Hey all, we’re back from our week away cruising the Inside Passage of Alaska and while I was bummed I didn’t have very good connectivity to share pictures with you as I planned last week, we did have lots of fun and saw a ton of cool things. This post is your one stop for all the posts in my trip report, and will be updated with links to each part as I get them up.

Cruisin’ North to Alaska
Part 1: Heading to the Pacific Northwest
Part 2: Exploring Seattle
Part 3: Bon Voyage, Seattle!
Part 4: A Day at Sea
Part 5: Iceberg, dead ahead!
Part 6: Gateway to the Klondike
Part 7: Whales and seals and glaciers, oh my!
Part 8: I’m a Lumberjack and I’m ok!
Part 9: Oh, Canada!

Got a question about the Disney cruise to Alaska or just cruising with Disney in general? Leave me a comment with your question and I’ll make sure to answer them!

Castaway Cay is my absolute favorite Disney-related place – even more so than any of the Disney parks, if you can believe that! Our very first visit there was on our honeymoon in 1998, the inaugural year for Disney Cruise Line. I found a couple pictures from that trip the other day, so thought it might be fun to take a look back at things from that first year.

While the dock was basically the same when we were last there in 2010, I know it has changed quite a bit in the last two years to accommodate the larger ships that are now visiting. The picture to the left was taken in Sept. 1998 from our balcony as the captain was busy docking in just the right spot

 

14 years later, we returned and much had changed since our first trip. You can certainly see some differences in the pics below. Obviously, the addition of the Black Pearl was new in 2010, and while the two pictures weren’t taken from the exact same location, I do feel like there’s a clearer view to the ship now. But, there was something else that struck me as interesting. Both of these pictures are of the Disney Magic, but do you notice anything specific about her?

Disney Magic circa 1998

Disney Magic circa 2010

Some things though, DO remain the same, even after all this time. While the people in the picture have changed pretty significantly in the last 16 years (well, maybe not Goofy – he hasn’t aged a bit!), the character buoys you can just make out behind us are still there and look as good as ever

This week’s Babes in Disneyland Blog Hop theme is “Disney Bucket List” which is something that’s almost always on my mind! It seems like no matter how many visits I take to Disney and how many great adventures we have, I keep coming up with more things to add to the list so who knows if I will EVER complete it

Here’s what’s on my list currently:

Have a meal at Club 33 in Disneyland: This one has been on my bucket list for a long time. I’ve heard the food is really good, and it’s always cool to be able to have an “adult” beverage in the middle of Disneyland, but mostly it’s the mystery and exclusiveness that intrigues me. I really want to see what’s hidden behind that door (with my own eyes!) The good news is that I MIGHT be able to cross this off my list in March if my husband is able to pull a few strings.

Visit the non-US parks: I’d really like to visit Tokyo DisneySea since it seems like such a different experience from the parks here in the States, but if an opportunity comes up to visit ANY of the other parks, I’ll definitely take it.

Take an Adventures By Disney tour: The tour I want to take changes from week to week as I look at the site and discover new places they’re going, but regardless of the location, this is definitely an experience I’m looking forward to sometime down the road. Most of the tours have a minimum age requirement of 5 or 6, so it will be a few years until we can go on one of these trips as a family, but maybe I can convince Colorado Dad to take me for HIS 40th birthday next year…LOL.

Spend Christmas at a Disney park: I know the parks are crazy busy and some people would just call me insane to want to do this, but to me there would be nothing better than to spend my favorite holiday at my very favorite place. I’m toying with this idea the year I turn 40, so who knows, maybe I’ll have it knocked off the list in the next few years.

Take a transatlantic cruise on a Disney ship: It doesn’t have to be a transatlantic cruise, just one of the longer 12 – 14-day cruises. But, now that Disney has announced they’re going back to Europe in 2013, maybe a transatlantic will be an option! Anything that will allow me to spend as much time as possible on a Disney ship.

So that’s my bucket list for today. What Disney experiences are on your bucket list?

Thanks to Lisa over at the Babes in Disneyland blog for hosting the blog hop! Please click through to visit the other stops along this week’s blog hop.

This week’s Disney Wordless Wednesday theme is water, water everywhere! Here are two of my favorites from our first cruise with the kids – Western Caribbean on the Disney Magic.

Thanks to Deb from Focused on the Magic for hosting the weekly hop! Click on the image below to see some other great Disney pictures in this week’s Wordless Wednesday blog hop!

If you’re visiting me from the Babes in Disneyland blog hop, WELCOME! and thanks for stopping by

Last week I posted about the Disney vacations we’re planning this year, so you might remember that this is the year of the West Coast Disney trips for us. We have some cool trips planned, but there are a few specific things I’m looking forward to for 2012:

• Our trip to Disneyland next week is to celebrate Colorado Boy’s 9th birthday and I’m so excited, because we’ve never actually celebrated anything while we’re in the theme parks. We’re planning a special “pirate” celebration at Blue Bayou, so I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes.
• We have our cruise to Alaska scheduled for early June and I can’t wait. We’ve never been to Alaska so I’m looking forward to that, but I’m also excited to head back to visit the Disney Wonder and hopefully reconnect with some of the crew members we met on our Mexican Riviera cruise last year.
• The release of Brave. Pixar movies are some of my all-time favorite movies and this one looks really good. Love that they’re finally doing a movie with a female lead! But how in the world are they going to get the Pizza Planet truck to show up in a movie that’s set in the ancient highlands of Scotland?? Can’t wait to find out!
• Lots of big happenings at Disneyland Resort this year, but I think I’m most excited about seeing Buena Vista Street. I have always been drawn toward things from the 20s and 30s, so can’t wait to see how everything looks and what kind of “retro” merchandise is available.
• In August, D23 brings back their popular Destination: D event, and this time the focus in on Disney Animation. This is where my love of Disney started, so I’m excited to attend what I’m sure will be really great sessions and panel discussions.

So that’s what I’m looking forward to this year. What about you?

Thanks to Lisa over at the Babes in Disneyland blog for hosting the blog hop and coming up with this week’s great topic! Please click through to visit some of the other stops along this week’s blog hop.