After a rather unusually hectic embarkation day on the Disney Magic, we were crossing our fingers that everyone would wake up healthy and ready to hit the ground running (or at least walking) in Key West, FL. Hunter and I managed to get up around 5 am and couldn’t get back to sleep, which in turn woke Emily up, so we arose a bit earlier than planned. The plus side to being up early is that the Disney Magic arrived at the Port of Key West just after 6 AM as the sun was starting to break over the horizon. I set up my customary time lapse video off of our veranda balcony railing to capture the ship approaching and tying up to the dock. While out on our veranda trying to let Sawyer sleep, we spotted this cool grey speed yacht that was docked near the port. It was just like something out of a James Bond film. We agreed we had to get a closer view when we disembarked the ship.
The boys awoke to a visit from Stateroom Santa who surprised them with lanyards and Disney gift cards to spend on the cruise. He explained that he was on vacation from all his Christmas business, so he left the gift cards for them to treat themselves this trip! All ashore time for the morning in Key West was scheduled for 7:30 am. We did our morning shower rotation and got suited up in the first round of outfits that Emily painstakingly put together. We were ready to go just as they were opening the aft gangplank letting the first guests off the ship for the morning.
Emily and I originally visited Key West back in 2003 when we made the drive from Orlando. Since the drive is about eight hours, we haven’t been back since, so we were looking forward to another visit. Emily researched dining locations on the island prior to our departure and found a location called Blue Heaven that we wanted to try out for breakfast. This meant that we skipped our first Cabanas breakfast which caught the boys a little off guard.
Right after disembarking the ship in Key West we were greeted by beautiful buildings lining the port, containing various shops and snack/ice cream shops. We took a spin around the store fronts, planning which locations we wanted to come back to. We also walked over to the speed yacht we saw from our balcony and captured some photos of it, as well as the Disney Magic in port.
With our hunger growing and a twenty minute walk ahead of us, we set the GPS to Blue Heaven restaurant and walked the .7 miles to our destination. With my button down flower shirt, camera backpack strapped to my back, and GoPro out, I was doing my best to not look like a tourist. One of the most unique things we discovered about Key West on our walk is the island is inhabited by a large number of roosters. Not only did we see several of them walking the streets along with us, we heard them throughout various neighborhoods, ensuring that residents knew that it was time to wake up. The boys got a kick out of how close we could get to these free roaming birds.
After a brief walk (not to hear Sawyer tell it), we arrived at Blue Heaven just after 8:30. The exterior of the restaurant is adorned by uniquely painted artwork signs. We walked in through a gated greenery walkway which takes you past the gift shop and into the center courtyard, already full of patrons enjoying their breakfast. The courtyard contains an assortment of table styles with plastic chairs which fit the artsy vibe of the hand paintings on the walls. There is also a tiki bar in the middle of the courtyard which is surrounded by an outer ring of sand, allowing some guests to enjoy the beach vibe.
We put our names in for a table for breakfast and the wait was already fifteen minutes. I blame it on the roosters getting all the locals up so early for breakfast on a Saturday. The wait of course gave us time to check out the gift shop, which had a ton of Blue Heaven merchandise, indicating we weren’t the first to discover this place. Our fifteen minute wait didn’t take long and we were seated at an oval glass topped table for six ready to get our grub on.
The boys both ordered pancakes. Hunter added pecans to his which was a diversion from his normal chocolate chips. Emily ordered the BLT Benny which was bacon, lobster, and tomato eggs Benedict. I ordered the BLT omelet, which was the same thing in omelet form. The breakfast was the perfect start to the day as the food was delicious and the atmosphere was even better.
After breakfast, we were fueled up and ready to go. We had no official plan, which was a little unusual for Emily. We discussed at breakfast wanting to get a photo taken at the Southernmost Point which was about a 20 minute walk from our breakfast location. As we arrived, there was already a line formed of visitors capturing the famous photo. Because it was still early in the morning, it wasn’t a long wait. There seemed to be an unspoken agreement that you would photograph the group that was in the line in front of you so that everyone could be in the photo together. The lady behind us obliged and we grabbed our photo op.
