Our first trip to Disneyland, plus 4 nights on the Wonder - April 2024

[Rxdr2013]

Enjoying your report!. I hope to go to Disneyland next year. We live in FL so its so hard to justify going out there....Also loving your Wonder report. I was on that ship in 2002 for my little sisters make a wish cruise. Haven't been on a Disney cruise since then its mostly been Royal and Carnival.

 

[ambula603]

Enjoying your report!. I hope to go to Disneyland next year. We live in FL so its so hard to justify going out there....Also loving your Wonder report. I was on that ship in 2002 for my little sisters make a wish cruise. Haven't been on a Disney cruise since then its mostly been Royal and Carnival.

You should totally make the trip! It is so neat to be similar but still all new. Make a Wish is such a blessing. My friend's son did a Disney cruise for his wish!

 

[ambula603]

Day 7


Our first port day was Catalina Island. I had rented a golf car to drive around the island but the only time left when I went to book it was 1-3 pm. I was a little bummed because I imagined we would want to drive it around and then go back to some spots to spend the day. But when we woke up to cloudy skies and rain, I was glad we weren't getting off the ship first thing.

We slept in, ate a delicious breakfast at Cabanas, and went to play ping pong and foosball on the top deck. It was cool but not raining so we managed just fine.

They play ping pong all the time at home, and they are super competitive!


Lilli and I mostly just giggle. But she and I did have a long game of foosball (not pictured, because Jason was too busy playing ping pong to take our pic!)


The sun started to peek out so we were looking forward to some island time!


Sadly that didn't last. Clouds came back just as we headed over to Catalina. It is a tender port, so you have to take a smaller boat to the dock. We had to wait about 30 minutes just for our tender boat (we must have JUST missed the previous one) but we made it to our reservation on time. The golf cart rental spot was a short walk from the dock and easy to find. I don't have my printout to remember the name of the company but if anyone needs it, I can track that down.


Golf cart time!

We have a golf cart at home that we take to our local campground so we made lots of jokes about how this felt just like home (NOT!)


We stopped at this pretty overlook and a nice family offered to take our pic!

That is the casino in Avalon (not a casino at all, it is a meeting place)

Soon after this moment, it started to drizzle. So it wasn't the BEST ride, but we still enjoyed seeing the island. They give you a map with locations to stop if you want and look around. We didn't really get out of the cart since it was drizzly. Thankfully it wasn't a full-on rain!

I really think if it had been warmer we would have walked around downtown (that was where we rented the cart) but honestly we were chilly and didn't want to pay for food (at the Naughty Fox, which sounded delicious) when we knew we could eat on the ship. They had a ton of cute shops and a putt-putt course that could have been fun.

I would definitely return to this charming town!


After about 2 hours, we headed back to the ship to enjoy some of our favorite food around the pool.

We love to get a plate of fruit and cookies from Daisy's De-Lites. Jason LOVES to get pizza and Scarlett likes to get chicken strips, french fries, and soft serve. There is something wonderful about getting all that food from different spots and coming together to eat it on the deck! Bliss!

Soon it was time for dinner again!

 

[missjackiemcg]

Sadly, Tiana and Louis the alligator never came out! I saw a YouTube video of a cruise right before ours and she came around and took photos and even sang with the band. So while we didn't realize we were missing her at the time, I am a little cranky we didn't get that part of the experience.

Oh, goodness, I would have been SO disappointed!! Princess and the Frog is my Mom's most favorite movie and she keeps talking about doing a cruise to experience Tiana's! She would weep if she didn't get to see Tiana and Louis for sure.

This is an awesome picture!!! Bummer about it being such a rainy day though!

 

[ambula603]

She would weep if she didn't get to see Tiana and Louis for sure.

I thought about that- how many little ones (and older fans, too!) were really excited and then let down. I guess I am glad I wasn't 100% sure she was supposed to come out so I never mentioned it to the fam.

 

[ambula603]

This was our fancy night with dinner at Triton's, another restaurant that was new to us.


Lilli wore her favorite dress and we celebrated her 15th birthday. She was really wanting a new IG profile pic so we made sure to get lots of pictures. She just looked so beautiful (and mature) it made my heart ache.


On this cruise, I didn't force family photos of all of us because it just seemed like too much hassle after all the pics we had taken at DL. But the girls took this of mom and dad!




