This day I love.......: Disney

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We are currently in an unknown territory, the coronavirus has taken hold of the world and changed the way in which we live. Travel has stopped and we have been requested to stay at home. The right choice, the right decision. I for one cannot wait for all this to be over. For normality to return again. It doesn’t stop us dreaming though, dreaming of far away places. Dreaming of making memories. Dreaming of travel. Our favourite holiday aboard is the Disney Cruise. We love them and even though we will need to renew our ESTA for next year or for the next time we travel, this hasn’t stopped us planning our next adventure.

A little about the ESTA

An ESTA is valid for travel to and from the USA. We last went on a Disney cruise in 2019 which means when we travel again after this virus has settled down it is likely to be 2021. Given an ESTA has a two year validity we are going to need to apply for our ESTA again. The good news is that once you have your ESTA approved you can travel as many times as you like within that two year period without having to apply each time for another ESTA.

Always check before you travel though that your ESTA is still in date. We have made the mistake of transit through America and not having a valid ESTA. Luckily we managed to fill the ESTA form in whilst waiting to check in and the approval was almost immediate. It was a rather lucky escape and stopped the meltdown of three children who wanted to go on holiday.

I have always done our ESTA application for the USA online. Make sure you have your passport to hand as you will need the information within it. The ESTA, once approved, will be valid for two years unless your passport expires in which case you will need to apply for another ESTA for your new passport.

Travel plans

I am currently watching the news and keeping my eye on the latest travel advice from the government. At the moment there seems to be no change and no end in sight. An unknown and unprecedented era has arrived. As soon as the ban is lifted I shall be booking our holiday.

We have been very fortunate to travel several times on board the Disney cruise line ships and were looking forward to sailing on their new ships once they arrive in the fleet. The destinations for these ships have not been released so it is an exciting wait to find out where they will be destined to travel to.

Our favourite destination so far has been Mexico. Maybe because we visited over Halloween and got to learn so much about the Mexican culture. Perhaps it was the variety of beaches and environment, whatever it was we absolutely loved visiting there. The majority of Disney cruises sail from America. I have seen one that sails to New York and round Canada. I would love for us to do this.

For now I guess it is all just a dream. I would love to be sat on the beaches in Disney Castaway Cay again. Watching the fish swim through the crystal blue ocean. Feeling the warm sun on my skin. Instead for the foreseeable future I shall be thankful that we have a garden to play in and whilst the weather is no where near comparable to that of the Caribbean it is at least decent enough for the kids to play outside. As soon as the travel ban is lifted and life can return to normal I shall be filling out the ESTA application ready to start our adventures again.

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We were provided with tickets to watch Disney on Ice but have not been asked to write a post or received any other compensation. I simply wanted to remember our evening and have decided to write this post myself.

A few weeks ago we made the short journey to Leeds to watch Disney on Ice at the First Direct Arena. I hand't realised at the time of booking the tickets that my eldest daughter was on residential with school, so not wanting the ticket to go to waste my youngest daughter brought a friend with her. Both girls were really excited and more so when they learnt they would get to meet Mickey and Minnie mouse. The surprise would soon continue, and something I had no idea about.

We collected our tickets and were seated on row A seat 1, I suddenly wished I had dressed up a bit and sorted my hair. I also wished I had my proper camera, but had to make do with 30% battery on my phone. The girls were so close to the ice they could touch it and then the big surprise came. Would they like to go on the ice and ride in the cart? I think their excitement went sky high at this point and they could not wait!

Little Man is still in the potty training phase I like to call toilet inspector. I therefore missed most of the beginning of the performance as I was up constantly taking him to the toilet. Although I knew he didn't need to go I still have to take him. He managed to calm down and settled in to watch the show, we were so close to the performers!

The big moment came and the girls were whisked away with Aladdin. Grinning from ear to ear as they had fun on the ice. They are so incredibly lucky to have been given the opportunity to do that and they both haven't stopped talking about it.

The rest of the show seemed to fly by. There were so many different characters to see, a real medley to showcase the wonderful world of Disney.

It was a truly amazing evening that created wonderful memories and for that we are incredibly grateful for the tickets we received to watch the show and for giving the girls the opportunity to be on the ice.

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I think every family has traditions, or things they like to do to mark the start of the Christmas season. For some it is when they see the Coca Cola Lorry, others when the first Christmas film comes on TV and for a few people I know when it turns November 1st and Halloween is over with. For me it is a trip to Disney On Ice.

