Although we were tempted to jump in the car and start driving to Florida that night, we decided to wait and see what would happen. We lucked out. Our airport had power and the planes were flying.
Friday (8/15) -
We landed in Orlando on time, grabbed our bags, located the limo
driver, and were off to Disney's Boardwalk. Unbeknownst to Jessica,
three of her friends (Sammie, Alexa, and Jessica I.) were also
staying at the same resort. We arranged a surprise for them
and brought the girls together in the lobby. The look on their
faces was priceless!
Chris had a friend in Disney too. Although we tried to arrange a surprise for them as well, the two guys realized that they would be there at the same time and arranged to meet in one of the parks.
So, we all spent the day in the Magic Kingdom. Chris, Greg (who we should claim as another dependent, since he's in our house so much), and Greg's nephew Anthony were off to explore the park by themselves. Jessica and her dance buddies stayed with us, along with their folks: Ricky & Pam, Frank & Sue.
We had a great time. We bought "E-Ticket Night" passes and we all stayed in the Magic Kingdom until 1:00 AM. We rode all of our favorite rides over and over. Exhausted but satisfied, we got back to our room and went to sleep at 2:00 AM.
Saturday (8/16) -
After a morning dip in the Boardwalk's pool, we packed up and got
on the bus heading to Port Canaveral for the next segment of our
vacation - Disney's first cruise ship, the Disney Magic.
We settled in and, after the boat drill, headed for the sail away celebration (the ship's whistle plays "When You Wish Upon a Star").
In the evening, we attended the Welcome Aboard Variety Show. At dinner we met our waiters for the week - Al and Anton (the two greatest waiters on the ship!).
Sunday (8/17) - We arrived in Key West. Chris and Dad headed to Southpoint Divers for a 2-tank dive. This was Chris' first time diving in warm, tropical waters. He spotted a nurse shark on the very first dive. Mom and Jessica did some shopping. We all met up later in the day and headed to a terrific Cuban restaurant we found on our last trip to Key West. We drank Cuban coffee and tried our first mojitas (wow!). After watching the sunset and taking part in the festivities at Mallory Square, we boarded the ship for an evening of fun.
Monday (8/18) - This was a day at sea. We lounged by the pool, attended a seminar by the head pastry chef, attended HERCULES THE MUSE-ICAL, and had some great meals.
Tuesday (8/19) -
Grand Cayman! What a beautiful island. We left the ship on our
shore excursion to Stingray City. Here, we got to snorkel with
dozens of very friendly stingrays. This was an unbelievable
experience.
Dozens of stingrays surrounded us when we left the dive boat. We were given food to feed them, and they sensed it. The larger stingrays were pretty bold. They would swim up your chest and back to get closer. Quite a few folks on the boat were a little freaked out by this and went back on the boat. We stayed in the water as long as we were allowed to.
Afterwards, we did a bit of duty-free shopping and headed back to the ship. We sadly departed Grand Cayman at 5:00 PM. We wished we had more time on the island since there was so much to see and do here.
Wednesday (8/20) -
We arrived at one of the greatest diving destinations in the
world - Cozumel. Fortunately, we docked at the Downtown Pier
right in the center of San Miquel, instead of the International
Pier, which is a couple of mile outside of town.
Mom and Jessica left the ship first on their
excursion - a Fury Catamaran Sail, Snorkel and Beach Party. Here,
they rode a catamaran to snorkel the beautiful reefs of this
Mexican island. Afterwards they had a beach party and tried their
hand at kayaking. Dad and Chris went on a scuba diving excursion
where they did two dives in crystal clear water (over 100 feet of
visibility) on two different reefs.
We all met back on board the Disney Magic. Mom and Dad then headed into town for more duty-free shopping while the kids stayed on board. Cozumel is definetly a place to come back to!
Thursday (8/21) - Another day at sea. More sun, fun, and relaxation. Mom and Dad had a couple's massage in the morning (can we take these people home with us?) while Chris and Jessica went to a Character Breakfast in one of the ship's restaurants. In the evening, we attended the wonderful show - DISNEY DREAMS.
Friday (8/22) - We arrived at Disney's private island - Castaway Cay. We snorkeled in the lagoon and lounged on the beach. Jessica got her hair braided. We had our first rain on the trip here. For dinner, Mom and Dad ate in the couples-only restaurant - Palo's. This elegant place provided one of our finest dining experiences.
Saturday (8/23) - Back in Port Canaveral. We said our goodbyes to Al and Anton, and sadly disembarked the ship. We then boarded our bus that would take us back to Disney World.
We checked into our next resort, Port Orleans Riverside (formerly known as Dixie Landings). After unpacking, we headed for Disney's West Side where we had a ball at Disney Quest. We later attended Cirque du Soleil, where we saw the unbelievable "La Nouba" performance.
