We had a fantastic vacation at WDW and on the Wonder. We left on Thursday, April 13 at 11:00 AM. We flew from Providence on US Air/Metrojet with a change in Baltimore, and both flights were on time or early. Peter went directly to the Dollar Rental counter, and the girls and I retrieved our luggage. We had reserved a mid size and got upgraded to a minivan for the same price. We were on the road within ½ of landing.

As we are DVC members, we were using points to stay at the Boardwalk 3 days before and 3 days after the cruise. We splurged and stayed in a 2 bedroom villa before the cruise, so the girls would have their own room and own beds. Boy, was that nice. The girls went to the pool while Peter and I went to the grocery store. We went to bed early so we could get to MGM early the next day.

It was not early entry at MGM on Friday, so we got there for the rope drop, and headed directly for Rock'n Roller Coaster. We got right on, and then rode again with no waiting. I am not a roller coaster person, and loved the ride. We then did other favorites in the park, Star Tours, Muppets 3D, Great Movie ride, the Hunchback show

The next day, we went to Epcot and got a fast pass for Test Track (6 hours later!). We went to most of the attractions in Future World to pass the time, and then got into the Fast Pass line. We only waited 15 minutes, had a great ride and then they asked us if we wanted to stay on and ride again! Of course we said "yes", and had another ride. We saw a bit of the Tapestry of Nations parade, and it looked great, and the new Illuminations has more fireworks, so it is easier to see.

On Sunday, we went to the character breakfast at Cape May, at the Beach Club, and then packed the car and took off for the Port!

We arrived at the Port at about 12:30. There were a lot of people there, but I had all my paperwork done and we got in line to board after about 10 minutes. As we boarded they announced our name and where we were from. The people in front of us were also from Rhode Island, which is a real coincidence since we are from such a small state!. We went right to our room and found out Dining Rotation was Tritons, Animator's Palate, Parrot Cay, and Parrot Cay. Our luggage arrived 5 minutes later. We unpacked quickly, then Amy went to Common Grounds and we took Heather to the Oceaneer's Lab to sign her up. We did not make any spa or Palo's reservations. We also met our steward, Juliana, from Romania. This was her 2^nd to last cruise on her contract, before going back home to go to college. She was wonderful to the girls and very helpful getting us ice, towels, etc.

We went to the muster at 4:00, which went smoothly since everyone showed up on time! After we dropped the life preservers in our room, we went up to Deck 9 for the Embarkation Party. It was lots of fun, bubbles were blowing, the band was playing, people were dancing, and people on shore were waving to us. As we had first seating for dinner, we went back to our room to dress for dinner at Triton's.

Although our TA had indicated we wanted a large table, we were seated at a table for 4. There were several large parties of 12 or more, so the table set up was a little different, so maybe that is why we were given a small table. We didn't mind either way. On our last cruise we sat with another family of 4 and it was fun to hear all the adventures they had each day, plus the kids kept each other company. Our servers were Nadine from Australia, and Marjan from Macedonia. They were wonderful and worked hard to keep us happy.

We were happy with all the food on board, but we are not gourmet eaters and do not take a vacation for the food. We were always able to find something on the menu that we liked, even our very picky eater daughters. Amy (the older one) would often order an appetizer from the regular menu, but a dinner from the kids menu, and then desert from the regular menu!

The first show we saw was Hercules. It has changed a bit since we saw it on the Magic, and I didn't find it quite as funny this time. However, the Muses' voices were wonderful, and we loved the music. After the show we wandered around the ship for a while and then went to bed.

The next morning we docked in Nassau. It is fascinating to see how the ship can turn around and back up to the dock without a tugboat. We watched two other cruise ships come in, and it took them so much longer to dock when they need the tugboats! The other ships also weren't as pretty as the Wonder!

We had decided to spend Nassau day on the ship, so after breakfast (we ate breakfast everyday at Beach Blanket Buffet) we went up to the family pool and grabbed some chairs. We spent a very enjoyable day on Deck 9, and the pool wasn't too busy because most people went ashore. I went to Guest Services during the day and asked about our missing tote bag. As Castaway Club members, we should have found one in our stateroom when we boarded. We also should have been invited to a special cocktail party with the captain for Castaway Club members. My TA had made sure that Disney had this information on my reservation, and I even called the cruise line the night before we left home to verify it was noted on our records. When I got to Guest Services, I was told our records did indicate this, and they would have the gift delivered to our stateroom.

