I decided to keep things easier for us on the trip. So I packed all of Variah's clothes into ziplock bags with the shirt, shorts, underwear, socks and hair bows. That way she could pick a bag and have all the clothes needed. She could still be her independent self but without making things crazy trying to find all the different clothing items.
We flew out Sunday, October 25th in the morning. We were so excited to take Variah on her first airplane ride that morning. I got her her very own backpack and filled it with toys, coloring books and special treats so that she would be entertained. My neighbor and friend, Brooke Franco, bought a Frozen coloring book and a princess coloring tile set for Variah.
Her big hot chocolate with whip cream that she got with her breakfast at the airport
She was excited to think she was going to ride in an airplane just like her dad
She loved reading this safety procedure booklet while the flight attendants were talking.
Just as we were about to start backing up to head to the runway, true to Variah form, she told us that she had to go tot he bathroom!! We quickly had to distract her with some new toys in her backpack. Unfortunately the large glass of hot chocolate was not distracted easily. As we taxied to the runway she was dancing in her seat. We unbuckled her and Daniel ran her to the bathroom. The flight attendants had to call to the pilots to tell them to wait for the little girl in the bathroom. Oh dear!
During take off Variah laughed and said, "weeee!"
Thanks to Brooke we had an entertained little girl. She still went to the bathroom 3 times on the flight.
And luckily we even got her to take a nice 45 min. long nap
When we landed Daniel explained how the landing was going to be bumpy and that we could move forward if we didn't have our seat belts on. She asked to hold our hands to be ready for the landing. It melted my heart!
After landing we took a train to pick up our luggage. It was another exciting first for Variah. From there we got on a bus to go to our hotel. Another first for V!
They had fun Disney movies to watch on the bus ride as well as some Disney trivia games.
The entrance to Disney World where our hotel was located. We stayed in the Coronado Springs Resort.
The 4Life photographer took this picture of us when we got off the bus
Our wristbands that worked as our room key, charge card and if we were going to Disney World to ride rides-our ride pass. Disney goes all out folks!
That night as we were going to bed Variah said, "good night guys. Let me know if you need anything. Tell me if you need water or a toy to sleep with. Let me know if you get scared." She sure loves taking care of others-my little mom!
Monday October 26th
On our way to breakfast we needed to take a selfie
Mickey Mouse waffles are the best!
After breakfast we were headed to our room to get our luggage. One of the workers whistled and then nodded to the ground. With some water he had drawn Mickey and Minnie on the ground. It was pretty cute.
The three caballeros and us
Seeing our cruise ship for the first time
As we stood in line to register for the cruise, a lady came over to us and started talking to Daniel. She offered to check us in if we followed her. We ended up in this special area and she informed us we were supposed to register with her due to our Concierge Room. We had be given a Concierge room, a VIP room on a cruise ship! After registering she took us past all the lines and right onto the ship. We met another host who then took us right to the elevator which took us right up to the concierge level! Once there we were led to the concierge lounge for treats and food. We met our 3 concierge team-Ashley, Tracey and Angeline. They told us they had already signed us up to meet the princesses on the last day at sea and we were able to sign Variah up for the Oceaneer Club (the 3-12 yr. old club/babysitting room). AMAZING!!! They also gave us a paper that explained all the exclusive offerings and services for the Concierge guests-breakfasts, snacks, desserts, drinks, bags of popcorn, fruit, pre-dinner cocktails, complimentary iPad rentals, board games, etc. I was blown away with all they had to offer us!
We then went to check out our room
We were in room 12022
The 2 doors are bathrooms-one has the shower/bathtub and the other has the toilet. Seriously, Disney things about it all!
On our bed we had a complimentary bag
Our closet had robes for each of us and slippers
Variah was in HEAVEN! I was too
The oceaneer club had an open house so parents could see what fun things their kids would be doing if they left them there. They had a large room full of Toy Story toys that V really had a fun time playing with.
They also had Tinkerbell's forest
The Millennium Falcon was a new addition on our ship
So we took it for a drive :)
Hoola Hooping on an interactive floor
Variah didn't want to leave but we had the mandatory Lifeboat drill to get to. After the drill we went to the Sailing Away Celebration. Because it was raining the show was done inside. We got split up trying to get to the different levels, so Daniel and V watched the show from the floor and I watched it from the balcony. Both were great seats!
My view
Daniel's view
After the show we headed to dinner at the Royal Palace
The bread basket was like Cinderella's coach
We were lucky enough to sit right next to the picture of Sleeping Beauty. However we were not lucky enough to get Variah to eat there. She was SOO exhausted that I got her dinner to go and we went back to our room to eat some food and go to sleep.
