Here we are, all gussied up for Formal Night!
Want to hear what a tropical storm in the middle of the ocean looks and sounds like as you are preparing for Pirate Night on a Disney cruise? Take a peek:
The curtains in the theater were swaying something good on this night and after one "swinging" trip in an elevator, I took the stairs for the rest of the evening.
Am I exaggerating? No. Was this like The Perfect Storm? Well of course not.
However, though it was not totally unexpected, it was a little odd getting used to when encountering for the first time. I'm sure veteran cruisers are saying "p'shah" to my ramblings. At the same time, I had been told by countless many that "the ship is so big you won't feel a thing." Um, yeah. The ship is ginormous and we did feel a thing.
Thankfully, Pirate Night went on as planned, although it was too windy for Capt. Jack Sparrow to repel down the funnel. The fireworks went off without a hitch though, so that was a treat!
Many of the port excursions at our stops in Grand Cayman, Costa Maya and Cozumel were cancelled but we personally didn't have any planned anyway.
Thankfully, Scott had packed enough Bonine to treat an army, so we all took it daily as a preventative and none of us ever got seasick.
Even though the sun really didn't come out for around five days, we had fun nonetheless.
Our little cuties all ready for a fun evening.
- Will finally got excited about the cruise! Eliza Grace had been researching and watching videos about the Disney Fantasy for months, but Will never seemed all that thrilled about the prospect of being on a boat in the middle of the ocean. However, as soon as he saw the ship when we arrived at port, he was bouncing out of his seat.
- About three seconds after we checked Will into the kids Oceaneer's Lab, we heard him say, "Hey AJ. Wait a second! Mommy, AJ is here!" AJ is a buddy that Will has known since pre-school and is in class with in elementary school. It was weird (but fun!) seeing someone you know from home on a huge cruise ship filled with 4,000 passengers and 1,500 crew.
Will and AJ wanted to pose for a picture.
Will and AJ wanted to pose for a picture.
-We were told many, many times how well mannered Eliza Grace is. Can't tell you what it means to a parent to hear that.
-Scott and I watched Monsters U and Iron Man III in 3D in the ship's awesome movie theater while the kids were in their clubs.
-Eliza Grace got to catch up with and hug Caitlyn a lot throughout our trip. Have I mentioned how much we loved her?
-Eliza Grace got to catch up with and hug Caitlyn a lot throughout our trip. Have I mentioned how much we loved her?
-We had pictures made with lots of characters throughout the week.
And I can't begin to tell you how much I LOVE the picture below. Look at Walt Disney looking over our shoulders. His dreams live on in us, people.
-The Broadway style evening performances were as fabulous as everyone promised they'd be. We also enjoyed a lot of other kinds of live entertainment. It was so much fun watching Will, in particular, be completely amazed and excited by the juggler, magician and ventriloquist.
-Speaking of ventriloquist. One evening they had Lynn Trefzger perform a family show in the big night club called, The Tube.
All the kids were invited to sit on the floor in front of the stage, which Will and Eliza Grace did, of course.
Then the fun began. Unfortunately, I didn't have my video camera with me. Fortunately, I did have my camera.
Lynn was very, very funny. About five minutes into her show, she picked a child out of the audience to help her. That kid was Will. Typically he would shy away from stuff like this but since she put him on the spot, he went up there.
She does a bit in which she gives her helper a blanket that looks like it is wrapped around a baby. Then she does this amazing baby crying sound, without moving her lips of course. She encourages her helper to try and calm the baby.
Will knew there wasn't a real baby but her sounds were so real he started bouncing the blanket a bit to help soothe the baby.
Unfortunately, the baby cries louder and louder and Will starts smiling embarrassingly. At this point Lynn gives Will a bottle to feed the baby.
Which he tries to do but, again, the cries get louder and louder.
At which point she takes the bottle and the blanket from Will, turns the blanket around and tells Will, "Wrong end!"
He was such a great sport and helped to make the bit really funny! And he got a Mickey Mouse key chain for playing along.
Eliza Grace was introduced to Bear, who asked her how old she was. Then Lynn asked for a boy volunteer.
This sweet young man came on stage and when Bear learned that he was younger than Eliza Grace, he motioned to him, while nodding toward Eliza Grace, and said, "Hey, (wink wink), an older woman."
You can see Eliza Grace's reaction to that in the picture above and below. Of course, the audience and Lynn thought her reactions were hilarious.
The rest of the bit went like this: Eliza Grace was Mama Bear, the boy was Baby Bear and the puppet was Papa Bear. 
Lynn then narrated the story of Goldilocks. Whenever she tapped either child on the shoulder they were to open and close their mouths like they were talking but Lynn would provide the dialogue. It was fun and silly.
At one point Baby Bear challenged Eliza Grace to a staring contest, to which she immediately responded (see picture below) and, again, had the audience really laughing.
As the Goldilocks story progressed, Mama Bear's dialogue became more excited and faster as she talked about how someone ate her porridge, and sat in her chair, and slept in her bed.
After one such rambling, Eliza Grace turned to Lynn and ad lib'd, "Hey, you really do sound a lot like my Mom." There was a nano second of a beat and then the place erupted in laughter, me included. You just never know what this child will say. And I'm sure she wasn't that far off the mark.
They bowed at the end of their performance but that was not all. No, that was not all.
-Speaking of ventriloquist. One evening they had Lynn Trefzger perform a family show in the big night club called, The Tube.
All the kids were invited to sit on the floor in front of the stage, which Will and Eliza Grace did, of course.
Lynn was very, very funny. About five minutes into her show, she picked a child out of the audience to help her. That kid was Will. Typically he would shy away from stuff like this but since she put him on the spot, he went up there.
He was such a great sport and helped to make the bit really funny! And he got a Mickey Mouse key chain for playing along.
Once Will sat down, Lynn asked for a girl volunteer.
Yep, you guessed it.
Eliza Grace's hand went up lightening fast and Lynn called her to the stage. Scott and I looked at each other with an unspoken, "Oh boy, I hope Lynn is ready for anything."
This sweet young man came on stage and when Bear learned that he was younger than Eliza Grace, he motioned to him, while nodding toward Eliza Grace, and said, "Hey, (wink wink), an older woman."
Lynn then narrated the story of Goldilocks. Whenever she tapped either child on the shoulder they were to open and close their mouths like they were talking but Lynn would provide the dialogue. It was fun and silly.
After one such rambling, Eliza Grace turned to Lynn and ad lib'd, "Hey, you really do sound a lot like my Mom." There was a nano second of a beat and then the place erupted in laughter, me included. You just never know what this child will say. And I'm sure she wasn't that far off the mark.They bowed at the end of their performance but that was not all. No, that was not all.
During the next few days, on at least three different occasions, Eliza Grace was "recognized" as the girl in the skit. Then the person would inevitably slide a glance my way and say, "And you must be her Mom," with a knowing look.
These were some of the best memories we made on our trip.
(Coming soon - part 4 - Here comes the sun and Castaway Cay!)
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