All Work and No Play makes Smee Grumpy: an Oct.'19 "work" TR *New PTR link 4/8*

Ok I haven't had a chance to get here in a while but I'm finally caught up.

First congrats to Ricky on the college acceptances. We'll be doing that this time next year here.

Second I need that flatware I think...I am down to about 5 or 6 spoons out of a set of 12...where did they all go over the years? I don't know.

Excited for your cruise...you will love the DREAM...very similar to the Fantasy...but easy to get a bit lost. Dream was our very first Disney cruise...but we've been on all 4 ships and loved all of them. I think I have a soft spot for the "older" ships...the Wonder was probably my favorite cruise from years ago.

I'll have to try to check out your dining report next!
 
I remember you writing that in your TR 🥶 We were there last January and it was cold then too; I'd hoped this year wouldn't be as bad but it was WORSE!
:faint: Isn't it so weird when you go to Disney and it's cold? I'm usually thinking "shouldn't my face be melting off by now?!" :rotfl: Guess I'm used to traveling in August!

THIS exactly! Steve and I were saying the same thing, the cold there was way different than here in NY and it definitely got into my bones. On Wednesday which was the coldest day it was 38 when we got to the park and I didn't warm up until I got in my own bed at night. I ate soup for lunch at the Plaza and we cranked up the heat in the car when we got back but I couldn't lose the chill.
Here in NY, it's a verrrrry dry cold. My skin hates it, but at least we know it could be worse if the temps combined with high humidity :scared1:

In good news Ricky now has gotten accepted to 4 of the 5 colleges he applied to!
YAY!!! A huge congrats!

We went to University of Scranton yesterday and while walking through the dorms saw this hanging on the wall in the hallway:

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Ooooh, this is a very good sign! ::yes:: Big plus for Scranton!

but it is super hard to be somewhere you're familiar with and LOVE and not be able to maneuver it the way you're used to.
YES!!! I totally agree.
 
I wish they offered something similar for the ship tours they offer on board. Our family decided to check that out on our embarkation day before the sail away party....we literally walked down two hallways and were told the names of the clubs and theaters...and not much else that you couldn't have already figured out from the first navigator while waiting to board the ship.
Oh that's disappointing! I didn't realize that's all that was. Although once you see what I mean about our tour guide you'll see he probably wasn't any more informative than what you had 😆
Joe has the same Hangar Bar tee but it may be a little too snug on him right now... :rotfl2:
LOL!

That would be so much fun to tour the Fantasy! Can't wait to hear more about the tour guide!!
It ended up being a good experience and I'm so glad I got to do it! We do get some amazing opportunities :goodvibes
Well... then you don't let him know you packed yours. And when you see him wearing his, you make sure to throw yours in the purse. Make a bathroom stop once you are away from the room! And voila, he has no choice but to be matching! Just make sure he's near a photopass photographer or else you'll never get proof!
Ha good idea :thumbsup2 If I do it I'll be sure to give you the credit when he says "mom ***" :laughing:
That's a nice way of dividing it. So the tours can be more focused.
It was, and I think that was the purpose; so the guides wouldn't be telling people who've sailed that ship numerous times things they know and wouldn't skip over details that those new to Disney ships would want to know. Unfortunately in our group our guide left quite a bit to be desired lol but hey, I guess he made up for our group having an awesome resort tour guide.
Love your latest Dooney! It's such a great print!
Thank you! I had in the back of my mind when we went that I might want to get it and voila! It's here :goodvibes
 
