Aloha Hawaii! Our 10 Day Cruise to Hawaii on the Disney Wonder, September 7, 2015 Trip Report completed 07/31/2016 About This Page:

[benchley]

Loved the character breakfast. Our little one will absolutely love it, and we'll love the lack of additional cost!

[Cam22]

Characters and Auntie on the ukulele sounds like it made for a very entertaining breakfast. I love croissants, and now you have me craving one. Great start to an at sea day!

[oddboysmum]

Just found your TR, loving it! I really like the photo from the train (post 89) of White Rock, BC - that's the photo of the big white Rock and the long pier. I used to live in White Rock and it is a beautiful town. Brought back memories of sleeping on that beach (in 1977) ... thanks

[xwewhisper]

Sounds like a great day so far with everyone getting to enjoy their own things

[goofyboysmama]

Originally Posted by chezp

Oh how cool to have Auntie on board, that's a neat touch! Sorry your character breakfast was about as rushed as ours was.

You did warn us so we were prepared, thanks!

Originally Posted by Disneybine

I love how empty the baskeball courts are! I've wanted to shoot some hoops on board forever but every time we go there, the courts are mobbed with little kids so there's no point to try to play.

Sounds like a great day on board!!!

This wasn't a very crowded ship. We were told that usually there were about 1000 kids on board, but it was only about half that for us. Probably because the cruise was during school time.

Originally Posted by cubfancolleen

Love that they put so many different Hawaiian touches on things - like ukelele seranades at breakfast.
Weren't those white chocolate rice crispy things AWESOME!?!?! I was glad I took a taste, as initially I planned on giving mine away! In the end, I had mine, AND DH and DS's (shhhhh, don't tell on me!) - but not all in one day, don't worry!

I was impressed to say the least.

Originally Posted by benchley

Loved the character breakfast. Our little one will absolutely love it, and we'll love the lack of additional cost!

Originally Posted by Cam22

Characters and Auntie on the ukulele sounds like it made for a very entertaining breakfast. I love croissants, and now you have me craving one. Great start to an at sea day!

It was a very fun start It was so dangerous having all the bread I could want, all the time!

Originally Posted by oddboysmum

Just found your TR, loving it! I really like the photo from the train (post 89) of White Rock, BC - that's the photo of the big white Rock and the long pier. I used to live in White Rock and it is a beautiful town. Brought back memories of sleeping on that beach (in 1977) ... thanks

Glad you're enjoying it! I'm sorry I've so slow to update. I'll try harder!

Originally Posted by xwewhisper

Sounds like a great day so far with everyone getting to enjoy their own things

I love that about Disney cruising!

*****************************
Thursday Sept 10, cont

I just remembered that I was taking notes on my phone for that day. Here are the notes for lunch:

"Character bfast at Animator's Palate
Got Mickey plate signed
Played fooseball, gramma to movies
Lunch with Titus at BBB, BBQ, OMG the
grilled corn with the garlic aioli, the mango
papaya salad, ran out of ribs
Mediterranean themed food, spicy, yummy.
Harissa lamb chops, tsaziki
Spicy tomato soup! Yowza!
Hummus, Apple phyllo, harissa carrots,
mango panna cotta, yumummmmm... (that's how I typed it)
Coconut chocolate macaroon"

I think I wrote this while waiting for the WDI talk to begin. I had found a seat in the middle again. Today's talk would be a Mission: SPACE "walk through". Again, I took photos the whole way through, but of course, I'm only putting a few here. Bob started off talking about what an attraction producer does. In a nutshell, a producer manages all the different teams that help to bring an attraction from concept to "life".


I didn't crop out the heads here so you can see where I sitting.


Bob spoke a lot about HP and Nasa's involvement with Mission Space.


Along with the architects and engineers that we know are part of making an attraction, Bob emphasized how many different kinds of artists are involved: color artists, lighting artists, sound artists and even landscape architects, who are artists in a way. Actually he spoke for a few minutes about the landscaping around Mission Space. Every single bit of plant material is deliberately chosen for height, color, weather tolerance, etc. I'm greatly simplifying what he said, but you know what I trying to say


I love this part of Mission Space. It's one of those parts of an attraction queue that I want to just let everyone else go past me while I study it some more.


This is the "real" mission patch for the attraction.


The X-2 Rocket. So much detail went into the art and design of this, it almost seems like real tech.


They wanted to you to really feel like you were going somewhere real. The mission plaques blend real history into plausible history.

