Disney Wonder to Mexico

The main reason for our trip to America last Christmas was to sail on the Disney Wonder.

We sailed from L.A to Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas in Mexico.

Mazatlan was originally on the itinerary but was withdrawn because of safety issues. 

It's a shame as it was the one place I most wanted to visit.

We had originally booked an inside room but since we use the sun to wake ourselves up we later changed our booking to a room with a port hole window.

We had met some lovely people at the motel we stayed at the night before (Vagabond Inn in San Pedro; cheap, but I don't really recommend it), and they suggested upgrading to a balcony room at port if we wanted to as the upgrades are generally cheaper at port.

So we did.

For an extra $490 we got ourselves a verandah room and it was heaven.  

We doubt we'd go back to a room without fresh air again - on some nights we slept with the door open and listened to the waves lapping at the side of the ship and feeling the fresh sea air on our faces.

Then again, it all comes back down to money and what we have to spend next time around.

We were one of the first groups (after the Concierge bookings and 'frequent sailors') onboard so we had plenty of time to look around before we went to Parrot Cay for lunch.

We explored our cabin.

It was much nicer than the P&O one we sailed on years ago from Brisbane to Noumea, Lifou and Port Vila.

We even had a queen sized bed to ourselves!

There was a sofa bed and a fold down bed off the wall for the children - who took it in turns to sleep on the top bunk.

The bathroom wasn't overly big and you wouldn't want to be a big person to have a shower, but it was compact and we appreciated the separate toilet and hand basin in the other room.

It made things so much easier in the morning with the kids brushing their teeth in the other bathroom while I was in the shower.

And our room attendant/housekeeper, Ferdie, was so lovely and accommodating.

We had watched a Discovery Travel show years ago on the Disney cruise ships and I couldn't wait to see for myself what I had seen on tv.

I loved this sculpture in the main foyer - it looks like glass but isn't.

It reminds me of coral.

Mickey ears heading up the elevator.

Ariel's statue outside of Triton's restaurant.

I loved the massive Christmas tree in the main foyer.

We all gathered around it for the turning on the lights ceremony and the "snow" to fall - it's the same kind of stuff they use at Disneyland and smelled and tasted like cinnamon.

One of the light fittings inside my favourite restaurant, Parrot Cay.

I felt like I was back in the Tiki room at Disney!

No detail was overlooked - even the elevator floor hands were Mickey!

Not a really good picture of the "snow" falling in the foyer.

For all of the mums, this is one of the laundry rooms onboard.

Each washer and dryer load, and the assorted detergents, softeners etc, were $1 each and you swiped your card to use them, which was charged back to your onboard account.

I saved washing powder samples from magazines etc throughout the year and used them while we travelled.

It was lovely having the balcony off our room.

Sometimes, I'd sit outside with a magazine or book and read in the silence.

You'd never believe we were actually below the pool deck!

Some mornings we'd turn on the tv and watch the view from the bridge.

Some people in the inside cabins leave their tv turned on to this channel all night so that they can use the light from the dawn to wake them up - it's kind of like having a porthole view but from inside!

Ah, food.

I love it and I'm generally happy with plain, simple food.

But when you're not the one cooking, I'm happy to go with something different and nicer to what I'd normally cook.

Personally, I felt the overall quality of food on the Disney ship was not as good as that on the P&O one we sailed on.

I suppose the food on Disney is more based on American tastes.

It was good, but there was nothing that really stood out for me.

We noticed many families whose children solely ate from the children's menu - which mainly consisted of chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, burgers etc.

We've always insisted our children choose at least one thing off the main menu (excluding dessert).

So lets have a look at some of what we ate (and yes, I am one of those people who photograph their food!)

I signed up to be part of a Fish Extender group onboard.

It was so much fun, kind of like a Secret Santa.

I loved how people decorated their cabin doors, too.

We didn't see any of that on P&O.

There are rules if you want to decorate your cabin door or room - only use magnets, nothing sticky like tape or blu-tack or anything that can damage the surface.

