[00:00:00] Speaker A: I think it's. If I was 13, I didn't get to go on a Disney cruise Till I was 26. But I think if I would have done that at that age, I think it would have been a freaking blast. Do you know what I mean?
[00:00:08] Speaker B: Hey, I had to wait until I was 40 to go on a Disney cruise, so.
[00:00:11] Speaker A: Exactly.
Because when you're a teen and you get that independence on a ship with. And then they feed, you know, the kids can go get anything they want. I mean, I just feel like it's gotta be cool for them.
[00:00:33] Speaker B: Welcome back everybody to this week's live episode of the DCL Duo podcast. Brought to you by my path Unwinding travel and also our good friends over at the WDW magazine, the DCL magazine become a part of their inaugural crew by heading over to dcl-magazine.com today to sign up for the forthcoming DCL magazine. If you use code DCLDUO, all caps DC L DUO, you can take 10 off everything in the DCL magazine w magazine store. And we just so want to thank Stephanie, Tim, Tatiana. Why am I blanking? I can, I can.
I'm missing somebody.
[00:01:15] Speaker A: Danny.
[00:01:15] Speaker B: Danny.
Dan it. Danny.
[00:01:19] Speaker A: Danny.
[00:01:20] Speaker B: Thanks everybody over there at the DCL magazine for supporting the show. And now, Sam, without further ado, we've got to bring our guests in, right?
[00:01:28] Speaker C: I mean we're going to do quick news, very quick.
[00:01:30] Speaker B: We can bring them in for news, can't we?
[00:01:32] Speaker C: Can. We are so excited. We have the Holgate, Steven and Brian Holgate with us today.
We're so excited.
[00:01:42] Speaker D: Thank you.
[00:01:42] Speaker A: We're so excited to be here.
[00:01:45] Speaker C: I feel like I know you guys already goals for us because I watched your YouTube show. I mentioned to you guys pre show that I started watching when somebody mentioned I think Stephen had shouted us out on your show and I was like, oh, let me check them out. And I started watching and I just adore you both. You're big cruisers, your big personalities. We just adore you. And it's so fun watching like your everyday life and then also watching you on the cruise line. It's just like seeing that. Thank you, Sam.
[00:02:18] Speaker A: Yeah, I adore y'.
[00:02:20] Speaker B: All.
[00:02:20] Speaker A: Seriously.
I feel like I know all of you, especially even Nathan as well. I put on a episode last night so Brian could hear how hilarious Nathan is. I was like, spoiler alert. One of my favorite guests is Nathan.
[00:02:32] Speaker E: Be so smart. He's so smart.
[00:02:34] Speaker B: He's a fan.
[00:02:34] Speaker A: I told him, I said, I was like, how does an 11 year old or is he 12 now.
[00:02:39] Speaker C: He's 12 now. Yeah, 12.
[00:02:41] Speaker A: I was like, how does a 12 year old have this vocabulary? But I don't.
And so job well done.
[00:02:48] Speaker B: Well, and Sam, for your sake, we did get the first comment here from Andrew, who is here. Just add this. There we go. Hi, Diddy and Brian.
[00:02:59] Speaker A: Dee Dee, Dee Dee. Hi, Andrew.
[00:03:04] Speaker C: Thanks for coming on.
[00:03:05] Speaker B: Lots of love for the Holgates coming in through the comments. So keep those comments coming. Keep your questions coming. But Sam, why don't you do a little. We got two news items for the evening.
[00:03:14] Speaker C: Really? It's just really one news item. So the itineraries came out last Tuesday and we did our special live show to talk all about them.
They went on sale today for Pearl Cruisers and big surprise, Disney. It was apparently a total bust. Travel agents could not book through the website. They had to to call in to do their bookings.
Apparently even some consumers were having issues, like guests who were trying to do their bookings directly as well.
They were having issues.
So just a pain in the butt for a lot of people.
I'm glad, I guess it happened on Pearl Cruiser booking day because let's face it, like those of us who are that committed to Disney Cruise Line, we're going to book regardless of whether or not we have IT issues.
But like the silver cruisers, those brand new cruisers, like, they might get discouraged. They might be like, oh my God, this booking process was so bad, I'm just going to give up and book on a different cruise line like this.
[00:04:15] Speaker B: Yeah. What's funny is no one thought, well, only a few people seem to think, you know, call me, like, call Disney. Like they have a phone number still and they were taking reservations over the phone today. So yeah, I think the travel agents were the big losers out of today because they seem to be having the most IT issues. So.
[00:04:31] Speaker C: Yeah. Yeah. Well, we are here today to talk to Steven and Brian or Dee and Dad all about cruising on the Disney Magic out of Galveston, their recent cruise. I know you guys were sailing on the Destiny in a couple months, but we wanted to talk obviously about what it's like sailing through the years and sailing with Kenzie as she's grown up on Disney Cruise Line from a toddler to a 14 year old.
But Steven, you had told us at the beginning or right before we started the live, that you've been listening to us since 2020 when we started this podcast.
[00:05:08] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:05:08] Speaker C: And I think that's crazy.
[00:05:11] Speaker A: Well, you know what's funny? I only have two podcasts on my phone and that's all I listen to. So I will listen to you guys, and then I'll listen to the 7th Heaven rewatch, and that's it. So if 7th Heaven doesn't have an episode and you guys don't have a new one, I'll literally just go listen to one of your old ones. So I probably the only. The episodes that I re Listen to the most are your guys's cruises. Because I love listening to, like, your fam. Your family's experience. Because it's like, of everyone that I've listened to on your podcast, obviously, I feel like I know you guys the best. And so, yeah, I started listening while walking dogs in 2020 during the pandemic when nobody was going anywhere, so I would just walk the neighborhood, and I searched Disney Cruise. And then over the years, I mainly just love you guys so much because I feel like of any podcast I've ever listened to, that everybody, any kind of family makeup, any kind of anything, Grandparents, raising kids or two dads, two moms, traditional families, everything, everybody has been seen on here. And so it feels like the safest community to be a part of. And so job well done to you guys.
[00:06:19] Speaker C: Thank you.
I know.
[00:06:23] Speaker A: Me too.
[00:06:23] Speaker C: Tearing up like you guys.
[00:06:25] Speaker A: Brian with an eye.
[00:06:27] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:06:27] Speaker C: Brian with an ah.
I mean, we feel like there is a place in Disney Cruise Line for everyone. There's a place in our lives for everyone, obviously. I mean, we have friends from many different walks of life, many friends who have families that look different from our family. And I think we want our community to reflect, you know, who's in our lives as well. And I think the Disney Cruise Line is a really good reflection of that. I think you see different, like, lots of different races, different family makeups, different ages. Right. You see everything. And disabilities. Right. You see everything on Disney Cruise Line. And I think that's a testament of how inclusive the community is, and that's what we aim to reflect in our show as well. So we love.
[00:07:13] Speaker A: That's what I think is great is I feel like of any podcast I've listened to in the Disney thing over the years that I've tried out, you guys reflect Disney the most. It's the most. Like, your podcast is the most. What it's actually like how you. That feeling you get when you're at Disney, does that make sense? And so for me, that's why I've stuck with you guys the whole time. I might have deleted other podcasts off my phone, but not y'. All.
[00:07:37] Speaker C: I kind of love that it's seventh Heaven Rewatch as your other one. That cracks me off.
[00:07:43] Speaker E: That's your competition.
[00:07:44] Speaker A: I was gonna say my range. 7th heaven DCL duo.
And then here's the funny. I have a funny story for y'.
[00:07:53] Speaker B: All.
[00:07:53] Speaker A: So I've been listening forever. So, like I said, I have my favorite guests, I have my favorite cruises you guys have been on, and Brian has never listened to a podcast in his life until a week ago. So I put him on your podcast because he was like, what do you love about them? So I was like, I love that day. And I was like, reading my whole speech. And then I said, you know, I told him, I said, they. Everybody is reflected on this show. So it is like a big, you know, there's a. It's a very big umbrella in the DCL duo.
