[00:00:00] Speaker A: Before we get into the substance of this show, there have already been a number of requests for just one thing, Robbie. Just one thing.
They want the smolder, buddy.
[00:00:12] Speaker B: I know.
Oh, boy.
[00:00:16] Speaker C: But may I just say something?
A.
[00:00:32] Speaker A: Welcome back, everybody, to this week's live episode of the DCL Duo podcast, brought to you by my Path Unwinding Travel. And yeah, hoping that the, you know, the. The technical difficulties we experienced last week are a little bit less.
And so if that's. We're still having technical difficulties, please let us know in. The chat usually does take a minute or two for the video to clear up for whatever reason on YouTube, but let's hope that it works tonight. But with that said, in addition to thanking our show sponsor, my Path Unwinding Travel, we of course have to thank our fabulous friends over at the WDW magazine, the DCL magazine. We're hearing some exciting news coming soon from them, but if you have not already, head over to dcl-magazine.com right now so you can stay up to date on all the latest happenings with potentially the next edition of the DCL magazine that I think Stephanie has confirmed is coming. We're just waiting for the actual announcement at this point.
[00:01:30] Speaker B: Yeah, and I think the.
[00:01:31] Speaker A: Yeah, yep, yep. And so head over there dcl-magazine.com and while you're there, check out all the fun stuff in the WDW magazine store, including the DLR magazine, the WDW magazine, the fabulous calendars that they have. All the Swag. Use code DCLDO ALL CAPS. That's code DCLDUO ALL CAPS to get 10% off everything in the WDW magazine store. I have no idea what you're doing with your hands right now, Sam. You're throwing signs over there.
[00:02:00] Speaker B: Oh, 10% off.
[00:02:01] Speaker A: Looks like you're making a triangle.
[00:02:03] Speaker B: So 10 is just my hands in the screen. It doesn't.
[00:02:06] Speaker A: Not working. Not working.
Hey. And we need to stop and pause for a minute to thank one other group of folks out there who help support the show and make it happen, make it real week to week. And that is our Patreons, our patrons. I don't. I call them Patreon.
[00:02:20] Speaker B: Patreons.
[00:02:23] Speaker A: Yeah. And so we got to thank our patrons. This list has grown to. To a point where reading it on air is going to take a hot second. But I have committed to doing it. And so here we go, starting off at our animators palettes. Here, let me stop and say, for those of you who don't know what Patreon is, it is listeners who are providing financial support to this show on an ongoing basis, either monthly or annually. We have several different tiers of Patreon membership. You can head over to patreon.com DCLDUO to show your support for the show. Here I'm going to scroll across the bottom of the screen.
[00:02:56] Speaker B: And remember, we don't make any money off of this show. We are using the money that we receive from our sponsors and our Patreons to be able to produce this show for you. And if we have money, if we're in the black at the end of the year, we make charitable donations generally to the UW Autism center, which is, you know, a charity near and dear to our hearts and some other generally autism related charities or Walt Disney World related charities like Make a Wish foundation, things like that. So just to let you know, that's what this is about.
[00:03:28] Speaker A: Yes, this is all to help us defray the costs of this show. So with that, let me read our Patreons here. So we've got starting off at our animators palette tier, Steve Elsis. His username is Steve Eshoos, but Steve Elsis, Dave Hale or Dave Hall.
[00:03:45] Speaker B: I can't.
[00:03:45] Speaker A: My glasses are failing me here.
Sorry about that.
Ashley Norton, Derek Sassman, Chris Brown. The good folks over at the Dillos. Diz, Bridget Casey, Constance Presley, Lauren King, Brittany Simon, Drew Curry. And of course, Haley Curry.
Dennis. Keith Lee. Oh, sorry, we've bled into. I'm sorry, we have bled into our Palo brunch tier now with Drew and Haley Curry. Dennis, Keith Lee, Edward Lynn, Chris Wynn, Emily Faye Abbott. Erica. Jeff Lynwood, Kimberly Melchin, Sarah Reiner. Chris Braga kicks off our Palo dinner tier.
Jennifer Swart, daily MTB writer. Our good friend who we've not had on the show for so long, Josh Wilson.
[00:04:31] Speaker B: He hasn't been failing dcl.
[00:04:33] Speaker A: Yep. Yensid Travel. Our good friend Chris Vorbeck. Cindy Leichner, Ann Witten, Sonja Allen, Megan Guise, Karen Tomprose, Shannon Owen. And now we're heading into our Remy Brunch tier for the discerning Remy brunch tier with Thomas Rogers, Sean Burns, Eric Nyman, Neiman Nieman. Sorry, Cynthia.
Cynthia Milanowski.
And then we're hitting the Remy dinner tier where we have our good friend Mr. CTSWeek.
Tina Peacock, David Z.
Of course we've got Robbie and Jillian Abney. Oh, some reason it took you guys out of order.
Robbie and Jillian Abney will be joining us in just a second.
Robert Taylor, Lori Hotung, Anna Samantha Dart, Miranda Gerber. Beth Gentry, Tracy and Michael and Draco. Finally, there they come up. Cross Mouse Adventures, Larry Fine, Chris from Cambridge, Amy Denholtz, Lewandowski. Of course, our good friend Karen Shelton, Andrea Cobb. Onto page two, Lauren Porter, Karen Phillips, Amy Yee. And rounding it out with Adventures in Mauscapades. I apologize, some of those were not in the right tier orders. It was apparently sorted by whether you pledged monthly or annually. But we appreciate and love all of you and if you want to hear your name right on the air at the top of one of our shows, then head over to patreon.com and show your support today with Sam. Get us to our guests. Get us to our guests.
[00:06:14] Speaker B: So we got to get some news first before we introduce our amazing guests. And of course I'm wearing my Avengers bomber jacket in honor of our amazing guest today. But we got to hit some quick news. There are two pieces of news I want to bring up. One has to do with the Wish. So last Friday night after we wrapped our live show, we got a text message from our friend Chad Penny cough over at the My DVC Points podcast. He was on board the Wish and there were droids inside the Hyperspace Lounge on the Disney Wish.
According to the executive it's executive cruise director who I think manages the cruise directors.
The droids are only in Hyperspace Lounge or in the cargo bay because of course they only exist in the world of Star Wars. So you can find them at least on board the Disney Wish in those two places. We don't know when they make appearances. I'm not sure you know how often this is going to happen. It just started on Friday night, but apparently this is going to be a thing. We've seen those droids around the parks a little bit and so there is at least one droid. I don't know if there are more onboard the Disney Wish. But super exciting news. It might be a reason to book the Disney Wish. I'm just going to put it out there. Okay. Second piece of news.
[00:07:30] Speaker A: I don't know if I'd go that far. I don't know if I could do that.
[00:07:32] Speaker B: Well, I don't know. It's pretty cool. Second piece of news is the Disney Adventure. The Disney Adventure has mostly crossed the Atlantic Ocean. She's on her way to Freeport, Bahamas. I believe that she ports in Freeport on Thursday and then she will be heading to Port Canaveral on Friday. So on January 15th is when she initially ports in Port Canaveral. It sounds like she's going to be going out for some, like one day out and back and then maybe a four day out and back. From what we have heard, they were originally supposed to be cast member previews. We heard those got canceled. So we don't know exactly what she's going to be doing. But before she heads for her Panama Canal crossing, she's going to be sailing a bit out of Port Canaveral. So I do know a few folks who are down in Florida right now. I'm looking at you, Tracy, who are probably going to go down there as our roving reporters and try and get some photos or some video of the adventure porting in Port Canaveral. And so hopefully we'll have some more news for you on Friday over on our socials. But until then, I guess we'll just have to wait and see what's happening with the adventure.
