perfect match

I’ve been running a bit behind here, so I didn’t get to post my fur kids when requested but I couldn’t let a request for pictures go unanswered! 
 

Meet Oreo, who is a very good boy along with his very favorite toy.

And this is Merida, our new little rescue who is a very Brave little princess and who was about to break that toy behind her into three separate pieces and send the balls it contained  flying all over the house! I don’t think she’s ever lived in s house before or had toys to play with before we adopted her three weeks ago but she’s learning fast! 
 

On 4/20/2024 at 8:00 PM, Rogueperson said:

Trip is complete!!!  

Glad you got to ride!

On 4/20/2024 at 12:53 PM, Teeara said:

Sorry for the delay kids.  My cold has been getting better but I’ve been going to bed early so I’m missing some of the time I would usually use for posting here.

Hope you’re feeling better soon. 🥰

4 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

@Lionesss I would be interested in knowing what slot it was and how much you put in before the jackpot? I told Linda about it and she wants you to rub your luck onto her. 😉

Me too!
 

Only problem is that I don’t even really know how to use our free play. 🤔. Can we even use free play in the non smoking casino on Allure?  Never mind me not knowing what machine to play or how much to put in it! I think that as Diamonds we each get $6 in free play. With my luck that will be gone in about 6 seconds! 😱😂

If I were to ever win anything at all I’d probably end up in medical in cardiac arrest!  

@Lionesss, I don’t know how you do it but I certainly admire your skills in the casino! 

On 4/19/2024 at 12:47 PM, prmssk said:

 

Loved this picture! Thanks for sharing both of the Brown Booby pictures. 

Thanks for including your Disney stay in your review, Laurie! I really enjoyed seeing WDW from your perspective. While you did a lot of our favorite things, you also did some that we’ve never done, or it has been a while and it’s time to go back and do them again. We board Allure in 9 days for a B2B and as usual a whole bunch of things that must be taken care of asap have appeared so WDW may need to wait until after we get home. I’ll still be able to follow your TAmthough! 

Thank you for sharing your Virginia International Tattoo pictures with us. I enjoyed seeing them. 😀

Thanks for taking us with you on Symphony! Your timing is perfect for getting me through my last days before our Allure cruise. We board her on the 29th. 🛳️😎

Hope you come home with some good winnings this time and that your new purple luggage that we haven’t seen yet and you and your DH as well have a safe trip. 

Aw, I completely forgot to look for the rocket 🚀 launch today! We were down in the Disney area this afternoon for a medical appointment for DH and then met some friends for dinner so we were a lot closer than seeing a launch from our house. It would have been a much better view than what we have at home. 
 

Laurie, I loved your dinner and fireworks around the monorail. We used to do that a lot before we moved down here. Might be time to give it another try. We also like dinner around the Boardwalk and even dinner around the Skyliner. You and your friends are really doing a great job with your Disney planning. You’re getting a lot done and seem to be having a great time doing it! 

18 hours ago, laurieal said:

Alright, people. A plan has been formed. 
 

Thanks to everyone who has offered suggestions. I went to the front desk last night when I came back to the resort and they gave me the number of the company they deal with for scooter and wheelchair rentals. They don’t do repairs, but they gave me the number of a company who does. The conversation with the guy went like this:

 

Me: one of my brakes is broken

Him: you probably have a screw loose

Me: the screw fell off

Him: well it’s definitely loose, then
 

That company doesn’t do “at home” repairs, but I booked an accessible taxi with Mears to take me there on Thursday. I can manage fine until then, I just want to get it fixed before the cruise where the waves could make transferring more…interesting. 
 

But now I’m late on my review again! I’ll just skip yesterday’s day in Animal Kingdom for now since I’ll be going again later this week. 

I’m glad to hear that you’ve found a way to get your chair fixed. There are lots of steep ramps at WDW where brakes would certainly come in handy! Never mind once you’re on the ship where it might be a bit more difficult to get your chair fixed. Maybe grab a few extra screws at the repair shop in case you have any more problems.

It’s going to be heating up the next couple days so be sure to keep up with your hydration, sunscreen and cooling breaks. Sounds like you’re having a great time at WDW. 

One more Beach Club question. I think we would prefer a later lunch time since we will probably just end up snacking for dinner after our big lunch. Did the restaurant seem to be functioning normally later in the afternoon or were they busy packing up or running out of food later in the afternoon? We will be making a reservation. I’m thinking maybe around 2:00. What do you think? Too late?

10 hours ago, Steelers0854 said:

Day 2 Coco Cay

 

 

 

We had 1 mission today. Be one of the first off and secure a good spot at the beach club. We got downstairs at about 7:45 and a few minutes before 8 the line was moving. Having never been here before we didn’t realize what a short walk it was and so we rode the tram. No big deal it was quick and easy and we were one of the first 10 people in.

 

 

 

 

 

We got very lucky, we grabbed one of the very few large loungers by the pool. These things are soooo comfortable. It’s worth hustling off the ship to snag one of these.

 

 

We paid $220pp for the beach club. I’m on team worth it. For what we got, the food, the floating mats, quiet atmosphere and not a hoard of people. I’m all in. I’ve paid far more for excursions and gotten much less.

 

We got a delicious coconut lime non alcoholic welcome drink. It was delicious. I would have paid for another but they said they couldn’t do that. SMH. Seems kinda silly. We had absolutely beautiful weather. High of 75, a cool breeze all day, and a few clouds in the sky.  Couldn’t have been better!

 

 

 

 

When you walk in to the beach club on your right when you walk in make your lunch reservation. They have slots based on the ship you’re on. We got 11:45. The beach club is beautiful. The bathrooms are very nice, it’s quiet, they have vibey music in the background but nothing loud or that stands out. The pool is great, service was outstanding. Always someone walking around asking if you needed anything. Towels were provided so no needing to wait in line and give your first born in exchange for one.

