Hello Panda Festival

December 5, 2019

Hello Panda Festival is a winter lantern festival held in Queens, NY in the Citi Field parking lot. There are currently three different light festivals going on right now for the winter season (Lumino City on Randall’s Island and NYC Winter Lantern Festival on Staten Island).

Hello Panda was the easiest to access, honestly, being right in Queens, easy to get to and on-site parking adjacent to the event. I haven’t been to the other two festivals but when I researched them both, there were a lot of cons with their parking issues and extra fees and having to walk a substantial distance before even entering the event. With Hello Panda, I drove to the Citi Field parking lot, parked up front, and walked over to the ticket booth to check-in and then walked right through the gates to the display entrance right next to it. If you’re not driving, it’s also easily accessible via the 7 train. It’s literally right outside the Mets-Willets Point stop. Easy peazy. Which was a blessing because it’s winter and well, it’s brick out. Let’s be real, it’s no secret I hate the cold, it DOES bother me anyway, but I braved it tonight for the gram. BUT! I can attest that Hello Panda is pretty awesome in the fact that they take this into consideration that duh, their festival is in the winter and provide giant heated igloo tents for guests to come in, rest their feet between walking through displays, grab a bite to eat, watch performances and warm up before heading back out. They have food vendors on site for dumplings, baos, shrimp, donuts and burritos. I attended the press event so there was a limited amount of vendors this night but the event officially opens to the public tomorrow so I suppose there will be more vendors and a marketplace for you to shop and buy gifts and unique souvenirs from all over the world. There were live performances with a DJ, violinist and a drumline for tonight’s festivities to open up the event. I was also able to try a little bit of everything and all the food was hot, fresh and delicious.

But let’s get to the main attraction! The actual lanterns and lights! From the entrance, it didn’t look like a lot. But upon entering, I found that everything is really well spaced out and it’s bigger than it looks and it goes farther back. There are a LOT of displays and I didn’t even get to capture them all (due to coldness and time constraints). There were ferris wheels and lit up swings that I forgot to make my rounds back to see and gram, unfortunately. But I saw a majority of what the ground had to offer! And there is a lot. There’s plenty of tunnels spaced all around so there’s no need to crowd around any particular one. There are different themed displays so there’s something for everyone. There’s a dinosaur land, a safari zone, underwater theme with mermaids and Nemo and friends, angel wings for the Instagram hoes like me, Christmas displays, a castle channeling that of Sleeping Beauty’s castle, complete with fairy tale figures and horse drawn carriages, giant forest creatures as if you’re living through A Bug’s Life, and of course, pandas! This was my first light festival but I do have to say they had a nice eclectic assortment of displays all around and there was no shortage of wondrous color. This is a festival for the eyes.

I do have to note that I was worried that the photos wouldn’t come out as nice because the festival is at night and night photos are a hit or miss usually. But with this being in the parking lot, there is actually a lot of light available from parking lot lights all around. I would still recommend bringing your own portable selfie/ring light to light up your face/body if you’re there for the gram and want to take photos of yourself keeping the background lit as well as yourself. Otherwise, you run the risk of not showing up in your photos because you’re darker than the lanterns.

Overall, would I recommend this event? Absolutely. Tickets on Groupon are pretty reasonably priced right now at about $19, compared to some garbage pop-ups I’ve attended in the city that charge more and only have 4-5 dinky rooms to photograph, with their displays showing wear and tear and not even providing food or any extra entertainment. I also hate when pop-ups describe their experience as “immersive” when there’s really nothing to it other than taking a photo, not anything interactive, honestly. But at Hello Panda, you can touch some of the exhibits(but not all); there are 20 or so lantern sets you can touch and walk though and 10 of them are interactive for you to play on. There’s a cute light up dance board, swing sets, maze and some of the dinosaurs even move and make sounds. I think there’s also an indoor panda playground that’s going to available for kids, as I saw it getting set up but didn’t have access to view what it looked like inside.

This would be a cute event for a family to explore or even a date night. I do recommend to go on a warmer night if you’re lucky during the winter season so that you’re not freezing for a pic for the gram, but remember, warm weather means more people and crowds so you might have a harder time getting that shot for the gram. So pick your poison.

Tickets are available on their website, as well as updates in case of inclement weather, but I also saw Groupon selling discounted tickets as well. You can check their Instagram from time to time for discount codes. Tickets are also conveniently sold at the door which is nice since a lot of pop-ups and event nowadays do not and only sell tickets online. I also found my own experience communicating with them via email very efficient and responsive, compared to the other light festivals. From emails to even the staff and vendors working tonight, everyone was friendly and welcoming and eager to help you have a fun night! Hello Panda officially opens to the public Dec. 6 in time for the holiday season. If you’re looking for something away from the Rockefeller and Times Square crowds, this is definitely something.

