December 2011: A night at Bay Lake Tower & Four Nights on the Disney Dream

This December we had the amazing and generous opportunity to spend a night in the Disney Vacation Club rooms at Bay Lake Tower and go on a cruise on the Disney Dream with Glenn’s sister and her roommate. Bay Lake Tower is the newest DVC offering next to the Contemporary Resort in Walt Disney World. The location is fantastic – you can walk to the Magic Kingdom. We checked in and went up the room. It’s a two bedroom suite with three full bathrooms. One room is a master suite and the other has two full beds with a bathroom. The kitchen/living room area is well planned and the view of Bay Lake is spectacular. I really felt like I was somewhere in Wisconsin or Michigan – especially  since the trees were changing color a bit. We headed over to Magic Kingdom to hit our favorites: Buzz Lightyear, Splash Mountain (for Glenn),  

and the Celebration Parade (for me).  

We walked back to the rooms to get ready for dinner at the California Grill located at the top of the Contemporary Resort.  The California Grill is fantastic. Glenn had one of the best meals of his life there: Venison with truffle macaroni and cheese.

 I have never seen a truffle mac come out with real slices of truffle on the top. Delicious.  I had some very good sushi.  After dinner, we headed back over to the Bay Lake Tower to go the exclusive DVC members’ club on the top floor. It is a gorgeous room with a large outdoor deck with great views of the Magic Kingdom.  We saw the magic light parade on the water. Then, the most exciting part  was the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom.  They pipe in the music from the fireworks show at the Magic Kingdom so we got to see the show and hear it all. It was really fun – a great way to end a great day.

 On Sunday, we got up and headed over to Port Canaveral. It took about an hour and a half. Parking and checking in were relatively painless. We walked through the magic doorway and onto the Dream. The ship is gorgeous. The main atrium was decorated beautifully for the holidays. I just couldn’t get over the gorgeous chandelier!

We headed to our rooms to drop off our bags. We were in a Veranda room with a balcony. The room was slightly narrower than other balcony cabins we have been in, but we really liked having two bathrooms – one with a toilet and a sink and one with a shower/bathtub and a sink.  We headed up to the Lido to grab lunch. The buffet was terrific – very hot, very fresh and very tasty. Then it was off to explore.  We headed down to the “District” to check out all the bars. We grabbed a stool at the 687 – the Sports Bar and watched the Patriots game until it was time for the muster drill.

After the drill, it was the Sail Away Party.  The Sail Away Party was fantastic. The ship has a large stage where the characters danced and put on a great show. Staff handed out pom-poms. Everyone danced and waved goodbye to Florida.

 Glenn and I headed to the Rainforest Room in the Spa. It was a “travel brochure” moment. We sat in a Jacuzzi built for two behind floor to ceiling windows and watched the sunset and the coastline of Florida fade away. It was terrific. Up next was dinner at Remy’s – the specialty French restaurant onboard.  It’s a $75 per person surcharge. We also got the wine pairings for an additional $100/person. The food was outstanding.  It was really hard to pick a favorite, but mine was the ratatouille bite: a huge burst of flavor in one single bite.

The desserts were over the top. We got a fantastic cheese plate. Then came what Glenn described as the fireworks of dessert. We each received the dessert we had ordered but then out came more candies, more truffles, more! More! More! It was overwhelming and amazing. And it didn’t stop at the restaurant – we arrived back to our room and found 6 more handmade truffles. Incredible!

Monday was our port day in the Bahamas. My feeling on the Bahamas is that if you are not booking an excursion then it’s really not worth getting off the boat – so we didn’t. We woke up room service breakfast – prompt with hot coffee and nice pastries. We hit up second breakfast in the main dining room. Good selection and breakfast was good. Note: Meals in the main dining room for breakfast or lunch take at least an hour so plan accordingly. After breakfast, we headed to the pool. Glenn and his sister tried out the Aqua Duck water coaster.

