Ep. 478 - Grandparent Approved: A Multigenerational Sailing on the Disney Wish

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Even a wired controller right at those screens that you could just use. [00:00:04] Speaker B: Oh, that would be. No, no, Sam, that would be awful if they had like, wired controllers dangling like. [00:00:11] Speaker A: I. I understand. Aesthetically, it wouldn't work. I'm saying technologically. Aesthetically, it would be a nightmare. [00:00:17] Speaker B: There's an imagineer somewhere who's rolling their eyes right now. Welcome back, everybody, to this week's episode of the DCL Duo podcast, brought to you by my Path Unwinding Travel. And Sam, we got another listener review to read this week. It comes from Musical Mal, I think is what we're going with here. Musical Mal, I think that's Musical Mal, who writes invaluable while planning a DCL voyage. I started listening to the DCL Duo just after we booked our first DCL cruise. I consider myself a WDW parks expert, but a complete novice when it comes to dcl. This pod has been an amazing resource while planning the cruise and a great way to get excited as we anticipate our first voyage. That one's coming from September of last year, so I sure hope they had a fabulous cruise on board Disney Cruise Line. Musical Mal, if you want to reach out and let us know how things went, if our tips and tricks worked for you, that would be excellent. But for now, thank you for that review and for all of you out there listening, please, please, please head over to Apple Podcast. Leave us one of those five star reviews. You can just hit the five stars or you can hit five stars and leave us a written review. If you do that, we'll read it on the air at the top of one of our episodes. But Sam, I want to throw it over to you to introduce our guests tonight and what we're going to be talking about. [00:01:39] Speaker A: Awesome. Well, thank you for that review, Musical Mal. I will say we have some other Parks folks on our show today. Parks folks who I think then got converted to the cruise line. I'll let them tell us that story in a little bit. But I'm so excited to welcome to the show. First time guest to our show, Dave and Janelle Hart. Welcome, guys. [00:02:00] Speaker C: Hi. [00:02:00] Speaker D: Hi. Thank you. [00:02:01] Speaker A: Yeah, thanks for coming. So tell us what your sort of background with Disney is and then how you got into cruising and how many cruises you've done. Cause I know you've done some cruises on some other lines as well. [00:02:14] Speaker C: Yeah, why don't you tell about Disney and I'll tell about Cruising, dear. [00:02:16] Speaker D: All right. So we are long times Walt Disney World park fans. We've gone since we were kids. We actually Kind of fell in love on our senior trip at high school at Walt Disney World for you guys. [00:02:30] Speaker A: Wow. [00:02:32] Speaker D: We have this like core memory of dancing on Main Street USA and we actually recreated that on our 10 year anniversary many years ago. So, yeah, special place for us. We love going there. We started going back to the parks when we were in our 20s and we're like, this is fun. Like you don't have to be a kid to enjoy it. And then we, you know, we did the multi generational extended family tr and then we started. We had kids and so we started taking the kids and we've been taking our kids since they were six months old. They're now eight and five. So. [00:03:01] Speaker A: Perfect. [00:03:02] Speaker D: Yeah, they're the perfect ages and we go to the park. So every year we became annual pass holders. Then that rolled into becoming DVC members and then we started kind of exploring cruising a little bit along our journey in there. [00:03:18] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:03:18] Speaker C: So we started cruising back in our 20s. It was actually my preferred vacation. I had done a Cruise back in 1999 on board the Magic. That was my first time ever cruising. Yeah. With my. With my parents and my son. [00:03:33] Speaker A: She was, she was not even a year old, probably when you started sailing. [00:03:37] Speaker C: No, no, it only been. I think we got it right around the first anniversary, I think. [00:03:42] Speaker A: Yeah. Oh, nice. [00:03:43] Speaker C: Yeah, it was, it was pretty cool. I spent the entire time in the teen club at the time. But in our 20s, we, we didn't do Disney. We did basically every other cruise line. So we did some Carnival, we did Royal Caribbean, we did Princess. My parents had sort of recommended cruising to us and they were big Princess fans. That was fun. Very good food. [00:04:06] Speaker D: It was our first cruise was on a Princess and then we were like, let's try something else. [00:04:09] Speaker C: Yeah. But I think we were 25 and the average age, they talked about how it was lower than usual and it was like 45, I think. So then we had our kids and we did one cruise with our son when he was about three, Norwegian, I. [00:04:23] Speaker D: Think I was pregnant. So we decided, hey, let's not go to Walt Disney World, let's go on a cruise instead. And it was our first time taking a child on a cruise. [00:04:31] Speaker C: Yeah. And that didn't go great. There wasn't really anything for him to do. We found out real quick there weren't really any excursions that we could do with him and Norwegian. Just. It just wasn't built for kids. So we kind of said, all right, we're going to stop cruising. Cruising is not our thing now. That we have kids. We're going to just focus on Disney. And then two years ago, three years ago, I listened to the My DVC Points podcast and I think Brian was on when the wish was announced and got me interested, actually got me listening to you guys. And at the same time, I was looking at Christmas. I was kind of getting. When you have kids, you get lots and lots of stuff. And I said, well, how about we just do an adventure instead of getting more stuff? So it was right after Covid. Prices were really low for Disney cruises at the time. So we decided, hey, we'll do a maritime cruise for Christmas. We surprised the kids. That was five days on the dream. That was great. [00:05:29] Speaker D: And, like, we full on surprise. We didn't tell them we were going on the cruise at all. So, like, we just told them, like, the night before we were leaving to get on the plane. We said, hey, I've been packing your bags. We're going on a vacation. And we had, like, lined it up with their school teachers, like, the whole thing, it was super secret. And then they were like, what? We're going? And we're like, but we're not gonna tell you where. Oh, my God. And so we flew to Miami and they were like, this is it. We're here at Miami or this hotel room, you know, whatever. And then we get to the hotel room and we're like, this isn't it. Like, this isn't it. Tomorrow we're gonna go and we're gonna get. We're gonna go to where we're really going. And they're like, what? What is it? What is it? And then we were in the lobby waiting to get on the bus, and I thought, everyone's wearing Disney ears, Disney gear, the whole nine. I thought for sure, for sure someone is going to, like, say something. Nothing, right? So, like, we were planning to, like, roll up and, like, there would be the boat. But they did play a video on the bus that was like, you're going on a Disney cruise. [00:06:24] Speaker A: And we have. [00:06:26] Speaker D: The jig was up. But we had these great, like, photos and videos of them just, like, their mouth, like, flipping out, like, just losing it. And they were just so excited. And it was just this really great, like, moment. [00:06:39] Speaker A: Oh, I love that. I will tell you. So we don't surprise Nathan because we really like to prep him for things that will work better for him. I really love these, like, surprise stories, though, because I. I feel like I would. I mean, I was surprised by Brian. I knew we were going on a cruise, but he surprised Me with taking me and putting me in concierge one time and my mouth was agape and he took video of it and all of that too. So I love this like surprise vacation concept. I think it's awesome if you can, obviously if you can make it work. [00:07:12] Speaker B: Logistically, it's, it's so hard to pull off, especially with like Mickey mail comes in and the luggage tags and you know. [00:07:18] Speaker A: Yeah, it's hard to keep it from another adult. It's a lot easier to keep it from kids. But that, but in your scenario, that's pretty amazing that. [00:07:26] Speaker D: Lots of subterfuge. [00:07:27] Speaker A: Yeah. Until the, until the bus ride. I love that. That's just, that's awesome. I will say I totally get what you mean for, about Norwegian not being the right fit at that time. I want to say, I want to be very clear and say there are other cruise lines out there that are decent for kids, but you know, not every cruise line is good for young kids. I would say the other cruise lines outside of Disney and maybe Royal, like are good for maybe older kids, but not younger kids because they really don't have a lot of activities geared and it really even depends on the ship. My sister went on a Royal Caribbean cruise with two toddlers, like a two year old and a four year old. And it was an older ship and there was really very little for them to do outside of the kids club. And one of the kids got an ear infection and was then not allowed to go to the kids club. So it, you know, it doesn't, it doesn't always. Yeah, not, not every cruise line is, is great for younger kids. So I totally understand that pivot in saying, oh, I don't think cruising is for us right now. And then of course realizing Disney cruises. Yeah. So how many, how many cruises have you, how many Disney cruises have you guys been on now? Let's say not including the one we're going to talk about today. [00:08:43] Speaker C: Yeah. So I did that one in 98. We did the one for Christmas two years ago. On the dream or on the dream. Two years, three years. I'm bad. The next year we did another Christmas cruise in part because like it was the fall and the kids are like, well, Christmas is coming. That's when we go on our Disney cruise. [00:09:01] Speaker A: Right. [00:09:02] Speaker C: And then our third one will be this one we're gonn about on the Wish. [00:09:06] Speaker A: Okay, so you're fourth, Dave, but the rest of the family's third. [00:09:10] Speaker C: Yes. [00:09:10] Speaker A: Yeah, Dave, you're getting, you're