Disney Cruise Part 1: The First Day

We’ve been planning and saving for a Disney cruise for a year, and last week we finally went!  It was awesome!  Where to start?

Last Saturday, we drove to L.A. (about 5 – 6 hours).  We stopped along the way to have lunch with Rob’s uncle J.B. and his wife Carol.

We stayed the night at the Crowne Plaza, because they have a “stay and sail” deal where they drive you to and from the cruise center and keep your car in their underground garage while you’re gone.  Not bad!  That night, we walked across the street to see some cool guns and torpedoes outside the Navy museum.  We also saw the U.S.S. Iowa and some cool dancing fountains.

 

We brought nail polish so Erin and I could do our nails in the hotel.  Never mind my wrinkly E.T. fingers - we made little Mickeys with black polish  :)

 

 

We woke up early the next morning and watched for the Disney Wonder to show up in the harbor…

After breakfast, we headed over to the cruise center and checked in.  Disney knows their stuff, and they’re super-organized!  While we waited, Mickey came out and the kids got their picture taken with him.  It wasn’t long before it was time to board!

 

Heading down the gangway…

 

When you board the ship, they have a little reception line of crew members and they announce your family’s entrance like it’s a big deal.  It’s pretty cool.  Here’s a little clip of that:

We knew we wouldn’t be able to access our room for a couple of hours, so we took our time at the buffet and checking out the rest of the ship.  We ran into several characters along the way:

 

That evening was the sail away party on the top deck.  All the characters come out and perform for a little bit.  There’s lots of music and dancing and lights & it’s pretty fun.  Then there’s a countdown and we got to hear the Disney horn – it plays “When You Wish Upon a Star”… here’s another clip:

 

And before we knew it, we were headed out to open water on our way to Mexico!