Scarlett with her favorite (along with soft serve!)

On this night the servers really brought the entertainment. They had magic tricks and drawings for the girls. It is such a treat when your servers do this!



They also made flowers for the girls!

Everyone sang Happy Birthday to Lilli and she got to blow out a candle, which was a joke candle that brought on more laughs!


After dinner, we headed to the atrium to hear the singer/pianist (she was fantastic all cruise!) Evenings spent in the atrium are a highlight for me.

It is hard to see in this picture but we had such a good time watching Donald interact with all the guests. He was doing all sorts of tik tok dances and really engaging with the little kids. Donald is Scarlett's favorite so she was especially tickled. He was a wild duck all cruise long!


Came back to the room to another towel animal:


And then it was time to crash. As much as the girls looked older in their dresses, this moment took me back to her days itty bitty babes!

 

[buteraa]

Such beautiful girls! I'm really enjoying your trip report.

 

[ambula603]

Such beautiful girls! I'm really enjoying your trip report

Welcome! Thanks for stopping by and saying hello!

 

[ambula603]

Day 8

By this point in the trip, we were READY for a day at sea!
We slept in and had a leisurely Cabanas breakfast. Then it was time to find something to do!

I will say, we don't do a ton of organized activities on the ship. We always WANT to, but then when the time comes, we are just not in the mood! The girls don't love kids or teens clubs, they never have. I have always wanted to play Bingo but never have. But this year we did go find a "How to Draw" class and we were excited because look who we got to draw!

Jason refused to draw after he realized how hard it was and how good we were! Hehe. He is a man of many talents, but art is not one of them!

Soon it was time for ice cream and deck time. It was still a bit chilly, but at least it was sunny. I know Scarlett and Jason played a ton of ping pong. They said it was windy so it made it like EXTREME ping pong. They liked it!

Always time for ice cream. This was banana and chocolate.

Scarlett dances wherever she goes, that's what shes doing here. She stole my Mickey and friends shirts and used it over her bathing suit and it was really cute!


We did watch one of our favorite things, Jack Jack's Diaper Dash. We LOVE this. The families get so into it and the babies are adorable! Everyone lines up around the atrium and cheers!


I bet we took another nap and then it was time for Pirate Night! We do like to dress up, but we don't go as hard as some of the people we see. However, I may or may not have taken pictures of outfit inspiration for future cruises because some families really do it well!
We watched shows throughout the cruise but since we can't take pictures, those have already escaped my memory! But since we had second seating, we would have a show around 5:30 and then dinner at 8:15. In between, we shop, take pics, wait in line for characters, explore the ship, etc.

On this night, we wanted to see Jack Sparrow! He is such a fun meet and greet.


We bolted out of the theater and got in line, it's usually a long one on Pirate Night. Luckily the cast members are nice and this photographer entertained us! He pulled a teenage boy out of the line who was dressed like Jack Sparrow and he tried to fool little kids who were walking around. We laughed so hard and the teenager really played along with it! I love to see a teen boy be kind and goofy like this, instead of aloof and annoyed!

My girls really do love each other. I catch things like this all the time!


Finally it was our turn!


Then it was time for dinner!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

I’m sorry it was such a dreary day but glad you still got your golf cart tour.

You all looked lovely at your fancy dinner! Wonderful pictures of you and your husband and your girls.

 

[ambula603]

We were in Triton's again for dinner. They have a special pirate menu and while I didn't take any photos, it was good. We typically like all of the food on the ship. It isn't THE BEST we have ever had, but it is usually a good time to try new things. We are usually pretty full of ice cream and pizza and fries so we don't need the dinners to be much!

On this night, our servers gave the girls keychains from Indonesia, their home countries. They had them wrapped up in paper and the care it took to bring on these gifts and hand wrap them almost made me cry!

The people on the ship MAKE a Disney cruise something special. They are just wonderful at what they do!

On Pirate night, the characters wear their pirate attire. We only care about one, though...

Stitch is Lilli's favorite! She has love him since she was little so we always wait for him. Per usual, he was super animated and adorable!



We came back to the room to find some cuteness



They have a pirate deck party and fireworks, but we were SO SPENT. We frequently take long trips (10/11 days) and I find that day 8 is always when I start to lose steam. I get a little homesick. So while we were having a blast, we were also really fatigued. We all decided we had seen the pirate party and so it was fine to miss it.

