MouseBuzz.com - View Single Post - Mickey and Minnie's two weeks in Paradise!

**mickey** · 03-16-2004

One thing I discovered is that with 5 kids aboard the Disney Magic, you just don't have much time.

One 5/5, we had a couple of my sisters and their families join us in the Magic Kingdom. We let the oldest three kids head out on their own, and they rode Buzz Lightyear 13 times in a row in a vain attempt to break 1,000,000. I think they rode it over 20 times that day.

We did the usual, Fantasyland, Splash Mountain, etc. After lunch, I took the big kids over to EPCOT while everyone else went over to the Beach Club to swim. We rode Mission:Space 3 times, Test Track, did Ice Station Cool to watch the cousins drink Beverly and a couple of other rides on they way to the Beach Club. Not bad for about 2 hours in the park. That evening, the adults headed to Jiko to celebrate my sisters birthday. The food was wonderful as usual, it really is my favorite WDW restaurant now, with Spoodles a close second.

We had to be at the airport by 10 AM to meet everyone, and of course, at 9:15, our son got lost for 30 minutes. He was riding up and down the elevators looking for us. On the way to the airport, the seal on our windshield came out. Man, talk about a noisy car. Of course, we show up at the airport at 10:25, just in time for or Quicksilver shuttle to the cruise. No time to fill up the van with gas, so it ended up being an expensive rental.

We got right to the port as I finished filling out paperwork, and got checked in and on the boat by noon, which was strange, since they don't usually open the gates to get on before about 1 PM. All 29 of us were in one are on the boat, and I feel sorry for anyone around us, we were a bit noisy. We had a category 6 stateroom with verandah for the 2 adult and 2 young girls, and the 3 boys shared a category 11, inside statroom right across the hall. That worked great, since it was about the same price as 2 ocean view staterooms, and the boys weren't in their room enough to care.

As I mentioned, it is tough with 5 kids on the cruise. Getting them ready, talking them into kids club, getting food, finding their groups at the right times, etc. By the time we would get everyone in, I would get paged to come pick someone up. The food was great, the entertainment better than before, and I really think Palo has improved greatly since they increased the price. The food was on par with the nicer restaurants at WDW.

We didn't do any excursions, just walked around. On St. Thomas, we took a taxi to MorningStar Beach, wich was close to the ships, and was fantastic. It really is mostly a private beach for a Marriott there, but they do have a public entrance. It was nice, since Marriott had three restaurants right on the beach, plus some shops that sold sun screen and other beach stuff. I would do that again in a heart beat. Castaway Cay was great. One hint: Walk all the way past where the hair braiders are, near the bike rentals, and there are plenty of chairs, and few people. If you want even more quiet with the kids, head a bit further to the teen beach. There were only about 5 people over there, thought the beach isn't as good, and there is very little shade. Oh, and plan on eating lunch at 1 PM or later. We headed over around 12:30, and the entire boat was in line to get lunch. By about 1, the lines were gone and everyone was back on the beach.

Overall, it was a fantastic vacation, one we will remember. After 8 nights at WDW, and 7 nights on the cruise, we were ready to head home. We had a full day after the cruise, so we hit Downtown Disney for some souvenirs, the outlet malls and then a trip to the Cheesecake factory for dinner. All 5 of our kids said they enjoyed the cruise more, while Minnie and I said WDW. Not sure why, I really like the cruise, but WDW, there is so much more to do, better food, bigger rooms, etc.

Here are the things I learned:

Stay away from the promenade lounge, the entertainment is horrible.

Don't tell your kids the ice cream is free until at least the third day.

Play Bingo. Some lady won about $7,000 on our cruise.

Carry around a kids club schedule with you. Half of the time, the kids are in "transition", and they cannot be checked in or out during that time.

Plan out your day the night before, so you don't miss everything you want to do on the boat.

When you are getting on Mission:Space, and the guy getting off in front of you throws up, it isn't a good sign of things to come.