[00:08:42] Speaker A: It will be an adventure. All right, Sam, get us our guests.
[00:08:46] Speaker B: We're super excited to have our two guests back on the show. It's been a while since we've had them because it's been a little while since they cruised on Disney Cruise Line. But we've got to welcome to the show previous guests and friends of the show, Robbie and Jillian Abney, who are also Patreons. Welcome back, you guys.
[00:09:06] Speaker D: Yeah.
Three years.
Crazy.
[00:09:10] Speaker B: Oh, that's ridiculous. And I know you said this is like a date night for you guys. I'm really excited that you chose to spend your date night with us. You sent the kids over to your sister's house, Jillian, and so we've got your undivided attention. You guys, let's tell folks who haven't, who didn't watch our previous episode with you, all your backgrounds with Disney because you're both former Disney.
I was going to say characters, cast members, characters kind of as well.
[00:09:41] Speaker A: They're both characters, too, but they're both characters.
[00:09:48] Speaker B: But Gillian, let's start with you. Your Disney background for our audience.
Yes.
[00:09:53] Speaker D: So the fun fact is that's how we met. So I do get to joke and say that I really got to marry real life Prince Charming, Captain America, whatever you want. Fill in the blank. But that's how we met Eugene Herbert 12 years ago. We've been married now for almost 10. But about 12 years ago, we shared him 10 years, me five years at the Disneyland resort. So I was mostly grew up as a dancer. So I got to do a lot of different things seasonally, different parades, shows, whatever popped up for that season, I got to do. And it was the best season of our lives. It was Amazing.
[00:10:32] Speaker A: Robbie, you were never friends with Captain Jack Sparrow, correct?
[00:10:35] Speaker D: He wishes.
[00:10:36] Speaker C: Never, Never, Never.
I wish. I think I was a little. A little too tall for a captain.
[00:10:46] Speaker A: Too tall and too sober, probably, but yes.
Nice. Nice.
Yeah.
[00:10:52] Speaker C: I was with Disney for almost 10 years, starting the electrical parade.
Long time ago. That's really dating myself.
And then I just went from, like, I did parades, and then Fantasmic was always a bucket list show for me. So I spent a lot, a lot of time on the island.
Tokyo Disneyland changed my life. I got to take her back in 2019 to Tokyo. Best place in the world. Not even Disney. I think it's the best Disney resort. It's the best place in the world, in my opinion.
So Japan was amazing. And then cruise line, which we'll really get into, altered my life in so many ways.
I got to do some really fun projects with Walt Disney Imagineering.
That is some very treasured memories for me. So Walt Disney Imagineering was incredible.
Yeah. And we'll get into stories of all the characters I got to play and people I got to meet. So it was just like adventure of a lifetime, for sure.
[00:12:02] Speaker B: Absolutely.
Brian, we can't hear you. Are you on mute?
[00:12:06] Speaker A: You can't hear me?
[00:12:07] Speaker B: What?
[00:12:07] Speaker A: What? Can you hear me now? Turn my headphones. Turn my headphones up.
Before we get into the substance of this show, there have already been a number of requests for just one thing. Robbie. Just one thing.
[00:12:21] Speaker C: I'm ready.
[00:12:22] Speaker A: They want the smolder, buddy.
I know.
[00:12:26] Speaker B: Oh, boy.
[00:12:29] Speaker C: But may I just say something?
[00:12:31] Speaker A: I.
For those of you listening to the show after the fact, you have just lost just like that. If I could make that the intro, I would do the intro with that. But you've got to come watch the video just for that. So there you go. For all those who asked her in the chat, you got what you asked for. There you go.
[00:12:55] Speaker B: Listen, Jillian gets that every day, ladies.
[00:13:00] Speaker A: Yeah. When Sam does some, like, Goofy dancing and stuff, I'm always like, she's taken, gentlemen. She's taken.
[00:13:08] Speaker B: I mean, I can't help that. I have an awesome electric slide.
[00:13:11] Speaker A: You know, the Roger Rabbit. If you haven't seen her do the Roger Rabbit.
All right, so you said Disney Cruise Line changed your life. How many cruises have you two been on now? And understand this was the first cruise for your kids, so everything up until now has been just the two of you. So how many cruises have you been on?
[00:13:29] Speaker D: I'll start. Well, that's the joke is that I've been platinum for about 15 years because we started cruising in the early 2000s. He's still gold, even though as a cast member he's worked significantly more cruises than any of us. So it's always a joke where it's like, oh, your little gold lanyard. We have our black lanyard.
[00:13:49] Speaker B: I love.
[00:13:51] Speaker C: Oh, no, she always says, I'll pay for your palo. Don't worry about it.
[00:13:57] Speaker B: I love that.
[00:13:58] Speaker D: I love growing up in California, did Disneyland a whole bunch. But as you know, it seems probably a lot of dads don't enjoy Disneyland as much as their kids. And so once we found Disney Cruise Line as a child, my dad was like, this I want to do. So we cruised every year at least once a year since I was about 8 years old.
And then once we got married, we've cruised together four times.
[00:14:24] Speaker A: 5.
[00:14:25] Speaker D: But this was the first time with kids. So going 20 plus cruises on Disney Cruise Line as an adult only or even like a teen, you kind of get to do whatever you want at that point. And then bringing the kids on was a wildly different but equally amazing experience. It's so fun.
[00:14:41] Speaker B: Yeah.
Now your kids are five and two. Right. Rory's five and Lily's two. Two. Okay, so you guys waited. You didn't take them as well. You didn't take Rory as a baby when you waited till Lily was two to take her.
What did you think about in terms of deciding when was the right time for their first cruise? Like, you guys had a lot of experience on the cruise line as adults, as a cast member, as, you know, a childless couple. Like, how did you decide? Okay, now we're ready to take the plunge into Disney Cruise Line.
[00:15:15] Speaker C: I think it was a lot of, like, I saw Rory and I knew he, it was just, was going to be not only memorable but that I knew he was going to do so well. I think Lily Jo is a very strong, like at two and a half, very strong opinions and she can, she can hang. But like the idea of like Rory meeting Captain America and how well he does with characters, I was like, this is a no brainer. I think this is the time because this, I think he'll remember this cruise. Not that you don't do things like you don't, don't go to Disneyland because your kid's too young, because they're not going to remember it. I don't agree with that. I think Rory is just going to be able to talk about. He calls it the Mickey boat. I think he's going to be able to talk about the people he met on the Mickey Boat and like the things he did in the kids club, like years down the road. And that's what I thought. This is the best time to go.
[00:16:12] Speaker A: I always like to say, like, they may not like. The way to think about it isn't whether they're going to keep the memory or not. The way to think about it is are you making a memory about them that you want to keep? You know, so like, if you're going to take your kids when they're too young. Yes. They're not going to like, be, you know, 22 and telling stories about that time they went to Disneyland when they were, you know, a year old. But you will have that memory and you will have those photos and you will have those moments. And so, yeah, I fully agree, to.
[00:16:37] Speaker D: Be honest, we would have done it sooner because that's what we enjoy.
But as you know, with young kids, you pick and choose your vacations because we still have friends who are cast members at Disneyland, that's a little more financially feasible for us.
