You may recall the cute Hall family who were the winners of our Unfrozen Winter contest earlier this year. Check out their adorable snowman submission!
Midway Services sent the family on a Disney Cruise and provided airfare for four. Rebecca and Bradley (Mom and Dad) took their two oldest children, Korbin and Brooke, on their Disney Cruise earlier this summer. Korbin and Brooke had never been on a cruise before and Rebecca and Bradley hadn’t been in about 10 years.
“I can’t even begin to explain all the fun we had and how seriously amazing the whole thing was,” wrote Rebecca. “It was a getaway we could have never made happen on our own. Disney does cruising right!”
The Hall parents were sweet enough to send over their itinerary and some snapshots from their incredible trip. If you’re interested in taking a Disney Cruise, or just want to find out what it’s all about, read on to see the highlights from the Hall’s experience.
Monday
We were on the ship for a couple days (Saturday and Sunday) and then landed in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. We had reservations for a Catamaran and went out with 4 other families for the day. It was my son and daughter’s first time snorkeling and they were in heaven. We spotted turtles and stingrays – it was quite possibly the coolest experience of the entire trip!
Tuesday
We went from Tortola to St. Thomas in the American Virgin Islands, where we got to snorkel even more, swam, and laid out on the beach. The water was actually that turquoise blue that you see in movies – truly beautiful.
Thursday
We were on the ship all day Wednesday and then ported at Castaway Cay, Disney’s Exclusive Island. The water was incredibly blue and had amazing visibility below, so of course that meant more snorkeling! They hid Mickey Mouses you could look for underwater, which helped make up for the fact there weren’t as many fish. They also include an 18+ beach which we enjoyed while the kids played with other kids. Castaway Cay had people everywhere to keep an eye on the kids so we (Mom and Dad) laid out and enjoyed a daiquiri. It was just like a floating Disneyland!
Aboard
It gives me goosebumps reminiscing about everything on the cruise ship – everything was so much fun and amazing! They have a “Midship Detective Agency” where you select the mystery you want to solve and the cruise gives you a card so you can write down all your clues. When you put the card up to a painting, the painting springs to life – it speaks to the group, tells you about the mystery you are working to solve, and gives you clues and directions. One mystery took us two hours because we were chasing clues all over the cruise ship.
They are continually showing first-run movies out by the pool so we got to watch Jungle Book. We also got to ride the Aqua Duct, which is a large slide that shoots you up and down and swings you out over the boat!
All of us went Goofy Golfing and they also have other games and a Tween Club called Edge with events like scavenger hunts, ice breakers, and more.
It’s really easy to find characters on the boat – you only have to wait three or four minutes versus 30 or 40 at Disneyland. We saw about two a day, and one day we got five in a row! They also have multiple versions of the characters, such as Captain Mickey, Traditional Mickey, etc.
The stateroom was amazing! Ours came with an ocean view room with a
really big porthole and window seat. Our stateroom was a really good size and all four of us were cozy and never felt smushed.
Dining
You alternate three restaurants. Enchanted Garden has cool flower lights on the ceiling that open and close and the ceiling changes colors throughout your meal and Royal Court was extremely elegant and put me in mind of Cinderella. The meals are very gourmet and they have an awesome selection. My son tried everything, including escargot at the Royal Court. (He said it tasted like dirt!)
Animators Palette is animation-themed and they give you markers on your table so you can sketch a figure. They offer a tutorial on how to draw a figure, then they take the drawings and at the very end of dinner, they animate your drawings on these screens on the wall. It’s completely unexpected! They choreograph them to music and position them in Disney clips. Our daughter is our artist so she did really well with hers and was so excited – the rest of us weren’t quite as proud
“We cannot thank Service Experts enough for this incredible experience,” Rebecca said after they returned from their cruise. “I tear up when I think about the whole experience. Submitting our picture to a contest I never thought would go anywhere, hearing we were a finalist, the anxious voting round, the big reveal, researching and picking which cruise, the anticipation of going and finally experiencing an amazing vacation. It was such an amazing time living it all. Thank you, thank you!”
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