Disney Dream Day 2: Castaway Cay & The 5K

Our first port day on our most recent Disney Dream cruise was at Castaway Cay. We had plans to run the 5K, then hang on the beach the remainder of the day. Since it was Brayden's first time at Castaway Cay (and the beach in general), we wanted it to be extra special and memorable for him!

Fun tip I never knew: If you have a small child and are interested in running the 5K, there's a drop off point for Scuttle's Cove on your way to the start line. The 5K cut off age is 10 years old, so it was nice being able to drop Brayden off right there on our route. Scuttle's Cove is entirely enclosed with no access to the beach (it's more of a splash pad type area). Super convenient and easy!

As we docked at Castaway Cay, we spent a little time taking in the beauty of the island. It was such a pretty day, too!

Breakfast in Cabanas consisted of (of course), Mickey waffles!

Prior to previous Castaway Cay 5K's I'd run, this one was a little different. Instead of meeting as a group in the Walt Disney Theater and walking to the start line together, we were directed to meet instead on the island itself. As I previously mentioned, we were able to drop Brayden off on our (LONG) walk to the start line. Castaway Cay 5K's seriously bring back memories from half marathons at Walt Disney World and the crazy long walk to the start line!

It's a great way to see the island early in the morning without the crowds, though!

Another change since I last ran this race was the start line! Instead of staring the race at the start/finish line area, runners were directed to continue walking to the air strip to start the race.

I wasn't sure how my IT Band or hamstring would hold up during this race since I had so many issues running the half marathon just two days prior, so I decided to stick towards the back and take it kind of slow.

With the recent hurricane Dorian that hit the area, I could see much more of Castaway Cay than I remembered. It seemed as if a lot of the areas that were usually full of greenery no longer were. It was very nice and clean, but I was amazed at how much of the island I could now see!

The Castaway Cay 5K takes runners and walkers down the airstrip and around the bike path. All along the way, there are various coolers of water with cups and it's so refreshing during a hot run!

They also had a set up of water in cups about midway through and it was manned by a couple of cast members.

I spotted my friends on one of our out and back loops! Hi husband and friends!

With that, it was almost time to finish the race! I love how the course is well marked, too!

Believe it or not, I was worried for nothing. Castaway Cay is SUPER flat, so my IT Band and hamstring gave me zero issues during this run! I was so excited!!

We were all so excited to have another medal to add to the collection!

After finishing our run, we all changed into our beach attire and told our friends to go to Serenity Bay. I wanted them to fully experience the amazingness of that little slice of heaven and since they weren't traveling with kids, it was the perfect opportunity!

In the mean time, we picked Brayden up from Scuttles Cove (where he had a ball) and headed over to the family beach! Life jackets were in abundant supply and we had no problems finding one for him.

He LOVED swimming and playing in the sand. It truly was a magical experience for all of us!

Midway through the day, we snagged lunch at Cookie's BBQ. This is one of my favorite parts of a Disney Cruise as the food is so delicious!

This child still talks about these banana ice cream cones, too!

Back on the beach, Jason and I took turns relaxing and playing with Brayden. While Jason played with him in the ocean. When we swapped, I took Brayden over to the splash pad area to play.

This kid seriously loved everything about Castaway Cay!

It truly was a magical day for our family!

We spent as much time as humanly possible on Castaway Cay before heading back to the ship.

Our friends loved Serenity Bay, too!

That evening, we had dinner in Enchanted Gardens. I know it's silly, but we bought these matching outfits on Castaway Cay several years ago and this was our first time for all three of us to wear them! 

It's vacation...live a little, right?! :)

Back in our room that evening, we literally crashed after such a long and fun day on the island. None of us wanted to leave and can't wait to return!

If you've visited Castaway Cay, what's your favorite part of the island?


Disney Travel Day: Wine and Dine Expo & Animal Kingdom
Disney Day 2: Wine and Dine 10K & Kids Races & Hollywood Studios/Epcot
Disney Day 3: Wine and Dine Half Marathon & Magic Kingdom
Disney Day 4: Boarding the Disney Dream
Disney Day 5: Castaway Cay
Disney Day 6: Nassau
Disney Day 7: At Sea Day
Disney Day 8: Disney Springs and Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

Disney Cruise Day 3: At Sea Day

Our first full day on board the Disney Fantasy was an at Sea Day. It also happened to be formal night and our plans didn't include a whole lot of anything, which I loved.

We did sleep in a little bit after a late night at the adult club, then we decided to grab breakfast at Cabanas. Leisurely eating breakfast while relaxing and people watching was so nice and definitely something we haven't had a chance to experience in a little while.