Disney Magic

November 29, 2019

There’s so much we have to talk about! Halloween on the High Seas was the theme of my Disney cruise and it was a interesting new way to celebrate and experience my favorite holiday, birthday and anniversary! Where do we begin? I want to be as thorough as possible with details so I’m going to try and go over whatever I can think of as I sift through my photos.

We chose a cruise leaving out of New York to avoid the inconvenience of having to fly out before boarding our boat. We simply drove to the cruise terminal and parked our car there for the week. The cruise parking structure unfortunately was not immediately adjacent to our cruise, but it wasn’t too far from it either. We walked two blocks over to get to our boat as there was another cruise docked there also departing that same evening. Check-in was very smooth and easy, and we were on board within 30 minutes after going through security, checking our bags and signing in to get our room keys. We didn’t have to wait at all after getting our card even though there was a “boarding area” for you to sit and wait to be called. We just walked on. Not that I have ever had any issues with previous cruises, but I can definitely sense the “Disney” atmosphere and friendly vibe as they made you feel welcome and top priority. I felt like getting on our Disney cruise was faster than any cruise I’ve ever had in the past. They worked fast, efficient and very friendly, making you feel like a VIP.

The crew on board was also very friendly and welcoming upon entering the atrium, and we learned that every family gets formally announced and applauded for joining the sailing. We proceeded to our staterooms first to check out the accomodations.

The Staterooms

Compared to Norwegian and Royal, Disney is very spacious! We got a balcony room but I did get a peek at the interior cabins and those were roomy too. There was plenty of room to move around, and plenty of storage space provided. The closets were spacious and we each got a nice set of drawers to stow away all our clothes for the week. The vanity space is also very nice, with plenty of cabinets, lights and outlets. The outlets were also in working condition and were not loose at all when plugging all our electronics in.

We had a queen size bed and a couch which also converts to bunk beds that drop down from the ceiling at night. My hubby wanted to see this feature but since it was just the two of us, I didn’t want to bother housekeeping and make her take it down just for us to see it. In retrospect, I probably should have for research and photo purposes. There was a lamp on each side of our bed which I noticed had lampshades with a map on it. The maps were so cute, with a Mickey in place of almost each country that had a park in the world: Florida, California, Tokyo and Hong Kong. Shanghai is not depicted since its the latest and newest park and the Disney Magic’s inauguration was long before Shanghai was built.

I noticed the bathrooms were divided into two rooms. One for the toilet and one for the shower/bath. Both had its own sink. I thought this was pretty convenient, especially since this is a family oriented cruise. It saves you time waiting for someone else to be done with the bathroom if all you need is to brush your teeth or whatever. In previous cruises I’ve sailed, the bathroom was all one room. It’s a small detail but I thought this was definitely a notable detail. And also that it wasn’t just a shower! The bathtub provided is a decent size too. And omg, I am a weirdo but I always notice the water pressure wherever I go and Disney did not disappoint. Usually in my experience with cruises, the water pressure when showering is pretty low because let’s face it, you’re on a boat and sharing water with 93721 other people so you can’t expect much but Disney has it on full blast at all times of day. I would probably rebook Disney based off of water pressure alone. It’s a great thing to have after a long hot day in the Bahamas and all you want is a nice shower to feel fully clean.

Inside the closet, there is a safe for you to stow away your valuables and laundry bags provided in case you should need anything laundered. But if you want to do your laundry yourself because families do tend to pile up quicker and of course that gets to be expensive, there are laundry rooms provided on 3 different floors of the ship, which also provides an ironing board, should you need to iron out anything you bring along for formal night or whatever. I found this convenient as I dewrinkled several of my dresses I brought along that were creased in my luggage.

Oh yes, walking around the ship, I noticed a lot of doors were decorated. I’ve seen this on previous cruises before but Disney lovers definitely do it up! I was not prepared for this and didn’t think it was a big deal if I didn’t dress up my door but I guess for next trip, I know better. I DID know about it reading up on Disney cruises before this trip but I didn’t take it seriously enough. For those who want to be more prepared, there are Disney groups on Facebook and such you can join where you can find out who’s sailing on your date/cruise and join in a “Fish Extender” gift exchange. You simply decorate your door, place a hanging fabric mailbox outside your door on the ‘fish’ outside your stateroom that designates your room number and sit back and watch the exchanging begin. You also are expected to buy little gifts for the other guests on board participating in the exchange with you. This exchange isn’t Disney sponsored or anything, but organized and run solely by passengers.

I did also notice that compared to other ships I’ve been on, the Disney Magic is quite small in size. At first I was a little disappointed as I was used to grander ships, but towards the end of the cruise, the smaller size grew on me and I realized I actually prefer smaller cruises. Why? The quality and service. A bigger cruise might look grander and more impressive but in the end, with a smaller attendance, you can pay more attention to detail and to your guests. Everything was always clean and well maintained or rotated out.