[00:08:22] Speaker C: And.
[00:08:23] Speaker A: And then I said, you should go listen. But I said, just start. Just scroll down and wherever you stop, just start there. Because it's. It's. The story has progressed, you know, with your family and your cruises and stuff, but you can listen to anything and enjoy it. So he was like, no, I'm the kind of person that likes to start on the bottom. So I was like, oh.
[00:08:40] Speaker E: I said, Steven said, he's like, no, because Brian will be really like, no, he won't like that you did that.
[00:08:48] Speaker A: I was like. I was like, sam will let that slide, but Brian is going to be very upset. I was like, he's going to be like, no.
[00:08:55] Speaker E: Well, and that's because I think it's like, it. It really, like, showed me how you two function together one on one and like, starting something new. Like, we've all done that as a couple. We've done it as a couple. You guys have done it. And so it really showed me, like, how you guys. Where you started and where you've, you know, where you're going, rather than jumping in and being like, whoa, this is like a full blown, like, production that they've got going.
[00:09:22] Speaker A: But the funny thing is he was like, oh, I love it. I'm loving this.
[00:09:26] Speaker E: I do.
[00:09:26] Speaker A: And he skipped ahead to the later episodes. And he was like, oh, my gosh, so much has changed. I really like the cozy comforting. And I was like, oh, okay.
[00:09:38] Speaker B: Oh, that was. Those early episodes were me on my iPhone using. I forget the name of the. There was a service that came out, like, right before the pandemic. They're like, you can podcast from your iPhone. I was like, sure, I'll give that a try. And like, so we were being interactive,
[00:09:53] Speaker A: none of the equipment or anything.
[00:09:55] Speaker B: In the beginning, we had nothing. We had. We had. I think our first purchase was a Bluetooth YETI microphone. And we would just like, share it back and forth. We would just sit there and kind of like, sit across from each other and lean in and talk into it. And then I think within about three months maybe, we finally got an actual mic set up that we were using.
[00:10:16] Speaker A: You guys have good podcast voices, though.
[00:10:18] Speaker E: You do.
[00:10:19] Speaker A: There's some.
I hate listening to my voice, you know.
No, like, they. It works. It gives. It gives good energy.
[00:10:26] Speaker C: Yeah, no, I. I will say I. I actually. I don't like listening to myself, but I actually will agree with you on our voices. Like, both of us, you know, we're both lawyers as our profession. And. Yeah, I actually. I actually argue for a living, specifically, like, my job.
I'll send you a video, Stephen. It's online. There's plenty of videos of me on different Washington Courts websites, but I'll send you one. But, yeah, so I argue for a living. And then Brian is a corporate lawyer, but he does like presentations all the time. So we're very used to and comfortable, you know, having to sort of present and talk to people. Even though Brian with an I is a introvert who plays an extrovert on TV versus me being an extrovert by nature. So I think that. Yeah, so I totally get.
I do think it's a natural, like, application of some of our skills.
[00:11:22] Speaker B: So before we. Before we started, you said you had.
You had a couple of favorite guests. And I am so curious.
[00:11:29] Speaker A: I do.
[00:11:30] Speaker B: We don't play favorites, you know, but we do have some people that we like. We can't wait to have back on Josh Wilson if you're still out there listening.
[00:11:38] Speaker E: I haven't met all these people. Yeah, I haven't met all these people on AS listening. And so I only get these caricatures that he kind of paints for me of. And so I'm excited for you.
[00:11:49] Speaker A: I've given him the full rundown on, like, you know, the dcl, the DCL Duo villain and the Sailing sloths and every. Everybody. We need, like, action figures at this point.
[00:12:00] Speaker C: But.
[00:12:02] Speaker A: So first, one of my first favorites is probably an obvious favorite. It's William Rebecca, because you can always count. This is what Brian was like.
[00:12:10] Speaker D: Why.
[00:12:11] Speaker A: Why are the people that you're naming your favorites? And I said, because when they come on, I know I'm gonna get, like, a full story. Like, they're good at it. Like, they're good at being guests where sometimes, you know, you might Forget what you wanna say or, you know, like us right now. But anyways.
But Willy and Rebecca, because I feel like the episode goes by like that. And then also Gayle of the sailing sloths is one of my favorites because something about her personality just makes me laugh. And she's always like, ready to answer all the questions. And I feel like she's like in. She's like hosting with you guys and it kills me. I just love it. It's really. It's really like, funny to me. And then obviously Nathan, because anytime Nathan comes on, he has a way, like whenever you guys as parents, you know, when I hear you and Nathan on the podcast, I hear us with our child over the years. And so you'll try to like redirect him and he'll be like, well, as I was saying, actually the way to get into the kids club is on the left and you said the right. And I'm like,
[00:13:17] Speaker C: the constant correction from him is actually hilarious. Like, he.
He has no shame in correcting us on even like the most minute error like that we've made. He will. He will correct us so it's.
[00:13:31] Speaker A: He can hold his own in a home of two lawyers. I think that's impressive.
[00:13:35] Speaker E: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:13:36] Speaker A: He's the judge.
[00:13:37] Speaker B: He's the judge.
[00:13:39] Speaker E: Yeah.
[00:13:41] Speaker A: I love that.
[00:13:42] Speaker C: We are thankful that he, even though he's great at arguing, we don't think he has really any interest in being a lawyer. We think that's great.
He has other talents and will end up.
[00:13:54] Speaker B: He's gonna build like a moon base or something. I can't keep up with him. Yeah.
I wanted to ask the two of you, like, how did you decide to get into kind of the YouTube, Instagram?
What made you decide? We want to share our family's vacations in this way because I'm always curious, like, why people start this journey.
Yeah.
[00:14:16] Speaker A: Yeah. So I'm like, my parents didn't take a lot of pictures or videos growing up. And so as an adult, it's put me in this thing where I'm like, I feel like I have to document everything because I don't have a lot of things to look back on from my childhood. Maybe in my childhood I have 200 pictures. And so for Kenzie, she has like 200 a week because I'm like, so, like, I don't want to forget a thing. And so I've always video recorded everything since she was a baby. You know, us getting to know one another. And I would always turn them into little like family home movies and Then my family and my friends and Brian would be like, you should share those online. And like I said, being an introverted extrovert, I'm like, no way. I'm not comfortable sharing. So we went on our first Disney cruise after the pandemic. We went on the Disney Wonder out of Galveston. And afterwards Brian was like, you should turn them into vlogs for the cruise. I mean for the, for YouTube. And I was like, okay. So I tried it and the reaction was so positive. So I just kept going. And then, yeah, it's building a community with like kind hearted people and stuff like that. I'm sure as you guys know, it makes you feel comfortable to keep going. Whereas like we're lucky we haven't been met with a lot of hate online, which has been great. And so it just keeps me feeling comfortable to share. You know, obviously we're always like careful what we show, you know what I mean? And you have to be careful with what you share. But like the reaction over the years has been so great and we've had such like amazing opportunities come out of it. So it's just been really fun.
[00:15:50] Speaker B: Now are you self taught or did you have a background in video or communication or something?
[00:15:56] Speaker E: Stephen.
I'll praise him for a second. So he has always, he wanted to be a Disney animator when he grew up and he was always, he just loved Disney and not just Disney, but like the creative side of it and how it becomes what we all just go and enjoy. And so he has videos, not just of Kenzie's childhood, but he had a video camera when he was a young kid and he would get his siblings in and he would create scripts and make them costumes and like it's like we've got the VHS tapes under the bed upstairs. Like he has always been into creating videos and, and just telling stories of the silliness that is inside his brain and it just worked. And to be honest, I was having to buy terabyte hard drives constantly and I was just put them on YouTube for free storage at the very least.
[00:16:49] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:16:50] Speaker E: And it'll be, you know.
[00:16:52] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah.
[00:16:52] Speaker A: I always enjoy the like the editing aspect, you know, because I'll get people that will email me and they'll be like, would you like to hire me as your editor? And I'm like, no, because I put all my sense of humor with my editing, you know.
And so.
