YawningDodo
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 16, 2014
Or: A first-timer goes solo on the Disney Magic
January 21, 2018 sailing with Marvel Day at Sea
Miami, Cozumel, and Castaway Cay
(and a little bit of WDW to finish it off)
Hello and welcome!
This is my first Dis trip report, which seems fitting because it was also my first-ever cruise. Ever. Anywhere. Any cruise line. Also my first time in Mexico, though I don't know if I'll count it.
About me:
I'm 30 years old and a longtime Disney fan and a somewhat more recent (but devoted -- maybe a little too devoted) Marvel fan. I live in Montana with one housemate and probably too many pets, and my big passion is analog gaming (think tabletop and live action roleplaying games, as well as board games). My favorite Marvel character is Doctor Strange, and his 2016 movie was what finally got me to start reading the comics as well (the current Doctor Strange run that started in 2015 is amazing, btw -- Blood in the Aether is my favorite arc so far). Also, I did the Disney College Program not once, but twice: spring 2006 (freshman year) and fall 2009 (senior year). As a result, I have been all over the WDW parks more times than I can count, and I'm pretty sure I could navigate them blindfolded. WDW is still my first Disney love, but that level of familiarity makes it a little less exciting than it could be these days, so in the last few years I've regeared my travel priorities and aim to visit all of the Disney parks in the world in the next decade or so in order to get fresher Disney experiences.
Why this cruise?
I had a vague idea for the last year or two that I wanted to eventually do a Disney cruise, based on knowing that DCL offered the kinds of theming and activities that were likely to appeal to me (I don't particularly care for casinos, don't dance much, and have zero interest in hooking up with anyone). I had it sorted out in my head: I was going to sail on the Wonder first, on one of her trips to Alaska, and it was going to happen sometime around 2019 or 2020. I certainly wasn't planning on another big trip less than a year out from my first visit to Disneyland this last fall with my housemate, not when I'm saving up toward (hopefully!) a fall 2018 Disneyland Paris trip.
And then the magic of targeted advertising happened. Turns out when you put yourself in charge of a Disneyland trip, doing all the research and making all the bookings, Disney teams up with Google and Facebook and endlessly floods you with ads that are very Relevant To Your Interests. I'd been aware of MDAS and had resigned myself to missing it, but the ads got me curious and I did some more reading, and then more and more and -- well, I quite suddenly realized that, thanks to an unexpected windfall earlier this year, this whole thing was actually possible for me to fit into my budget and my schedule. I booked in November through Dreams Unlimited, maybe a week or two ahead of the 75 day window, so the timing actually worked out perfectly.
Itinerary as planned:
January 21, 2018 sailing with Marvel Day at Sea
Miami, Cozumel, and Castaway Cay
(and a little bit of WDW to finish it off)
Hello and welcome!
This is my first Dis trip report, which seems fitting because it was also my first-ever cruise. Ever. Anywhere. Any cruise line. Also my first time in Mexico, though I don't know if I'll count it.
About me:
I'm 30 years old and a longtime Disney fan and a somewhat more recent (but devoted -- maybe a little too devoted) Marvel fan. I live in Montana with one housemate and probably too many pets, and my big passion is analog gaming (think tabletop and live action roleplaying games, as well as board games). My favorite Marvel character is Doctor Strange, and his 2016 movie was what finally got me to start reading the comics as well (the current Doctor Strange run that started in 2015 is amazing, btw -- Blood in the Aether is my favorite arc so far). Also, I did the Disney College Program not once, but twice: spring 2006 (freshman year) and fall 2009 (senior year). As a result, I have been all over the WDW parks more times than I can count, and I'm pretty sure I could navigate them blindfolded. WDW is still my first Disney love, but that level of familiarity makes it a little less exciting than it could be these days, so in the last few years I've regeared my travel priorities and aim to visit all of the Disney parks in the world in the next decade or so in order to get fresher Disney experiences.
Why this cruise?
I had a vague idea for the last year or two that I wanted to eventually do a Disney cruise, based on knowing that DCL offered the kinds of theming and activities that were likely to appeal to me (I don't particularly care for casinos, don't dance much, and have zero interest in hooking up with anyone). I had it sorted out in my head: I was going to sail on the Wonder first, on one of her trips to Alaska, and it was going to happen sometime around 2019 or 2020. I certainly wasn't planning on another big trip less than a year out from my first visit to Disneyland this last fall with my housemate, not when I'm saving up toward (hopefully!) a fall 2018 Disneyland Paris trip.
And then the magic of targeted advertising happened. Turns out when you put yourself in charge of a Disneyland trip, doing all the research and making all the bookings, Disney teams up with Google and Facebook and endlessly floods you with ads that are very Relevant To Your Interests. I'd been aware of MDAS and had resigned myself to missing it, but the ads got me curious and I did some more reading, and then more and more and -- well, I quite suddenly realized that, thanks to an unexpected windfall earlier this year, this whole thing was actually possible for me to fit into my budget and my schedule. I booked in November through Dreams Unlimited, maybe a week or two ahead of the 75 day window, so the timing actually worked out perfectly.
Itinerary as planned:
January 20: Fly to Miami; overnight at Miami Int'l Airport Hotel
January 21: Sleep in; embarkation
January 22: Day at sea, including Mixology
January 23: Cozumel with Beginners' SCUBA port adventure; Pirate Night
January 24: Marvel Day at Sea!!
January 25: Castaway CayJanuary 21: Sleep in; embarkation
January 22: Day at sea, including Mixology
January 23: Cozumel with Beginners' SCUBA port adventure; Pirate Night
January 24: Marvel Day at Sea!!
January 26: Debarkation; drive to Walt Disney World; dinner at Boma
January 27: Morning at Animal Kingdom; rest at resort; evening at MK with dessert party
January 28: Fly home
As you'll see along the way, not all of that happened quite as planned. I'll end this trip report with a summary of what went right, what went wrong, what I'd do again, and what I'd do differently...but for now, we'll just take it as it goes.
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