Our 14 day Cruise on the Magic COMPLETE 9/23/05
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disneyfan4994 · 09-13-2005, 08:26 PM

Day 4 8/23/05 Tuesday

We woke up at 7am this morning, after a call from Mickey, to calmer seas, clearer weather & the site of land! We got dressed & headed up to Topsiders for breakfast. We were docking in Manzanillo, Mexico. I don’t know if anyone has ever heard of this place, but I hadn’t. When we got home, & I told people we stopped there, most of them had no idea, except for a friend of mine who was born & raised in Mexico. He described it as a port town, with a lot of industrial shipping, & this seems like a good description. After breakfast we took some pictures of the town from the ship, & then headed down to disembark.

We decided to catch a cab & go into downtown to do a little shopping. Our Cruise Director had told us there was not much shopping, but since we had no plans & wanted to see a little of the city, we thought we’d give it a try. For $5 DH, the boys, my Mom & myself were dropped off in downtown Manzanillo. We could still see the ship but it would have been too far to walk. The cab driver spoke very little English, but did point us to a couple streets with stores on them. We browsed around for a couple hours. Most of the stores sold basically t-shirts & other little things that said Manzanillo on them. I bought a couple small candles that said Manzanillo, & DH got a Manzanillo shot glass. We figured we had to be able to prove we were there!

Downtown Manzanillo. The boys by a fountain

The fish statue

A street in downtown Manzanillo

We took another $5 cab ride back to the ship, & were back on board by lunch time. We dropped our purchases off in the room, changed into our bathing suits & headed to deck 9 for lunch & some sun. There are a lot of lunch options on the Magic. On deck 9 Topsiders has a buffet, Pluto’s Dog House has burgers, hot dogs, chicken tenders, & tacos, & Pinocchio’s Pizzeria has pizza. Not to mention Scoops for ice cream, popsicles, & fruit. You can also get a table service meal at Lumiere’s. Parrot Cay also usually serves a brunch of some kind. We usually stuck with Pluto’s or Pinocchio’s & ate by the pool. After lunch we swam for a while, then DH, Ryan, & I headed back to the room while Matt went to Storm the Lab for a couple hours.

Tonight was formal night & there was a welcome reception in the Atrium before dinner. We all got dressed up & headed down to have some formal pictures taken & then mingle at the reception. The Captain is usually there but since we were getting ready to leave Manzanillo he couldn’t be there. Guess someone has to drive the ship! There were other senior officers there, & Matt & Ryan got there picture taken with the Cruise Director Rachel.

Dinner tonight was back in Animator’s Palate & we enjoyed the “Golden Mickey” dinner menu. After dinner we headed to the Walt Disney Theatre for the Golden Mickey’s red carpet arrivals. They have “Rona Rivers” outside the Theatre interviewing people as they come in to see the show & it is broadcast into the Theatre on screens for those already there to watch. We then enjoyed the Golden Mickey’s show. It’s a take off on an awards show & features great musical numbers from lots of Disney movies. After the show we headed to the atrium for the Golden Mickey’s after party & balloon drop. There was lots of music & dancing & when the balloons dropped the cruise staff told us we had to break them all, so of course the kids had a blast. After the party Matt headed back to the Lab until midnight & DH, Ryan, & I headed back to the room.

Up Next: Acapulco, Mexico & I’d pray before I did that too!

disneyfan4994 · 09-13-2005, 08:51 PM

Day 5 8/24/05 Wednesday

We received a wake up call from Mickey about 6am this morning. Our Cruise Director Rachel said Acapulco had a very scenic arrival & we didn’t want to miss it. We got dressed & headed up to deck 10 to take some pictures then to Topsiders for breakfast. The weather was a little overcast & dreary.

Our arrival in Acapulco

Captain Mickey ready to help dock the ship

After breakfast we disembarked & ended up getting a tour guide, Juan, for $30, for the day. Our 1st stop was a store that sold statues, jewelry & other little trinkets. I bought a silver bracelet for $7 & Mom picked up a ring for Dad & a silver chain & charm for herself. After that we walked through a pretty town square & saw a beautiful old Church. We then took a cab over to the flea market. This was my least favorite stop. Things seemed a little overpriced & the vendors were very pushy. We only spent a little time there. Mom ended up with a few little things to take back for friends, I got a pair of silver earrings, & the kids got a couple small toys. After that we walked a bit & headed to the La Perla Restaurant. There are cliffs here where the famous cliff diver’s do several shows per day. You can get a table at the restaurant to watch the show or pay $7 to be in an outdoor viewing area, & receive a free drink. We decided on the outdoor option & each had bottled water.