[00:17:04] Speaker C: Yeah, your editing is incredible. Thank you.
Yeah, for those who don't watch The Holgates on YouTube, there are just these little basically in every scene Like a scene. I'm calling it a scene, but it's real life. But there's always either an animated little vignette, or maybe it's something from the Real Housewives, or maybe it's something from Friends, like a lot of sitcom references, but it's these little scenes, snippets cut in between them, and it's hilarious. Like, it's so.
[00:17:40] Speaker A: Thank you, Sam.
[00:17:41] Speaker C: It's. I. I can never do what you do, Stephen.
[00:17:44] Speaker A: But it's really, really in here. He.
[00:17:47] Speaker E: It's all Steven's.
[00:17:48] Speaker A: I need to go. I need to go on your next viewer cruise and I'll vlog it.
[00:17:52] Speaker C: Yes. Oh, my God, that would be amazing.
[00:17:54] Speaker A: Drinks and video making.
[00:17:56] Speaker C: I love it. I love it. Yeah. I will buy you all the drinks you need in order to do that.
[00:18:03] Speaker A: Let's do it.
Wait, when is the next viewer cruise? I know you're doing the river cruise. Do you have a Disney cruise planned, or. No, we.
[00:18:11] Speaker B: Not yet. We're doing kind of every other year.
And so next summer, we had thought about doing kind of an unofficial cruise to Alaska, but I'm getting a sabbatical from work. Spoiler alert to some of our listeners. So I get two months of kind of downtime from work, and so we're thinking about spending at least some of that or most of it in Hawaii for a couple months. So we did not actually book anything out of this release because it was summer of next year, but. So our next cruise will probably be in 2028, right, Sam?
[00:18:43] Speaker D: Is that right?
[00:18:43] Speaker C: Yes. Our next podcast cruise will probably be 2028, and we haven't decided what it's going to be, although there's a good chance it will be Alaska. We've been talking about that, so. Because we just love Alaska so much, and we've never.
[00:18:56] Speaker A: We've never done Alaska. So we'll come.
[00:18:58] Speaker B: Oh, it's so good. It's so good.
[00:19:01] Speaker C: You will love it.
[00:19:01] Speaker A: Oh, and one more. One more funny thing before we talk about the cruise.
I'm channeling my inner Gail. Hosting with you right now is.
No, wait, what was it I was gonna say? Oh, now I lost my train of thought. That's so bad for the air. I'll get it back.
[00:19:15] Speaker B: All right.
[00:19:16] Speaker C: That's all right. It'll come back. When it comes back, feel free to interrupt.
[00:19:19] Speaker A: All right, wait, no, I remember. I remember. Okay. Brian said to me, because he's only listened to the beginning of your podcast so far, like, four or five episodes, he said.
[00:19:28] Speaker B: So
[00:19:31] Speaker A: we've cruised like More than them. Right.
And, you know, because he was like. He was preparing his, like, answers and jogging his memory. And I was like, they're Pearl, Brian. Because he'd listened to only the beginning of the podcast.
[00:19:46] Speaker E: I'm still in 2020, where you went
[00:19:48] Speaker A: on a. Yeah, so he's in 2020 over here.
[00:19:50] Speaker E: Pandemic. You guys are like. You guys are talking right now about, like, maybe the Disney parks will open in a month. And I'm like, oh, this is awful. This is horrible.
[00:19:59] Speaker A: He'll be to San Diego. He'll be to San Diego for the Wonder in a couple weeks.
But anyways, I told him. I was like, no, sweetie, They've done quite the extensive round of cruises on every ship in the fleet. They've been invited on, like, they've done everything now. So y' all have beat us. We're at 18 cruises now.
[00:20:17] Speaker C: Yeah, but listen, you are.
You're catching up. You're on your way to Pearl. I mean, Kenzie's ready as well, right? Oh, I mean, she's got tons of cruises.
Yes, you guys have.
There's plenty more to come. You have, obviously, the destiny coming up in a couple of months, so that's going to be fantastic.
Let's dive into this. This cruise a little bit. Now, you. You decided to book out of Galveston. You guys live in Texas, so you only have to drive. Is that. Was that the impetus for picking this cruise in particular, or was just the timing right, or what were sort of the decision?
[00:20:54] Speaker E: We've done the magic now our last five cruises, because it's here and it's just easy. And so it's like if we lived in Florida, you know, you have your options and things. And so, yes, that's the main reason why we don't love the itinerary, but we love the Disney ships, obviously, so that.
[00:21:15] Speaker A: And we have a lot of friends that work on the ship because we've been on it so much.
[00:21:18] Speaker E: Yes.
[00:21:19] Speaker A: But after last January, we made a pact. We were like, no matter how good the deals get, we're not going on the magic. We need to go somewhere else. Even if the cruise is $1100, let's put $1100 somewhere else, you know? But we booked this one on a travel agent deal, because I do. I'm not like, I don't have a ton of time for being a travel agent, but I do it a little bit on the side. And this deal came up a couple weeks beforehand, and so we were like, why not? It was Martin Luther King Jr. Day. That went off.
[00:21:47] Speaker E: We had 20 days notice to get ready for the cruise.
[00:21:50] Speaker A: So when. When we checked in for the cruise, we got the latest port arrival time possible for a platinum person. That was like, I needed a bite on a napkin when we arrived. I'm like, why are we getting here at one o' clock in the afternoon? This is so not normal.
Isn't that crazy?
[00:22:06] Speaker B: I was kind of curious. What is the latest port arrival time possible?
[00:22:10] Speaker A: Ours was 1:15.
[00:22:12] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:22:13] Speaker C: Okay, that makes sense because usually boarding everybody was on the ship three, 3:30. Right. Like, the latest you can get on is usually 3 or 3:30. But, like, obviously that's. There is no port arrival time at that point. You just show, you know.
[00:22:25] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:22:28] Speaker B: I'm assuming you showed up, walked in, checked in, got right on. Like, there was no waiting in the terminal.
[00:22:32] Speaker A: Walked right on.
[00:22:33] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:22:34] Speaker A: And we've done Galveston six times, so their. Their process is really easy anyway. But this was like ghost town.
[00:22:40] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah. Although there was a surprise on the way to the port that my Brian with an eye.
[00:22:47] Speaker A: Yeah, I got a nice little ticket. I got us. I got a ticket with the Disney magic right to my left. Like. Like you could touch it. It was right there. And the cop was like.
There was like seven cops, and they were giving tickets to everybody. Have you ever done Galveston?
[00:23:04] Speaker C: No, we have not.
[00:23:05] Speaker A: So the getting. Getting to the Disney, like, port, the door is. We park in the preferred. So it's like right outside the door, and it's very confusing to get in there. Anybody that sells out of Galveston knows, like, when I posted that video, people were like, it's not your fault. That port is so confusing. When you need to get to the parking structure and these cops know that people get lost, so they were taking advantage of it. There was people getting pulled. There was like three or four cars pulled over with us.
[00:23:30] Speaker E: Watch out.
[00:23:31] Speaker B: Was it like. I didn't see what the tick was. Was it like, you know, you made a maneuver that they were like, oh, that's illegal, like, kind of thing because you were trying to get in.
[00:23:37] Speaker E: Stop sign.
[00:23:38] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. Allegedly.
[00:23:39] Speaker E: Allegedly, Yes.
[00:23:41] Speaker C: I don't believe it. I didn't see it on the video. I didn't see the stop sign on the video. That's all I have to say.
[00:23:45] Speaker E: We didn't even know what happened. When the lights came on. We were like, why? Like, the ship is right there. The entrance to the parking is. How can you do this to a family? This is so mean.
That's the worst time.
[00:24:00] Speaker A: I know.
[00:24:02] Speaker C: Well, I want to Ask about your, like, embarkation day traditions. You guys have been on, you know, 18 times total. I'm sure you have things that you always like to do on embarkation day. I feel like there are people who are sit down lunch people. There are people who are cabanas people. There are people who are Mickey's Mac and cheese people. I know I'm talking to one of them. And so what are your, like, embarkation day traditions, you guys?
