Why our Land and Sea vacation was worth the wait

As time goes by and I continue to take vacations I've noticed my priorities for a trip have evolved fairly drastically.  I remember being younger and wanting to go to Disneyland or San Diego as often as I could, for as cheap as I could.  Whether I'm getting picky in my old age or just by having my wife continually remind me that vacation is about quality and not quantity, I can't say.  What I can say is this, sometimes it's easier to just listen to my wife than it is to try and convince her to stay at the Super 8 versus the Grand Californian.  We are an interesting match that I sometimes wonder how I worked out convincing her that a baseball loving Disney nerd was worth keeping around for awhile!  We are different in just about every way, from the food we like, the music we listen to, and you guessed it, how we prioritize our vacations.  Which is why our most recent trip for our anniversary in November was so great. 

For years we have talked about different vacations we dreamed of doing.  Everything from Europe to see majestic chateaus in the French countryside to visiting New England and the roots of our great America (Okay, you busted me.  And to see the Red Sox play at Fenway.).  Our struggle on where to go has almost always come down to one thing, how do we balance our individual wants and needs while still making the trip great for everyone.  I have always been a be there for rope drop and stay 'till they kick us out of the park kind of guy.  My wife, not so much.  It was a guarantee that after every Disney vacation we returned from you would hear her saying, "I need a vacation because of my vacation".  We still have our preferences on how we spend times in the parks but we have definitely tried to find our balance.  It helps that our older daughter likes staying late with me while our younger daughter goes back to the hotel for bed time, but our last trip was without the kiddos. 

So how do two people who are as different as Goofy and Mary Poppins find a way to have a successful vacation that both felt super happy with?  The answer is pretty obvious (I mean it is in the title of the post and all), a Walt Disney World - Disney Cruise Line land and sea vacation. 

When we first started talking about the idea we weren't sure we would be able to make it happen.  I mean, could we really do all 4 theme parks and a cruise in a 6 day window?  And if so how do we break it to the kids that not only are we going on a cruise without them but to the theme parks as well?  We were fairly certain we would be disowned and that our girls wouldn't want to leave grandma and grandpa's house when we got home due to the resentment that was sure to grow while we were gone!  Once we decided that the resentment from the kids could be bought back with Mickey shaped suckers and Stitch stuffed animals we decided to go for it.  Not only was it a great decision, but it turned out to be one of the easiest vacations we had ever planned!

We spent the first part of our trip in the theme parks.  We flew in and took our Magical Express shuttle to our lake view room at Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort.  Following check in and a small break following the 4 hour flight we were off to see the newly opened Toy Story Land and grab some grub before we rode Tower of Terror.  Toy Story Land was fantastic and Slinky Dog Dash didn't disappoint!  After shedding a few tears over the Walt Disney Presents attraction being closed (I'm a nerd for Disney history and am now 0 for 2 on seeing that attraction on my last two trips) it was off to see the fireworks at Magic Kingdom from the DVC members lounge at our hotel.  The next day we spent at our favorite theme park in Walt Disney World, Animal Kingdom.  After a hot day in the park and having our minds blown again by riding Avatar: Flight of Passage we headed home.  The next day was spent in the heat of the Orlando sun while over eating at the Epcot Food and Wine Festival prior to our late night at Mickey's Christmas Party in Magic Kingdom.

Now, you may be asking, "how is it that Stacie was okay with all of the early mornings and late nights in the parks?  You just told us she hated early mornings and late nights at the parks!"  That's the beauty of it though.  When you know you have the next 3 nights to kick back and relax on the Disney Dream longer days in the parks are much more manageable.  This was Stacie's first experience with the Disney Cruise Line and I was beyond excited for her to see why I keep telling her I don't ever want to cruise with any other cruise line again.

Being our anniversary we decided to splurge a little and get a cabin with a veranda.  We ended up sitting on the veranda all three nights we were on board.  We even had breakfast room service one morning and ate as we pulled into the port of Nassau.  We fully enjoyed our dining friends and the servers were fantastic.  To me having the same dinner staff during each meal with our rotational dining is such a nice perk.  It's one of those little touches Disney offers that really adds to the guest experience.  The live entertainment was fantastic and we almost skipped a meal to see the live Beauty and the Beast show a second time, but the food was too good to skip!  We even participated and won in a Pirates of the Caribbean trivia game on one of our afternoons.  We were able to spend a few hours in the adults only area of the ship and really relax and enjoy our time together.  We had a morning brunch to celebrate our anniversary at Palo and got dressed all fancy.  As much fun as we had on board, there is nothing better than Castaway Cay!  From the all you can each beach barbecue to snorkeling out to find sea turtles and the remains of one of the original "Nautilus" submarines from the theme parks there really is something for everyone.  We are hoping to take the kids back soon and find a cruise that includes a second day at the island. 

By the end of the trip we were both happy and looking forward to seeing the girls, who cleaned house with all the treats and surprises we brought back for them.  We had made it through all four theme parks and still came home feeling relaxed and refreshed.  It's always hard to cut time in the parks short, but I can honestly say I didn't regret it one bit!  We had an absolute blast and were able to achieve something rarely done in our house, meet both Stacie and my vacation needs without compromising anything!  Looking back I have only one regret about our land and sea adventure, that we hadn't done it sooner!