I love Mission: SPACE! I'll have to remember to look at the planets at the attraction on our next trip. Bob says they used paint that changes colors during the day. Everyone probably knew that already, but I was pretty impressed. I wish I could remember how he said they came up with the color for Mars, it was a cool story. Another excellent presentation. Bob said that there are 140 different disciplines and 1500 Imagineers. If you want to be an Imagineer, you don't necessarily have to go to school for engineering. Basically be really awesome at like anything and go for it! I don't know why, but I noted that he said to read the book, The Martian.

I headed back to the room for a quick afternoon nap. It was luxurious, but I ended up missing the scrapbooking session It was Thursday Night Football (weird that it was still afternoon for us.) Dh and I went to Diversions lounge, but it was full. We grabbed some football eats and went back to the room to watch it. I eventually left him there and went to see Inside Out at 5:30. Totally excellent, I had seen it a few times already, but I wanted to see it in 3D... Plus Bing Bong


Something about wings and sports. What's up with that? That mug is from going to a DVC presentation. When did I do that??

It was now time for dinner and we met up again in Animator's Palate. I was looking forward to seeing the original show and I wasn't disappointed. The magic was great, but service was rushed and although my dinner was pretty good, Dh and Martha said their food wasn't served hot. I could see Jude working really hard and he seemed to be doing his best, but if it wasn't for the scenery and fun of the restaurant, it would be just "fine".








Roasted Garlic Dip for the bread service


We fought over the foccacia - it was great!






Starting to change now...


Sliced Serrano Ham with Manchego Cheese and Olive Tapanade - excellent (and hard to mess up )


Chicken and Walnut salad - mine had apples in it, which I liked, but wasn't indicated on the menu


My kids kept giggling at Cruella. They were so happy not to have that table, lol


Lemon-Thyme Marinated All Natural Chicken Breast - Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes and Root Vegetables. I'm glad my chicken was "all" natural! Actually I'm very glad I chose this dish. Jude had suggested the pork chop. I don't normally get the chicken breast when dining out (I know how much it really costs and it could be dry). This was flavorful and moist and I loved the beets and turnips.








Herb Crusted Pork Chop with Sun-dried Tomato Risotto - They thought it was okay, may better if served hot.


There's Maggie on the left being part of the show


Mickey was a surprise! I didn't know he was part of the show


Jude and Martha


Dh and Maggie. My husband can ham it up when he wants to.


Surprised with champagne. Jude and Maggie apologized for the slow service and the lukewarm food. Classy.


Mango Mousse - nice

While the kids ran off somewhere to do their thing after dinner, the adults caught the "Adult Exclusive" magic show with Kyle Knight and Mistie. They amazed us with "close up" magic this time, which I love. It had now been a full day and it was time for bed. I was very much looking forward to being rocked to sleep by the ocean.


Some Disney magic before bed




Next: tomorrow brings crafting, cruise ships, and the Caribbean

[chezp]

Oh wow, that talk sounded fascinating.

[xwewhisper]

How cool to learn so much about mission space! I didn't know the planets changed colors! It was a nice touch to apologize with champagne and acknowledge that dinner wasn't as good as it should have been.

[cubfancolleen]

Love the sound of the talks about the rides! Those are the kind of things I always mean to do, but then somehow I find myself sleeping by the adult pool!
Glad you got a little apology drink for the slow service and lukewarm food. Nice touch.

[goofyboysmama]

Originally Posted by chezp

Oh wow, that talk sounded fascinating.

He talked for about 45 min each time., and each time it was just a river of information. It was pretty cool

Originally Posted by xwewhisper

How cool to learn so much about mission space! I didn't know the planets changed colors! It was a nice touch to apologize with champagne and acknowledge that dinner wasn't as good as it should have been.

I know! Next time I'm going to have to take picture throughout the day just to see.

Originally Posted by cubfancolleen

Love the sound of the talks about the rides! Those are the kind of things I always mean to do, but then somehow I find myself sleeping by the adult pool!
Glad you got a little apology drink for the slow service and lukewarm food. Nice touch.

Sleeping by the pool would have been fabulous!

[goofyboysmama]

We got up for an early breakfast... well, the adults did anyway. There were a lot of things to do today, and it was nice to sit down with the ladies for a nice breakfast. I threw some clothes in the washer and we headed up.


Sitting outside was so nice

Titus and I had wanted to see the movie "Tomorrowland" together, but when we got back to the room, I think he was dreaming about it . I put the clothes in the dryer while he dragged himself awake. Dh would take them out before he headed to see Keoni again in the Walt Disney Theater for the "Living Aloha" presentation.


"Wake up!" (In case you needed to know if an adult can fit in the pull-down bed or sofa bed, Max is 6 feet tall and he loves it. He says it's very comfortable.)

