Larison Family Disney Mousefest Cruise, December 2005

By Tim Larison

Travel Agent and CLIA Certified Master Cruise Counselor (MCC)

With Contributions by Travel Agent Anne Larison

Cast of Characters: Tim, Anne, Andrew (age 11), and Joshua (age 11) Larison

We sailed with a bunch of other Disney fans as part of Mousefest 2005 on the Disney Wonder.  This was truly a “wonderful” cruise because in addition to all the regular benefits of a Disney sailing we also enjoyed the special features of Mousefest. 

Itinerary

Sat Dec 3rd                  participate in the Mousefest Megameet at the Dolphin Hotel

Sun Dec 4^th                  set sail from Port Canaveral

Mon Dec 5^th                 Nassau

Tue Dec 6^th                  Castaway Cay

Wed Dec 7^th                At Sea Day

Thu Dec 8^th                  return to Port Canaveral

This was our 5^th Disney cruise and our 2^nd Mousefest cruise.  This was not a port intensive cruise like our most recent cruise to Alaska – we had been to the ports many times before.  Instead we enjoyed life onboard the ship with some new and different experiences we had not encountered on our previous Disney cruises.  Below I will review our mousefest experience day by day.  Anne will contribute her comments on various parts of the trip preceded by the words “Anne’s take:”

Day 1: precruise Mousefest Megameet

We flew into Orlando from Denver, Colorado on Friday night.  This year we missed most of the Disney World activities for Mousefest (we didn’t want the boys to miss too much school) but we were able to participate in the Megameet at the Dolphin Hotel on Saturday.

The morning starting with me (Tim) attending a special breakfast for Disney fan site webmasters and authors hosted by allearsnet founder Deb Wills.  This was a special treat for me as I got to once again talk to some of the authors I met at last year’s Mousefest event (Deb, Dave Marx, and others) plus meet some new people (like Bob Sehlinger of the popular Unofficial Guide Series). 

The highlight of the breakfast for me was a chance to meet the original model for Tinkerbell – Margaret Kerry.  Margaret told me interesting stories of how she became Tinkerbell and of the opening days of Disneyland.  This was the first time I had ever talked to a person who actually knew Walt Disney personally; Margaret had kind words for Walt.  Other Mousefest guests got a chance to meet Margaret at the Megameet later in the day.

We had a table at the Megameet for the first time and we enjoyed meeting a number of people who were subscribers on our Disney discussion lists, as well as many new faces who were not familiar with our lists.

After the Megameet we dined with a friend at Wolfgang Puck’s in Downtown Disney, and retired early to rest up for our big day on Sunday.

Day 2: Board the Disney Wonder

On Sunday we drove our Thrifty Rent-a-car to the port early, arriving around 10 am.  This was the first time we had rented a car to drive to the port and it worked out very well.  The Thrifty location in Port Canaveral was easy to find (about 3 miles from the port) and we were quickly taken by a free shuttle to the gates of the Disney Cruise terminal. 

We arrived at the cruise terminal at 10:25 am and we were allowed to enter – earlier than what we had experienced on our past Disney cruises.  As part of the Mousefest planning team for the cruise I had special permission to board the ship early.  Anne, the boys, and other guests were given a number as they entered the cruise terminal, and later Disney called their number when it was their turn to board.  This was a new procedure for Disney – previously you had to wait in line to board the ship.  We liked this new system better – it allowed you to explore the terminal and relax in the lounge without having to stand in line.  The numbers were given out in the order you arrived at the terminal, and guests were called to board in groups (group 1, group 2, etc)

Anne’s Take:  Disney has arranged the area previously used for the line to board the ship as a waiting area for guests with special needs.  The area is roped off and guests who use a wheelchair or have special needs and their families have tables and chairs and even coloring activities for the kids.  The guests who meet these criteria are given a #1 group number to be boarded before all others.

Once on the ship we enjoyed a wonderful opening buffet at Parrot Cay.  I especially like the peel-and-eat shrimp at this buffet.  Some guests were being directed to the Beach Blanket Buffet on deck 9 instead of Parrot Cay – at first we were also told to go to deck 9 but we insisted on eating at Parrot Cay and we were allowed to.  The food is the same at both buffets but we like the Parrot Cay atmosphere much better.

The weather was great this day (70’s and sunny) which allowed Andrew and Josh to go swimming.  We had packed their swimming suits in our carryon bags – this allowed the boys to enjoy the pools while we waited for the rest of our luggage to be delivered

Anne’s Take:  The Mickey pool, with the slide, was not crowded on the first day during the afternoon after we boarded the ship as not everyone has access to their luggage and if they didn’t carry on their swim suits must wait for their bags to be delivered.  Other days of the cruise the Mickey pool was extremely crowded.  For older kids the Goofy pool is a good alternative.  It was more crowded on the at sea day but never as packed as the Mickey pool.