I also didn’t have to climb too too many stairs since it had less floors than a grander ship. The Disney Magic had ample elevators all around the ship, but the elevators were smaller in size for some reason compared to Royal and Norwegian. I thought this was funny because the size of the other guests were…for lack of a better term, very Wall-E sized if you ever saw the movie. If you’ve ever been to any of the Disney parks, you know what I’m talking about. I’m not trying to be mean, I just think that Disney should have bigger sized elevators considering the range of sizes of its clientele. Most elevators on the ship would fit no more than 4-6 people, and that’s if you’re squeezing, not standing comfortably. There were also a lot of guests in scooters which meant they could be the only one in the elevator. So I opted to take the stairs as often as possible to free up elevators for those that needed it, as well as use it as an excuse to get my steps in and walk off my Mickey waffles. I didn’t find it challenging at all when I had to navigate from one area of the ship to the other. I got to wherever I needed to go pretty quickly and in decent time. Because it is a smaller ship, there is obviously smaller attendance and it didn’t take as long when debarking and re-embarking the ship for port stops/excursions. I didn’t have to wait on a long line at any point on the cruise. There was always plenty of room to walk and plenty of lounge chairs if you wanted to sit by the pool. No one area ever felt too crowded.

Activities/Entertainment/Shows

Disney Theaters

The Disney Magic has 2 theaters on board; The Walt Disney Theater and The Buena Vista Theater. The Walt Disney Theater hosted both movies and live shows, while the Buena Vista Theater showed recent movies rotating throughout the week. Maleficent 2 had just been released a few days before my sailing so I thought it was pretty awesome they were showing such a recent release so soon on the cruise complimentary but hey, it’s Disney. You’re in the best hands here. The Walt Disney Theater had different live shows every night and each show plays twice since there are two different times for dinner seatings so you can conveniently catch it before or after your dinner slot. The live shows are really cute to watch, as a few of them were a medley of Disney stories, one was Tangled, and one was the Nightmare Before Christmas sing-along with Jack and Sally surprising the audience with an appearance at the end, and then staying around for photos.

Character Photos

Speaking of photos, the amount of character appearances for photos are amazing on the cruise. The wait times were never more than 15-20 minutes at a time and from 9 in the morning till 8-9 at night, there was always a character nearly every half hour to meet. I believe you have to sign up to meet certain characters like the princesses but this is easily attainable by simply going to the front desk on the first day of the cruise. But all other characters, you simply just had to show up during their time slot. As long as you were in line, you were guaranteed to meet them. They close lines off 15 minutes after each slot to prepare for the next character. The rotation was very efficient and worked well. I’ve never been able to see so many characters so quickly with such little wait, unless it was a character dining experience. But it’s a Disney cruise! You get what you pay for and the sticker price of this cruise alone warranted unlimited character experiences. They also have a great variety of characters and costumes every day of the cruise so they’re not like the regular characters you already see in the parks. They have their cruise outfits on or their Halloween costumes on depending on the night you see them. Captain Jack Sparrow even shows up on pirate night! Some characters I saw available were Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Chip & Dale, Daisy, Donald, Stitch, Cinderella, Tiana, Rapunzel, Captain Hook & Smee, Jack & Sally, Captain Jack Sparrow, Captain Marvel, and Captain America (a lot of captains with this sea theme, I see what you did there, Disney). You can catch Mickey in various costumes as well if you’re trying to see him in every costume. He has an island vacation Mickey look, a captain look, a pirate look, Sorcerer Mickey look and a Halloween look. This gives you ample opportunity and chances all throughout the cruise to not only meet your favorite character but in different outfits if you want to match them and coordinate your outfits so pack accordingly.

Themed Nights

There are also a few different themed nights on the cruise. There’s formal night, pirate night and Halloween night. You bet your bottom dollar I coordinated outfits for each and every day/night on the cruise.

Formal night, you can find all the characters in their formal wear during dinner hours with ample photography opportunities and professional sessions for the family. You can sign up in advance or wait on line with everyone else but lines moved fairly quick. Every cruise I’ve been on, regardless of Disney always holds one formal night which is a really cute and fun excuse to dress up, but is also optional for those who don’t care for it much, like my husband. You can dress to the nines or just go cruise casual if that’s more your boat.

Pirate night was also a lot of fun. They provide each guest with a cute Mickey bandana if you didn’t bring anything to dress up, but there is also some merch to buy in the shops on board if you want to get decked out. I decided to dress up as Tinkerbell that night, which ended up being a big hit since no one else really thought to dress as her. I would have thought it was the easiest answer since Hook and Smee but everyone I met said it slipped their minds when they thought of pirates. I’m the only weirdo who remembers this detail and her association with pirates. After dinner, on the top deck, they hold a pirate dance party, with Mickey ziplining across the boat before surprising us with a firework show! I was so entranced. I never thought about fireworks on a cruise, haha. And right after, they hold a nice food party back in the buffet area with tons of food. There were even turkey legs available during this time which I thought was pretty awesome. I believe the pirate themed nights are available on Disney cruises sailing to the Caribbean.

