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

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

You obviously are too young to remember the 80's. That was a normal, respectable moustache when I grew it. I am a creature of habit, so I kept it longer than I should have. It had to go when it started to turn white. I was going to look like Captain Kangaroo.

Actually, I do remember the 80's. I started Kindergarten in the early 80's. I think that is why I don't like the stache. I remember too many of the staches.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

That 'stache would rock with the fedora and glasses. All you need is the pastel Don Johnson jacket to go with it.

Great report - we've talked about doing a cruise/park trip some day, so this is all new to me.

Well, thanks. See, you moustache haters? That moustache was cool back in the day.

If this is all new to you, then you had better take notes. There are a lot of important tips in this report, and a very big one is coming up in the next post.

TCD

[shoreline99 137]

NEWS, i meant news. And new, i guess.

I'll go get a pencil.

[LONE-STAR 370]

Just read this report for the first time on my lunch break and now feel cross eyed. Looks like fun when my little girl get older we may have to do this.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Even though that last update was pretty epic, you are getting another one today.

Why?

Because this is a long trip, and we need to keep this thing moving if it's ever going to get done.

So here we go.

Again!

We left off with us returning to our base camp after lunch.

We all sat and enjoyed the sun for a while.

It was also Beer-thirty, so I broke out the Corona stash.

Yes I said Corona stash.

No matter what you may hear or read, I am here to tell you that you can bring your own alcohol on the Disney ships.

I brought two twelve packs of Corona with me.

Yes two.

And a couple of bottles of Champagne.

And some bottles of clear liquor for the ladies.

Remember, I'm an Eagle Scout.

Be prepared!

So, we cracked some beers and enjoyed the island.

After a while, it started to get cloudy again.

No biggie, mon.

Go with the flow.

All the other clouds blew by, and these ones probably would too.

The two oldest girls didn't think so.

They decided to head back to the ship.

So it was just the twins and the adults then.

We swam a little.

There was talk of a bike ride.

They rent bikes there on the island.

Only $6 an hour.

And they don't time you.

That's a good deal.

But, we sat some more.

I dragged a couple of the chairs down to the water, and Mrs. TCD sat there with our toes in the water sipping our beers.

Paradise.

And then I felt a raindrop.

Just one.

Then I saw a big flash and heard a huge clap of thunder!

The beach erupted like that scene from Jaws when everyone is running from the water.

It was hilarious. People were literally screaming and running in fear.

It was just rain.

I had already told everyone that if it did start to rain, we would just head over to the pavilion where we ate lunch. It was big and covered, with lots of places to sit.

The storm would probably pass quickly, and we would be fine.

So we ducked under cover.

It rained hard:

But, we were fine. Nice and safe and dry:

I still had beers in my cooler, so I broke out my flip flop bottle opener and fixed us all one:

Cheers!:

It only rained for about a half an hour.

By then, the beer was gone.

It was about 3:30 then.

All aboard time was 5:00.

The ladies said let's go back to the ship.

Frank and I said- look how everyone is leaving- we will have the whole island to ourselves.

The girls decided to go.

The boys decided to stay.

Go with the flow.

We walked the girls over to the tram stop.

On the way we saw a critter:

Is that one of them black squirrels?

No.

I think it's a cat:

Yes, it was a cat alright.

A black one.

First we set sail on Friday the 13th.

And now this.

I asked Mrs. TCD if she had a mirror I could break, just so I could get all the bad luck out of the way.

We are not cat people.

So, of course, that cat had to walk right over to us:

That cat walked right up to Mrs. TCD and let her pet it:

And then it rolled in the sand like a dog:

Nancy got in on the action too:

What was a cat doing there?

I don't know.

We moved on.

We walked past the Spring-A-Leak play area again:

I think that's what that guy Frank saw on the dock across from the slide was doing:

I took some more photos of the flags, since the POC Fuji camera died after the first photo I had taken there.

We already looked at the flags in the forward portion of that photo.

But, what about those three flags on the far left- what do they spell?