I did hate to miss the fireworks. We thought we might get out to see them but those beds were calling our names!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

I sleep the best on a Disney cruise with the slight rocking and amazing bed. Is it sad to say it's a highlight for me!?

We talked with someone on our trip and they said the same thing! And I think that is what is pushing Andy to do a cruise!

She just looked so beautiful (and mature) it made my heart ache.

She looks beautiful!

 

[ambula603]

Day 9


We were in Ensenada, Mexico! I had not heard great things about this part of Mexico so I was a little nervous to venture out on my own. We ended up booking the excursion called "Taste of Mexico" which included a bus ride to a vineyard area and a cooking class. It ended up being a really good day!



With any of these excursions, your tour guide is what makes or breaks it. Ours was fantastic! He was going through college but was very passionate about Ensenada. We really enjoyed getting to know him!


About a 50-minute bus ride into the countryside and we were at the location. I did NOT know the bus ride would be that long, honestly, I might not have booked this. Scarlett just gets so car sick and last year in Mexico she almost lost her cookies. But she did ok this time and I am glad I didn't steer clear of it just because of the ride.



They had little stations set up where you could do some shopping, wine tasting, cooking, and eating. It was very clean and appeared new. I know the guide said they just started going out into the country after Covid.





We had a wonderful instructor. She came around with new types of salsa for us to try, once she showed us how to make them.


Then it was our turn to make guacamole! Now Scarlett makes this all year at home and is REALLY good at it. But we learned some new things. Like adding a touch of olive oil, and keeping the avocado pit in mix to prevent it from turning brown.


Then they brought out more food for us to make, like this tostada.


The food was really good but the star was the guacamole. So fresh. They also had unlimited margaritas. We all had virgin ones and the girls were SLURPING them down!

 

[ambula603]

We also made an enchilada with chicken.


The teacher was mic'd up so that made it easy to hear her, which I appreciated.


Here is Lilli enjoying more margaritas!


Stopped her for a picture by the cactus since she was about to have her quinceañera!


Once lunch was over (and we were STUFFED!) They took us over to do a mezcal tasting. Now let me just add here that this was also NOT on the listing for this DCL excursion! Again, not that we cared, but I was a little confused! They had multiple groups there doing different excursions. I know this because some were tasting wine and just eating lunch, not making it.

They told us all about mezcal, an alcohol made from local agave, and then we tried like 6 different kinds. Jason and I don't really drink, but when in Rome...

I even ate the cricket.


Jason got to drink some from the scorpion bottle because we were there celebrating Lilli's birthday (but she was too young!)

They did some cute/funny toasts each time. I did NOT enjoy it, but I loathe tequila and this reminded me too much. The girls thought it was hilarious and wondered if we were drunk (we were not, but had we been drinking real margaritas all day, plus all these mini shots, I would have been!)

I sadly did not get a picture of the local artist that we visited with. He makes each piece with only his fingers. I found this video online,

Our artist did one during the cooking class and someone was lucky enough to win it. I was jealous! We did buy a small one as a souvenir.

We finished up and headed to downtown Ensenada for some shopping. This was our least favorite part as we were just ready to be back on the boat. I did end up finding a really pretty hand-painted coffee mug. But mostly we stayed near the bus and talked to our tour guide!

Back on the road, these two cuddled up.


And we saw the home of the margarita

The Bar Andaluz is located inside the former Hotel Playa y Casino (today Centro Social Cívico Cultural Riviera de Ensenada), which opened its doors in 1930 with the most famous people of the times. The Bar Andaluz also claims to be the original birthplace of margarita, this time after Margarita King, owner of the hotel during the late 1940s.

We tried to get a picture with the whole boat behind us, but again, people don't really know how to compose a photo! It was super windy so I didn't take the time to check it until we were headed back on the ship. Ah well, we got the sign at least!

 

[DocDCT]

Day 8


I bet we took another nap and then it was time for Pirate Night!

It seems that you all took naps almost every day, which is great!

Have you ever had to insist with the girls to make them sleep in the afternoon or they are just nap lovers?
Many parents don't even try to do naps with older kids, but I think they need their rest too, even when they refuse to admit it.