creeping up there. Getting close to Gold Now I am. [00:09:16] Speaker D: After our next sailing, we're going on the Magic as our next one. And after that, he'll be gold. [00:09:21] Speaker A: Spoiler alert, everyone. They've already got one booked. All right, well, let's talk about this sailing. You guys decided to go on, the Wish in July and tell us what was the decision making behind that sailing and that particular ship. Did it just fit in your schedules or was there some other reason why you wanted to book that cruise in particular? [00:09:46] Speaker C: Yeah, so usually we do. So we typically do two Disney trips a year right now. So February break, which is madness. I wouldn't recommend to anybody unless you know what you're getting into. And July, and our kids talk to the grandparents about what a great time it is. Janelle's parents, they're a little bit older, a little less mobile, and, you know, they were like, oh, they tell us how great Disney is. They say all these things, but we're not sure that we could handle walking around Disney. Excuse me. [00:10:17] Speaker D: Yeah, all of the, like, standing in line, especially, like, standing in line for the rides. All that concrete, it's a lot. And they're just not sure that they could do it. But we had started going on the Disney cruises, so my parents were like, well, I think maybe a Disney cruise would be okay because it seems like a lot less walking, a lot less standing around on a lot less concrete. And so they're like, maybe, you know, we'd love to experience some of the Disney magic with the kids while they're still like this really young age. So we think maybe we're thinking we want to try that and want to go on vacation for you. Well, my parents have never been on a cruise at all. Oh, wow. Yeah. So there was a lot of nervousness about how are they going to handle it. It's a different kind of vacation than they're used to. They haven't really ever been on, like, boats or any of any kind, really. And so, like, will they get motion sick? Is that going to ruin the experience for them? They weren't sure if they were going to like it. And so we were looking for a cruise that was maybe not super long. [00:11:16] Speaker A: Right. [00:11:16] Speaker D: So, like, normally when we do cruises, we are doing a six day, a five day, a seven day, but we were worried about that long of a commitment when it's a new experience for them. And so we wanted a shorter sailing, not because we wanted that we would love a longer sailing, but more for them. And so the Wish was doing these shorter sailings. And then it is a newer Boat. And so, like, well, normally we wouldn't do a short sailing, but in this instance, maybe this is the perfect time to try out this new boat and do the. And the shorter sailing actually works out to our advantage. [00:11:47] Speaker C: Yeah. I'll also add, we. We combined it with a Disney trip, so having something, leaving out a Port Canaveral was a big piece of it, too. [00:11:54] Speaker A: Yeah, that's a super smart way to go. So you all are on the East Coast. So your. Your home park is Walt Disney World. Anyway, I take it you. Your DVC ownership is probably in Walt Disney World? Not over here, not over in California, No. So are you all traveling then from the east coast for the cruise? [00:12:14] Speaker D: Yes, including my grandparents. [00:12:15] Speaker A: Yep. My parents. [00:12:16] Speaker D: Both our parents actually, they live near us, so, yeah, we were all traveling together, though we did do the stay at Walt Disney World before the cruise. So we actually left like, four or five days prior, and then we met them there and we actually, like, had. We were able to host them using our DVC points. And so, like, we were able to kind of, like, show them, like, Disney World a little bit. We took them to Downtown Disney, which I remember going to as a kid. [00:12:40] Speaker A: And it was completely Disney Springs. Oh, yeah, Disney. Right. You're right. Disney Springs. It used to be Downtown Disney. [00:12:46] Speaker D: Right. Well, it was Downtown Disney to them. [00:12:48] Speaker A: Yeah. And so still Downtown Disney in California. It's just no longer Downtown Disney in Florida. [00:12:53] Speaker D: Yeah, but we took them there and they were remarking how different things were. They hadn't been to Disney world since the 90s, so everything was very different. But then when we were able to travel with them and do the transfers and also the return flights home, which helps kind of ease that travel anxiety for them. [00:13:11] Speaker A: Right, that makes sense. So you fly down, you do your time at Walt Disney World, get the kids all riled up and sugared up with all of the park stuff. The parents come down to join you. What resort were you all staying at? [00:13:26] Speaker C: We were at the Riviera, so our favorite home. [00:13:28] Speaker A: That's one of our homes. That's our home in Florida as well. We love. We absolutely love Riviera. I bet your parents really liked Riviera, too. [00:13:37] Speaker C: They were wild. They were wowed. [00:13:39] Speaker D: Yeah, they really liked it. They were very impressed. When I used to go to Disney World as a kid, we did not stay at anywhere nearly as nice as that. And so it was nice to be able to be like, look at what we're able to do now and the memories we're able to provide our family. [00:13:55] Speaker A: I love that. All right, well, what did you plan for transportation? You said obviously it was going to be. So it's going to be the six of you then going down to Port Canaveral from the Riviera. What did you plan as far as transportation? [00:14:07] Speaker C: So we just did the connection. I don't remember the official. [00:14:10] Speaker D: The transfers. The Disney Cruise line. The Disney transfers. [00:14:13] Speaker A: Yeah. Super easy. Makes sense. No logistical hassle. Everything's done for you. [00:14:19] Speaker D: And like, I'll be honest, what's nice is we have a five year old who has a small bladder. So, like, there has been times when we've used the Disney transfers or we've had to use the bathroom on the bus. And like, being able to have that is very nice. [00:14:32] Speaker A: Yes. Versus asking your Uber driver to stop at a bathroom or something like that. That I totally, totally makes sense. [00:14:40] Speaker C: Plus, we had a very early arrival group time. I don't remember how it works out with using the transfers. And we found that in the past that using those transfers gets us those early arrivals. [00:14:50] Speaker D: Yeah, if you use the Disney transfers, you're one of the first groups onto the ship, which is really nice. And we like to get on the ship and have lunch right away. And so, you know, the fact that they prioritize people who use the transfers, it makes it an easy choice for us too. [00:15:03] Speaker A: Nice. Now, were you guys trying to book anything in the onboard, you know, booking window in advance of your cruise? Like, I don't know, Olaf's picnic or brunch or any of the other, you know, drink tastings, anything like that? Were you able to, you know, were you wanting to book those things? And were you able to book those things? You all were Silver castaway club status. Your folks were no castaway club status. So I'm curious as to one, whether or not you assign different people to different rooms in order to avoid that, because that is one way to get around that pro tip. Or two, if you just weren't going to book anything or they didn't want to book anything that was sort of that difficult to book anyway. [00:15:45] Speaker D: Yeah. So I am the one who books all the things. So that fell onto me. And we had two priorities that we wanted to book, which was Palo brunch. We have done that on all of our Disney K cruises, so we wanted to continue doing that. And then also Bibbidi Babbidi Boutique for my daughter. She really loves that experience. We had talked about excursions, we looked at excursions. But on our, on this sailing we did, we didn't really find anything that we Loved. We usually do like a beach, like going to the beach. And since our sailing stopped at Nassau and Castaway, we were already going to the beach on Castaway. And then a lot of the stuff on NASA, it was hard with the ages of our kids or like the price was really high and then it just wasn't something like our kids don't like snorkeling. And so, like a lot of snorkeling excursions are just. There's a lot of them and so that's hard. We did consider doing the swap or like the room thing with so that my parents would be able to then book excursions, but they actually said they weren't interested in booking excursions because they looked at what was available and nothing really was standing out to them. And also they just kind of wanted to experience the stuff on the boat because they saw like all the activities on the boat that you could do and they were mostly there to do stuff with the kids. So if the kids weren't doing the excursion, they didn't want to go and do something else or, you know, what not. So we didn't. We didn't run into any issues with being able to get what we wanted. And then we didn't do the room swap, so. [00:17:13] Speaker C: Well, there were two pieces there too. They weren't interested in doing Paulo with us, so they just wanted to watch the kids during that time. But there was one thing that we struggled with this time and that was the royal gathering. [00:17:23] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. [00:17:24] Speaker C: Which we. We usually book, but this time we missed it initially, but Janelle was able to snag it as soon as we got onto the ship. WiFi. [00:17:32] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:17:33] Speaker A: Nice. Nice. Yeah. That is one thing. Now that it's, you know, the booking opens for that at the 30 day mark, I believe, instead of at the. With not at the regular onboard booking window. And it does go really, really fast because there are people who literally will skip the port arrival stuff and go to book the royal gathering first. For those listening, I've talked about the royal gathering before, but if you haven't heard a previous episode, it is basically a free but ticketed princess meet and greet event where there's usually three or four princesses that you can, you know, take your picture with. They'll sign autographs, that sort of a thing. But it's a reservations only. You can still see the princesses on the ship at other