Halloween night was similar to trick or treating at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, but a condensed version on the ship. They hold a dance party in the atrium for everyone at two different intervals (due to accommodate the two different dinner seatings) where the entire ship is invited to come out in their Halloween wear and trick or treat and meet all their favorite characters in Halloween costume! I didn’t notice til the end that the bag they give you to trick or treat is slightly different from the park one, with Halloween on the High Seas detailed on it instead of MNSSHP. Haha, it’s the little things but I appreciate how they even make the bags exclusive to the sailings. My only qualm with the Halloween night is that it only lasted one night. I understand the actual Halloween holiday is one night, but to make the cruise Halloween themed, I expected a little more activity wise than just one night. The opportunity was definitely there being a 7 day cruise. Maybe I’m just a weirdo who can’t get enough of Halloween, lol. The one thing that was nice was that they did not hold their Halloween night on actual Halloween day, which happened to be the day we were docked at Port Canaveral and in the parks for Halloween. This meant that you would not have to miss the cruise’s Halloween celebration if you were celebrating Halloween in the parks.

Kids Clubs / Kid Services / Babysitting
I found there were a few different venues for kids on board, based on age. They had everything from nurseries to teen clubs. I found the toddler aged club to be the cutest and most instagrammable with Andy’s room and the Marvel lounge.They held an open house on the first night of the cruise which I stumbled upon while exploring the ship, which was great because I probably would have never otherwise saw it since we don’t have kids so I wouldn’t have had access to it any other way. I don’t know much about kids services since I didn’t have a need for it but I can tell you about what I saw. In a nutshell, it’s unlimited babysitting provided by Disney starting at 9am every morning til midnight. A Disney cruise can be as family friendly quality time as you want, or as anti-family as you want if you’re looking for some time off to relax to yourself. For example, I witnessed a child throw a temper tantrum at dinner. Dad picked up his phone, called the Disney babysitting team and they picked up his child and dad walked away sipping his cocktail. It was the funniest thing I saw. A Disney SWAT team. The children are all registered and tracked via special magicbands on the ship. If you want to enjoy a dinner alone with your significant other, child-free, that can be arranged too. Disney will feed your children for you while you enjoy a nice adults-only dinner. If you’re worried about kids not wanting to stay in the kids club, worry not, they don’t seem to ever want to leave anyway from what I saw, but if they want to leave, a Disney member will contact you via the little phones they provide to each stateroom on the ship to let you know your child is ready to picked up. But from what I saw, the cast members have plenty of activities to keep them busy and engaged all day. This is probably why Disney costs so much. The unlimited babysitting so that mom and dad can really enjoy themselves and relax on a real vacation.
Shops
I found a few shops on board the ship. There are shops with Disney merchandise, like a condensed version of the Disney Store in malls, but selling specially-designed exclusive Disney Cruise Line merchandise, costumes and accessories, and even the painter’s brush butter knife from Animator’s Palate. There are also fine jewelry shops, art galleries, as well as the photo gallery where you can view any photos that were taken by Disney photo passes on the ship and a professional photo studio if you’re interested in private sessions instead of the quick ones during dinner time in the atrium.

Dining/Food

My favorite topic! So Disney dining is very interesting.

Generally for breakfast, I learned you can have table service in the restaurant in which you had dinner the night before, or you can head up to Cabanas, the buffet style food court. You can also order breakfast to be delivered to your room, as room service is free and available 24/7. There are breakfast order forms in your vanity desk drawer that just have to be filled out and placed outside your door by 3am. We found Cabanas to our liking so we headed up there every morning for unlimited Mickey waffles. They do a nice breakfast spread as you can get anything from regular breakfast foods like waffles, pancakes, french toast, eggs, sausage, and bacon to congee which I loved, steak, and a grand assortment of pastries, cereal and fresh fruit. Everything is rotated out pretty frequently but if you’re looking for anything in particular, they’ll make it for you fresh on the spot and bring it to where you’re sitting. Cabanas is also open for lunch and switches over to that menu around 11am til around 3pm. Although honestly, I can’t attest to the table service restaurants because I didn’t know about it til later on, but even more quite honestly, I don’t think we ever would have made it because we always strolled into breakfast pretty late. The only days we went in early were Castaway Cay and Disney World days, which we wouldn’t have been able to anyway since those days were quick grab and go days.