Our stateroom was a category 11 inside room on deck 7 (stateroom 7537).  Though this is the smallest type of stateroom on the ship we still had more room than the staterooms we had on our other sailings this year (Holland America in March, Celebrity in August).  Disney promotes the fact that their staterooms are among the largest at sea, even in the inexpensive categories like ours, and we found that to be true.

At 4 pm we attended the safety drill on deck 4.  This was uncomfortable as the setting sun was right in our eyes and the day was hot!  Thankfully the drill didn’t last too long and we soon were at the sailaway party on deck 5.

The sailaway party was fun (and crowded) with a rock band entertaining the guests and many dancing while we left the port.  After taking some pictures, I went to my favorite place for sailaway, deck 4 – a nice quiet spot.  I saw some dolphins swimming next to the ship from this deck as we left Port Canaveral.

Anne’s Take:  The sailaway party is exciting and if you want to be right in the action the best location is on deck 9.  You can dance and play right along with the band and crew.  Otherwise, deck 10 is a nice alternative.  Although it is crowded as well you can look down at all the activities from the walkway above and you are just a few steps away from the ship railing as you watch the ship sail away from port.

Our dining rotation for the cruise was Parrot Cay the first night, followed by Tritons, Tritons, and Animators Palette.  This was a change from last year with the same restaurant on the 2^nd and 3^rd nights.  The change was made because of Pirate night on the 3^rd night.  Some of my clients on the cruise found it difficult to make reservations for the adult’s only restaurant Palo on the 2^nd or 3^rd nights before the cruise, but they were able to secure Palo reservations onboard.  If Palo appears booked for your cruise Disney does keep some spots in reserve for booking onboard, but it is wise to board early to get these reservations.

Another change was the staggered dining times for different dining rotation restaurants.  5:45 pm for one, 6 pm for another, and 6:15 pm for Parrot Cay where we ate.  I heard about the 3 dining times for the early seating, and 3 separate times for the late seating (8, 8:15, 8:30) but didn't know that everyone at the same restaurant and seating had the same dining time.

After dinner I spent some time in the Cove Café on deck 9 checking my email.  I bought the unlimited internet package ($40 for the whole cruise) which is a very good deal.  I have sailed on a number of different cruise lines and Disney is one of the only ones that offers an unlimited internet package.  New this year was also a way to access the internet from your laptop in certain wireless “hotspots”.  I still preferred using the ship’s internet terminals as I was able to get an unlimited minutes plan using the ship’s computers, but this plan was not available if you used your laptop (instead you could buy a number of minutes in advance if you used your laptop).

I liked the Cove Café as a good quiet getaway spot for adults (kids not allowed).  In addition to a few internet terminals this lounge also had a Cappuccino Bar, a large screen TV, and comfy couches.   This was also an excellent meeting spot for the Mousefest cruise planning team I was a part of in the late evening.

Day 3: Nassau

Today my family decided to stay on the ship.  We have been to Nassau 5 times before.  This turned out to be a good decision!  Our 11 year old boys loved having the family pool almost to themselves in the morning as many of the other guests were off on shore excursions.  We also spent the morning playing ping pong and foosball on deck 9 – the addition of foosball tables was new that we didn’t see on the Wonder last year.
  
 Our lunch at the Beach Blanket Buffet was surprisingly good!  I usually prefer lunch at Tritons over the buffet, but we thought the quality of the buffet was excellent.  The kids liked the separate "kids" buffet line and they loaded up on pizza and other goodies.  Anne and I liked the sliced turkey, selection of salads, and the desserts.
 

Anne’s Take:  Having the “Kid’s Side” and the “Adult’s Side” offerings at the buffet is  ideal!  Our kids are not too picky but know what they like and don’t like.  They were able to find all their favorites including jello squares, carrot sticks and corndogs.  They didn’t slow down the adult side trying to find things they like among the many things they won’t try.

We saw "Herbie Fully Loaded" in the theatre in the afternoon - there must have been only 10 people in the whole place.  We all enjoyed the movie. 
  
For the mousefest events, the highlight of the day was a "meet the authors" gathering at Studio Sea.  Dave Marx from Passporter Guides, Deb Wills from allearsnet, and Steve Barrett from Hidden Mickeys told how they got started writing their books and answered questions from the audience.  Their stories were very interesting and they were very gracious to give out books as door prizes at the end (12 books in all)

Tonight dinner at Tritons was excellent - this is my favorite dining rotation restaurant both for the food quality and the atmosphere.  Much of the dining room was empty as many chose tonight to eat at Palo or eat in Nassau (we didn’t leave Nassau until 1:45 am)

Anne’s Take:  The beef tenderloin at Tritons is some of the best I’ve had.  The nice thing about Disney is that they are flexible with the menu.  Our boys like iceberg lettuce with ranch dressing and even though it wasn’t on the menu the staff brought it for them on more than one night.  They will also bring food early upon request.  Our tablemates wanted their daughter to eat her entrée right away so that they could take her up to the kid’s club.  This was not problem for the wait staff, who brought her pizza earlier than usual.

