Tomorrow is going to be a "WONDER"ful day!!! **Trip Report Started**

Hey kids!!! We just left 4Rivers. Pretty uneventful trip thus far. Picked up Blondie from school and went ahead and told her. I asked her yesterday what she wanted to do this weekend. She said Disney lol. I had our cruise booklet in an envelope. A note in the front said " you said you want to go to Disney. We can't do that BUT..." She opened the envelope and freaked out a little!!!

We have about 3 hours to go until we get to the hotel!

It is 7:36 am. Coffee is brewing and I am READY TO GO!!!!!

I was up 2-4:30, I feel exhauated.

I'm doing my best to be quiet but I want to scream WAKE UP.

The rest of the trip down was quite. There was an accident that slowed us down a bit but nothing major. Went to Ron Jon last nigjt to get Blondie a bathing suit and shirts for the nephews and neice.

11:30 boarding time can't get here fast enough!!

Well, we are back and already on 95 headed home. We did the early walk off. I love this option!

It was a fantastic trip. Although the Wonder is small she is packed full of fun.

*Love
Tiana's Place
Frozen Show
Cadillac Lounge

*Dislikes
So small
LINES for dinners and shows
3 day too short
Tritin's

I also did the 5K!!! Pretty proud of myself. I will do a full write up from the laptop tonight or Tuesday when I have time. Also have lots of pics on out Facebook, Instagram and my Twitter (jmed1117)

Let's get this trip report started!!

Wednesday March 22 - Travel Day - As you all know from above it was Me, Joe, Blondie and my parents (Bobby and Kathy) going on this trip. I had to work for a little bit on Wednesday. I left work around 12:30 ran home, packed the car and headed to get Blondie from school. I decided since she will be asking a million questions to let her know when we got in the car.

I signed her out and when she got to the office, she looked at me and said "why are you picking me up early, we were in computer class having fun." Being the smarta$$ that I am I replied with "I am your mother, I can do what I want!" She gets in the car, sees everyone and asked what was going on... I handed her an envelope with a note on the front that said, I know you wanted to go to Disney, we can't do that. BUT.... (I had asked her the day before what she wanted to do this weekend and she said Disney) I had our DCL Cruise Booklet in the envelope. Her first words were "are you kidding me right now?" It was great! I asked if she wanted me to sign her back in... that was a no-go!

The trip down was pretty uneventful. Of course we stopped at the Florida Welcome Center (about 15 minutes before they closed!!!) for free OJ and Shutterfly Photo Book codes and then 4Rivers for dinner. We finally made to to Cocoa Beach around 9:00. We went ahead and went in Ron Jon because Blondie needed a bathing suit and dad wanted tshirts for the grandbabies. After I had to run into Walgreens since I forgot Blondie's toothbrush. Dad wanted a sweet tea which led us to about a 20 minute wait at McD's. We finally checked into the Hilton and got in bed around 11. I was a little to anxious to sleep. I tossed and turned a bit but I finally met the sandman around 12:30.

Thursday March 23 - Boarding Day - I woke up early of course. I planned on taking a walk on the beach but mother nature had other plans. Dark skies and a thunderstorm warning. Instead we laid around a bit, went down for coffee then got ready to go down to breakfast. With our Hilton Honors card, we got free breakfast and man was the buffet awesome. Thick cut applewood bacon, eggs, potatoes, grits, oatmeal, fruits, omelette station, cereals, sausage, all sorts of juices, toppings, pastries, I can't even remember what all was there. We all filled up and headed to the port around 10:45. We had an 11:30-12:00 boarding time. We paid, got parked on the 3rd floor where the cross over is and we were inside just after 11.

It was pretty quiet in there, we didn't wait in line to sign in or register Blondie for the kids club. We were the 3rd family in line for the character pic and only waited about 5 minutes before MICKEY showed up. We had Minnie last year so I was pretty excited! We walked out onto the viewing deck to take some pics of the ship and before we knew it, our boarding group was being called aboard!!! We let Blondie decide how we would be introduced onto the ship and we convinced my parents to go outside of the box... We were "Princess Abigail and her Royal Family" My parents were "The Duke and Duchess of Hoschton, Georgia" If I can figure out how to post the video, I will. The CM taking their info is literally bent over laughing. It was awesome!

