My Disney Bucket List

Today we're going to take a brief break from the trip report to talk about Bucket Lists.  You've heard of a Bucket List, right?   For those of you that haven't - a Bucket List is a list of things you want to accomplish before you leave this earth - ie, before you "kick the bucket."

I have a general life Bucket List, and not surprisingly, a Disney Bucket List.  Here are a few Disney to-dos I hope to check of my list in the coming years:

* Visit all of the Disney parks around the world.

It's been a goal of mine for a while now to visit each of the Disney parks around the world.  I have been to Walt Disney World many times, and I *might* get the chance to go to Disneyland Paris in 2015 (squeal!!!!) but there are still quite a few I have yet to see, including one right here in the US of A (shame on me!).

 - Disneyland, California
 - Tokyo Disney
 - Disneyland Paris
 - Hong Kong Disneyland
 - Shanghai Disney

picture copyright the Walt Disney Company

(The picture above is an artist rendering of Shanghai Disney, which is set to open in 2015.)

* Run and finish a Disney World Marathon, 1/2 or Full.

I'm doing my first runDisney race in May, the Expedition Everest 5K, and although a bit nervous I'm excited too.   I hope one day to be able to complete either a 1/2 or full runDisney Marathon!

picture copyright runDisney

You accomplish a goal AND get jewelry, too?!?! Sign me up!!

* Do a coast-to-coast travel challenge and go to Disney World and Disneyland in the same day.

I've read a few blogs and trip reports where people have started their day at Disney World, then booked an afternoon flight to California and spent their evening at Disneyland in Anaheim.  I think it sounds like an adventure and a ton of fun.  And it'd be SO COOL to take a picture in front of, say, the Haunted Mansion at Disney World in the morning, and then again in front of HM at Disneyland ON THE SAME DAY.  (The Disney geek in me is freaking out over the possibility!!)

* Go on one of the multi-week Disney Cruises.

Disney Cruise Line has what they call repositioning cruises, which is where the boat has to get from one port to another (for example, getting the boat from Port Canaveral, Florida to Barcelona, Spain). The cruises are typically anywhere from 12-15 days and include many glorious at-sea days, which are my favorite on any cruise.  It would be a total dream to be able to spend all that time on the ship.  And how cool would it be to sail across the Atlantic Ocean?!

(They are also doing Los Angeles - Hawaii cruises again!!  YAY!  Adding that to the Bucket List....)

picture copyright Disney Cruise Line

What items are on YOUR Bucket List (Disney or otherwise)?

Trip Report Day Six: Nassau

The next day was the first full day of the cruise, and was also the day we were docked in Nassau.

If you clicked on this blog post expecting to be regaled with pictures of Nassau.....I'm sorry to disappoint you.  The boat was indeed docked in Nassau for the day, but since we'd been there before, we decided to stay on the boat and explore all it had to offer.

Since I have signed up for the Expedition Everest 5K, I am jogging 3-4 times a week to get ready.  I didn't want to skip those days while on the boat, so I quietly got ready as Noah slept, plugged in my headphones and made my way to Deck 4.

I LOVE Deck 4 for some many reasons, but one is that it's also a walking/jogging track around the ship.  Three times around is one mile.  There is exercise equipment inside, in the spa, but I prefer to be on Deck 4 in the lovely air and sunshine.

After a nice walk/jog, I made my way up to Senses Spa on Deck 9 for my morning appointment, a hot stone massage.

I don't have any pictures of this, for obvious reasons, but suffice it to say - it was HEAVEN.  Oh goodness it was marvelous.  I had a hot stone massage before, at the spa we have in town, but this one was just fantastic.  The gal who did the massage had to wake me at the end, I had drifted off to a light sleep.  It was perfect and a great way to start the day.

(Tip: If you have an early spa appointment, don't worry about showering and getting ready beforehand.  They use oils in the massages and so it'd be a waste of time to shower and put your make up on.)

After the spa, I met Sadie for breakfast at Cabanas, and then I headed back toward the room to get ready for the day.

Noah was still asleep when we got there about 9:30; the thing about an Inside Stateroom is that with no windows, it's pretty dark.  This is good for sleeping but the downside is you really don't know what time it is - he was surprised it was that late in the morning.  He then went to meet Sam and Jacob for the day, and after showering I met up with Sadie and we walked around, taking more pictures of the ship.

(On Disney Cruise Line, even the carpets are swanky!)

I love all the little seating areas they have around the ship...

Here is the Buena Vista Theatre, where you can view movies.

That day's movie selection:

If you've had pictures taken on board, you pick then up at Shutters.