[00:24:26] Speaker A: My dear.
[00:24:27] Speaker E: So embarkation. So we actually will alternate based on kind of just like the feeling of like, do you want to go relax? Do you want to spend? Because sometimes sitting down in the sit down lunch can be, like, long. It's like, like, it's like, oh, your food starts coming quick, and then it kind of hits, like, a pause button for a while.
[00:24:48] Speaker A: The oreo cheesecake's worth the wait, though.
[00:24:50] Speaker E: Yeah, absolutely.
And you have to choose, like, how hungry are you? You know, like, we drove down from Dallas, and so it's like, do you want to just, like, pick at a few things or do you want to go to the buffet?
So this time we went to cabanas and we, you know, hit all of our favorite things.
[00:25:10] Speaker A: Yeah, shrimp cocktail, I think we would have done, but we normally do both. Like, we do sit down, and then after sit down, we'll go up to cabanas for, like, shrimp cocktail and stuff. But because we boarded so late and, you know, got held up with the ticket, we. We just did cabanas and then went straight to the room.
[00:25:27] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:25:27] Speaker C: Yeah. Now does Kenzie jump right, like, away from you all to head to see, like, the teen club and making her friends, or does she, like, actually spend time with you on embarrassing day? I feel like we get on the ship now, we see Nathan for lunch, and then we don't see him after that.
[00:25:44] Speaker A: That's how this cruise was. So when. When she first is when. When she was 12. No, 11.
First started to kind of branch away. And we were so used to, like, we would go on the cruise and we would spend 247 together. And we had all these things that we would do. And so the first cruise, we did the wish in 2023, and it was right before she went into sixth grade and she branched away from us, and I was crying in the stateroom. I was like, what?
[00:26:11] Speaker E: We didn't know what to do. I was like, who do I put the dress on? Like, I don't know. I don't know what to do anymore.
[00:26:17] Speaker A: It didn't fit me. So. Yeah. So we had to learn on the fly on that cruise what we were going to do. Because we figured she'd want to be with us. But she made friends right away. And then every cruise since, she's just been more and more independent. And on this one, when we got on after we ate cabanas, she was like.
And she just loved us.
Yeah.
So now we're. You know, now we're.
[00:26:42] Speaker C: We're.
[00:26:42] Speaker A: We're used to it, and we. We enjoy it. Like, we want her to have that independence and go and do her own thing. I don't want her to, like, you know, and like, what 8th grader wants to be with their parents in public. You know what I mean? And so it's kind of like.
It's like, we're proud, but we also miss those old times. Cause we've been doing it forever as a family.
[00:27:01] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:27:02] Speaker B: Now, do you still all get together to, like, go for the show or. I mean, dinner time is pretty sacrosanct. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:27:09] Speaker E: We always do dinner. And she is gone. She was gone a lot, but she comes back to the room a lot. And we are always available. You know, you can. Nowadays, you can message with the chat and things.
So we're always available for her.
[00:27:23] Speaker A: Like, we.
[00:27:24] Speaker E: We only did a couple of adult only where it's kind of like we're locked in right now for an hour. You know, figure it out. But otherwise, we're pretty much available for her to, you know, play with and kind of when she needs a safe landing to come and feel secure for. Yeah.
[00:27:38] Speaker A: You know, like, she. On the cruise that we did before this one, we got off the ship and we got in the car, and she was in tears, and I was like, what happened? What's going on? She had, like, made a really good group of friends on that cruise, and I thought somebody had hurt her feelings. So I turn around in the car, and she was, like, sobbing. And she's not a crier, so she's like, I just. I'm so sad that I'm not gonna see my group of friends ever again. And so she. You know, these kids, they make such bonds on the cruise in a matter of, you know, five days. And so. And that was, like, a really special group of kids for her. But every time, somehow, she just makes a few good friends. And I think it's. If I was third, I didn't get to go on a Disney cruise until I was 26. But I think if I would have done that at that age, I think it would have been a freaking blast. Do you know what I mean?
[00:28:26] Speaker B: Hey, I had to wait until I was 40 to go on a Disney cruise, so.
[00:28:29] Speaker A: Exactly.
Because when you're a teen and you get that independence on a ship with. And then they feed, you know, the kids can go get anything they want. I mean, I just feel like it's gotta be cool for them, you know?
[00:28:38] Speaker E: Yeah. But also for adults, you know, we get to talk about things that bring us so much happiness.
And these kids kind of grow up feeling like, you know, as far as kids are concerned, Disney is like, oh, that's like, oh, you're a little kid still. You watch Disney movies. But then it's like, but Disney cruises are different. Like, it's family time. But you also connect with kids maybe who are in the same bubble that you grew up in and have a lot in common that you don't have in common with a lot of other kids, you know?
[00:29:07] Speaker B: So she is, she still. Is she like, as she's aged, is she still into Disney Cruise Line? Is she still fully like, I like Disney Cruise Line or have you like, all talked about, oh, maybe we should try a different cruise line or something? Like, I'm just curious.
[00:29:21] Speaker E: We shut those conversations down really fast.
[00:29:24] Speaker C: I love that part.
[00:29:25] Speaker E: No, she is, she loves Disney cruises and she like, yeah, she does. She loves it. And she loves being able to be like, I've been on this mini. What? Like, she likes that. She's, she's grown up that way a
[00:29:39] Speaker C: little about how many cruises she's been on. Nathan actually really likes that too.
Yes.
[00:29:44] Speaker A: It's like this inner child comes out in her when we go on. She becomes. It's like she's taken out of the real world, the tick tock and on the middle school stuff. And it's like she knows she can just go be her, you know, freest self on the ship.
[00:29:57] Speaker E: And so, yeah, it's a safe environment.
[00:29:59] Speaker A: And then any teen you meet on the ship, they're doing it too. They're being, they're on a Disney ship as well. So there's not that like, like, you like Disney cruises, bro. You know what I mean? And so they're all like, they're all like, comfortable and, and you know, the kids don't really. There's not a lot of bad experiences with other kids.
[00:30:15] Speaker E: They're all really good kids. Like, we've never, we've never really had any kind of like, crazy story when she comes back to the room where we're like, point them out to me right now. Like, I will find the family and let the parents know, you know, that doesn't happen.
[00:30:29] Speaker A: He's that parent.
[00:30:30] Speaker C: Yeah, I'm. We're both that parents. I'll say. Brian and I both are. Like, we'll become like. I like to say I'm. I'm not necessarily a lioness for myself, but when it comes to my kid, I will rip you to shreds. Like there is.
Yeah. There's nothing else.
[00:30:47] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:30:47] Speaker E: Oh, yeah.
[00:30:50] Speaker D: 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 My Path 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. My Path Unwinding Travel is an authorized Disney vacation planner, which means they are recognized by Disney for their expert expertise and service. They have sailed on all the Disney ships, including in concierge, 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 Unwinding for sponsoring today's show. Now back to the episode.
[00:31:50] Speaker B: What are some of your favorites on board? So you sailed the magic a ton. So like besides its proximity, like what do you like to get up to on board? Like, what are your favorite activities on board?
[00:32:01] Speaker E: Well, our favorite, I think the favorite reason that I like going on the magic and the wonder is I love the intimacy of the ships and that like Steven said, we've grown to know a lot of the cast members who've stuck around for a long time.
But favorite activities? Oh gosh, we just did the Anyone can cook. I've always wanted to do it. I love cooking. I do it all day long. And we've never done it because it always like we're at cabanas and there's not enough time. So there's always some reason. So that was like such a thrilling experience. To do anything with hands on cooking is like.
[00:32:40] Speaker A: And until she was 10, we'd never done palo.
I was platinum and I'D never done Palo, and we didn't do things because we didn't want to leave her. We'd be like, oh, it's okay. We'll just stay with you. So now, in the last two years, we're experiencing all these things on Disney Cruise Line that we've never done before. Because when I started going, I went on Disney Cruise Line before. I went on several Disney ships before Brian. And so I did it as a young adult, like, you know, going out with all the other young adults on a ship and stuff.
