Our Disney Dream

We must be the most blessed/luckiest family in the world! Because this year Brad's boss gifted us with this family trip on a 3-night Disney Cruise to the Bahamas. This has truly been a dream come true. 

The kids were almost as excited about the airplane rides as they were the ship (and they were so great on the plane!). Avery made sure to read the safety brochure before take off and then we all enjoyed the ride, thanks to our tablets and headphones.

After we arrived in Orlando, we spent the evening with Colyn and Lisa and the kids at Dowtown Disney.

Our boys loved the Lego store, Avery was thrilled to be sprinkled with magic fairy dust, and Tess ended the night stealing most of our king sized bed.

The next afternoon we boarded the Disney Dream.  I'll never do it justice, but it is magical... full of all the little Disney details that make everything so special.

We started off playing Mickey's Detective Agency, a really fun interactive game on the ship where some of the artwork magically reveal clues to help solve a mystery, and then met a couple characters.

Next up... Mickey's slide, the pool, Nemo's Reef splash area, and a quick tour of the kids' clubs (Although the kids' clubs were really cool, our kids didn't show any interested in going back again, so this was our only visit).

We changed for dinner and then headed off to the Enchanted Garden.

After dinner we enjoyed a show called The Golden Mickey's and then met Cinderella before bedtime.

Saturday morning Avery got to meet a few more of her favorite princesses.

This day we were in port in Nassau, Bahamas, so we got the kids off for a few minutes to look around and experience a different country.  But the crowds and constant yelling/selling made them anxious and we returned to the ship after only a half hour.

We spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the warmth while taking turns riding the AquaDuck (the ship's SUPER COOL water slide) and watching Tess play in the splash area again.

Dinner Saturday night was served at the Royal Palace.  And our waiters entreated us to more magic tricks, they even made Wesley DISAPEAR!

After dinner we watched another musical called Villians and then enjoyed Pirate Night, complete with fireworks in the middle of the ocean!

Sunday morning us girls got to visit with ANNA and ELSA... and what can I say? It was magical! ;)

Then we spent the day at an equally magical place... Castaway Cay (pronounced Key, Disney's privately owned island).



Jack and Avery weren't sure about snorkeling, but Wesley did a pretty good job.  The sand was soft, the water was crystally blue, and the air was warm.  It was a perfect day.

Our final night, we ate at Animator's Palate, watched Believe (our favorite of the shows), and went to bed a little sad it was all over.

It really was a GREAT vacation for all of us! Maybe one day we'll be lucky enough to go again!