Well it's finally my favorite time of the year....Summer Break! I just love being with Iris and Asa all summer. We usually wait until the end of summer to take our vacation but this year we went right after school got out...and it was so wonderful! Kelly and I love to surprise our kids with vacations that they know nothing about...it just makes the trip that much better. The two times we went to Disney World the kids had no idea where we were going until we pulled up to the entrance. Just looking at their faces light up like that just made me melt! Well this year was an extremely big surprise. Now that the kids are getting bigger it seems to get a little harder to keep secrets and plan surprise trips...especially with them both reading signs all along the interstate. A year and a half ago Kelly and I booked a Disney cruise without telling the kids. This has been the hardest secret to keep...especially for that long...but it was so worth it!
After Iris was born a friend gave us some great advice...."don't do Disney until they are 4 years old"...I must say that was some of the best advice I've ever gotten. When Iris turned 4 we surprised her by showing up at Disney and it was such an awesome trip. Asa was only 2 at the time so he stayed back home with grandparents. It just made sense to do it that way...Asa didn't know the difference and we were able to fully enjoy Disney with Iris. Then when Asa turned 4 we surprised them once again with a Disney trip....and it was even better. Asa and Iris were at the ages where they could do all of the same rides together and just really enjoy it! I couldn't even imagine maneuvering a stroller around Disney...or having to stop for naps...so at age 4 it really was such an easy trip! We were also told to wait and do a Disney cruise when the kids are at least 6...so that's what we did...and it turned out to be the perfect age!
We really got the kids good with the surprise cruise. The kids have been watching the video about the new Disney Dream for about two years. I got an email a year and a half ago about a special promotion for the cruise this June and we just couldn't pass it up....so we booked it. The kids knew we were going to the beach but they had no idea what else was planned. First we went to Cocoa Beach for four days. We spent a day at the Ron Jon Resort...which the kids LOVED! I think they went down the water slide a thousand times! I even enjoyed that one! We also did the Kennedy Space Center...which was a lot of fun! On our last night at Cocoa we told the kids we were leaving to go home the next morning. So we packed up the car on that Friday morning and acted as though we were headed home. Little did they know that we had extra suitcases packed in the car for the second half of our trip. We took the kids to eat one last lunch at Port Canaveral before supposedly heading back to Dalton. While we were outside eating we just happened to notice the new Disney Dream boat docked at the port. Well that's all the kids talked about at lunch...but we still didn't let on what we had planned. We even talked about saving our money up so we might be able to go in the next couple of years. Kelly and I were just so excited and it was so hard not to just tell them right then. After lunch we said "let's drive over near the boat to see if we can get a picture close up"...so that's what we did. We pulled right up next to it and the kids got out and as we were pretending to just get a photo of them in front of the boat Kelly leans down(yes, this is all on video) and tells them that we are actually going on the cruise! The smiles on Iris and Asa's faces were the sweetest thing I have ever seen! They just kept hugging us and smiling and telling us "thank you"! It was truly a magical day!
The cruise was as wonderful as we expected. The ship was so beautiful! There was so much for them to do! They really enjoyed the Aquaduck waterslide...I even did it! One of their favorite things to do was go to the Oceaneer Club. Kelly and I were a little hesitant about leaving them but it was very safe and they just loved all of the activities they had for them to do. Kelly and I even got a little "alone" time in the adult pool...we weren't expecting that!
I highly recommend the Disney Dream...especially for kids ages 6 and up. There wasn't much for younger kids and the little ones that I did see didn't seem too happy. The days are extremely long and the nights are late so it's good for the older kids who can handle it. Also, the two pools are full of kids so your child should be a good swimmer...otherwise they won't get much swimming in. Iris and Asa were at the age that they could do everything on the cruise...otherwise they wouldn't of had much to do...and you just won't get your moneys worth.
We just had such a great trip...I only hope that we can pull off another surprise next year!