Mickey waffles and museli are a favorite of mine on DCL.

Our first "activity" for the trip took place mid morning in La Piazza. We are huge nerds and LOVE Disney trivia, so we played as many rounds as we could on this trip! We also won!

Between lunch and the next round of trivia, we explored the ship and took a few pictures.

I also had my first specialty coffee from DCL (EVER...can you believe it?) and it was delicious! My new barista friend also gave it to me as a "gift" from Mickey for my birthday! Now that's a way to get the cruise started off just right! :)

Before dinner, we played another round of trivia...this time, it was Disney music trivia. We also saw a guy we recognized from the adult club the previous evening and he was alone, so we asked if he wanted company. He was a super sweet guy from London and we loved making a new friend! In fact, we continued to play trivia as a "team" several times throughout the cruise! He also loved our team name, by the way (Idiots on a Cruise prevails)!

As I mentioned before, formal night was also this evening and I'm so glad they decided to put this on the very first full day on the ship, before everyone was sunburned with weird tan lines and such.

Our dinner that evening was in Enchanted Garden. This restaurant is so pretty...I love the atmosphere!

When you start off in the restaurant with your meal, it's day time. As the meal progresses, the sun begins to set and the flowers begin to awake. By the time dessert has come around, it's night time and the stars are out. It's such a neat experience!

After returning to our room, Jason surprised me with a room full of decorations for my birthday the following day!

It was such a fun surprise! I loved it!

After a relaxing day at sea, we slept peacefully and prepared for our next relaxing day at sea! Take me back, please?!

That's it for today! Thanks for following along with our recent cruise vacation! Stay tuned for more next week! :) 

What's your favorite part of an at sea day?

10th Anniversary Vacay - Day 5, Grand Cayman

When I last left off with our 10th Anniversary cruise recap, we were leaving Cozumel and heading to Grand Cayman. This actually turned out to be one of my favorite days of the entire cruise!

• Day 1 Animal Kingdom and Epcot & VLOG
• Day 2 Boarding the Disney Fantasy & VLOG
• Day 3 Day at Sea with Remy Brunch & VLOG
• Day 4 Cozumel & Chichen Itza & VLOG
• Day 5 - Grand Cayman & Sting Ray City & VLOG
• Day 6 - Jamaica & Ziplining & VLOG
• Day 7 - Second Day at Sea with Palo Brunch & VLOG
• Day 8 - Castaway Cay Day & VLOG

My morning began with a run around the jogging deck. I'd planned to fit my regular 3 weekly runs in during the week but also wanted to give myself plenty of time to rest and rejuvenate. Our excursion that day didn't start until later in the morning so I figured it was the perfect time for a run!

Our excursion that day included a visit to Stingray City. I'd never snorkeled with stingrays in prior to this cruise so I had no clue what to expect! 

When we arrived at the sandbar, there were at least 50 stingrays swimming all around the docked boats. Each boat had its own bucket of feed and those stingrays sure knew what the bucket meant!

We got in the water and before long, stingrays were swarming our area. Every now and again, I would feel one swim up against my leg. It was the oddest yet coolest feeling!

Such gentle creatures!

Why, hello there! :)

This was definitely one of the coolest excursions I'd ever done!

Our boat captains even let us hold a stingray for a photo!

Such an incredible experience!

On our way back to the port, I kept my eye out for the local restaurant offerings along the way. We ate at Hard Rock last time we were in Grand Cayman and this time we wanted a local fare. We had several hours to kill, so we headed over to Rackam's which was one of the restaurants I spotted on our way back to the port. Their menu offered seafood which sounded perfect to me!

Bonus: we had an amazing view of our ship from our table!

I ordered the fish and chips since we were in British territory and it was delicious!

After dinner, we walked over to the shopping area and both Melissa and I purchased a Grand Cayman charm for our Pandora bracelets! We also sat for a few minutes and enjoyed a little free wifi!

Our evening dinner was in Enchanted Garden and I began by ordering broccoli cheese soup off of the kids menu. :)

One of my favorite dishes of the cruise included turkey and dressing...reminded me of Thanksgiving!

Dessert that evening was fabulous, too!

Our assistant server offered to take a picture of us in the restaurant. Come to find out, he used to work for photography on board the cruise line!

The remainder of our evening was spent in the adult area watching Match Your Mate!

This show was hysterical as always! It's definitely a must-see on every cruise we've taken!

It wasn't long before we called it a night! We had another fun day ahead - this time in Jamaica where I had the opportunity to cross an item off of my "must-do" list - zip-lining in a tropical location!

Thanks for following along! :)