The fresh air wore them out, and they were asleep well before midnight. Jeff and I kept our celebration low key with a nice bottle of champagne.
The girls' top priority for the new year was to get their nails painted and ready for our fourth (third for Elena) Disney cruise. The theme was Mickey, but Viv also got them to do the Disney Cruise Line logo.
We left super early Friday morning, but luckily there is a direct JetBlue flight from Bogotá to Orlando, so once we got on the plane, things were pretty simple. I had learned from last year, that it's best to have a day buffer between our travel to the States and the start of our cruise, so we had rented a car and an Airbnb place for the night.
I haven't picked up a rental car in the States for a very long time. Luckily, Jeff has done it for work, and knew what to do. You can just go pick your car from a row of cars! The number of choices almost stumped us, but again, Jeff led the way. I had managed to fit a booster seat for Elena inside one of the suitcases, so in minimal time, we were on our way.
I had gotten us a place with a pool, so that the girls would have something to do, but after getting up early and eating only cheerios and plane food, they were tired and hungry and not really interested in swimming. There was a Ruby Tuesday's right around the corner, so we figured that would be a good, family friendly refueling stop. The girls approved.
The portions were big enough that they could eat half and save the other half for dinner. We stopped at a supermarket to pick up a few supplies, and then just relaxed for the rest of the evening.
The next morning we all woke up refreshed and ready for our adventure. We couldn't get on the ship until 12, so I had promised Vivian a big breakfast at IHOP. The IHOP closest to the cruise terminal was packed, and they must have run out of crayons and coloring sheets. Luckily, we had brought our own, and the pancakes were good, so everyone was happy.
We returned our rental car and headed to the cruise terminal where we met up with Mom and Dad. The security line took forever, but the actual Disney check in was quick and easy. The girls admired the scale model of the ship.
Jim and Kitty were waiting for us in the ship's atrium, and our sailing party was complete. The girls wanted to run around the ship and explore everything.
There was practically no line for the Aquaduck, and Vivian begged to be allowed to change into her swimsuit, so we let her.
Jeff and I left the grandparents on deck to admire Vivian's bravery, while we took Elena to explore the kids club. We were used to the Andy's room part from previous cruises.
But because Disney now owns Marvel and Star Wars, there were themed rooms for both with themed Mr. Potato Heads that absolutely cracked us up.
Viv showed up about then to try out Dr. Strange's portals.
We hadn't gotten our suitcases yet, so we cleaned her up as best we could, and went on deck for the sail away party.
Goodbye Port Canaveral!
Dinner that night was in Animator's Palate. We had really enjoyed the one on the Disney Magic, but discovered that this one had a different kind of show. It was Finding Nemo themed, and we were in a "human tank" while Crush the sea turtle swam around and talked to people. It was live, and he actually interacted with people, which Elena thought was fantastic.
Viv was excited about her double helping of broccoli.
After dinner, we saw a show and got a chance to say hi to Goofy and Donald.
It was a great start to our Disney Cruise.
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