Some people have reported having things go missing from their extender, which is such a low act to commit, but we didn't have any problems.

Although, we found other people's magnets on our door we didn't lose any of ours.

I loved 'sneaking' around the ship delivering our gifts to the people in our group, and we loved coming back to our room and checking our extender to see if there was anything left for us.

The whole thing made the cruise much more fun, and it helped forge friendships. 

Not everyone who decorated their doors participated in the Fish Extender, though.

There was a lot to see and do on the ship, or you could be as lazy as you wanted.

We even got to see the Muppets movie before it was released at the cinema.

Basically, the cruise was like Disney on water (without the rides).

The kids loved it, The Groom and I loved it, and while we didn't re-book another cruise onboard (you get a discount and extra on-board credit for the next one if you do), we later decided that we definitely want to do another and have our sights set on doing one later next year from Florida to the Caribbean.

Although, I like the one that goes to Barcelona from Florida...

Many of the American passengers onboard said that the Disney cruise line sailings are quite expensive compared to other companies, but we found it cheaper than the P&O one if you discount the cost of the airfares etc.

We had so much fun Little Man didn't want to get off the ship!

Character greetings around the ship PLUS at one of the breakfasts (that you would pay extra for at Disney or their hotels).

Because I had spent months reading various Disney-related forums and blogs, I knew that the Princess' tea was a hotly contested ticket to get.

As SOON as I got onboard I went straight to the reception desk and signed up for tickets to the tea and to the gingerbread making activity.

In the end, The Groom and Little Man didn't want to have tea with the Princesses so I gave away their tickets to some people in our Fish Extender group.

I'd heard there was a waiting list for these tickets within hours of our boarding so I was happy to share our spare tickets at the last moment.

Our 'tea' was apple juice and we had chocolate chip cookies after our lessons in curtseying and holding your tea cup (except The Princess spilled her cup in all of the excitement!)

The teen's club.

One of the Oceaneer clubs.

Little Man, The Princess and I made our gingerbread house together - it was that full of lollies we just couldn't eat it all in the end.

It sat in the bar fridge in our cabin while we nibbled away on it over the week (and because you aren't allowed to take food off the ship what was left of it ended up being thrown out).

So was it one of the best holidays ever?

Considering we haven't had that many big holidays like this, actually, we've never had a big holiday like this - ever, I'd have to say it was THE BEST!

Actually, the whole trip was wonderful - from skipping around Disneyland to trying tequila in Mexico, learning to ski in Montana, losing my small fortune ($50) in Vegas and lots more, it was the best holiday I've ever had and I can't wait to do it again.

Now we've got to spend the next year or so saving up for the next one.

What the heck, the house renovations can wait - the kids are only this young once and before we know it they'll be teens who won't want to be caught dead out in public with us - especially if their reaction to my excitement at being at Disneyland is anything to go by...

Joining in on the Slow Living Challenge

I've decided to join in on Christine's challenge.

Many of what she is challenging I'm already doing or trying to do.

By putting my name out there, as it were, I'm effectively making myself accountable for what I'm doing.

It's too easy to fall into the trap of going back to old habits because it's perceived to be easier to just grab a heat-and-eat meal from the supermarket freezer, or watch tv instead of reading a book.

These are Christine's goals from her blog:

NOURISH: Make and bake as much as possible from scratch. Ditch overpackaged, overprocessed convenience foods and opt for 'real' food instead. Share favourite links/recipes/tips from the month here.

PREPARE: Stockpile and preserve. Freeze extra meals or excess garden/market produce. Bottle/can, dehydrate or pickle foods to enjoy when they are not in season. Aim to reduce dependancy on store bought items especially those known to contain BPA and other suspect additives. Stocking up on dry goods when prices are low counts too.

REDUCE: Cut down on household waste by re-using, re-purposing and repairing. A ladder into a strawberry planter? A sheet into a dress? Share ideas and project links here, allowing others to be inspired.

