain my hubby would spend that much.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Time for an update.

I was hoping to finish this trip report today, as it is getting to be pretty long.

But, that isn't going to happen.

This was our last full day, and we squeezed every drop of fun that we could from it.

But don't worry, we will finally get off the ship and on to the island eventually.

Actually, we will do that in this post.

In case you forgot, I was up at 6 this morning.

I got to see the sun rise.

And the ship approach and dock at Castaway Cay.

I thought we would be docked by 7:30.

We almost made it.

This photo was snapped exactly at 7:30- we were still finishing our approach to the dock then. These things are best not rushed. This is how things looked over the island then:

That is an awful lot of clouds.

But what can you do?

We were here. And we were going to have great day no matter what. Go with the flow.

Here is our final approach:

The sun was trying its best to shine, and I decided it was time to get back to the cabins and get everyone going:

I haven't posted a photo of our hall. So here you go:

Check out the detail on the carpet:

Wait. I mean really check out the detail. Look at it. This is just a piece of carpet on a regular hallway on deck two of this giant ship, and look at the detail Do you see those nautical flags there? What do you think they spell? I will spare you the work, they say "Disney Dream." And look how they have four ships shown there on the map. Those represent the four DCL ships. And this is something that we are supposed to walk on. I think it's a work of art. These DCL ships are amazing, I tell you.

While we are looking at small details, this is a shot of a DCL logo on one of the elevators:

The attention to detail on these ships is truly impressive.

I was surprised to find that the TCD twins were not only up, but ready to head to breakfast when I checked on them. They had set their alarms. They didn't want to waste a moment of our Castaway Cay day. The oldest DD was fast asleep and had warned the girls to not bother her early in the morning. She had arrived late the first morning on the island, and she was fine with that for our second visit too.

Mrs. TCD was up too, but she wanted to shower and get ready before breakfast, so the twins and I headed up to Cabanas.

I took some photos on our way. The clouds were still hanging around:

There was a work crew on the ship which worked on a small part of the deck early every morning. Today, they were tackling the deck around the Donald pool. This was impressive. This ship is a year and a half old, but they are constantly working on it. This is why it looks new for each cruise:

I snapped this photo just as we headed in to breakfast- it looks like we are going to have a cloudy day, but at least it wasn't raining:

Remember that animated artwork we saw in an earlier post?

There is regular artwork all over the place too.

This is a painting that was hanging in the stairwell that we took down to Cabanas:

That's Remy. From the movie Ratatouille. What a cool painting. And it's just one of hundreds that are hanging all over the ship. On a future cruise, I am going to make more of an effort to see more of the artwork. There was a really neat painting from the movie Wall-E in the stairwell to the Outlook Cafe. I never got a photo of that. Next time.

The artwork isn't just paintings. There are also sculptures. Like this one of Nigel (Twin #1 remembered his name right away) from Finding Nemo:

Guess who we ran into in Cabanas?

Frank.

He was eating by himself.

That was suspicious.

Why was he here by himself this early in the morning.

He said he woke up early and felt like eating, and the girls in his cabin were getting ready.

Very suspicious.

Why am I saying that this was suspicious?

Well, the night before, Frank and I had discussed doing the 5K. They give everyone who completes that a medal. We did not have running shoes, but we both said we could walk 3 miles in flip flops. It was a guaranteed medal. The wives said it was a bad idea. It would be hot on the island, and neither of us was prepared for a 5K. So, we agreed that we would not do it. But, I think Frank was thinking of sneaking off the ship to do it. He never admitted it, but I think that is what he was doing.

Speaking of medals, we took a look at the LOF again. Today was our last chance to get everything checked-off the list. We looked at the list. There were some things that really stood out. Like winning a medal. But, there was also eating ice cream with a shovel. And exploring the crew deck. We discussed that maybe finding the crew beach should count. The twins said no. Also, Twin #1 pointed out that the LOF said we needed to hold the DJ like a baby, not a DJ like a baby The ship had a DJ. His name was Marquis. The girls had gotten to know him, but Frank and I hadn't officially met him yet. Frank wanted to back off the deal that one person doing one of the items gave credit to everyone. I told you he was competitive. For a while, we did discuss again getting off the ship and doing the 5K. It was cloudy, and maybe it was even going to rain. That would help us to not die of heatstroke, which is what the wives thought would happen. But, I said to Frank that he should have told me that he was thinking of changing his mind before I ate that pound of bacon. I was out. Frank said he was out too. We would have to figure out another way to win a medal. But, we needed to figure that out soon.

This was the view we had from our breakfast window:

This was fascinating to watch. There is a well orchastrated dance of sorts as they loaded supplies for the island off of the ship. The ship apparently brings all the food and liquor that will be used on the island each day. They shuttle that all off and have the island ready for guests in less than an hour. Amazing.

We headed back to our rooms via Deck 3. This throne and mosiac sits in a prominent place there for no real reason other than to impress:

There is another small bar here on Deck 3:

For some reason, there are a lot more bars on the Dream than I remember being on the Magic and Wonder. I think they may have misjudged on this, as none of them were ever busy. Maybe they are thinking about not letting folks bring their own alcohol on board. That would help with the bar traffic.

This is just a bit of detail above the hall the leads to the shops on the ship:

This is the area outside the main theater. Note that they spelled theater wrong:

These are some of the stores on the ship:

I haven't said much about those. There isn't much to say. Think Disney World deluxe hotel gift shop.

