Last year’s Land and Sea vacation to Disney World followed by a 3 day cruise on the Disney Wonder was quite a memorable Spring Break for all of us. Dinner with Cinderella and Prince Charming at the Grand Floridian, getting to ride in the pilot’s cabin of the monorail, seeing Fantasmic, the day and evening parades, and the Safari at Animal Kingdom were just a few of the amazing events we enjoyed. But whenever I asked Alison what she wanted to do for Spring Break this year she talked about Castaway Cay (Disney’s private island) and kissing Stormy the Dolphin at the Blue Lagoon Dolphin Encounter. So I began planning a return trip …
The plan was a secret until it was confirmed that we could arrange our schedules accordingly, and it was only last weekend that we showed Alison her ticket and watched the Disney Cruise Line video to refresh our memories about the fun that awaits us in just a matter of days.
This year’s trip will be a little shorter compared to last year’s because we need to get back in time for our nephew Cameron’s Eagle Scout Court of Honor. Last year 3 days onboard the ship just wasn’t enough; as soon as we learned where things were and got comfortable it was time to pack and leave. So this year we are on a 4 day Bahamian Cruise, with the same stops at Nassau and Castaway Cay, but with an additional full “day at sea” to enjoy the many activities and amenities of the Wonder.
Instead of the Dolphin Encounter at Blue Lagoon this year we plan to do the Dolphin Swim, that includes a “foot push” by two dolphins propelling participants through the water like a ski boat! I’ll be sure to come back with pictures. And since last year Disney has added a Stingray Adventure at Castaway Cay in the shallow waters near the beach where you can touch and feed stingrays, and we expect to try that.
We’ll only have a couple of days at Disney World compared to four last year, so we’ve cautioned Alison to study up on the choices and make a list of the attractions she really wants to see and do. The Beach and Yacht Clubs were already full when hotel reservations were made, but we are ready for a change anyway, so this year we chose the Polynesian Resort. We’ve requested a garden view room with balcony near the volcano pool. I don’t expect it can compare to Stormalong Bay (the amazing series of pools and lagoons between the Yacht and Beach Club) we probably won’t have a lot of relax by the pool time this Spring Break.
While our time will be shorter we’ve planned some special surprises for Alison during our Disney World stay, including a character breakfast with Lilo and Stitch.
