The boys are less children and more young men now. Christmas is less about Santa Claus and more about having a nice morning with cinnamon rolls, opening presents, and having a big break breakfast of eggs, Polish sausage, and toast. Our family is no longer little kids with all of the exuberance and excitement of Christmas mornings that they had when they were 7, or 5, or even 10 years old. It is a bit of sad reality that makes one look forward to grandparenthood.
With the help of two cameras recording the moment, the shock, bewilderment, confusion and, ultimately, joy, was captured forever.
We packed and were on the road to Port Canaveral in less than three hours. And for the first time on a Disney adventure, TJ took time behind the wheel. We stopped at Buc-ee's for lunch and ran into our longtime friends, Alec, Tammi, and Tucker Newton. After linking up with Andy to drop off some pulled pork for dinner on the return trip, we found ourselves having Christmas dinner at a Waffle House in Orange Park, FL. A Waffle House full of stragglers, emo teenagers, and a scruffy old Vet reminded us how good we have it as a family.
Tuesday morning, we boarded the ship as a Cast Member announced "welcome, the Brown Family!" Months prior to the cruise we trolled the boys by making them watch a Disney documentary about the construction of Disney Cruise Lines newest ship, The Disney Wish. Walking onboard seemed very familiar! As is everything with Disney, the attention to detail to even the little things were incredible. From light fixtures, to wallpaper, to the art on the walls, the ship was magnificent.
They had a Star Wars Lounge! They had two small movie theaters (one of which Grant got is wish to watch the movie "Wish" onboard The Wish). There was an aqua-coaster, basketball court, pools, water slides, and lots of little places to eat and drink. The boys were never bored.
We spent an overcast day on Castaway Cay, snorkeling - and meeting Barracuda, paddle boarding, and earning our Castaway Cay 5k medals. The main theater had a couple of notable shows, the best being a musical version of Aladdin.
In standard Disney fashion we ate in three different restaurants: the 1923 Roy Disney, the Avengers Lab (with Ant Man, Wasp, and Falcon), and Arendell (the Engagement Party between Anna and Kristoff). Arendell was our favorite because of the live music, character interaction, and theming - plus it's Lisa's favorite movie to sing along to.
And then there is a moment that bridges the gap between having kids and raising young adults. On the ride down I mentioned to the boys that their "Boarding Passes" would make a cool keepsake to have Mickey Mouse sign them. Both boys balked at standing in line to have a person in a costume sign something. To them, that was something they did years ago and outgrew.
On the last night, Grant, Lisa and I went off to watch a movie and TJ went and did his own thing. We all met up under the big chandelier in the main hall to watch the clock strike midnight. Upon returning to our room the two boarding passes were on the bed, signed by Mickey Mouse. We were truly dumbfounded. The only logical explanation was that our room steward signed them or took them to be signed by a Cast Member with right (write?) penmanship. And then this grin passed over TJ's face. To our surprise, he grabbed the passes and stood in line for Mickey to sign them, and quickly returned them to the room. We got a little misty eyed to be sure.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
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