The boys, not missing a detail, had spotted a snow cone stand on the way to the Southernmost Point. What kid doesn’t need a bucket of iced sugar to get their morning started. We grudgingly agreed and grabbed a couple for our walk. Luckily we got them after our photo or else the boys would be forever remembered with purple lips and pants in the Southernmost Point photo.
Duval Street was just a few blocks east, so we navigated to this popular tourist spot to continue our Key West tour. We were basically at the southern most point of the street so we started by walking to the water’s edge where there is a dock for the public to enjoy picturesque views of the Atlantic. We admired the view and the pelicans who were plunging into the ocean looking for their next meal.
We walked up Duval St., ducking in and out of shops, admiring the tacky tchotchkes that adorned the spinning displays. As we were leaving one of the shops we were handed small American flags to celebrate the Wounded Warriors parade that was going to be arriving on Duval St. around 11:30 am. We took in the sights and sounds of the main drag in Key West and made it to Sloppy Joe’s, where we stopped for a drink and a rest for our legs. Emily got a Sloppy Rita and I got the Speakeasy Punch. When in Key West…. As we were finishing our drinks, we saw the police vehicles lining up outside the restaurant for the start of the Wounded Warriors bike parade. We joined the other visitors on the sidewalk and cheered them all on as they passed. It was a cool and spontaneous moment that we were glad to be part of.
We finished the last stretch of Duval Street and ended up at Mallory Square where we walked around and took a few pictures with the Disney Magic in the background. We then went to the Tervis store to pick up a Key West glass. Right next store was Kermit’s, which is a famous shop that sells everything key lime. We got a couple of frozen chocolate covered key lime bars to enjoy on our walk back to the ship. Emily and I first had these almost 16 years ago when we first visited Key West and loved them! Emily and the boys looked around at a few stores near the ship while I took a few pictures. We got back on the ship around 12:30 and were ready for a little chill time.
We returned to our stateroom to chill for a bit until our stomachs indicated that it was indeed time for lunch. We got suited up in our swim gear and made our way to deck nine for some Cabanas lunch. We were able to secure a table out the back of the restaurant with a bit of shade. We enjoyed the view of the port of Key West as made quick work of our lunch.
After lunch we all agreed that today was the day we were going to fulfill our promise to take a plunge on the AquaDunk. The Disney Magic added the AquaDunk in 2013, most likely because of the popularity of the Aqua Duck on the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy. While the Aqua Duck is a medium speed tube ride around the smokestacks of deck 12, the AquaDunk is a little different. The AquaDunk takes up a much smaller footprint, descending from the midship smokestack straight down. Although the line was relatively short, it took a little while because every rider has to be individually loaded into the slide. The nerves of the group started to build as we got closer to the front of the line and we could hear the screams of the guests taking the plunge. Basically, you get in at the top of the tube and stand on a platform. Then a clear glass coffin lid closes over the top of you and the floor drops out from under you. As you get to the top of the line and watch person after person disappear into the tube, it starts to get a bit terrifying. Although we were nervous, everybody was brave and made it to the bottom of the Aqua Dunk, but I have to say it is quite a ride!
After our epic slide we hung out and enjoyed the water activities on the ship. We took a brief dip in the pool followed by the boys playing and splashing around at the Aqua Lab. Emily and I took a quick break to share one of our new found favorites on the ship, the Shawarma. After we had our fill of water play and food, we headed back to the room to change into dry clothes. They boys wanted to play around at the Oceaneer Club and we were happy to oblige.
We enjoyed our quiet afternoon break at the Signals bar, near the forward of deck 9. We stuck with the usual Captain’s Mai Tai for our beverage of choice. A couple of lounge chairs were calling our names, providing a stunning view of the port of Key West. We arrived just in time as the ship was leaving the port. It did a 180 degree turn before heading south to Nassau in the Bahamas. While we sat there we reminisced about our day and talked about our plans for a fun ship day tomorrow.
