1st 8/22-29/09 But not Last Magic About This Page:

[cal2net]

This will be my first attempt at at TR so bear with me, our crew consist of myself, DH and DD. We have several WDW trips under our belt so 1 1/2 yrs ago we decided to do a cruise this time. Well, the dates and the rates were to good to pass so we dove right in.
We start off with 3 nights at Shades of Green and then board for our first cruise.
First, when we booked this cruise Texas was still contemplating whether or not to start school after Labor Day. We couldn't wait for them to decide so we booked knowing that DD (10) would possibly miss the first week of 5th grade.
Our trip starts off (08/19/09) with major turbulence and we hadn't even left DFW yet. We encountered mechanical issues on 4 different planes! We boarded, we got off, we boarded, we got off...you get the picture? We should have arrived in Orlando at approx. 12:30 but didn't arrive until 4:30. This threw a major wrench in our plans but we arrived safely and we're now at the MK. We got to the rides/attractions we really wanted to get to and managed to be on the Tomorrowland Speedway when the fireworks start. OMG what a glorious sight. Each time we've been at the world we've never viewed the fireworks from inside the park. Got some great shots and video.
Anyway, the start of our day was definitely sending me a message...WATCH OUT! Well, I suffer from acid reflux and handle it quite well with medication but later that evening I had a serious bout with it. Took my meds and thought I was feeling fine. The next morning we were at HS. Didn't arrive at open but did manage to get to Toystory with a somewhat of a wait and simply loved it! By the time we got off we had an early ADR at 50's and headed over there. This was our first time there and had a blast. Our server, Mike, really gave DH a hard time and DD loved it. After eating my lunch, I felt my stomach churning and started on my meds again. Usually it doesn't last this long but for some reason I couldn't get rid of it and we had ADR for O'hana's later that evening. We managed to get in the attractions we wanted and then headed back to Shades for a little down time and swim before dinner. I did manage to get a hold of my gastro dr. and all they suggested was to follow up my Nexium with Mylanta.
I relaxed for a bit but still didn't feel all that well. Needless to say I was not able to eat my meal at O'Hana's . I managed a couple of bites but I sooo wanted to eat. Cool thing about that night though was that the last time we were there, 2 yrs. ago, our server was Cousin Cliff. Well it so happens that this visit also brought us back to visit Cousin Cliff. We had an awesome time regardless of the fact that I couldn't eat. It seemed that if I didn't eat I felt fine but was lacking the energy to do anything! After dinner we headed to the beach at the Poly to enjoy the fireworks again and DD played in the sand.
Friday we headed to Epcot. Arrived a little after opening and managed to get FP for Soarin' and headed to Nemo. DD enjoyed Nemo and then headed to Turtle Talk. We then headed to Innovations East/West. This is our first time to experience these 2 and DD had a grand time. After spending quite a bit of time in there we then headed to Honey I Shrunk the Audience. I visited this attraction many moons ago when I travelled as a single woman and completely forgot about the mice part. Eewwww. We then headed to Soarin'. We really love this one! After this DH had to hit Mission Space. DD decided she wanted to try it also. Well, needless to say with my tummy problems I waited for them. During this time a couple of showers passed through but other than that, this was the only rain we encountered in any of the parks. We then headed to WS and to our suprise, we ran into a family that we know from our home town, Abilene, TX. They were also missing the 1st week of school.
Once we left Epcot I decided that I could not get on the ship on Saturday knowing how bad I was feeling. DH was ready to cancel the whole trip. I couldn't imagine that, so, we headed to a minor emergency clinic that was recommended by SOG. Instead of packing to leave for our cruise on Saturday morning, we spent the next couple of hours at the clinic to see if there was anything that they could do for me. Well, all the doctor could tell me was that I was on the strongest medication at the highest dosage to alleviate acid reflux. Well, that's not what I wanted to hear. I was also suffering from a bad cough and he did prescribe something for that thinking that the coughing was not helping the pressure inside. He did recommend a bland diet of course. How's is that going to help?? I have plans to board a ship with delicious food at my beckoning.
After some major discussions and a little relief from the Rx., we decided to go ahead with our plans to board the Magic on Saturday morning. What a relief!
Next...we board the Magic for the first time.