Here's a guide for you:

Those three flags on the left spell U-F-N. What the Fort is that? I think maybe it was supposed to say FUN, and somebody got mixed up.

Stuff happens.

It definitely says U-F-N:

Those flags over there on the wall spell out D-E-A-M. I'll bet there is an "R" flag there behind the pole:

But, there is definitely another mistake here. Check for yourself- these flags spell T-A-G-I-C :

Whoops!

After the girls complained that I was taking too long to take photos, we walked on to the tram stop.

This is the logo they use on the tram, which I think is pretty cool, and which we will see in another photo in just a bit:

The time stamp on this photo says it was taken at 3:34. The girls are there on the tram heading back to the ship. I gave them a loser sign, and Nancy gave me one back:

Did you notice the item on the LOF that said be the last on the boat at CC?

Frank and I were going to go for it.

There's a story that goes with that one.

I'll tell it in the next update.

For now, the ladies left.

And Frank and I had an hour and a half before we had to be back aboard.

I'll tell you how we spent that time in the next update.

TCD

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

Another awesome update TCD!

Last one on the boat LOF bragging rights cliffhanger.

What does one do for 90 minutes while trying to be the last one on the boat?

I will stay tuned!

[DaveInTN 3,247]

:pc:

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

1. Don't cats always go up to people that aren't cat people?

2. I think the waterslide will be easy to get on and off of.

3. What fun to have the island almost to yourselves.

4. Was it you or frank that won the bragging rights?

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Wonderful, wonderful updates! I've never wanted to do a Disney cruise (diamond cruiser on RCCL), but you're making me rethink it. Maybe it was the pood forn ... or the submerged sub from 20,000 Leagues ... or all the character interaction. Definitely not the hot tub or the Aquaduck going out over the ocean.

Looking forward to your next update!

[DaveInTN 3,247]

I consider myself a bit of a cat person. To me, the perfect cat is one that is small enough to fit in the crock pot, but big enough to feed 7.

[rm0530 5]

I saw the cat in May while walking to the start line for the CC5K. I thought our family pets were spoiled..living in the Bahamas can't be beat!

[caveat lector 181]

You are definitely going with the flow. Wearing a black shirt on a carribean island during the heat of summer. Less superior humans might be concerned about spontaneously combusting.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

NEWS, i meant news. And new, i guess.

I'll go get a pencil.

Good. The tip was bring your own booze.

Write that one down with a pen.

Just read this report for the first time on my lunch break and now feel cross eyed. Looks like fun when my little girl get older we may have to do this.

Yes, you will need to take Miley on this cruise.

Soon.

And good job getting it all read on your lunch break.

But, you're behind again.

And, maybe there will be another post today to put you even further behind.

Another awesome update TCD!

Last one on the boat LOF bragging rights cliffhanger.

What does one do for 90 minutes while trying to be the last one on the boat?

I will stay tuned!

Yes. Stay tuned.

We got more done in those 90 minutes than most DCL guests do in a day.

Just wait.

You will see.

:pc:

That's a big bucket of popcorn.

Good thinking.

1. Don't cats always go up to people that aren't cat people?

2. I think the waterslide will be easy to get on and off of.

3. What fun to have the island almost to yourselves.

4. Was it you or frank that won the bragging rights?

Yes to #'s one through three.

What kind of question is number 4?

You think I'm going to let Frank get bragging rights?

No way.

Wonderful, wonderful updates! I've never wanted to do a Disney cruise (diamond cruiser on RCCL), but you're making me rethink it. Maybe it was the pood forn ... or the submerged sub from 20,000 Leagues ... or all the character interaction. Definitely not the hot tub or the Aquaduck going out over the ocean.

Looking forward to your next update!

RCCL is great.

I like DCL better.

But, I have to concede that RCCL is a better value.

I consider myself a bit of a cat person. To me, the perfect cat is one that is small enough to fit in the crock pot, but big enough to feed 7.

Gross.

But funny.

I saw the cat in May while walking to the start line for the CC5K. I thought our family pets were spoiled..living in the Bahamas can't be beat!

May?