[00:33:07] Speaker B: Stuff.
[00:33:07] Speaker A: But doing it with a child for 10 years, and then they stop wanting to hang out with you. It's like, but I wanted to go see Goofy, too.
[00:33:15] Speaker E: So we're having to learn new activities that we love doing because we put 100% of our time was with Kenzie. And so, like Stephen said, we were kind of, like, looking around, like, what do we do?
[00:33:27] Speaker A: So we're having a freaking blast. We're doing everything.
[00:33:30] Speaker E: But we love. We love going to the piano bars. We love going and listening to the live music that, like this. The performer, I can't remember her name. She was incredible. And she was singing Lady Gaga covers, and it was just beautiful. It was beautiful. And she was doing Elton John covers and just beautiful music that everybody knows and appreciates. That's always a good time.
[00:33:53] Speaker A: And getting to stay out late is really fun. Oh, and then another big thing about this cruise I'm gonna channel is lay dining. We've never done it before.
[00:34:04] Speaker C: I know. I. So I've been watching. I've been watching your vlogs from this cruise. You have, I think, four of them out. I watched the first three. I haven't gotten a chance to watch the fourth yet. But I haven't figured out what your verdict is on late dining. You have always been early dining, and I feel like there's something you like and there's stuff you don't like. Right. Like, your first day, I was like, oh, they're not going back to late dining. They're going back to early dining on their next cruise. But I'm curious. I gotta know what the verdict is. I can't wait until your 5th day vlog is out.
[00:34:39] Speaker A: So main. I'm just kidding.
[00:34:41] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:34:42] Speaker A: So we were really excited to try it. And like I said, like, when I. I did my first Disney Cruise In 2011, we were main dining, so it just kind of was like, I'm a creature of habit. So every cruise after that, I'm like, oh, we'll just do early. Early Dining. And we've never had a problem with going to dinner when it's sunny out and all the stuff sometimes. You know anybody that's done Maine? Have you guys done Maine dining training?
[00:35:02] Speaker C: Yes, we have, but not in a while. Yeah.
[00:35:04] Speaker A: Okay. So it can be, it can show up quick, you know, like when you get back on the ship from a port and it's 4 o', clock, it's like, oh well, we gotta get showered and get ready. But on this one, the first night we were like, oh, this is kind of nice. Getting to see the sunset and go to the show early. And then we every night with our server, we had a server, Miranda, that we've had for several cruises. And so we ended up leaving dinner every night around 9:15. The latest night I think was like 9:35, 9:40 and eating that late. Brian cooks dinner every night at 6 o' clock and so we're not used to eating dinner that late. And so I told him, I was like, I'm 40 years old now, like food affects me differently. And so after dinner he'd be like, well, do you want to go? Yeah. He was like, do you want to go do our usual thing, Go get a drink and get a drink and keys, go to the late show, go order room service, go do whatever, go to the stores. We love to go to the stores right before they close. And he asked me that and I'm like, no, I want to go lay down. I'm exhausted. So then the next day I was like, oh, I'm going to be so fun tonight. I'm going to stay up so late and we're going to order room service and Mickey bars and we're going to watch the Parent Trap and I fell asleep again.
So we're so used to, it's not that we. I get the appeal of late dining, but we built our cruising 18 cruises of like, we're out of dinner at 7:15 and we'll go see Goofy. Then we'll go, you know, go to the show, go get drinks after. And then all of that just changed. So what do you think, my dear?
[00:36:39] Speaker E: Yeah, that made it hard because I'm like I said, I'm a very food centered person. It's like my biggest passion. And so that was hard. To go from Paolo to room service is like not, not advisable and. But we still do it. We did it for the videos. You know, you got to get those videos in there. But yeah, but I.
[00:37:02] Speaker C: The chicken fingers in bed or the all hands on deck in bed. I Love those. Always hilarious.
[00:37:08] Speaker A: For the destiny, we are back to early dining.
[00:37:11] Speaker E: Yes.
[00:37:11] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:37:12] Speaker C: Okay. Well, I'll have to. We'll have to hear when you go on the Destiny, of course, we should have you back on the show to talk about your destiny cruise.
[00:37:18] Speaker A: Yeah, we'd love to.
[00:37:20] Speaker C: And then also we gotta hear, you know, the transition back to main dining because we're so used to late dining. We started in main dining and that made sense when, well, I shouldn't say the first couple of cruises when we sailed ourselves, that was without Nathan. We did late dining. When we sailed with Nathan, we did early dining. And then we kind of transitioned. We're like, let's just try it one time with Nathan.
And now we're late dining devotees. So I, Yeah, so I. Once we.
[00:37:51] Speaker A: Yeah, I told Brian, I said, I think I realize on this cruise that my favorite time of day is the late nights. I love when Kenzie was little, we would, we would get ready for bed in pajamas and we would go run around on the ship in our pajamas when she was 5 years old and 7 and 8. And then we would go to the soda fountain and we would get drinks. We would make, you know, all kinds of concoctions with the different beverages and we would get, you know, teas and stuff like that. And then we would go up by the funnels and take pictures and stuff. So I told him. I was like, I think not doing all of the crazy late night shenanigans. I didn't expect to kind of, you know, disappear with doing late dining. But you know, when you leave there, you're full and we're not. We don't go to bed early. And so going to bed early on the cruise was weird.
[00:38:35] Speaker E: Yeah. And Brian, you asked what are our favorite cruise activities? And I was talking, we were talking today or yesterday about, about that. And I was like, you know, thinking back on this cruise, I feel like we were spending a lot of our time together looking for places to be alone.
And it was like, like. And so he was like, what's your favorite space on the ship to relax? And I was like, deck 10 above cabanas. Nobody's there. There's no chairs. You sit on the ground. It's amazing and quiet. And I was like, that's like how we spent a lot of this cruise was just trying to find a quiet space.
[00:39:11] Speaker A: And like.
[00:39:11] Speaker E: So you said at night with Kenzie, when she was little, they would get in pajamas and we go run around and nobody's out there at 9 o'.
[00:39:19] Speaker B: Clock.
[00:39:19] Speaker E: And so when you guys are. When you're done with late dining, if you go out to the pool decks and out there there's nobody and it's so quiet and it's very peaceful and you really feel like you have an entire ship to yourself. And that's kind of like what we look for.
[00:39:34] Speaker A: But I feel like I get the appeal of late dining because you can do so much before dinner and it's incredible. And you get the sunset, you get. You can lay, you can. Can be by the pool when the sun is still out. You're not having to cut anything short.
[00:39:47] Speaker E: Yeah.
[00:39:48] Speaker B: So, yeah, the pool is empty because everyone's gone in to get ready for.
[00:39:52] Speaker C: Yeah.
If you want to do a water slide, the best time to do it is during early dining. So, like, if, you know. Because oftentimes they have lines during the day. And so if you. If you want to do the Aqua Mouse, the Aqua Duck, the Aqua Dunk. Right. Like doing that at like 5:00pm, 5:30. Yeah. No lines. It's awesome.
[00:40:12] Speaker E: Especially the Aqua Mouse. That was like impossible to get on. When we did the Wish, it was like. I don't even think Kenzie did it. I think she got on and then it shut down. Actually, I think that's what happened.
[00:40:22] Speaker B: When you're on the Destiny next, I'll say, because you're coming about. I was trying to find places to just. So I. We were talking pre show. I'm the introvert, so I love to find little quiet spaces where I can just sit and read or do my.
[00:40:33] Speaker E: The.
[00:40:34] Speaker B: I love on the Wish class ships, especially the Destiny and the Treasure, what they've done around the atrium with seating on the upper levels, there's always.
[00:40:42] Speaker A: Oh, really?
[00:40:43] Speaker B: It's always very kind of quiet and subdued around that area unless there's something going on in the atrium. And so you get these like, nice porthole views, nice little couch to sit on. And like, it's usually. It's very.
[00:40:54] Speaker D: Usually very quiet.