So we did a couple of those in between and we actually booked this cruise 20 months in advance. So we knew for a long time that this trip was coming and I think it just fell at these particular ages. If we could financially afford it, we.
[00:17:05] Speaker B: Would cruise a lot.
[00:17:06] Speaker A: But well, I mean, the other thing, the other consideration with kids on the cruise line, right. Is like, you know, are the nursery age versus Oceaneers club age. Right. Like you, you do. I don't want to say you lose the benefit because, you know, people can make their own choices. But you know, if you're looking to have that cruise where it's like we're going to reconnect as a couple and our kids going to be in the kids club. Well, not if they're under the age of Sam can quote it for me, five, I think it is. And, and potty trained.
[00:17:29] Speaker B: It's so three. So three and older, if you're potty trained, can be in the oceaneers club. So three to 10 is oceaneers club. Under three or actually three and under, I should say, because if they're three but they're not potty trained, they go to the nursery and so and, and the youngest you can go on the cruise line as a baby is actually six months. In some cruises it's actually a year old, just depending upon the itinerary. The longer itineraries like transatlantic Panama Canal, where they have a long time where you're at sea and you're not near port, they require the child to be at least one year Old, actually not six months. And that has to do with the medical equipment on board.
They, I mean, they also have restrictions. Jillian, we have to say on the air, congratulations, you guys are pregnant with baby number three. So you, you also sailed while pregnant. And of course you have to sail.
[00:18:20] Speaker A: They weren't telling anyone yet.
[00:18:25] Speaker C: Brian, we're week 29 now. We're like, guess what?
[00:18:32] Speaker B: They sound us.
[00:18:35] Speaker D: When we booked this cruise way back when and we were family planning, we said, okay for me to be able to go on this cruise, there were logistics involved. And so we made sure that happened. And so when I left the cruise ship, when we disembarked, I was 23 weeks and four days.
[00:18:53] Speaker B: Yeah, because the same reason why you can't have the younger baby and also why you can't be more than 24 weeks pregnant is because they don't have the medical equipment on board for a newborn infant. And so they don't want to have that happen. They don't want you to get, you don't want you to have a baby on board the ship.
[00:19:09] Speaker A: This is a question I have.
Did you, did that change anything that you had to fill out on the pre booking or the, sorry, the pre boarding questionnaire and did, did that prompt anything? Did like the doctor come out to just, you know, say, hey, what's going.
[00:19:21] Speaker B: On and let me see proof of how many weeks you are? Yeah, the.
[00:19:26] Speaker D: So I had done some research. The only thing that popped up, I'm pretty sure for everyone. Is there anyone in your party that will be beyond 24 weeks? I don't know if that's popped up for you guys as well, is there? Once you click? No. I really think it's an honor system. I covered myself and made sure I had a doctor's note from my doctor. But from what I had heard, it's based on if they think you look pregnant or not.
[00:19:50] Speaker A: That's dangerous.
[00:19:53] Speaker D: It is, it's very dangerous. But I made sure I had my doctor's note.
[00:19:56] Speaker B: So.
Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense. Well, so let's dive in.
[00:20:00] Speaker A: I should say lots of congratulations rolling through the chat for you.
[00:20:03] Speaker B: So, yes, lots of congratulations in the chat, of course popping up. And you know, I mean, first it was the smolder, now it's the congratulations. It's just the chat. The tone of the chat changes as we go along.
We gotta dive in and talk about who else sailed with you because of course the two of you and your two kids sailed with you. So five and two year old, as I mentioned, but you also had Some other family sailing with you as well, is that right?
[00:20:30] Speaker C: Yeah. So we booked this February of last year and we just put it out to our family and we have a big family here in Texas. And we just said, here are the dates. It was a really good deal. It was out of Galveston, which is like a five hour drive for us.
I told Wes on the DCL dude podcast, I said, I'm going to be Mr. Galveston because I want to cruise out of Galveston year round so badly.
I'm going to shout it from the mountaintops. I was like, guys, we're five hours away. It's so easy to get in and out. And every. Our whole family just said, we're in, we're in, we're in.
So in total of our direct family, there's 14 of us and then a family of four who are her parents. Really good friends. When we lived in California, they're like, we're coming. So went to 18.
And then about six weeks before, our really good friends from California said, hey, guess what? We're coming too. So there was 22 of us total.
[00:21:30] Speaker A: Oh, wow.
[00:21:33] Speaker B: Now, logistically, did you, like try and coordinate everything, everything with everybody or was it kind of every man for themselves? Like, what did you do for like, let's say dining, like Pre planning, because 22 people, you can't fit that many people at a table. You can only fit, I believe it's 11 or 12 maybe. I think it's 12 at a table in the dining room, but that's even a lot. I'll be honest. I actually don't really like to be at a table more than like 10 because your service gets quite slow. But yeah, how did you guys navigate that with such a large group of people?
[00:22:05] Speaker D: The good news is, is because overall, everyone had cruised at least once and most of the group a lot more than that. So we all in advance said, hey, here's our expectations. My sister has their kids, we have our kids. The grandparents each have their grandkids that they're directly related to. We said, that takes priority. If we happen to be doing things together, great. And if we don't, great. And I think we spent way more time together than we had anticipated in a really positive way because we just ended up all wanting to be at the pool deck together or the character meet and greets or fill in the blanks. So they had us at 211 top tables right next to each other.
[00:22:43] Speaker B: Oh, that's great. That's great. Yeah. And I think that's the perfect expectation because you really can't possibly do everything with everyone. We always, when we. Even when we were just sailing with like a couple of other families, we try to say, like, hey, we all get together for dinner. And then everything else is, choose your own adventure. Like, if you want to do things together, together, that's great. But, like, we can't have an expectation that we're all together all the time because it's just not. It's just impossible to coordinate when you've got. Especially with kids of different ages and grandparents who want to spend time with the kids.
[00:23:14] Speaker A: What was the stateroom situation on board? Like, were you guys all trying to get staterooms near each other or did you just book wherever whatever people wanted?
[00:23:22] Speaker C: So because. Because of when we booked, we had a pretty good selection.
We booked her sister and her brother and my brother in law, we booked our rooms together. Then the grandparents were together one, like eight, eight doors down. So we're all on deck six. We're all on deck six forward, about six rooms apart. So we were next to each other from her sister and I. And then the grandparents were like, eight, eight doors down.
[00:23:54] Speaker B: Awesome. All right.
[00:23:57] Speaker C: It actually made it really easy to, like, go down to, you know, papa's room and, you know, go play in their porthole or something.
[00:24:05] Speaker B: I love it. I love it. All right, we gotta start with preparing the kids for the cruise. Like, did you show them? I mean, they'd been to Disneyland, but did you show them any videos or maybe pictures? I don't know, of dad as a character or something? Right. Like, did you show them anything or were you like. Well, they've been to the parks and they're. You know, some kids are easier at sort of adjusting to new environments, but some kids are not. Like, how did you guys sort of prepare?
[00:24:33] Speaker D: We unapologetically brainwash our children with Disney content.
And that is not untrue.
And we're more like Parks and Cruise fans. So, yes, they love the movies, but we watch the parades, we watch the stage shows. Like, that's just what we do for fun. So we were really excited to show them about the ship. And I think as kids get older, the surprise factor might be better. But with toddlers, I wanted them to have some familiarity of what they were looking at and what they were looking forward to.