When the show starts the diver’s go down into the water, then climb up the side of the cliff.

Before they dive they pray at an altar at the top of the cliff.

Then they dive!

Juan told us this is a skill passed down through generations

After the cliff diver’s show we decided to head back to the ship. It was about 2pm when we boarded. We dropped off our purchases in the room, put on our bathing suits, & headed up to deck 9 for a snack & a quick dip in the pool. After a quick swim we headed to the room for a nap & to get ready for dinner.

On our way to dinner we stopped in the atrium to get a couple autographs from the characters, and then we were off to dinner.

Me, DH (Tim) & Matt with Chip & Dale

You may be asking why Ryan is not in any pictures with characters. Well, Ryan has a fear of ALL the characters. They’re fine from far away, but if they dare to get close he runs screaming. I do hope to break him of this some day.

Dinner tonight was in Parrot Cay & it was tropical night. We enjoyed the “Tropicalifragilisticexpialidocious” menu. After dinner Matt headed to the Lab for a piñata party, pizza time, & movie night. The rest of us headed to the Walt Disney Theatre for the evening show, “Los Caporales Festival Folklorico”. They were a group from Texas who performed traditional Mexican music. After the show we went up to deck 9 for the “Mexicalifragilisticexpialidocious” deck party. There was lots of music & dancing, characters, & even a special appearance by Joey Fatone of N’Sync. After the party we headed back to the room for some rest.

Tonight’s towel animal

Up Next: Some restful days at sea on our way to the Panama Canal

iamgrumpy · 09-13-2005, 10:21 PM

Great Update! I am loving this report!

Amy

**Colexis Mom** · 09-14-2005, 05:51 AM

More great updates

Love the pictures

DawnDenise · 09-14-2005, 09:03 AM

Another wonderful update with grat pictures!!! Looking forward to more!

PhillyPooh · 09-14-2005, 10:35 AM

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your trip with us. I'm really enjoying reading your trip report. Your pictures are really great. Looking forward to more. Wanda

DCLFANATiC · 09-14-2005, 12:43 PM

Love your trip report !!! [img]http://smileys.*************.com/cat/15/15_8_7.gif[/img] The pictures are great !!!

dsnytina · 09-14-2005, 02:15 PM

Well, even though Manzanillo wasn't planned, it seemed nice...we did the same thing in the Mexican ports.
Went out in the morning, then returned to eat and enjoy the ship while it was less crowded!
Boy, those cliff divers are something!

Glad the rough seas seem to have calmed down...looking forward to more!
Tina

disneyfan4994 · 09-14-2005, 07:29 PM

Thanks everyone for your great comments. I was nervous about this report since it's my 1st one, but you're all making me feel much better. I should have more of the report up tonight.

disneyfan4994 · 09-14-2005, 09:18 PM

Day 6 8/25/05 Thursday

Today was our 1st of 3 days at sea before we reached the Panama Canal. We all love days at sea. Disney schedules so many things to do, & you can also just relax. We woke up this morning & headed to Topsiders for breakfast. Then at 10am we went to Animator’s Palate for a family craft session & painted picture frames. After that Matt headed to the Lab to make a digital postcard & participate in the Jr. Chef Experience, they made chocolate chip cookies. The rest of us went to the pool & waited for Matt to finish his fun in the Lab & join us.

We usually got a lounge chair by the Mickey Pool, which is only about 1 foot deep, since it wasn’t over Ryan’s head. They both liked the Goofy Pool too which is about 4 feet deep, & also has 2 hot tubs by it, so we also spent some time there. They also have an adult’s only pool Quiet Cove which is about 4 feet deep. Unfortunately I only made it into this pool once for about 15 minutes. Today at 2pm was “Fun in the Sun” by the Goofy Pool, so we headed over there. They had music & played gamed with the kids like Simon says & Freeze. Chip & Dale also made an appearance.

