Final Thoughts

It has been a couple of weeks since we have been home and after all was said and done, a great time was had by everyone. We took Peyton to the doctor for his finger when we got home. Poor little guy was so brave for letting the doctor examine it. He did have a very mild infection and quickly got back to his jovial self once the medication kicked in.

Highs:

Puerto Vallarta, Outdoor Adventure - I can't say enough about how great this excursion turned out to be. If you are ever going to be any where near Puerto Vallarta, I HIGHLY recommend this adventure. It was the experience of a lifetime!

Cabo San Lucas Dolphins - Memories of a lifetime.

The Magic - I may be a Disney freak, but being on the Disney Magic is such a great experience. The ship is beautiful, the service is second to none and the food is excellent! We always have a great time and meet wonderful people on our adventures.

Mike Super - Really cool show. Very interesting guy.

Family time - Peyton was funny this trip. He had moments of terror, but they were really far outweighed by his moments of wonderful. We watched High School Musical 2 from the hot tub, played Disney UNO (he would even throw the game to make it last longer), and I will never forget the image of him riding the dolphin!

Palos - We went twice for dinner and once for brunch. Every time was wonderful!

The weather - It was a little cold in Cabo, but other than that, we had BEAUTIFUL weather the entire trip. The seas were REALLY calm almost the entire time - you could barely feel the ship move.

Lows:

Getting sick - What a bummer, I don't recommend it. :) Thank goodness my Mom was with me to make sure Peyton was still able to have fun.

Peyton being sick - Even worse. At least his fever went away quickly, but the doctor never did figure out what the bumps were on his face. I went to go see a specialist when I got back home and he told me my infection most likely came from Chicken Pox. I just found it suspicious that Peyton broke out in red bumps and had a fever and my issues stemmed from Chicken Pox.

Day 16 - Homeward Bound

I stayed up late Saturday night to try to get some work stuff done. I knew that Sunday was going to be NUTS! There was ONE flight leaving LA around 10:00am that was a direct flight. The next flight was the red-eye that left around midnight, so we decided to take our chances. We were able to show the front desk our flight arrangements and get permission to be in the first group of people off the ship. We were up around 6:30am and grabbed a quick bite to eat at Topsiders. We didn't even bother to try to get Peyton to eat that early, so we grabbed some packages of peanut butter for the plane. His finger looked like it was a little swollen and he was just in a bad mood in general.

We were a little late getting though customs and my Mom was just in a panic. I told her that there was nothing we could do about getting to the airport faster, and we knew that the times were really going to be cutting it close. It doesn't matter what you say though, she will just be freaked out until the plane takes off.

I arranged for a limo to pick us up so we would not have to fight with mass transportation. It worked out very well and our driver was very nice. We got to the airport in good time and even got Mom a chance to get some Starbucks and some yogurt from McDonalds for Peyton. We were flying first class, so Mom took Peyton to get on the plane as soon as the doors opened. I tried to finish up some stuff for work and then leisurly boarded. I could see that Peyton's finger was really making him uncomfortable, but there was nothing I could do and thankfully he fell asleep as soon as the plane took off. Delta had a very nice lunch and a wide variety of stuff to watch on TV for the 4 hour flight. Peyton woke up about an hour before we landed and watched a couple of movies on his DVD player. I think he was really ready to go home after 15 days of vacation!

Patrick and Pierce (my stepson) came to pick us up at the airport and as soon as Peyton saw Pierce, he forgot all about his hurt finger! It was great to be home, but I sure do miss the Magic!

Day 14 and 15 - At Sea

These last couple of days were spent perfecting the art of relaxation! I went to the spa a couple of times for a great massage and again for a facial. I would spend part of the evening enjoying the hot tub in the Quite Cove and then head down to the room to drift off to sleep.

Peyton had made fast friends with Matthew (one of our table-mates) and they were practically inseperable over the next two days. We had to evacuate the room so they could clean it and we spent the next several hours up on deck at the Goofy pool while a pack of kids surronded Peyton all with their Nintendo DS games. It was really funny to watch.

I did get the chance to see a really funny Magician named Mike Super (http://www.mikesuper.com/). If you ever get a chance to see him, his show is REALLY funny and quite good. In fact, you could even call him LAVENOUS!

