The Golden Mickeys

After dinner, we went to see The Golden Mickeys. This show was amazing! It was Broadway show quality, and we got to see lots of characters.

The opening act

Snow White

Cruella de Vil

The Toy Story Gang

Lots of characters were dancing in this act.

Mickey!

The closing act with all the characters. The girl dressed as Belle was not really playing "Belle," but she was trying to gain enough confidence to host The Golden Mickeys.

It was part of the story. I hope that makes sense.

Dinner at Parrot Cay

Our first dinner on the ship was at Parrot Cay. The restaurant had a Caribbean theme and was very colorful. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera to dinner that night, so I didn't take any pictures of the restaurant.

Here's a picture I borrowed from Build a Better Mouse Trip:

We started off with appetizers. I ordered calamari, and Marc ordered a baked crab dip. Again, no camera, so here are some pictures borrowed from DisBoards.

Calamari

Baked Crab Dip Martinique

At this point, I decided to run back to our stateroom to get my camera. Next up, we had our entrees. I ordered a steak, and Marc had a seafood dish.

Island-Spiced Grilled Ribeye with Twice-Baked Potatoes

Shrimp and Lobster Risotto

Lastly, my favorite part...Dessert! We ordered three different desserts to share with each other.

Apple Tartlet with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Chocolate Creme Brulee

Pistachio Sundae (All for Marc!)

Our first dinner was WONDERful, with the exception of Marc's risotto. We loved our server, Marko! He learned our likes and dislikes and brought us his favorites to sample, and he took very good care of us for the remainder of our cruise.

Disney Wonder Stateroom 6622

Since this was my first cruise, I had no idea what to expect when it came to staterooms. I had heard people complain about how tiny and cramped they were, but that's all I had to go on. So, I was expecting the worst.

I was pleasantly surprised, though, to finally see our stateroom. It was huge, and I was happy to see that Marc and I wouldn't have to climb over each other for the next few days.

Our stateroom, looking back toward the entryway

The sofa and desk area

The lavatory

The bathroom

The closet (It was so much bigger than I expected!)

Turndown service complete with yummy chocolates

One of the views from our verandah

This little guy was waiting for us when we returned from dinner one night.

The ship was beautiful, our room was spacious, and I was going to be able to spend the next few days with my best friend. We were off to a great start!

The Wonder's Lobby

As we boarded the Wonder with lots of fanfare, we were blown away by how beautiful the lobby was. It was decorated for Christmas and was very festive.

The Christmas tree in the lobby

I loved this chandelier! It was so colorful!

Ariel!

Since our stateroom wouldn't be ready for about an hour, we grabbed a quick bite to eat and looked around the ship. It was WONDERful! We went back later that night to take a few pictures.

One of the hallways

A gingerbread house that was on our way to dinner.

As soon as our room was ready, we were anxious to go check it out. I was expecting a little, cramped room, but we were pleasantly surprised when we saw how BIG it was!

Arriving at the Disney Cruise Line Terminal

Yay! We're here!

After 18 months, the day we had been waiting for finally arrived. We left from the Swan and board a transfer bus that took us to Port Canaveral. I can't begin to describe the feeling that I had when we finally caught our first glimpse of the Disney Wonder! Chills, to say the least!

The terminal was decorated for Christmas. We quickly did all the required paperwork and got our boarding number. While we were waiting for the boarding call, I took some pictures around the terminal. Love the Disney details!

They teased us a little bit with a model of the ship.

So, they finally called our boarding number, and we made our way through the magical Mickey ears.

As we were walking through, they made it magical as only Disney can do. When we made it to the Wonder's lobby, our name was announced, and we felt like superstars! What a great start to our WONDERful trip!

Christmas at the Swan and Dolphin

Before the cruise, Marc and I stayed at the Swan and Dolphin for the first time. We loved it! It was such a modern resort with clean lines, and our room was HUGE! They had it all decorated for Christmas, so we took a walk around the resort before going to bed. Of course, I took lots of pictures. Here are a few of my favorites:

The big Christmas tree in the Dolphin lobby had a train going around its base.

Yum! A Christmas scene made entirely of chocolate

Chocolate Santa

The details were amazing!

This is the view from our room.

My only wish was that we would've been able to take the quick walk over to Epcot, but we didn't have enough time. We had a bus to board...a bus headed to Port Canaveral!

Celebrating Christmas in Orlando

Since Marc and I would be in Orlando for our cruise, and my parents were already there, we all decided to get together to celebrate Christmas. It was Kelli and Rob's first Christmas together, and his parents were able to come, too.

After Marc and I flew in from Huntsville and got our rental car, we went over to the Swan at Walt Disney World to check into our room and get our gifts put together. (Stupid TSA regulations said that they couldn't be wrapped when we were flying.) Thank goodness, we were able to get into our room immediately. We quickly got everything wrapped and freshened up a little bit, then headed over to Kelli and Rob's house.

Their first Christmas tree

They made a TON of food, and it was so yummy!

Playing a game before eating

Having a good laugh over the silly guesses

Rob wondering when we were going to leave

After the party, we were exhausted and headed back to our room to get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow morning....the cruise!

A Rosie's Kick

Marc and I have been on a Rosie's kick lately.

This ooey-gooey bowl of goodness doesn't help matters:

My parents, along with my sister and brother-in-law, decided to join us. We decided to go ahead and celebrate Marc's birthday, since it's at the end of the month. Of course, I took advantage of the chance to play around with my camera and snap a few pics.

It was a great night filled with lots of laughs and great food. Can't wait to go back!

I Couldn't Resist...

posting these super cute pictures of our puppies, Pino and Gus!

I got a new camera a few months ago, and I was practicing using it the other day. The pictures are a little blurry, but I still think they are precious!

Hollywood Studios

We were at Hollywood Studios for rope drop. Everyone must've slept in, because there was only a hand full of people there. We were able to casually walk over to Toy Story Midway Mania to get our FastPasses. No mad rush of crazy runners!

After gathering those, we went over to The Great Movie Ride in hopes of Marc being able to see the cowboy scene. Not only has he never seen it, he has only been able to see a female Bugsy. So, we asked the castmember which scene was running, and she told us she didn't know, but it we were going to get on the ride, we needed to hurry up and stop asking questions. (Gasp!) I couldn't believe how rude she was!

Much to our surprise, Marc was finally able to see a male Bugsy!

I was finally able to get some good pictures in the Wizard of Oz scene.

After The Great Movie Ride, we went through the arch and headed over to The Magic of Disney Animation building.

Marc and I discovered this little gem a few trips ago, and it's a must every time we're in Hollywood Studios. They have several awesome activities to do while you're waiting to go to Animation Academy. This contraption lets you draw and paint famous Disney characters. The screens in the background let you add voiceovers.

This building is also a character greeting location. This was the stage to meet Lotso:

And Yensid, from Fantasia, appeared on this stage:

Next up was Animation Academy! The character we were drawing was from The Princess and the Frog, so I was a little disappointed it wasn't one of the Fab Four. (I'm trying to draw a complete set, so we can have them framed. Oh well!)

At least we were able to find a Hidden Mickey!

After Animation Academy, Marc and I split up our APs and got one FastPass for Rock 'n' Roller Coaster and one FastPass for Tower of Terror. (My motion sickness patch had fallen off earlier, and I didn't want to put on a new one!) So, I took pictures while he did this thing.

And, as a bonus, we saw a few characters on our way out of the park.

So, it was a very good day at Hollywood Studios! Now back to the resort to rest for Extra Magic Hours at Magic Kingdom!