Day Four (May 4, At Sea)
This morning we decided to have breakfast at Triton's. The kids ordered off the fun kid's menu, Peanut Butter & Jelly Typhoon for Oliver and Mickey's Special Combo Platter for Elliott.
I ordered a Mango Mountain Hike and a cheese and onion omelet. Oh my, the Mango Mountain Hike was so delicious! We were not early risers on this trip, but I made it my mission to acquire one any morning when I was up early enough. The kids decided my omelet was better than what they'd ordered and I ended up sharing it with them. That happens a lot.
This morning the limited edition Panama Canal crossing pins were going on sale. All three of us collect pins, so I wanted to be sure to get them. I was worried, because I'd heard that there was a limit of two per cabin. I really wanted one, but of course if it came down to it I would get them for the kids. Every time we are anywhere Disney-related we buy a pin to remind us of it. Our lanyards are like diaries. The kids also keep a bunch of random pins for trading.
I dropped the kids off at the Lab and then I went down to the pin line, outside the Walt Disney Theater. It was fairly long, but not too crazy, just wrapping once around the room. Two people in line behind me were talking about the pins, and I realized that the woman was only planning to buy one pin, so I threw myself on her mercy to find out if she would be willing to let me buy one on her room allotment. She was so nice and even held my place in line while I ran up to my room (which was just at the top of the nearby staircase) to get cash.
When I got back we were talking about the pins and I almost started crying (ok, maybe I did start crying a little bit), because it was very kind of her. The other people she'd been talking to also offered. Faith in humanity restored a bit!
Well, when I got to the front of the line it turned out you were allowed to buy two per person in your cabin, so I was allowed to buy my three with no problem. Still, it was very nice to know that a total stranger had been willing to help me out. Sometimes small things can mean a lot to someone else. It's always good to remember that.
I love the pins so much!
I dropped the pins off in our room I grabbed the boys so that we could go to a Star Wars trivia event that had been organized by someone in our group. This is the one place where I really felt
DCL had a failure. May 4 is “Star Wars Day” (“May the Fourth be with you”) and they could have done some really fun things pretty simply. They had fourteen days to fill with activities! Star Wars movie marathon (I saw that they had this on the Transatlantic that is just finishing up), Star Wars trivia, maybe a couple of Star Wars-themed activities in the kid club. That's all it would have taken.
Anyway, thank goodness for our group. They picked up the slack! Wearing our Star Wars shirts (mine is Princess Leia as the tightrope walker from the Haunted Mansion stretching portrait) we headed off to … well, we weren't sure where. The trivia had been listed as “TBA” on the schedule. We went to Diversions, where we found some people waiting, but no trivia. We decided to go check the Promenade Lounge, because it seemed to be the other likely spot. Bingo! I decided to leave the kids there under strict instructions to behave, so that I could run back and let everyone else know.
When we got back both children were still in one piece and trivia was ready to start. The kids had some frustration, but it was still a lot of fun. Team Bantha Fodder had a fair showing and we got some time hanging out with new friends.
I mentioned in an earlier post that I'd made the mistake of looking at all the photos the group had posted, hoping to memorize some names, but instead creating a horrible muddle in my memory. Here is where that showed itself to be a real issue. I was chatting with the super nice people at the table next to us. We had a lot in common, and even discovered friends-of-friends in common. Then I was happy to learn they were from San Diego, and I asked their names. They looked at me like I had two heads.
Of course, this was Lori and her family – who I had become friends with on social media before the cruise. I couldn't even get this name right! I warned the group that I am the absolute worst with names/faces before we left, and I think this proved it. There may be something wrong with me! Please don't judge me too harshly, guys: you are great, I am an idiot!
After Star Wars trivia Elliott wanted to go to the Lab, but Ollie said he wanted to stay with me (so that I wouldn't be lonely). He wanted to go back to the room to watch a movie, but we were sidetracked by Sofia the First and Mickey Mouse in the hallway. I couldn't get my camera out fast enough to get a shot with both of them in it, but Sofia posed with Ollie for me.
We went to the room and Oliver watched Tangled while I read. After the movie was over we got Elliott and went down to Parrot Cay for lunch. Elliott ate so much shrimp that I started to worry that he was going to get sick later, but he was fine. I wanted to go to Disney trivia at 1, but the kids weren't interested, so we stopped by the Lab to drop them off on the way down.
I went to sit by myself at trivia and started chatting with a group of people from our meet-up. They were all very nice and I even got myself a trivia partner since their group was so large. She apologized for not being a major Disney aficionado, but that was ok – I am and we won! She was so nice and gave me her “medal” so that each of the boys could have one.
