Love the kids, this is MY Dream!
Updated: Jan 6
Why adults love this and why we picked this experience for our Christmas.
Forget the kids, this is Mom's dream come true! Haha, ok I know there are plenty of Disney adults and Disney cruisers who understand that a Disney cruise is just as much for the adults as the kiddos! Please read and understand the two big reasons why I'm losing my mind with gratitude.
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I know that this kind of thing is not for everyone but come on friend, have you not had a dream you wished for, longed for with such an intensity that you could almost feel it? Have you ever had one of those dreams come true? Is it not a beautifully intense thing? Your dream may not be to travel. It may not be anything you see on my page or on Instagram, but so many of us relate to that feeling of longing and wishing for things we desire to experience. Please keep your version of these feelings at the front of your senses as you read this post.
This may sound corny, silly, or whatever but this is the truth and I am not about to be false here! I have been visualizing walking into the Disney Cruise Line terminal at Port Canaveral
for longer than Luke has been alive. I have been dreaming about a Disney Cruise for more than 25 years. I know what that terminal looks like in extreme detail. I have laid in bed, stood in a hot shower, sat in meditation visualizing walking through security, gliding up that escalator, and slowly seeing the Mickey-ear-shaped entrance to the gangway. I imagined the sound of the cast members welcoming us aboard. With my eyes closed, I have allowed myself to feel the joy, the breeze, and the railing underneath my hands as I watch the "Sailing Away" party. I have kept my eyes closed as I listened to a vlog and jumped up and down as crazy as I can because I get to hear that ship's horn blow "When You Wish Upon A Star" and I have felt what it might feel like to be there!
What's in this post or YOU?
I hope to relate with others. I hope we can connect either from a love of Disney or for the simple fact that you know how difficult a road can be and how amazing it can feel to achieve a dream! I also want to share with you how this went from an adolescent dream to a momma's goal and why it shifted. I also want to share why this is the perfect way to introduce kiddos under 8 years old to Disney experiences!
First: Multi-Vacation in One?
Second: Lorelai - a 4-year-olds first at Disney?
Adults only, Kids only, Busy, or restful!
Last year we surprised Lucas and Eryn with a split-stay vacation to Universal Orlando Resort and then to Disney World. Since I am a vacation planner and Disney nerd I felt literally sick with exhaustion after that vacation. I ensured my family got a respite mid-vacation as I suggest to all of my clients no matter their vacation destination. Sadly, I did not get that break for myself. Instead, I did laundry and ran all over the place to get us situated. Vacations can be a lot of work for parents to keep the group on time for dining, getting Lightening Lanes, filler attractions, etc, etc. Ugh. I was a lot of mental 'ON' time if you know what I mean. Then our flight home was canceled on Christmas eve and that meant a 2-hour sprint to find a way home.
This year with this cruise I will get some respite! Disney Cruise Line has kids-only clubs that are exclusively for them. They will want to run off and do all the fun activities and events with their peers leaving the adults to have some quiet time to themselves. Kids get a vacation from their parents for a while and the adults get a break to relax by a pool, taste something fun, enjoy a massage, or whatever they wish free from thinking, "what do I need to do for these kiddos?"
This doesn't mean that everyone is a part for the whole cruise either. Each family can make this trip as 'together', as active or as restful as they wish. There are awesome excursions for zip-lining, snorkeling, historic tours, swimming with marine life, and so much more. There are also so many spaces aboard the ship that can just be about relaxation and slowing down. This kind of vacation allows parents to say goodbye to the kids, who are racing off to play with new friends, to go enjoy a slow, scrumptious brunch at Palo or Remy with stunning ocean views. Kiddos can grab some lunch with the family then escape the veggies left on their plate and return to the kid's club via a cast member straight from the restaurant to dance the afternoon away. Or maybe after a morning away everyone gets together to fly across the ship on the AquaDuck water ride and then take in a new release movie.
A #disneycruisevacation can be as active, relaxed, together, solitary, or as varied as those traveling wish it to be! I fully intend on relaxing as much as we can!
Character Time: Lorelai's first Disney Experience?
