Trip Report: October 11th-October 17th 2014 - Part 2

by Nick

Sunday October 12th

I didn't sleep as well as I would have like, but I've gotten by on less.

We headed down to Cape May Cafe with hopes of getting in without an Advanced Dining Reservation (ADR), and were told we would be called when they opened at 7:30, and we were indeed.

We were lucky enough to get a a truly wonderful Cast Member, Adrienne, as our server. She was a delight.

We'd never had breakfast here before, but everything was very good, my favorites being the French Toast.

We got photos with Minnie, Donald, and Goofy.

Stop back for a full review of Cape May's breakfast buffet in the future.

Our Magical Express pick-up for transfer to Cape Canaveral was scheduled for 11:30-11:45, and by now it was 9, so we decided to take it easy and took a walk around the resort. I contacted my friend and fellow blogger, Lisa, who was visiting Walt Disney World at the same time, and we decided to just stop by Disney's Hollywood Studios to say hello. As it was very hot already, we hopped a Friendship Boat and took a ride over to the Studios where we met and spent some time talking to Lisa and her husband Raymond.

We hopped another boat back to the Yacht and Beach Club, and met other cruisers in the Solarium, where we were brought to our bus at almost exactly 11:45. Can you tell I was excited?

 

It seemed like a fast trip, and before we knew it, we were there.

Check in was very quick. We were greeted by a Cast Member who asked if we were Castaway Club Members, meaning we had sailed previously with Disney Cruise Line. We were, so we were directed to an even shorter line, and before we knew it, we were walking through the Mickey Head entryway and onto the Disney Dream!

As a bonus, it was exactly 1:30 when we boarded, and our stateroom was ready!

We had a Category 8D stateroom, number 5016. 

We dropped off our luggage and headed up to Cabanas, the buffet, for lunch and a tropical drink.

Like Cape May's Breakfast Buffet, I'll be doing a much more in depth review with many photos of Cabanas, and the Dream in general in future posts, we took A LOT of photos.

After eating we wandered around the ship, getting to know it, while we waited for the 4 o'clock mandatory life boat drill.

Doesn't everyone look excited to be at the drill?

After the drill we went up to deck 12 to watch the Sailing Away Party. The crew comes out and asks us to celebrate with Mickey and the gang, who then join them on stage.

We returned to our cabin, showered and got ready for dinner, and headed down to the Walt Disney Theater. We were unable to get the Main seating, so we went to the 6:15 show of Villains Tonight, one of the live Broadway type shows offered on the Disney Cruise Line ships.

 

It's an...interesting show. It stars Hades and his sidekicks Pain and Panic from Hercules as well as several other Disney Villains.
Hades sends out invitations to other villains to help him to bring up the evil quotient in the Underworld, or he will be evicted as ruler.
There are some unusual and not often used villains, such as Yzma from the Emporer's New Groove, a film, I confess, I am not a fan of.
The show had it's entertaining moments, but we wouldn't bother seeing it again.

After the show, we caught a portion of the show in front of the Pumpkin Tree in the Lobby Atrium, part of Halloween on the High Seas.

Guests are invited by the Haunted Mansion's caretaker to add "pumpkin seeds" to a bucket (the "seeds" made of paper, were handed out to each person after the Villains Tonight show) to help pumpkins grow on the tree.

Our rotational dining this evening, at 8:15 was in the Enchanted Garden.

One positive of second seating, which is much later than we are accustomed to eating,  was that second seating was not as crowded or noisy as main seating.

To start, we both had the Applewood Smoked Bacon and Wild Mushroom Tart, which was very good.

We also both got the Ahi Tuna and Avocado Tower, which was excellent.

For our entrees, I got the Caramelized Sea Scallops with Asparagus and Sun Dried Tomato Cous-Cous. I really enjoyed the Scallops, but the Cous Cous, really, not good.
Barbie got Pearl Barley Cakes. They were awful, almost flavorless.

For dessert, I had the Date Pudding, which was pretty good.

Barbie, not wanting to risk being disappointed again, went with a can't fail Mickey Premium Ice Cream Bar.

This had been a long day, but we decided to stay up, and at 10:30, went to see Nightmare Before Christmas in 4D in the Walt Disney Theater.

The movie was shown in 3D, the 4D was in the lighting, effects, such as fake snow, and at the end, Jack Skellington himself came up out of the stage. 

Afterwards, he took photos and signed autographs. 

It was a long tiring day, and we had no trouble at all falling asleep that evening.

Please stop back tomorrow for Part 3

Part 1 of my trip report can be found here: http://disneymusings.blogspot.com/2014/10/trip-report-october-11th-october-17th.html

Funko Disney/Pixar Mystery Mini Figures

I'd read about these Funko Disney/Pixar Mystery Mini Figures several months ago on a Vinylmation site.
The article asked if it was possible that these new figures could overtake Vinylmation in popularity.
That obviously hasn't happened, but I actually think they are pretty terrific!
They come in a blind box like Vinyl, and inside they are in a black plastic bag.

 

The character range isn't as wide as Vinylmation, certainly, but manages to include a few of our absolute favorite characters, Mickey Mouse, Stitch, Tinker Bell and Winnie the Pooh. They are about a half inch shorter on average than a 3" Vinylmation.

 

What's very interesting to me, is the rarity of some of these. Some are very rare indeed! 1 in a 144 rare for a Pooh, Tink, or Sulley! Why the top left Mickey is 2 in 24 and not 1 in 12 is a mystery.

After reading the article, I went on a search for these at the local Barnes and Noble, as well as their online shop, and came up empty handed. I found them on Amazon and eBay, but decided to limit myself to finding them at the store. I never did.
But Barbie didn't forget, and bought me some for my birthday! Since they were gifts, I have no idea how much they cost, but she says they were at a reasonable price.
Let's see what I got!
The first package I opened contained a Mike Wazowski. 1/24. Not bad. The very next box I opened contained...the exact same figure!

Next, a Mickey!  1/18.

I love the tail!

 

Next up was another Mike, 1/18, followed by a Sulley, 1/48.
They make a great pair!

Another great tale!

Last, but certainly not least, my wife's favorite, Stitch! 1/18.

Well, I didn't get any super rare figures, but I love what I got! This of course has given me Mini Madness, so I'll be searching eBay for more. I'll share what I find here in the future.