What?

Where's the TR?

I remember a January Dream trip.

But not a May trip.

And good job on doing the 5K I was supposed to do the couch to 5K program before this cruise. But I didn't.

That 5K would have been my easy ticket to a medal.

If I had known how scarce they were on the rest of the ship, I would have done it for sure.

You are definitely going with the flow. Wearing a black shirt on a carribean island during the heat of summer. Less superior humans might be concerned about spontaneously combusting. ��

Well, that's my Leap Day shirt. I wear it every chance I get. It is a great conversation starter. I only put that shirt on after it rained. It was no problem mon. Go with the flow.

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Time for another update.

It's still Saturday.

It is after 3:30.

And it's just me and Frank on the island.

What to do.

Frank said let's rent some bikes and have a look around.

Brilliant idea.

On the way to the bike rental place, we stopped by a gift shop.

There were three very bored castmembers in there.

Frank shows them the list of fun and asks if anyone can help him with it.

This young lady said she would be his BFF-

She also told us where the crew deck was. I know that a lot of Deck 2 is a crew area, but there is another one that I did not know about. More on that later.

We headed over to the bike rental area.

The lady who helped us was a delight.

She was from the Bahamas, mon, and gave us the Reader's Digest version of her life story. She does not live on Castaway Cay, but she is part of a group who arrive by boat to work when one of the ships comes in.

We asked her where we could see some unusual things on our bikes.

She pointed out where the road to the crew quarters was. She told us it was interesting back there.

She told us we could pick any bikes we wanted, and that she was about to leave, so she didn't care when we brought them back.

I would say that they had a nice selection of bikes:

This is the road that the bike rental lady pointed out to us. Do you think that sign still applies if the bike rental lady told us about the road?:

We thought we would take a ride and see.

We rode right past that really tall palm tree:

Spoiler alert!

It's fake!

Who knew?

It blends right in.

Doesn't look fake at all.

We rode past another couple of signs that said crew only and no bikes.

Right into the crew area.

Where we were quickly greeted by three or four castmembers asking what the heck we were doing back there.

I figured they wouldn't appreciate me taking photos.

So I didn't.

We just said we were lost, and quickly left.

No problem, mon.

So what did it look like?

A dump.

Big time.

The poor crew.

Remember that logo on the tram?

It said Castaway Air?

There is a big runway here on this island:

And even a cool old plane:

That plane used to sit out on the runway.

Then they moved it over here.

You used to be able to see a lot more of it.

Here is how it looked the last time we came by here, in 2009:

The jungle grows fast on the island, mon.

We rode our bikes down to the adult area on this island, Serenity Bay:

This hammock was next to one of the private cabanas that they rent on the island for $500 a day:

That looks just like the official TCD hammock, doesn't it.

Maybe next time I'll bring mine.

Serenity Bay was deserted:

We were quite a ways from the ship. You can see the ship through the bushes here:

Mrs. TCD and I have never come down to this part of the island. It is for adults only, and we like to hang out with the kids, but one day:

I snapped another photo of the ship from where we were on the bike path. You can see that ridiculous fake palm tree sticking up in this photo:

The camera says that photo was taken at 4:07 pm.

We needed to be all the way back to the ship by 5:00.

Frank said we better go.

I said, Frank, you are a chicken bleep.

But, he was right, so we headed back.

Little did we know that we were about to take a little detour and to find something very interesting.

TCD

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Frank said we better go.

I'm with Frank. I'm a chicken when it comes to getting back to the ship on time. Although getting stranded on Castaway Cay doesn't seem bad!

[dvccamper 32]

I don't know where to start with the last two updates. Kudos to you on bringing the beer, that is great DCL let's you do that. When we went on RCCL we had to sneak it in our luggage. Unfortunately the gin leaked, on my stuff, of course, to which my husband's reply was "Oh well." I am very impressed that you even had the cut limes for the Coronas.

I won't really comment on the stache except to say I am a product of the 80's and so I can vouch for you.