I also don't have a blown up picture of Robbie as Captain America and Rory's room.
[00:25:11] Speaker C: I can go get it if you want.
[00:25:13] Speaker B: He's very aware.
[00:25:16] Speaker C: I could get it.
[00:25:17] Speaker D: No, stop.
[00:25:20] Speaker A: I want an oil painting over the mantel with, like, A pose, you know, like.
[00:25:25] Speaker B: No, he's gotta. It's gotta be that pose. Like that. Yeah.
[00:25:28] Speaker D: But I think. And you guys might know this as a 5 year old.
[00:25:33] Speaker C: I don't know if this is gonna fit in the picture.
[00:25:34] Speaker D: Oh, boy.
[00:25:42] Speaker C: Does that work?
[00:25:43] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:25:45] Speaker B: Robbie. When do I get mine? When do I get mine?
[00:25:49] Speaker D: All that to say, not all superhero content is appropriate for five year olds. So I think a lot of what Rory knows about Captain America is stuff we've shown him. And I wanted him to be excited, so I brought his suit, told him that we were going to meet Captain America, and he was very excited about that. So, yes, we absolutely prepared them. YouTube pictures, all the things.
[00:26:11] Speaker A: By the way, just once again, for those listening at home later, you just missed epic artwork.
Head over to YouTube. That's all I can say.
[00:26:20] Speaker B: I will say, yet Nathan has Now, at age 12, has seen quite a few. Not all. Like, I wouldn't say he's watched that many of the Marvel movies, but he's seen a couple of them or he's seen enough pieces of various Marvel movies to know who the main superheroes are. And of course, obviously Captain America is my favorite. And so Captain America has to be Nathan's favorite. But he doesn't know all the storylines. And you're right, the content is not quite yet appropriate for a two and a half year old and a five year old. So, yeah, it makes sense.
[00:26:55] Speaker A: I thought you were gonna say the content wasn't appropriate for Nathan. I was like, oh, God.
[00:27:00] Speaker C: I thought so too.
[00:27:03] Speaker B: I mean, some of it is a little bit over his head as well. And there is. There's quite a bit of violence in a lot of the Avenger games.
[00:27:10] Speaker A: I just showed him Pearl Harbor.
[00:27:12] Speaker B: I know Nathan is now Nathan. He's in his war movie era now. So we are.
[00:27:18] Speaker A: You know, he comes back after your fort too. All you want to do is watch World War II movies.
[00:27:23] Speaker B: But yeah, yeah, you guys are in your Disney parent era now. Nathan is in his war movie era, so we've just introduced him to war movies and heist movies and things like that. So he's now discovering a whole new world of movies that are not animated. So, but let's jump into, okay, you get to the Mickey boat, you get to Galveston, you see the Mickey boat in the distance or as you're nearing it, what's the, the reaction of the kids? Did Lily Jo even notice it? Did Rory even notice it, like right away?
[00:27:55] Speaker C: It was a moment I'll never forget. My Rory screamed, mickey.
[00:28:00] Speaker B: Bo.
[00:28:01] Speaker C: I was like, yeah, all right, when's the next one?
[00:28:05] Speaker A: I do that too.
Is that okay for adults?
[00:28:11] Speaker C: It was so worth it. And Lily Jo, she's a smart cookie, so she totally got it. She knew we were going on. Like, she was like, but her timetable is. I see it, I want it now. So, like, why, why are we. Why aren't we getting on it right this very second?
[00:28:27] Speaker B: Right. That boarding process, not so easy for toddlers, right? Like, there's the boat. Here I am. Why am I not on the boat yet? Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.
[00:28:38] Speaker C: That moment I was like, we got close enough where he could get like a straight shot of was amazing.
[00:28:47] Speaker B: Oh, I love that. All right, well, let's talk about getting onto the ship, then we'll jump through the boarding process. Everybody's heard about that process, right?
What were their first reaction? When you walk on and you're.
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome aboard the Abney family. And then everybody's clapping and is there a character on the staircase in the atrium? What was that like?
[00:29:12] Speaker D: I was really hoping there would have been because they're very character centered children. But there was not, unfortunately. But I think they were. You know, when kids see something really big and overwhelming, they were into it, but almost like taking it in.
So it took them a few minutes to take it in. But we did make sure, since this was our first time with kids, we studied up and we were like, okay, get in the atrium. We get announced. We enjoyed that moment. Let's go to the kids club.
So that was the first time we ever got to do that. And that little boy in that Andy's room slide was in hog heaven. He was so happy. So that was really cool. All these years of going on the cruise line, imagining what's it going to be like to take our kids and to see him just thrive was the best.
[00:30:01] Speaker B: Oh, I love that. That's super smart too, because it's like introducing them there first so that if you do want to like, see how they do by checking them in once the secure programming is open, it's like not a, you know, it's not a brand new space. They've seen it before. They're kind of. They meet the counselors, they see the counselors uniforms. Right. I think even just those little things of like, them knowing, like, okay, who are the trusted adults in this room? Like, what do the rooms look like? That's like super, super important.
[00:30:29] Speaker A: But here's the real question. Rubber meets the road. Are they kids, club kids? Or are they like, well.
[00:30:34] Speaker B: And then. Well, we had of course, the small. It's a small world nursery, though, for Lily Jo. So I assume that she wants to.
[00:30:41] Speaker D: Be a kids club kid. She's the youngest of the five cousins, and we made sure she was potty trained before we went because we wanted to all swim together.
And she was very confused why she couldn't do what all of her older cousins were doing.
But she thrived in the kids club, and we even heard from her after our Apollo, which I know we'll talk about that Pluto came in, hung out with them, so she had a great time.
[00:31:05] Speaker B: Oh, love that. Yeah. So how did Rory do in the Oceaneer Club, then?
[00:31:09] Speaker C: I. He was amazing. I'm not just saying it was great because we're on this. Like, he did so well there it was. I wanted him to go in there, and it wasn't like, dad, leave me alone. He was just excited to be where he was. So when I took him out, he was having fun when I went, like, I said, hey, buddy, do you want to go to the. Do you want to go to the kids club? And he screamed for joy. So he really did well in there. And then when we left, there were some times he like, no, Dad, I don't want to leave. Most of the time he was excited because I was like, we're going to go here. And he was excited to go.
[00:31:46] Speaker A: So we got so used to Nathan being on this. Like, okay, we go, like, we put him in, and predictably, about an hour, 90 minutes in, he'd, like, want to come out. So he'd go down, you know, after an hour or 90 minutes and be like, okay, I'm here to check him out. And then we had the switch that flipped. And at some point, he was like, can I stay for another hour? Like, sure, right? And then we come back and be like, could I stay for another hour? We're like, why don't we find a reasonable time that you want to exit the kids club so I don't have to keep coming down here? But, yeah, that was a huge switch that flipped for him at some point. Yeah.
[00:32:15] Speaker D: It also worked out that we were with the cousins and then our really good friends, who also have young ones, they wanted to go, and so that helped him want to stay. So if you ever get to cruise with other kids, that he did want to go, but it helped that they also wanted to go.
[00:32:30] Speaker A: It is a curse that we have because Nathan is an only child.
You know, if he doesn't make a friend, it's far less fun for him, you know, than but if, if we're sailing with other listeners or friends who have kids his age, it's like, bam, done. Like, he's. You got a friend, Instant play friend, and he's off to the clubs. Yeah, yeah, for sure, for sure.