We also enjoyed a show with Joey Fatone and Alfonso Ribeiro. They sang a couple of Disney songs and some older classics. It was nice, but I don't really feel like they were catering to their fan base. They both seemed like very genuine people though.

On Friday night, Peyton actually begged to go see the "Pixie Dust" show. That one show, he remembers every time and it is his favorite. My Mom did not want to sit through it for the 5th time, so I actually got to spend some good Mother and Son time with him. Our tablemates happened to walk into the theater right as we did, so we enjoyed the show together.

It was the perfect end to a great trip!

Day 13 - Cabo San Lucas

The Disney Magic in Cabo San Lucas. You might be able to make out everyone in light coats. It was REALLY cold.

Guess what Peyton found on the dock!?

The beautiful Disney Magic!














Peyton and Martha the dolphin.













A quick ride around the pool!

Peyton with the dolphin trainer teaching Martha to roll-over.















Peyton woke up VERY cranky today. We had an excursion for him to swim with the dolphins, but we were really hesitant to let him know about his upcoming adventure! It was a little chilly and VERY windy in Cabo when we anchored, so jumping in cold water to swim with a very large animal just did not sound too exciting.

In order to get him off the ship, we told him that the Disney ship was closing so they could get it clean for arriving in San Pedro and it was easier to clean if everyone was off the boat! :) He told me that he did not want to get off the ship because there were crabs in Cabo San Lucas and he did not like crabs. Ugh! In order to calm him down, I told him there was NO WAY we were going to see any crabs and if he did see one, I would buy him any toy he wanted from the Disney Store on the ship. Knowing that we were going to see a bunch of dolphins and not even going to the beach, I figured it was a safe bet.

We took the tender in to the marina and we were treated with a wild sea lion swimming around in the harbor. That was a real treat for me because I had only seen them at the zoo and once sitting on a pier in San Francisco!

We got out onto the pier to wait for our tour to leave and just enjoyed the view. Sure enough, not THREE minutes later, Peyton spied a CRAB sitting on the jetty next to the dock! I could NOT believe it! What were the odds? Now I was REALLY in trouble. His immediate response was ‘when is the ship going to open up again so I can go get a toy’? Ugh.

I had to think quickly. I then decided to explain to him the concept of ‘double-or-nothing’. I told him that if he had a great time today, then he would get TWO toys from the store, if he didn’t have any fun at all, then I would win and he would get nothing. Luckily, he is still too young to figure out my evil genius. He accepted my offer and proceeded to tell me that he was having a ‘great time’ and was up for an adventure.

It was a short walk to the Dolphin Center which was right next to the Cabo Marina. The facility was just gorgeous. There were nice changing rooms and we explained to Peyton what we had in store for him and he was actually really excited. He had spied a stuffed dolphin in the store and I promised him that if he liked playing with the dolphin, then that could be his 'toy' for finding the crab. It turned out that no other kid had signed up for the “Kids Dolphin Experience”, so he was lucky enough to have his own trainer and a dolphin all to himself. It was incredible. I could not even believe how much he enjoyed it. The only thing the trainer could not get him to do was kiss the dolphin. Peyton said that the dolphins have germs and he wasn’t getting his lips anywhere near those teeth! The trainer was VERY patient and taught him all about 'Martha' the dolphin. When Peyton rode the dolphin around the pool, I nearly flipped out. The excursion was worth every penny and I was so pleased with how great they were with my son. The trainer (and dolphin) just did a great job and I would HIGHLY recommend this excursion for kids.

Peyton spent the entire afternoon asking me if I wanted to see his new dolphin do some tricks and pretending to feed him fish and telling him what a great dolphin he was. :)

Day 12 - Puerto Vallarta - Part 2

Mom heading down the first zip. It looks a lot scarier that it really is in reality.
















The first of many lines!






















Karen at the cliff.



















Mom doing the cliff rappel.














This water was REALLY cold, but it felt great!



















Free rappel into a waterfall pool.





















Race with Mom down the last zip.












The guides and everyone on our excursion.

Day 12 - Puerto Vallarta - Part 1

Getting on the boat to begin our adventure in Puerto Vallarta!

Quick tour of Puerto Vallarta Bay.