WOW, this ship is SMALL. I had seen pictures and done my research but I was shocked at the Atrium!!! Overall, the ship seemed soooooooo much smaller than the Fantasy and Dream. I was shocked. The layout is a bit different also so by the time we left, I had the feel of the ship down of course.

We walked around a little before heading up to Cabanas for the buffet. Joe and Blondie were distracted by the ice cream and had some befor going in. Here was where I encountered one of the first things I didn't really like, the hand washing station. There are 4 sinks to wash your grubby hands at each entrance. This takes much longer than the sanitizing towels... Guests were getting antsy, not stepping up to the open sinks, or just waking by with out washing up. A little annoying but you know safety first! Everything we had was good. I've never seen a bigger Roasted Steamship. Of course I piled on the crab claws and got a fruity drink. After filling our bellies, we started exploring. Blondie and the boys played a little basketball, we peeked into the lounges. My dad loved the Cadillac Lounge and went there each night. It is a very cool spot and the decor is awesome if you are a car lover. We finally made our way to our rooms to drop off our boarding bags and rest our feet for a few.The it was off to the Oceaneers Club. The Avengers section was Blondie's favorite and we got to meet Spiderman. Joe and I were both picked to be in the show they did! Blondie wouldn't raise her hand. By this time it was time for the Adventures Away party. We danced, laughed and shook our bootys until we were ready to eat again

The Assembly Drill was fun as usual until they announced that there would be rough seas tonight... The Golden Mickey's were tonight and we weren't big fans of the show last time so B went to the Oceaneers Club and we went to the Cadillac Lounge, funny enough my parents were already there. At this point, we were a pretty good ways off shore and boy was the boat rocking. And it kept rocking and rocking and rocking.

Joe and I stopped in the Atrium to listen to the musicians Suzy and Alex a cute couple from the UK who were singing their hearts out on that crazy rocking boat. We headed for the Animator's Palate where we saw quite a few guests stumbling. You would have thought we were on a party barge full of drunks. I liked this AP better than the ones on the other ships we have been on. And Sorcerer Mickey coming in at the end was AWESOME!!! At one point our server nearly fell over. This is when I thought "if the staff is falling down, it's BAD!!!!" After dinner B went back to the OC and we found Suzy and Alex in the Promenade Lounge. Again singing their hearts out to US. Yeah, it was just me and Joe in there. A couple more trickled in but I think a majority of the ship was a little sick to be honest

B stayed in the OC until about 11 and we all were literally rocked off to sleep. I did start to feel a little sick at one point but I sucked it up and dealt with it. When I woke up at 3am it was still going...

Going to upload and post some pics to this and will add the next day in a bit!

Oh, I forgot the Sommelier's Bin at Cadillac Lounge! You pick either red, white or champagne and they bring you a glass of wine for $10.00 It could be any were from $10-$35 a glass but you are just surprised by it. I got a red and it was the Lasseter Family Winery (Pixar) Paysage. It was marvelous!!!!! normally $22 a glass so I lucked up!

Well, I can't post any pictures so on to more TR!!

Friday March 24 - Day at Sea I really tried to sleep late since the rocking kept me up a good bit. Blondie was meeting my parents for breakfast as Joe and I had a Palo Brunch reservation!

B spent time with my parents around the ship and in the pool for a bit while. We were ready and at Palo right before they opened. We were the 2nd table seated and we had a fabulous view. Palo on the Wonder is very different. It is much larger since there is no Remy. You enter from the side and it wraps all the way around. I was planning on taking LOTS of pictures and failed miserably!

We were led to our seats by our server Roberto (He was from Napoli in Italy so we chatted for a bit about the wild time I had there years ago) We were given water and menus and offered a complimentary drink. Mimosa, Bellini or Champagne. I stepped out of my mimosa box and had a Bellini. It was very good and I may start having those more. Peach puree and Prosecco.YUM. Joe passed and just had OJ. We took our time selecting an entree and we both decided on something we normally wouldn't order. Joe ordered Pennette Pasta with Smoked Salmon, Baby Spinach, Tarragon, cracked Black Pepper and Cream. I chose Rollatini Melanzane lightly Breaded Baked Eggplant filled with Prosciutto, sweet Ricotta and Smoked Mozzarella, served on Toscana Sauce and drizzled with Aged Balsamic Modena. I will get to these in a bit...