There are also 3 quick service stations that are open for lunch hours; Daisy De-lites, Pinocchio’s Pizza and Duck-In Diner. Daisy De-lites serves up fresh salads, soups, fruit and cookies. Pinocchio’s Pizza is self explanatory but I loved that you can order a whole pie for yourself instead of just slices if you want a fresh pie to just bring back to your room for yourself. Duck-In Diner was one of my favorites as they had burgers, chicken, schwarma and fries available at any second. I loved the fixings bar so you could build your burger any way you want.

The soda/drink station is available 24/7 along with room service like I said before, with a pretty nice menu selection of goodies should you not feel like leaving your room.

Dinner, however, is a different topic all it’s own. Where do I begin? On the Disney Magic, there are 4 different restaurants, but 3 main ones that you rotate through. You rotate through Lumiere’s, Rapunzel’s Royal Table and Animator’s Palate. The fourth is Palo, the adults-only restaurant serving Northern Italian cuisine which is an additional charge, requires reservations ahead of time and is also hard to book if you don’t snag them the day your cruise reservations open up (which depends on if you’re a first time sailor or how many times you’ve sailed with them in the past.) Thankfully I stalked enough Disney IG accounts to know this and was able to snag at least a dinner reservation although I would love to try their brunch hour next time as its widely raved about. Dinner was truly a treat but I’ll get to that in a minute.

Lumiere’s was the first restaurant we dined at for dinner. Sadly I forgot to take photos of the interior since we were seated towards the back so I kept forgetting to get up later to take photos. The food was absolutely delicious and my favorite dish was the lobster. In retrospect I should have asked for two orders but I already ordered two appetizers and a steak entree as well as the lobster. But hey, remember it’s a cruise. You can do whatever you want and order as much as you want. Go crazy! I loved the little details in this restaurant, from the rose and waiter’s vest folded napkin art, to the Lumiere silhouette on our table number placard. This was at every restaurant, but I also appreciated that every bread basket was full of fresh, HOT bread like it was just out of the oven. I hate when the bread baskets are cold. It made me breaking my carb fast worth it to have such warm, delicious fluffy bread. Let me tell you, the chocolate croissants every morning were to die for.

Animator’s Palate was the second restaurant we rotated through and we got to eat here twice! Both nights were completely different and a totally magical experience. The first night we walked in, the entire restaurant was in black and white, even the wait staff's vests. Throughout dinner, they played different clips of Disney animation on the walls and their evolution until we got to present day. At the end of dinner they played a really cute nostalgic medley of all the Disney movies throughout the years and then Sorcerer Mickey came out and the whole restaurant was transformed into color! Even the wait staff's vests got a makeover! The second night we were here, we were given a task of drawing a character. At the end of dinner, they take our character and animate it into various Disney movies for a fun video. We also got certified as official Disney animators, which the husband has now added onto his resume, lol.
The food here was delicious! With fresh tuna tartare, perfectly cooked steak, creamy butternut squash soup, truffle pasta and a cute Mickey in my cappuccino. I couldn't get over the paintbrush butter knife and all the little details on the table. The butter knife is actually available for purchase in one of the shops on board but I forgot all about it. Next time! I've heard about Animator's Palate before my trip but experiencing it for yourself is a totally different story. Good news is this restaurant is available on every Disney cruise and not exclusive to any one ship.

The third restaurant we rotated through is actually one of the reasons I picked the Disney Magic cruise, Rapunzel's Royal Restaurant. It’s no secret she’s my favorite princess with Tangled being my favorite movie. Our first dance at the wedding was to “I See The Light.” Well, Rapunzel’s was an amazing dining experience and it TRULY is beautiful inside. Photos don’t do it justice. I wish they had it in the parks because I want to visit again and again. The ruffians were the cutest and so in character with all their details. Attila's cupcakes are truly sublime and on the dessert menu and Vladimir has his ceramic unicorns at the ready if you ask him about them! They come out to visit you at dinner as well as perform two songs during your seating. They’re very interactive and in character the entire time. At the end of dinner, a cute cake cart is wheeled out for photo ops as you exit. The only unfortunate thing is I only got to dine here once. Our second opportunity was on the same night as our Palo dinner and I would have done both, but I had underestimated how much Palo tries to fill you up. Foodwise, I can’t hate on the restaurant because they had a THANKSGIVING entree with turkey, sweet potatoes, stuffing and cranberry sauce. And of course, Attila’s sublime cupcake. I also went crazy here and ordered a second entree just because I can. Well, because that second entree was steak with a butternut squash sauce and I just am in love with everything butternut squash lately. Speaking of which, there was an amazing butternut squash soup at Animator’s Palate that I wish I had more of now that I think about it. Mmmmmmm.