Beautiful rock formations in the bay.

The captain of our small boat thought it would be fun to take us through that small hole!

Base camp for our ADVENTURE!

Yes, I got my Mom to ride a MULE up the side of a mountain!







I think I will remember today for the rest of my life. I think outside of my wedding day, bringing my son home from the hospital and maybe a few horse shows, today will always stand out in my mind.
We began the day when we arrived in Puerto Vallarta. The crew was SO excited about this port because you can actually see a WAL-MART from the dock. :0) I guess everyone has their priorities.
We got Peyton up early and told him we would be gone most of the morning, but promised to get him as soon as we got back on the ship. I WISH he could have come with us, he would have had a great time.

My mom is such a good sport. I told her that I wanted to go zip-lining in Puerto Vallarta and she said 'she would do anything that I wanted'. She did not read the rest of the excursion description, but needless to say I think I cured her of that forever.

We started the day by getting off of our big ship and boarding a small zodiac (maybe 20ft in length). The boat was going to take us across Puerto Vallarta Bay (instead of taking a boring 2 hour bus ride). The trip was INCREDIBLY smooth and the boat handled great in all of the choppy water. I was really impressed. The driver gave us a great tour of the bay and we were deposited on a sandy beach soon after our trip. A short walk later, we boarded these old-time trucks that looked like something out of an Indiana Jones movie. They were open-aired and held 14 people along two benches in the back. Mom and I were the last to get on, so I sat on the row with seven large guys. This was all fine until the truck decided to go up a hill and all 1200lbs of guys crushed me against the door of the truck. Note to self - never sit on the end. :)

Once we got to the top of the mountain (OK foothills of the Sierra Madres), we got off the truck and into our zip gear. Mom then got the shock of her life when she found out that we were going to ride MULES to the top! I think she nearly killed me. It really wasn't as bad as she thought it was going to be. Her mule was well behaved and she let it do whatever it needed to do to get up the mountain. I was just happy to be on anything that even resembled a horse!

About 45 minutes later we were staring out at the beautiful view of the mountains around us. The guides told us that these foothills eventually connect to the Rocky Mountains. I don't know if that was true, but it sure was beautiful. We then had a quick introduction to zip-lining and the next thing you know we were off. I must say, if you are not afraid of heights, you HAVE to try zip-lining. It is SO much fun. The views are just incredible and you can't help but smile the entire time!

Now if we just zipped a bunch of lines, that would have been great. However, we also got to do a cliff rappel, a free rappel, zip over a waterfall and into a pool of water, several bridges including a commando bridge (which is basically two lines that you side step across) and hike though this beautiful scenery. I just loved every minute of it. If anyone is going anywhere near Puerto Vallarta, I HIGHLY recommend Vallarta Adventures company (http://www.vallarta-adventures.com/) for the time of your life!

After all of the fun, we hiked back to the based camp where they had chips and salsa and some fresh fruit and drinks. We had really worked up an appetite, but I was still bouncing from all the fun. I only wish my son and husband were with me, but this is a great excuse to take them on the next trip. I am not sure if I will get my Mom to go back, but to her credit, she finished the whole trip - which apparently not everyone does!

Day 11 - Another Sea Day

Peyton and GeeGee hanging out in the cabin.

Peyton posing with his Pokemon. The camp was really nice and gave his Pokemon his own camp bracelet. Peyton would even check him in and out of camp and would give the councelor's the password. Those councelors have the patience of SAINTS!

We tried to spend a lot of today with Peyton since we are going to be gone for most of the day tomorrow in Puerto Vallarta. We went to the pool and chilled as well as actually getting Peyton to take a NAP! He had gotten a fever right after I got sick and developed a bunch of bumps all around his face (we even took him to the doctor when we got back to Tampa and they had no idea what it was). Poor little guy. It made him REALLY camera shy, but I was able to catch a couple of pictures of him lounging in the room with GeeGee.

Day 10 - Acapulco

At the Hotel Miradoor. If you look closely, I am standing next to Walt Disney's signature on the wall. You can make our several other names as well like Clint Eastwood, Rita Moreno and Eddie Fisher.










Cliff Divers at the hotel. What is also impressive is that the divers actually CLIMBED up the sides of these cliffs before they jumped into the water!