times. But it's not all at once. Right. This is usually one, if not the only. I mean, there's usually a couple times they do the royal gathering on a sailing. But it's the only time where you'll get to see three princesses and meet all three, one right after another. So it's one of those things that is kind of a coveted event. It's not something that is super difficult necessarily to get if you're on top of it, but it is difficult to get if you are a little slower with the keyboard of the online check in. And you're probably doing the online check in for six people, right? So if you're doing online check in for six people, uploading everybody's like pictures and their passport photo and all of that kind of stuff, it actually can take you a long time before you finish the check in process and then get to booking the royal gathering. Or if you don't stay up to midnight to do it and you do it the next day, that can also. [00:19:05] Speaker D: You know, that was my problem was that when you use Disney transfers, you don't need to stay up till midnight to do the check in. And so I was like, oh, I don't need to do this. I'll just do it the next morning. No big deal. But I forgot that the royal gathering was at the same time. And so then the next morning I went and did the thing and then I went, oh, oh no, yeah, yeah. But it all works out. [00:19:28] Speaker A: But you know, you bring up an excellent point, which is they do tend to hold back spots for a lot of things, including brunch, including rail gathering on board. Not so much excursions, but even excursions, somebody may have dropped it and you might be able to pick it up. But like there are a lot of things you can get on board. If you go right away to make those requests to guest services or whatever designated spot. If they something specific like dining changes, you go to the dining folks. So it's a really good point that if you want something that you weren't able to get, there's often opportunities to get it. You just have to act on it right away on that first day once you're on the ship. Right. [00:20:07] Speaker D: Well, we did it in the. [00:20:09] Speaker A: Oh, and in the app you were. [00:20:10] Speaker D: In the, in the terminal. So once we were in the terminal and we were waiting for the boarding group to be called, I just connected to the wifi and was able to see the schedule and able to add it right then and there. [00:20:18] Speaker A: Oh, that's awesome. That's fantastic. Awesome. Okay, well, let's talk about you guys get to the port through Disney transportation. You are, you know, how's the check in Process, like, pretty easy standard or was it difficult? And were there any difficulties with grandma and grandpa? [00:20:34] Speaker C: Yeah, so we were actually the first bus to arrive. So. [00:20:37] Speaker A: Nice. [00:20:38] Speaker C: It was very smooth. My only downside is that we watched the Family 2 ahead of us get picked to be the family of the day. [00:20:46] Speaker A: And it was just like, oh, you know, we. When we were in San Diego one time, we were sitting in the waiting area, and we saw a family sitting directly across from us getting picked as family of the day. So it, like, it's just. I mean, I'm happy for them, but I want to be family of the day, too, you know? [00:21:06] Speaker C: Yes, Completely agree there. But no, it was very smooth. Checking in, I think. So all the lines were empty. I think the grandparents actually got through faster than us because there were only two of them. And my wife sets off metal detectors. [00:21:21] Speaker D: Me too. [00:21:22] Speaker A: Janelle. [00:21:23] Speaker D: Yeah, all the time. [00:21:24] Speaker A: I was randomly selected at the airport literally every single time. Like, Nathan always jokes if I don't get randomly selected, he's shocked. But we always joke, oh, mom's gonna get randomly selected. Yeah. [00:21:38] Speaker D: Yeah. I was also really nervous because I had a bag full of 50 rubber ducks in my carry on. And so I was like, are they gonna, like, take my ducks? Like, what's gonna happen? Yeah, so I was, like, also really nervous about that. But they got through. More on that later. [00:21:54] Speaker A: I love it. All right, so how does boarding go, then? You are. Obviously, you've been on a Disney ship before, but the grandma and grandpa haven't. How, you know, you get onto the ship. Did you tell them about your family name being announced, that sort of a thing? I mean, it's a little different on the wish. Cause there's usually not the clapping. So it isn't quite. It's a beautiful atrium, but it's not quite as the pomp and circumstance on the other ships, I feel like. But, yeah. How did that go? [00:22:22] Speaker C: That went well, I will say. The wishing ceremony that they do, it was interesting. But I'll be honest, I like the clapping a little bit more. It also seemed to slow down the flow of traffic a little bit. So it was a different experience. It was still very, very nice. Better than, you know, nothing like that on any of the other cruise lines that we've ever done. But I think I liked, you know, when we got on the Dream and Fantasy better, and they kind of announced our names and clapped. [00:22:50] Speaker B: And the wish ceremony is pretty understated, for sure. And, yeah, they hand out the wands and you're not sure what to do. With them and the show's not running all the time, so I can totally get that. I actually wanted to back up for one second and ask, what were your kids most excited about doing on this ship? Because this was their first time on. Was this their first time on the Wish? [00:23:10] Speaker D: Yes. [00:23:11] Speaker C: Yeah, this was our first time on the Wish. I don't know. So we'd done all the, like, we. We did video tours with them. I think maybe the Aquamouse, I think. [00:23:21] Speaker D: That it was different for each kid. So I think that my daughter was very excited to go to Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique with Grandma. [00:23:28] Speaker A: So, like, Grandma. [00:23:29] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:23:29] Speaker A: So, like, did Grandma. [00:23:30] Speaker B: Did Grandma get the makeover too? I really want to hear that story. [00:23:35] Speaker D: She was so excited. She had already picked out what princess she was going to be and she kept talking about it and she was so excited that Grandma was going to get to see her get this princess makeover. So she, I think, was most excited for that. And our son, I think he's a big midship detective fan and so he was really interested in seeing their version of that on the Wish. Yes, the Aquamouse, by all means, they were excited for the kids club, et cetera, but I think those were probably the two things that they were most excited for. [00:24:03] Speaker C: Yeah. I will say I completely forgot the other thing. With us boarding is. On our first cruise, my daughter got the Captain mini makeover and so she wore her Captain Mini uniform getting on the ship. So everybody was saluting her. [00:24:16] Speaker D: Everyone was saluting her. So. [00:24:17] Speaker A: Oh, my God, that is the best thing ever. That is. I mean, I would like a Captain mini uniform and have people salute me. Yeah, same. [00:24:27] Speaker C: I'm shocked they don't sell the hat with the ears. Like that alone is just great. [00:24:31] Speaker A: Right. I really want Nathan to do the Captain Mickey makeover. He still has never done it, but I just love that costume and. So cute. [00:24:42] Speaker D: Right? [00:24:42] Speaker A: I feel like then I could get him to dress up as captain and I could like bound as Captain Minnie. And how cute would that be, right? [00:24:51] Speaker D: So cute. Yeah, it's, it's. I think it was an extra special experience with her being in this Captain Minnie outfit. And Grandma and Grandpa got to see like everyone was saluting her and everyone was like, oh, hello, Captain. To her. The entire, like the entire first day we were on the boat, like, it went. It wasn't just through the boarding process. It happened throughout dinner. It happened throughout the whole. [00:25:11] Speaker A: I bet on their guests. I bet other guests were doing it too. [00:25:14] Speaker D: Yes. A few of them were the ones who were, like, obviously had been on a cruise before. Right, right. Were saluting her. So that was really funny. [00:25:21] Speaker A: Oh, I love that, you guys. That's amazing. What did the grandparents think of the. Sort of the wishing ceremony and getting on the ship? What did they think of the ship? They had never been on a cruise before. [00:25:32] Speaker D: Yeah. So the wishing ceremony, I'll say. If you didn't know that it was happening, you wouldn't miss it. So, like, I knew, I knew. So we were trying to find someone with wands because they were, like, off to the side. My parents kept asking, like, what's happening? What's going on? Like, what are we doing? And then we were just waiting and waiting and waiting for it to start. They were very, like, in awe of the atrium. I mean, there's a princess up on a balcony waving, and, you know, the chandelier's beautiful. And of course, they've never seen a cruise ship before. So it was awe. It was awe inspiring for them just to, like, be in there in that atrium and to see all the shiny and sparkly and gold and. And the statues and everything. Like, I watched them, like, trying to take it in, and there was definitely, like, a lot of, like, big eyes, like a kid kind of wonderment feeling. [00:26:17] Speaker C: Yeah. I mean, if it's your first cruise ship, they're huge. Like, nothing prepares you for how big they are when you're rolling up. And I know it's not the icon or those, but, I mean, they are just absolutely massive. And if you've never seen one in person, they're overwhelming from the outside. And then you get inside and it's like a luxury hotel when you walk into that room, and that's. That certainly gets your attention. [00:26:41] Speaker A: Totally. And when you see one from afar, like, even if it's in a dock and you're at a block away, right. Like, you still don't necessarily have get, like, the concept of how big that thing is. And even comparing, like, the magic and the wonder, right? Like, it's still. It's. I mean, they're massive. They're like. You said it's a floating hotel and resort, right. Like, all at once. And it's just. It's like you're. Before you've ever been on a cruise ship, your mind just