Palo was the 4th and last restaurant we got to try, and it was seriously the cheapest I’ve ever spent on such amazing fine dining. This is probably the one thing I think Disney absolutely undercharges for, for the amount of food you get to try and the quality of food served. The service is absolute divine as they pay attention to every detail and make you feel like a million bucks. When I was selecting what I wanted to try from the menu, my waitress noticed my indecisiveness and even after I finally decided, she took it upon herself to bring out small plates for me to try of the dishes I was on the fence about. The only thing I would have to say that disappointed me was that they gave me so much food I couldn’t finish it all and unfortunately, you can’t bring any of it back to your room for later, which I felt was such a waste. I do have to note though for first time cruisers, this restaurant has a strict dress code policy to make sure to pack something you would “dress to impress” someone. Palo does have a brunch option too which I’ve read so many rave reviews about but unfortunately was not able to snag a reservation for so I can’t report back on the fantabulousness of that. Next time! At the end of dinner, our waitress was so adorable, she brought out a plate marking our anniversary. She said we were free to just take pictures of it or take it back to our room or whatever. I didn’t really know what she meant by this as I felt awkward walking out of a restaurant with a plate but then the next morning I saw another woman walk off the cruise with her own plate and learned that you can keep it to bring home as a souvenir. The things you learn.

Excursions / Ports of Call

My cruise had two stops: Castaway Cay and Port Canaveral. Most of the other days were at sea, so most of this vacation was more relaxing than exploring. But the two days we had on land, were absolutely perfect. It’s like Disney is in this perfect bubble somehow. The last few cruises I was on, had a run in with bad weather and we weren’t able to tender to the private islands. And then before we left, my husband had checked the weather and it was initially reported to rain on the day we were at Port Canaveral but then the day we got there, it was all sun and blue skies…albeit hot.

Castaway Cay

Disney does the private island experience right. I felt like a VIP being able to step right off the boat onto the private island without need of tendering boats like other cruises. It makes a BIG difference in managing time between activities to make sure you can do everything you want to do before having to get back on the boat. Since you walk right back on, you don’t have to stand around and wait 20-30 minutes for the next ferry back. I saw the ads for this view everyday before my vacation and let me tell you, they don't do this view justice, for once it's something that exceeds expectations when it comes to that IG vs reality life. You just gotta be there to see it in person how beautiful it really is. We were so lucky to have beautiful blue skies every day. It really is exclusive and private and never feels overcrowded like you have to fight for a chair or float. There’s also plenty of activities to do and sign up for and the island is small but still big enough to explore with plenty of space for everyone. There’s 3 different beaches to choose from, if one happens to feel more crowded than the other to you (with one being an exclusive adults-only beach for that extra secluded and peaceful atmosphere. There’s even a kids club on the private island you can dump your kids at if you want to head to the adults only beach on your own.) There’s bike rentals, snorkeling, floaties galore and food everywhere.

They even have a Castaway Cay 5k challenge for avid runners, which is free to sign up for and do, and even comes with a cute medal to take home upon completion. The only thing is, it’s not advertised anywhere for you to know about it other than ask at the front desk. I only knew to ask because I remembered seeing something on RunDisney’s Instagram about it and I’m so glad I did. I’m a sucker for the medals even if it’s a dinky rubber one but now I have another Disney medal to add to my belt. You have to run first thing in the morning though so if you’re interested in doing this, get up early, eat breakfast and make your way off the boat as soon as they give you permission to go ashore.

I signed us up for a stingray adventure and we had a blast! We got to feed them and swim and snorkel with them. I always forget how much I do enjoy tropical vacations with my hubs. This trip was really romantic despite how it looks like I'm on a trip by myself because my hubby hates being in pics but I promise you he's here.

Disney World

Port Canaveral was one of my port calls. And so, Disney World is the destination of choice for a Disney cruise sailing near the Caribbean. At some point I’m going to run out of things to say about Disney World but alas! The Disney Cruise does not disappoint. There are tricks of the trade that I learned about booking a cruise that goes to the happiest place in the world as one of its stops.

Buses are provided, complimentary, to shuttle you to the parks, as well as a complimentary park hopper admission along with 3 pre-loaded fast passes with no reservation required! You simply walk up to the ride of your choice and tap your card at the fast pass station. After all 3 are used up, then you can simply book more throughout the day. This was especially helpful for those hard to snag fast pass rides, no matter how early you wake up on the day your fast pass window opens up.So say you’ve never had a chance to ride Avatar’s Flight of Passage, one of the famed and hard to snag fast pass rides. Well this is where you can use your pass go, collect $200 fast pass to jump right on it without needing an actual reservation. This is amazing since you only have one day in the parks and Disney tries to help you maximize as much of the time you have there as possible.

Which brings me to my next point. When I was on Norwegian, they did offer excursions to the park, but of course you had to pay for both the park ticket and bus service separately and unfortunately, they only provide you a few hours in the park. No more than 6-7 hours, honestly. The bus gets you there around 12 and you have to get back on around 6. Which leaves you not much time to do anything at all, especially if the day happens to be a busy day in the parks. The bus also drops you off far from the park and you still have to take Disney’s TTC to get to Magic Kingdom.

