Vacation Observations
Jan. 14th, 2014 08:40 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ladyspriteSo I could try to write up a day-by-day description of our vacation, but that never works. I always get distracted and stop writing about halfway through; besides, I'm pretty sure no one else cares in that much detail about exactly what we did when and what we had for dinner and when the sun was shining. But I did write down a bunch of random observations and details that I wanted to note here for posterity's sake. And as for an overall description, we spent most of our time reading, lying around, and soaking up warmth. As for those observations...
-The ship we were on was huge. The Disney Fantasy is, I think, the biggest ship out there right now. Meaning that it could hold the entire undergraduate population of my college, some 4,000 people, not counting staff. This means there were more kids than I expected, but also that there was enough space for everyone to spread out into.
-We totally had a beverage ninja. Our assistant waiter was from Thailand, and said that since most folks couldn't pronounce his name right, he preferred to be called Ninja. And he was. Seriously, I'd look away for half a heartbeat and turn back to find a new glass of soda or mug of tea had just randomly appeared.
-So the new, supersized Disney ships have a place called the Rainforest Spa, and this is where I want to go when I die. It's a private, limited-access adults-only spa with aromatherapy showers, multiple different saunas, heated lounge chairs, and two-person hot tubs on their own open-air deck. I think I spent at least an hour a day there, sometimes more.
-The staff there are actually happy, not just smiley. When![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
umbran went into one of the shops on Formal Night in his suit with his hidden-Mickeys tie, the whole staff wound up coming over to check it out, gush about how they'd never seen that particular pattern before, and speculate on who the artist was.
-No, seriously, they're all actually happy. At one point I wound up going into the ladies' room on the (crowded, hectic) pool deck and found it empty except for a janitor, who was cheerfully singing along to the background (Disney) music as she mopped and cleaned.
-Watching the sun set over the ocean is amazing. Watching fireworks over the ocean is equally amazing.
-For a while now, Disney has been offering "Princess Makeovers" for little girls and "Pirate Makeovers" for little boys. They are now offering Pirate Makeovers for girls as well, and for boys who want to be pretty, they're doing fairy-tale prince makeovers. Complete with all the glitter and hair-primping the girls get, plus fancy doublets.
-"Bear Necessities" and "Hakuna Matata" are essentially the same song. Also, "A Whole New World" and "Love Shack" are the same song.
-On a less positive note, "Baby Mine" is the electro-jac of tear-jerkers. It lacks subtlety and finesse, exists only to serve one purpose, and does so with brutal efficiency.
-Disney may have an aggressive emphasis on family, but they also kinda understand that not all families look the same. And they take just as good care of the adults-without-kids in their care as they do the families with children.
Ultimately? I've been told that for my (physical and mental) health I need to spend a week each winter somewhere warm and sunny, and I know that it's true. And after this year, while I won't be hopping on this ship every year, I'll sure as hell be there again....
-The ship we were on was huge. The Disney Fantasy is, I think, the biggest ship out there right now. Meaning that it could hold the entire undergraduate population of my college, some 4,000 people, not counting staff. This means there were more kids than I expected, but also that there was enough space for everyone to spread out into.
-We totally had a beverage ninja. Our assistant waiter was from Thailand, and said that since most folks couldn't pronounce his name right, he preferred to be called Ninja. And he was. Seriously, I'd look away for half a heartbeat and turn back to find a new glass of soda or mug of tea had just randomly appeared.
-So the new, supersized Disney ships have a place called the Rainforest Spa, and this is where I want to go when I die. It's a private, limited-access adults-only spa with aromatherapy showers, multiple different saunas, heated lounge chairs, and two-person hot tubs on their own open-air deck. I think I spent at least an hour a day there, sometimes more.
-The staff there are actually happy, not just smiley. When
umbran went into one of the shops on Formal Night in his suit with his hidden-Mickeys tie, the whole staff wound up coming over to check it out, gush about how they'd never seen that particular pattern before, and speculate on who the artist was.-No, seriously, they're all actually happy. At one point I wound up going into the ladies' room on the (crowded, hectic) pool deck and found it empty except for a janitor, who was cheerfully singing along to the background (Disney) music as she mopped and cleaned.
-Watching the sun set over the ocean is amazing. Watching fireworks over the ocean is equally amazing.
-For a while now, Disney has been offering "Princess Makeovers" for little girls and "Pirate Makeovers" for little boys. They are now offering Pirate Makeovers for girls as well, and for boys who want to be pretty, they're doing fairy-tale prince makeovers. Complete with all the glitter and hair-primping the girls get, plus fancy doublets.
-"Bear Necessities" and "Hakuna Matata" are essentially the same song. Also, "A Whole New World" and "Love Shack" are the same song.
-On a less positive note, "Baby Mine" is the electro-jac of tear-jerkers. It lacks subtlety and finesse, exists only to serve one purpose, and does so with brutal efficiency.
-Disney may have an aggressive emphasis on family, but they also kinda understand that not all families look the same. And they take just as good care of the adults-without-kids in their care as they do the families with children.
Ultimately? I've been told that for my (physical and mental) health I need to spend a week each winter somewhere warm and sunny, and I know that it's true. And after this year, while I won't be hopping on this ship every year, I'll sure as hell be there again....
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no subject
Date: 2014-01-14 02:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-14 03:18 pm (UTC)In a random bit of coincidence, Katy and I took a tour of the builder for the Fantasy. You, dear, have been touring on a current example of German manufacturing efficiency... :) :) :)
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Date: 2014-01-14 05:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-14 07:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-14 09:41 pm (UTC)