Dana has a Hangar Bar tee shirt, too. :)
The best of us do lol
I would love to tour one of the Disney ships. It is nice that they broke you into groups based on experience.
It's a great perk of the job! That was my 2nd tour of a Disney ship plus I've toured Norwegian and 2 Royal Caribbean ships.
It's a sign!!! Literally and Figuratively!!!!
I thought so too but sadly it doesn't look like Scranton will be his choice! We are revisiting Quinnipiac on the 15th, he loved it both times we went so far so hopefully I see a Disney sign there too lol
Ok I haven't had a chance to get here in a while but I'm finally caught up.
Hey Dina! Always good to see you
First congrats to Ricky on the college acceptances. We'll be doing that this time next year here.
Thanks! It's been fun touring them all, stressful applying, exciting getting the acceptances and now sad that it's happening soon :(
Second I need that flatware I think...I am down to about 5 or 6 spoons out of a set of 12...where did they all go over the years?
Right?? I got it because we were down to like 3 knives and 6 forks but 30 spoons! No idea what the kids do with it all! I'll probably find it between Chris's mattresses one day.......................
I'll have to try to check out your dining report next!
::yes::
Here in NY, it's a verrrrry dry cold. My skin hates it, but at least we know it could be worse if the temps combined with high humidity :scared1:
So true, I haven't been bothered by the cold here since we've gotten back.
YAY!!! A huge congrats!

:thanks:
 


After being off again for a bit, it's time to play that catch up game. ;) So mostly reading and leaving a note to say I'm caught up and still enjoying. :)

But a few notes as I was reading:

You seemed relieved to be done with the FAM part and ready to move on to the tour... which I'm sure will have some "highlights" that you alluded to. ;) Some sound disconcerting.

I love Geyser Point too! A LOT!! Such a chill place. :goodvibes
 
Congrats to Ricky, how exciting! Sorry to hear you'd been sick but hopefully everyone is much better by now (since I'm far, far behind)

But you get it, white jeans and shorts do not look good on everyone and yes we not only had to wear specific shirts for 3 days but were told what color bottoms to wear too and in some cases what styles we couldn't wear.
Oh no! This is my worst nightmare!

The food this time around wasn't that great either so once again I left hungry and unsatisfied
Wow, you really got the bad food luck!

As you see most of us were a little dressed up as the dress code today was "business casual". This always causes a ton of confusion amongst all of us as to what qualifies as business casual and coming from all over the country it does vary.
Ugh, is there anything worse than "business casual"? It could literally mean anything
 
In good news Ricky now has gotten accepted to 4 of the 5 colleges he applied to!

awesome! Congrats !

But you get it, white jeans and shorts do not look good on everyone and yes we not only had to wear specific shirts for 3 days but were told what color bottoms to wear too and in some cases what styles we couldn't wear.

that seems crazy to me! If you really want people to completely match, at least pick like black!

the CM's directed us to 3 tables that fit probably like 75 even though there were 100 of us.

oh man hope everyone wore deodorant that day!

This was not cool nor were the looks we got from people as 100 of us pranced up to the buffet line,

yeah i can see how a buffet is easier for all of you than ordering off a menu but that line mustve been very long! how did they handle the checks at the end for gratuity?


i have this set too!

It may be because I'm old and cranky and set in my ways, but it is super hard to be somewhere you're familiar with and LOVE and not be able to maneuver it the way you're used to.

that’s my fear too. I went with coworkers in February and it felt weird not to be with my sister or Mike so i can only imagine it would be worse on a work trip.


Oo i love this !!
 


Oh I love this and don't think I've ever seen it before. Feel free to send this right on down to me. Zip code is 20121 in case you forgot :P

So we were up and packed and dropped our bags with bell services to be moved to our next resort and here's where the fun started which continued later on......................
Something tells me this little part of the story is not going to end well....

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If you must find me I'm up towards the top like right across from the hanging "Halloween on the High Seas" sign. I look absolutely thrilled to be taking GROUP PHOTO #45!
It didn't happen if there isn't a group photo! At least you aren't dressed alike this time. Progress :confused3
 
I totally get that feeling of being out of control in Disney! When I went on a "business club" trip to Disney in high school I felt the same way! By the end of the trip the chaperone realized I knew what I was talking about and actually listened to me but up until that point I was internally screaming! This was back in paper fastpass days and the teacher refused to let us get any fastpasses and made us wear sneakers the whole trip (which I never in my life had ever worn sneakers to Disney and still don't! Unless its part of an outfit! Lol) So I get it! Lol
 
I'm fairly certain Chad has the Hangar Bar shirt, as well. But I haven't seen it in awhile so maybe it is too small or maybe I'm remembering wrong. Hmmm...now I am curious. LOL

We are staying one night at Riviera in May to check it out. We also have breakfast reservations on our March/April trip so I guess we will actually see the resort then.
 
