We stayed at Disney's Pop Century Resort this trip. We were not on any plan but used our Tables in Wonderland card for some dining discounts. We also spent four days aboard the Disney Dream.

Throughout the trip I posted live pictures to the site's twitter account, you may be interested in going back through them at: http://www.twitter.com/disneygeekcom

Thoughts & Observations:

• The crowds were heavier than years past. It seems the secret of the best time to visit WDW has gotten out. Either that or the free dining promotion, Pop Warner football, and decent weather lead to it this year.
  
  
• The highlight of this trip for me was getting to spend some time aboard the Disney Dream. I have put off going on a Disney Cruise for several reasons over the years ranging from just being lazy to wanting to spend my vacation time elsewhere to the cost factor. I finally decided to take the plunge this year. I had been on a couple previous cruises over the years including one on Premiere Cruise Lines when they had the Disney contract back in the 90s, everyone remember the Big Red Boat?
  
  
• I went about the cruise like I would look at a theme park. Mostly because that is what comes naturally to me and secondly because I wanted pictures. I spent some time learning the layout of the ship and then set about exploring all corners of it. As you will see in the pictures I ended up taking quite a few, about 9,000 over the five days and four nights.
  
  
• I really enjoyed my time on board. The ship was spectacular and offered plenty to do. Castaway Cay was a nice retreat. The number one question I have been asked about the trip so by non Disneygeeks is what about all the kids. I would have to say if you have no problem visiting the theme parks then you would have no problem on the ship. Yes there are kids, remember it is Disney, but there are so many activities for them and the ship is large enough that I never really gave it any thought nor did they seem to cause any problems or headaches (for their parents now that may be another story).
  
  
• Food: When people think of cruising they think of food. I am not a huge food person so it ranked well down on my list of priorities. There were plenty of choices and the rotational dining was nice. Unlike other cruise lines on Disney ships you rotate through the dining rooms, each with their own theme. Your wait staff goes with you. I would rate the food as average compared to others I have experienced. I am a meat and french fry kind of guy. Out of the four dinners I only found two nice steaks on the menu. On other cruises there was always at least one to choose from. Also the fries in the dining rooms were not that good.. the ones at Maters were substantially better.
  
  
• Stateroom: We had a stateroom on Deck 7 that had a veranda. The room itself felt larger than other ships I had been on and I really liked having the split bathroom. One room had a sink and toilet and the other a sink and tub/shower. Even though the water temperature was never constant for me, it always fluctuated between where I wanted it and cold.
  
  
• Service: Disney Service was up to the levels I had anticipated for the most part. One thing we noticed on this cruise vs others is the crew was international but everyone spoke and understood English with no problems at all. You were able to easily communicate with everyone and anyone that you ran into and they all had the typical Disney attitude of friendliness.
  
  
• Entertainment: The ship offered a different Disney production each night. The main shows in the Walt Disney Theater are what you have come to expect from Disney. Top notch talent delivering a family friendly show. Up on Deck they had a Pirates night set of shows as well as fireworks (the only cruise line to offer fireworks at sea). Throughout the cruise there were plenty of other entertainment options ranging from traditional Disney character encounters to traditional cruise entertainment like comedians and singing.
  
  
• Christmas: Since I have never been on one of the ships before I am not sure how to compare. But overall I thought they had plenty of trees, wreaths, and holiday touches around the ship. The amount on Castaway Cay in the immediate area surrounding the ship was great too but it petered out as you go further away. One thing that pictures cannot convey is the background music. As you walked the ship each area/room/etc has a track and almost all of these were Christmas/holiday inspired and different. So there was a vast amount and very interesting to listen to if you took the time to pause and listen.
  
  
• Crowds: The ship was sold out according to a sign I saw by Guest Services. I never did see a final passenger count but a sell out would mean its approaching the 4,000 guest count. Even with all these guests on board I thought it felt crowded. Even the day at sea when you knew everyone was there it really was not that bad. There common spaces are spread out enough that it seemed to work. The only time we encountered waits/crowds was after the lifeboat drill and a of course everyone trying to get out of the theater after a show. But other than that nothing comes to mind where I thought things were crowded.