It's TODAY, it's TODAY!!

To quote one of our favorite family movies, ironically about a mouse..."It's TODAY, it's TODAY!!" (Stuart Little)

Neil and I woke up on our birthday and got to leave for a cruise - yeah!! We woke up at the hotel, had breakfast, and got on the shuttle to the port!

Disney is amazing in their organization skills. Check-in process was quick, efficient, pleasant and well orchestrated. While I "waited" in line for all of about 5 minutes, Neil and the kids got to meet Mickey and Minnie, see a scale replica of our ship and just hang and watch cartoons.

After we checked in, signed up for the kids club and got our pager, and had our photos taken, we got to walk through the big ears and enter the ship.

(Monica, don't read this part if you want it to be a surprise...) One of the cool little things Disney does is when you are just off the gangway they ask you name, announce you and everyone claps as you enter the ship. How cool is that?

We got there pretty early, so we had a little time to kill before our stateroom was ready. We explored the ship, had lunch at Topsiders. Again, props to Disney for their handling of any and all food allergies. The chef came out, spoke with me and made Devin a special lunch so he would feel comfortable. But, just about anything he wanted would have been made available. My friend Claire said she never heard the word "no" on the ship, and now I know what she means.

Once we got into our cabin we were met with birthday decorations, a cake and champagne and sparkling cider (thanks Mom and Dad!). We had a little toast and checked out the ship some more.

One of the funny things you always have to do on a cruise ship is the muster drill. The muster drill is where you put on your life vest and go to your station in a mock evacuation. We always bring the camera b/c it's always a hoot to see everyone in orange!

After that we headed up to deck 9 for the setting sail party. It was a blast. The kids danced and cheered (and we danced and cheered).

Then it was time to get ready for dinner! Our first dinner was in Animator's Palate. It's a really cool place because it changes from balack and white to color while you eat! We also got to meet the best servers ever. Our waiter Aditya (he said "call me Addi") from India and our assistant waiter Willy from the Philippines. They were awesome! Every night Willy would ask me if I wanted pepper, and every night I declined. It became kind of a joke by the end. He always had to ask, but he knew I'd say no. He also showed the kids magic or logic tricks every night. So much fun!!

They also brought us a cake and sang happy birthday! Yeah! Happy birthday to us!

Fun didn't stop there, we headed to Studio Sea to check out the family game show "Mickey Mania". Eventually we did have to sleep though.