[00:32:50] Speaker B: Absolutely. Well, I gotta, I gotta ask, what were some favorite activities that you guys got to do as a family on board? And were they like any of the activities that you like to do when, you know, before sailing with kids or they. Or has it changed, like, significantly the things that you do on board, a cruise?
[00:33:10] Speaker C: First thing that comes to mind, which I did not think I was going to say, was going to the shows together.
So when my kids sit in church, I don't even try and sit my kids in church because I know they're going to want to get up and run around.
So I'm like, okay, I'll sit on the aisle.
I'll have a good exit strategy. Always have an exit strategy, right?
So I was very prepared to pick up and go.
I sat Rory as close as I physically possibly could. Because I was like, this is my best chance. If I get him close enough, he'll get drawn in and then he'll stay.
He watched every show, did not move and clapped between scenes. I was like, honey, it's happening.
[00:33:53] Speaker D: It's in his blood. It's in his blood.
[00:33:55] Speaker B: He's a theater kid. I mean, mom still does theater and.
[00:33:59] Speaker A: Probably picked up every piece of Mickey shaped glitter he could find.
Yeah.
[00:34:05] Speaker C: Bubbles and dreams.
Elsa and the snow. Like it was. Oh, so all the, like, the 3D projections, that was one highlight because we got to do it as a family. All four of us went and they sat and they. It wasn't like you're just handing them off to each other like it normally is. Like, okay, you want to go to mom? Oh, coming back to me, like, they just sat and enjoyed it. It was great, right?
[00:34:33] Speaker A: Are you listening to our show?
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[00:35:32] Speaker A: I'm curious to go to the other end of the spectrum for one second. How are the grandparents? The grandparents have a good time on the Disney cruise because we talked about Disney being kind of a good multi generational cruise line. But did they have fun?
[00:35:43] Speaker D: Honestly, we saw them way less than I thought.
My mom wanted me to plug this. She won the big grand finale. Bingo.
[00:35:55] Speaker A: Oh, nice.
[00:35:58] Speaker D: That was a huge highlight for them.
[00:36:00] Speaker B: My dad for her cruise. Basically, yes.
[00:36:03] Speaker C: Oh yeah. No. And some.
[00:36:06] Speaker D: Oh shoot.
Got a little frozen.
But yes, they had a blast. Every night. They all went to Keys, all the grandparents because the parents had to go to the room because the kids had to go to sleep. All the grandparents were going out at night. They were in the spa. I'm pretty sure my dad got three massages over our five day cruise.
[00:36:29] Speaker C: Yeah, facial too.
[00:36:30] Speaker D: They.
[00:36:31] Speaker A: I feel seen. I feel seen.
[00:36:35] Speaker B: I gotta say, the Disney grandparent era sounds better than the Disney parent era that we're all living in.
[00:36:42] Speaker C: We did not see them as much as I thought and I was loving it. Like, go live your dream.
[00:36:50] Speaker D: I would say though, the biggest glaring difference between how we normally function on adult cruises and this one.
We spent most times on most cruises hanging by the adult pool Cove Cafe. All of the luxuriating moments.
I spent a lot of time in that family pool watching Funnel Vision, which ended up being such a highlight because we all could do it.
And, and like I said, Lily Jo was potty trained weeks before, strategically. And we would just, all the family would pop in, we would go get ice cream, we would go get lunch, we would meet back up. And so that was something.
Yes. Rory rode the twist and spout over and over and over and over. So that was something that I had never experienced but enjoyed honestly just as much, just in a different way.
[00:37:38] Speaker B: Yeah. That's a great point though to bring up about the potty training. I think a lot of people don't realize that this is true across all, all of the cruise lines is not unique to Disney. But if you are not. If you are a diapered individual, whether you are an adult or a child, you are not allowed in the pools on a cruise ship.
On Disney Cruise Line, the only area that you can go if you're a diapered individual and you still have to be a young individual, like a toddler is a splash pad. And so if you want your kids to be able to go in the pool, they have to be potty trained. And if you are an adult that is unfortunately cannot toilet themselves for whatever reason, you aren't going to be allowed to go in the pools on any cruise line. Like I said, this is. It's CDC rules. I believe it's not unique to Disney Cruise Line, but that's the reason if you can potty train early.
My goodness. Two and a half. That's pretty good, you guys. Like, I mean, she is.
Yeah, but she is a girl. But like, I, you know, that's, that's, that's really. That's pretty amazing. So kudos to you all, but that was smart because otherwise you would have been stuck at the. One of you would have been stuck at the splash pad the whole time, kind of just standing there with Lily Jo while the others in the pool or the water slides with Rory. Yeah.
[00:38:56] Speaker C: Which is always something I didn't know. And I. And because I didn't. I really didn't spend a lot of time in that. In the family pool is. They'll take, like, it seems like pee breaks or they'll just like, all right, everyone out. It's not, It's. It's very intentional. Like, go get dry cleaned. Really go take your kids to the bathroom.
[00:39:16] Speaker A: And so.
[00:39:17] Speaker C: But they're very good about. And everyone was very. All right, we got out, we waited five minutes, we got back in, and we just did it for hours.
[00:39:26] Speaker A: Yeah, I remember Nathan getting out. Like, do you use the bathroom? Nope. You would, like, go get in line at the rope waiting for the pool to reopen. All the kids.
Yeah.
[00:39:35] Speaker C: I never knew that. And so before I had kids, I just, I was like, wait, is this like adult. Adult time?
[00:39:42] Speaker A: I don't know.
[00:39:42] Speaker C: Why are we breaking. Oh, makes sense.
[00:39:45] Speaker B: You know, I, I have to tell you, I never.
That, like, has never occurred to me like you just saying that for the first time now. It never occurred to me that that would be the reason to get everybody out of the pool to make the kids go to the bathroom. Like, but it totally makes sense. It just.
[00:40:00] Speaker A: Well, it's. It's getting to go to the bathroom. Make sure They've eaten something. Do you know where your kids are?
[00:40:06] Speaker B: They check the levels of the chlorine. Not chlorine, the chemicals in the pool and stuff as well.
[00:40:11] Speaker A: They put a lot of cruise ships just use the salt water. Is the.
[00:40:14] Speaker B: Yeah, they put some cleaner stuff in with the salt water, I believe.
[00:40:18] Speaker C: I watched the lifeguard during one of the transitions. He didn't touch the water. And I was like, maybe you do it every other time, but I was like, I watched you for 10 minutes. You didn't do anything to the water.
[00:40:34] Speaker B: It's probably just a. Yeah. Potty break. Make sure they're not. Because you're right. Like kids who are in the pool for hours and hours, like, you know, they're peeing in that pool, you know, like, that's just. Yes, that's happening. That's what's happening.
[00:40:46] Speaker A: We do have a question in the chat.
Robbie, Gillian, when was this cruise specifically like. And then how was the weather overall in the cruise? Someone's commenting that they went on in mid November out of Galveston. It was just too cold on to swim. So I'm curious how the weather was for you.
[00:41:02] Speaker D: We. So when we chatted with you guys three years ago, it was this exact itinerary in January over New Year. So it was very similar time of year. So I expected it to be similar to our previous experience, which was freezing in Galveston, cool on the first sea day, really warm once you hit Mexico, which is exactly our experience.
So the first sea day, we didn't swim.
And then the three days that you were more in the Gulf were really warm and really beautiful. And so we took full advantage of that. And then the sailing day back got cool again. It rained a little bit and then we weren't. So we were in the pool three of the five days.
