In January Alan and I made the decision to go on a cruise with our friends Brady and Lindsey, we decided a Disney cruise because well it's me and I love Disney. We booked the cruise way back then and on Oct 22, 2014 we set sail for the vacation of a lifetime!! WARNING PHOTO OVERLOAD!!!!!
We got up early and made our way to the ship so we could spend some time getting to know the ship before we set sail.
We got to meet Mickey right before we got on the boat, he gave me lots of kisses, I LOVE Mickey!!
Alan was amazed at how large the ship was, oh BTW this was our first cruise for both of us.
When we walked onto the ship the whole crew announced "The Disney Wonder welcomes the Hurst family" The Hurst family is Brady and Lindsey. They did that for everyone, it was awesome.
This was one of the first things we saw on the ship, the big atrium was decked out with Halloween decorations.
Disney adds all those nice little touches, a Mickey Mouse hand as the elevator pointer to tell you what floor
We first went to the Beach Blanket Buffet for lunch, we were all pretty hungry. The mac and cheese was really good.
Two and a half months prior to the cruise I stopped drinking pop and during that time I had many cravings for some Coke, this is my first pop drink and it tasted fantastic!! I was a little bummed they didn't have Cherry Coke but I found some later.
We of course had to get ice cream cones from the soft serve machine, then we went to explore. We found the Wide World of Sports deck and played a little soccer and foosball.
Our rooms were finally ready and it was wonderful! I really want one of these pillows!
Alan had to finish up some work before there was no more internet connection, well we did not want to pay for it.
We had a huge port hole and on the tv on almost every station was a different Disney movie, Hocus Pocus was playing the whole cruise, perfect for Halloween
Prior to the cruise I made this cute sorcerer Mickey magnet for our door
We went to the front of the ship as we set sail. It was pretty epic
It was a little stormy but a moment that I will never forget.
On of the cute fun decorations in the atrium
Our first night we were assigned to eat at Tritons, Little Mermaid themed. For some reason we were not assigned to sit with Brady and Lindsey so we had to have the waiters make some changes and we finally were able to sit with them. The food was incredible 3 course meal and great atmosphere.
Our first port was the Disney private island Castaway Cay. It was raining when we got off the ship and they gave us ponchos and towels. Even though it was rainy it was beautiful there!!
Castaway Cay is in the Bahamas, very lush and green
Olaf was there to greet us, he literally swayed like a bobble head you put in your car
Lindsey and I saw this sign and were a little scared to go in the water, what the heck is sea lice!!!
We were scheduled to go para sailing that morning but because of the rain it was canceled we were all pretty bummed, we kept going back to check if we could go another time, but they finally cancelled it for the day.
Pelican plunge was awesome!! I have never really swam in the ocean but we had to swim out the water slides and I never knew how buoyant you are in the ocean because of the salt in the water, it was super easy to swim. The slides were way fun, I could have spent the whole day there.
After Pelican Plunge we took the tram over to the adult private beach for some relaxation. There were hammocks and sun chairs all up and down the beach.
I went out into the water and I found this shell, I made Alan pick it up because I had no idea if there was something in it and of course there was, we think it was some mind of sea snail with a claw.
Alan and Brady wearing the exact same swimsuit, so cute!
I was nervous to hold the shell
We found quite a few more shells then we found this big guy
This guy came out and tried to flip itself it was way cool and a little frightening
Lindsey and the sea creature
The Mount Rushmore of Castaway Cay
After playing on the adult beach there was a huge BBQ on the island which had the best ribs ever and we watched the crab races. We decided to just relax so we brought some chairs right up to the water and enjoyed the beautiful beach.
You are supposed to rent out the tubes but no one was watching or regulating the tubes, so we 'borrowed' one. Alan floated around for a good half hour on it.
There were these little white shells everywhere on the beach so I decided to make a little picture with them. Yeah it is Mickey Mouse. Alan and Lindsey helped me collect all the shells.
Everyone was coming over to look at it, some people even took pictures of it.
Before we left on the cruise we promised our daughter that daddy will make mommy a mermaid, so this is for her. Oh and that is Lindsey photo bombing at the top.
As we were walking around the island to In Da Shade, Lindsey and I came across a hair braiding station and we had to get our hair braided. The girl who did it was awesome, I never knew fingers could move so fast!
We decided it was time to get back to the ship because it was getting close to dinner and we all needed to shower.
Brady and Lindsey
Setting off from Castaway Cay
It was such a nice afternoon, Lindsey and I relaxed on some chairs while the boys played shuffle board on deck
This was my favorite place that we ate. All the walls and ceiling are white with Disney sketches on them and throughout the evening slowly they become colorful and change. It was really cool
That same night we had the Pirate Party
Alan did not want anything on the dessert menu so our server said that she would bring Alan something special and this is what she brought, a Mickey Mouse ice cream snack. Alan loved it!
This is a picture of inside the Walt Disney Theater on the side of one of the isles. This is where all the plays were. There was The Golden Mickeys, Toy Story, and Dream on the final night. They were all amazing. Every time we were in the theater Brady had some kind of treat, it was pretty funny.
Getting ready for the Pirate Party
Everyone received a Mickey Pirate bandanna in their staterooms, Alan is fashioning his.
We became slightly obsessed with BINGO. We went every night to BINGO and we didn't win much but it was really fun. We would hoot and holler if we got even one of our numbers called. One day a couple asked us if we were going to BINGO that night and that we better because we make it so much fun.
On the last night we got a cute little Halloween chocolate fudge spider for dessert, we did not eat it because we were so full from our meal.
All these statues were in the hall where the shops were.
This was on the morning of Key West, It was beautiful! Key West was pretty much a pirate island way back in the day and just walking around the house all look like some thing from Pirates of the Caribbean.
In the main atrium in front of Tritons restaurant is a statue of Ariel
The Halloween tree finished with lit pumpkins all over it
We took a bike tour of Key West, we learned a lot about the island and riding a beach cruiser was way fun.
Apparently chickens are a protected bird on Key West and you are not allowed to hunt, kill, or hurt the chickens and roosters. Let's just say they are EVERYWHERE and they are really loud.
This is mile marker 0 for the highway that begins in Florida and goes all the way up to Canada
Blueberry ice cream from the cruise ship. We got lots and lots of ice cream.
Key West was beautiful. I was lounging on the top deck of the ship and I was amazed at how pretty it was.
The giant movie screen that played tons of Disney movies
In Key West we went Para sailing. It was awesome!! I would love to do it again some day. We got up there pretty high and we could see almost all of Key West. We also spotted a sea turtle and big jellyfish while we were up there. Alan and I even stole a little kiss while up there.