When we walked by the theater theatre on our way to our cabins, they had the doors open, and they were rehearsing. The scene was not from either of the shows we had seen so far, so maybe this was from tonight's show, or perhaps this is an indication that a new show is in the works. You heard it here first. :

Don't judge me, but I had two breakfasts this morning. Mrs. TCD wanted to grab something, so I went with her too. I didn't want to make a pig of myself, so I only had a half a pound of bacon this time.

On our way back to the cabin, the crew was going to town on the decks:

As I waited for the girls to make their final preparations to head off the ship, I looked out of our porthole, and saw the parasail boat go by:

And a fishing boat was heading out too:

This was good.

The sun looked like it was shining too!

Something bad happend then.

My $9 glasses broke.

Actually, they had broken the day before. They had fallen less than a foot from a shelf onto the desk in our cabin. The frame above one of the lenses cracked, and the lens fell out. I was able to put in back in place with a princess sticker. Yes, I said a princess sticker. I didn't have any duct tape, you know. I didn't look too ridiculous with the princess sticker, so I was putting my glasses on the top of my head to wear out on the island, and the frame above the other lens broke. Just like that. Fail. Here's the situation:

Mrs. TCD said she had plenty of princess stickers.

I said, it wasn't going to happen.

Hopefully, we would have a lot of clouds, and I would be fine.

Finally, we made it off the ship:

As luck would have it, the sun decided to come out, and I had to squint:

One more time with Mrs. TCD:

We had watched this big catamaran pull up while were watching from our porthole. It takes folks out for snorkel excursions to some of the local reefs. That is one excursion that I would consider taking:

Here's a good look at the back of the ship. Can you believe that Mickey back there is 14' tall? That's what we heard. :

We had all agreed to meet up at our same spot on the island, and we got there, we found Frank there by himself. He said Nancy had decided to go on the Power Walk, which was an activity listed in the Navigator. We both said we hoped that wasn't a medal event. But, no one else was interested in a power walk. Except maybe if it was to the buffet. So, we got set up for our day on the island.

The girls found a crab, and wanted some photos of it, of course:

This reminded us that we had seen that there was just one crab race on today's schedule. Maybe this crab was fast? We decided we would head to the crab race later and see. They didn't give out medals for the crab race when we were here on Saturday, but you never know.

TCD

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

1. what is qreat?

2. please don't wee on the art work. Disney might ban you for life and then... no TR :panic: :panic:

3. I'm starting to become obsessed with this medal thing.

4. Also did the girls hold the DJ like a baby?

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

A pound and a half of bacon would make anyone pass on the 5K.

Oooh, I hope you get the little crab entered into the race......maybe their are medals for mini-crab victors?

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Hey maybe Maria did help them out on the medal. Maybe she had a drinking contest between the adult members of the party......

[Lou... 3,118]

They didn't give out medals for the crab race when we were here on Saturday, but you never know.

Here we go. I smell bribery, coercion, intimidation, or blackmail. Not that there's anything wrong with using any of those.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Just a few responses:

No, they don't have 2016 prices on there yet. But lets face facts, prices are only gonna go up. and I know there are deals out there and we probably won't need to spend that much. Better to be prepared for it though. And, I think I might be willing to spend 10 grand to not have a grad party hosting all of our out of town relatives. I am certain my hubby would spend that much.

This is not crazy talk. We all went on a cruise right after my oldest DD graduated high school. We did have a little party for her, but why have a big party and invite a bunch of people you probably don't like very much anyway? Go on a cruise!

1. what is qreat?

2. please don't wee on the art work. Disney might ban you for life and then... no TR :panic: :panic:

3. I'm starting to become obsessed with this medal thing.

4. Also did the girls hold the DJ like a baby?

Hah!

I had already fixed those typos before you posted, so no one but you and I has any idea what you are talking about.

You are starting to get obsessed about the medal thing? How do you think I felt at this point in the cruise?

The girls never held the DJ like a baby. It was understood that one was for the dads.

A pound and a half of bacon would make anyone pass on the 5K.

Oooh, I hope you get the little crab entered into the race......maybe their are medals for mini-crab victors?

You will have to wait and see how that turned out.

But you won't have to wait long.

Hey maybe Maria did help them out on the medal. Maybe she had a drinking contest between the adult members of the party......

You might be on to something here.

Here we go. I smell bribery, coercion, intimidation, or blackmail. Not that there's anything wrong with using any of those.

You forgot begging. I was prepared to do that if necessary.

TCD

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

I had already fixed those typos before you posted, so no one but you and I has any idea what you are talking about. Our secret Joke!

You are starting to get obsessed about the medal thing? How do you think I felt at this point in the cruise? I can guess.

The girls never held the DJ like a baby. It was understood that one was for the dads. photo op and embarrassment later in life op missed.

You might be on to something here. Hehehehe

You forgot begging. I was prepared to do that if necessary. Was it necessary?

TCD

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Hey TCD, just checking in quick between trips back and forth from the hospital. This cruise thing is looking more and more appealing to me.

[caveat lector 181]

Where are you at on bacon. I'm thinking 5 1/2 lbs or so.

I seem to recall you "planting a seed" with your bartender friend regarding a medal. Could this come to fruition? The suspense is tasty

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Hey TCD, just checking in quick between trips back and forth from the hospital. This cruise thing is looking more and more appealing to me.

how's miss anna?