Disney Wish: Thursday

 We got the kids up earlier on Thursday. It was Castaway Cay day and we wanted to get on the Island nice and early. We woke up, went to the buffet (which was much less crowded early), and then got off the ship. Mom and Dad Z went with us and Mom P explored the island on her own. We started by finding some chairs next to the ocean and then got right in the water. It felt a little cool, but I got used to it super quickly and it was hot outside so it just felt nice. I hate cold water so I was a little worried I wouldn't like getting in the ocean. We got a getaway pass that allowed us to use the pool floaties, snorkel, bike, and do the sting ray experience. We went and got the donut floaties and played in the water. There were shells everywhere and the sand was super white. It was absolutely heavenly! We rented all our snorkel gear and Alana and Sean jumped right in to learning how to use the gear. It took Sean a minute, but then he really liked it. Brett took some time to be ok with it too and didn't like putting the mouth piece in, but he got used to it too. Alana was a pro from the start. Lizzie and I put our gear on and then we decided we just didn't want to put our heads under water. I really don't like sticking my head under water and I was nervous the water would come through the tube. But it was so pleasant to walk in the water, look for shells, and play with Lizzie. Mom and Dad Z were just hanging out on the beach and then went to get changed and then we all met up at the stingray feeding experience. This was so cool! They told us about the rays and how they file down the stinger so they aren't dangerous. Then they gave us all snorkel gear and took us out into the water. They had this white floating table with little Mickey Mouse mats on it. They gave us each a piece of fish and then we held it in our fist over the black Mickey mat. The rays are trained to swim up on the table and stop on the black mat. When they are over the top of your hand you let the food go and they eat it up. We got to pet them and it was just really cool. Then after the feeding was over we got to stay in that area for as long as we wanted and could snorkel and swim with the rays and other fish. It was really cool! 

Each Disney ship has cool characters on the front of the ship. The Wish has Repunzel. 

The ship is huge! 

I took this picture of my feet as I was thinking about the miraculous healing of my foot. I was able to walk around and play on the beach all day either barefoot or just with my water shoes. This would have been impossible before my surgery! I was feeling so grateful to be enjoying such a beautiful place and for a strong body that let me explore it! 

Very first thing we saw some cool prints from a bird in the sand! 

After swimming with the rays, we went to get some lunch. The island has an included buffet lunch called Cookies. We found a little lizard thinking about eating a bumblebee in the plants that we watched for a few minutes. The buffet had hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, bratwurst, sausages, lots of salads, corn bread, cookies, brownies, and soft serve. There was lots of fruit too. I thought they would have hot dogs and Brett was hoping for one so I asked the workers and they got me some but they covered the plate and told me not to show anyone, haha! Our servers Carlos and Kira were there on the Island serving lunch and we happened to go through their line. 

Watching the lizard.

After lunch we found the bikes and went on the 5k trail. It was so fun to ride bikes through the beautiful trails and we found a really cool lookout tower. From the lookout tower we could see this funny bird in an outhouse which was pretty random =) 

After biking we went to check out skuttle landing ( I think) which was a playground area in the Ocean. We decided we actually weren't that interested in it so we went back to our original spot and Sean and Alana went snorkeling again and Brett and Lizzie and I played in the sand. It got a little rainy for awhile. Brett's back so getting pretty toasty and I could feel my back burning so I made sure to keep my t-shirt on. Lizzie made an incredible mermaid tail! 

We returned all the snorkel gear and started making our way over to the parasailing area. The rain got heavier for a bit and by the time we got to the parasailing adventure they had canceled Sean and Alana's excursion. They were a little bummed, but not too much since it had already been such a fun day! We helped a nice lady whose electric scooter didn't have enough juice to get her up a hill. We rinsed off a little and headed back onto the boat. We all got showered and changed then went to a Nick Wilde drawing class. It was super hard to draw him! Lizzie loved stopping on the landing in between decks 6 and 7 and saying "six seven". Its a huge slang work right now, lol! I think I forgot to mention that on Pirate night Sean, Brett, and I went to karaoke and sang "You're Welcome" from Moana. 

We had dinner at 1923 on the last night which was the restaurant my parents were looking forward to the most. The food was delicious and the apple pie cheesecake dessert was my favorite from the whole week! Im not sure what our towel animal was this night but it was cute =) 

Mom and Dad Z and Mom P got a penguin. 

1923 had the coolest artwork and decor all throughout! 

Here's our server Kira who was from Ireland and we miss her! 

After dinner we went to the Aladdin show which was so so good! After dinner we went up to the pool deck for some last minute ice cream and pizza then went back down to bed. We all loved the island and want to go back again soon!!!!