After being off again for a bit, it's time to play that catch up game. ;) So mostly reading and leaving a note to say I'm caught up and still enjoying. :)
Hey Leisa! Glad you're up to DIS'ing again :goodvibes
You seemed relieved to be done with the FAM part and ready to move on to the tour... which I'm sure will have some "highlights" that you alluded to. ;) Some sound disconcerting.
I will not lie; I WAS relieved. First of all it was tiring which just goes with the whole pace of WDW FAM's. But I was also done with the group pictures (well I still had to do those) and the matching and just being in Disney but not on my own time. It really is a different experience.
Congrats to Ricky, how exciting
Thank you!!!
Wow, you really got the bad food luck!
I seem to get the bad food luck whenever I'm away for work :rolleyes:
Ugh, is there anything worse than "business casual"? It could literally mean anything
That's the truth! It depends where you live and what you do and what those around you consider "business casual"! That has become the most dreaded phrase amongst the female agents in my agency lol:rotfl:
oh man hope everyone wore deodorant that day!
:rotfl:
yeah i can see how a buffet is easier for all of you than ordering off a menu but that line mustve been very long! how did they handle the checks at the end for gratuity?
We were all on the dining plan and we had to sit with our roommates when we ate dinner - I neglected to mention that but in my case it was fine since I would have sat with Cathy even if we weren't rooming together. So pretty much right after we all had the first round of drinks the servers started coming around scanning our bands. Problem was since seating was so messed up and crowded here not everyone did sit with their roommies so the servers had to go back and forth trying to make sure they got the right # of bands...........................and yes the line was crazy long! Like half way back to the check in stand lol
i have this set too!
Good taste :goodvibes makes me smile every time I use it!:P
that’s my fear too. I went with coworkers in February and it felt weird not to be with my sister or Mike so i can only imagine it would be worse on a work trip.
I said this before but if it was somewhere I wasn't familiar with it wouldn't have been a big deal since I wouldn't have had a "routine", or so many things I loved and disliked. At Universal I don't mind as much because I don't LOVE it and really don't have things I want or need to do! Definitely a different experience and one I don't think I'll be repeating soon.
Oh I love this and don't think I've ever seen it before. Feel free to send this right on down to me. Zip code is 20121 in case you forgot
Or OR-you could just get your butt up to NY and grab a fork(y) :P
Something tells me this little part of the story is not going to end well....
It was definitely a night to remember :sad2: At least it involved a small bit of alcohol
I totally get that feeling of being out of control in Disney! When I went on a "business club" trip to Disney in high school I felt the same way! By the end of the trip the chaperone realized I knew what I was talking about and actually listened to me but up until that point I was internally screaming! This was back in paper fastpass days and the teacher refused to let us get any fastpasses and made us wear sneakers the whole trip (which I never in my life had ever worn sneakers to Disney and still don't! Unless its part of an outfit! Lol) So I get it! Lol
LOL that's funny because in a way that's what you'll see happened with our ship tour guide and another agent! Oh the shoes. We were told not to wear sneakers on a couple of the days and while that wasn't a problem for me because I also rarely wear them, others were like, "yeah well I'm wearing sneakers" or saying they'd buy nicer ones. Other than saying NO sneakers for a nicer event I think telling someone what to wear on their feet is a bit worse than telling them what to wear on their body because uncomfortable shoes can ruin your day!
'm fairly certain Chad has the Hangar Bar shirt, as well. But I haven't seen it in awhile so maybe it is too small or maybe I'm remembering wrong. Hmmm...now I am curious. LOL
:laughing: Jenny said the same thing about Joe
We are staying one night at Riviera in May to check it out. We also have breakfast reservations on our March/April trip so I guess we will actually see the resort then.
Glad you're doing breakfast there it was SO good! I kind of wanted to do it again with the boys in July but they are adamantly against any character meals this time. I may do it in Sept. when we bring our granddaughter :goodvibes
 
Glad you're doing breakfast there it was SO good! I kind of wanted to do it again with the boys in July but they are adamantly against any character meals this time. I may do it in Sept. when we bring our granddaughter :goodvibes
Happy to hear that it was so good! Sounds perfect to do it in September!
 
