Week of Wonder

We may be on the verge of outgrowing the Disney Junior breakfast, but I'm going to keep getting tickets as long as the kids are willing to go. It's nice to have at least one or two sit-down breakfasts instead of just doing the buffet. Evie is still really into Sofia the First. 

No one really watches Jake and the Neverland Pirates, but they're still glad to see him. 

Of course, Mickey is the real reason to book this breakfast! He is too popular around the ship to be worth standing in line for pictures throughout the week. 

Since the girls didn't ask for any expensive excursions this time around, Ben splurged on the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. Kara wore her Mulan dress, and got the crown package. She got the up-do, a crown, manicure, and makeup. She did not want to wear the sash, but I insisted she at least wear it back to the room. Her appointment was earlier than the other girls, so it was kind of fun being there with her, and watching her relax and enjoy herself without having to act too cool for everything. 

Disney magic! She had a lot of compliments on her dress. I don't think Mulan is one that the crew see all that often. 

Evie and Kiersten were very anxious to get up there for some pampering themselves. 

Evie got the frozen package. She got to pick either an Elsa or Anna dress. She went with Anna since she already has a fancy Elsa gown. She loved getting hair extensions and she also got a stuffed Olaf. She felt like the luckiest princess in the world. She also got her nails painted and makeup. 

I didn't know if Kiersten would like getting the mermaid package because she didn't get a dress or makeup. But she insisted that was what she wanted to do. She got to pick a blue or pink mermaid bathing suit with tail swim cover. She went with pink, since she used to have the blue version when she was smaller. She also got her hair done and colorful sunscreen. Her fairy Godmother swiped all the colors on her cheek and called it warpaint, so she didn't want to rub it in. She wanted to keep it on as long as it would last. She also got a hair clip, bracelet, and necklace that change color in the sun. She wore the bathing suit around most of the day like an outfit, she liked it so well. 

Bibbidi. Bobbidi. Boo!

The smell of the gingerbread house was so wonderful as soon as we stepped on the ship. 

Did I lick this pole? Just a camera trick? I'll never tell. 

Lunch by the pool. Kiersten and I ate our share of cheeseburgers. 

Disney name that tune winners! It was fun to have more mickey head medals to add to our collection. We won something else too, but I can't remember what it was. Maybe trivia?

My fancy princess. She added her crown she brought from home to feel even more royal.

Mixology, always a fun time, and Ben always makes best friends with the bartender. 

Evie refused to change out of her Anna dress for formal night, so we decided it was formal enough. Everyone's hair was trashed from the pool, but fun is more important than fancy. 

The second I went to take a picture the sun was hurting everyone's eyes. I put the camera away, and they all just went back to eating breakfast, sheesh!

We saw Thor: Ragnarok, Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Coco, Cars 3, and live action Beauty and the Beast  in the theater. I think I actually stayed awake through all of them miraculously. 

The Christmas show was the same as last time, and the kids loved it again. 

Who's behind those snowflakes???

Santa! Good thing he has nothing better to do at the end of November than be on a Disney cruise.

Mrs. Claus came along too. Can you blame her?

I love that after the shows the characters all come out to mingle and dance with the kids. It's much more enjoyable than waiting in line for a picture and being hurried along. 

Anna and Elsa made a brief appearance to bring snow to the atrium. We had a much better view of them this time. 

Santa was also mingling in the crowd. 

Kiersten was more interested in talking to Mrs. Claus. She asked if Santa ever delivers animals. She said sometimes he does find stray animals to give to deserving children to take care of. 

Kara was very determined to help Evie break through the crowd to get to Santa. They never wanted to wait in line to sit on his lap and talk to him.

Donald and Daisy are always dancing and having a grand time. 

I love this new light fixture that replaced the old chandelier. 

We did Christmas crafts with Kiersten and Evie while Kara was in the "Edge" with the other tweens. 

We made all the girls go to family karaoke. It was fun. I sang Bon Jovi and Ben sang Rolling Stones. 

We had gingerbread house making on the last day at sea. 

The gingerbread was not fresh baked like when we were on the wonder for Christmas day. It was still baked by the chef, but was not fresh, so not as soft and tasty. The girls had no problem eating it anyway. 

Santa showed up to make sure everyone did a good job on the houses. Evie thought that was pretty darn hilarious. He insisted we make icing snowmen along the side. 

A house to be proud of. 

The gang also made an appearance after a Christmas story reading with Mrs. Claus one morning. That was extra fun because it was a rather small group of people gathered. 

Free cookies was a main attraction. Kara was off in the Edge, again. 

Plenty of attention from all the characters. 

While I was off getting a pedicure, Ben took Kiersten and Evie to a holiday deck show. It looks like they got to dance with Stitch up on stage!

All week, the whole crew wouldn't shut up about the beignets at Tiana's Place. I finally tried them out on our last night, and they were okay. Not bad, but not as buzzworthy as I thought they'd be. 

Ben wanted a picture of his ice cream sundae. He said it was as big as his head. It was not. 

Evie was the only one that wanted to go to the live Frozen show. It was amazing. I couldn't even explain it to the others, but totally worth seeing if you are ever on the Wonder. Puppets and lighting, and magic! We both agreed Hans was very handsome. 

The girls sang a lot of karaoke together. Kara was great about it, which made me happy. Sometimes she is not too cooperative with doing fun stuff with her sisters. I think this was when they sang "Kiss the Girl". 

One of Kara's friends from the Edge was struggling and kinda tanking, so Kara went up and sang with her. It was very sweet to see her do a nice thing for her friend, and this girl was very happy. She wanted Kara to sing with her over and over again after that. They sang a song from Hercules that Megara sings. I don't know what it's called.