Our Magical Voyage on the Disney Dream Part 1

The Disney Dream was AMAZING!  I missed you all so much while we were gone…it’s hard not to be connected on social media for a few days!  But oh it was SO magical!  I had no idea what we were in for on Disney Cruise Line….and now, it is our preferred way of doing Disney.  Just one sailing, and we are hooked!  I am so excited to share our trip with you all!  Today I am sharing Our Magical Voyage on the Disney Dream, Part 1!  It was that awesome, that it needs to posts at least!  This was our first Disney Cruise, and to say it was amazing is a serious understatement.  We are a family who faithfully visits the Disney Parks every year, and have done so for the last 8 years.  This year, we decided to change things up and do a Disney Cruise. Disney Cruise Line is the perfect dose of Disney that we love, the guest service that is totally top notch, and an amazing experience all wrapped into one!  

On January 24th, we arrived in Orlando in the early evening.  As we landed in Orlando, I received at text from Disney telling me that our room was ready.  I love that!  Such a benefit of Online Check In!  We boarded the Magical Express for Saratoga Springs.  We love the 2 Bedrooms at SSR, as we had also stayed there in June for our park trip.  We went to Artist’s Point, the counter service location, and grabbed some dinner.  Then it was back to our room to rearrange a few things in our luggage and get ready for our sailing!

January 25th, we had to be at the lobby at Saratoga by 11:45 to catch the Disney Cruise Line bus.   Since we had plenty of time that morning, I checked My Disney Experience for any breakfast reservations. I was SO excited to see one for 1900 Park Fare at 9:10.  Of course I grabbed it and we were out the door to the Grand Floridian after the Disney Cruise Line rep came to our villa to pick up our luggage at 8AM.  This is a huge perk of using the Disney Cruise Line transportation from a Disney resort.  They will get your luggage from your room at 8AM, and it magically appears in your stateroom later that day!

I am so glad we took the time to get a good breakfast and enjoy some Disney fun before we boarded the Dream.  We didn’t end up eating lunch until almost 2PM after we boarded the Dream.  We took our time eating, enjoyed the characters, and we were easily back to Saratoga Springs by 11AM.

The Disney Cruise Line rep gathered us all in the lobby and walked us to meet the bus.  We boarded and were on our way to Old Key West to pick up a few more guests and then on our way to Port Canaveral.  While we were riding along, the bus driver played Disney trivia, Disney cartoons, and information about our Disney Cruise Line voyage.  As we got closer to Port Canaveral, we could see the Dream in the distance!  We arrived at the port around 1:30PM.    Upon arrival, we put our carry ons through security, and entered the port terminal.  We were able to get our Key to the World Cards right away and then we boarded!

Upon entering the lobby of the ship, I was so amazed.  It was absolutely beautiful!  My daughter and I went to the Port Adventures Desk to get our Anna and Elsa Meet and Greet tickets and my husband and our boys went to our stateroom to drop our things off.  After this, we met up and headed to Cabanas for lunch.  It was SO good!  Perfect selection and everyone found something they liked.  We indulged in some crab legs and peel and eat shrimp.  So yummy!  We went to our room and got settled in a bit  By then, surprisingly, our luggage had appeared!  After unpacking, it was time for the muster drill.  And then one of my favorite parts~the Sail Away Party!  The Sail Away Party was so much fun!  It is a “must do” when you go on your cruise!  And what I loved about it, is it really gets your mind on Disney and the awesome adventure ahead of you, and off of the fact that your ship is moving!

Our dinner that evening was at the Royal Palace.  We were so lucky to have a window seat for this meal.  Our servers, Frank and Andy treated us like royalty from the time we sat down.  We were feeling overwhelmed, excited, and just really wanting to enjoy the experience.   They were great at walking us through the menu and we were so happy with our meal.   After dinner, it was time for the Golden Mickey’s.  We took our daughter to see the show while our older two opted to go to the Oceaneer Lab.  Warning…….once your kids enter the Oceaneer Lab and/or Edge, they won’t want to come out!  It was one more stop on Deck 11 for an ice cream cone and then off to bed for us!

January 26th, we woke up almost to Nassau.  As we were finishing breakfast at Cabanas, we headed up to Deck 12 to watch the Dream dock in Nassau.  This is a really fun experience, and I highly recommend it.  My kids loved watching the boat come into port.  We docked next to two other cruise ships, and at that moment, I realized just how HUGE the Disney Dream was!  We had decided to not get off the boat in Nassau.  Instead, we spent time playing putt putt onboard, taking in the views, enjoying our verandah on our room, the boys hung out in Edge, and doing the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.  We rode the AquaDuck, which is a MUST DO, and hung out by the pool for awhile.  

 

After lunch and Bibbidi Bobbidi, we had our Anna and Elsa meet and greet.  Later that afternoon, we sent our daughter to the Oceaneer Club so we could take the Mixology class onboard.  I had gotten tickets for this that morning at the Guest Services Desk.  It was $20 per adult, and in my opinion, well worth it.  We went to the Skyline Bar onboard, and it was a small group.  Maybe 15 other adults or so.  We split into 5 groups and each group mixed a drink for the others.  The servers served them to us, and we enjoyed sampling our work!  After this, we visited the onboard booking office to book our 7-night voyage for next January!  Then it was dinner time.

That evening was our optional dress up night.  We opted to dress up.  My daughter had done the BBB earlier that day, so she was all done up for dinner.  We were celebrating the boys’ 13th birthday, and all around it was a great night.  We had dinner at Animator’s Palate that evening.  I enjoyed the Black Bean Chipotle Cakes for dinner.  They were divine.  And the truffles you hear about, yes they are as fabulous as what people say they are.  I could have eaten them for my dinner!  Animator’s Palate was really fun, and a great atmosphere.  This evening’s show was Villains Unleashed.  It was great, although it wasn’t my favorite show onboard.  After the show we shopped a bit and grabbed some soft serve ice cream cones for a snack before bed.  The next day was our Castaway Cay day!

Stay tuned for Part 2!  See ya real soon!