Day 4: Castaway Cay

While we have been to Castaway Cay many times before, we never grow tired of Disney’s Private Island.  We had sunny skies and a cool breeze in the morning with temperatures warming up in the afternoon.

Given the temperature change I am glad I took my Castaway Cay bike ride in the morning where things were cooler.  This was the first time I had rented a bike at CC ($6 per hour) - it took me about 45 minutes to ride the whole bike course (from the family beach to the adult beach Serenity Bay).  There were strategically placed water stations along the way and I saw parts of the island on the bike path I had not seen before.  Bike riding is a good alternative at CC for those like me who aren't into water sports.

Anne and the boys relaxed on the beach, with the boys building sand castles and renting a “floatie” to play with in the water.  The water temperatures were cool, but that didn’t stop our boys from hours of play in the morning.

For lunch we ate at Cookies Barbeque near the family beach.  The food quality was excellent – I especially enjoyed the ribs and the chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream for dessert.  I wish Disney would serve that chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream at Scoops on the ship!

After lunch I played ping pong and basketball with the boys at the Grouper Pavilion.  When we arrived we were the only ones at the pavilion and we had about 20 minutes of play time on anything we wanted to do.  Soon, though, this area became much more crowded as the kids club arrived around 1 pm.

Anne and the boys participated in a fun scavenger hunt on Castaway Cay as part of the Mousefest activities later in the afternoon.  New at the Island was a “feed the stingrays” excursion.  We didn’t do this excursion but one of my clients did and reported that it was a highlight of the cruise for her.  We’d like to try that next time we are on Castaway Cay.

I went back to the ship early and saw the excellent “The Greatest Game Ever Played” movie in the cinema at 3 pm – this movie about the US Open and an underdog American golfer winning the title was the best movie I saw on the cruise.

  
Back on the ship we had a fun "Pirates Night" where guests came in pirate or tropical outfits.  Waiters put pirate bandanas on those who wanted it, and guests danced around the dining room with the wait staff in a pirate march.  It was a good themed dinner - I had a pasta, shrimp, and scallops dish which was excellent.
  
After dinner outside on deck 9 was a Pirates Night show - complete with rock music, characters, dancing, and fireworks!  The fireworks were quite impressive (shot to the starboard side of the ship).  There was also a late night Caribbean buffet - we were so stuffed from dinner we passed on this. 

A visit to Castaway Cay is the highlight of any Disney cruise for us, and this visit was no exception.  We had a wonderful time on the Island and with the pirate night festivities afterwards.

Day 5: At Sea Day

We had a relaxing day at sea today.  On the 4 night cruise there isn't a whole lot of ocean to cover to get back to Florida on this last day, so the ship seemed almost to be at a standstill at times in the afternoon.  In the evening the seas were much rougher as the ship was rocking over 13 foot waves.
  
Every community that is part of Mousefest has a "meet" or an event that they host sometime during the festivities.  Today was our turn - as moderators of the mousetalk and cruisetalk email lists we hosted a Disney team trivia meet in Cadillac Lounge.  We divided the teams in groups of 4 or 5, and then asked a variety of questions on Disney World, Disneyland, Disney movies, and Disney television shows (20 in all).  The winning team scored 14 out of 20 correct - an excellent score considering Passporter author Dave Marx also played along and got 13 correct.  Anne and I enjoyed hosting this event - the winners each got to choose a pin from our collection. 

Outside of Mousefest there was a whole bunch of activities to choose from on this "at sea" day - from family ginger bread house building to galley tours to a meeting with the captain.  We missed most of these due to our trivia event. 
  
 In the late afternoon we attended the mousefest cruise farewell party, where prizes were given for the Castaway Cay scavenger hunt the day before, a stateroom door decorating contest, and a variety of door prizes.  Disney did a great job in providing us a buffet of appetizers, plus all the "bahama mamas" we could drink.

We finished our day at sea with a wonderful dinner at Palo in a private room with the other members of the Mousefest planning team and with our celebrity hosts.  I decided to eat lighter at Palo and ordered the gnocchi (it was excellent) and I did splurge to have the signature “chocolate soufflé” dessert.  Palo is our favorite cruise ship restaurant and it didn’t disappoint this trip.

Anne’s Take:  I had the salmon for the entrée which was excellent.  Palo has an awesome filet but I had eaten beef the previous 2 nights at Triton.  For an appetizer I had the mushroom risotto.  Like everything else it was amazing.  Everyone in our group was overwhelmed with the quality and quantity of food provided.  The chef at Palo even made a sugar-free chocolate soufflé for one member of our group who is diabetic.