Roberto then took us on a tour of the buffet. OH MY! Now, if you know me, I did my research. I poured over pictures, reviews and asked for assistance choosing brunch over dinner... WOW is all I can say. I was overwhelmed when I actually came face to face with what I consider the best buffet I have encountered in 42 years. These are just some things I can remember

Table 1 - Seafood - Tuna, Caviar, Salmon, Scallops, King Crab Legs, Shrimp Cocktail, Peel and Eat Shrimp
Table 2 - Italian Inspired and More - Caprese Salad, Proschiutto Wrapped Melon and Asparagus, Hummus, Fresh Fruit, Olives, Roasted Garlic
Table 3 - Cheese - Black Truffle, Sage, Cabernet, Parmigiano, Breads, Figs, Honeycomb, Challah, Wheat Rolls
Table 4 - Pastry - Cinnamon Rolls, Croissants, Sticky Buns
Table 5 - Dessert - Tiramisu, Pistachio Chocolate Bites, Fresh Fruits with Champagne Jelly, Lemon Raspberry, Cappuccino Mousse

I was so excited I didn't take pics when Roberto was giving us a tour Now that is saying something. We made some pretty good selections for our first go round. After polishing off our plates we went back for a little more. We were trying not to fill up, everything we had was delicious. Unfortunately we held back on the bounty that laid before us as we still had our entrees coming out.

Now I get back to those. As I said, we both stepped out of our boxes on these. We both enjoyed what we ordered but not so much that we would order the same again. The eggplant was a little tough for my liking but the stuffing was heavenly. Joe enjoyed his pasta but we talked more about the buffet. We ate as much as we could still leaving space for DESSERT! We each got different things. The Cappuccino Mousse and the Pistachio Chocolate Bites were our favorites.

All in all, I would give Palo Brunch a 10 out of 10!!! But, I will eat as much as I wanted off the buffet before even deciding if I was going to order an entree. There were still things I wanted to try that I didn't because of those items coming out. I still rank dinner up there at the top of the scale but it really is 2 totally different experiences.

Palo Brunch is currently $30.00pp I read it was only available on 4 day or longer cruises but we were on a 3 day so glad I checked. I will be booking this for our February cruise.

The rest of our At Sea day to come!

We headed back down to the room after brunch to change into more comfy clothes, B and my dad were in the room waiting on us. B wanted to go swimming and I wanted to SLEEP. I ended up taking a 2 hour nap while watching Disney movies. I fell asleep to the Aristocats, woke up to 101 Dalmatians, drifted back off and woke back up to Beauty and the Beast coming on.

By this time the kids were back and it was time to head to the Oceaneers Club. Once B was dropped off we walked up to get burgers and pizza for a snack. I wasn't thrilled with the pizza so we decided to check out the Crown and Fin Lounge for the Loaded Tots. Wow, for $8.00 this was a great snack! A huge plate of tater tots covered with nacho cheese, sour cream, bacon and jalapenos. I couldn't even finish half of them. They had trivia going on while we were there and although we weren't playing we had a great time.

We went to the show tonight which was Dreams. This one was new to us and we really enjoyed it. Similar to Wishes as far as story line goes but a little different as the stories play out. Beauty and the Beast was in this one which made me pretty happy!! Even the little bit of BatB in this show was better than the movie. (I really didn't like the movie)

Highlight of the evening was dinner! Tiana's Place. This place was fantastic. Unfortunately our table was behind a pole and we didn't have the best view of the stage. Other than that little bit, it was my favorite restaurant on board. The food was really good, the place setting was beautiful, the entertainment was fun. All around perfect. Guests are given beads. Tiana comes around to the tables to visit Louis dances around the dining room and the Cast Members put on a fun Mardi Gras parade which they invite the guests to join. It's an exciting end to another perfect day on the Wonder.

**finally got some pics to attach, will get more ready!

This was the first cruise that I felt a little sick. I never got sick but that queasy feeling was there for sure.