Those kids' clubs though!!! Adults and anyone outside the age group designated for that space are not allowed in unless it is during an open house. This means the kids get a vacation from the adults. Think back to when you were a kid. Did you not love escaping outside, to your room, or somewhere else that felt like you got that break from the parents; from being told what to do all the time? There are games, crafts, events, and parties, a lot of which include character time! You will never get character interactions to this level at a park!
Did I mention characters? The longer the cruise, the more characters you will see. Lorelai is very much still in the magic bubble as she is only 4-years-old. She is going to be living her dream hugging and dancing with Mickey and the rest of the Fab 5, but all the princesses, and even Disney Jr. characters! In the stateroom, there is a bunk bed that pulls down from the ceiling and has stars that form a constellation and light up right above her head.
There are kids' menu options to ensure that even picky eaters have fun. Dude Crush, our tubular friend from the AEC, chats in real-time during dinner. The cast members engage the kids with games, jokes, riddles, and other memorable ways that put a lovely extra sprinkle of magic on their day. Lucas is a little outside the magic bubble but he is quickly becoming a dad-joke expert. I am not sure how I feel about this but he sure gets a kick out of the cast members' silliness. He will also get one of these cool bunks as we have two rooms! Despite being 8-years-old, he will still dance, laugh, and hug the characters. Last year, as he was aging out of believing, he still ran like crazy to the 50th Anniversary Cavalcade and yelled hello to all the characters while waving so hard you'd think he was fueled by Joffrey's coffee. The same goes for Eryn. They were on the cusp of 15 when we went last December and yet they ran just as fast as Lucas to that cavalcade. Plus, Eryn doesn't know Stitch, their favorite character, will be sailing with us. Lucas and Lorelai will be in the same kids' spaces but Eryn will be in Vibe. This club's age group is 14 to 17. Eryn will get their own break from the younger siblings and even have their own pool! I mean come on!??!?
All of these points, the bed, kids' events, characters, and all of this fun, it is going to make some of the most magical and happiest of memories for them AND for us! I cannot wait!
MY Dream Come True!
When I was a teen, Disney was featured on some travel TV programs where cast members talked about their new cruise line. I remember wishing and dreaming that I would be one of those lucky kids. At the time I worked at a Hair Cuttery after school and on weekends. I remember one of the ladies talking about this cruise explaining that you were completely surrounded by Disney "like all the time!" I never understood the problem. Then as an adult watching YouTube, all I could think was how tasteful it was. These cruises didn't at all look childish. It is not like an animated film that never ends. The Disney experience is classic and varies based on your location on the ship. "What the heck was she complaining about?!" Haha!
I wish I could explain just how much I have been longing for this experience and how unbelievably grateful I am to be able to achieve this. I have envisioned, hoped, lost hope, hoped again, and placed pictures all over my desktops, phone wallpaper, and even a framed wall art piece at my desk to help keep my dream alive for all the days and months that I never believed it would come true. I have a YouTube playlist of Disney Cruise videos that I've used for fun and to pull me out of a crap mental space. "Come on Steph. Close your eyes and listen to that horn. Some day soon you will hear this for yourself. You will get to see your kids experience the ocean. Shoot, after so many years, you will get to stop talking to them about it and you will actually be there! You've got to believe it!" Though that doesn't always work, it has definitely helped me in more moments than I could count.
Have you ever wanted something this much? Have you ever, as a single parent, while watching travel videos heard your kids ask you if you could go only to explain that you wholeheartedly wish you could but can't afford it? For close to 10 years I watch Jones Family Travels as they took Kelly and Hunter on these Disney cruise vacations. Eryn and I would sit there dreaming and talking together about how much fun that would be. They were far younger than Luke and now I can actually share these moments with them, all three of them for that matter! Have you ever wanted something so long that even when it did come to you, you still couldn't believe it was real? I cannot believe this is truly happening.
Share with me your dreams! Have they come true? Are you still dreaming? My friend, you deserve all of the good! I wish for all of your dreams to come true for YOU.
Cheers, and Keep Dreaming.
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