[00:40:55] Speaker B: And you can just kind of like, you know, keep your ear open, listen to things, people watch a little bit, but it's not crowded. So. Yeah, I would.
[00:41:01] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:41:02] Speaker E: I love those. I love those moments because you feel like you live on the ship and as a person who has cruised so much and it feels like home when you're there. Like, first thing when we get back to the room, our bags come, we move in, and it's like, we are here. We have our second home now. We're good. And so when you have those moments where you can just relax and Feel comfortable on the ship is golden. It's like the best moments.
[00:41:27] Speaker C: Absolutely. Now I will say, and I'm going to pull up or refer to Ed's comment in the chat that late dining is great when you've got long port days. So if you're going to Alaska, you're going to Europe, you might not be staying up as late. You might be okay just going to bed right after dinner because the port days are exhausting. So, yeah, for Alaska, you might want to think about it. I know. I mean, we're. It's also for us when on the west coast, when we're going out of Florida, dinner is maintain.
[00:41:55] Speaker A: That makes sense.
[00:41:56] Speaker E: That's a good point.
[00:41:57] Speaker A: Yeah, that makes sense.
[00:41:58] Speaker C: It's like 2pm for us. Yep.
[00:42:00] Speaker A: When we would go on those Covid cruises, they only would have out of Galveston on the Wonder, they only had one seating and it was at like 6:30, I think. And that was like the perfect happy medium. But 5:45 is so early. But I feel like 8:15, when you're used to eating dinner early is so late. So I'm like, you know, 6:30, 8:30.
[00:42:21] Speaker C: Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Well, I want to. I want to ask you guys about food because, you know, Disney Cruise Line, I think, is known for its food. I know. Brian, you're such a foodie. You're a cook. I always see you're always in the kitchen, like, whipping something up on your videos, like, do you find the food to be of sufficient quality on Disney Cruise Line? You hear criticisms. I think the food's great. But I'm curious what you think.
[00:42:46] Speaker E: I have a.
[00:42:47] Speaker B: Really.
[00:42:48] Speaker E: Actually, I have a. I like my opinion on this. Okay. So, yes, we. Our first cruise was our honeymoon on the Dream. And we had been on multiple. And I feel like since COVID when we went on the Magic after Covid.
[00:43:05] Speaker A: Wonder.
[00:43:06] Speaker E: The Wonder. Sorry. The Wonder. I thought this. They have like, stepped up the quality of the food. The meals are pretty much the same throughout the. Throughout sailings. Right. Like, there's not a lot of change there. But I just felt like something changed where somebody came in and just said, like, we need to step this up. Just because you're cooking the same thing every week, it still needs to be. I don't know what it was, but I thought like. So, yes, I think that the food on Disney Cruise Line, like you said, I love food and I pay a lot of attention to it. And I'm not a harsh critic, but I like what I like and I like. I like.
I like to get things that I don't want to cook at home or I don't know how to cook at home. That's kind of where I go to. So, like, this time in Paulo, I got the osso buco. I don't. I'm not going to cook that. That's obnoxious, right?
It was so good. It was amazing.
[00:44:01] Speaker A: And.
[00:44:02] Speaker E: And yeah, I feel like the quality of the food is, like, amazing. Better than most restaurants that we go to when we're at home.
[00:44:11] Speaker C: Yeah. Yeah. We have a question about the pirate night menu, but I know you guys went to Paulo on your pirate night on this cruise, but do you guys do pirate night on other sailings? I can do that menu, yeah.
[00:44:23] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, for sure.
[00:44:24] Speaker E: We usually do. Yeah.
[00:44:25] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:44:26] Speaker E: And there's a few things I like. I like the lamb shank, but if you don't like lamb. But it's. I think it's great. I think it's like a great meal.
[00:44:33] Speaker A: I feel like the pirate menu has come a long way from like when I. My first few cruises were all in 2011, and it was much grosser back then. And so I feel like they have some good. They. They have some good edible options for your picky eaters. You know what I mean? And so it's, you know, it's gotten better. What do you think?
[00:44:55] Speaker C: I mean, it's not our favorite, but it's not. I think it's better than it used to be, but it's not our favorite.
[00:44:59] Speaker B: We'll always have to be fair. I've been saying this now for probably going on a year and a half. We need to actually try the pirate night menu again because it's been so long. Right. We keep hearing from people.
[00:45:11] Speaker A: Little bit.
[00:45:11] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:45:11] Speaker C: Yeah. The problem is the last couple of cruises, actually, we. The last several cruises, we actually have not a pirate night menu because we've failed on like a holiday. And so then they'll do the Thanksgiving menu or the Christmas menu instead. And so that's been one of the barriers.
And then also because we love to go to Paulo and we don't want to miss rotational dining menus, so we end up going to Paulo on.
[00:45:34] Speaker B: I'm curious, Brian, you mentioned you're kind of a foodie.
Have you. Have you guys tried Remy or Enchante on one of the shows ships?
[00:45:43] Speaker E: Not yet, no. I want. When we go on the Destiny, I want to go like, Kenzie doesn't want anything to do with us anymore on the cruise. So I'm like, we're all in, like, yeah. Just kidding. Kenzie, I love you.
[00:45:57] Speaker A: She's a good sport.
But yeah, we've not. We're. We're gonna do Apollo Steakhouse. We're gonna do that. We're going with our best friend. Our daughter's her best friend, so they recently moved away. So we're all going to go together on the Destiny. And so ye going to. Us adults are going to do that and then the kids can figure it out themselves.
[00:46:20] Speaker C: If you ever go to main dining or they can go and you know, just eat pool deck food. Who cares?
[00:46:25] Speaker B: If you ever make it back on board the dream class. I got to say, Remy still holds like my favorite spot. Like I just, I. I can't. I can't describe it. Yeah, the atmosphere is a little different. Like the whole le. They're leaning into the French cooking. I feel like a little more. So. Yeah, it's like definitely enchante. I hope you guys love it.
[00:46:42] Speaker D: I. I would love to hear your review of it for sure.
[00:46:44] Speaker A: So yeah, we're gon maximize the adult experiences on the Destiny. So we're excited.
[00:46:50] Speaker B: Nice.
[00:46:51] Speaker A: We're most looking forward to the Cruella bar. That's what I want to see the most.
[00:46:55] Speaker B: So good. So good.
[00:46:56] Speaker A: This is so good.
[00:46:57] Speaker C: It's great. And you must go to do troublemaking with Cruella and you also must go to Cruella's fashion show, but you actually must participate in Cruella's fashion show. Either both of you, one of you. Like, so. So the different categories in Cruella's fashion show are villains, heroes or Cruella lookalikes or Cruella esque outfits.
[00:47:24] Speaker A: Right.
[00:47:24] Speaker C: Like literally. And it's just phenomenal. Like it's so fun. It's completely inclusive. Like any ages in the grand hall. It's. You gotta do it. You gotta like it's gonna be hard to. Gotta bring extra outfit just for that though.
[00:47:38] Speaker E: You do. So you need to bring your own. So if I want to be Cruella, I have to bring like my own set stuff.
[00:47:43] Speaker C: Your own black and white maybe with
[00:47:45] Speaker A: some red accents getting on that tomorrow.
[00:47:48] Speaker C: Yeah. Like maybe some fur. I'm not kidding. You'll see everything. Like you even see some people get
[00:47:53] Speaker A: some white spray hair to put on that side.
[00:47:55] Speaker E: Yeah.
[00:47:56] Speaker C: Yes. I mean you do even see some people dressed as like dalmatians. So the polka dots.
Yeah. So there's. You can do a family costume even if you get. If, if Kenzie's willing to be involved and dress up. I mean and I don't know, is she too cool for that at this
[00:48:12] Speaker A: point, I mean, it's like they turn 13 and suddenly we are like the like, most uncool people on the planet Earth. And Brian actually asked me last night. He was like, when she's a little bit older and they want to hang with their parents again, what are you most looking forward to? And I was like, dancing together. We used to dance every day. And now it's just something about that age, they just become too cool. And I remember doing it to my parents. I didn't want to be seen with them or anything like that.
