Remember the Magic (Sea Day) Friday July 27

Can you remember
Back to a Simplier Time
Back to the watercolor days
That still run through your mind

Oh, I remember
just my old friend and me
Running' through an open field
The way it used to be

The feeling that our hears could just take wings
We could live out all our dreams
The journey there was never far away

But like a dream come true
That's still inside of you
The secret of tomorrow is to live your dreams today

Remember the night
Remember the feeling
Remember the magic in our lives

Well.....what can I say. Another cruise is coming to an end and there is not any song that better describes the feeling when I hear this song played in the Walt Disney Theatre and pictures from your cruise are flashing through your mind. Always trying to end it on an emotional note!

I can't believe 10 nights have gone by already. It is 11:30 p.m. and we have just finished in the Pub watching the famous skit "If I Were Not Upon the Seas". (I actually did type this that night, but then it didn't post, so now I am retyping from my notes!)

To kind of recap Thursday night, and then our Friday sea day, here is what has been going on:

Thursday night we have the Welcome to Our Family Celebration during the Pirates of the Caribbean Dinner. We were in Animator's Palatte. We dressed in pirates costumes and had a great time. We hurried to the deck for the pirate party. The show was running late. Have no idea why. Fireworks did not happen until 10:55 p.m. (about 25 minutes late). It is really hard with younger children staying out that late. Half the little ones were asleep in their dad's arms.

After the fireworks, they had the buffet on deck. Robert was looking forward to a turkey drumstick (not like we had just eaten), but was quite disappointed that they were not the "traditional" ones served back in the U.S., but a smaller version with bbq sauce. He said they weren't as good. Guess they couldn't get them in the Med (along with the Krispy Kreme doughnuts and the Fruit Loops).

Then we headed off to the stateroom to do some packing. Jamie headed to the theatre for Pirates: At World's End. She rolled in about 2:50 a.m.

We slept in until 10 a.m. then headed to pajama bingo today at 10:30 then to our character breakfast at 11:10. I like the old format of the character breakfast better than this one. I liked the characters coming around the tables.

By then it was noon, so we headed to the store to buy all our merchandise and to get Captain Tom to sign a couple of things. There was NO LINE (unlike our other Disney Cruises!) After that we headed to Shutters to buy our pictures.

At 2:30 we headed off for our Galley Tour. Tom and T'Leene had never been, so we had got tickets for the four of us. Can't remember if I mentioned it or note before, but there are over 1,500 Castaway Club members on board. Next cruise will have the most (if not the highest ever) at over 1,700. Don't know if I mentioned before, but there are over 1,300 kids on this cruise and over 700 DVC members. (You can really tell the difference between the 300 kids that usually sail when we are on the special itineraries and when school is in, to this cruise.) I definitely like a lot less kids. Some parents just let their kids run wild, and when you have to tell kids to quit kicking a soccer ball into the walls at deck 6 midship, you wonder where their parents are. The teenage boys like to sit behind midship elevators at deck 6 because they can see up the short skirts of girls (I think) on dress up night. One guy told me the teenagers were taking off their swimsuits in the hottub at Goofy's pool. If Robert had been around, he would have just plopped himself right in the middle and forced them to leave because they would have been uncomfortable. I am so thankful that Jamie isn't in to all that attention getting stuff. Since Rome, she has been fully engrossed in her Harry Potter book during her spare time. Hasn't even gone to The Stack.

Shortly after our galley tour, Robert got a phone call from one of the ship's engineers he met the other day and he invited Robert for a private tour of the engine room. Robert headed by Tom's cabin, picked him up and off they headed for their tour. They really enjoyed going into the engine room and seeing the workings of the ship.

By the time Robert got back, it was time to head to Studio Sea to watch Jamie perform for the talent show.

The, it was time for "Til We Meet Again" dinner. We got chocolate souffles for dessert from our dining room manager. Alen came by to say farewell if we didn't see him in the morning.

After dinner, we headed to the pub and enjoyed the final evening with the cruise staff.

Robert is now in the hot tub, I am in Cove Cafe.

So basically, we are ready to get kicked off the ship. Our breakfast is the latest breakfast in the morning, so we get to sleep in. We eat at 8:15 a.m. and then they will be kicking us off the ship. Next time we see the Magic, she will be back home in Port Canaveral.

Have loved this cruise. Missed all our cruise buddies. Enjoyed meeting new friends. The time went too fast.

Saturday morning we will be getting a rental car and driving to Madrid Spain and then we are doing a segway tour and spending the evening in Madrid before heading to New York Sunday morning for our mini-meet with Georgie and Joe and to attend the Final Bow for Beauty and the Beast on Broadway, which Robert and Jamie have no idea we are doing. They think we are going home Sunday.

Okay, that about does it.

Sea U Later!

Linda