GREEN: up our lives. Start (or continue!) using homemade cleaners, body products and basic herbal remedies. The options are endless, the savings huge and the health benefits enormous.

GROW: plant/harvest. What's growing this month? What's being eaten from the garden? Herbs in a pot, sprouts on a windowsill or and entire fruit/vegetable garden -opt for what fits space and time constraints. Don't have a backyard? Ask a friendly neighbour or relative for a small patch of theirs in return for some home grown produce, they may surprise you!

CREATE: to fill a need or feed the soul. Create for ourselves or for others. Create something as simple as a handmade gift tag or something as extravagant as a fine knit shawl. Share project details and any new skills learnt here. 

DISCOVER: Feed the mind by reading texts relevant to current interests. Trawl libraries, second hand shops or local book shops to find titles that fill the need. Share titles/authors of what is being read this month.

ENHANCE: community: Possibilities include supporting local growers & producers, help out at a local school/kindergarten, barter or foodswap, joining a playgroup or forming a walking or craft group. Car pooling where possible and biking/walking instead of driving. Even start up a blog if you haven't already - online communities count too! Or maybe just help out someone trying to cross the street! The rewards for your time are often returned tenfold.

ENJOY: Life! Embrace moments with friends and family. Marking the seasons, celebrations and new arrivals are all cause for enjoyment. Share a moment to be remembered from the month here.

This is what I am aiming for:

Nourish - spend more time on making school snacks from scratch rather than relying on packets of Vegie Chips or Potato Sticks from the supermarket shelf to stick in lunch boxes. I also need to consult more with the children on what they actually want to eat - a bit hard since Little Man is not fussed on vegetable sticks or rice salad or anything remotely 'different' to what other kids at school get in their boxes (damn that peer pressure!).

Prepare - reduce waste of food by buying vegetables in bulk that I can cut up and freeze, like pumpkin etc.  That way I can add these foods to food as they are readily available.  I also need to work on finishing preparations to this year's vegetable garden - it's too humid outside to do any 'real' work and because it's too awful outside I keep putting it off.

Reduce - the amount of clutter in my house.  I don't like throwing things out because you never know if it will come in handy one day or I might want to read/use/watch it again.  We have little storage space in this house and no matter how much I try, our kitchen table is always a dumping zone.  It's getting ridiculous.

Green - try harder at finding things that reduce its impact on our environment.  I've fallen back into the habit of buying commercial washing powder and dish liquid simply because I've got the beginnings on arthritis in my right hand.  We have started using the grey water from the house to water trees in the back paddock and we plan to set up another grey water tank from our ensuite to water the little citrus orchard we are developing.

Grow - put more effort into growing more vegetables in our garden that will further reduce the amount we have to buy.  At the moment my vegie garden is more of a novelty but I need to make it more productive to feed us.  I'm also experimenting with tropical peaches - a new little plant is growing in the chook yard (much to their disgust because it's behind a wire cage).  I also need to get over my attachment to my chickens and my squeamishness at the thought of killing and eating them if we want to grow our own meat.  The Groom says if I name it I won't eat it - how true he is, he knows me too well.

Create - my mind feels like it is turning to slush; I want to go back to uni to do random subjects just for the enjoyment of doing assignments on things I really enjoy, but we can't really afford for me to do that.  I could look into online courses but I want to do things that are free.  Instead, I shall continue to develop my library of literary classics and other things I'm interested in.  I also want to sew more and knit more.  

Discover - This sort of links back in to Create; I want to discover more about the world in which I live so I shall read more blogs and articles as well as books.  I have no particular interest in any one topic so shall broaden my mind as much as I can.  Although, my grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's last year, so with dad and nana having it I feel obligated to learn more about that.

Enhance - My relationship with many of my father's side of the family was not really developed when I was a child due to family conflicts.  I've decided that my mum doesn't control or influence me as much as she used to so I'm making more of an effort to get to know my family.  I'm going to go home to Melbourne later in the year to spend time with my nana at her retirement village, asking about our history, learning her trick to great scones (and get rid of my 'heavy hand' if I can), learn new knitting stitches and anything else I can from her and her friends.  I also plan to catch up with a long-lost friend from school who I've recently reunited with on Facebook.  She owns a yummy looking cafe, too, that was featured on a tv series, so I am sure I will enhance my waist line after a day spent in the shop with her!

