Vacation Diary Day 2: The Mickey Boat

Getting onto the boat was quite an adventure. It seemed like we had to navigate an endless maze of roped-off waiting lines, security stops, and escalators before we finally made it onto the boat. We packed Audrey’s walker thinking it would be easier for her because it would be a long walk onto the ship. The problem is that Audrey treats all objects (including humans) as bumper car targets when she is cruising in her walker. After leveling three innocent bystanders, we took the walker away. We will not be packing the walker on our next Disney cruise (which we have already booked, by the way).

Ella could not wait to get on the boat.  As we walked through the boarding maze, she kept asking, “Are we on the boat yet?”  When we finally got to the ramp to the boat, I pointed to the top of the ramp and told her that as soon as she got to the top, she would be on the boat.  She immediately ran to the end of the ramp and jumped up and down.  Few things in life can match the joy of a child.

I had heard that the service on a Disney cruise was amazing, and the staff managed to overpromise and overdeliver in that regard.  When we approached our stateroom, the housekeeper for our wing saw us entering our room and said, “You must be Ella.  And you must be Audrey.”  We had the same experience when we sat down for meals with our waitstaff. It seemed like everyone who worked on that ship knew our kids’ names.

During our first day on board, learned that the Mickey boat is a no-judgement zone.  A kid would have a meltdown, and no other parent would say anything or roll their eyes because they knew that their turn was going to come soon. Later that day, at dinner, Ella was having a moment and slouching in her chair. I didn’t feel too bad about it because the boy at the table next to us was pouting under their table. In parenting, at any given moment, someone is having a worse time than you.

Audrey has a thing now where she is fascinated by long hair and likes to pull that hair. We don’t encourage this behavior, especially when that hair belongs to a stranger.  While touring the kids’ club, Audrey walked up to a mother who was sitting down and watching her children play.  Audrey gave the stranger a hug and began pulling on her hair.  I immediately pulled Audrey away and apologized profusely when the lady smiled and said, “You’re good.  We are all parents here.” 

I wish Earth could be one big Disney cruise ship.

The Broadway-style show that night was Tangled, one of Ella’s favorites.  I was amazed by the talent level of the performers, and I kept wondering what they would do if they had to perform on a boat swaying during a strong windstorm.  I would find out later that week.

We had requested an ASL interpreter for Audrey for the show.  They told us to come down to stage left at the front to find the interpreters.  We got there two minutes before the show started and saw a packed house.  I immediately semi-panicked because I thought that we wouldn’t have any seats.  We walked down to the front, and one of the interpreters that we had met earlier waved us down to our second-row seats.

A father behind us said, “That’s not fair.  They got to reserve seats.”

I let it go.  There was no way that interaction would’ve ended well for him.  He didn’t want to have a conversation with me about what is fair and what isn’t.  If he had a conscience, he would have felt terrible after I explained our situation.  If he didn’t have a conscience, I would’ve given him one.

Amy and Olivia were our ASL interpreters on board, and they were amazing. We only had two deaf people on board, and Disney gave us more than two interpreters. They gave us two ASL performers. They acted out the performance as they recited all the lines of the show in ASL. Disney just doesn’t do anything halfway.

I wish Earth could be one big Disney cruise ship

I’m pretty frugal with my money, but I will spend appropriately for a good view.  We got a stateroom with a veranda because my Dad told me when I was little that the most beautiful sunsets you will ever see are on the water.  As usual, Dad wasn’t wrong.

But the sunset wasn’t nearly as beautiful as my company.