can't, like, fathom that. And you're right. It's not the icon or Oasis class anything. You know, those are much bigger, but they're still very, very large. All right, well, let's talk about the kinds of things you got up To. I want to start with ducks. Okay. I want to start with ducks. Because I've. I hear from reputable sources that, Janelle, you are kind of a duck fanatic. [00:27:29] Speaker B: She already mentioned she had 50 of them in her luggage, so I know. [00:27:32] Speaker A: In her carry on. So I want to understand. Okay, so on your other cruises, not just on Disney, but on the previous cruises, were you hiding ducks and finding ducks? And, I mean, I know what the duck thing is, but for those who don't know about the duck thing, why don't you tell folks what the duck thing is? [00:27:52] Speaker D: Yeah. So there's something called cruising ducks. And people bring little rubber ducks, usually rubber ducks, but sometimes they can be little miniature plastic diamond ducks or I knitted a few ducks that I brought on some handmade ones. Magnets, all different kinds of things. Keychains. And people hide them on the cruise ship, not in, like, really hard to reach places. I tend to hide mine in, like, low places, so little kids can, like, find them or see them or reach them. And there's usually a tag on the dock that says keep or hide. So you could keep the duck and collect them, which is what my daughter loves to do, or you can re. Hide the duck for someone else. And a lot of times the tag says, like, where you're from. So, like, you could get a duck that's been traveling for months and has been on different cruises or from different, you know, from a different part of the world, which is really, really cool. They do this on all cruise lines. I will say that we didn't start doing it until we sailed on Disney. And I had, like, read about it being a thing that we had done. It was our first cruise, like, as a family of four. So it made sense that that's when we kind of started doing it. I got really good at finding the ducks. I think our first cruise, I found, like, something like 50 ducks. [00:28:58] Speaker C: First cruise, you found 10. [00:28:59] Speaker D: Oh, no. [00:29:00] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:29:00] Speaker D: Yes. 20 or 20 or so. And then the second cruise, I ended up finding about 50 or 60 ducks. [00:29:05] Speaker A: Oh, my God. I have never found that many ducks. The most I have found, I think, is maybe like, four, maybe five. Like, between me and Nathan combined, probably. Yeah. And for those listening, like, we're talking, like, when she says low places, like, you might put it on, like, a railing of a stairwell, or you might put it, like, on a shelf somewhere. You might put it on the floor, in a corner somewhere. Or you might put it even in the elevator on the railing. Right. Like, you put them in places where they will Be found, but may or may not be really obvious. It kind of depends on, you know, how cheeky you like to be. [00:29:42] Speaker B: Did you see any crew members picking them up or. We've heard about from several different people. Like, the crew members might come along and just kind of pick them up and throw them away kind of thing. And I'm just curious if you saw any of that happening to the ducks that you were putting out. [00:29:55] Speaker D: So I will say that with this cruise, I had heard a lot of that as well. And going into this cruise, I was very apprehensive about actually trying to hide the ducks because I was worried that that was going to happen. I ended up only hiding a handful of the ducks that I brought, and I don't know if anyone threw them away. I did hide one, like, near the kids club, thinking, oh, a kid is gonna probably find this, like, right away. So I did not see anyone doing that. I also had heard of somebody having their ducks confiscated from their suitcase. I'd only heard, like, one instance of that, which is why I was nervous going through the things. [00:30:31] Speaker A: Going through security. We had heard about that, so that's really interesting. [00:30:34] Speaker D: Yeah, I had heard someone talking about that, but I was participating in a fish extender, and so I had all my fish extender gifts so that if they were going to be like, oh, we're going to take these, I'd be like, no, they're part of my fish extender. Like, please don't take my ducks. But I ended up doing a lot of pixie dusting with the ducks and going around to different rooms and dropping them in fish extenders or hanging them on the doors. And there were some people who said, oh, where, you know, my kid is collecting ducks. You know, if you come. Come to our room and drop one off. And so I did end up doing that for most of. Most of the ducks I did not see. I didn't find a single duck. [00:31:11] Speaker A: Wow. [00:31:11] Speaker D: And I am really good. [00:31:14] Speaker A: Yeah. No, I mean, I believe it. If you found 50 ducks on one sailing, that's like, you have to find a single one. You have to be paying attention to do, like, to find. I mean, like I said, some will be really obvious. Like, you touch a railing, and then all of a sudden and there's a duck there. Right. But, like, most of the time, they're in, like, a corner or on the floor and the. You know, and like. And so not necessarily a place that I'm, like, looking. Yeah. Wow, that's crazy. Well, I'm glad you were still able to, like, pixie dust them at least giving, you know, for those who don't know, pixie dusting is random gifts of kindness. Basically, that's what we call. I mean, pixie dust can also be when Disney Cruise Line or Disney. The Disney Company makes something more magical for you, right? Like gives you a gift or upgrades your room or whatever. Right. Like, there are things, other kinds of pixie dust, but when we're talking about pixie dust or when Janelle's talking about pixie dust, she's meaning basically randomly gifting people. And a lot of that is sort of discovered through the Facebook groups for the sailing. So you might have people who say, oh, my kid would love to get a dock. And then you find out what their room number is from some other post, and then you just drop it in their fish extender or leave it outside their room or something like that. [00:32:26] Speaker D: I'm also a member of. Or I follow up. There's a Facebook page that's dedicated to Disney cruising ducks. [00:32:31] Speaker A: Yes, I'm in that, too. [00:32:32] Speaker D: Yeah. And so, like, a lot of times when you put the tag on the duck, right, it says, like, show that you found the duck by posting in this Facebook group. And I will say that I was keeping an eye on that group leading up to our sailing, and no one was posting that they were finding anything on the Wish. Things were being posted, the dream, the fantasy, and the magic, but nothing was being posted from the Wish. And so I was like, okay. So I had to prep my daughter for, like, okay, this is the situation. We might not be able to find any, but it's all about sharing the magic with other people. [00:33:01] Speaker A: Yes. I love that. I will tell you, I wonder if that is about enforcement or I wonder if it's just the fact that the Wish tends to have more new cruisers on it. So the shorter sailings tend to skew more new sailors. And. And people who haven't been on cruises before often don't know anything about the ducks. Right. They've not. They may. They might not even know there is a Facebook group for their sailing. Right. So when they get on board, they, like, literally know nothing. And they have no idea that people would be hiding ducks. So they also wouldn't then bring ducks to hide themselves. So it might be a combination of these things. I don't want to say for sure that, you know, Disney is throwing them away when they find them. I don't. We don't know that. But it also could be the fear that they're doing that is keeping people from hiding, which is what it did for for with you, Janelle. [00:33:52] Speaker E: Are you listening to our show because you want to make the most out of your next vacation? Great news. The fabulous team over at MyPath Unwinding Travel can help guide you so you don't miss a thing. Their team of professional travel advisors are caring, knowledgeable and experienced. It's why we use them to book our own travel. Mypath Unwinding Travel is an authorized Disney Vacation Planner, which means they are recognized by Disney for their expertise and service. They have sailed on all the Disney ships, including Encier, visited the theme parks, Adventured with Disney, Relaxed at Aulani, and so much more. Whether it's a Disney cruise, a theme park, vacation or adventures by Disney, or if you are looking to expand beyond the mouse, My Path Unwinding Travel will elevate your next vacation planning experience. Even if you have already booked, reach out for a complimentary consultation to make your vacation even more magical. Ready to talk to the experts? Head over to mypathunwinding.com DCLDUO or email DCLDUOMYPATHunwinding.com so they know we sent you their way. Thanks My Path un winding for sponsoring today's show. Now back to the episode. [00:34:51] Speaker A: So changing topics here. You had mentioned to us in when you're when you reached out to us to to come on the show and you mentioned earlier on the show your son and how he loves the Midship Detective Agency. Yes, I also love the Midship Detective Agency. Tell me, on your last cruise on the Dream or the Fantasy, how many times did he do it? [00:35:10] Speaker C: Yeah. So it was a seven day cruise on the fantasy and we solved 15 cases. Five each. Five of puppies, P Canteens and Muppets. [00:35:18] Speaker A: Oh my God, I love it. [00:35:20] Speaker C: And for anybody who's on the Dream or the Fantasy, like the trick, there is one. You don't have to go to the starting spot, they tell you and the check in points alternate every other deck back to front. So don't go every deck going back to front. Just go in a straight line down and then go all the way to the other side and go up. You can do a case in our if you get good at it and if your kid just likes running from painting to painting, which ours does now. [00:35:51] Speaker A: Confirm for me my belief that you get different storylines even with the same story. Right. You can have a different like a different villain can be the culprit in the Muppet storyline. If you do the Muppet storyline three different times. [00:36:05] Speaker C: Yeah. So