Disney On Ice seems to visit us every year towards the middle of November and it seems to get the girls into the festive mood. After watching they ask how long until Christmas and start talking more about Father Christmas and want they would like him to bring them. This week seems to have been the start of our Christmas festivities. It has kicked off with a trip to Disney On Ice at the FLYDSA arena in Sheffield.

The usual requests followed as we entered the arena. The girls wanting all the light up toys, popcorn and ice cups that were available. They settled on a crown and some candyfloss, and we took our seats waiting for the show to start. Little Man had fallen asleep in the car on the way to the arena and so was in a rather grumpy mood that he had been woken up.

The lights went down and the ice glowed with Disney magic. The girls sat forward in anticipation and Little Man soon forgot his grumpy mood. Tinkerbell appeared, which made a change from the normal opening and the show began to start.

In a break from previous shows we were treated to lots of different characters with many shorted sequences. It seemed to flow much better and keep more of the audience engaged. I have noticed in the past when some children are not particularly interested in a certain segment, be it Frozen, cars, toy story, they start chatting throughout it or parents get up to take them to the toilet whereas because each character had one or two songs this did not happen and there seemed to be a much better show.

As usual the performance was near perfection, I did notice two performers fall but it was on the section of the ice that had previously been on fire. Perhaps this area is slippy? Oh, and that was another thing about this performance there was some amazing special effects, including fire on the ice.

Little Man seemed to enjoy the show just as much as the girls and I love that there is something that can engage them all, even with their gap in ages. I just love watching their faces light up when different characters come onto the ice, that makes it for me.

The morning before Disney On Ice I had attended Dream toys which reveals the 12 biggest toys for Christmas. It is a great event where I get to chat to several people who I email throughout the year and we get to talk all things toys.

The top 12 toys this year are:

Barbie Ultimate Kitchen Mattel £49.99

Boxer Spin Master Toys £79.99

Cra-Z-Slimy Creations Super Slime Studio Character Options £29.99

Fingerlings Untamed Jailbreak T-Rex Playset Jazwares/WowWee £24.99

Harry Potter Hogwarts Great Hall LEGO £89.99

Harry Potter Wizard Training Wand Jakks Pacific £24.99

L.O.L. Surprise! Pop-Up Store MGA Entertainment £39.99

L.O.L. Surprise! Under Wraps MGA Entertainment £14.99

Laser X Twin Pack Character Options £49.99

Monopoly Fortnite Edition Hasbro £21.99

Paw Patrol Ultimate Fire Truck Spin Master Toys £69.99

Poopsie Surprise Unicorn MGA Entertainment £49.99

My eldest has already asked for the Laser X twin pack, training wand and Hogwarts LEGO so I had a feeling these would make the list. My youngest daughter has asked for the Poopsie Surprise Unicorn and Little Man loves Paw Patrol so I am not surprised these are also on the list too.

The girls even wrote their letters to Father Christmas this week with a kit I bought from Magic Santa Letter. The kit was great and came with an addressed envelope ready to send their letters in to Father Christmas. I love doing this with the girls as it gives me an insight into what they would like. Other than my youngest request for gymnastics equipment I think we have covered most things on their wish list.

Magic Santa Letter have also kindly sent us replies from Father Christmas and I cannot wait to hand these over to the girls to read. The replies have been personalised to include things they have asked for on the letter they sent to Father Christmas, which just gives it an extra touch. Also there are several different templates to choose from so I have made sure that each of mine has a different template. Ordering them was really quick and simple to do and you can choose a date for them to arrive as well.

This past week has really seen the festive season begin. One other thing happened though which has made it feel a lot more like Christmas is on the way, the sacks for the presents have arrived.

These personalised sacks are also from Magic Santa Letter. I have personalised with the children's names, although have blurred in the photo as their names do not feature on the blog. They are simply beautiful and I cannot wait to see their faces on Christmas morning when they see their presents left in here from Father Christmas himself.

It certainly is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas

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The girls went to school today thinking it would just be a normal day. I on the other hand have been excited all day to pick them up from school. As usual the girls asked if we were doing anything in the playground and when I told them they were bouncing all the way home.

We had a rather quick dinner as we needed to travel to Leeds in rush hour traffic, but the rushing was all worth it for the surprise that greeted us

Little Man couldn't wait in line and was eager to meet Mickey Mouse, until the moment we got to the front of the queue. He then got scared and his big sister scooped him up. As soon as we walked away he wanted to go back again!

After pondering over the choices of popcorn, sweets and candy floss we finally took our seats. The girls were excited for the show to start and Little Man was just excited to eat popcorn. He didn't want to share though!

