DH – Brian (CanadianWDWFan) – 48
Me – Jennifer (Mickey’sGirl) – 46
DS17 – Harry – Entering his last year of High School (How did that happen?!??!!)
DS11 – Euan – #1 Disney Fan and #1 Fish (The kid loves the water)

There’s always a back story with us, so here it is.

We were to have gone to England and France this year to spend time with my brother and his family (they live in London), but that didn’t happen. DS17 plans on becoming an electrician, and needs some very specific courses to be considered for early admission at College. So, he took next year’s Physics course at summer school for the month of July (7 hours a day/4 days per week for 5 weeks. BLECH!), and is now ahead of the game. So, as soon as we knew we wouldn’t be going to Europe this year, we started to consider alternatives. We (everyone except for Euan that is) knew that we didn’t want to deal with the Parks and the planning and crowds and heat, but we did want to get a Disney fix. Further, we had sailed the Fantasy over Christmas, and the cruise bug has bitten us big time. Lastly, spending time at Vero Beach just hanging out was something we really wanted to do … all of us. This is what we came up with… Old Key West to Vero Beach to Disney Fantasy.

We will leave Toronto early on Sunday morning, and drive to South Carolina. It’s about a 15 hour drive, which we like to do on our first day, to get the bulk of the travel out of the way. Our Euan loves the first day’s drive, especially Virginia. He is already talking about the Gorge and the tunnels and what we will see as we make our way down. On day 2 (Monday) we will get up at a reasonable 6ish and continue on to DisneyWorld, where we should be checking into Old Key West by lunchtime. We decided to spend one day at OKW because Brian wants to hit some of the outlets and Downtown Disney while we are in the area, and we figure we might as well take advantage of our DVC points, and OKW’s boat to Downtown Disney to do so. We have no specific plans, other than the shops and a ride down the Sandcastle slide at the pool. We have no plans to go to any of the parks as our Annual Passes have expired (and we do not intend to renew them yet) nor do we want to spend the better part of $500 on day tickets.

On Tuesday we plan to hit the IHOP and then head over to Vero Beach, where we have a 1 Bedroom booked until Saturday. We love the 1 Bedrooms with the chair bed, which means the boys do not have to share a bed (at 6’5” and 5’11” they do not fit, and I am not giving up the King in the bedroom). The 1 Bedroom also means that there is a washer and dryer in our villa, and we can get everything washed and ready before the cruise. At Vero, our plans are simple. Beach time, Pool time, Family time, buckets of shrimp, and for Harry, to go out on Jet Ski or Sea Racer or whatever they are called. We are hoping that local friends will be able to come and join us for a day or an evening or what they can manage. My husband’s brother and his family will also be in the area, so perhaps they will be able to come and visit as well.

On Saturday, we will get up and head over to the Port for our assigned 10:30 Port Arrival Time (PAT). We are sailing a 7 Day Eastern Caribbean itinerary on the Fantasy. Although we did a 7 Day Eastern cruise over Christmas, there is some variety in the ports of call. This itinerary has us stopping at St. Thomas USVI, St Maarten and Castaway Cay (the Bahamas). We have also booked a Palo brunch (adults only) on our second sea day. We have also booked the Two Flags excursion on St Maarten, and snorkel gear at Castaway Cay. We looked at other less expensive cruise lines, but decided that based on the things we like the best, Disney is what will work for us. We like the rotational dining. We LOVE the movies in the theatre, on the funnel and in the room. We like the room set up. Again, the boys have their own beds and do not have to share a pull out or the like. We like that everything we want to do is included in the price of sailing (except reasonable costs like alcohol and excursions etc). Euan LOVES the AquaDuck. The Cast Members are fantastic. We love that you can be as involved or uninvolved as you care to be, and that every little thing is looked after. It is such a fabulous way to holiday, and we are officially hooked. The following Saturday, we will arrive back at Port Canaveral, and then we head home. We should be home in Toronto on Sunday afternoon. Brian goes back to work on Labour Day, and the kids back to school on Tuesday.

So we are quite excited and now we are down to the final few days … just a week from Sunday until we are off!