there are certain characters who will Never, never be the ones that commit the crime. For both, for all three of the cases. So for each of them, I think there's like a pool of like three or four people who might do it. So you can get some different games, you can get some different clues. You will get a lot of overlap. And I will say the Muppets is by far the most interesting. Take a picture of Pepe's door. Take a picture of the board by the theater. Yeah, the theater board. [00:36:33] Speaker A: Otherwise you have to run back and forth too many times because they make you go to that board and to Pepe's door multiple times in the story to solve the clue. I've done the same thing and I do the same thing that you and your son do, Dave, with, which is I stay on forward or aft and go up and down. I might like go over to Midship, if there's one in my midship, and then come back, but. And then I do the other side of the ship. Yeah, because it's. It's just a more efficient way of doing the story if you want to do the whole story. But do it in a reasonable time frame. If you do it the way that they send you, which is zigzagging all over the ship, it will take you probably more than two hours to do one storyline. Yeah. Okay. Well. Well, Kiddo loves Midship Detective Agency. He knows Midship Detective Agency is not on the Wish the Uncharted adventure is, which is similar, sorta, but not similar. Also, yeah, you have to use a device for this game where you don't have to use a device for the Midship Detective Agency and you're not solving a crime, but you are like collecting pieces of a wishing star. And there is a cool storyline and there is a finale that happens in person in the Luna Theater space, which is I think, a fact. I actually think the finale is the best thing of the whole storyline. But tell us, like, did this satisfy his Midship detective urge and how long did it take you to do the storyline and what did he think? [00:37:53] Speaker C: So it basically took us the whole. It was a four day cruise. It took us like three days to do it. So it took a lot more time. He enjoyed it. But there are a couple of things about it that I think really heard it compared to Midship one, the technology is not very reliable. You know, the. [00:38:14] Speaker A: It's glitchy. [00:38:15] Speaker C: It's very glitchy. You know, I. I'm a technology person, you know, in my, in my work. I work in software and like the tilt controls on my phone don't work very well for things on my phone. So the decision to use them as the main control for a lot of the games there, like. Like, there. There were some games where he, like, he just. He couldn't control it because it was tilting so much activity was. Was a big issue. There were times when, you know, you'd immediately start the game, you'd crash out, and then you'd have to wait for, like, five minutes for the game itself to fail, and then you could jump back in. [00:38:53] Speaker A: You're. You. I. I had all these same issues. In fact, there was one time when we were on where it wouldn't let me connect at all during the finale, which was so disappointing. Cause the finale, as I said, is the best part. And you really want your phone to be able to connect during the finale because there's stuff to interact with that, actually, I think generally does work better than some of the. Because some of the. I think you're right. The tilt technology is not great. I think it would be very much better if they had even a wired controller right at those screens that you could just use. [00:39:23] Speaker B: Oh, that would be. No, no, Sam. That would be awful if they had, like, wired controllers dangling. Like. [00:39:30] Speaker A: I understand. Aesthetically, it wouldn't work. I'm saying technologically. Aesthetically, it would be a nightmare. [00:39:36] Speaker B: There's an imagineer somewhere who's rolling their eyes right now at you. [00:39:40] Speaker C: So I would say they should, when you get to the painting, let you connect with Bluetooth. Like, I think that would be a huge difference. [00:39:47] Speaker A: Good idea. I didn't think about that. [00:39:48] Speaker C: Yeah. Because the WiFi network, it's crowded by whoever else is there. There's a lot of things with lag and all other kinds of reasons why it's very odd choice to just rely on the wifi and then the paintings where you have to, like, take a picture of the painting that almost never worked. Like. And. Yeah, and you can, like, say, this isn't working and it'll just send you to another painting. Then that one won't work. So, like, that was very disappointing. It felt like there was something about that mechanism that just didn't want to work right in it. The other criticism I have of the game is doing Midship Detective. There's, like, two spots that just aren't fun to do because they are in high traffic areas. They're, like, right in Midship, and it's where, like, the line for the characters are, and you always feel like you're in the way. There's two spots like that for midship, most of the places that you went to with Uncharted Adventure, it felt like you were in the way. It felt like you're in a high traffic area. So instead of putting you in the elevator lobby, a lot of times, instead you were in the atrium or you were outside the movie theater or outside of the DVC booth. And so that just felt like poor. Some poor decision making there. [00:40:59] Speaker B: That. [00:40:59] Speaker C: That's where they put the hotspots was there versus doing the elevator lobbies again, which, except during, like dinner are pretty low traffic areas, especially on what I call the residential floors. You know, there's. There's nobody there except people who are doing the game most of the time. And so that just seemed like an odd choice that they did. [00:41:17] Speaker A: That's the point. I didn't have that. I didn't have as bad of an experience with that as you did, it sounds like, but I did right outside of 1923. I found that to be kind of a problem. That one screen over there, because it was like, you know, it was. That was a highly trafficked area. And so I felt like I was in the way. And maybe the painting, the Tiana's painting, that one was also kind of like in a high traffic spot, but I didn't feel like that was too bad. So tell me, did you ultimately finish the game sufficiently to be able to do the finale and really enjoy it? [00:41:51] Speaker C: Yeah. So we. I am a critical person, so I'll. I'll highlight all the negatives. We still had fun. You know, my. My son Ollie still enjoyed the entire experience. There were times he got frustrated because of the glitching, but I got very knowledgeable of, oh, hey, it glitched. Here's the, like, five button presses I need to do to start over. So we, we were fine by the end, I guess. [00:42:13] Speaker A: You did. Yeah. [00:42:14] Speaker C: Yeah. I, I can see where some people would get. Get discouraged and give up because, like, there's points where to get it going. You have to like, like, quit the app and then reboot the app and say, you know, exit my party. And so until you figure that out, it, you know, it could be easy to feel like you're stuck, but we were able to keep going. We got through it, went to the finale. He very much enjoyed the finale. I will say the finale. At the end, they put up like, the leaderboards and it didn't feel like. It felt like it was very hard for a kid to crack some of those leaderboards. [00:42:46] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:42:46] Speaker C: But overall I thought it was. It was good I think Midship is better, but it was still fun and I'm still glad they haven't. [00:42:53] Speaker A: Yeah, it's funny because, you know, you think that like doing something more high tech, right, will be more satisfying, but it isn't. I actually think the lower tech version, the Midship Detective Agency, is so well done and so easy to use for kids and adults that I feel like, like it's just maybe more satisfying, you know, in the end. But. But I do wish Midship had a better. Like, I wish Midship had the great finale that the, that the Uncharted Adventure has. [00:43:28] Speaker B: And I'm not sure it's about the tech. Let me just say that, like, I think, I think the problem that you have is that the tech is inconsistent. If the tech were consistent, I think the Uncharted Adventure would be a fabulous game. So it's not true. It's not the tech. It's Disney's sort of ability to implement the technology in a way that's consistent to the point of why they use WiFi instead of Bluetooth. I'm sure there's a hundred options they could have gone through to figure out how to make this work better. And frankly, it's been how long now? Two years? It's still buggy. That's a problem. Especially when you've got the Treasure coming out that will probably have the same thing on board and Destiny right after it and they still haven't really figured out how to make it work. So. Yeah, I think so. I just, I guess I'd say it's not about the tech, it's about the consistency of the tech working. If the Midship Detective Agency was a high tech thing and it worked all the time, you'd probably still love it, right? [00:44:23] Speaker A: So, yeah, sure. I just mean it from the sense of like the lower tech works, right? Like the lower tech works without bugs really. And so, but that could have been. [00:44:33] Speaker B: That could have been six, one half times the other Sam. It could have not worked either. Right, Fair. [00:44:38] Speaker A: I'm just saying, like they could have used the same technology with a new storyline or several new storylines on the Wish and they could have still called it the Wishing Star. You know, they could have still rethemed it the way they wanted to re theme it, but kept that more the more simple technology without the use of the device, without the use of a phone, that that sort of makes it a little bit more that their tech has to be more high tech, for lack of a better term. Anyway. Well, let's move on and talk about Some other stuff on the Wish. What other stuff did you all get up to? And what stuff did the grandparents get up to? You know, did they want to go do the incredit course with the kids or watch the kids run the incredit course? So what kinds of other things? [00:45:19] Speaker D: Oh, the number one thing that our. This is the one I forgot. Number one thing that our kids wanted to do on the boat was to watch Inside out too. [00:45:28] Speaker A: I love it. [00:45:29] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:45:30] Speaker B: Great movie. Great movie. [00:45:31] Speaker D: We waited. We didn't see it in theaters, and so we were waiting till we were getting on the. On the cruise. And so that was, like, the most important thing to them. So they were really excited to do that. So we definitely saw a couple movies on the boat, did some trivia. We don't usually. We did a couple crafts. We don't usually do a lot of the crafts because sometimes they're paper and they don't travel home very well. [00:45:52] Speaker A: True. [00:45:52] Speaker D: Especially those 3D ones. [00:45:54] Speaker A: Yes. [00:45:55] Speaker D: Forget it. [00:45:55] Speaker A: They just get smushed and then they look terrible. Yeah. [00:45:58] Speaker C: Yeah. For the most part, you know, we just hung out. So I. On the Nassau day, we did Paulo brunch, and then we got together and, you know, we do the early dining. So that dinner is very early. 