Yeah, it was a very merry time. I should have said that. So it was the day after Thanksgiving, we boarded and then it was a five day cruise.
[00:41:54] Speaker B: Awesome.
[00:41:55] Speaker A: Did you mention the grandparents were off having a lovely time in the evening? Did you guys get a night together? Because sometimes seeing with the grandparents, it's kind of nice. You can, you know, you can do a Palo dinner or something, just the two of you. Did you guys get a. Get a night to just, you know, go experience some of the adult stuff on board?
[00:42:12] Speaker C: So I got to do something for myself. I went to the bourbon tasting the first night and I'd ask you about.
[00:42:19] Speaker A: It, but having done it, I know you won't remember.
[00:42:24] Speaker C: What's really cool is right up on my shelf up There I have one of the bourbons that I got on the cruise. My mom got it for me for Christmas because I loved it that much. I came home saying, have you ever heard of Yellowstone? Not the show, the bourbon. And she surprised me with it for Christmas because I was raving how great it was.
It was selfishly for me, one of my highlights because it was the first night. I love Cove Cafe. There was only about, I don't know, 16 of us there. So it seemed really intimate.
And I think the guy, his name was Trevor, the guy who led it, he went over for sure. Like we were there for at least an hour and a half.
We had five bourbons and then an old fashioned of what I loved about it was all the bourbons weren't your regular. Well, I love Buffalo Trace, but there was not a Knob Creek or Buffalo Trace or like Bullet or anything like that. It was things you've not really tried. And my brother Ryan and I, we.
[00:43:24] Speaker A: We loved it. But the. Mitch, if you really liked it, I would say two tastings that you need to try. Next one is get on a wish class ship and do the old fashioned tasting in Hook. So it's very small, very hard to get into.
But he makes a bunch of. Or there or whoever is doing it makes a bunch of different old fashions, including like some with scotch whiskey, some with Japanese whiskey. I think even maybe one with like a tequila, which is really fun to see. And then the whiskey tasting, as opposed to the bourbon tasting. That's when they bring out some of like the, you know, again, the Japanese whiskeys, the scotches, some like the rarer stuff they have on board. That one could be a lot of fun. But as our friend Chad messaged us recently about drink tastings, the reason I don't do them anymore is because I feel like I feel so trashed after leaving an hour and a half of that stuff. Yeah, yeah.
[00:44:08] Speaker C: Jillian can tell you about the mixology class we did and how memorable that was.
[00:44:14] Speaker D: So there's two things that stand out that we were able to do with the kiddos that were really special adult time. One was the mixology. And of course, 20 months ago I signed up. And then a few months ago I took myself off the list and figured I'll just come and hang out. And so when we got to the door, my sister, brother in law and Robbie checked in and I said, hey, I just love to just hang out if that's okay. If you have anything zero proof, just a glass of something, I would love to just sip on it and hang out, they said, of course. We walked in.
Ten minutes later, the amazing waitress brought me out an entire tray of zero proof mixology cocktails that were almost identical to theirs on the fly. Did not give them any heads up on that. And then they just charged me the fee at the end.
But I got to be a part of the whole experience, so I think that's great to know. For anyone who doesn't drink for lots of different reasons, you can just ask.
[00:45:09] Speaker C: But zero proof is so becoming so popular. I feel like they need to.
They need to capitalize on this because I tried every one of them. They were fantastic.
[00:45:18] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:45:19] Speaker B: And there are so many zero proof liquors now. Right. Like what? Like substitute for a liquor that isn't just like a mocktail. Right. But they have like that taste even more like a cocktail than a mocktail. And so it's really. Yeah, it's really nice. The options that they have out there now.
[00:45:35] Speaker A: I'm actually kind of surprised in adult dining, they haven't come up with like a zero proof. Like, instead of a wine pairing, like doing, like, oh, we'll do a zero proof pairing for your dinner. I think that would just be such a great thing to add on board.
[00:45:48] Speaker B: You know, we had Erin and Todd on the show and they actually did that. They were not real happy with what they ended up getting. I think it was at Remy. But they. They did it. It was. It was. They did it as a. With a. With a Remy. I can't remember if it was a. I think it was a brunch that they did. But yeah, regardless. Yeah, definitely a great option. All right. You also did Paulo brunch, Is that right?
[00:46:11] Speaker D: As a seasoned cruisers, Paulo's really not a non. It's a non negotiable at this point. So we planned way in advance. We kind of knew that Pirate night tends to be obviously not your last night, but maybe night three or four.
So grandparents went to Palo dinner night two for dinner.
Young parents went to dinner at Palo Night 3. So grandparents did take the grandkids for dinner that night.
[00:46:38] Speaker C: Pirate night dinner, not my favorite. So we always try and plan Palo on Pirate Night.
[00:46:42] Speaker D: Yeah.
And so we traded on that and then we all planned ahead to do Palo brunch together on the last sea day. And so we booked the nursery for the Littles and then the kids club for everyone else. So that was the one time we said, you are going to the kids club.
[00:46:59] Speaker A: You had enough people, did you? I think you had enough adults. Did you try to request the private room in Palo for your brunch.
[00:47:06] Speaker D: My dad, he's the. He's now almost Pearl, and he thinks he's a professional. And we usually sail with a big group and we usually go on the older ships where that's kind of your only option for a big table. So he has come to expect it. And I have to tell him, dad, you don't just get the captain's table.
[00:47:24] Speaker C: But we did get the captain's table every time we did.
[00:47:29] Speaker B: Now I gotta tell folks, like, if you want this, if you have a larger party and you a bunch of adults that you can. Usually it's a minimum of eight, and I think it's a maximum of like 12 or maybe 14. They might be able, on older ships, fit 14 in the room. But you've got to make that request in advance. You can do it. If you're sailing concierge, the concierge team will do that request for you. If you're not sailing concierge, you got to call Disney Cruise Line and they'll make you fill out a form and you can put in that request. And it is one of those things where they won't tell you for sure if you got it until like, shortly before your cruise or even when you're on board. But they'll usually help you with getting multiple reservations if you're unable to get that private room. So it's definitely something you can do.
But yeah. Moral of the story, according to Ed in the chat name drop, Jillian's dad at Palo.
I love that.
[00:48:24] Speaker D: Who has been our waiter on the Wonder and the Magic at Palo for years and years in years. And we just happened to be able to get him again. And it was like seeing family. So shout out to Haristo, who I'm pretty sure hooked it up.
[00:48:38] Speaker A: How is the magic overall? Because we've had some mixed reviews of late about the Disney magic that she's showing her age just a little too much these days. How was it overall for you on the sailing?
[00:48:49] Speaker C: I mean, if you look close enough, you can. You can find it. I think the atrium is.
Got some wear and tear.
[00:48:58] Speaker D: They did not affect our cruise.
[00:48:59] Speaker C: No, no whatsoever. But I think if you're looking for it, you can find it.
[00:49:04] Speaker D: We also have not being now based in Texas and have having kids made our way to Florida to get on any of the new ships. So we've only done the four.
I'm going to call them originals. So we are praying that the rumors are true and that they'll send one of the new ships to Galveston more regularly so that we can get on one of them. But really, for me, if I'm on a Disney cruise, I am happy, happy, happy, happy. So I had no complaints about the magic in terms of issues or anything.
[00:49:37] Speaker B: Well, I think your wish may come true and I think it may be a wish that is what comes to Galveston. So I hooks Marbury, here I come.
