Guest Trip Report: February 7, 2020 7 Night on the Disney Wonder from New Orleans – Day 3

When I first saw today’s navigator, I was shocked by how early we were scheduled to dock in Key West.

 

 

Every past navigator that I had consulted for a similar itinerary had the ship coming into Key West about 11:30, and we were scheduled for docking at 8:30. Then I realized, DUH, those other ships had all left out of Galveston, and of course, New Orleans is closer to the Florida Keys.  I was excited about the extra time we would have there.  Upon arrival in Key West, we were notified that we had docked at a US Naval base.  We intentionally ate a leisurely breakfast, again in Triton’s, to miss the lines of people waiting to disembark.

 

 

When we left the ship about 9 am, there were trolleys and buses lined up beside the gangway to take us off the base and drop us off in the downtown area, near Mallory Square. Pictures were forbidden while on the military base, so I don’t have any pictures of the transportation.  When we disembarked, there was no line, and we walked right onto a trolley and were off exploring in a matter of minutes.

 

There are tons of options for excursions in Key West for the history lover.  My husband Steven and I have been known to take Valentine’s Weekend trips to Memphis to visit the Civil Rights Museum, so we have fully embraced our nerd-dom.  Some amazing options for literary and history fans are Hemingway’s home and Truman’s “Little White House.”  However, a toddler has zero interest in any of those things, so we were limited this trip in our scholarly pursuits.  We definitely plan to go back and visit these places when Michael is old enough to enjoy (or at least endure!) them.  For this trip, to get a good overview of what the island has to offer, we downloaded a fun scavenger hunt to our phone that sent us from landmark to landmark. This was the perfect compromise for our family.  We got to see the sights and learn about fascinating history, such as shipwrecks, while staying on the move and not subjecting Michael to docents, tours, and lectures.  Our tour started at the waterfront and moved us to various other sights of interest throughout the island.

 

 

Along the way, I noticed this chicken posing for my camera.

 

 

We were very glad here that we opted to bring the stroller.  If you do an internet search, you will find that many folks are of the opinion that strollers are not worth the extra effort, but we were grateful we brought our CityMini GT.  It fit under the bed in our room, so it never got in the way.  I wholeheartedly recommend bringing your own if you have room with your luggage.

 

About 1:30 we were all getting hot and a little hangry.  Fortunately, our scavenger hunt led us to the original Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville Café.  Buffet attended one of our local universities, Southern Miss, so Mississippi is proud to claim him as a native son.

 

 

Steven ordered fish tacos, and Michael and I both got fish and chips.  The portions here are huge.  Honestly, Michael and I could have easily shared his kids’ meal portion.  It was pricey too! Our bill for 2 adult lunches and 1 kids’ meal was $80.  Of course, we also ordered one slice of Key Lime pie to share, which was definitely a yummy treat.  High prices are the norm in Key West, and that is easily understandable given its distance from the mainland.  We passed a CVS on the way to start our scavenger hunt, so I went in to get some heartburn medicine since I had forgotten mine at home.  I came out muttering about “piracy” and “highway robbery,” but I bought the medicine, ha!

 

After lunch, Michael was all done and needed a nap.  We sadly abandoned our scavenger hunt and headed back to the ship.  Side note:  we REALLY enjoyed this unique way to see the island.  If you’d like the information about it, I’ll be happy to send you a link.  Just email me at rhonda@magicaldistractions.com.  We had a nice view of the Wonder as we were about to get back on base.

 

Back onboard, Michael got a nap.  We were glad to see that our Castaway Club Platinum gift had finally arrived.  Platinum-level guests have the option of a bottle of Prosecco, chocolates, or a fruit basket.  We had requested our fruit basket on the first day, but we had to call a few times to let Room Service know that it had never arrived.  Michael especially loved the fruit.  It was nice to have a healthy snack option readily available for all of us.

 

 

After naptime, we set off to see Mickey.  We were pleasantly surprised by the fact that the characters appeared in Mardi Gras outfits for this sailing.

 

The early dining option, officially called main dining, has a way of sneaking up on us still since we are still adjusting to it.  It always seems to be time to get ready for dinner.  Day 3 was our first time to experience Tiana’s.  I love the atmosphere of this restaurant, and I was looking forward to eating here again. This was a new menu for me since we’d only ever done the Mardi Gras menu before.  I was not a fan; it was by far my least favorite menu of the week. I had the crab dip and the shrimp and was disappointed in both.

 

 

Michael, on the other hand, dove (literally) into his strawberry shortcake.

 

I left hungry, which has never happened on DCL before, but I was glad that I would have another opportunity to eat the Mardi Gras menu later in the trip.  We did get to enjoy the Crawfish Crooners’ live music, and they never disappoint! The show in the Walt Disney Theater was a very entertaining variety act performed by David Aiken.  He was high-energy and engaging.  I have noticed that the variety acts do not fill the theater the way that the original Disney productions do, but Disney takes great care to bring first-rate entertainment onboard.  I recommend that you plan to attend all of the Walt Disney Theater shows.

 

With Michael still awake after the show, we took the opportunity to visit the French Quarter Lounge to hear the VIP duo.  This is the best vocal act I have ever heard on DCL, and they are usually all quite good.  This duo is simply amazing.  Their talent is incredible, and we found ourselves enjoying their music again and again on the sailing. Word quickly spread, and after the first few shows of the sailing, their performances were standing room only. I realized later that I had no pictures of them, which I deeply regret.  However, here is a screengrab from one of my videos.

 

A note about the lounge:  we loved this new space!  It quickly became our favorite hangout on the ship.