 It’s a great feature. I love that it is a clear tube circling the main pool so you can watch people go through. We spent the afternoon at a very informative sparkling wine tasting and enjoying the aromatherapy showers in the Rainforest Room in the spa. They were great showers. You pressed a preset setting – “Caribbean mist” – and a mix of hot and cold water rain down and the shower changes colors. We hopped from shower to steam room to shower. Very relaxing. We hit the Villians show before dinner. I was so impressed with the show – high quality, great singing and good special effects. 

On Disney, the guests rotate from dining room to dining room each night. Monday night was Animator’s Palace. The décor was super cute.

The main attraction was interactive screens with the characters from Finding Nemo. I found a little too much. It was very loud and there was always a lot going on. The highlight was truffle pasta purses as an appetizer. The other food was slightly disappointing – especially after the great meal at Remy’s the night before. Glenn had arranged for a cake for my birthday. It was delicious! So much fun!

Tuesday was our day at Castaway Cay – Disney’s private island. We started the day with room service again. We headed out to the island. It is beautiful and well organized. There were rows and rows of chairs and umbrellas. We walked through the family area and took a short tram to the adult area. We were lucky enough to enjoy a cabana.

It was fantastic. It really looked and felt like a beach house. I loved it!! We walked down the beach for a drink at the bar and to enjoy the lunch buffet. The highlight was the ribeye steak right off the grill. We stayed on the beach until they practically had to force us back onto the ship.  Another afternoon at the spa and then off we went to dinner at the Enchanted Garden. The restaurant is beautiful. It really simulates a garden with the light changing from day to night during the course of the meal.  The tables were very close together. I felt bad for our servers. Tuesday night was the big pirate party! I was so impressed that our room steward left bandanas for us to wear.

We headed up on deck for the show. It was great! After a short scene with Captain Jack Sparrow fighting off some evil pirates, they set off one of the most spectacular displays of fireworks I have ever seen. It was so incredible to watch them shoot them right off the ship. After the Pirate Party, we decided to check out the District. We had a couple drinks in the Skyline Bar – the skyline changes to one of six cities every 15 minutes and they have cocktails inspired by each of the cities.

The waitstaff was not very friendly and the drinks need  a little more practice, but you can’t beat the ambiance.  I also liked that Disney had late night snacks available in the District bar area.

Wednesday was the official Sea Day. We really started the day off with a bang with lunch at the specialty restaurant Palo ($25 surcharge). It was incredible. They had a beautiful buffet of every type of seafood (Alaskan Crab Legs, Stone Crab, Caviar, Shrimp, Calamari) plus antipasto, beautiful breads and salads. Then we ordered off the menu. I had the chicken parmesan. It was the best I have ever had. Our waiter was great. Overall,  it was a wonderful experience.  After a mandatory rest period, we headed to a wine tasting. Again, we were impressed with how informative the tasting was and the great mix of wines. We spent the afternoon packing, napping and enjoying our balcony. Before dinner, I had to head to Pink the Champagne bar, for some bubbles. I just loved that bar – it felt so luxurious and girly! Dinner was at the Enchanted Garden again. After dinner, we headed up to Meridian bar – next to the specialty restaurants – for one last crème brulee martini. We headed to the disco to play some movie trivia, watch the going away show and listen to the DJ spin some tunes. The DJs on board were fantastic – really knew how to get the party started.

Thursday – The debarkation process was super easy. Guests go to their seated breakfast and then leave from the Dining Room. This is a great way to do it. It leads to a lot less standing in line and waiting. We found the car and headed out for St. Augustine.

Overall, the ship was beautiful. The shows were fantastic. We had a fantastic time and were so lucky to have the opportunity.  If the Dream team is able to improve the main dining room experience and some of the bar staff's attitudes -  then I would whole heartedly recommend a Disney cruise.  Until then, I think I’ll try a few more cruise lines.