[00:48:42] Speaker E: But I said to him, I said, specifically, I said, what do you think Kenzie's gonna say one day that is gonna make you cry? Where it's like, hey, remember when I did this when I was 17? I'm really sorry. That was stupid. I would just like cry, right? Like, I can imagine my parents were like, thanks, Brian. And then they went to their room and they were like, did you hear that?
[00:49:04] Speaker C: We did a good job.
[00:49:05] Speaker E: You know, I just am like, what is the moment gonna be? I wonder.
[00:49:09] Speaker C: Yeah. Oh, I love that maybe.
[00:49:11] Speaker A: It's so true, guys.
[00:49:13] Speaker C: Yeah. Well, listen, I have apologized to my parents for things, like as an adult, I have apologized to them for being just such a little, you know, sh. Blank. Blank when I was a teenager. Because I do think there's a point at which kids kind of flip, as you mentioned, right? All of a sudden your parents are no longer cool. All of a sudden you don't want to hang out with them and you might tolerate them for certain times of the day. Or as you mentioned, Brian, go back to the safe space, right? Like if you need to, like, decompress, you get a little bit an social anxiety hits, right? Like they can always come back to home, even that's. Even if that's your state room on board.
But I do think there. There is, you know, it is that flip of the switch. We're kind of in a. A slightly different position because Nathan is two years younger than Kenzie, but also he's a boy, so he's behind in that, you know, where we. I think. I think it's going to take a little bit longer for us to be completely uncool. We're less cool than we used to be. But I think it'll be a.
I feel like.
[00:50:17] Speaker B: I feel like. I feel like your coolness is waning. My coolness is kind of coming up a little bit because I can do all the tech stuff that he needs done in the background, you know, kind of thing. But then I'll I'll fall off the cliff at some point, but, yeah, well, buckle up.
[00:50:30] Speaker E: No, just kidding.
[00:50:33] Speaker A: People would tell us all the time. They're like, wait until they turn 13. And I'm like, no, it's not. It won't be like that for us. And then it was. And we were. Were like, what? And like, I watched an episode of Housewives recently where one of them was going through it, and she was saying, it's so hurtful. And I was like, I know. It just. It feels so different. But then you remember, you know, we were that way, too. And so.
[00:50:54] Speaker E: But I will say, going on the Disney cruise, those moments when she wanted to come back and be with us, whether it was at dinner or on the pool deck or something, where it's like, she needed a break from friend time. And we've made ourselves available.
Being in the Disney atmosphere, that's. You know, and whatever that looks like for you, too. Some people, it's very much, let's go see characters. And other people, it's, let's stay in concierge. Other people, you know, everybody has their own way. They do a Disney trip in general. And Disney cruises are so intimate with what you want to do. And so I think that that brings out, like, a teenager's sense of security, because it's like, we all grew up doing this together.
It's a thing we have, and it's never gonna go away.
[00:51:40] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:51:40] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:51:41] Speaker A: And we got her to go ahead.
[00:51:43] Speaker C: Sorry.
[00:51:43] Speaker A: Got her to the princess gathering and a picture with Goofy. So those were big wins.
[00:51:47] Speaker C: Oh, that's amazing. That's amazing. Well, I also love, though, that you have all of these, like, all of this amazing footage from when she was younger that you like. Steven, you artfully weave it into your show, too. Like, it's sort of the flashback and you'll have, not just, like, the pictures. Like, the pictures of you all in front of that ship backdrop, of course, are adorable to see the progression over the years, but then to see, like. Like, oh, here's us, like, in bed having our chicken fingers, like, when she was, like, you know, eight or something. It's just really cute to have those.
[00:52:22] Speaker A: Y' all have that with Nathan?
[00:52:23] Speaker E: Yeah, yeah.
[00:52:25] Speaker C: Although we don't do as much video.
[00:52:27] Speaker A: How many. How many cruises have you guys been on with him now?
[00:52:31] Speaker C: 26, maybe, I think.
[00:52:34] Speaker B: Whoa. Yeah.
[00:52:35] Speaker C: Because he just.
[00:52:37] Speaker B: We just hit three. 30 or I hit 34. You're at 33, and he just hit pearls.
[00:52:41] Speaker A: Wow. That's impressive.
[00:52:43] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:52:44] Speaker C: Yeah. He's. It's crazy. It's crazy. He likes to wear that pearl lanyard.
[00:52:48] Speaker B: He walks around like he owns the place. Yeah, and he does.
[00:52:53] Speaker A: He'll tell him.
[00:52:55] Speaker B: We had a comment in the chat I wanted to ask, actually ask this question. So Barb is asking, what has been your favorite Disney cruise so far?
[00:53:05] Speaker A: I know, I know.
[00:53:06] Speaker E: Mine do you tell me yours.
[00:53:07] Speaker A: Mine is Kenzie's first cruise. We went on. It was actually on the Disney Magic. It was out of Port Canaveral. And it was what took us from, like, Disney cruising people to, like, crazy Disney cruisers.
She was two years old. It was her first cruise. And the cast of the characters and the stage performers, they just took a very liking to our family. And every day they were doing stuff to make Kenzie's cruise extra special.
They would call her by name by day two. And it's funny, I went up to this girl and I go, we had done pictures with. I think it was Cinderella. And I went up to the character best friend that's with her, and I go, I need to ask, can you tell me who is Mickey? Because they have been doing so many special things for my daughter, and I need to say thank you.
And she, of course, was saying, oh, that's actually Mickey Mouse. And it ended up that she was the performer who was Mickey that I actually said that to. And then they invited us to a special private party where back now, it's like a picture. You walk through and you take a picture with a bunch of the characters. But this was just like, 20 Disney characters in a room. It was in D Lounge. And they're just, what, like, 20 minutes spending time with you. And. And it was. Oh, my gosh, it was the most magical experience. And we did Disney World before and after. So that cruise, to me is just like that. I'm super sentimental. So it just, like, won everything for me.
[00:54:35] Speaker E: And I think that the meet and greet is like a platinum pearl situation. Unless you have, like, an invitation. Is that correct?
[00:54:43] Speaker A: No, I think you have to.
[00:54:44] Speaker B: Invitation only.
[00:54:45] Speaker C: It's just invite only.
And it's just the entertainment cast that is able to choose. They just. If they take a liking to a family, um, and they just want to sort of bestow this, like, once in a lifetime opportunity upon them. It's like being named family of the day. It's like somewhat random and somewhat not random because in the sense. The sense somebody notices you and decides like, you're somebody I want to recognize. Yeah, it's really lovely. We have not. I'll say we have not been chosen. I know you all have been chosen.
I'm. I'm a little bit jealous, but the
[00:55:18] Speaker A: duo's got to be the family of the day. Come on.
[00:55:21] Speaker E: I know.
[00:55:22] Speaker B: Oh, you know, I'm just gonna. I always tell people, because when these things come out, I'm always like, please don't go. Start, like, asking people at the port or on board, like, how do I get my. Because then it's like, you just ruin it. It's just. They'll stop doing family of the day at some point.
[00:55:36] Speaker A: We went to it last time. Our. Our friend. We made friends with one of the performers. His. He got a job being a Flynn Rider in the. And the Prince Charming and Twice Charmed and Tangled Musical. And before he went on the ship for his contract, his family and him would watch our videos to get magic. And so on his first contract, his family was on the same cruise as us, so they were like, oh, my gosh.
[00:55:59] Speaker B: So.
[00:55:59] Speaker A: And they live near us, so they've been good friends. But anyways, he is a performer on the magic right now, and he invited us to that little thing. So that's how it's like. Performers have the right to extend that to families if they want.
[00:56:11] Speaker E: And it's interesting if you've never done it before is when we did it when Kenzie was little, you walk into the D Lounge on the magic, and it was like.
It's like a party. It's, like, social. And you can walk up to any character you want. You can talk to anybody. And then the last time we did it, it was different. Totally different.
[00:56:30] Speaker A: It's like a walkthrough photo.