[Colexis Mom]

Great start Annette!

[Kenny]

Great start, Annette! I'm glad you still went on the cruise!

[duck addict]

about the stomach problems.

Great start to the report

[bsblady01]

more please

[HeatherD]

Great start. Hope the tummy troubles didn't interfere with your cruise...

[lauriep]

You're off to a great start. Sorry you were sick at the beginning--hope it didn't last long.

[cal2net]

Day 1 - Saturday: Woke up feeling pretty good so we made our way to Port Canaveral. As we made our way down the highway and saw the signs we were exciting looking for the ship. Once we made it over the top of the hill, there it was...it brought tears to my eyes. It's an amazing sight to be seeing for the first time! We managed to find the Budget location and returned the car. We caught the shuttle to the port and it was a very easy transition. Once we arrived at the port we handed our luggage to a porter and made our way to the check in station. DD was very eager to use her passport and one of the staff was more than happy to oblige and check to make sure that it was in fact her. She got a kick out of that. The whole check in process went pretty smoothly as well as check in for DD for the Oceaneer Lab.
Once we were done with all that we could board the ship. I was so excited that I failed to take a photo of the Mickey ears we were about to walk through. We had our photos taken and made our way across the walkway. OMG, here I was getting teary eyed again as they announced our family. We were in awe of the ship. It's so beautiful! Our room was ready by this time so we made our way there first, Deck 6 #6576. We immediately started to check things out. We had a verandah and were very pleased with our decision. DD couldn't wait to try out the pool so we headed up to Deck 9 and opted to grab a quick bite from Goofy's Galley and Pluto's Pizza instead of the buffet. I opted for the fresh fruit for fear of upsetting my stomach. BTW this was the best fruit I have had all summer long! After a quick bite and swim we went to explore the ship. As we made our way around Deck 9 we saw "Dancing with the Stars" up on the Ariel screen. I just assumed that they were announcing the new stars that would be appearing this next season so really didn't pay that much attention to it. We made our way around the area and when we came around to the starboard side approaching the "stage" who do we see dancing with Goofy??? Shawn Johnson! DD was simply beside herself. DD being a Level 5 gymnast was simply "freaking out" and so wanted to meet her. So I ask the crew member in front of me if she was doing a "meet and greet"? She informed us that she was vacationing just like we were and would be on the ship for the week. I simply told DD that we would just have to wait and see if we could get the opportunity to meet her because we didn't want to impose on her family vacation.
We then made our way back to our room to get ready for the safety drill. All that went pretty smoothly also. Afterwards, we made our way back on top to partake in the sail away party. That was lots of fun and once again as they counted down and I heard the horn, I was brought to tears.

[Colexis Mom]

Interesting. We missed the sail away party, and I didn't know that Shawn Johnson was on the boat (nor did we see her the entire week)!

[Kenny]

Ahh, yes, the tears!
Sounds pretty exciting for your DD, too!

[altiek]

Oh, so jealous you saw Shawn. My daughter was level 5 last year....she would have been nuts if she saw her. I think she would have run to her before I could even stop her. This past season was the only time I watched DWTS, and it was because of Shawn.
Can't wait to hear if you met her or not!!!

[NanaTink]

Great start, can't wait to read more! Hope your tummy troubles didn't flare too badly on the cruise!
Waiting for more, please.

[cal2net]

Sorry for the delay in reporting. Since being home from vacation we've hit the ground running with school, work and gymnastic workouts and competitions.
We kept running into Shawn but like I mentioned before we didn't want to bother her on vacation but I so wanted DD to meet her. It did seem kind of funny though that not many people paid any attention to her. I don't know if they didn't know who she was or if they were kinda of like us and didn't want to bother her?
More to come, I promise.

[Kenny]

Update when you can, Annette... we're patient here... well... sorta... most of us are... well... I'm patient... so take your time... BUT HURRY UP!!!... (sorry)

[dsnytina]

Can't wait to read all about it!