5:45, I think, so it wasn't too long. We did palo brunch, you know, hung out for a little bit, did a little bit of, I want to say, midship, and I just forgot what it's called. [00:46:21] Speaker A: Uncharted Adventures. [00:46:22] Speaker C: Uncharted Adventures. My wife and daughter loved to shop, so they went shopping, and then, you know, we went to dinner and then we went to the evening show, which was Seize the Adventure. And then we called it a night. The other thing is, we tend to be relatively early sleepers, you know, both at home and at Disney World. We get up at, like, 6am and our kids are usually in bed by, you know, nine at the latest. So oftentimes, right after the, you know, dinner, then the show, and then it's bedtime. So, yeah, that was the Nassau day. The next day was Castaway. Castaway. We just were on the beach all day. It was phenomenal. The weather was absolutely perfect, except for five minutes. [00:47:05] Speaker D: Minutes were absolutely downpoured. [00:47:08] Speaker A: Of course, it's Castaway. That has to happen. Right. [00:47:11] Speaker C: It was really cool to watch, though, because it almost looked like somebody had a hose that they were spraying on the water. Like, you watch, you're like, why is it all splashing over there? Then just torrential rain and then it's just gone. Yeah, yeah, it was strange, but the water was so clear when we first got to the beach. There were actually a million, like, tiny little fish in the water that you could see, and then you could see the big ones. And the water was, like, smooth as glass the entire day. So, yeah. Kids played in the sand. [00:47:40] Speaker D: Built a sand castle with grandpa. My dad, I don't think I've seen him so happy in so many years. He had a big old smile on his face like he was a kid out in the ocean. I think he said to me, he hasn't been to the ocean or in the water in at least 10 years. So, like, that was a really great moment for him. And then he had a lot of fun, like playing with the kids and making some memories. [00:48:01] Speaker A: Oh, I love that. Now, when did you all do Bibbidi bobbidi? Was it that night or was it on your sea day? [00:48:07] Speaker D: It was on our sea. No, it was on. It was on our NASA day. [00:48:12] Speaker C: It was our NASA day. [00:48:14] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:48:14] Speaker D: So we got up, we took the kids to breakfast, then we went to Paulo. And then after Paulo, we did a couple activities, and then we went to Bibbidi Bobbidi in the afternoon. [00:48:24] Speaker A: And how did that go? And how did Grandma enjoy watching your princess become a princess? [00:48:30] Speaker D: Grandma loved it. She didn't to expect, I will say that I bought. I had a conversation with my daughter beforehand about what princess she would want to be. We have a lot of princess dresses already. The ones that they sell in the store are very full of glitter and are very poofy and are dry clean only and are very difficult when you have a young child. And so I tend to buy a lot more simpler dresses that they can actually like, live and play in and can be washed in a washing machine. So I had had a conversation with her about what princess she wanted to be beforehand. She picked Mulan. And I had looked online and it said, you know, they should have, like, all these different princess dresses. Well, I'm very glad I bought that dress ahead of time because they did not have Mulan on that boat. And so I would have had a very disappointed child had I not done so. So I know that buying the dress there can be a whole experience. And that is fine if that's what someone wants to do. But if your child has their heart set on a very specific princess, like, for instance, my daughter loves Merida, and finding a Merida dress is not always the easiest thing to do. She's not one of the most popular princesses. The same with Mulan. And So if you know that your child wants to be a very specific princess, sometimes bringing the dress with you ahead of time, it doesn't take away from that magical makeover experience at all. They still get that full glam and glitz and everything. They just don't have the. They just not buying the dress there. [00:49:58] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah, that sounds. I mean, that makes total sense to me, and I think that's a great pro tip for those listening who maybe haven't been to Bibbidi Bobbidi. Well, let's shift and talk about shows. Dave, you mentioned you went to CC's the Adventure. Did you go see Little Mermaid? And. Oh, my God, why am I blanking? [00:50:19] Speaker C: Aladdin. [00:50:20] Speaker A: Aladdin. Thank you. Did you go see. Well, you probably have seen Aladdin on the Fantasy before, but yeah. Did you go see all three shows? And if so, what did you think about the shows on the Wish? [00:50:30] Speaker C: So we all went to Seize the Adventure and the Little Mermaid. My son and I stayed in the room for Aladdin, and everybody else went to that. We'd already seen it. I wasn't the biggest fan the first time I watched it on the TV up until the genie showed up, and it didn't seem like his jokes really landed, and I decided I was gonna finish watching something else. But I also missed out on shows on some of the other ships. So I think Janelle can probably talk a little bit more about the shows that I've done. [00:51:00] Speaker D: My daughter loves going to the stage shows. She loves it. So the two of us, it's like our thing that we do together. [00:51:05] Speaker A: Awesome. I love that. Well, tell me, did the grandparents. What did the grandparents think, like, overall of the cruise? Would they go back? And then I know Brian's gonna jump in and ask you guys about food. [00:51:17] Speaker D: So we were just at an event with my parents just this past weekend. Weekend. And they told us they're. They're already looking at going on another cruise. So they have definitely caught the bug, and they said that it opened up a lot of opportunities. Whereas before, maybe you would go on a cruise and you would have to plan out or you would go on a vacation, and you would have to plan out where you were staying. And then if you were traveling to another stop and, like, how you get there, where you stay there, what you do there, and then the ease of going on a cruise where you get. They take you to your destinations and you get to experience a lot of different things was really appealing to them. My dad also really likes. He's adventurous when it comes to Food. And so he got to try lots of different things, and he loved that. [00:51:59] Speaker C: Yeah. I'll also say they were wowed by the service level. That's something that they were not accustomed to. And I think that that really, really surprised them just how great the service was in everything on the Disney cruise. So we'll see. They're talking about Alaska. I don't know if they're going to do Disney if it's just the two of them, but it certainly opened their horizons a little bit in terms of what a vacation can be on a cruise ship. [00:52:23] Speaker B: Did they think about the shows and the restaurants? Because one criticism we've heard in sort of the multigenerational cruising space is dinner on a Disney cruise is no longer a time for the family to get together and reconnect because there's this loud show going on around the experience, which, you know, on the one hand, entertains the kids and gives the parents some time to, like, eat and enjoy their dinner. But we've certainly been on cruises with friends where it's. It's been difficult to have a conversation because the volume, I think, especially on the wish. The wish kind of amped things up a little bit. But what did. What did the grandparents think? What did you think? What did the kids think of the show experiences on board? [00:52:54] Speaker C: That was a mixed experience. [00:52:55] Speaker D: That was very mixed. So I will. I went into this having watched videos and stuff before, and my kids love frozen. Frozen 2 is, like, my son's favorite movie. And so I was like, this is gonna be great. We're gonna go to Arendelle. He loves Olaf. It's his favorite character. And, you know, my daughter loves Anna and Elsa. Like, this is gonna be so great. Like, we're gonna have this dinner show. Disney Entertainment is great. It was our worst dining experience. [00:53:23] Speaker B: Wow. [00:53:24] Speaker A: Oh, wow. How come? How come? [00:53:26] Speaker D: So many reasons. So our table was not well placed within the dining room. I will say we weren't the farthest table from the stage. We weren't, but we were pretty close. There was a pillar that was somewhat blocking our view. The. It was very loud in there. There is not a lot of sound absorption in that room. There's a lot of hard surfaces. And so it was so loud, we could be. Talk to each other across the table, let alone try to talk, like, a few people down. And then to try to hear the show or what was going on half the time, either the music was really loud at the show, or we couldn't hear what Anna and Elsa were saying. So that was really Difficult. We were also on next to the aisle where, like, it was great because, you know, Anna and Kristoff go around and say hello, but everyone was bumping into Dave's chair. [00:54:15] Speaker C: We were actually on the corner and some of the serving staff like to cut that corner, which was not very enjoyable. Our server did talk to them about it for me, but that was a downer. The other thing is the