We had dinner in Animator's Palate that night. Our table was in a better spot this time to see all the colors change (on the Magic, our view was somewhat blocked by the serving stations set throughout the dining rooms). The dessert was a little different this time, as you had choices for dessert. On the Magic, the servers brought in dishes with fiber optic paint brushes. They were used as centerpieces for the dessert. They did not do that this time, so maybe the cost got to be too much.

After dinner we went to Studio Sea with Heather, while Amy hung around at Common Grounds. We watched a fun Disney trivia family show, and wished we had volunteered to be in it, because we knew almost all the answers!

The next day was scheduled to be Castaway Cay day. We woke before 7 AM and looked outside. We were not docked and it appeared we had just passed the island. Later on there was an announcement that Captain Tom tried to dock at 6:30, but the wind was too strong. They tried again at 9:00 AM and we still couldn't get in, so Tuesday became our Day at Sea. We had new Navigators by 10:00, and we spent a lazy day enjoying the ship. The pools were very crowded. Dinner was at Parrot Cay that night. After dinner Heather went to the Kids Club, Amy went to Common Grounds, and Peter and I went to see the show, Voyage of the Ghost Ship. This is the weakest show plot wise, but it is still very enjoyable entertainment. We got back to the room before either daughter, in fact Heather called and wanted to stay until 11:00 !! We told her that was ok, but we had to get up early for Castaway Cay the next morning! That evening I went to Guest Services again and asked about our tote bag, and was told it would be delivered to us!

Peter and I got up before 6:30 the next morning and went out on the verandah to watch us attempt to dock. It took several tries and a good hour, but we did dock successfully. Peter was one of the first to get off the ship, and got his pick on the beach. We chose chairs and an umbrella on the family beach, right in front of the water playground, and near the bathrooms!! We were also very close to Cookie's Bar B Q. Amy went off to the Teen Beach for the morning, but came back later and said almost no one was on the Teen Beach!! She found out all her new friends spent the day on the Family Beach!

Peter and I left for a while to take pictures around the island. We took the tram to the adult beach, Serenity Bay, and walked around. It is so peaceful there, we definitely plan to use that beach on our next cruise (7 day in February, 2001) and leave the kids for a while! Plenty of kids came up to the entrance of the beach, but they were mostly on bike rides, and turned around there. I saw no children on the adult beach at all. Because there are no safety nets around the adult beach swimming area, you have a better chance of seeing larger fish (and other things??)

In the water. I have heard that snorkeling may be better over there, but we did not have time to try it.

When we took the tram back to the family beach, we met our assistant server, Marjan, getting on the tram to go to the private beach for the crew, which is next to the adult beach. He actually had about 2-3 hours off!

When we rejoined our daughters we got lunch at Cookies, and relaxed until about 3:00 before going back to the ship. It was such a perfect day, sunny and temperatures in the low 80's. We didn't want to board the ship because it meant that we would be going home!

That night we ate in Parrot Cay again, but our menu was the Chefs of the World. It was an enjoyable meal and we got pictures with our servers and gave them our tip envelopes. Amy left for Common Grounds, and Heather went with us to Shutters to find pictures she had taken with some of the characters. After we chose some to buy, I decided to go to Guest Services one final time about our Castaway Club gift. I took the stairs down, and missed the last step, landing on my ankle, spraining it badly. I hobbled over to Guest Services and this time was told that there was no record that we were Castaway Club members!!!! This CM said she would check on it, and let us know. My ankle was starting to throb, so I asked about seeing the ship's doctor. She said they were off duty (this was about 9:30 PM) and asked if it was an emergency. I explained what happened, and just asked that they have ice brought to our room so I could put some on my ankle.

I hobbled back to the room and the ice arrived, but after 15 minutes I could see my ankle swelling badly. So we called the medical office and asked if I could be seen. If nothing else, at least I got to visit a place most people on board haven't seen - the medical office! I met Doctor Bob and Nurse Madeline. They were very nice and took a report from me, and then took X-rays to be sure I hadn't fractured anything. I don't think they had even used the X-ray machine before, because the nurse had to keep reading the directions, and had to take a lot of X-rays over again! I was given an ice pack, ace bandage, and some anti-inflammatory medicine, and then they let us use a wheelchair to get me back up to the room! Luckily we had packed before I did this stupid thing, so I was able to sit down and relax. We then got a call from Guest Services advising us that our Castaway Club gift would be at their desk at 8:30 the next morning and that I could pick it up on our way off the ship.