The show started with a warm up and Little Man started dancing. Mickey and friends then took to the ice and Little Man started pointing and clapping. The show started and we were transported through a variety of Disney worlds.

Little Man really got into the show and danced and clapped throughout, there are videos of him on my Instagram if you want to take a look. Both girls loved the show too and were singing along to their favourite songs.

As you would expect the show was great family entertainment, with all three of my children [ages 2 to 7] loving the performance. My youngest kept asking when she could ride in the boat, and my eldest kept pretending to be 'too old' for Disney, but she was loving every second!

We all had a fantastic evening and time seemed to fly by far too fast. We couldn't quite believe it when the show ended, it felt like it had only just began but sure enough it was time to head back out into the cold and to the car to make our way home.

The girls were still excited when we got in the car to go home. Each saying they had a fantastic evening. All the dancing had tired out Little Man who soon fell asleep.

We were provided tickets to see Disney On Ice, all words are my own opinion.

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In April 2017 we had the holiday of a lifetime to Disney Florida and we finished our holiday with a 4 day cruise around the Bahamas. This was our second Disney cruise and whilst on board we took advantage of on board deals and booked our third. We have been in countdown mode ever since we arrived home. Once Christmas was over the time to our cruise seemed to fly far too fast and before we knew it we were waiting at the airport for our flight.

Our flight landed the day before our cruise so we had booked a cheap hotel near to the airport for the night. It was a very basic hotel but had the distinct advantage of free airport transfers, free breakfast and situated next door to a waffle house. The girls were beyond excited and not only could they not sleep they went into the crazy mode that kids do when they get too excited! This wasn't our first Disney cruise but it was the first time on the Disney Fantasy, and whilst we have sailed on the Disney Dream which is the sister ship we still had very little clue as to what to expect.

Each ship in the fleet is different in its feel and to some extent the layout. The pools are slightly different for example. We were keen to get on the ship and explore. Our room would be ready after 2pm and Disney take your cases direct to your room for you. We made sure we had the essentials in a carry on case and the girls walked on wearing their swimming costumes.

Disney give each guest the red carpet greeting as you walk onto the ship. It is truly magical and really sets the tone for the rest of the cruise. After our first class welcome we headed straight to the top deck to get settled in the sun and the pool before the pools closed for the sail away deck party.

The girls loved the glass bottom pool which hung over the ship, given that is was an 11 deck drop to the dock below. They were not phased in the slightest by it and kept running over the glass giggling at the people walking below. We had not experienced a glass bottom pool on a ship before.

The pool closed ready for the mandatory fire drill and evacuation procedure. This is the only item that is compulsory on the Disney cruise, so we headed to our meeting point for the drill and then headed back to the room to unpack and get ready for dinner.

There are two dinner sittings, the first is at 5.45 and the second at 8.15. The first is always a little too early for us so we opt for the later. It worked out quite well with Little Man and his naps, as he could sleep in the afternoon and not be over tired for dinner. He seemed to love the food available, especially the ice cream!

Our cruise had 3 days at sea before our first port of call. The first day we didn't feel the boat move but the second and third day were quite rough seas. You know it is bad when they announce over the intercom to hold the handrails as you walk down stairs and to take extra care around the ship. I was really poorly on the second day, not from the rough sea, but had the worst headache I have ever experienced. My eyes hurt and wouldn't stay open. After lunch little man seemed to be tired so we both went and had a nap and slept the afternoon whilst the girls went to meet the Disney Princess.

One of my favourite things on the Disney cruise ship is the running deck. Getting up early in the morning to watch the sunrise over the ocean is just incredible. I have never seen sunrises or sunsets that are as beautiful. After a run you can sit on the deck chairs and just take in the view. The deck also is one of the most beautiful spaces on the ship even when not running.

Disney obviously understand children and they have several spaces that are dedicated to the various kids clubs. Little Man seemed to be at the older end of the scale for nursery but wasn't old enough for kids club just yet. Instead they had toddler time where he could go and play for a few hours but you had to stay with them. He loved it. He got to play in Andy's room, from Toy Story, and play with all the Toy Story characters.

The girls would go to kids club and we would get a text when they were ready to be picked up. They came back with pictures and things they had made, which included pots of slime. They met several characters in there including learning to fix BB-8 and dancing with the Storm troopers. Next time we sail Little Man will be old enough to go to kids club with his sisters as we had a few tantrums that he wasn't allowed in too.