With Disney Cruise Line, this is not the case. The buses are very efficient in getting you to the front of the parks, you step off and you’re at the front gates, ready to go through security and walk in. You also get a LOT of time. The first bus is available around 7am so you can get to the parks even before opening time and you’re required to be back on the ship by midnight, originally. You get a Cinderella deal, essentially. BUT! On my particular cruise, the day we were docked in Port Canaveral happened to be Halloween of all days, which meant the Halloween party would be running that night and these parties run til midnight. I had my travel agent call to check before I booked my Halloween party tickets what time the last bus would leave and originally she told me I had to be on the 10pm bus back to the cruise. The night before we were to arrive in Disney World, the cruise sent out a letter to all guests that they were extending our time to 2am! We had til 2am to be back on the cruise so we could enjoy ALL of Halloween at the parks. This was absolutely amazing news to me. It gave me a better bang for my buck, since you have to purchase the Halloween party tickets separately (the cruise only provides park admission, not party admission so if you didn’t have a party ticket, you have to leave Magic Kingdom by 6pm and either head back to the cruise or choose a different park to remain in for the rest of the night) and the party itself did not start til 7pm. Originally I was worried I wouldn’t have enough time to do everything I wanted with a window of 7pm-10pm for the Halloween party but with the time extension, I ended up doing EVERYTHING and then being too tired to continue and actually ended up on the 11pm bus back because we were just that exhausted since being up since 5am to get ready that morning.

I also maximized my day by starting the morning in Hollywood Studios, having lunch at Port Orleans and then heading to Magic Kingdom around 3pm to ride rides and take all my photos before the party started. I changed outfits 3 times throughout the day to make use of the time I had in the parks for one day. So there’s my secret to all of you wondering why my Instagram feed looks like I’m still at Disney, hahaha. I simply plan all my outfits in advance, organize it into smaller bags with accessories, shoes, ears and all, and then throw it into one big tote bag. I rent out a locker for the day so I don’t have to carry the bag around with me, and I simply go back to the locker when I want to change out. Best $12 I ever invested at Disney, lol. Trust me, if you’re extra like me and want to shoot different cute outfits at the park, it’s the best thing ever. It’s also great for if the parks are hot and you want a fresh change of clothes. Although, my husband is spoiled after staying at the Contemporary last year so the other strategy is also just staying at a hotel right next door to Magic Kingdom so I can go back and change, as well as take a break and nap if needed, so that’s another alternative to the locker hack.

The buses back to the cruise are also waiting for you outside of the gates to the park so that’s another plus. You don’t have to worry about waiting for a monorail or whatever back to your bus, and thus, no worrying about factoring in travel time when leaving the park to get to your bus.

In conclusion!

So there you have it! Almost a month later but I’m finally done with it. Hopefully I covered everything but if you have any further questions, feel free to ask!

Lastly, would I book this again? Originally when I got home, I said no because of the price and I did feel that this is more geared to families and what value they gain out of it, but honestly now, Disney is a jerk at what they instill in you subliminally. I miss the “when you wish upon a star” blowhorn every morning and during captain announcements. I miss having unlimited Mickey waffles and being able to ask for Mickey bars at my beck and call. I miss walking out my door and waiting no more than 15 minutes to see any given character. I miss the blue Bahamian waters, blue skies and warm sun. I miss all the Mickey decor and Disney theming of the cruise and the restaurants and the magic. The service. The music. The damn unparalleled water pressure. Disney is pure magic.

So yes. Unfortunately for my wallet, Disney has done it again. I would like to try the other cruise ships, especially the new one currently being built right now. One of the current boats sailing also has Tiana’s restaurant on board so that would be another bucket list item to check off and try.

I swear though, in 3 years time when my student loans are finally done with. It’s over for you guys. My full potential will be unleashed and more recklessness will ensue.

Be Kind To Yourself

November 17, 2019

Some days I feel like I’m a queen, and other days I feel like a failure.

Don’t worry, I’m still working on the Disney Cruise blog review but it’s a lot of photos I have to sift through and a lot I have to write down and organize so I’m still working on it. I’ve been working my real job since I got back from my trip with only a few days off and I’ve been using those days to catch up on plebeian errands and regular life stuff. I’ll get it done soon.

I wanted to blog about something real quick because I came across two separate things this week that resonated with me a common message.

