Disney Cruisin'

My parents are so mature, that they invited all 21 Babbels to tag along on a Disney cruise for their 40th anniversary.  Not many people would attempt this.  With the help of Mickey and some other workers, we turned my parents' special event into a weeklong blowout celebration!  

The reunion doesn't count unless you have matching shirts!  Here are a few of us cheesily boarding the boat. (Hey, you'd act giddy too with a western Caribbean cruise awaiting you!) 

HAPPY 40 YEARS OF MARRIAGE!  Hip hip hooray!

Ahh, this is the life!  Here is my Dad with Christian at Castaway Cay, AKA the Disney island. 

Where's the sign up sheet to permanently live on this island?

During the days at sea, several Babbels were in line for the Aquaduck waterslide at any given time.

We had constant pruney fingers from so much swimming!  The cruise had 7 different pools to choose from.

Here's the whole Babbel family, gussied up for a fancy dinner and Aladdin play.

2 parents + 4 children + 3 sons-in-law + 12 grandchildren.  

From 2 to 21 in 40 years! That's a lot of expansion.

Soaring in Jamaica

Benson's first kiss happened in Cozumel, Mexico

Here we are in Grand Cayman, discussing The Firm and getting psyched for a 30-feet deep helmet dive.  Despite some fears, we all took the plunge down to the ocean floor. It was so peaceful down there, and incredibly colorful and beautiful too.  What a thrill!

Just what the doctor ordered

We stalked as many Disney characters as possible


Some character visits went better than others

 Here's Josephine explaining about her Elsa and Anna dress to Elsa and Anna.

You don't see Mayan ruins every day!

And you usually don't get swanky dinner dates every day either!

Zaya got her hair braided-- here's the BEFORE...

(scroll down a bit to see the AFTER)

One rule of the cruise was that everyone had to make room in their suitcases for a pirate costume.  The "Pirates in the Caribbean" night was a big hit! 

Captain Babbel and his first mate

Tara and Evan woke up early on New Year's Day to run a 5K at one of the stops.  

We cheered them on in our dreams. 

Here's Elise and Caleb chilling in Grand Cayman 

Pool stunts

John, Tyson, and I got to explore Jamaica from an aerial view.  As part of the tour we passed Usain Bolt's former high school track, which was... a little ragged looking.  But hey, if you're the world's fastest man, I guess you don't need the latest greatest synthetic sponge surface!

The original Babbel 4 at a fancy restaurant-- we ditched the 12 grandkids for a wonderful adults-only dinner, so the kids got to eat at the regular dining room by themselves, with only the waiters to keep them in check!  The waiters told us later that it was honestly really fun.  We were super impressed.

Here's Ivy, ZoeZoe, and Alistair lallygagging the day away!  Not a care in the world except for the stingray that just glided past their toes!

Just taking home a little bit of Jamaica!

(This is Zaya's hair when she finally took out her braids)

It was bittersweet to disembark after a week of nonstop fun.  If we can ever afford to go on another cruise, we're sticking with Disney-- it was truly an incredible experience and they kill it with their customer service and extra special details.  THANK YOU MOM AND DAD for this trip of a lifetime!  Happy 40th Anniversary!  May your 41st be just as action-packed and exotic!

The Happiest Place on Earth

After the Auto Train rolled into the Florida station, we loaded the cars and hit the parks.  The next few days we visited Epcot, the Animal Kingdom, Harry Potter World, and (on Christmas Day) the Magic Kingdom.   Here's a smattering of pictures from those adventures:

The Main Street parade was a big hit with our whole group

(This was on Christmas day)

The Buccaneers at Epcot: Benson, Zaya, and Chase

And the Buccaneers later, tentatively knocking on at #12 Grimmauld Place in Harry Potter Land. 

Here are John and Cole zapping Emperor Zurg at the Buzz Lightyear ride

Here we are on the front row for the Christmas Candlelight Processional.  It was outstanding! 

Hogwarts Castle
(Zaya, Quin, Benson, Alistair, and Caleb)

 
It's a small world after all!

The 7 Dwarfs mine ride was the first roller coaster (ever) for a lot of the younger grandkids.  

Just risking my cell phone to document the BEST roller coaster ever-- Expedition Everest at the Animal Kingdom.

This ride is more of my mom's speed.

Look at these faces from Space Mountain!

All aboard the Hogwarts Express!

We had these two helpers Dave and Kate who toured us through the Magic Kingdom and took us to the front of the line each time.  It was like Fast Pass on steroids. We hired them for 8 hours on Christmas day and made it through the whole park!  Best idea ever.

AGHHHH!! Splashing down Splash Mountain. 

(That super animated guy towards the back was our other helper, Dave.) 

The cutest wizard Chase, solemnly swearing he is up to no good.

They switched the Jungle Cruise to the Jingle Cruise for Christmas. 

More Jingle Cruising...

Quin even got to drive the boat for a minute!

Thunder Mountain Railroad, oh yeah!

My boys are suddenly big Winnie the Pooh fans after our dinner in the Crystal Palace.  Despite our best efforts, Christian ditched his food and instead became a stalker to the characters!

The kids can't wait to go back to Disney World (tomorrow, if possible), but we told them we'll have to stick with the rides outside of grocery stores for about a decade.  They get to savor the memories from these photos until then. 

All aboard!!

To kick off our Christmas vacation, the whole Babbel family (all 21 of us) boarded the Auto Train in Washington, DC and traveled down to Orlando, FL.  

This method of travel is much better than being strapped into a booster seat for 15 hours!  

Peekaboo!  We loved playing hide-and-seek in our train car.

The train ride was the perfect time to play a super complicated long game with my nephews!  Alistair had to re-explain Dominion to me several times before I remembered what I was doing.  (And then of course he walloped me.)

It was relaxing to stare out the windows and watch Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida whisk by.

We ate in the dining car before being rocked to sleep by the swaying of the train. 

When we woke up, we knew by the palm trees out the window that we had arrived in Florida, so we quickly snarfed down breakfast and got ready to begin our fantastic Disney adventure!