The lines through the picture are from a movie they were filming that day. We could never figure out what movie it was they were shooting.














Enjoying being off the ship! That is about as much as I could smile that day, so you can't really tell how thrilled I was to be out. :)














Mom enjoying a frosty drink at the hotel.




Oh what a feeling to be on dry land again! It felt GREAT to get off the ship! I still can't really smile yet, but I am getting better each day and I don't think I am talking funny anymore - well at least no more than usual. :)


We told Peyton that we were going to shore and he could either stay in camp or come with us. He picked the camp of course.


We really had no plans other than to get off the boat. We walked to the taxi stand and decided to go see the Cliff Divers. There was a hotel where you could sit and enjoy a refreshment and have a great view in the shade while the divers flew into the water. The driver that we picked got us a great seat at the Hotel Miradoor and we had the BEST chips and salsa and guacamole I ever tried!

I HIGHLY recommend doing this. I think the Disney excursion was over $40 per person and you stood in the sun down by a viewing area. We just paid for the cab ride and about $12 each to go sit in the hotel restaurant - which included two drinks each. There is a huge wall with a bunch of signatures of famous celebrities from the 50s and 60s - when Acapulco was more in its prime.

It was just a great day. I think we could have gone to watch paint dry on a wall somewhere and I would have still had fun! We grabbed Peyton when we got back on the ship and he said he had a great time today and made musical instruments while he was in camp. He even gave us a demonstration of he new-found talents once we got back to the room.

Days 8 and 9 - Lazy Days at Sea

We have really been blessed by the weather gods this trip. Every day has simply been beautiful and the seas have been VERY calm. We did not do too much the past couple of days other than relax by the pool and sleep (and eat). My face is continuing to get better and I am feeling much better.

I have to say I CAN'T WAIT to get off the ship when it docks in Acapulco tomorrow. I don't care where we go or what we do, but I want to get off the boat!

My Mom and I did take the opportunity to lose at BINGO. I must say that we really are VERY good at it now. Disney even has these new machines that you just hold and it does all of the work for you. I think the cost was around $60 for something like 40 cards and as you play it would tell you how many cards had the last number called and it would display your best card on the screen. It really did have all of the fun without the stress of finding the numbers and 'poke-and-fold' the right ones.

Day 7 - Panama Canal

The Disney Magic about to enter the first lock of the Panama Canal on May 16, 2008.

Everyone trying to get the best view heading into the first lock of the Panama Canal. Disney set up a small contenintal breakfast on the deck so people could grab a quick bite and not miss the view.

View of the side of the locks from our cabin.














The perfect spot for locking through the Canal!

The aerial vision had a camera on the front of the ship to show the locks.

Today was actually the first day that I ventured out of our cabin to watch the Disney Magic go though the Panama Canal. I was feeling a lot better and was totally sick of seeing the inside of our cabin!


We started the day as usual with Peyton having his room service breakfast and doing his homework. We then trotted him off to camp so Mom and I could have a nice sit-down breakfast at Lumier's.

The ship was supposed to enter the Canal around 4:30am - many people were talking about staying up all night so they could be there to see the ship go into the first lock. I guess that plan fell through when a US Submarine pulled rank and made a bunch of other ships wait for security purposes. This really worked out well for the rest of us because Mom and I got a window seat during breakfast and we entered the first lock right as we were finishing up.

It was really cool, I must say. There were several locals who were taking pictures with their cell phones of the ship locking through. I guess it is not every day that they see the Magic - and lots of people love 'the Mouse'. :)

Day 6 - Getting Better

Peyton has really been great so far on this trip. My Mom has been making him do a little bit of homework each day before he gets to go to camp, so we have kind of gotten in a routine. His favorite thing about the Disney Magic is that he gets to have ROOM SERVICE every day for breakfast!

He is so funny, he just HATES to go to 'long, boring dinner' with us each night, so we try to make sure that we feed him early, take him to camp and then head out to dinner ourselves.

Tonight was the first night since leaving Florida that I actually got to go to dinner. The medication to help with the dizzy spells really worked great and I am able to move my face better every day. I really enjoyed our tablemates this cruise. We had a young couple from New York and a family from the Washington State area. They had a son who was a little older than Peyton named Matthew. My son was thrilled to meet another kid on the ship that knew what a Pokemon was! Peyton and Matthew became fast friends and would play Pokemon on the DS for hours!