Lastly, the pictures of you and Frank holding the cast members like babies is hysterical. Not sure you can top that in your trip reports (although the wookie family portrait will always make me chuckle).

[Live4FW 30]

Cliffhanger? REALLY

[shoreline99 137]

Little did we know that we were about to take a little detour and to find something very interesting.

Cousin Yuri?

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

You cannot leave us hanging like that. I hope there is another update today.

Great job defying the signs and going where no vacationer was meant to go.....but no pictures?

Where was Yuri when you needed him? He wouldn't have cared if they wanted him to take pictures or not!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I'm with Frank. I'm a chicken when it comes to getting back to the ship on time. Although getting stranded on Castaway Cay doesn't seem bad!

Well, you are a lady, so that is understandable.

Mrs. TCD is wired like that too.

But Frank is a grown man.

He shouldn't have been worrying like that.

I had actually joked about being left on the island with Mrs. TCD. After all, the ship would be coming back in a couple of days.

The thing is, as we will soon see, they keep track of everyone getting off and coming back on. It would be hard to do.

I don't know where to start with the last two updates. Kudos to you on bringing the beer, that is great DCL let's you do that. When we went on RCCL we had to sneak it in our luggage. Unfortunately the gin leaked, on my stuff, of course, to which my husband's reply was "Oh well." I am very impressed that you even had the cut limes for the Coronas.

I won't really comment on the stache except to say I am a product of the 80's and so I can vouch for you.

Lastly, the pictures of you and Frank holding the cast members like babies is hysterical. Not sure you can top that in your trip reports (although the wookie family portrait will always make me chuckle).

Hey, a real fan. Thanks.

I always worry that I can't top a trip report.

But, somehow, I am always able to.

It's good to be TCD.

Cliffhanger? REALLY

Yeah.

I know.

I feel bad about this one.

What if I get hit by a bus or something and never let you know if we were the last ones on the boat.

I'll tell you what, hang on for a few minutes and I will finish this part of the story up.

Cousin Yuri?

No.

Good guess, but no.

Thank goodness.

You cannot leave us hanging like that. I hope there is another update today.

Great job defying the signs and going where no vacationer was meant to go.....but no pictures?

Where was Yuri when you needed him? He wouldn't have cared if they wanted him to take pictures or not!

Yeah, you are right.

I can't leave you hanging like this.

I am going to go ahead and post again.

But don't expect this kind of output every day.

TCD

[Grumpy and Grandma 740]

He shouldn't have been worrying like that.

I had actually joked about being left on the island with Mrs. TCD. After all, the ship would be coming back in a couple of days.

The thing is, as we will soon see, they keep track of everyone getting off and coming back on. It would be hard to do.

TCD

Bet the Captain would not be happy if you kept him waiting. :rofl2:

[DaveInTN 3,247]

So do they scan something when you return to the ship to know that all passengers are safely back on board? I have to believe they've got a system for that, but I've never been on a cruise so I gotta ask...

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

sweet update there!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Today is July 15, 2012.

Write that down.

This is a historic occassion.

This is the day that TCD posted four TR updates.

Four times in one day.

That's a first.

And probably a last.

Nevertheless, here we go.

Again!

Whee!

First, let's talk about where the being last back on the ship came from. It's right there in the second column of the LOF:

The story goes like this:

On our last DCL cruise, in 2009, Mrs. TCD and Twin #2 headed back to the ship around 4 pm. Twin #2, my oldest DD, her BFF and I hung back on the beach. It was a perfect afternoon and we were not ready to leave. At 4:30 they announced that the swimming area was closed, and all guests should proceed back to the ship. So we did. We took our time going back, and stopped for photos along the way. As we got closer to the ship, at about 4:45. a golf cart pulled up and the driver offered us a ride. We accepted, and he took us right up to the ship. We hopped off and boarded. Just as we got on the ship, another golf cart pulled up, and two more guests hopped off. The driver confirmed that they were the last two guests on the island. We had almost been the last guests! We have talked about that ever since. I don't know why we thought it would have been cool to be the last, but we did. So, being LAST (in all caps no less) was added to the LOF.