Hey Leisa! Glad you're up to DIS'ing again :goodvibes

Thanks, Ariane! So glad to be feeling better. Long ways to do still, but getting there.
I will not lie; I WAS relieved. First of all it was tiring which just goes with the whole pace of WDW FAM's. But I was also done with the group pictures (well I still had to do those) and the matching and just being in Disney but not on my own time. It really is a different experience.
Yeah, I'd be over that too. One or 2 is fine, after that, shoot me now.
 
We were all on the dining plan and we had to sit with our roommates when we ate dinner - I neglected to mention that but in my case it was fine since I would have sat with Cathy even if we weren't rooming together. So pretty much right after we all had the first round of drinks the servers started coming around scanning our bands. Problem was since seating was so messed up and crowded here not everyone did sit with their roommies so the servers had to go back and forth trying to make sure they got the right # of bands...........................and yes the line was crazy long! Like half way back to the check in stand lol

Yikes! That sounds so complicated. At least the sitting with your roommate thing worked out for you!

I said this before but if it was somewhere I wasn't familiar with it wouldn't have been a big deal since I wouldn't have had a "routine", or so many things I loved and disliked. At Universal I don't mind as much because I don't LOVE it and really don't have things I want or need to do! Definitely a different experience and one I don't think I'll be repeating soon.

Yeah I could definitely see that. Thanks for sharing your feelings on it!
 
Happy Tuesday all! So as many of you know I am not big on planning our trips far ahead of time and even when I do we tend to switch up most days anyway. I usually plan more dining and just what we're doing in general when the boys are coming, but so far for July when the 4 of us go I only have 2 reservations and a real rough outline of what we're doing.
So I am super proud of myself for booking the Up Close with Rhinos tour for us on July 4th yesterday! Surprised it was still available and really happy it is because I LOVED when I did it with friends and really want the guys to experience it. If you haven't done it I highly recommend it!


DAY 5 OCTOBER 27TH
DAY 5 PART 2: FOOD IS MY FANTASY

Picking up where I left off, we did our mandatory group shot and got into our groups. As mentioned before our guide for the resort tours was the BEST and the other groups agreed because there were a couple stinky ones. Well karma got us on board because our guide did not know ANYTHING about how things work with DCL let alone details of the ship! He was a nice older gentleman who has worked at Shades of Green for like 35 years lol and was filling in and boy did it show.
We started our tour with one of the restaurants - that is, after our guide turned in circles in front of it for about 6 minutes before figuring out where the door was. I know begin bombarding you with pictures of.....

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This is one of the restaurants in the dinner rotation. How pretty is it inside??



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There were murals like the Snow White one all over with the different Princesses. Speaking of Princesses look who's carriage was masquerading as a bread basket!

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It's the little touches that make DCL stand out and the napkin folded on the plates was no exception:

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I thought this restaurant was beautiful and I think the prettiest and most interesting of all the ones in the rotation. Next was the Enchanted Garden, it was pretty too but didn't impress me as much as Royal Court:

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The coolest part were the doors leading in to the Enchanted Garden! To me they look like elevator doors and remind me of a scene from The Shining. I'm afraid to look at the picture too long in case blood starts gushing from both sides......

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Eventually we got to the rooms. We toured like 6 rooms in all different categories including the ROY SUITE - not to be confused with the upgrade Steve and I got at the Grand Floridian that one time 😆 I'll share some pictures of that down the line.
One of the rooms was decorated with the Halloween package since it was a Halloween on the High Seas cruise:


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So cute! I ordered something similar for Ricky for our cruise because he'll turn 18 during it. Not sure he'll get use out of lots of the things in the birthday package but I think he'll appreciate the effort. If it were Chris that possible appreciation would be a big NOPE!

Back to restaurants we toured Palo and Remy, Remy is also gorgeous!

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When we were in here an agent asked why there was "G" on the rug in Remy. Those of us who knew kept quiet for a few but our guide had absolutely no idea and suggested it may have been a tribute to an Imagineer who designed the ship???? Yeah maybe but how about Gusteau's anyone????

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CONTINUED IN NEXT POST
 
:wave2:

Do you see the little guy hiding in the pattern on the chairs?

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We went all over the ship and to some areas twice since tour guide Joe has us backtracking and tried having us go through doors that were marked "Cast Members Only" :rolleyes: It got to the point where he was giving wrong answers or no answer so one of the agents in our group, Kim, who books like 20 Disney cruises a month and hit 1 million in sales last year was answering the questions for us and correcting him. It was sad and funny at the same time but worse was that anyone seriously trying to learn about DCL was not able to do so with this guy.

Back to the Roy Disney Suite which our guide didn't know existed!

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Bed is a bit fancier:

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Robes for all ages!

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Little dining table in living area by the balcony doors:

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You can see the back of the couch on the left side of this picture and here's the rest of the living room:

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Quite a bit larger than the regular cabins! The swanky peeps booking this room also get fancy hand towels in the bathroom:

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I honestly have no idea what the rates are for this because like the Roy and Walt suites at the GF, pricing is not online even in our systems so we have to call and I have yet to get a client asking about the Roy Suite on DCL lol!

Finally it was time for lunch! So far I was enjoying the tour despite our guide. While I'd toured the Magic the Fantasy is different so it was fun seeing the differences. Now on all the ship tours I've done, whether Disney Royal or Norwegian, we are treated to lunch in one of the restaurants and the food is what they serve on cruises. As an aside I found the food we had on the Magic the best followed by that on the Norwegian Gem. Royal is a great cruise line but I was least impressed by their food.

So it was that I was really excited to see which dining room we'd be eating in! Royal Court, Enchanted Garden, Animator's Palate? And oh boy no buffet food again!

Except I spoke too soon............................


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Yup, lunch at Cabanas which is a buffet. People always rave about the food in Disney ships and it may have been because I was so DONE with buffets but I wasn't impressed. When was my bad food luck going to end???????

After lunch we only had left the adult areas onboard outside of the restaurants and boy were they impressive too! I won't overshare since I've done that already in these 2 posts but here are 2 of my favorite shots.

This is behind the bar in the adult only Skyline Lounge. I'm not sure what city skyline is in this shot but the background changes to different city skylines through the night:


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There are adult only restaurants, bars, lounges, clubs and an adult only pool as well as a little snack area that you need to be 18 to visit. One of the bars/lounges is La Piazza and these vespas are outside it:

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Finally our tour was done! We had to be off before the ship left again. The whole time we were touring guests were coming aboard, and they were eating in Cabanas when we were, and as we walked around and then when we left we got to see and hear lots of guests being "announced" as they got on the ship! Tour guide AND food aside this was pretty much my favorite part of the FAM so far. And I figured it was only going to get better because starting soon I was finally getting park time!!

Or was I 🤔
 
Yeah I could definitely see that. Thanks for sharing your feelings on it!
I don't want you to think it's not worth going or you shouldn't go if your agency does one! Not all the agents felt the way I did although many don't go as often as I do, and lots aren't as high maintenance when it comes to their food lol. I think you'd probably find it a bit difficult like I did but if you're offered the opportunity to go I say take it ::yes::
 
Great tour...I have a photo of my family members on those scooters on the Fantasy of course. Sorry you didn't get any of the good food. Remy was good but really our favorite is probably Palo on Fantasy and Dream. Palo brunch is AMAZING and one of our favorites.

So funny that the tour guide knew so little about the ship!
 
One of the rooms was decorated with the Halloween package since it was a Halloween on the High Seas cruise:

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On the cruise pages I follow, this is one of the things people talked about the most leading up to the Christmas version's release. I was thinking how great can that blanket really be?! The package was around $75, but of course I had FOMO, so the moment I heard they were available I ordered it for mine and my parents' rooms.

It's totally worth it. I LOVE my blanket--it is so incredibly soft and the whole back is sherpa lined. I'm so glad I listened to my internet friends on this one LOL

Robes for all ages!

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Well, how stinkin' cute is that?!!

I have yet to get a client asking about the Roy Suite on DCL lol!
Well, I mean...now that I know about the robes...
 

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