[00:49:48] Speaker A: I'm going to send you.
[00:49:49] Speaker B: You.
[00:49:49] Speaker A: I'm going to send you a bag. All I need you to do is grab the droid and run. All right.
[00:49:55] Speaker B: Yes. Now that the droid is in the in hyperspace lounge. No, but, but I mean, the Wish, we know even though Disney hasn't announced it, the Wish is going over to Europe in 2027. We know that from the calendar. We also know that from various port schedules in Europe that have put seen, you know, said the wishes on their schedule.
But after she comes back from her summer in Europe, they have not said what she's going to be doing. And I'm not saying, like, I don' have any inside information on this, but I would not be surprised if, because there will be more Wish class ships now in the fleet between the Wish Treasure, Destiny and then the fourth wish class ship which comes out in 2027, it would not surprise me that when that ship comes out that maybe the Wish would switch itineraries and whatever ship that is, that new ship might take over that three, four night itinerary out of Port Canaveral because they'd like to keep a new ship over there. So, yeah, I think that's definitely a possibility. We won't know, I think, until the next itinerary release when we see what the other ships are doing or maybe two itinerary releases, frankly. All right, well, I want to talk characters because one of the things, of course, Robbie, that is near and dear to you is playing characters on board Disney Cruise Line. And of course, your kids got to meet some of their favorite characters on board. You mentioned Rory dressing up like Captain Americ.
I got to understand what that moment was like. When you get to introduce Rory to your successor on Disney Cruise Line, Captain.
[00:51:30] Speaker C: America, I first have to say my friend Sierra listened to the podcast he did with Wes the DCL dude, and she was like, why didn't Robbie tell him who he was?
I was the very first Captain America on Disney Cruise Line.
[00:51:47] Speaker D: Or in general?
[00:51:47] Speaker C: Like, yeah, in general.
[00:51:50] Speaker B: I mentioned on our show last week that you actually, when you see posters of Captain America for, like, Marvel Day at Sea and things like that, all of that those, like, brochures and stuff on the website. Like, you are probably looking at Robby Abney when you're seeing those photos of Captain America in uniform.
[00:52:09] Speaker C: Most likely, yes.
[00:52:10] Speaker A: So you could say, robbie, you were the first Disney cruise line adventure, the first avenger.
[00:52:15] Speaker B: The first cruise line adventure.
[00:52:18] Speaker C: Yeah, 100%.
So meeting Cap, like, was top of my list.
Had to.
And I thought Rory might have been afraid. You know, that's overwhelming. He's got a shield in his room above his bed.
So I thought it might be, like, too much too soon. And so I was kind of prepping for that. We were waiting in line. We were, like, the ninth or 10th guest, so he had some time to see him, and he looked a little afraid. And so I was like, oh, whatever happens, happens. We get to the front.
The Cap was awesome.
He walks up to us and just takes out his hand. Rory takes his hand. I'm like, oh, don't move. Don't do anything. So they walk up together in front of his backdrop, and I stay behind, and I just let it happen.
I let it ride. And they're just talking. You can't really hear him because he. He kneels down, is talking to him, and by. And I'm, like, choking up, trying not to cry, because this is, like, such a big moment for me, because it's like, I. To see my son meet the guy that is just, you know, done so much for me, was amazing.
[00:53:28] Speaker D: And in the same location you did.
[00:53:30] Speaker C: On the ship, same location that I did so many years ago.
And then I go up. I, you know, just shake his hand, you know, And I really had this. I really wanted to tell him what I said, and I actually said it. I said, I know you're the first avenger, but I was the first avenger on this cruise. And he didn't really get it at first. And then he looked at me again, and it all came over.
Oh. Oh, you are like. He said.
And he looked at his host, like, he pointed to the host like, it's him.
[00:54:04] Speaker A: It's him.
[00:54:08] Speaker C: And so the cap was very nice. And we got to do right before.
Till we Meet again, the special meet and greet in D Lounge. He totally set that up for our state room. And he was, like, so awesome for us. And that was one moment. I'm like, like, again, when are we, like, state room? The placeholder is down.
Here we go again.
[00:54:34] Speaker B: Here we go again. I love it. Now, did Lily Jo enjoy meeting characters? Like, is she. You know, she obviously has been to Disneyland, but, yeah. Did she Enjoy meeting characters on board the ship. Is she in her princess era now?
[00:54:49] Speaker D: She is.
And we didn't force it with either of the kids. A few times we went to Disneyland. I would say prior to 2 years old, for both of them, they wanted to see them, but from afar. And I was totally fine with that. I was not going to be the shove my crying kid up. You know, sometimes you gotta do that, but we have the luxury of going.
[00:55:08] Speaker B: Enough to where I wanted to only do that with Santa. You don't have to do that with Disney characters.
[00:55:15] Speaker A: You don't want to take a picture.
[00:55:16] Speaker C: I'm not going to force it.
I've met too many kids where it's like, this kid does not want to stand next to me.
[00:55:23] Speaker D: Yeah.
So didn't want to force the autographs. We really like it just to be an authentic moment. If the picture works out, great. If we don't want to take a picture, that's fine too. So we just went to Disneyland in September, and she loved the characters, and so we were very excited. So, yes, we did the princess gathering, and all she wants to do is look at the pictures and talk about them. And, yeah, she has entered her princess era. I think the crews helped with that a lot. But she was just precious. You can see in one of the pictures that we posted with Pirate Minnie. She was into the whole thing. So.
[00:55:58] Speaker B: So.
Oh, I love that. Now, is it weird now, like, with you two having both been cast members for Disney, is it, like, weird to kind of see the experience, like, you know, what's behind the curtain, right? Like, you know, what's going on before these characters come out and meet. Meet, you know, the. The guests. And is it weird, like, experiencing that from the other side, like, being the guest and you got to put on your, like, imagination cap and literally, like, to, you know, because, you know, what's. Does that kind of ruin the magic or does that make it more magical? I'm curious.
[00:56:36] Speaker C: I. I think I'm more hypercritical. When a moment is happening that you.
You really have to read the room and read the kid and the parent. And so I think as a Disney cast member, you have to get really good at that and no one intervene and no one to take a step back. It's just. It's gas and break to make that moment special.
Sometimes I feel like it was like most of the interactions, sometimes the host is just all gas where they're like, they're the character. It almost feels like they're the character. And I wanted to say, like, Hey, I know that, you know, Mickey might not be talking right now, but let it, Let them just interact, you know, and if, if Mickey is confused and needs some help, you can chime in, but sometimes it felt like all gas. Like, let me just interact for Mickey. Like, no, it's okay. So I feel like, sometimes I feel like I get a little too critical, and I'm, I just need to be in the moment. But most of the time, the interactions were special. The character totally drove the hug or the dance or the bow with the, you know. So I think.
[00:57:45] Speaker D: Yeah, two things on that. I think cruise line, which a lot of your listeners probably have experienced.
You can continue a memory with a character. So you might meet Belle on day one, and she'll remember you on day five.
[00:57:58] Speaker C: That's a good point.
[00:57:59] Speaker D: And so that's unique to Disney Cruise Line compared to a experience. And so loved that.
[00:58:05] Speaker A: And Bell did say, yes, I remember meeting you.
[00:58:08] Speaker C: That's right.