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Pirate Night always looks so fun whenever I see someone’s pictures. I think you did a great job dressing up!

Wow, your excursion looks like SO much fun! I love to cook so this would be an excellent way to spend the day. The food looks very good and I love the guacamole tips (I knew about the pit but had never heard to add olive oil!).

I love that your girls are such good friends. I hope the hugs my girls give each other continue as they become teenagers.

 

[ambula603]

It seems that you all took naps almost every day, which is great!

Have you ever had to insist with the girls to make them sleep in the afternoon or they are just nap lovers?
Many parents don't even try to do naps with older kids, but I think they need their rest too, even when they refuse to admit it.

We are a napping family! I will say, Jason and I usually fall asleep, but the girls may just be lying on the bed or watching TV. But we love to have downtime on these big trips. My oldest loves to read and my youngest plays games on her phone but we know to be quiet and still.

Wow, your excursion looks like SO much fun! I love to cook so this would be an excellent way to spend the day. The food looks very good and I love the guacamole tips (I knew about the pit but had never heard to add olive oil!).

I love that your girls are such good friends. I hope the hugs my girls give each other continue as they become teenagers.

The cooking class was fun! I would do it again just for the food, ha!

The girls are very special in that they prefer to be together. I know a lot of it is the older sibling. Lilli has always preferred to be with her little sister. I can't say the same for my older sister! But now that they are older they have things in common like sports and friends and makeup, etc. That may create friction but for now, it is a bond for them! We have already speculated that Scarlett will be lost in 3 years when Lilli goes to college!

 

[ambula603]

After some resting and freshening up, it was time for the show and then dinner at Animator's Palate! It is always a favorite of ours, as both my girls love art and sketching. I love the bright colors and the special effects! If you love Disney animation (and you probably do, since you are reading here) you need to experience one of the classic ships to be able to dine here!


Some ships have a special show where you create a character that comes to life. We had fun doing these!


Scarlett drew Moana, Lilli drew Minnie Mouse!

On our first cruise on the Fantasy Jason tried to draw Sheriff Woody but he drew a gun in his holster and apparently, it got flagged and didn't make the show! We have laughed for years about that...saying Jason is probably "on a list" somewhere of people to watch!
No guns this time!


These were our four together!

Then this one has some random on the right but you can see mine and the girls!

Since it was our final night, we had to get a picture with our head server


We ate way too much! I don't take many pics of our food but I know they have delicious black truffle pasta purseittes in a champagne sauce that we all love. The lighting is just never good in the restaurants to take food pics.

At dinner we discussed our favorites from the trip so far. We just adore cruising. But I was already missing Disneyland! We made big plans to return to DL and talked about how excited we were for our next cruise, the Treasure in April 2025. I cannot wait to see one of the new ships!

We listened to some atrium music and then it was time for my favorite chaotic part of the cruise!

This was real, not staged!

 

[ambula603]

Day 9
At the end of a cruise, they have all the characters come out and do meet and greets. They are not with cruise photographers, they are just around the atrium and on the various decks. So you run around and try to get photos with whoever you can find.
We tried to find some of our favorites, usually the ones we hadn't waited in line for yet. You can find almost everyone on the ship, even some of the stars of the shows or more minor characters. While it is crowded and not super organized, everyone is buzzing around and excited. It is chaos but I actually love it!

We went straight for Don Don, as we call him!




Then we ran into Belle, aka Lilli


We always love to find Goofy!


And Captain Minnie!


We had already seen Mickey in his house so I didn't wait in line for him. You only have about 15 minutes of them out so you have to prioritize!

At the end of the evening, they sing a farewell song all together on the stairs!


It is bittersweet! Another cruise come and gone, but this one just as great as the others!



Back in our room we found one last blanket creation:


Then the sadness creeps in. You have to pack up!

You have options on a cruise - you can have your bags packed and outside your stateroom the night before disembarkation. They will take them and have them ready for you at the port after you go through customs. You go have a nice sit-down breakfast in your last dining room (so for us it would have been Animator's) and leisurely make your way off the ship. They stagger the times so if you had late dining (as we did) you have a late breakfast.