tables in Arendelle are narrower than all the other tables. And so it was actually my plate, the bread basket, and then Janelle's plate, she was across from me, couldn't fit on the table. So, like, they tried to put them down and they were like. [00:54:47] Speaker D: Every single time I put the plate on my chest. And so, like. Because, like, they couldn't fit it on. [00:54:52] Speaker A: It's tight. It's a tight. It's a very tight. Those tables. You're right. I didn't think about how narrow they are because it didn't occur to me how narrow they are, like, initially. But they. They really are. Because the chairs are ginormous, the table is narrow, and they're trying to give everybody a view of the stage. But obviously they're not doing a great job with every seat, because not every seat. [00:55:13] Speaker B: It's interesting. It's interesting because they do such a good job in the parks with making sure most of the seating in a restaurant has a really good view if there's going to be a show. And they also do a really good job on the older ships, I feel like, with giving, you know, like, animator's palette. Right. There's screens everywhere. So if you're. You don't have to have like a central view. [00:55:32] Speaker A: Right. [00:55:32] Speaker B: The only thing you have to have a central view for is if they bring out Sorcerer Mickey, which then, you know, there are some good tables and there are some bad tables, and we've seen both. [00:55:39] Speaker A: But at least Sorcerer Mickey goes around. The problem is where you have a live show at the stage. Right? [00:55:44] Speaker B: Well, that's what I was going to say. They've put these live shows in the center of the restaurant, which means there's good tables and bad tables. It makes me wonder why, you know, maybe with Coco there's a possibility. Although I doubt it. Like, I wonder if they'll go back to, like, put the stage on one side of the room so that all the tables have a view to it, if that makes sense. The theater in the round aspect of this seems to create some problems because probably they have to put structural supports up around in various places to accommodate. I don't know. It just. It interesting how well they can do it in other settings. And on the Wish, it really, really struggled. What about the show and Marvel? [00:56:19] Speaker C: Yeah, so we really. We really liked the Marvel show. It was a big hit with the kids. It didn't seem to interfere with the dinner as much, like, because it was very timed. It was like, all right, there's, you know, there's. There's a couple minutes where you're paying attention to the show, and then the rest of the time, you can be socializing with folks at the table. The one thing that was a little challenging is spoiler for anybody who hasn't been there. At the end, Spider man shows up, and he visits every table, but he intentionally does it chaotically, like he's bouncing around the dining room going to the tables. [00:56:56] Speaker A: Let me correct that. He doesn't visit every table always. So. Yeah, because we have been there where he doesn't. Where he only visits a couple tables and then leaves. So I don't know. [00:57:06] Speaker D: Okay. [00:57:07] Speaker A: I don't know. But you're right. When he does visit all the tables, it's chaotic. He might spend two seconds with one table and a whole minute with another table. Yeah. [00:57:14] Speaker C: So it seemed like he was trying to visit every table, but he was. He was bouncing around chaotically. And, like, a large part of the experience was people yelling at him that he'd skipped them or that he hadn't visited their table or that they had a kid that really wanted to see him. So I feel like we really liked Mar. I just wish that they had had Spider man just walk through, stop at every table once, and move on. Like it was, you know, it's supposed to be the big end to it, and it kind of took away from it instead of making it good. Like, our kids were super excited he stopped by our table, but it was a little unfortunate that it kind of. Kind of had that chaos. And it seemed like there were people who were really distraught that he wasn't going to visit them. [00:57:56] Speaker B: Yeah, well, Sam is at that time. Time. [00:58:01] Speaker A: I think it's that time, Ryan. [00:58:02] Speaker B: All right, well, we have reached that point in our show, then, where I'm gonna hand you back to Sam for some arbitrary questions, some arbitrary rules, and a dash of judgment of the round we know as rapid fire. So, Sam, take it away. [00:58:12] Speaker A: Thanks. All right, guys. You guys listened to the show, so you knew this was coming. I am gonna ask you some Disney favorites, and then I'm gonna ask you some Disney cruise line favorites, and you can answer with any ship that you have been on with Disney thus far. Any restaurant, any bar space, any activity. [00:58:31] Speaker D: Right. [00:58:31] Speaker A: It doesn't have to this cruise on the wish. So I'm gonna start with our general Disney questions, and I'm gonna ask Janelle first. Who is your favorite Disney character? And Disney means anything and everything that Disney owns at this point. [00:58:46] Speaker D: That's really hard. I tend to have a soft spot for the sidekicks, so. But I would have to say probably Donald. [00:58:54] Speaker A: Oh, Brian's number one character, too. Number one duck. Love it. Awesome. All right, Dave, same question. Favorite character. [00:59:03] Speaker C: So my favorite character is Wally. [00:59:06] Speaker A: Oh, I love Wally. And Eva, of course. All right, favorite Disney movie. Dave, you're going to go first on this one. [00:59:13] Speaker C: So my favorite movie is Wally. [00:59:15] Speaker A: It's got to be Wally. If your favorite character is Wally. Yeah. All right, Janelle, favorite movie? [00:59:20] Speaker D: Tangled. [00:59:22] Speaker A: Nice. Excellent choice. Favorite Disney song, Janelle. [00:59:26] Speaker D: Hakuna matata. [00:59:28] Speaker A: Ah, what a wonderful phrase. All right, Dave, what's your favorite Disney song? [00:59:34] Speaker C: So that's a really hard question. I really like a lot of them, but I think I would go with Ooda Lolli. [00:59:40] Speaker A: Oh, love that. Awesome. Okay, we're gonna switch gears. We're gonna stay in the entertainment space, but switch gears onto a Disney cruise line ship. What is your favorite Disney cruise line stage show that you have seen? Okay, so, Dave, we're gonna start with you. [00:59:56] Speaker C: So I think it was Frozen. [00:59:59] Speaker A: On the fantasy. [01:00:00] Speaker C: Yeah, on the fantasy, our singer for Let it Go didn't do very well. It was her third troll. But the troll singer for Fixer Upper was amazing, so. [01:00:11] Speaker A: Oh, that troll scene is fantastic always. And on the Fantasy, you get more trolls than on the wonder. Just gonna. Yeah, it should be the same on what is it? The Destiny is going to have frozen, so it should also have more trolls because the bigger ship has a bigger theater cast, and so you get more of the supporting characters. Right. All right, Janelle, same question. Favorite stage show. [01:00:34] Speaker D: Yeah. So I think Seize the Adventure was probably my favorite. I know. I think it's for two reasons. I think I really like the classic characters and the music that they had in it. I think it was just very fun. It was a great way to, like, start the trip. And then it was the first show that we went to, and my daughter's there, and she loves Minnie, and she didn't know that that show was gonna happen. And so the curtain goes up, and there's Captain Minnie, and she's dressed as Captain Minnie, and her face just wide open. She starts screaming and with joy and just Losing her mind. And I look over at my parents, and they're looking at her, like, having this, like, great moment. And so it was just. It was really fun. But I do love the classic characters. [01:01:19] Speaker A: Yeah. I mean, it's just that magical moment, though, makes the whole thing even better. I will say, I do really enjoy the crushed puppetry in that show. I love this, and I love Go with the Flow, which is not from the Finding Nemo movie. It's from the stage show that they had. I don't know if they still have at Animal Kingdom. [01:01:37] Speaker C: So they have a modified version. [01:01:38] Speaker A: Modified. That's right. They took it away for a while and changed it and then. But did they still do that song? I love that song. [01:01:44] Speaker D: Yes, they do. [01:01:45] Speaker C: So they do most of the same song. They. It's just shorter. And they got rid of the pelican. [01:01:51] Speaker D: He loves the pelican. He loves it. [01:01:53] Speaker A: I love the Pelican, too. Okay, favorite onboard activity. And again, this could be any activity that you've done on any of the ships. Dave, we'll start with you for this one. [01:02:03] Speaker C: So actually, my favorite activity that we did was just sitting in the pool and watching Funnel Vision. [01:02:09] Speaker A: Love that. That is a perfect activity. It doesn't get much better than that. Janelle, favorite activity for you on Bored. [01:02:16] Speaker D: I think it's probably the trivia. I think that it's fun to try to see, like, if we know the answers and if we are as big a Disney file as we think we are, which we never are. We never win. We have never. We've never won. Yeah, the people they go to, like, they go on multiple cruises and the questions are the same, and so they know, like, the answers already. Someday that will be me. But it's fun to see the kids, like, kind of guess, like, try to guess and figure out the answers and, like, learn from the truth. [01:02:43] Speaker A: Love it. All right, favorite. [01:02:46] Speaker B: They did actually update the trivia a bit when they introduced this. Knows more trivia stuff. [01:02:50] Speaker A: Yes, yes. And it. And it rotates so it randomly. It now it randomly, like, rotates the questions, but you will get some, like. So if you do the same trivia across different sailings, you will get some repeats, but you won't get. It won't be the exact same 10 or 20 questions. But yeah. [01:03:05] Speaker B: And I'll let you in on a secret. Like, it seems like Royal uses most of the same questions in there. Like, so there's a brain teaser on Disney Cruise Line. I went over and did brain teasers on Royal with some friends. I'm like, that question seems really, really familiar. So really, we just need to find the company