At DLounge they have lots of family events; games, dance parties, trivia contests, etc.

There is a hallway with gorgeous artwork that you can purchase and they'll ship home for you.  I contemplated MORE than one of these beauties but decided to wait for another time. 

Looking to get your shop on?  Head to Mickey's Mainsail and White Caps.

In the Walt Disney Theatre they show the stage shows each night.

I mean, even the HALLWAYS are gorgeous!

The Promenade Lounge is a neat place to grab a drink before dinner; they also have musicians there during the cruise.

We then headed down to the After Hours section to snap a few pictures of the clubs and lounges.

This was Fathoms (as in, "....a mermaid be waiting for you, in mysterious fathoms below." Anyone know what movie that's from?)

This is Keys, a gorgeous piano lounge.  Scott, Wendy and I went to a wine tasting there later that day.

The boys spent a good amount of time during the day at O'Gills Pub, playing card games and hanging out.  The nice thing about the lounges is that even though they are adults-only at night, they are open to anyone during the day and are a great place to relax for a bit.

The elevators here are so pretty:

We then made our way up to Deck 9, just outside of the spa.

(I would LOVE those chairs; I have the *perfect* spot for them in my new house!)

Up next - we hit the pool!

Trip Report Day Five: Dinner at Lumiere's

As the boat sailed away from Miami, Wendy, Sadie and I were in the spa, getting some WONDERFUL pedicures.  I don't have pictures from that, because we were too busy relaxing.  :)  I usually get the Fire and Ice pedicure the first night on the ship, as it's a great way to get in "vacation mode"!

After pedicures, we went to our rooms to quickly change into dinner clothes, and then headed to our first sit-down meal on ship!

The Magic has three restaurants that are part of your nighttime dinner rotation: Lumiere's, Carioca's and Animator's Palette.  Your dining rotation is printed on your room card, and is also delivered to your room in the form of tickets.  Also on your room card (and the tickets) is your table number - that will be your same table number for your entire cruise.

On the first night, you also meet your servers!  Your waitstaff travels with you to the restaurants each night, so you have the same team of people with you the whole cruise.  We had GREAT servers; they were both fantastic!

The first night, we went to Lumiere's.  This is the "fanciest" of the rotation.  I saw some pictures of the dining room before we left, but they didn't do it justice - it was BEAUTIFUL.

I was able to come back the next day, and get pictures during the day with no one else in the room.

When I was taking pictures, a cast member came up to me and pointed out that the light fixture above this mural, with the rose in it, lights specifically so it illuminates Belle and the Beast.  Gotta love those Disney details!

I did a bad job this trip of taking pictures of the actual food I ordered.  I did remember to grab a few, however:

I LOVE a french onion soup, and this one did not disappoint.  I chose the soup for my appetizer, and it was delicious.

I don't have any more food pictures until dessert, but I do remember that for the main course I chose the lobster mac and cheese.  That was also very good.

I managed to remember to snap a few pictures of the dessert menu:

I chose the Souffle and let me tell you - YUMMO.  If you've been to Palo, this is not unlike the souffle they serve there, but in a vanilla form.  VERY good.

After dinner, everyone parted to do their own thing.  The boys (Noah, Sam and Jacob) left to play cards in one of the lounges, and then Noah and Jacob went to the 18-21 mixer and then to karaoke.  I can't recall what we did - Sadie and I might have wandered around taking pictures, as the movie didn't start until 10:00PM.  Wendy and Scott thought they'd go to see Saving Mr. Banks with us that night, but when we went to their room they were already getting ready for bed, so three of us went to see it.

Sam, Sadie and I went to Saving Mr. Banks and it was as wonderful as the reviews I'd read.  I will do a more detailed review later, but suffice it to say - this is one NOT to miss.

The movie was over after midnight, and after saying good night to the kids I got ready and went to bed.  I always get a good night's sleep on the cruise, as the gentle rocking of the boat puts me right to sleep.

Next: Our Day at Sea!

Christmas Decor on the Disney Magic

We sailed on January 2nd on the Magic, and I was wondering if the Christmas decorations would still be up.  I'd heard conflicting reports, and I was honestly not expecting to see any.

But as we boarded the boat, I could see they WERE still up - and thank goodness!  They were so gorgeous, my camera and I went out one afternoon to try and capture as many of them as we could.

(These close-up shots are me playing with my new camera, and attempting to be "artsy."  Some turned out better than others.)

I was SO glad the decorations were still up - it was truly beautiful.  One day, I'd love to do the Christmas cruise - wouldn't that be a special way to celebrate the season!