Although it looked awful and I couldn't walk on it, at least I was comfortable if I sat with my leg up. I actually slept ok that night, but still couldn't put any weight on it in the morning. Peter went to Beach Blanket Buffet and brought breakfast back to our room so we could take our time disembarking. Beach Blanket has only cold food on the last morning - cereal, danish, doughnuts, etc., but that was fine with us. Then we went down to Guest Services and asked about our tote bag. It took several CM's a few minutes, but they finally came out with a pretty tote bag in bright blue and white, that says Disney Cruise Line.

We slowly made our way off the ship and claimed our bags (in my case, VERY slowly!) and were off within 5 minutes. Peter got the rental car from the lot and picked us up at the curb. It was sad leaving the ship, but we had already decided we want to take the 7-day cruise next year, plus we were now going BACK to Disney World!

We arrived at the Boardwalk at about 10:00. We borrowed a wheelchair from Guest Services, and explained our situation about my foot, so the cast member said she would get us into our room as soon as possible. We then went to spend some time by the pool. We ate lunch there and the girls swam, and our room was ready by 2:00. This time we had a one bedroom, and it was on the first floor next to the two bedroom unit we had the week before! Peter and I went back to the grocery store and bought food for the next few days, and the girls went swimming. By Friday morning my foot wasn't too swollen, so we put an ace bandage on it and took the bus over to Magic Kingdom. We rented a wheelchair and got to the rope drop to head to Splash Mountain. We bypassed a little of the line because of the wheelchair and had a great ride. Then we went to Thunder Mountain and although there was no line, we were still taken in through the exit because of the wheelchair.

We spent the rest of the morning going on rides where there was no real line. Even though we were at the parks the week before Easter, we never stayed in a line longer than 20 minutes. Either we skipped the ride if the line was long, or we used fast pass. We went back to MGM that afternoon and planned to see Fantasmic. We got a fast pass for Rock'n Roller Coaster, and the timing was great - 15 minutes after Fantasmic was over. We then went into Fantasmic 1 1/2 hours early and relaxed and people watched. Because I was in the wheelchair, we were in the last row, which actually worked out well. The last time we saw the show it took forever to get out of the theater. This time, we left about 1 minute before the end, and we ended up avoiding most of the crowd. We enjoyed the roller coaster once more, and then went back to our room.

The next morning the girls had some homework to do, so Peter and I went to Epcot by ourselves, checking out Innoventions, listening to the Future Corps, a fantastic drum and bugle band. We then walked around World Showcase, people watching and enjoying being by ourselves.

After a swim at the hotel we took the bus to Animal Kingdom. We got a fast pass to Kali River Rapids and then went to an early dinner at Rainforest Café. After dinner it was time to use our Fast Pass. After getting quite wet on that ride, we went through the Tiger area, and rode the Safari. Late in the day is a great time to do this park, as most people leave after 3 PM, and the animals become more active. Then we went over to Countdown to Extinction and rode it with no wait.

By then the park was closing, so we took the bus back to the hotel. We had a last swim in the pool, and started to pack. The next morning, we had reservations at Spoodles for breakfast. It is a very nice buffet, and we really enjoyed it. After that we packed the car and left for the airport. Unfortunately our plane was on time and we got home without any problems, but at least we were thinking about our next trip!

Tips - At WDW, use Fast Pass to your advantage. We were at the parks at one of the busiest times of the year, and did not wait in a line longer than 20 minutes.

This time we did not do any early entry days, we went to a park at the normal rope dropping, and found the crowds better than at an early entry park. We have learned to do our favorite rides first, leave at mid day, relax in the afternoon, and go back to the parks in the late afternoon.

For the cruise - be sure all of your documents are complete before you get to the port. Have one adult get in the checkin line (if you are doing a cruise only), and the rest of your party can get in line to board the ship. Once you check in, you can join your party in line.

If you are a Castaway Club member, check and double check that your reservation is noted that way. Even then you are not guaranteed to get your gift, but hopefully they will get better at this as more and more of us are repeat cruisers.

If you are soda drinkers, bring soda with you on board. Our "ice box"/refrigerator was not cold when we got to our room, but our steward called maintenance, and by the time we came back to our room, it had been fixed. We put all of our soda in it, and by morning it was cold. In addition, Juliana brought us ice twice a day.

Don't wait too long to get onto Castaway Cay. We saw people walk by us at about 10:00, and they could not find a chair with an umbrella. It is worth it to have one person go out with your stuff and grab a spot, even if the rest of you come out a little later.

Relax and enjoy yourselves. The ship is absolutely gorgeous and you will love just walking around, or sitting by the rail and looking out at sea. We can't wait to go back.