Titus actually got himself together in 15 minutes flat and we were only a few minutes late to the movie. I'm glad we got to see "Tomorrowland", it was a terrific movie for Disney fans When I got back to the room, I checked the ocean outside. It now has become a tradition for Dh and I be the only ones NOT to see any sea life while on a cruise. It doesn't matter how long we stare at the water, the two of us manage to see nada. All of our other cruisemates have seen something. My sister, on our very first cruise had the pleasure of watching dolphins frolicking outside her porthole on Deck 2. My sons have also seen dolphins. It's actually a running joke in our family now. Well this time, I lucked out! While gazing intently at the waves, almost daring something to poke itself out of the water, I thought I saw something flying along the waves. I zoomed in with my binoculars and I realized I was looking at a single flying fish - woo hoo! It wasn't a bird because it was "flying" along the waves and diving in periodically, then finally disappeared. (I guess if it was a bird, it could've been something's lunch underwater... ) I was ecstatic, and just as a loving wife should, bragged about it annoyingly to my husband. He didn't believe me, of course, but that was just jealousy speaking

I had some FE deliveries to make and with my bag in hand I headed out. Making FE deliveries on the Wonder is GREAT compared to doing it on the Dream! It was easy to find my way around. I had a lot to deliver, but being on a smaller ship made it enjoyable. I met some really nice folks that I had chatted with on the FaceBook page and I got in some exercise too.

The previous day, I had seen people queuing up in front of Animator's Palate. I got in line too, then asked the person in front of me, "What are we lined up for?" (I'm a sheep and proud of it.) It was for the next Hawaiian Lei Making class. Sadly, I was too late, it was full. A cast member was handing out tickets for the class the next day and I got one of those. With my ticket in hand, I headed to the restaurant for the class. My other choice was Hawaiian Hula Lessons - No one needed my hips to capsize the boat that day I really enjoyed the class as I love crafting. I'm naturally shy so I didn't chat much with my tablemates, but I had a good time anyway.


Orchids and 6 inch needle


Cy from Aulani. Auntie was also there. This guy must've been the hardest working cast member on the ship - I saw him everywhere giving some kind of lesson. I wanted to take ukulele lessons with him, but it was always too crowded by the time I got there. He seemed very proud of his heritage and Aulani Resort. He told us that leis were a special gift to someone to express "Aloha" to them, more than just hello or goodbye.






We got lots of fun leis as FE gifts.


We make ankle leis called, "kupe'e" (koo peh eh). I was surprised how long the flowers lasted. I wore them all day.

I went back to BBB for a quick lunch. I think I was by myself No pics but I made a list of the things I sampled. Boy it sounds like a lot, but I learned to only take a small amount to be able to taste more.
steak
salmon croquettes
mandarin soup
split pea soup
roasted root veggies
chicken salad
chorizo potato salad
crepes

The WDI Talk today was about the Disney Cruise Line. If anyone has watched a tv documentary on the building of the Disney ships, they will be familiar with what Bob talked about. He worked on the Fantasy and the Dream, specifically the "show" pieces and the stern characters.


Some "blue sky" sketches


When Disney went into the cruise business, they had to make a ship that at once stood out from the rest, but also said, "This is a Disney ship". They wanted a timeless look rather than trendy.




getting closer...




It all starts with a drawing, then a hand sized sculpture, then the design is tweaked so that it makes the most sense to be on the stern. A full size sculpture is then made of foam.


The characters always face portside, just for Castaway Cay. I love that!


Bob talked a lot about "telling the story".




We learned about the story behind Aquaduck and what it took to bring it to "life".


We all know about how special fireworks at sea was for Disney Cruise Line.


The Fantasy in all her glory, floating out in Germany. He showed us where his car was




Here is Bob posing on Goofy's mini golf course while still in Germany. He said he was freezing!


No specific details were given here, but he did talk about the different ideas the imagineers came up with before this final one.




He told us about the innovative tech dreamed up by Disney imagineers, then actually implementing it.

Good, good stuff. Tomorrow would be the last of the WDI Talks. It would be informal with time for Q and A. He teased us by telling us there would be a raffle and to get there early - no doubt! I ran upstairs to the room - I thought I was going to float away while Bob was talking about ships! Then I ran up the stairs to refill my mug with soda, flew back down and grabbed some popcorn from the stand, making it in time for the 3:15 showing of Cinderella (You know I really didn't actually run right? More like a hustling power walk ) I'm glad I waited to see it for free on the ship... I liked Helena Bonham Carter as the Fairy Godmother though. And I really liked that they went with a 1940's look instead of 1840's. The costumes and make up were really great. Cate Blanchett's hair and makeup were fabulous - she's just gorgeous anyway.