When trivia was over it was almost time for another group event: a Star Wars/Avengers gift exchange and ice cream social. A limited number of children had signed up for this and each was to bring a themed gift for the other children, along with an ice cream topping. This was so much fun! People got very creative with their gifts and the kids all had a blast. On the way there I noticed a table where they were making fresh pina coladas, served in the pineapple. Yum! They insisted on giving me all that they made, so I had a full pineapple plus an extra cup (which I promptly gave to one of the other moms). They gave each of the boys a plate of the pineapple, which was a nice touch. I was balancing so much stuff that I wasn't able to take any pictures of pineapple or ice cream social, but it was all great.
After the ice cream social a bunch of the kids were going in the Mickey pool and asked the boys if they wanted to go. I told them that they could go in for a while, and Elliott ran off to get their bathing suits and sunscreen. Since he forgot to bring the sunscreen I told them they could only stay in for half an hour.
The other parents were chatting at a table and asked if I wanted to join them. Oh, I really did, but so many bad things have happened in our lives in the last several years that we've all developed a fear of the next one. Every time the phone rings at home I wait for the caller ID with a nervous stomach. So, even though there are very good lifeguards monitoring things, I can't let my kids go into even the Mickey pool without standing right on the side watching them. The anxiety would be too much for me and I wouldn't be able to relax enough to have fun. The kids had a ton of fun playing with their new friends.
Soon enough it was time to get out of the sun, and it was just as well because it was formal night. It took a bit longer than normal, because instead of just throwing on a sundress and running a brush through my hair, tonight I needed to do my hair and put on makeup. Doing your own hair and relying on small boys to tell you how it looks is a risky game. They always say that it looks fine. So, I got in the habit of taking a picture of my hair in the mirror using my cell phone on the occasions when an up-do was in order. They are practically the only pictures of me on the trip, so when I did one I am going to post it!
It isn't a perfect system, but it's better than trusting Oliver's judgment. Once we all looked dapper we headed down to the Captain's Welcome Reception in the atrium.
There was quite a bit of motion that day (lovely rolling, nothing uncomfortable), which made for an interesting night when they gave out free cocktails to women wearing heels for formal night. The boys enjoyed some mocktails as we got into line for formal night portraits. We don't do the lines usually, but I did want one nice picture of us.
Elliott had gone to sit on the floor where he'd be able to rejoin us at the front of the line and I was staring off into space daydreaming when there was a huge crash and suddenly my feet were cold and wet. Ollie had dropped his glass, which luckily was down to ice and didn't break. Oh, that scared the bajeezus out of me. Out of nowhere a cleaning crew descended upon us and in seconds it was as if nothing had happened. It was crazy.
We'd been in line for maybe fifteen minutes when we got to what I thought was the front, just in time because dinner was about to start. However, as soon as we turned the corner we realized the line wrapped around again and it would easily be another twenty minutes, if not more, before we got to the front. I was so sad when I had to round up the kids and abandon the line. They didn't care a bit, but I was very disappointed. I knew that there was little point in trying to get back in line later as the kids would neither tolerate it well nor would they still be neat and tidy.
Dinner tonight was the Golden Mickeys menu. Elliott ordered a kid's steak and Oliver ordered the burger. I ordered the corn soup off the kid's menu (it wasn't as good as I remembered it being), the prosciutto and honeydew appetizer, and the Yachtsman Steakhouse Grilled NY Strip steak. All very tasty!
I don't remember what the kids had for dessert, but I ordered the no sugar added crème brulee, which was delicious.
Oliver had a tooth that was quite loose and he was determined that it was going to come out during the trip. He was telling everyone about it and making them look at how well it wiggled. He was ready to try some new tactics, so after dinner we went to the sundries section of the shops for a new roll of dental floss.
Some brilliant members of our cruise group had decided that we should all get together to have a “family portrait” taken while we were dressed up, so we went to the atrium to wait for that. What a production that was! 60-70 people can't comfortably wait in line together, so most of us stood off to the side until it was our turn. The photo staff looked shocked when everyone moved into place. But they had fun with it, one of the even jumping into frame for one shot. The end result was great. Quite a few people were missing (there were over 200 people in our group), but we were well-represented.
After the photo was finished it was time for the Golden Mickeys. This time I chose our seats – on the aisle! We still had a great view and the show was a lot of fun. The kids were small enough the last time we cruised on Disney that they don't remember the shows at all, so everything was essentially new to them. When the show ended the kids were ready for bed, so they toted their handfuls of gold confetti back to the room with them.
Between the movement of the ship, which I truly loved, and my comfy bed, I slept very deeply that night. For this insomniac, that was an unexpected gift!