Day 5 - Doctor in Aruba

The Disney medics had arranged for me to see a specialist in Aruba. I was a little worried that they were going to send me home and a little paranoid about what a 'specialist' was going to look like in Aruba.

Let me begin by saying the Disney medical team arranged for me to have a driver take me where I needed to go and the same driver took me to a pharmacist after the doctor so I could get some prescriptions filled. There was one other family in the van with me. A guy had fallen off of a bicycle at Castaway Cay and he looked like he broke his leg! I looked on the bright side and was happy I was not him!

The medical facility was a beautiful building that looked brand new. I think it was one of the nicest offices that I had ever been to. There was a translator there for me and the doctor was very kind. He told me the best thing for me was lots of rest and the best place for that was back on the ship! HOORAY!! He also gave me a prescription for the dizziness that I was experiencing and another round of anti-virals and steroids. I had to admit that I was bracing myself for what the bill would be for such a nice facility and all of the notes that he wrote to the doctors back on the ship. I was blown away when my total bill in Aruba came to $50.00! I nearly passed out.

The driver took me back to the ship and I slept for the rest of the afternoon. My Mom had taken my son on an excursion to a water park in Aruba - Depalm Island. She said it was very nice, but the water on the slides was freezing. I figured they would have much more fun doing that than coming with me, so I insisted that they go. It seemed that both had a nice time, poor Mom was exhausted though.

Days 3 & 4 - A Little Crisis

I don't really have much to post for the next couple of days. My little earache and trouble with my eye turned out to be a viral infection that turned into Bell's Palsey. I found out what the Disney Magic's Health Center looks like and met just about every doctor and nurse on board. I had never heard of Bell's Palsey until I got it, but basically half of your face stops working well. I was a little freaked out at first, but the doctors told me the earlier you catch it, the better you fare.

They told me that they would have me see a specialist in Aruba once we docked there. I did not do too much other than sleep for the next couple of days in my cabin.

For anyone worried about getting sick on a ship, I have to say that Disney was just as nice as could be. They went out of their way to make sure I was as comfortable as possible and really went above and beyond the call of duty. They don't take any insurance on the ship, so you have to charge everything to your cabin and then talk to your insurance company when you get back.

Day 2 - Cataway Cay

Perfect Day in Castaway Cay!

Two ships!

The weather in Castaway Cay was simply perfect. I had to login this morning to do some work, so my Mom took Peyton to the camp on shore. By the time I was able to get everything situated, she and Peyton were already coming back. I decided to enjoy the pretty day at the Adult side of the island and try to take a nap. For some strange reason, I had an earache and my eye was bothering me. There is a place at the quiet beach that is back a little bit from the water that has lounge chairs under big umbrellas. I enjoyed relaxing for a bit, but I was wondering what Peyton was up to and I still had to finish some stuff up for work.

Day 1 - We are off!

After over a year of having this cruise booked, the day has finally come! My Mom, my 7 year old son and I are heading out on the Disney Magic for a 15 day cruise through the Panama Canal!


May 10th – Departure
May 11th – Castaway Cay
May 12th – Day at Sea
May 13th – Day at Sea
May 14th – Aruba
May 15th – Day at Sea
May 16th – Panama Canal
May 17th – Day at Sea
May 18th – Day at Sea
May 19th – Acapulco
May – 20th – Day at Sea
May – 21st – Puerto Vallarta
May 22nd – Cabo San Lucas
May 23rd – Day at Sea
May 24th – Day at Sea
May 25th - Port of LAX

My husband drove us to the ship so we would not have to leave a car in Port Canaveral. We took a little bit of an accidental detour, but other than that, we arrived to the ship and quickly got settled into our cabin.

There was a nice deck party going on, but I really enjoyed waving good-bye to everyone who came to send the ship off to California for the summer. There were TONS of boats following the ship and hundreds of people lining the shore waving. It was really fun to see.

We met the nicest couple at dinner - Nate and Missy. I think my husband and Nate would have been fast friends. The two of them had many things in common and both were from New York. Nate actually worked for Toys R Us in Manhattan!