I wanted to be the Stark family. Of course B thought Tony, Joe thought Game of Thrones

Saturday March 25 - Castaway Cay - On our cruise last April I really wanted to do the 5k. I got sick and even though there was no way I could have done it, I regretted it. Even though I really have ran any since I got sick in November, I decided I was going to do it this time. The morning of I was up and feeling great. I got to the Azure Lounge a little before 8 and sat in the window watching the boat dock. I don't know about you but I think it is amazing how it looks so effortless getting that big ole ship to the dock! Anywho ~ I took a seat in the lounge and my mind started going nuts. WHAT are you thinking? WHY are you doing this? DO you really think this is a good idea? I almost had myself talked out of it and then that feeling of regret came back. JUST DO IT! You can always stop if you need to. We got our numbers and lined up to make our trek to the starting line. If you haven't done the Castaway 5k, you need to know that you have to WALK to the starting line. It is a good 10 minute or so walk to the starting line. Once there they wait a little bit to make sure everyone makes it. I didn stop at the first bathroom we passed and still beat a bunch of runners there. (see, already competitive )

There is a timer there but the run isn't actually timed. I had my phone with my Disney playlist going so that made a nice little touch. You head out towards the airstrip and turn towards Serenity Bay. You then enter the bike loop and then back out onto the airstrip. You make a turn at the end where Serenity Bay is to come back to the bike loop again and then on back to the start (now the finish) line. First off, it was HOT. It wasn't even 80 when we started but the humidity and the lack of shade on the course made it a bit warm. if you are not used to running in the heat, keep this in mind. Bring a cool towel, a bottle of water, what ever you think you may need. There is water at the start/finish line and at the entrance to the bike loop (which you pass 4 times) I did the run in 50:12 which for me was exciting. I did hurt the next 2 days but I DID IT! Now I am even more determined to do the 10k in February!!!!!

After the race I stopped at Summertime Freeze to get my Sven cup! He was my reward for finishing the race and I love him!!! I found the family and collapsed in a hammock for about 10 minutes before I was up and ready to have some fun. Mom, Dad and B stayed to play on the beach while Joe and I went to Serenity Bay for a bit. There were lots more people there this time than on our 1st cruise. We found empty chairs down towards the end and pulled them down to the water where we sat taking in the view and sipping on cocktails. I decided to venture out to a sadbar I saw a bunch of guests walking on. The water was a bit cold but I braved it just for the view! OH WOW!!!! There were fish and a couple of stingray swimming around and the water was so clear and stunning. I would give anything to be there right now and I am not a beach person!

It was almost noon and time to go back to meet up with everyone for lunch. Maybe it is the sun and the sea but man are those some good hotdogs at Cookie's BBQ. I also love the olive oil and cheese flatbread. So simple but so good. Everything we had was great. By this time everyone was tired and ready to head to the boat. We slowly made our way back as it started to rain. It was just a light rain but boy was it COLD!!! We made it back safely to the boat ready to rest a bit before the show and dinner.

A few more pictures before I finish up the TRa

The show our last night was the Frozen, A Musical Spectacular. There are not enough words for this one! I really enjoyed this show. Every single bit of it. From baby Sven in the beginning to the finale! It was fabulous. The CM playing Anna did a fantastic job. I wasn't so sure about Elsa until she sang "Let it Go". Anna was the stronger voice but they both pt on a memorable performance. The sets were beautiful, the story followed right along with the movie, Olaf... I could have swore it was Josh Gad, his voice was spot on. There was humor. It had it all, I was on my feet at the end! I even asked if we could skip dinner to see the late show. Alas my crew was hungry.

Dinner our last night was at Triton's. It was nothing to write home about. After the excitement of Tiana's and the fun of Animator's Palate, this really fell flat. I would prefer starting out at this one. The filet was really good and they had the Grand Marnier Souffle. Other than that, nothing special.

B wanted to go back to the Oceaneer Club with her table friends and she stayed in there until after 11. We had to drag her out! We were opting for the early walk off in the morning and had to wake up at 6am. Getting off the ship was a breeze. They let us debark at 7 and we were in the car by 7:30. We stopped in Daytona for breakfast and headed home.All in all, it was a fantastic trip. 3 days is not enough. I don't even feel like we were gone at this point. Luckily pictures prove otherwise!

Thanks for reading along, I will add some more pics soon!

I've got to find my grove for the 10k. And not in like November LOL