When Variah saw her new bed she got so excited! Earlier that day we met one of our Stateroom attendants, Joscelyn. He was super cute with Variah and she was happy that he had made a bed just for her!
She ate some fish and rice-things she chose to order at dinner and then it was off to bed!
She went to bed and when Daniel got back from dinner I headed down to Flo's cafe and got me some french fries. It soon became a nightly ritual. No need for milk and cookies before bed I've got french fries!
Tuesday: Nassau Bahamas
We woke up at 7:30 with Variah. Luckily our room has on demand and we can watch any Disney movie. We started up Snow White and the adults went back to sleep. 
The Port of Nassau
Around 8:15 we woke up and got dressed to go meet Disney Jr. characters that Variah likes. We waited in lines and then got pictures with each one. We brought a white pillowcase with us and fabric markers so that each character we met could sign the pillowcase for Variah to keep.
Doc McStuffins
Jake the Neverland Pirate
Sophia the First
After that we ate breakfast. More Mickey Mouse waffles with strawberries and whipped cream. We love cruise food!
The best way to drink milk from a container-sans straw!
After breakfast we went swimming in Donal Duck's pool. We had decided to stay on the ship at Nassau so we could enjoy everything without having to deal with the crowds of people that got off the boat.
And of course we had to get ice cream right after breakfast.
Swimming in the pool and watching the Lion King on the Jumbo Video Screen. Life is good!
Atlantis
Goofy's golf
Variah missed her friend "fire hydrant" from home so she needed to give this fire hydrant a nice big hug!
We decided to get off the boat and at least check out the shops at the port. We didn't see much, but we were able to get some souvenirs.
All Variah wanted to do was meet the horses!
We were able to go back to our room and nap. It made such a huge different with Variah at dinner!
We got to eat at Animator's Palate. It was a Finding Nemo theme that night.
The video screens were interactive and actually carried on conversations with the people sitting next to the screens. It was pretty cool to watch!
Every night V had her special cup waiting for her
Dinners were always super fancy food that was very yummy
Shrimp salad
Daniel got 2 bowls of fresh green beans which made him VERY happy!
The waiter brought Variah a special treat with her Mickey bar...a Chocolate Mousse Spider!
She pretty much loved getting ice cream every night at dinner-even if she didn't eat all of her food. It made all of us happier
Our Towel Pet
We went to see the show Villains Tonight. It was a cute show with all the Disney villains helping Hades get his evil power back.
After the show we saw Chip and Dale
We surprised Variah with some new Minnie Mouse pajamas. She was pleased I think...
haha it is hard to hug pajamas
All ready for bed
Wednesday Castaway Cay
We pretty much got off the boat with Donald Duck. So we followed him to find out where he was going to be taking pictures
Disney owns the whole island and all the people that work on the island are Disney employees. It is a pretty amazing set up!
Our boat...on the back they have some fiberglass Disney Characters washing the outside
Donald Duck made sure we knew he was #1
Variah went out swimming with Daniel, Daniel West and Nathan Larsen (co-workers)
We had lunch at Cookie's Barbeque with a buffet style lunch and all you can eat ice cream :)
We happened to find Olaf on our way to the bathroom
I told Variah we needed to be quick before he melted. When we went by again he was gone-Variah was certain that he melted in the sun.
Just relaxing in the sun
We also found Mickey Mouse and were able to be one of the first to get a picture with him. Mickey Mouse lines are usually really long, so it was perfect!
He was doing an archeological dig in an elephant graveyard so he was dressed up for that
Our little Variah is such a fish! She loved swimming and playing in the sand
This puddle jumper is the best thing ever! She can wear it without being bothered by it and it works great when she is out swimming
We got to bring the preschool pet Zack the Zebra on our trip. I loved this picture with the ship in the background.
We built a sandcastle together
They call this Mount Rustmore
I love these next 2 pictures because we are totally photo bombing!
Variah in the left corner and Daniel on the right
I am on the right of this picture
This is the group that we got to go with...we are on the right under the tree
When we got back to our room there were cookies waiting for us from the Concierge team
They had a special private meet and greet with Goofy on the Concierge Sundeck for those with Concierge rooms. There were treats for us to snack on while Goofy walked around visiting with everyone. We didn't have to wait in any lines, he was there just to mingle and get pictures taken!
A kiss on the nose for Goofy
Variah wanted to do the "I Love You" sign for Goofy! So cute
We then showered and got dressed up for Pirate Night! I made pirate shirts for Daniel and me. Variah wore an Izzy the Neverland Pirate costume that we borrowed from Spencer and Tiffany. The cruise folks had given us pirate bandanas to wear. We ate dinner at Animator's Palate again. This time the screens and the room were themed with Pirate stuff.