(Short Buena Vista Theater review: Freezing! "classic" seats, meaning they do not recline, and the projector needs to be calibrated or maintenanced.)

I got out just in time to get in the queue for Jack Sparrow I had seen that he would be near Preludes (for exactly 15 minutes!) so I hurried down there. I had never been able to "catch" the Captain and I intended to tell him so. As I watched him with all the other guests, I loved what I saw. I understand why the CMs have to limit his time to 15 minutes, but he was so cool with everyone and took his time. He struck many different poses and spent extra time with the little ones. I was about done in with tears when it came time for him to meet with 2 little ones with special needs in electric wheelchairs. I had seen the family around the ship and I knew they were being blessed by the Make A Wish Foundation with this trip. Captain Sparrow took a nice long time with them and seemed caring and gentle. I'm crying now just thinking of it! When it came time for me to meet him, I felt a little silly, but I went ahead and told him, "I've been all around Florida and the Caribbean seas looking for you Captain. I'm very pleased to finally meet you." He replied, "Mumble, mumble, mumble, Hawaii, nice to meet you too, mumble, mumble, have a nice evening."







I know in my head that these wonderful cast members are acting, but just for a fleeting moment, it really felt like I was meeting THE Captain Jack Sparrow...



I went back to the room and remembered to take a picture of our door. We received so many AWESOME gifts during the trip, including the coveted "Mickey parts" magnets. I'm very happy that we participated this time. Our "theme" is "Pirates of the Pacific - Ahoy from Maryland", kind of a Chesapeake Bay meets The Hawaiian Islands thing. I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but I met so many people from Maryland, it was pretty cool. My cheap magnet paper, combined with the 17.5 layers of paint on the door made my magnets fall off all the time. (SUPER ANNOYING ) You can see them literally curling up . I finally resorted to tape, making sure I rubbed it a little to make it less tacky, but still able to attach my magnets. ( I removed them carefully at the end of the trip, no evidence! )


Another awesome sunset. You can never get enough of those...




Gone in just a few moments.


Here's where we were - almost there! (Total cruise distance 1853 nautical miles. 2,132.39 miles according to Siri )

It was Pirates in the Caribbean night! Dinner was in Parrot Cay and we semi-dressed for the occasion.


Arrgh.


My sweet bubba. (You wouldn't believe how long it took and how many 'staches we went through for this perfect one. He did his own "soul patch".)


Just a little pirate-y


REALLY pirate-y!


"Pearls of the Caribbean" Seafood mixed with couscous, drizzled with a vinaigrette


"Captain Hook's Macadamia Nut Dusted Mahi Mahi" Jasmine Rice with curry sauce and plantains


This was a fun surprise! That's our Rakesh in the front Titus went to join in the conga line.

Dinner was okay, nothing noteworthy, but certainly no complaints. I don't remember having dessert as I didn't take a photo. The kids went to their Pirate party and we went up to see the show. Boy was it crowded! We ended up all the way at the top with a lousy view, but it was fun anyway.










un-zoomed in


Mickey saves the day!











I always wonder what we look like way out at sea... We had heard tale of a "midnight buffet", well a "pirate buffet" anyway. We were nowhere near hungry, but I just wanted to see it.


There were a lot of people there! Probably folks from the first dinner seating.




Everything looked so good, but I grabbed some cookies just so I could say I ate at a late buffet


We got back to the room to see this little guy

The kids were out doing who-knows-what and Dh was tired and wanted to sleep. I had a date at 10:45pm in the Buena Vista theater again, with a Jedi this time - Star Wars: Episode VI. Return of the Jedi (and cookies). I think the Ladies went to check out some live music. After the movie I conked out at 1am, totally content. (I think the kids came in around the same time.)

Next: aaahhhhh... then spaahhhh...

[benchley]

Looked like a great party, can't wait to experience ourselves

[chezp]

The talk and the lei making looked fascinating. I must admit I worry about taking a cruise with lots of sea days, as I don't do well in bad weather, but equally I love the idea of all those extra things they have going on those days.

Oh and I am just like you guys in terms of never spotting anything when we're at sea, no matter how long I like, yet everyone else will always see the whales etc.!

[cubfancolleen]

That was a jam packed day!! Wow! Three movies, class, lecture, show. I'm exhausted!
I've never eaten at the late buffet - with the late dinner seating that see wan impossible feat. I think you're right about it mostly being first seating folks.

[xwewhisper]

What a wonderful day! The lei class sounds so cool and that WDI talk had so many fun facts.

[mamajab]

Does anybody know if DCL plans to do another Hawaii cruise? Reading this TR, I am sooo jealous that I immediately went to the website to price one. Alas, there wasn't one listed.