Now you know.

Now, back to our story . . .

We left off with Frank saying it was time to head back.

So we did.

But, as we passed Serenity Bay, we saw a path.

I said let's take a quick look.

Frank agreed.

There was a castmember sitting there at the entrance to the path, half asleep.

I asked her if it was OK for us to ride down this path.

She didn't say no.

OK, truth be told, I am not sure she was awake.

But I did ask, and she did not say no.

So we headed down the path.

And something was down there.

And we saw a sign.

And this was it:

We had stumbled upon the crew beach.

I didn't even know there was a crew beach.

Now I do.

And we were here.

There isn't much to see.

Here are a bunch of tables:

And this is the actual beach- you see that silt fence? There was a lot of erosion on this side of the island:

If you look in the water in the back of that photo, you can see two heads. There were still a couple of people there in the water, so Frank and I were not the only guests left on the island.

This is the view to the left, beautiful:

There was a building back here. I am not sure if you can read that sign up above the door, but it says Chez Rossi, and there is a baseball bat beneath it. That means House of Rossi, right? There must be a story that goes with this, but I don't know it:

It was getting later, so we didn't hang out here long.

We went ahead and brought the bikes back.

There was no one there to check us back in.

So we left the bikes and started walking to the ship.

Along the way, we passed the game pavilion.

The LOF said we needed to play ping pong.

There were ping pong tables here.

So we stopped for a quick game.

While we were at it, we played a round of shuffleboard too:

It was 4:22 when we left the game pavilion.

Plenty of time.

We walked along.

This area is called Mount Rustmore.

Frank and I thought we should pose for photos to document that we were the last guests here:

We continued on our walk.

Here are a few shots of the ship as we got closer. The first photo was taken at 4:36:

All the jet skis were parked over here in this little lagoon:

At 4:41, a golf cart approached us.

Two castmembers were on it.

They offered us a ride for the rest of the way. We accepted.

They radioed in that two guests were on the way:

We joked around with the guys driving the cart. We asked them what would happen if a guest didn't return by 5. They said that they would go out and find the guest. I asked what if they were hiding. They said, it has been done. I asked where the best hiding spaces were. They laughed and said no way would they tell me.

So they brought us right up to the gangway.

We hopped off.

We were the only guests around.

Frank pulls out his LOF to show to the castmember waiting there. He says we want to be the last guests on the island. She said, oh, you are:

I figured that this castmember was just humoring Frank.

So, I asked her if it was true. And she said yes.

Frank was elated.

He walked right up the gangplank in front of me.

And I let him.

Do you see what I did there?

TCD rules!

Bragging rights again!

Poor Frank.

He still doesn't realize that he was not the last guest on the island.

I was.

So we walk on the ship. A lady in a very impressive uniform walks up to us and says "are you Francis and Andrew?"

What the Fort?

Frank's name is Francis?

Oh boy.

Actually I knew that.

But, what I didn't know is how that lady knew our names.

She said we were the last guests to board, and they were waiting for us.

Check!

Well, for me anyway.

They were not kidding that we were last.

As soon as we boarded, they started to pull up the gangplank:

The thing is, we were not late. It wasn't quite 5 when we boarded, so it was all good.

I stopped by the cabin as soon as we got back aboard.

Mrs. TCD said that Nancy had called and that the ship had called her cabin three times looking for Frank. Mrs. TCD had not been in our cabin, but we later saw that we had three missed calls on our phone.

Frank, I mean Francis and I were famous.

So, that's the story of our first day on Castaway Cay.

And this day still is not over. We will be heading out to another bar, and then dinner.

Lot's more fun is one the way.

TCD

[rm0530 5]

Here's my mini TR:

Notice the vantage point of my DH taking the picture--still in bed! I came back bragging about just having run 3 miles in straight humidity (while 13 wks pregnant, no less) and he bragged that he made it to the breakfast buffet before they closed...

The two CMs organizing the race said they were staying for 45 minutes and then had to leave for other events. I don't know what happens with medals if it takes you longer than that :panic: