Trip Report - Disney Fantasy - Day 2

August 14

Our first full day aboard ship and the first of two days at sea. To be honest, I love full days at sea. Being in port and going on an excursion is fun, but spending the day on the ship offers so much to do and the opportunity to do as little as you want. I do both … take part in activities and chill out on a deck chair all on the same day.

This day begins as all our days cruising do, with breakfast in our room. Though there are many places to go for breakfast, we have always enjoyed the benefit of room service and have breakfast in the room - or on the verandah - relaxing and watching the ship cut through the water - while preparing for our day.

This morning we will make our first trip to the Rainforest after breakfast. We check in and get our wristbands and our scrubs (Sandy gets lavender and I get orange if anyone is actually interested) and we head into the locker rooms to leave our belongings. We head into the Rainforest and check out the three saunas and pick one for this morning, followed by a visit to one of the four showers. I choose the one marked Thunderstorm and choose a tropical thunderstorm. It starts out as a warm mist and then randomly gets heavier and even heavier, and cycling back to a mist … alternating three strengths and temperatures. Next we head into a hot tub in the section that protrudes from the side of the ship. Very relaxing looking out on the Caribbean while in the hot tub. The Rainforest is quite empty at the moment so there is no one waiting to use a hot tub (there are only two here and they both accommodate only two people) so we get to enjoy our stay as long as we want. Finally we lay out on one of the hot stone lounges. (On future visits I bring either a kindle to read or my phone to listen to music.) Needless to say this has been a very relaxing way to start the day.

After a while we head back to our room to change back into our normal (?) clothes. We have agreed to watch Brooke for a while today and soon Iris shows up and we head to the Atrium and into Royal Court for lunch. Jason joins us here shortly. Unlike last night where Brooke was tired and cranky, the thought of lunch excites her and she has the first of many nice meals. Over the course of the cruise she not only has the traditional kids meals (mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, etc,) but tries - and likes - many new things. She enjoys eating and is anything but fussy! The only thing she actually rejected on this cruise was a mini-marshmallow!!

After lunch, Iris and Jason go off for a few hours on their own, and Sandy and I walk around the ship with Brooke. We head to the nightclub area and discover a crafts session for the kids. They are making animal masks. Sandy and I grab some materials and proceed to “help Brooke” make two masks. (Okay - stop snickering!!) Armed with mask pieces, a brush and some glue, we each make something that sort of looks like animal masks. Brooke seems rather unimpressed! We head back out and continue our walk around the ship.

We passed through the art gallery and then Shutters, the place where you can look at the photos which have been taken throughout the cruise. I knew at the end of the cruise I would buy a digital package … which one would depend on how many pictures (mostly with Brooke) we will have taken. At this point the only picture in our folder is our Welcome Aboard picture.

Our walk next takes us past a place to get a pastry (which we did) and then out on Deck 4. We get deck chairs and let Brooke out of her stroller to have the freedom of the deck. She quickly crawls over to the railing and stands up to watch the water, fascinated by the ship’s wake. Then she does her exercises then sits down to flirt with everyone who walks by. She does love the attention.

Not too long later, Iris finds us - thanks to the DCL Navigator app which gives us the ability to stay in touch on the ship - and we take Brooke to the nursery where she will get her first taste of shipboard daycare. She will spend a few sessions here throughout the cruise. Today she will be here for just an hour.

Unlike last night, I will be going to the show in the Walt Disney theater tonight where the show is Aladdin. The productions on DCL cruises are typical Disney theatrical productions. Tonight’s show is no exception, and we enjoy the show thoroughly. Then it is time to change for dinner.

Tonight is formal night, and the first cruise on which I no longer own a tuxedo, so it’s a suit for me this evening. Our dinner rotation tonight takes us to Animator’s Palate. Different from Animator’s Palate on our cruises aboard the Magic and the Wonder, the screens tonight show the underwater world of Finding Nemo. At one point Crush appears and has a conversation with my son-in-law about sports. (Think Turtle Talk with Crush in EPCOT) Brooke is enjoying the entertainment, and is her usual happy (and hungry) self during this meal. Thanks to DeJan, her meal is waiting for her as we arrive and she happily digs in.

After dinner we walk through some of the shops and look at the merchandise. Earlier in the day I spotted a plush Doc McStuffins. After Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, that is Brooke’s favorite TV show. I considered buying it, so while we were with her tonight, I took one off the display and handed it to her. She got excited and grabbed it. Now I knew I would buy it for her and tried to take it from her to pay for it … NOT HAPPENING! She had a death grip on the doctor and wasn’t giving her up for anything. No problem … one of the remaining Doc’s was scanned and Brooke got to keep holding her new best friend.

As we left the store and was heading to the elevator back to our rooms, a short queue was forming. It seems that Peter Pan was about to do a meet and greet so we decided to wait - photo op! Brooke has met characters in the parks before and enjoys meeting the fur characters since she knows most of them. The face characters, not so much. Her turn comes and Peter sits down on the floor with her and then the “formal” picture. 

So ends our first full day on the Fantasy and the first of two days at sea.

Trip Report - Disney Fantasy - Day 1

August 13

The day has arrived. Today we start our 7 night cruise of the Eastern Caribbean. The day starts with a quick breakfast at the Pop Century food court and then we make the short drive from Pop Century to Iris’s house. Iris and Jason are getting their car packed and Brooke will travel with us to the Park and Cruise lot near the terminal to give them a bit more room to pack all they need for a week with a toddler aboard ship.

As we go over a bridge about 10 miles from our destination, we get our first view of the Disney Fantasy sitting at the dock.

We arrive at the facility where we are shuttled to Disney’s terminal at the port. Our luggage, which has been handled for us since we turned our cars over to the Park and Cruise facility, is collected and we will next see them all at our stateroom aboard the ship. We have selected at 12:30 check-in to avoid the early rush and to have our rooms ready when we arrive. We go through security and then to check-in. Being returning DCL cruisers (Iris is a Gold Castaway Club member - the rest of us Silver), we go through the Castaway Club queue and quickly are checked in and ready to board the ship. We take our Welcome Aboard photo and then are announced as we enter the Atrium and head for Deck 8 Forward where are staterooms are. 

We drop our carry on luggage in our respective rooms and then head up to Deck 11 for the Spa tour and raffle. On past cruises Iris and Jason have signed up for a length of cruise pass to the Rainforest and this cruise Sandy and I do the same. The Rainforest contains three different saunas, four varied showers (each with multiple choices within them) which range in temperature from hot to cold and strength from mist to downpour. Small hot tubs are available in an observation deck with a view and hot stone lounges to lay back and relax on.

After the spa it is nearly 2:00 and our last chance to pick up some lunch at Cabanas which is just a quick stroll from the spa. This is the poolside buffet themed to the Cars films.

After lunch we go back briefly to our staterooms and while Brooke naps, Sandy and I check out our room and do a little arranging of our luggage, which has now arrived. While the rooms are a bit tight with the luggage out, the bed is set high enough for us to place our suitcases beneath it and out of the way. I step out on our verandah for a moment and realize that I can see into the navigation bridge where I see a crew member checking out his station. Before long it is time for the muster drill and we head to our station in the Walt Disney Theater. (Iris, Jason and Brooke’s station was standing on Deck 4 in the sun and the heat. At least we were in the air conditioned theater with comfortable seats during the drill.)

Once the drill was over, we finished setting up our stateroom and went up for the Sail Away Party, which we only caught the end of, but did catch my favorite part of the party - where the ship’s horn plays the opening notes of When You Wish Upon a Star. If timed correctly the ship then pulls out of dock, but today I believe we were waiting for some latecomers from WDW to get on board. While the ship waits for no man, if you are coming on a Disney bus from WDW (or on a Disney excursion in port) the ship will not put to sea without you.

Shortly we meet Iris, Jason and Brooke - and get Brooke an ice cream cone (yep … ice cream machines always available!) and while we are standing on deck, we do set sail. Our adventure begins!

Unlike most families with children, we have chosen the late seating for dinner since Iris works in the evening from home, and it actually fits with Brooke’s schedule very well. As such, we get to see the earlier shows in the Walt Disney Theater each night. Tonight is the Welcome Aboard show which is mostly a preview of things to come. However, I know that Iris and Jason want to have a chance to get to the Rainforest, so I volunteer to watch Brooke so they can go. Sandy goes to the show while I spend some time with Brooke until they come back so we all can get ready for dinner.

With a rotating restaurant schedule on board DCL ships, we find that our rotation is Royal Court, Animator’s Palate, Enchanted Garden and then repeat. Tonight we start our cruise in the Royal Court where we meet our server DeJan and assistant server Shawan. We also meet the Head Server Alberto who, more than any other Head Server we have had on previous cruises, was very much present and accommodating, especially towards our one year old Brooke. Alberto and DeJan made sure that Brooke was provided with whatever she would need immediately throughout the entire cruise. We would arrive at our table at night and her meal, drink and all would be waiting for her.

Tonight, after a very long and stressful day, Brooke was a bit restless and cranky at dinner and Iris briefly took her out of the dining room a few times to calm her down - and not to bother the others in the dining room. At this point we all hoped that this would not be how the rest of the week went.

After dinner, due to the long day mentioned above, we all decided to call it a night. Tomorrow will be the first of two straight days at sea as we steam towards our first port of call - Tortola in the British Virgin Islands.

Where in WDW? Challenge 72

Yeah, yeah, yeah - I know it's been a while ... but you know ... life.

But here we are ... but where are we?

Make your guesses below and come back next week for the reveal ...

(I promise to try to have a new one by then)

60 Days to 60 Years of Disneyland - 1978

Welcome to my contribution to 60 Days to 60 Years of Disneyland. As we move towards Disneyland's 60th anniversary on July 17, we continue to look at what happened year by year at the park. 1978 was rather an uninspired year for Disneyland, but in this entry we will look at an event that happened that year that is still impacting Disney Parks and Resorts division to this day! But more of that later.

First, you have to know how Disneyland (and then Walt Disney World) has been a part of my family's consciousness since - well, the beginning. (Be sure to click on the links along the way.)

I was two and a half years old (because at that age, half years are important) when Disneyland opened on July 17, 1955, so I really don't have a memory of watching the TV special - though I am told that we did. But I do remember watching the Disney Sunday night TV shows through all of it's name and network changes and clearly remember that my favorites were those which featured Disneyland. It seemed all so wonderful - but living in NYC it also seemed all so far away. A place I would never get to. Flying to go on vacation was not yet common. So for now I would enjoy Disneyland through the magic of black and white TV.

Then came a series of shows on The Wonderful World of Color describing some new attractions that WED Enterprises (today known as Walt Disney Imagineering) was developing. These shows weren't going to Disneyland - at least not directly - but would be featured at the New York World's Fair of 1964/1965! Right in my "back yard!" I would get to experience Disneyland style attractions for myself! And in April of 1964 I did just that during the first of many visits over the next 2 years.

We saw the Ford exhibit with its history of man - though what we most remember of that were the dinosaurs. We drove past the cavemen and the dinosaurs which we had seen on Sunday night as Walt showed off his World's Fair shows. We sat and listened to Lincoln give a speech and we paid our 10 cents to take a boat ride while being serenaded by the children of the world. However, the one attraction which stood out for me was General Electric's Progressland! Imagine ... the line for this was consistently 3 hours or more! Remember, no one had seen human audioanimatronics before the fair ... and this show had lots of them ... and a theater that revolved around the stage.

After two years the fair was over and I thought that was it for Disney attractions for me. Then in the summer of 1968 my parents (teachers with 10 weeks of summer vacation just like us kids) announced that we would be driving cross country from NY to California and would be visiting Disneyland. (And a lot of other places ... but ... DISNEYLAND!!) So in 1968, I actually got to go to The Happiest Place on Earth!

Of course, I once again saw the Disney shows which thrilled me so much at the NY World's Fair. The Ford dinosaurs could now be seen from the Disneyland Railroad ... The Pepsi/UNICEF boatride still serenaded you in It's A Small World ... Lincoln still orated at Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln ... and the theater still revolved around the decades at Carousel of Progress (relocated now to the east coast and which remains a favorite of mine).

We did that again in 1969 - and I got to experience that year's new attraction, which continues to be my all time favorite ... the Haunted Mansion. But still, Disneyland was too far from us for frequent visits. Then we heard rumors that Walt would build a Disneyland on the east coast. Could it be true? It was, and on December 25, 1971, my family and I walked through the gates at Walt Disney World in Central Florida for the first time. (Did you know that until Disney started televising the Christmas Parade that Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were the least crowded days of the year at the Magic Kingdom?) Now we could visit more often and we did.

But in 1978, Walt Disney Studios (as the company was still called) was in deep financial trouble. The movies that were released were lackluster to say the least, and the company was about to come under attack for the purpose of takeover and probably having its parts sold off. (Can you imagine Disneyland being owned by Six Flags for example? Most people don't know, but the original Six Flags park - Six Flags over Texas - was Disney inspired. Following a visit to Disneyland, wealthy real estate developer Angus G. Wynne, Jr. decided that his home state of Texas should have a local park for entertainment.) For the first time Disney reached into its vaults and released a few titles on laserdisc. (When I was able to obtain a laserdisc copy of Disney's Song of the South, I promptly went out and bought a laserdisc player!) Disneyland (along with Walt Disney World) was suffering as well. Not much new was happening in Disneyland with the exception of the Matterhorn bobsleds reopening after a rehab which saw new sights - three abominable snowmen and a glowing ice cave - added. An adult ticket with 11 attractions would cost you $6.75. And, oh yeah, Mickey Mouse celebrated his 50th birthday in 1978. Attendance was down at both parks ... DL and WDW (which only had the Magic Kingdom at this time). Part of the problem, at least as far as the parks were concerned, was that Disney, now led by Walt's son-in-law Ron Miller as company president and Card Walker as CEO, was still blindly continuing most of Walt's policies. One of those policies was to do no advertising for the parks. Walt and Roy didn't think it was necessary, and the powers that be at the Walt Disney Studios were timidly sticking to the old ways. WDW did get some exposure, however, when it was announced that a new park would be built, to be called EPCOT Center ... a permanent world's fair type park.

It would not be the EPCOT that Walt described as his Florida Project. Roy had never bought into that, but when two separate ideas for the new park were put together in what would become Future World and World Showcase, Walt's Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow was revived as the name of the soon to be second gate at Walt Disney World.

But wait ... at the beginning I mentioned that something would happen in 1978 that is still impacting Disney Parks and Resorts. If not the announcement of EPCOT, then what could that be?

On July 26, 1978, my daughter was born! So how does this affect Disney Parks and Resorts? First of all, you have you realize that with parents (yes, my wife fits into this as well) who are huge Disney fans, she and my son would have no choice but to be as well. They started being regular visitors to Walt Disney World at a very young age, and have even made the pilgrimage to the west coast to visit Disneyland.

As she prepared to enter high school, she auditioned for the marching band since she knew that each February they travelled down to WDW to perform. Two years later, my son took the same path. During the trip in her senior year I overheard her telling a friend that after college she would work in Disney World. That same trip she ran into a former band member who was working in EPCOT on the College Program. In her senior year in college she interviewed for and was accepted to the Walt Disney World College Program (WDWCP) and would take part the autumn after graduation. Unlike her brother who did the College Program two years earlier (he worked in the Haunted Mansion), she planned on staying on at WDW. That was 15 years ago. After working at Conservation Station in Animal Kingdom, and then at the front desk at Caribbean Beach Resort (with brief stops at All Star Sports and Grand Floridian), she has spent most of her Disney career in the IT Department where she is now. If you have ever been checking in at a Disney Resort and the front desk agent had a problem with the check-in computer system and called for help ... there is a good chance that your check in was facilitated by her.

Then in August 2011, she got married in a Disney Fairytale Wedding. (You know how many dads will tell you that their son-in-law is goofy? Well, I have the pictures to prove it.) (At least he was a while ago, he has since moved on.)

The family tradition continues and my son's twin 5 and a half year old boys (that half year is still important!) have been to WDW four times already (and while they don't yet know it - are returning in less than 2 months), and my daughter is about to have her own Disney Princess this summer ... and no doubt that WDW will be her playground.

So there you have it ... why 1978 was crucial to Disney Parks and Resorts ... at least in my humble opinion.

For more entries in 60 Days to 60 Years of Disneyland, click on the links below.

An InLinkz Link-up

Sixty Years!

On July 17, 1955, Walt Disney officially opened his "small park" to the world, forever changing the amusement park industry - not to mention the way so many of us take vacations.

This summer will mark the 60th Anniversary of the opening of that magical place ... and the celebrations that go along with it.

The DISTherapy blog - as it has done in the past for notable Disney anniversaries - is hosting "60 Days to 60 Years of Disneyland". As I have done in the past, I will be one of the 60 bloggers to be taking part.

I hope you will follow along as it moves through the years. Click on the links below to follow along.

See ya real soon!

An InLinkz Link-up

The Ultimate in Dining When at The World

As anyone who has spent time researching and making reservations at Walt Disney World knows, the ultimate dining experience on property is at the 5 Diamond (AAA rating) Victoria and Albert's in the Grand Floridian. 

For many years, I have been contemplating an evening here, but always have deferred it. This year, I had decided that my wife would have an early birthday dinner at V & A's before we made the trip back north for the warmer months.

Victoria and Albert's is located in the Grand Floridian resort, and is the only eating establishment which requires that you get a bit dressed up. Jackets, dress shirt/pants/shoes (ties optional) for the men, and a dress, skirt or dressy pants outfit for the women. You must be 10 years old or over to dine here, but then it's the rare child who would enjoy this evening of dining. (Not to say there aren't those who would.) There are only about a dozen tables in this small, romantically lit room, though the tables have enough light so that you don't have any difficulty seeing the menu or your meal. 

About a week before our planned evening, I spoke with a V & A cast member and detailed my wife and my culinary preferences as well as informing her that we would be celebrating my wife's birthday. 

The day arrived, and we drove the 90 minutes from our house to the Wilderness Lodge, where we would spend two nights following our night out. We met our daughter for a light lunch at Whispering Canyon (didn't want to ruin dinner - still hours away) and then up to our room to relax and later get ready to go out.

A little after 5:00 PM we got into our car for the very short drive to the Grand Floridian, where we would take advantage of the (included) valet parking. Up to the second floor we head for our check-in at Victoria and Albert's.

At the check-in podium, my wife was wished a Happy Birthday and we were shown to our table. My wife pocketbook was hung on a hook like device that rested on the table-top, keeping it out of the way - and off of the floor. Had I brought my camera (sorry, I wanted a camera-free evening so I could enjoy the experience without taking photos, no matter how out of character that actually was for me), they would have brought a small stool to place it on.

Our two (male) waiters introduced themselves and presented us with our menus. My wife's and mine were almost identical, except for the fact that - since I indicated my preference for no fish - where my second course included a King Crab selection, my wife's was King Crab and Salmon. She also had a Turbot selection on her menu. Other than that, there was no difference.

Since I am not a wine drinker, and it would have been too much wine for my wife, we opted simply to have sparkling house water with our dinners.

Our lead waiter then went over every item on the menu with us, and left us to decide what we wanted. Yes, you order all 7 courses right at the beginning. 

Unlike some (most?) highly rated restaurants, the staff does not look down their noses at anyone, but in true Disney fashion, manage to make you feel comfortable and completely at ease.

I ordered;

Colorado Bison
Alaskan King Crab
Berkshire Pork
Veal with Black Truffles
White Chocolate Gelato
Caramelized Banana Gâteau
Coffee (of course)

While my wife ordered;

Colorado Bison
Alaskan King Crab and Salmon
Quail
Roasted Duck
The Cheese Plate
Caramelized Banana Gâteau
Coffee (of course)

The meal starts off with an Amuse-Bucher - something special the chef prepares to "amuse your mouth." This evening it was shrimp with various Japanese sauces, served with pickled mushroom. Needless to say, it whet our appetite for things to come.

I should also mention the amazing breads with paired butters that was served between courses. Yumm!!!!

I have to, at this point, make the mandatory comment about the coffee. It is prepared at your table in a device that was invented in the mid 1800's. It works on a vacuum and gravity principle and takes about 6 or 7 minutes to brew. They have it timed perfectly, and when your desert course is served, the coffee is ready, and it is the most wonderful tasting coffee. Even those who don't enjoy coffee have enjoyed this. As I had my third cup (!) there was no cream left in the creamer, but rather than ask for more, I simply drank it black - something I never do - and I realized just how good the coffee was when I enjoyed it as much (or more) like that.

After close to 3 hours, when the meal was drawing to a close, a plate of small candies was brought for us, followed by a rose for my wife (a long stemmed, thornless rose is presented to each woman dining at V & A's), as well as a date nut bread to take home along with our personalized menus.

Remember I said that valet parking was part of the evening? As we were leaving, our server asked if we wanted to walk around the Grand Floridian - listen to the music - enjoy the grounds, or if we would like him to see to it that our car was ready and waiting for us when we got to the valet stand. We chose the latter, and it was ready and waiting for us as promised.

An evening at Victoria and Albert's is not only about the food - which is superb - but an entire experience. I am planning on celebrating my birthday there ... hint! hint! hint!

October Trip Report - Day 2

October 14, 2014

Day two sees us at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

As usual, we have breakfast in our room - having purchased food from the Pop Century food court. An early start is not on the schedule, as all of our Fast Passes have been scheduled after noon. In fact, as it turns out, we will only use two of our three today.

A bus arrives just as we get to the bus stop and soon we are off on our way to the Studios.

When we arrive, my wife used to spend a few moments in Sid Cuheunga's shop, but that is no longer the movie memorabilia store it used to be, so we walk towards her second favorite place to browse, the pin station under the (soon to be leaving) Sorcerer's Hat.

When she is finished there, we decide - after seeing how long the line is at The Great Movie Ride - that we will come back later when the line is shorter. Our destination now is the Animation Building to attend a class at the Animation Academy.

We head to the Animation Academy through the gift shop and pass through the gallery. I always love admiring the Oscars that have been earned by Disney Animation. Sadly, so many of these award winning cartoons have largely been forgotten by the general public.

We get on line for the next class, but when we realize that will will actually get in, but will be the last two admitted, we actually pass our turn to the next two in the queue, as we prefer to have a desk with a lighted surface rather than lap pads. So we wait the additional half hour - no need to rush for us any more.

It's always fun to draw a character for the first time, and after much indecision by the gathered animation students ... we settle on Carl from Up.

Once our class is completed, it is lunch time. As usual, we haven't made any reservations, so we decide to see if Sci-Fi Dine In is taking walk-ups. The park is unusually crowded today, which we had not expected since the long Columbus Day weekend was now behind us, and as we approach Sci-Fi, there is a large crowd still waiting to be seated. I feel our chances are small, but as we have almost always been accommodated for walk-ups (I can only remember one time when we couldn't be) I give it a shot. I tell the CM that we would be perfectly fine if we had to sit at a table in the back rather than a car if that helps. Surprisingly we are told that we can be accommodated and that it should be about 20 minutes. That works for us, and in only 10 minutes, our beeper goes off and we are on our way to lunch ... in a car.

Our first Fast Pass will be for Star Tours, but when lunch is finished, it is still too early. Since we are right in the area, we hang out a bit at Buy The Book, waiting until our Fast Pass window opens. While we are in the store, the skies open up with a very heavy downpour. This was not unexpected, today was supposed to be a rainy day, and we wait it out.

When it finally stops, we approach the Fast Pass entrance to Star Tours, and find an extremely long line that goes almost all the way to Indiana Jones Stunt Show. It's still raining a bit, so we decide to skip this attraction for today, and go instead to get on line for Muppets 3-D. There is a line here as well, but this attraction holds a large amount of people, and the outdoor part of the queue is under cover so we get on line.

After Muppets 3-D (and a trip through the Muppets store), we walk back by the Frozen Sing Along theater and our timing is good, so we get on the stand-by queue and soon are in the theater. Whenever my grandsons are in my car, they ask me to play Frozen while they sing along. They know all the words (and sound effects) and I can't help but think how much they would enjoy this.

After the Frozen Sing Along, we continue on to our next Fast Pass which is Toy Story: Midway Mania. Always a fun ride, and as usual, the stand-by line is over 2 hours.

Our next Fast Pass is for The Voyage of the Little Mermaid but we still have some time and the line at The Great Movie Ride is much shorter, so that is our next attraction. When we get out it is almost time for The Little Mermaid, so we walk over there and at the appropriate time, enter.

When we get out, the skies are threatening again - so far we have managed to be inside every time the rains came - so we decide to call it a night and head back to Pop Century. Once back, we have dinner at the food court and then while we are going back to the room, once again the skies open up, but this time we get caught and get soaked. While managing to keep dry all day, we lose the battle as we head back to the room. Okay, I can live with that.

Tomorrow - Animal Kingdom.