03-16-2004	#7 (permalink)
mickey Administrator Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 6,229	One thing I discovered is that with 5 kids aboard the Disney Magic, you just don't have much time. One 5/5, we had a couple of my sisters and their families join us in the Magic Kingdom. We let the oldest three kids head out on their own, and they rode Buzz Lightyear 13 times in a row in a vain attempt to break 1,000,000. I think they rode it over 20 times that day. We did the usual, Fantasyland, Splash Mountain, etc. After lunch, I took the big kids over to EPCOT while everyone else went over to the Beach Club to swim. We rode Mission:Space 3 times, Test Track, did Ice Station Cool to watch the cousins drink Beverly and a couple of other rides on they way to the Beach Club. Not bad for about 2 hours in the park. That evening, the adults headed to Jiko to celebrate my sisters birthday. The food was wonderful as usual, it really is my favorite WDW restaurant now, with Spoodles a close second. We had to be at the airport by 10 AM to meet everyone, and of course, at 9:15, our son got lost for 30 minutes. He was riding up and down the elevators looking for us. On the way to the airport, the seal on our windshield came out. Man, talk about a noisy car. Of course, we show up at the airport at 10:25, just in time for or Quicksilver shuttle to the cruise. No time to fill up the van with gas, so it ended up being an expensive rental. We got right to the port as I finished filling out paperwork, and got checked in and on the boat by noon, which was strange, since they don't usually open the gates to get on before about 1 PM. All 29 of us were in one are on the boat, and I feel sorry for anyone around us, we were a bit noisy. We had a category 6 stateroom with verandah for the 2 adult and 2 young girls, and the 3 boys shared a category 11, inside statroom right across the hall. That worked great, since it was about the same price as 2 ocean view staterooms, and the boys weren't in their room enough to care. As I mentioned, it is tough with 5 kids on the cruise. Getting them ready, talking them into kids club, getting food, finding their groups at the right times, etc. By the time we would get everyone in, I would get paged to come pick someone up. The food was great, the entertainment better than before, and I really think Palo has improved greatly since they increased the price. The food was on par with the nicer restaurants at WDW. We didn't do any excursions, just walked around. On St. Thomas, we took a taxi to MorningStar Beach, wich was close to the ships, and was fantastic. It really is mostly a private beach for a Marriott there, but they do have a public entrance. It was nice, since Marriott had three restaurants right on the beach, plus some shops that sold sun screen and other beach stuff. I would do that again in a heart beat. Castaway Cay was great. One hint: Walk all the way past where the hair braiders are, near the bike rentals, and there are plenty of chairs, and few people. If you want even more quiet with the kids, head a bit further to the teen beach. There were only about 5 people over there, thought the beach isn't as good, and there is very little shade. Oh, and plan on eating lunch at 1 PM or later. We headed over around 12:30, and the entire boat was in line to get lunch. By about 1, the lines were gone and everyone was back on the beach. Overall, it was a fantastic vacation, one we will remember. After 8 nights at WDW, and 7 nights on the cruise, we were ready to head home. We had a full day after the cruise, so we hit Downtown Disney for some souvenirs, the outlet malls and then a trip to the Cheesecake factory for dinner. All 5 of our kids said they enjoyed the cruise more, while Minnie and I said WDW. Not sure why, I really like the cruise, but WDW, there is so much more to do, better food, bigger rooms, etc. Here are the things I learned: Stay away from the promenade lounge, the entertainment is horrible. Don't tell your kids the ice cream is free until at least the third day. Play Bingo. Some lady won about $7,000 on our cruise. Carry around a kids club schedule with you. Half of the time, the kids are in "transition", and they cannot be checked in or out during that time. Plan out your day the night before, so you don't miss everything you want to do on the boat. When you are getting on Mission:Space, and the guy getting off in front of you throws up, it isn't a good sign of things to come.