After our time on deck 9 we returned to the room to decorate it for Sawyer’s birthday. Emily did a great job with her Marvel theme with an emphasis on Spiderman, his favorite. We then took our reading materials to deck four for a quick walk and some reading time. Emily brought her magazine, and I brought Harry Potter. My quest for 2019 is to read more, and since Hunter was getting into the Harry Potter books, I thought i would join him in reading them.
Today was the first day that we got the benefit of the awesome Disney Cruise Line Navigator app on our phones (thanks Sean M.). Hunter was able to message us from the Oceaneer Club to let us know that he and Sawyer were ready to be picked up. We walked up to deck five and picked up the boys just after five and returned to the room. When Sawyer arrived he was super excited for all the decorations, as well as his new Spiderman costume.
Our next planned activity wasn’t until 6:15 and dinner wasn’t until 8:15. Sawyer hadn’t eaten that much for lunch so we decided to head up to deck nine and get a few slices of pizza and an ice cream prior to getting ready for the show. Deck nine was a bit busy with guests getting in their last pool time before the nightly activities.
We made quick work of our late afternoon snack time, returning to our stateroom with limited time to get ready. Tonight’s show was Tangled the Musical in the Walt Disney Theater, followed by dinner at Lumiere’s. Emily had themed matching clothes for the family which should surprise absolutely no one who has followed this blog for more than one post. The boys had polka dotted bow ties that were the perfect accessories to their well planned outfits. We scrambled to get our belts and shoes on as we were getting dressed walking out the door.
We arrived to the Walt Disney Theater just in time. We worked our way down the outside walkway, getting seats near the front right side of the theater with a few minutes to spare. The cruise director, Trent, fired up the theater goers with his recap of the first port day of the cruise and an overview of the fun adventures ahead. And then it was showtime!
Tangled The Musical was absolutely amazing! The cast did an incredible job telling the Tangled story and singing the songs we have come to know from the movie. The creative team also wrote a few additional songs exclusive to the stage show which were just as good as the ones written for the movie. We especially enjoyed the lantern scene as performers came through the audience with lanterns attached to long rods that glided above the audience members.
After the show we hopped into the Marvel store, which just happened to be outside the theater. The boys eyed some interesting things they put on their wish list to buy with their gift cards. As I stepped out of the store I heard a show going on in the room next door which happened to be Magic Dave. We saw him on the seven night eastern Caribbean cruise where he did the main stage act. We took the boys and grabbed a seat to watch the remainder of the show. Although it was the same content we had seen before, it was still really funny.
Magic Dave’s show ended just in time for us to make our way to deck 3 for our dinner at Lumiere’s. Since we were all dressed up Emily wanted to make sure that we got our photo taken before our dinner at Lumiere’s. Don’t we clean up nice??
We joined the herd of guests heading into the second dinner seating at Lumiere’s. We were escorted to table 42, tucked away in the front corner of the restaurant. This was Sawyer’s and my first sit down dinner of the cruise since Sawyer slept through the previous dinner. We got to meet our wait staff, Tana and Adrian, who were super nice. Sawyer was losing steam as we ordered our meals and we knew he wouldn’t last long. Sawyer ordered Mac and cheese, while Hunter went with one of his new favorites, French Onion Soup, as well as the Chateaubriand. Emily and I followed suit with the Chateaubriand as well, and Emily got the shrimp appetizer and I got the fried brie app. Although Sawyer got his dinner before the rest of us, he got through about six bites before falling asleep in my lap. I carefully navigated my meal as to not spill all over his head, which ended up nestled in my lap. We enjoyed Emily’s favorite cruise desserts of both Grand Marnier Soufflé and Creme Brûlée before retiring to our stateroom with full bellies. We had grand plans to order room service (again), but we agreed that we night not be awake when it would arrive. We pulled up Mary Poppins on the movies on demand and let the gentle ocean rock us to sleep.
Tomorrow’s port of call is Nassau Bahamas where we look forward to enjoying a relaxing day on the Disney Magic!
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