About 4pm we headed back to the room so Ryan could nap & we could get ready for dinner. Tonight was semi-formal night. We had dinner in Lumiere’s & they served their regular rotational menu. Belle & Beast came in after dinner & danced for us, & all the ladies received a Belle pin & all the men a Beast pin as a special gift.

Belle & Beast in Lumiere’s

All dressed up for semi-formal night

After dinner he headed to the Walt Disney Theatre for tonight’s show, “Who wants to be a Mousketeer”, with special guest host Joey Fatone from N’Sync. It works just like “Who wants to be a Millionaire” They pick seat numbers at random from the audience to decide who gets into the hot seat. You’re supposed to be over 18 to play, but if a child’s seat gets picked they can play as long as they bring an adult. The prizes are on board credits going up the ladder to the grand prize of a free 7 day cruise, & during our show a little girl won the free cruise! She was so excited.

After the show we headed to Studio Sea for the “So you think you know your TV songs?” game. They played clips of TV songs & you have to guess what song it is. It was a lot of fun. We must be major couch potatoes because we knew every song except for 1.

Matt skipped the Lab tonight so we all headed back to the room for some sleep.

Our Towel animal

Sunset

UP NEXT: The Highlight of Matt’s Cruise!

disneyfan4994 · 09-14-2005, 09:35 PM

Day 7 8/26/05 Friday

We woke up this morning to another beautiful day. We had breakfast at Topsider’s then at 10 went to the family craft session in Animator’s Palate. We made bugs out of pom poms.

At 11am Tim, my Dad, Matt & myself went to a “Disney behind the Scenes” presentation in the Walt Disney Theatre, while my Mom took Ryan to the pool. Don “Ducky” Williams was speaking. He is a senior character artist for Walt Disney Marketing. He draws tons of stuff for Disney, like the characters on the guide maps at the parks, & all the stuff for press releases. He also helped design Toontown at Magic Kingdom. He told the story of how he got started with Disney. He was really persistent until he got hired. While he spoke he was doing sketches on an easel on the stage to be raffled off at the end of the presentation. Matt is a really great artist & he loves to draw the Disney characters. He wants to work for Disney as an artist or animator when he gets older. His favorite character is Mickey as the Sorcerer from Fantasia, & he won Ducky’s sketch of Sorcerer Mickey in the raffle!! He was so excited. After the raffle we went down to claim it & Ducky inscribed it To: Matt, Don Williams. He was on cloud nine & told everyone we met for the rest of the cruise that he won that sketch. Each stateroom on the ship also received a limited edition lithograph Ducky did especially for the Panama Canal Crossing. We had them both framed when we got home, & I plan to hang them in the living room.

After all the excitement we met up with my Mom & Ryan at the pool, & the kids swam & had lunch.

Ryan in the Mickey pool

At 3pm Matt headed to the Lab for Stormin’ the Lab & craft time, & the rest of us headed to the room for a nap. Before dinner we headed to the atrium & had some pictures with the Disney characters.

Queen of Hearts

Donald & Daisy

Stitch

Dinner tonight was in Animator’s Palate & we had their rotational dining menu. We also got to see the Animator’s Palate light show tonight. The walls of the restaurant are lined with black & white sketches of Disney characters, & during dinner color is gradually added to each sketch, until by the end the room is bursting with color. Your servers also gradually add color to what they are wearing too. We all received a Sorcerer Mickey antenna topper tonight as a gift.

After dinner we headed to the Walt Disney Theatre for Impressionist Ken Block. He performed for the 1st part of the show & comedian Michael Harrison did the 2nd. Ken Block was… not very good, but Michael Harrison was great. We learned the next day that Ken Block had been the only performer at the early show, & people were walking out because it was so bad.

After dinner Matt went to the Lab for “Fish are friends not food” & Stormin’ the Lab, while Tim, Ryan & I went to the “Walk the Plank” game show in Studio Sea. 4 Teams of a parent & child compete in some question & answers & some wacky stunts. It was hilarious.

After that we headed back to the room to get some sleep & Matt joined us at midnight when the Lab kicked him out!

Tonight’s towel animal

UP NEXT: One more day at sea before the Panama Canal