Disney Dream cruise and Walt Disney World 2014 - Day 4 - Disembarkation and WDW

Disembarkation and Epcot

The ship pulled into Port Canaveral around 6:15 AM and there was a LOT of vibration as it backed into port and it seemed to take a lot longer than our other dockings. I got up and showered and we finished packing everything before waking Emmaline up to go to breakfast. On the way down I picked up our photo CD. On the last day, you dine in the same dining room as the night before and you are attended by the same serving team. It was great to see Nue and the assistant server Agus one last time. We had a nice little breakfast before it was time to head to the main lobby to get off the ship. We headed off the ship and down to the lower level to pick up our luggage and then make our way through customs. The line was exceedingly long and it took us quite awhile to get through it. Before heading out of the secure area, I asked if we could head back up to the main terminal to use the penny press machine (we had forgotten on the way in). I was worried we wouldn’t be able to but they let me go up into the empty second floor where we had boarded and smash a couple of pennies.

We exited the building and asked at the desk for the bus to our resort. We boarded the bus and then had to wait for awhile for more people to trickle on board for the hour ride over to Disney World. Luckily, our resort was the first stop, Port Orleans Riverside. We went to check in but our room
wasn’t ready yet so we checked our baggage with bell services after reorganizing a couple of things before boarding the bus to Epcot to begin the second half of our vacation.

Some final thoughts on the cruise as a whole:
When I initially booked a three day cruise, I did it because I was worried about not liking it or being seasick or feeling claustrophobic surrounded by so many people in such a small space (even though the boat is HUGE). Then as I got more excited about going, I was worried that we wouldn’t fit everything into a three day. But you know, while we didn’t do EVERYTHING, we did do a lot and I think for our first trip it was just right. I did occasionally feel like I was surrounded by lots and lots of people and I did end up having quite a bit of vertigo (though the nausea wasn’t too bad - just a touch). And the vertigo is still affecting me every now and then and I’ve been off the ship for four days now. I don’t regret the decision we made for our first time out.

The ship is beautiful and the crew is amazing. Everyone really goes out of their way to make sure you have a great vacation and it meant a lot. I never encountered anyone who was surly or problematic. I sort of feel like I got asked if I wanted to buy a cooler full of water a bit more than was necessary, but overall, the crew was fabulous.

The food was very good. Not amazing, but really quite good. The dining rooms were better than the buffets, but a good buffet can be pretty tricky. I had some good food on the buffet. The poolside food was not as good. Room service food was very good. If we’d had a sea day, I would have suggested one meal being room service.

The entertainment was top notch. From the shows to the children’s programs, everything was super great with special Disney magic. The only thing that was lacking was the kid’s area on Castaway Cay, which was basically a giant sand pit. It was sort of depressing. There was a sprinkler area, but Emmaline said that they didn’t let them go in there (I don’t know why). I wish we could have squeezed in a movie. They were showing Malificent on board and I would have really liked to see it.

Would I cruise again? Yes, but not for awhile (2-3 years maybe). And my dreams of doing something like a Trans-Atlantic or a Panama Canal cruise are completely out the window. I just can’t be on the boat that long. I would feel too cooped up and I worry about having vertigo again. Though, next time I’ll definitely get the patch. If we cruise again, I’d like to try a different ship (though probably stick with Disney because everything was really great) and maybe an itinerary that stops twice at Castaway Cay. We didn’t rebook on-board (even though you get a discount). At one point long before the cruise I had considered it, but Disney has recently raised prices quite a lot and cruising in the future will require quite an outlay of money.

Our room was very nice. We had a lovely porthole window (it was very large, practically floor to ceiling) with a seat. Our stateroom was very far forward and we did a lot of walking. In a way, it was annoying to walk so far all the time to get to our room. On the other hand, I’m pretty sure I burned off every calorie of dessert I ate. But I would definitely book the same category of stateroom again.
Overall, I’m really glad we tried something different for our vacation and everyone had a really good time.

On to Epcot! We arrived at Epcot in time for lunch. We made our way to Sunshine Seasons and I was starving by the time we actually sat down. Feeling hungry was not helping the continued vertigo and slight nausea I was still feeling from the ship. Lunch was...fine. I haven’t had a Quick Service meal at Disney World that I would rate in the “good” category. They all tend to be merely adequate.

After lunch we rode Soarin’ (which ended up being Emmaline’s favorite at Epcot and possibly all of Disney World), Living With the Land, Journey into Imagination, Spaceship Earth, The Seas with Nemo and Friends and we also went to Turtle Talk with Crush and checked out the aquarium exhibits in that area. Then while Emmaline enjoyed a snack, Roger and I took turns going through the single rider line of Test Track which was a lot of fun. We had skipped Epcot last time we were at Disney World but I’m glad we had an opportunity to visit this time.

After we were done in Future World, we set out for the World Showcase. We were feeling a little hot and tired so we stopped in to watch the movie in the France Pavilion. As we went in, I thought I heard thunder but wrote it off as some kind of Disney magic. The France movie was amazing and made me want to visit France, even though the film was clearly shot in the early 80’s. We came out of the theatre to find a gushing thunderstorm. We quickly hopped into the patisserie to get some snacks while we waited for the rain to let up because I left the ponchos tucked safely into the suitcase at the resort. When it started to slow, we headed out again (and bought a $9 poncho to at least keep the stroller dry) to explore more the World Showcase. I wish we had more time in the World Showcase, but with only a half day there wasn’t time to do it all. Before dinner we rode Maelstrom, which Emmaline really enjoyed. Then I changed her into her Cinderella dress to wear to the princess dinner at Akershus which we all enjoyed a lot. Emmaline liked carrying Cinderella’s flower basket during the princess processional.



After dinner, we took another ride on Maelstrom and then rode the little boat ride in Mexico before hopping the bus back to the resort to get a good night sleep. I would have loved to have seen Illuminations but I wanted to get back so we could be well rested for Magic Kingdom the next day.

Click here for Day 5.