[00:56:32] Speaker E: It was like a walkthrough photo session, and you're just kind of escorted through. There's not social hour, but it's all the characters that come out on the final night that come down the staircase, they are all. So you have people from the Lion King show. You have a princess. You have. Have, like, Lady Charmaine, like, whoever is there.
[00:56:52] Speaker C: Did you have Anne Marie from Disney Dream?
[00:56:55] Speaker E: Yes. You get to talk to the people from the Disney.
Those shows that are so special.
[00:57:01] Speaker A: She got to stay up late that night for a middle schooler.
[00:57:05] Speaker C: That's right.
[00:57:06] Speaker B: All right, I have one more question as we kind of approach the top of the hour here, because I think I feel like we could talk for hours. We get to go to Texas, Sam and go to dinner or something special.
[00:57:18] Speaker C: I know we need to go to Texas. We need a hit at BUC EE's, you know?
[00:57:22] Speaker B: Well, we. And we definitely need to have you back after the Destiny. But here's my question.
What's the cruise you haven't gotten to take on Disney yet that you are just dying to take?
[00:57:34] Speaker E: I grew up in Hawaii for five years of my childhood. And so I would love to go back through the eyes of a Disney cruise. I think that would be really fun.
[00:57:44] Speaker A: Yes. And for me, I would say either a Greece or Alaska. Alaska are the two ones that I'm constantly like, why have we not done this yet? You know?
[00:57:52] Speaker D: Yeah. Nice.
[00:57:53] Speaker C: Absolutely. Those are fantastic. I have to ask you the favorite ship question because I feel like, Steven, you're going to pick the magic because it was Kenzie's first one, but maybe not. I don't know. What is each of your favorite ship right now before you've been on the Destiny and you haven't been on the Treasure yet. Am I or am I wrong about it?
[00:58:10] Speaker A: Not on the Treasure, No. Mine is the Wonder and it will always be the Wonder. My first cruise was on the Wonder and we stayed in the Roy Disney Suite. So it was like.
It was insane in 2011.
And with Tiana, with the addition of Tiana's and just the retheming that they did, there's just something. I just feel like the crew. There's just something special about that show. Yeah.
[00:58:32] Speaker E: And I agree, actually, the Wonder is my favorite. I just, I love both of the small ships. I appreciate the. All the larger ships for everything that they offer. But like I said, I just love that, like, intimate feeling where characters and cast members and the store workers, they know you and they connect with you in a way that's not just like, next, next, next, you know?
[00:58:57] Speaker C: Absolutely. Well, we're so thankful that you guys agreed to come on the show. You know, you posted about. Stephen had posted about when you had booked this cruise, and I was like, stephen, we have to have you on the show. Can we make it work? And. And right away he was like, absolutely, let's do it. And just so thankful that you guys were able to join us. Oh, so fun. This is just so fun for anyone watching us or listening to us after the fact. If you don't already follow the whole gates, you've got to start watching their YouTube show. It's just fantastic cruising. But it's also like their family in everyday life. I mean, you can see them just living their lives and it's really fun. They're hilarious. And of course, Stephen's editing and Brian's cooking are not to be missed on all of their episodes. So, Stephen, why don't you Tell folks where they can find you if they want to connect and maybe book a cruise with you or other vacation.
[00:59:50] Speaker A: Yeah. So to book a cruise with me, you can just email
[email protected] and then, like you said, our YouTube is just the holegates on YouTube. And then. Wait, do we have time for me to say my favorite DCL duo podcast episode?
[01:00:04] Speaker D: Oh, yeah.
[01:00:05] Speaker A: Oh, yes.
[01:00:05] Speaker C: I forgot to ask you that. My goodness.
[01:00:07] Speaker B: Okay.
[01:00:08] Speaker A: The best episode ever with the best storytelling, like, they could make it into a movie was when you got Covid, sadly, on the cruise, and you were being taken out. The whole road trip, journey home and Catalina and the whole quarantine in the room. Oh, my gosh, it was riveting. It was so good. I was like, sam, can you get sick again for all of us? Because it was incredible learning all the things.
[01:00:32] Speaker C: Steven. The only thing that could top that episode is me getting put in the brick. Right? Like, me getting, like, put into, like, Disney cruise jail, which I'm not gonna do, because then I'll get banned.
[01:00:43] Speaker A: I have a story. I have a story for you about my best friend on our second cruise that I ever went on, if you want to know about what that's like.
[01:00:51] Speaker C: We do want to know what that's like. Stephen, can you share it on the air or not on the air?
[01:00:56] Speaker A: Yes. My. My friend, he's a bit of a party animal. He lives in Hawaii now. He's, like, my best friend. And he took some. But we were like. We were. We had. We were overserved a little bit with a big group of friends. Friends and whatever the. You know where they do. Bingo in that room on the Wonder. And he was so tipsy, he took someone else's stateroom key to the world card and charged drinks for a bunch of people. And then we get back to the room, and he got called down to the, like, prisoner area by himself, and they were showing him footage in this light, like, whatever. You know that room you said.
[01:01:36] Speaker C: Yeah. Or fathoms. I can't remember which one.
[01:01:38] Speaker A: Thankfully, there was no charges or anything like that, but he had to have all that transferred to his. I had nothing to do with it. I'm innocent. But
[01:01:49] Speaker C: I've always said, did he get banned from Disney Cruise Line, or did they let him back?
[01:01:53] Speaker A: No, shockingly enough. But, you know, this is.
[01:01:55] Speaker E: Watch out.
[01:01:56] Speaker A: This is 2011. It wasn't what it is now. Have. You know, people just walk on the ship back then.
[01:02:01] Speaker E: Use your lanyard, keep your key to the world card in your Lanyard around your neck at all times.
[01:02:05] Speaker A: If you see my friend Daniel, run the other way.
[01:02:07] Speaker B: When we decide to end the podcast, the last episode will be like, it'll be our last sailing on Disney Cruise Line. Sam will do something outrageous.
[01:02:15] Speaker A: Go for it.
[01:02:16] Speaker B: You know. There you go.
[01:02:18] Speaker E: Shoplifted.
[01:02:19] Speaker A: Well, I got so funny.
[01:02:21] Speaker C: I'm gonna steal an eevee from Nikki's main sale.
[01:02:24] Speaker B: Right.
I just want to, I want to echo Sam's thanks and I, I have not been as a prolific watcher, but I of your vlog. But I am going to start because I love creators in this community who just feel authentic and you two just feel so authentic.
So, yeah, I'm definitely.
[01:02:41] Speaker A: It's been so fun for me. I've, I've emailed before about being on in like 2022 and I chickened out. I was like, no, I'm too scared. And so when you reached out to me, I was like the, you know, introvert nervous. I was like, I don't, I guess, like introvert do this. And I'm so glad I did. This has been so fun. I really appreciate you y' all having us on.
[01:03:00] Speaker B: Well, for everyone out there listening, we're gonna and watching, we're gonna wrap it up here. But we will be back next week at our regular time, 5:30pm Pacific, 8:30pm Eastern on Monday. And we have the DCL duo, senior I believe it is, joining us. Is that right, Sam? Tracy and Michael are coming on this. How come? Tracy and Michael, Pixar Day at Sea.
[01:03:19] Speaker C: Yep, on the fantasy. They just got back from Pixar Day at Sea and they will be reporting about all of the charact, saw all of the different activities. Tracy sent me some pictures. It looks like there was characters everywhere. So super exciting to hear all about that.
[01:03:34] Speaker B: All right, well, big thanks to our guests. Again, big thanks to everyone out there for listening and watching this evening. And with that, we will just say see you real soon.
[01:03:43] Speaker C: Goodbye.
[01:03:51] Speaker D: Well, thanks everyone, 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 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. If 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. If you've got questions or you'd like to continue 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 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 has a way for you to sign up for our substack newsletter that we're hoping to start reading. Really pumping out monthly here at least, and a few blog articles that we've written, 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 imperial 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. Thanks again for listening and we'll see you next time for another fabulous adventure with the DCL Duo.
[01:05:59] Speaker C: Sam.