Especially this week because I was feeling super guilty about extending my break from clean eating beyond my vacation. I simply wanted to take some more time enjoying my favorite foods before going back to my regular gym and diet routine. But I always forget how terrible I’m going to feel during it because of how sensitive my body is to sugar and salt and how fast it bloats up from it but takes forever to recover once I get back on track to fix it. And then coupled with the fact that when I started running again, my first run was absolute shit - 10k in 1 hour and 15 minutes. Much slower than my usual 1 hour and 5-6 minutes. Granted I had been off for a bit and my nutrition wasn’t on point so I definitely felt the effects but it didn’t help my confidence. I had to reassure myself that my body just had to work up to it again and recondition itself back to my norm. Which I did. I forced myself this week to go hard in the gym and I ended up overcompensating, leaving myself feeling super sore but I did gain 2 new PRs during it! It was hard but I pushed through and survived so celebrate the little wins, right? I finally did 5k in 30 minutes and then finally broke 10k in an hour. Now if only I can complete the half in under 2 hours and 30 minutes in February. I’m setting this goal for myself for training but I’m also going nervous to not meet this goal. I always beat myself up when I don’t.

Which brings us to the main topic. Be kind to yourself. This is something I need to start practicing more often and learn to not be so hard on myself. It’s a common topic in this day and age for a lot of reasons but this week it resonates with me because of two things that happened.

The first thing is I discovered an old high school classmate of mine passed away. Unfortunately I didn’t keep in touch with him as much as I would have liked to over the years so I had to do a little digging to find out how he passed and unfortunately I think it happened by suicide. He was one of the nicest people I’ve ever met growing up (I know how cliche that sounds but it's true, he REALLY was one of the rare few honestly nice people you'll ever meet in your life), who never judged me for my style, ethnicity, who I was, nothing. He embraced my originality and quirks in high school and always made an effort to reach out and talk to me. He was also my friendly competition in my senior year, as we were neck and neck for the salutatorian rank, but he was gracious about it when I ultimately beat him. I feel guilty about not keeping in touch with him over the years since he did make efforts to keep in touch with me. He even came to visit me once when he was in town, when I was still at CVS, after finding out from his mom that I worked there. Last I saw him a few years ago, he was doing well, moving into his new condo, and working at a job he enjoyed in a different state from here, our hometown. From my social media digging, I did find that he left this world the same as I knew him; a great friend to all. He was caring, friendly and helpful to everyone he encountered in his life. He was just an all around great guy. I wish I knew what happened and what he was struggling with. But it’s another unfortunate lesson to learn that we don’t always know what is going on with other people’s demons. I can see him being hard on himself and stressing himself out with work or whatever issues he had going on. Although he seemed to be on the right track to success so I can’t really see what could have been the trigger issues, it all comes back to the whole be kind to yourself theme.

The second thing is two separate conversations I had today with two friends. Both friends run in different and separate social circles, so I found it funny they both had the same thing to say to me. One was via message and one was in person. Neither felt like it was in their place to say anything because they didn’t feel close enough to me to know me like that but that looking in from the outside, they felt I worked really hard and do so well but that I’m always focusing on what I’m lacking instead of focusing on the here and now. They told me I need to give myself more credit and to be nicer to myself and my efforts.

It does feel really good to hear that from someone just looking in from the outside because we’re so bias on ourselves that we don’t see what’s clearly in front of us. We always see the bad instead of focusing on the good. It’s like…when you have a perfectly good day but then one person says one thing bad to you and for some reason, you let that ruin the whole day. Why? Why do we do this? Just because you get one flat tire, do we throw away the whole car? Don’t let the demons in your head win. You owe it to yourself to see how far you can truly go when you don’t let them stand in your way and drag you down. Why are we always harder on ourselves? We wouldn’t be this way to our friends and loved ones.

I feel like my bad habits of being hard on myself stem from being brought up Asian, with high expectations and standards that end up with you feeling like you’re “never good enough.” I know my parents raised me with good intentions though, to keep me humble and to strive for excellence and they’re not wrong for doing so, but I also have to break out of that mindset and recognize that I am good enough. I can do it and I have to let myself be human sometimes. I don’t have to be “on” all the time and I should give myself time to relax, let loose, breathe once in a while.

Setbacks are normal. They are not a failure. They are a sign that you are on your way. Don’t give up. Make some alterations or adjustments, buckle up and keep going. Queens aren’t queens because they’re always on top. They are strong and humble enough to know and say “Hey I need to take a step back. I need more time. This is not to be rushed.”

When you can learn this and apply it to your life, you glow from the inside. You’ll attract the right kind of people, the kind that love, respect and appreciate your energy. You are magnetic.

I read this quote a while back:

“When a photographer can’t change a scene, he changes his angle and lens to capture the best of that scene. Similarly, when you can’t change a situation in your life, change your perspective to get the best out of that situation. Try to be a filter, not a sponge.”

I need to stop being afraid of what could go wrong, and to stop obsessing over my negatives. I need to start being excited of what could go right. And where I’m ultimately headed. And to appreciate what I have right now before time makes me appreciate what I had.