2017 Disney Social Media Moms Celebration Land & Sea: Day 5
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Earlier this year, I was invited to attend the 2017 Disney Social Media Moms Celebration! It was a wonderful experience and one I’ll never forget. One of the best parts was that I finally took a Disney cruise, something that had been on my bucket list for a long time. Follow along on day 5 where I experienced that tropical paradise that is Castaway Cay, Disney’s own private island in the Bahamas followed by an amazing fine dining experience back on the Disney Wonder.
I was invited by Disney to attend the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration. I paid a conference fee and received complimentary goodies but all opinions are entirely my own.
Need to catch up? Read all about Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 and Day 4 of the #DSMMC.
Day five of the 2017 Disney Social Media Moms Celebration was our final day at sea and also that day that I realized Disney had saved the best for last. While we’d had a fantastic time on the cruise already, this was the day that we would be visiting Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay. I was attending with with my good friend Kristie and when we woke up and looked over our balcony, we knew immediately that it was going to be a great day!
Castaway Cay
We threw on our suits, grabbed the beach bag and hightailed it off the ship. We knew the day would only last so long and we wanted to spend as much time as possible in this tropical paradise!
One thing I loved about Castaway Cay was that it had a family side and an adult side. Since Kristie and I had left the kids behind, we chose to relax and soak up the sun on the adults only side. Of course, it’s not Disney without a few extra touches. I sure wouldn’t mind crashing onto this island!
We made our way to the beach and the first thing we saw was this spectacular view! I didn’t even have to touch this picture, the Caribbean water really is that blue. No wonder Johnny Depp owns 100 islands here!
We settled in and then we had some important business to take care of. In keeping with the theme, the bar looked just like an old airplane hanger.
Relaxing On A Tropical Island
You can’t spend the day on an island like this without a frozen drink or two, right?
The problem with me is that I can never sit still for long. I always think I want to just lie on the beach but when I do, I feel the urge to go for a walk, play in the water or build a sand castle. In this case, I decided to create a fun #DSMMC tribute.
When it was finished, I still felt like it was missing something. I told Kristie that it needed more color but we didn’t really have anything to add. Suddenly, a gentleman walked over with a stuffed animal. However, it wasn’t just anybody…it was Chris Sonnenburg, the executive producer of Tangled: The Series, who had spoken at our conference the day before. It wasn’t just any stuffed animal either. It was Pascal, the chameleon from Tangled, who has been photographed with everyone from Mandy Moore, Alan Menken and Danny Trejo on his very own Instagram page. He offered to let me use Pascal in my picture, an offer this Tangled fan happily accepted!
The first picture looked okay but having Pascal made all the difference. I chatted with Mr. Sonnenburg for a few minutes and he was the nicest guy ever! I had to get a picture before he went back to his family.
Afterwords, Kristie and I went exploring and found some fun sea creatures. These little sea snails were everywhere.
It was an amazing afternoon but unfortunately it had to end. We entertained the thought of hiding in the bushes and living there forever, but we had dinner plans at a fancy restaurant.
Fine Dining At Palo
During the session the day before, my name had been drawn for a prize and I’d won dinner for two at Palo. I’d heard a lot about this restaurant since we’d boarded. It sounded amazing but it cost $30 extra and since we’d enjoyed the regular dining so much, we had decided to skip it. We had no idea what we would have been missing out on!
Palo is an adults only restaurant serving northern Italian cuisine. My first impression was that it was the kind of restaurant my husband used to take me before we had kids. Now we don’t go many places without grilled cheese or chicken tenders on the menu! I had taken a walk through Palo earlier in the cruise just to check it out and it was beautifully decorated.
Venice is one of my favorite places on earth and I loved the Venetian decor.
Later that night, we made our way to dinner and were treated with this stunning view.
Dinner at Palo is truly a fine dining experience. The food was amazing. I could have just had the antipasti platter for my meal, there was so much to choose from. But then I would have missed out on these delicious sea scallops.
The chocolate souffle was a chocolate lovers dream!
This was the type of restaurant that would cost hundreds of dollars back home. Knowing what I know now, I would have paid the extra $30 in a heartbeat. If you ever cruise on the Disney Wonder and really want to treat yourself, this is the way to do it!
Entertainment
Since it was our last kid-free night, Kristie and I took in the adults only trivia show. You know it’s going to be good when the host shows up in this outfit…
The show was hilarious, making for another fun girl’s night! The host had us laughing hysterically the entire time! Eventually we had to call it a night…we were leaving in the morning and had some packing to do. The last thing I wanted to do was leave but it was that or get thrown overboard (okay, maybe they don’t REALLY do that but I wasn’t taking any chances).
However, there’s a bright side! I already have my next Disney cruise planned and my family gets to join me this time! While I had a fantastic time with my friend Kristie, it’s going to be an entirely different experience with Jon and the girls. Even better, it’s a Halloween cruise and I’ve convinced my husband to wear a Disney costume. It’s not the Chewbacca costume that little Keira picked out but I think even she’s going to love it. We are beyond excited (seriously, I get to go to Castaway Cay twice in one year!) and I can’t wait to share that experience with you too! Watch for it on my TravelingMom.com page towards the end of September.
I feel so fortunate to have been invited to attend the 2017 Disney Social Media Moms Celebration and it was something I’ll never forget and ! I hope you’ve enjoyed following along with me as I relived this adventure.
If you enjoyed this post, you may want to check these out too…
5 Experiences That Are Worth The Extra Money At Disney World
7 Reasons To Take A Disney Cruise Without The Kids
Why You Need To Visit The New Disney Springs
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