Sunday (8/24) - We got up early and headed to the Grand Floridian resort, where we met up with more friends - Sean & Cheryl, Lou & Corrine (and their family), and all-around terrific Disney cast members Shelly and her sister Tanya. We all planned to eat at the character breakfast at 1900 Park Faire. Before Sean & Cheryl arrived, Corrine passed out "I'm With Sean" tee shirts for everyone to wear. Sean was speechless (yes, it happened - really!), and got his "I'm Sean" tee shirt.
After breakfast, the whole group
headed out to the Magic Kingdom to meet with Mickey Mouse and take
some great group pictures. All day long, everyone wanted to know
"Who's Sean?", and why we were with him. Of course, none of us
could really think of a good reason why we were with him
(sorry Sean!).
Next, the group headed to MGM Studios to ride the Rock-N-Roller Coaster and the Tower of Terror. From here, the group split up. Dad, Chris, and Frankie (Corrine's son) headed to the Contemporary to take out some speedboats in the Seven Seas Lagoon. Mom and Jessica stayed in MGM for a while longer, and then headed back to the hotel.
We all met up again that evening where we had a great dinner at Citrico's in the Grand Floridian.
Monday (8/25) - We spent the morning at Animal Kingdom where we had breakfast at Donald's Breakfastosaurus, then met up with everyone again in Epcot at Alfredo's for a late lunch, early dinner to celebrate Sean's birthday. Here we said goodbye to Sean and Cheryl, who flew home that night. We certainly missed Cheryl.
Mom and Dad had their picture taken for Leave a Legacy. Next time you're in Epcot, check it out. Our tile is located at West 2-F-11-1-5.
Tuesday (8/26) - A day at MGM Studios. Dinner at Mama Melrose's was the only bad dining experience we had the entire trip. When in MGM, skip this place.
Wednesday (8/27) -
We woke up early and checked out of Riverside and went to our
next resort - Disney's Yacht and Beach Club (we stayed in the
Beach Club). We took the short walk to Epcot, where we spent
the entire day. First, we ate at the
Princess Breakfast in the Norway pavilion. Dad and Chris rode
the just-opened Mission: Space attraction. This ride was
fantastic. Hint: If you ride this ride, look straight ahead.
Do not look to your side.
In the afternoon, Dad and Chris dove the Living Seas. Here, they got to be temporary Cast Members. They swam with sharks, turtles, and hundreds of tropical fish. The most fun, however, was interacting with the park guests in the attraction as well as those dining in the Coral Reef restaurant. Later that evening, the family had dinner in Moracco (our third time there - the food is great!).
Thursday (8/28) - After a quick bite at the Beach Club's bakery, we were off again to the Magic Kingdom. We were able to take our time walking around since we had done all the rides over and over when we were here the previous Friday. Finally, Mom got to try her first BBQ turkey leg for lunch!
We went back to our resort and tried the excellent water slide at Storm-a-long Bay. This is probably the best pool of any resort in Disney. The pool has sand on the bottom. Dinner was at the Yachtsman Steakhouse at the Yacht Club resort. Jessica's T-bone steak was bigger than she was.
That night, we went to Pleasure Island and met up again with Lou, Corrine, and their family. After checking out the various clubs and celebrating the New Year (they do it every night), the exhausted Sabanos family went home to sleep.
Friday (8/29) - We went to the Character Breakfast at the Cape May Cafe in the Beach Club. We then spent a good part of the day at Blizzard Beach. Jessica did Summit Plummet for the very first time!
Dinner was at the San Angel Inn, in the Mexican pavilion at Epcot. We had special viewing for the Illuminations fireworks show that night.
From Epcot, we went over to Disney's Boardwalk resort (on the other side of the lake from the Yacht & Beach Club), where we met up with David and Rachel. David worked with Mom at the Disney Store a few years ago. David met Rachel at another Disney Store (she was a Cast Member too). They both moved to Florida and had their wedding in Disney (their reception was inside the American Adventure pavilion in Epcot!). We decided to all meet the next morning in Epcot and ride Mission: Space together.
Saturday (8/30) - After a quick bite at the bakery, we headed over to Epcot to meet up with David and Rachel. We arrived soon after the park opened and only had a short wait for Mission: Space. We all got to ride and had a blast. After going on Test Track and a few other rides, we said our goodbyes to David and Rachel.
Dad, Chris and Jessica went to the Contemporary later on to take out the speedboats around the Seven Seas Lagoon.
Dinner was at the Cape May Cafe for an all-you-can-eat clambake. Afterwards, we headed back over to the Magic Kingdom for our final night at Disney. We had special viewing for the fireworks. Awesome!
Sunday (9/1) - Breakfast again at the Character Breakfast in the Beach Club. After checking out of the hotel, we headed to Downtown Disney to do some last minute shopping. We spent some time at Disney Quest as well.
Sadly, we left for the airport later in the day. We arrived back in New Jersey at 11:00 PM. The kids were starting school in a couple of days.