My dinner was macadamia encrusted Mahi Mahi
"Rrrrr"
And once again the Mickey Bar didn't disappoint this little girl
Some distributors from Nicaragua that we saw lots and chatted with lots during the trip
Variah really got into character for these pictures
We went back to our room to change into regular clothes so we could go meet Pirate Daisy
We had some gold coins and a flying towel animal waiting for us
Pirate Daisy
When we got back after meeting Pirate Daisy, we saw Joscelyn and Keyand. They told Variah they had a treasure hunt for her on their cleaning cart. Joscelyn asked if he could lift up Variah to see the treasure inside their cart.
Giving her "boyfriend" Joscelyn a thank you hug
Inside the cart they had a Anna doll from the movie Frozen and a tiger for Variah! We were shocked they would do that for her. They said they did it because she was such a special girl! So nice and thoughtful!!
Pirate night continued with a Pirates IN the Caribbean Pirate show
I brought glow in the dark necklaces for us to wear during the firework show
The had a pirate countdown show on the big screen for us to watch before the pirates came out and took over the ship
One of the pirates from the show
They did a good job with the fireworks
After a very long and fun filled day Variah fell asleep immediately
Thursday day at Sea
Our princess Meet and Greet was that morning. We had brought Variah's princess aprons so she could match each princess that she met. Unfortunately we didn't have a Cinderella dress and the Snow White princess wasn't there that day like she had been the previous days.
Each princess was so sweet with Variah and spent a good amount of time talking with her and making her feel special
The Animator's Palate restaurant was transformed into a frozen winter wonderland. All the screens in the restaurant displayed snow covered mountains and the trees in the restaurant were covered in snow. It was so fun to see the restaurant transformed!
One of the things I loved about all the princesses is that they stayed in character the whole time they talked with Variah and while we were there.
Variah brought her new Anna doll to show the real Anna
When we changed V into her Elsa apron Daniel said he heard lots of "oohs" and 'aahs" from those in line. They were impressed with our costume change!
Daniel had to head to meetings so Variah and I had the rest of the morning and early afternoon to ourselves. We went back to our room to change into our swimsuits. We chatted and got pictures with Keyand and Joscelyn.
Joscelyn and Variah teased about talking on the phone and when we got back to our room he actually called her and they were able to chat on the phone. It was really cute.
We found that they liked to make our beds with Variah's toys
One of the concierge hosts came by while we were there and gave us a print made just for Concierge guests for the year 2015. It even game with a certificate of authenticity.
We headed to the pool and while we were eating our ice cream it started to rain
It rained a lot!
So we went back to the room and V took a nap while I read on the deck
I thought this scale was a funny thing to see. Cruises are known for helping people gain weight so I thought it was interesting to see that Disney was even helping with that factor if someone wanted to weigh themselves while on board their ship.
The sun came out and Daniel was done with his meetings so we went back to the pool to go swimming. We passed by Venelope's Sweet shop and decided to take pictures with the statues of the characters from Wreck it Ralph for Trey since it is his favorite movie.
This little bird flew into the glass and then sat here stunned. I sure hope it got better and flew away! I wanted to help it but did not know what to do for it.
The last day at sea meant there were a TON of people and kids in the pools
We just stayed in one spot and swam
I cleaned up Variah's ice cream cone so that it wouldn't drip down onto V's hand. Growing up my mom had to give ice cream cones to my dad so he could do this. It was something she couldn't stomach. So I took this picture to show my mom I could do it. Haha
She loved eating ice cream any time of the day and watching the Disney movies on the big screen
That night we had dinner at the Enchanted Garden
This girl and her silly faces!
Our lobster towel animal
After dinner and after packing up all of our stuff we headed to the show for the night, Disney's Believe. It is a cute show about a dad who doesn't believe in magic like his daughter. The Genie from Aladdin grants him a wish to believe like his daughter. He then meets characters from lots of different Disney movies who help him believe in magic. It was filled with lots of songs and characters from Disney movies. Variah really liked this show.
And just like that, our cruise was over! We were sad to see it come to an end that is for sure. We did miss our Everett though and were looking forward to seeing him.
You can see how tired Variah was on our flight home, as she watched the live action version of Cinderella. She was glued to the IPad while she watched it!
Everett missed us but really missed his dad the most and was so excited the next day when we all gathered in his bedroom!
We brought back some bath toys for Everett. They are all the Disney characters in their cruise clothes and a cruise ship. He seemed pretty excited with them.
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