On an evening before dinner we would settle down to either watch a Broadway style show, every show we saw was just fantastic or one of the latest movies. We wanted to watch Black Panther as it was shown on the day of release at midnight but there was lots of other things happening for the kids at the same time. We also learnt that asking for Candy Floss gets you rather bemused looks and instead you need to ask for cotton candy.

Many of the activities on the ship are free and you simply turn up to them but there are a select few that you need to book in advance. One of these is the character breakfast. I am so glad that I managed to book us a space as we all got to meet some of our favourite characters including the main man [mouse] himself.

We had fallen into a lovely routine whilst at sea and perhaps consumed more food than we should have. On day 4 we woke to land and watched as another cruise ship docked alongside ours. It was good to get off the ship and explore the island.

Our original port of call was Tortuga but the hurricane last year meant we were unable to visit as the island had suffered extensive damage and instead we visited Sint Maarten. It was quite eye opening seeing the amount of hurricane damage and the repair work that is still on going. Yet life continues and there was a hustle around the market place and the many shops that were open. It was lovely to explore and have a walk in the sand, but we missed the ship so after a morning exploring we were back on board with plenty of time to spare.

This just gave us ample time to play in the pool whilst most people were off the ship and to play games on our balcony as we left the port.

As we sailed out of port the ship played its horn which plays the tune 'When you wish upon a star' in true Disney fashion, the ship docked next to ours saw this as some kind of challenge and sounded its horn also, a rather blunt horn sound. What happened next was some kind of horn war, with the Disney ship sounding out some rather tuneful Disney songs and the other non Disney ship just making horn noises. It certainly made us giggle.

As the sunset in the Caribbean the pirates came out to play. Pirate night is so much fun. Everyone, including the Disney crew, dress up as pirates. The whole ship seems to get into the spirit of things, and then the ship gets taken over by some fierce pirates. Luckily Disney have Captain Jack Sparrow who comes to the rescue.

Our second port of call was St Thomas. What a beautiful sight when we woke up that morning.

We visited Coral world, a local aquarium, and experienced a glass bottom boat ride. Both experiences were stunning with all three children enjoying themselves. We had a wonderful relaxed day on the island and spent most of it looking at the views. The girls even joined me in an afternoon run around the ship.

That evening we heard over the system that a strange force had been detected and that guests needed to assemble in the atrium. There was a buzz in the air, the ship went dark. Then the lights flickered red. Over the system we heard the Imperial march. Storm troopers began to descend from the top decks in the lifts, they began to work their way through the crowds. On the balcony there was a buzz of excitement, Darth Vader appeared. He had taken over the ship.

Star Wars day at sea was just amazing. After breakfast, which was Star Wars themed, we headed to bibbidi bobbidi boutique for our transformations.

It was on to Jedi training school then for the girls, where they had to battle Kylo Ren. They met R2D2, C3P0, Darth Vader, Chewbacca and of course Storm Troopers. The day simply flew by. The whole ship was buzzing from the second we woke up until we went to sleep. The evening was finished with a battle between light and dark. Truly spectacular.

With the ship back under control of Mickey Mouse we awoke ready to explore Disney Castaway Cay. This is Disney private island so the only people on the island are those who are on the ship with you. You suddenly realise how many people are actually on board! The day starts with a 5km race around the island. Captain Hook took a liking to my medal and tried to steal it. He then said I stank to which I kindly pointed out I had treasure and he did not, so he forgave me and I was part of the crew.

Castaway Cay feels very relaxed and it is something different to other islands because the only people there are from the ship. As a result you feel very secure. There is so much to do and we hardly scratched the surface in our day. The girls went to kids club on the island, which they did not want to leave. We played in the crystal clear sea and went swimming with sting rays. It was the perfect day in the sunshine.

We stayed on the island until the ship sounded its horn to say it was time to leave. The final evening always feels a little subdued, no one wants to leave the ship. Everyone on the ship walks around with the same look on their face and wishes they could stay longer.

The final farewell party is sad but magical at the same time. Giving all guests the opportunity to say goodbye to their favourite Disney characters. The girls are lucky enough to have met all the characters a few times but they never pass up the opportunity to say 'see you soon'.

The morning to leave and our phones start buzzing with all the notifications, having previously not had signal for a week. None of the kids want to wake up. To be fair none of the adults did either. A frantic last minute packing begins and we are one of the last to arrive for breakfast.

With absolutely no rush to leave the ship, the kids staging a protest and working out where they can hide we choose this moment to tell the girls we will be back next year.

There is only one way to describe a Disney cruise and that is magical. From the second you step on board it is a holiday and experience like nothing else. The countdown has begun until we can be back on board again.

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