OR, you can carry them off yourself for an early departure. You can grab breakfast at cabanas but you have to have your bags with you. We have done both. Last year we left the Magic in New Orleans and drove straight to Orlando to go to Universal Studios (that was a last-minute, wild decision!) so we needed to get on the road. This year we had plans to explore San Diego so we also wanted an early start. But to be honest, I like to take my time getting off the ship if I am just heading home after.

Since we were carrying our own bags off, we didn't have to have them packed up by 10 PM. So when we returned to the room we started putting everything in the packing totes and squeezing them in the suitcases. 9 days of clothes had to fit back in, plus we still had one more day/night to go. Scarlett was outside working on carefully taking down the door magnets. Well, we didn't realize she had the door propped open and when Lilli opened the balcony door to get some fresh air, it created a vacuum that slammed the cabin door onto Scarlett's finger. The problem was, she didn't make any noise and we didn't hear it happen! So she was sitting out in the hallway crying in pain and we had no idea! She finally came in, white as a ghost, and told us what happened. I don't know how it didn't break her finger(s) but we majorly avoided a catastrophe! Poor baby, she was hurting pretty bad and that just added to the mood of sadness in the room!

Thankfully she didn't break them. She was in pain for a few days, though!

We all decided 4 nights is too short for all the packing involved, but had one more glorious night of sleep!

 

[ambula603]

Day 10


Sadly, it was time to leave the ship!
As I mentioned earlier, we chose to carry our luggage off the ship ourselves. By this point in the trip, I was SO TIRED of carrying our own luggage!

We did great, though, making good time and being at the front of the line! I was really feeling good about the morning...

until...

we headed off the boat and walked to the customs station. As we rounded the corner I heard someone ask for their passports and I remembered...

OUR PASSPORTS WERE STILL IN THE SAFE!!

I immediately panicked and told Jason to go tell someone. He did. Then came back to tell me there was "a process" and that "it would be a while". Insert tears. I was just so mad at myself for not even THINKING about checking the safe. I was a little embarrassed, but mostly mad because we woke up so early and I didn't even get to have my leisurely breakfast!!

So we exited the line and waited off to the side. This is (again) where the wonderful Disney workers make a difference. One of the older ladies could sense my frustration and sadness so she made polite conversation with us about our trip and what we planned to do next. We explained where we were headed and she helped us make decisions about taking an Uber vs. walking. Honestly, we probably waited 10 minutes and they were SO sweet and kind the entire time, giving us updates. Thankfully because we did the express walk off early they hadn't made it to our room to clean it yet, so the passports were still in the safe and not somewhere else. WHEW!

By this point the small line was much longer but the sweet lady let us cut into part of it so we didn't have to start over. God bless her!

I thought all was fine until Jason's name was flagged and he was pulled over for questioning. (maybe it was the Woody gun drawing from 2019!? Ha, just kidding!)

Turns out someone with his same name and birthday can't enter the country or leave it, who knows. We had to wait again, this time outside of the customs room. Thankfully they were super quick and nice again and before long, we were headed to our San Diego hotel to drop off our bags.

It was A MORNING but all in all, still nothing to shed tears about. Tell that to my nerves, though!

I think you can see in our faces, we were a little stressed...but wanted one last photo of the boat!


We walked about 12 minutes to our hotel in San Diego. I think it was the Embassy Suites. It was one of the most expensive rooms we have paid for and it was not something I would recommend. I mean, it was fine. They did allow us to eat breakfast at the buffet when we walked in around 9:30 AND on our check-out day the next day, so that was nice of them. And the cost of food in SD is so high, that probably saved quite a bit. But it was definitely sticker shock when we checked out and saw the cost of the room with all the added fees and resort costs.

They held our bags while we retrieved another Uber, this time in a Tesla which the girls found fun.

We were headed to the San Diego Zoo!

I had heard wonderful things about this zoo and while I am still a bit torn on zoos in general, this one was definitely beautiful. And HUGE! We started by taking the tour bus around the park so we could see what we wanted to walk to later.



I will attach some pics of some animals we had never seen before or got good pics of.




We actually HAVE seen a grizzly in person in Glacier National Park and it scared the crap out of us and so I don't really ever want to see one again!


Scarlett sat with this orangutan for a while and they were so sweet together. You can sort of see it in the background, but a baby was frolicking around in the back and making everyone laugh with his antics!


I was glad so much of it was in the shade!