Sweet Dream

Job perks can be a very good thing, and the perks that Bruce gets are tailor-made for me, being the Disney freak that I am! Disney invited a few folks from Getaway to the Inaugural Voyage of their new cruise ship, The Dream. Since we were in Florida anyway, we spent a few days before and after the 2 day cruise exploring Walt Disney World. Basically, it was lots of fun, lots of food and some serious jet lag. Even a 2 hour difference messes me up these days! Here's a quick overview of the big event:

Disney drove us in big Disney buses to the Art Deco dock at Port Canaveral:

 

Then we attended the official ceremony which had lots of singers and dancers, the President of Disney and people dressed like it was the Oscars:

 

Jennifer Hudson was the "Godmother" of the ship. She sang wonderfully and waved a magic wand to christen the ship. (Sorry the picture is blurry, but we were a ways away and I didn't have my big lens!) Then a helicopter hefted a huge champagne bottle close to the ship where it kind of exploded with fireworks. We couldn't see that part because those singers and dancers were in the way.

 

We waited a few hours to get on the ship, what with security and all. Some irritating Cuban security guard must have seen me as a threat, because he asked me to move 2 feet to the left several times. This was my chance to taste champagne, because it was flowing freely, but I decided to stick with the sparkling cider instead.Then it was our turn to board, which we did by walking through this awesome Mickey doorway:

 

Here's the amazing lobby of The Dream. It had quite a chandelier and a great Jazz Band played on the balcony. I didn't fall down these steps even once!

 

Admiral Donald had a place of honor at the bottom of the staircase- he looked like he might have been made of chocolate- I'm sure kids are going to be nibbling on him.

 

This is our stateroom! We were lucky and had a balcony. Disturbing fact: There are no irons in the room on these cruise ships! I had to walk down the hall to the laundry room to iron my clothes. Those of you who know me well realize what a burden this was for me.

 

Cool things about this ship: it's huge horn blows out Disney tunes. Very loud Disney tunes. Also, there is an awesome waterslide onboard that goes out over the side of the ship- 12 stories above the ocean. Very cool.  Surprisingly, I have a bunch more photos of the The Dream. If you wish, you can see them in this slide show! 

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