moinab

As someone who has worked night shifts for many years, I have to say that the whole circadian rhythm thing is absolutely correct. Working overnights really messes with your body - even when you are used to doing it. I have to black out my windows, use white noise, and take meds to sleep properly during the day, and I still get very sleepy around 3-4 AM at work - most of us on the night shift do. It's not at all unusual to see people nodding off at the computers in the nurses' station during those hours. Of course, I think people with day jobs get sleepy in the afternoon, too. I think maybe we all need siesta time! Hope KT gets her days and nights straightened out again, soon. Christian is almost 7 and Rhiannon is 4, and they both still have occasional nights when they are wide awake and ready to party in the wee hours. *sigh*

Your warning sign captions had me literally laughing out loud (especially since I'm currently in "cash register" mode!) Cutest photos of KT, yet! Great report - thanks!

Ok, now that I've seen more of the story, I would go so far as to say that "mother" should be prosecuted. Hell no, do you send your 4 year old into a freaking wave pool without a free life jacket while you sit off to the side! The lifeguards can't possibly see every single person at every moment. I hope that in her heart, she really does know that she's to blame and has to live with that for the rest of her miserable life.

This had me !!!!

I work the night shift, also. 2-4 AM is often a slow time, when the patients are sleeping and no meds are due.

No, not a whole lot of Asians in Georgia!

Thank you for the time and effort you put into creating and posting the video, Morgan! I loved the editing with the interviews - excellent work!

Don't be so quick to judge the parents, without knowing the full story. I have a 4 year old daughter and a 6 (almost 7) year old son. Personally, I wouldn't let them in a wave pool without life vests on and close supervision. We live on the beach. My husband takes the kids to the beach several times a week. This is the first year they've been allowed to play in the surf, but only ankle deep during low tide. We've seen too many drownings and near-drownings here over the past 6 years. It's always people who don't live on the beach, who don't understand the power of waves and riptides. But, I also know that even the most vigilant parents lose sight of their children momentarily, every once in a while. It's inevitable. And, unfortunately, these are the times when horrible accidents can happen. Two years ago, the kids were upset with my husband when he told them it was time to leave the beach. Our daughter started running toward the water, and our son started running up the beach. My husband ran after the 2 year old running toward the water, first. When he ran back up after our son, he was nowhere to be seen. An agonizing 45 minutes later, after many volunteers on the beach and the police had been searching, he was found at the elementary school, which is on the way back to our house from the beach (a total distance of 4 blocks.) We were very, very lucky. This story could easily have had a tragic ending. It only takes a moment.

That's the beauty of these paint updates - you can fill in the rest with your imagination!

Have you ever been on Jungle Cruise? It's all very tongue-in-cheek. Nobody with half a brain is going to take away any kind of conservation message from it. And they do still shoot the cap gun at the very fake animatronic hippos at MK.

^Awwww! KidTums is so darn cute! Great update, Homer! Thanks!

Those were great! My first visit was in 1978, so Tomorrowland was more developed than it appears to be in these videos, with the addition of Space Mountain, but that's pretty much how I remember it. BTW, they still use the gun on Jungle Cruise in MK, but I think it may depend on the CM. Out of the many times I've been on it over the past few years, I think I've seen it used about 50% of the time.

I'm with Shari - I demand more paint updates! And a paint video download!!!! C'mon, Homer - what's the hold up? Welcome home, to all of the returning Spain-trippers! Thanks for sharing your experiences with us. I can't wait to go on one of these trips! Maureen "why did I have to go and get myself knocked up this year" O'Donnell

YES! Please!

Can't help you much with prices. We're not drinkers, and we didn't do any excursions. We just got off the ship in Nassau and walked around the port area (bleh) a little bit. On Castaway Cay, we enjoyed just hanging out on the beach and swimming - no charge for that! If you're interested in some of the other stuff, though, like parasailing, I think you can find rates on the DCL site.

I forgot to answer this - both the 3 and 4-night DCL Bahamas cruises spend a full day in Nassau, so you have plenty of time to go to Atlantis. And yes, the Disney ships are beautiful! It's a very different experience from the theme parks. Also, for WDW annual passholders, DCL offers occasional passholder discounts. As FL residents, we get excellent FL resident rates, but the passholder discounts are almost as good!

Joey - I know a lot of people who have done both DCL and other cruises, such as RCCL, Norwegian, etc. If you aren't so much into the whole Disney thing, you probably would be happier on one of the other cruise lines. You pay a premium for the Disney touch - the other cruise lines provide comparable service, entertainment, and food, for lower rates. As far as "extras," many drinks - including all alcoholic beverages, bottled water and cans of soda are extra. (Soda with meals or from the 24 hour fountain on deck 9 are free.) You also have to pay for spa services, all shore excursions, arcade games, the upcharge for meals at Palo, babysitting services for children under 3 years old, photos, and a few other things that I'm forgetting. Gratuities are also extra - you need to factor in tips for your room steward, head waiter, server, and assistant server.

We've been on 2 DCL cruises on the Wonder - most recently, this past January, to celebrate my daughter's 4th birthday and my nursing school graduation (8 months after the fact.) The adult areas are great and the kids' programming is outstanding! Don't know when we'll be going again, but we definitely want to try a 7-night. Gambling has never had any appeal for me, so the lack of casino is actually a big advantage - they don't rely on a casino as the main source of adult entertainment! Did you see the Golden Mickeys? That was our favorite show!

Enjoy your trip, Robb!!! I agree with Guy. Let the whiners suffer. We can all wait until after you are back home in CA and settled back in and rested. After all, anticipation heightens the experience!

Boo sucky 6 hour flight delays in Newark! Had one of those, myself, when I was 6 months pregnant. Bleh. Hope the rest of the trip goes beautifully!

I know exactly what you mean about the Grand Floridian! We've never stayed there, but we have visited it a couple of times, just to check it out. There's a snooty ambiance to it - somehow, it just doesn't feel like "Disney" to me. You can stay at the DVC resorts without owning. You just have to rent the points from a member.

^Given the fact that you stayed there with your very lovely girlfriend, this comment just made me crack up!! That made me lol, too! I'm sure you found plenty of things to do with your time. We've never stayed at any of the moderates - we're just too cheap! Someday, we will, though - they look so nice!

Joel - if you are still there in August, we will definitely look for you! We always hit the Mexico pavilion at Epcot - it's my daughter's favorite! Once again, thanks so much for this great experiment/report! This has been one of my favorite TPR threads, ever! So, officially, if you don't count the cards that were lost, Joe's card was the last to be delivered?

Exactly! This is similar to the Norovirus situation with the cruise ships, where the cruise lines were cancelling cruises to scrub down the ships. The reality is, as soon as the next batch of passengers walked on the ship and started touching handrails, doorknobs, and whatnot, the ships were just as contaminated as before. But they had to do it, to restore public confidence. ITA!!!!! HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) regulations are a huge deal for American hospitals. I run into HIPAA issues multiple times, every single shift that I work. If the family doesn't want any information released, the hospital must remain silent. I can see what you mean, though - it is surprising, because we're so used to seeing people fall over themselves to get their stories into the media, but there are plenty of people who want to keep their privacy, too.

We're already working on planning a budget to save for Disney around the world. We've been on 2 DCL cruises. We did the 3-night in 2003, and the 4-night this past January. The 3-night was definitely too short, but the 4-night wasn't bad. We spent 3 nights at WDW first, and it made for a great vacation.