that does the trivias, and then we'll all be set. So there you go. [01:03:22] Speaker D: I love that. [01:03:23] Speaker A: Yes. [01:03:23] Speaker D: New goal, new goal. [01:03:25] Speaker A: All right, favorite rotational dining. Again. This can be on any of the ships that you've been on. Janelle, which one's your favorite? [01:03:32] Speaker D: Okay, rotational dining. I'm trying to remember what was on the dream. [01:03:36] Speaker C: So Dream has animators. [01:03:38] Speaker D: Oh, animators. That's it. Animators is my favorite. I am an artist. Like, that's my thing. And when I was a kid, I used to want to be an animator. I love seeing all of, like, when you walk in and you see the little models and the sketches and the drawings, and then, you know, seeing everything kind of turn to color when you're sitting there. Like, I just love the atmosphere in there. And the menu is great too. I love the menu in there as well, but just the atmosphere, the art. The art history there. [01:04:04] Speaker A: I love it. A fellow truffle per set fan, I take it? [01:04:07] Speaker D: Yes. [01:04:08] Speaker A: Love it. Love it. All right, Dave, your favorite rotational dining. [01:04:12] Speaker C: So I would. I think I'd say animators as well. Specifically animation, magic. I think that that's by far the better of the two shows, especially because there's no bad seat for that. Whereas Crush. It's like, either he talks to you or you don't. I think 1923 would be a close second, though. That was a really great restaurant. [01:04:31] Speaker A: Yeah. And it's really nice to see, like, all of the drawings and figurines and things like that in 1923. It's the closest. I mean, it's certainly no animators. It's completely different. It's more of a classic Walt Disney theme. But, yeah, it at least has some of those. All the trinkets and things that you can look and see the inspiration. I love that. All right, well, let's do a favorite food item. A sweet, and then a savory. So, Janelle, we'll start with you. Favorite sweet item. [01:05:03] Speaker D: I'm gonna have to say it's a toss up between the. What is it? The chocolate torte lav that they have at Palo, which is really, really good. And then just honestly, the ice cream on pool deck. [01:05:16] Speaker A: I mean, pool deck ice cream. Yeah. Love it. [01:05:18] Speaker D: Love it. [01:05:18] Speaker A: Dave. A favorite sweet item. [01:05:21] Speaker C: So I have to say pool deck ice cream. I get at least one cone a day, if not two. It's a big part of the cruise for me. [01:05:29] Speaker A: I love it. All right, a favorite savory Item. Dave, we'll start with you. [01:05:32] Speaker C: Oh, this is a tough one, I think, and I know it's kind of a basic answer, but the egg Benedict, Apollo just nailed it for me. I love a good hollandaise sauce, and it's perfect. [01:05:48] Speaker A: Nice. What about you, Janelle? [01:05:49] Speaker D: Well, Dave already knows what I'm going to say because ever since I had it on one of our cruises, I was dreaming about having it again. And then when we went on the Wish and I asked if they had it, I was, like, waiting to see if they would say that they had it. And then they did say it, and I was like, oh, thank goodness. But it's the grape and gorgonzola pizza. [01:06:08] Speaker A: Ah, yes. The flatbread. Yes. Hello. Brunch. Yes. [01:06:11] Speaker D: That's so good. I've never had had anything like that before. It was. I never would have thought to put grape flatbread, but it is. [01:06:18] Speaker A: I don't eat gorgonzola except on grape and gorgonzola pizza. So I'm with you. It's fantastic. Okay, we've got just a couple more questions. Aqua Duck versus AquaMouse, because you guys. Wait. You have been on. Dave has been on the Magic, but not since it's had the Aqua Dunk. So you didn't go on the. On the Magic as a family. Correct. [01:06:38] Speaker C: No. [01:06:39] Speaker A: Next. [01:06:40] Speaker C: Well, we'll get there, but we'll be doing this. [01:06:42] Speaker A: There you go. Okay, so right now It's Aqua Duck versus AquaMouse. There are only two choices, Dave, which one? If you have to choose between them. [01:06:50] Speaker C: So I would pick the Aqua Duck. It's a little bit more intense and I enjoy that. I did ask my kids this question before we got here, though, and they both said aquamous. [01:07:00] Speaker A: Oh, interesting. Janelle, what about you? [01:07:02] Speaker D: I can't actually vote because I haven't been on either. [01:07:06] Speaker A: Okay. [01:07:07] Speaker D: I wanted to go, but, you know, didn't work out. [01:07:10] Speaker A: All right. Okay. Favorite ship. Now, this is obviously a controversial question. So, Janelle, which one's your favorite? [01:07:17] Speaker D: It's a toss up between the fantasy and the dream. I can't remember the differences between the two enough to really make the call. [01:07:25] Speaker A: I will say that's the theming of the adult areas. Really? That's the main. The main differences in layout and in and in theming is in the adult area. There's not a whole lot of differences in the. In the family areas. Really? [01:07:37] Speaker D: Yeah. So it would be one of those ships there. They were very, very similar. I will say we did actually get to have animation magic on the Fantasy and we didn't get to have that on the dream. So, like, that was nice. But I like that class of ship. [01:07:49] Speaker A: Yeah. What about you, Dave? [01:07:51] Speaker C: So I would go with the fantasy. I do like the. I thought the Europa area was a little bit more cohesive and nicer. And then we found. And it may just be a right after Covid thing, but the quality of the food and the service was a little better on the fantasy when we experienced it. So it just, it felt a little bit nicer than when we went on the dream. I did like both of them a little bit better than the wish, though. [01:08:17] Speaker A: Nice. All right, Bucket list cruise. This is my final question of Rapid fire Dave. If you could go anywhere in the world on a Disney Cruise Line ship and it doesn't have to even be someplace that Disney Cruise Line currently sails, where would you go? [01:08:29] Speaker C: So I would do a Mediterranean cruise that goes into a river cruise up probably like the Rhine. That's what I'd like to do because I haven't been to Europe and, you know, experiencing, you know, Italy and France and those areas would be. Would be great. [01:08:46] Speaker A: Love it. All right, Janelle, what about you? [01:08:48] Speaker D: Mine would also be a Mediterranean or if it exists. I don't know if it exists, but like a. [01:08:53] Speaker A: It doesn't have to exist. This is an imaginary cruise, a British Isles, like something. It does exist, actually. Yes, but it didn't. It doesn't have to. For the rules of my rapid fire, it doesn't exist. All right, well, you both did great. I'm going to give you both A's or E's for effort and ease, for excellence. Love the answers. Fantastic. Good job. Congratulations. I know Brian wants to ask you the next question you already gave us as a spoiler alert, but I'm going to let him ask this question anyway. [01:09:20] Speaker B: What's next? [01:09:21] Speaker C: Yeah. So next May, we are going to be doing, I think it's called the Duodip. Now we're going to be taking the magic to go to both Castaway Key and Lookout Key. So we're excited for that. We gave our kids the choice. Do you want to see the new island or do you want to go on the treasure and see the new boat? And they pick new island. So that's. That's going to be the trip. I think it's a five night and it hits both of the islands. [01:09:45] Speaker A: Awesome. [01:09:46] Speaker B: Nice. [01:09:46] Speaker A: Well, you're going to have a fantastic trip. I will say, you know, the magic being on a classic ship is just phenomenal. I can't imagine that the Kids won't like it except it doesn't have Midship Detective Agency. Just a warning. Just make sure they know that it doesn't. [01:09:59] Speaker B: And it doesn't have. [01:10:00] Speaker A: Yes. Yeah, it has two water slides. One that's tame that everyone can go on and one that's intense that only the brave will go on. So enjoy you guys. Thank you so much for joining us. We really appreciate you reaching out and coming on to be guests on our show. And I don't even know what I was going to say there, but thank you again. [01:10:22] Speaker B: That's why you have to stop snaking in to do the outro component of this. [01:10:26] Speaker A: All right. [01:10:27] Speaker B: Because you also, you also, you also didn't let the guests say that they, they do have a YouTube channel. [01:10:32] Speaker A: Oh, there you go. That's what I forgot. Okay. [01:10:34] Speaker B: I saw for the submission, but you, I can't remember. You might just post videos out there for friends and family. So feel free to plug it or not plug it. [01:10:41] Speaker D: Yeah, we have a, an Instagram Wonderland, warblers. The warbler like a bird. And we, when we are able to, we make some Instagram reels and videos and stuff that we post on there. Some different things we're working on trying to post more regularly. So lots of content with kids and parks. [01:10:58] Speaker B: It's a struggle. It's a struggle. We know the struggle. So. Yeah. Well, thank you so much for coming on, spending some time with us, sharing your experiences with our audience. We really, really appreciate it. [01:11:08] Speaker D: Thank you. [01:11:08] Speaker C: Thank you. [01:11:14] Speaker E: Well, thanks everyone out there for listening this week. We really, really appreciate it. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast. You can keep getting great content from, from us every week. In fact, twice a week we publish shows. So be sure to hit the subscribe button to get all of those great episodes. And if you want to watch us alive, we have a live show now every week, Monday nights, 5:30pm Pacific, 8:30pm Eastern over on YouTube.com DCLDUO so be sure to head over and check that out. If you want help support the show, be sure to hit those five stars on Apple Podcasts. And if you leave us a written review, a five star written review, we will read it at the top of one of our main episodes episodes. So please head over there and hit those five stars. Of course you can also help support the show by supporting our fabulous show sponsor, My Path Unwinding Travel. You want to book your next Disney vacation? 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