Disney Fantasy - Days 9 & 10

July 6, 2017

Today is another - and our last - sea day on this cruise. Room service breakfast once again starts the day, which also will include an early trip to the Rainforest Room before it gets too crowded.

A lot happening today but the thing I am looking forward to is the third session by Jason Hudak - an editor for Pixar. Today his talk takes us on a tour of Pixar's campus and building in Emoryville, CA. As before, it was a very enjoyable session, even if I didn't win any of the prizes he brought with him to pass out.

Later in the day, we took Brooke to the dance party in the atrium where she got to dance with all of her favorite characters.

Before dinner, we are in the Walt Disney Theater when the "big surprise" announcement that we were promised on the first day is made. Although many of us onboard (myself included) had a pretty good idea what it would be, it was now made official! Spiderman: Homecoming, which premieres in theaters tomorrow, will also premiere on board the Fantasy. It's not unusual for Disney movies to premiere on DCL cruises, because, as we were told on our first DCL cruise, "we own the movies!" However, this is a bit different, since although Disney does own Marvel, it does not own Marvel Studios which produces the Marvel movies. Nor is Disney even the distributor. (Sony is the current distributor.) However, a deal has been made and at midnight tonight, Spiderman will be shown aboard ship! I plan on attending. On our first cruise in 2004, I attended the midnight premiere of King Arthur ... 2 hours which I will never get back! (It was awful!)

When we return to our staterooms, there is a package for Brooke from the nursery containing pieces of her artwork from the week and some gifts. Iris brought her the rock candy - though she still hadn't quite figured it out yet.

Dinner tonight is once again in Animator's Palate and tonight is the night that we get to be animators. When we arrive at our table, there is a sheet at each of our places which has an area for us to draw a figure with the supplied markers. They get collected, and towards the end of the meal, they appear with Mickey and the gang on the screens in the restaurant - and they are animated ... moving and dancing along with the music!

During dinner, however, it becomes very obvious that I will not make it to a midnight showing of Spiderman, so it will have to wait until tomorrow.

After dinner, Iris, Brooke and I are having a look though the gift shops when Captain Mickey appears. Of course, Brooke needs  to go and say Hello to him.

Tomorrow we arrive at Castaway Cay ... our final day of the cruise.

July 7, 2017

Today we arrive at Disney's private island in the Bahamas, Castaway Cay ... formerly known as Gorda Cay, it used to be home to pirates and drug smugglers until the government of the Bahamas confiscated it and eventually leased it to Disney.

Sandy and I get an early start, while Jason, Iris and Brooke sleep in a bit. We have breakfast this morning at Cabanas before we head off the ship.

Bypassing the family beach, we take the tram to Serenity Bay - the adult only beach. We use the old landing strip that the previous owners built for themselves.

Along the way we pass people on the last leg of the Castaway 5K, which I had hoped to do until I broke my ankle. I have to admit to feeling a bit sad that I wasn't able to do it today.

Although it is still early, so many have gotten here before us that we have to walk quite a way down to find unoccupied lounges. We claim two of them and then into the water!!

Before you know it lunch time came around. Serenity Bay also has it's own place to eat. At the family beach you have cookies - at Serenity Bay you have Cookies Too!

Of course, where there is food ... there are seagulls ...

Now, having had our share of the beach (and the heat) and having had lunch, we start back to the ship.

Along the way we pass the Bahamian post office on the island. (I love the "AIR MAIL" mailbox!)

Back on the ship we head straight to the Rainforest Room which quite predictably is empty and we have no problem getting into a hot tub or claiming a lounge. A few people show up while we are there, but as always on Castaway Cay day - it is never crowded.

After the Rainforest Room and a quick shower, we arrive at the Buena Vista Theater to see Spiderman.

Sadly, tomorrow morning we have to leave the ship, and our luggage must be placed outside the room before dinner. Since we have the second seating, our breakfast tomorrow morning will be at 8:30 rather than 6:45 as the first seating passengers. It will be in the last restaurant we eat dinner in which for us will be Enchanted Garden.

Iris and I go to Shutters to check out all of our photos and decide which package we will get. As we get into the elevator, a couple was telling us about how they opened their door and security guards with a dog was at their door. When we return to our room we see them still standing down the hall from us at a room not far from ours. Tomorrow, someone will be escorted off the ship in handcuffs and it will wreak havoc with the debarkation process, something which had always been quick and easy. Tomorrow it was not to be however, and it took almost a full hour to leave the ship. Law enforcement was everywhere when we finally left the ship!

Packing went well and our luggage was outside of our room well before we left for dinner. We said goodbye to our serving crew and let them know that they had served us extremely well all through the cruise.

After dinner, Iris, Jason, Brooke and I went to Shutters to order our photo package which we would have to pick up in the morning before breakfast.

Then off to sleep for the last time on board. Tomorrow morning we leave the Fantasy and head home, another cruise in the memory banks.