Enjoy - my children more often, despite the rapidly looming teenage years.  I also want to enjoy more out of life and with the family that I made myself with The Groom.  We have a strained relationship with our parents and we need to compensate for that by focussing on our own children.

Well, that's about it for now.

I know I meant to write on my trip on the Disney Wonder but I'm sure you won't mind.

Knott's Berry Farm

Ah, Knott's Berry Farm.

What can I say?

Okay, if you are going to to the L.A theme park thing, and you have never done it before, PLEASE do Knott's, Universal Studios et al first.

Do Disneyland last.

Please.

Or do Disney and that's it.

I'm sad to say that Disney spoiled us for every other theme park we did.

The attention to detail at Disney led us to expect similar standards elsewhere.

We stayed in Buena Park, opposite Knott's, and we could see the tall rides from our room.

Each night it was lit up like a Christmas tree and we looked forward to riding the rides.

But, the entrance to Knott's kind of tipped us off that what we were expecting after Disneyland would not be what we would experience.

It was confusing as we walked in off the footpath with the gate for the carpark being the first thing we saw.

The entrance to the park was sort of tucked away off the side we felt. 

Knott's was rather expensive to get into, even with a discount coupon we found in a tourist booklet.

We got there shortly after opening time and we felt like they were still about to open; some rides and attractions were deserted or not even operating.

The first port of call - Snoopy.  Or Camp Snoopy to be precise.

But we didn't really see Snoopy or any of the Peanuts characters until much later in the evening when we were walking through to leave.

Linus is one of my favourites and I didn't see him at all.

We rode the train through Camp Snoopy.

It was kind of a let down seeing all of the 'background' stuff behind the rides, like rusting metal, broken down carriages, general maintenance equipment; it was all stuff you rode past and there was no attempt to disguise it.

All of that was well hidden at Disney so it was a bit of a let down.

Camp Snoopy is designed for the smaller child so there wasn't much to see or do there so we went looking for the fun, scary stuff.

The Accelerator was so fast!

The take-off takes you by surprise and jolts you into awareness.

It was heart-stopping when it rockets straight up then plummets you straight down - vertically.  

We rode it a few times.

At one stage I had a bit of a brain freeze and was momentarily terrified that The Princess had fallen out - luckily it was just the tip of my scarf that had brushed my face on the way down!

We wanted to see the Snoopy on ice show - but the ice had melted and the shows were cancelled.

There was no public announcement made and it was only when you went to line up that someone told you that there was no show and they didn't know when there would be another one.

So the kids rode the dodgem cars instead.  

Lunch was a disappointing meal of burgers.

I would have loved some more salad on my burger or at least a tasty beef patty that I didn't have to drown in salt for some flavour.

It was also rather expensive for what you got.

This place for lunch was our second choice after Johnny Rocket's which was full and had a wait time of over half an hour for a table.

Lunch done with, it was back to the rides.

I don't think we'd do Knott's again if we go back to L.A. 

It was full of local teenagers on the day we went and even though the rides were great, it was a bit of let down.

It was a completely different demographic to Disney and it just didn't feel 'as fun'.

Many of the stalls and shops were completely unrelated to the park and just felt 'added on' to make money.

Maybe if we were younger and the kids were older we would have liked it better.

Oh, and sorry for the massive length of time between this and the last post.

I have just finished getting all but one memory card downloaded on to my computer and sorting them into albums.  

I'm very lazy I think!

And it took me over 1/2 an hour just to download these photos to Picassa - the joys of slow internet speeds.

There are still more from Knott's to add but I might do a post of just random pictures another time.

Next post will be on the Disney Wonder - one of the highlights of our trip and our main reason for going to America.