Our Vacation Story

We finally did it, took the girls on a REAL vacation, something we hadn't done in 7 or more years! We booked a Disney vacation package last spring and thought it would never come, but it's come and gone now....so quickly! Anyway, we left on a Thursday morning, had to get up at the crack of dawn to get to the Denver airport on time! Made it to Florida, no problems. My parents were already at the hotel, having arrived a few hours earlier. Mom was waiting when our Disney bus pulled up, camera in hand to take our picture as we got off the bus! The hotel, the Beach Club, was beautiful, and they had an awesome pool! The first night we walked to Epcot where we had dinner reservations at Coral Reef. Neat place! They have this huge aquarium with tons of fish, sharks, stingrays and a turtle. We were sitting right in front of it too, which was nice. After dinner, we wander back through Epcot and found a spot to stand to watch their light show. It was very impressive! Back to the hotel, the girls went to the room and we found a nice bar to have a few drinks at. The next day we went to the hotel's character breakfast, which we ALL enjoyed a lot, it was fun! Eric and Morgan decided we needed to go back to Epcot to try a few things they'd seen on a station at the hotel. Needless to say, when we got to the "ride" they wanted to do, Eric chickened out, reading their warnings. It was supposed to be like you were in a space ship, blasting off from earth and landing on Mars. So Morgan and I did it, and it was so neat....I think Eric would have liked it. He also wanted to do the race car thing, but just as we showed up, they were turning people away, something was wrong with it. We did wander thru the many countries and went to a Scandinavian thing too. Had a nice time. We took the girls back to the hotel because Morgan was dying to go swimming and use the water slide. Ashley just wanted to eat, she was starving. So the guys went to ESPN bar and the rest of us met them there later. We had dinner there, then walked the boardwalk and shopped the shops. Saturday we went to the Magic Kingdom....unfortunately that was the one day we had bad weather. It was cool and cloudy and it rained a little bit. Neither of the girls wore jackets, so they were freezing (we later found out it was only like 50 degrees), so they got new sweatshirts. Then on Sunday, we packed for the cruise, then took one carryone and headed to Animal Kingdom....we had a breakfast there then got preferred seating at the Lion King show. That was SO AWESOME, even my dad, who never seems to get a thrill from anything, really liked it. Ashley insisted on seeing a crocidile and it took us awhile to find the darn thing! My favorite thing that day was getting my picture taken with Eeyore, who has always been my favorite, he even gave me a kiss! Then it was off for the bus, so we could head to Cape Canaveral and board the ship. What a beautiful ship too! Eric and I were impressed with our stateroom, since we'd been on 2 other cruises and knew how small the rooms can be. The girls were thinking it would be bigger, but it was really nice. And we had a veranda, which thrilled me to no end! I could have sat out there and looked at the ocean all day! Our first night was a bit tough, Morgan headed for the teen club and Ashley stuck with me and my mom. I should have been specific with Morgan, the activities got over at 2:00 a.m., but I didn't tell her she had to be back after that. She stayed out playing basketball and at the internet cafe until 4:30....while her dad and I scoured the ship and called security! Bad thing was, when she came back, she didn't understand what the big fuss was about! The next day we went to Nassua (did I spell that right?), the girls got their hair braided and Eric got us a tour guide. Jojo was great, he had a limo and drove us all around the island, the richer parts, the poorer parts, the forts, the neat stairs that slaves carved out of rocks and then Atlantis.....what a place that is!
After dinner that night, my mom, Ashley and I were up on 10th deck, enjoying the music and Ashley kept saying she didn't feel well (keep in mind, we were still docked), Eric thought it was motion sickness, so I went and got her dramamine. Unfortunately, that wasn't it and she ended up throwing up ALL night, until all she had were the dry heaves. I had to take her to the medical office and they decided it was a virus, gave her a shot in the butt and told her she was quarentined to our cabin for 48 hours, which of course would be the lat 2 days of the cruise! Eric and my dad said they would stay on board with her, so that Morgan, my mom and I could go onto Castaway Cay, Disney's private island. Feeling a little guilty, I did agree. Morgan ditched us quickly for her friend Juliana. She wasn't happy when we had to leave to go parasailing, but then decided after we'd done it, it was worth it. I liked it, it's so quiet when you're up there, but I'm a little jumpy and anytime the harness would move, I would grip the darn thing tighter! Then we rode the banana boat....again Morgan didn't want to leave Juliana, but again, was glad she went, it was a blast! I do that again for sure!
Wednesday we just sailed...we wandered the boat, laid in the sun, snuck Ashley out because she was finally feeling better, just enjoyed being at sea. It was sad knowing it was our last night. Morgan could wait to leave dinner to find her friends, and Ashley was ready to go back to the cabin and lay down. So Eric, my parents and I went to the adult bar where they were having a sing along, a skit and more, it was fun. I wasn't ready to head back, but we had to leave the ship early and it was already after 11:00, so we did. Morgan and her friend cried that night when they said goodbye and then they saw each other the next morning and cried some more. She would go on another vacation like this in a heartbeat, but Ashley, she's not so sure she'd cruise again.
It was a wonderful time, unfortunately with a few bumps in the road!