 

 

Before we knew it, it was lunch. You get a Bento box with all the appetizers. They brought DW bread that was safe to eat and the hummus and babaganoush was safe. DW doesn’t do seafood (preference) but the shrimp and ceviche would nah e been fine as well. The appetizers were good. Solid. Nothing to write home about.

 

 

The main course is where they knock it out of the park. DW got the filet (no modifications) and I got the surf and turf. It’s not on the menu but there are no issues ordering it. You get a half a lobster, 1 claw and what I’m guessing was a 6 ounce filet. It was amazing. Everything from the potatoes to the vegetables and the meat. All outstanding. And our server was fantastic.

 

 

 

 

 

Some fun facts we learned from our server. He was from India and is on a 5 month contract. 600 people live on the island full time. The ship only sends some crew to supplement the front part of the island. He said about 70% of the staff were bahamanian and they work 2 month contracts.

 

After lunch we lounged around for a bit before calling it quits, visiting some other parts of the island before heading back to the ship. All aboard was at 3:30 and we got on at 2:30.

 

 

 

We certainly had a Perfect Day at CoCo Cay. I think the only other private island we have been to that gives it a run for its money is Disneys Castaway Cay.

Thank you very much for this Beach Club report and pictures! It is exactly what I’ve been hoping to find. 
 

On previous Coco Cay trips I have resisted booking the Beach Club due to the price. Then the price kept going up! 😱 However, on our last Coco Cay stops it was just way too packed with people to suit us, so I started looking for bargains. 
 

I first booked us into Hideaway beach but really didn’t think the vibe there would be what we were looking for. Then I found the Beach Club on sale! $76.99 for our upcoming Allure cruise and currently at $114.99 for Wonder cruise in September. It was a no brainer to cancel Hideaway and book the Beach Club! Maybe I’ll get really lucky and the price for our Wonder cruise will drop to the price we got on Allure. That would be awesome!

Is it really worth it to head out early and get seats by the pool? I’m a beach person myself but I think DH might prefer the pool. I don’t really care about the big beds much, but was pool seating I still available later in the morning? 
 

I think I’m a lot more excited about going to the Beach Club than I ever thought I would be!  😎

@Teeara, that quirky balcony looked interesting. I tend to like rooms that are a little quirky like that one. I’m going to check out the deck plan for that room.

@RobInMN, thank you for the transit video. It was very interesting to watch.

@BillB48, thank you for all of the information about how ships are moved through the canal during their transit. I found it very interesting. .

17 hours ago, Jimbo said:

After the first set of locks are done, go for the 2nd or 3rd sets where the crowds thin out significantly  because of  the heat etc. Plus you can sleep in somewhat.

I am so very much not a morning person. No matter how I try to be one it just doesn’t work for me. I love your suggestion! 😂

On the other hand I might stay up for the start of the transit, go have breakfast, then go in and take a nap during the heat of the day.  That strategy probably wouldn’t work for most “normal” people but has worked well for me before when very early mornings were necessary. 

Laurie, I don’t know if you found anything yet but check out the Dis abilities forum on the Disboards.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/wheelchair-repairs.1598176/

Hope you’re able to get the chair fixed.

Thank you very much for a great review! I loved following along with you. 

14 hours ago, Teeara said:

I did, but wish we hadn’t been so delayed.  All that standing is bad for my back.  I’ve already had 4 leg cramps due to it.  

My surgically repaired legs wouldn’t have done very well with all of that standing either. I will have to keep that in mind if I manage to get a Panama Canal cruise planned.I know those leg cramps all too well.

Great pictures @Teeara and @RobInMN! Thank you! Guess you had some “bonus” time in the canal. I hope you were able to enjoy your canal transit in spite of all of the delays.

13 hours ago, Rewind said:

 

 

For now, I will leave you with this sign we see in our hallway and that I will be adding to my wishlist for Christmas:

 

I’ve seen that saying on tee shirts as well as door signs. Amazon, I’m pretty sure is where I saw them.

I have the same problem with cruises that seem to book themselves! 😂

Most of our recent cruises have been on the mega ships. It seemed so strange to see such lower numbers on the most traveled board until I remembered that you were on Adventure. I think I’m about ready to let some of the smaller ships start booking themselves because those smaller ships are just as awesome as the big girls and have a lot more flexibility as to where they can go.

I’m enjoying the little touch of Disney to start your trip, and looking forward to seeing Wonder through your eyes as we’ll be boarding her for our first time in September. We’ve enjoyed sailing on all of the other Oasis class sisters and love all of them so we’re looking forward to our time on Wonder. Our next up though is Allure at the end of this month. 

Have a great day going through the canal!

Glad you made it safely to WDW!  Flower and Garden is always beautiful there. Reminds me, we need to plan an Epcot run soon.
We have yet to ride Guardians. I’m glad to hear that you liked it. From what I’ve heard, I’m sure we will too. Hopefully soon. 
 

Enjoy your Disney time. Looks like great weather for your visit.

There actually was a rocket launch tonight. It was scheduled to go up at around 9:22 PM. I didn’t see it myself but our friends have a much better view from their place and they did see it go. You probably could have seen it from the ship.

I love your itinerary. Almost wish I’d booked your sailing instead of our Allure B2B at the end of the month. It’s a good thing we love the ship because after numerous changes our itinerary bears absolutely no resemblance to what we originally booked. We’ll have fun anyway. 
 

I’m looking forward to following along with you on Adventure. 🛳️

Awesome! Thank you for sharing!

Great sailaway scenery!