[00:58:08] Speaker D: It was so sweet. And the other thing, too, because we come from that world. We appreciate people who do it correctly. I don't know if that's the right word. But genuinely with care, with time. So it means a lot to us when we get that experience that we're hoping for, because we're kind of looking for it, I guess. But we had overall wildly positive, long interactions, sweet conversations, and now I'm bummed for all those parents out there. I should have just bought that dang picture package because there was ones, and then we had to pick, and we probably spent as much as we would have spent on the package. I never thought I would be that person. Here we are.
[00:58:50] Speaker B: I, I, I love that you said this, Gillian, because I am a fan. So it's funny because we didn't always buy the picture package, and now we're Pearl. So now we get it for free. But I actually have. But I'm a convert about the picture package. I actually think, yeah, I think the unlimited picture package is one of the best deals. If your kids will take pictures. If your kids are, I never want to take a picture, then, yes, don't bother. But if you think you might take a few pictures here and there, you will end up taking more than you think you will. And those pictures. The unlimited picture package, you pay less if you buy it ahead of time. If you decide that you don't want any of the package, like you don't want any pictures, they will actually refund you, usually on board, if you're really nice and if you ask really nicely to the folks at Shutters. If you pre bought it and then you're like, realize, oh, we didn't take any pictures, right, like, or there's only like five pictures, so it's not really worth it, then they will usually refund you. I can't guarantee that, but if you're really nice to the cast members, they'll usually make it happen.
[00:59:55] Speaker A: I also love the thread of you can continue the. The experience with the characters along the way. As Sam experienced, she insulted Donald on night three, and he remembered her at Castaway on the next day. So.
[01:00:06] Speaker B: Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. Oh, Ed is saying that the. It's not even discretionary. The refund is guaranteed. So that's great. But yeah, always get a picture package. I say if you think you'll take like, even just a few pictures, because once you hit, I think like, 10 pictures, like, the 10 picture package costs like, very like, $10 less than the unlimited picture package. So once you're hitting like 20 or 30 pictures, you have actually like, hit the unlimited picture package, basically. And if you buy it ahead of time, it's cheaper than if you buy on board. If you're Pearl, of course, you'll get it for free. So you don't need to do anything. You don't have to book it. It will just automatically be applied to your account. But yeah, you just. Oh, and Ed is saying you just have to make sure you haven't downloaded any photos. So if you decide to get that refund, you can't have downloaded any photos. They will not refund because, of course, then you've already captured some of those. Those photos. So some folks are saying if I paid for the package, my kid's gonna stand there for the photo.
You know, you.
I mean, I can only control my own kid, and he will do some pictures.
[01:01:10] Speaker A: She didn't pay for the package, and I still have to stand there for the photo.
[01:01:13] Speaker B: So that's where this is going is, as Tracy mentioned in the chat, or your spouse, it's not just about making your kid stand for pictures. Sometimes it's about making your spouse pose for pictures. Because we don't take a lot of pictures in our everyday life. Right. And there isn't a photographer standing outside my front door to take a photo of. Of the two of us or of us as a family.
And a selfie is just not the same. So it's really nice when we can get those photos either at dinner or in front of the backdrops with characters. Especially those magic shots, you know, we love those magic shots. Yeah. All of the Things.
[01:01:51] Speaker A: All right, well, we have hit an hour. We are over an hour for our live show. So I need to take us out forever. I need to take us out. We could talk all night with the two of you. I have one final question, my favorite question to ask on the show, which is what's next? Have you got something planned? Have you got something booked? Like where are you headed next with Disney Cruise Line?
[01:02:09] Speaker D: We have our placeholder.
[01:02:10] Speaker B: Of course.
[01:02:12] Speaker D: We're very excited for this baby, but that puts about a year timeline between before we have the baby, plus another six months, plus, you know, might want to wait a little bit longer. So we're hoping to do March of 27 out of Galveston. It'll be the Magic still. But it just makes so much sense for us to jump in the car and drive rather than get on an airplane. So we're very. We haven't booked it, but. And it's in the works.
[01:02:35] Speaker C: Yeah.
[01:02:36] Speaker B: I think March, they have lots of stuff that you have to kind of schlep. So being in a car is a little bit easier than the airplane.
[01:02:45] Speaker C: Yeah. So I think our placeholders down.
I think March or April of 27, we will be on the Magic, which is, I have to say it's shorter than the last time we booked because.
[01:02:59] Speaker D: A five person room is so expensive.
[01:03:01] Speaker B: That's okay.
Gets you every time, Jillian, you know, Every time.
[01:03:08] Speaker C: Every time.
[01:03:10] Speaker A: Well, we will have to have you back after your, your next sailing. We'll hope it's not another. Was it three years since we had you on last time? Good gosh.
Well, hope it's not another three years, but you know, reach out. We'd love to have you back on with that.
I will just say we will be back back next week. Regular time, 5:30pm Pacific, 8:30pm Eastern. And Sam, if memory serves, we will have the incomparable Amy joining us, who.
[01:03:41] Speaker B: We had on the show just a few months ago. We talked Disney cruise line etiquette. That was a fantastic show. Amy is a fantastic guest. She just sailed on the Destiny over Christmas. Of course, it was her first sailing on the Destiny. They had a Mickey and Minnie cabana at Castaway. We're gonna talk some stuff about the Destiny. We're gonna talk some stuff about maritime, some stuff about relaxing and some stuff, of course, about the cabana. So fantastic episode we'll have next week with Amy who's like I said, a great guest and she's a former planned Disney panelist. So she knows lots about cruise line and lots about Disney parks as well.
[01:04:17] Speaker A: Yes, so with that, Robbie Gillian, thank you for spending some time with us this evening. Thank you to the audience out there for for hilarious chat this evening and I will once again put in a plug. If you're listening to this after the fact, please head over to YouTube.
I'll channel Sam like and subscribe but head over to YouTube to watch because there's some great stuff in there from the smolder to the artwork. So head over there and give it a watch. Otherwise, good night everyone out there. Thank you for watching and we will see you next time.
[01:04:51] 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 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 to 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. 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? Head over to mypathunwinding.com DCLDUO or email them at DCLDUO mypathunwinding.com so they know we sent you their way.
[01:05:41] Speaker A: If you've got questions or you'd like.
[01:05:43] Speaker E: To to connect with us, the best way to do that is to head over to DCLDuo.com it's got links to all of our things, full catalog of the podcast episodes including a searchable catalog for the podcast links off to our vlog, a link to our Etsy store where we sell some fun fan inspired magnets. Link to our Patreon if you'd like to help directly support the show each and every month, just head over to the website or patreon.com DCLDUO also as a way for you to sign up for our substack newsletter that we're hoping to start start really pumping out monthly here at least on a few blog.
[01:06:11] Speaker A: Articles that we've written.
[01:06:12] Speaker E: So DCLDUO.com is the best way to connect with us. You can also of course email
[email protected] or reach out to us on our voicemail line at 402-413-5590. That's 402-413-5590. The DCL duo Podcast is not affiliated with Disney Cruise Line, the Disney Company or the Disney Family of theme parks. The views expressed on the show are solely those of the the individuals on the podcast and in no way reflective. Use the Disney Company or Disney Cruise Line. If you have questions about a Disney Cruise or Disney Vacation, please contact the great folks over at My Path Unwinding Travel or Disney directly or your own travel agent.
[01:06:47] Speaker A: Thanks again for listening, and we'll see.
[01:06:49] Speaker E: You next time for another fabulous adventure with the DCL Duo.
[01:06:59] Speaker B: Sam.
