TEHACHAPI WEEKENDER/SENIOR SCENE TRAVEL— January-February 2013 Woo Hoo! The Disney Dream Cruise is Truly Magic (Page 5) BY DENISE TRONE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Denise Trone saved this calendar page her husband brought home back in 2009 — the words became her mantra, ‘Fill your life with experiences, not excuses.’ WOO HOO!!! This is this phrase that my late husband, Bret, and I hollered out to the sky when we hurled off on our many adventures. Bret brought home a piece of artwork from work one day and told me the speech bubble — “Fill your life with experiences, not excuses” — fit me to the tee, because I tend to congest every opportunity out of life, with my family and friends dragging along behind me. So when I headed off last September with two friends and two youngsters to enjoy a Disney Dream cruise from Florida, I repeatedly informed each one of them (while they were rolling their eyes and mocking me), that someday they would thank me for all the activities I insisted they participate in because they would be richer for the experience. To detail our voyage on the Disney Dream could take chapters, but to sum it up in one word, I would use “magic.” It is Disney’s own blatantly advertised opinion of themselves, but I’d say it’s also accurate. From the time my little sister, Stacy, my best friend, Tina, my great niece and nephew, Dylan and Stacy, and I stepped foot on the cruise bus that fetched us from Orlando to Port Canaveral, we were immersed in Tinkerbell’s “fairy dust.” I had made sure to do “pre- everything" for our cruise arrangements, to speed the process along, so after we showed our passports at the check-in counter, we were quickly ushered to the concierge at the far end of the embarkation building, just adjacent to the “Hidden Mickey” entrance to the ship. Before all of us knew what was happening, we were being escorted through those ears and having our official 2012 Disney Dream picture taken. Soon, we were in our stateroom, which was gorgeous, as I had chosen a balcony view, since my friend, Tina, has a tendency to get seasick. The kids loved the hidden pull-down bed that dropped from the ceiling, and our Jamaican host, Byron, a retired teacher, filled our days and nights with laughter. His stories and personal touches, such as folded animal towels and tricks for the kids, to chocolates on the beds, truly added to the great experience. Deck 11 was the happening place, and we could be found there often, spiraling through the Aquaduck, swimming in Donald and Mickey’s pools, or sunning on the deck. Pluto’s track, on Deck 4 was an awesome place to walk off those exquisite meals we attempted to polish off every night, (See Woo Hoo! • Page 6)

PHOTO COURTESY OF DENISE TRONE (Denise Trone of Tehachapi, at far left, with traveling companions Stacy Hanisits, Stacy Thompson, Dylan Hanisits and Christina Schultz on a Disney Dream cruise last year.) my favorite, being the Butternut Truffle Ravioli at The Animator’s Palette. And, oh, the desserts! We needed to walk that track every single night to keep up with them, or should I say, shed them! One night, at the Enchanted Garden, our waiter, Barry, brought us every single dessert on the menu, and we walked away as bloated as Winnie the Pooh. But the best dessert of all was the Chocolate Souffle at Palo. It was an airy chocolate cloud, and our waiter, Felice, poked a hole in the top and poured warm vanilla custard and rich chocolate ganache into its center. Talk about melting in your mouth! For Dylan and Stacy, the Oceaneer’s Club and Ocean Lab was a place where they could just be kids. They hunted for Heffalumps, saved Woody and his friends from the evil Sid, with giant life-sized green Army men as their fearless leaders, washed their hands in a super new cool cleaning machine, and played with giant Monsters, Inc. sized toys, fairies and more. They also played a giant mini-golf sized game on Goofy’s sport deck, with the Atlantic Ocean as the backdrop and got soaked with Nemo and his friends. And talk about the Disney characters—they were everywhere! That little boy and girl filled their autograph books with what seemed like every Disney character that existed, and they knew, and so did we, that we were meeting the “real deal.” This cruise is the stuff of kids’ dreams, people! We watched “Believe,” a play that made you dream it was possible to be a child again and have faith that magic still really exists, we fenced with pirates and saw them battle it out with each other in a sea and sky full of fireworks, we hugged and fed and swam with the dolphins and the stingrays, we snorkeled and flipped inner tubes and lay flat on rafts, with the sun kissing our skin on the Caribbean Sea, we built a sorry looking sandcastle for Mickey in the white powdery sand of Castaway Cay, and lunched on BBQ with birds we had never before witnessed. We lived, we laughed, we loved, we made memories of a lifetime, but most of all we treasured the one thing that is most important in all the world, and beyond... our relationships! And so it is with much gratitude that I give “props” to Disney Cruise Lines from the bottom of my heart, for being the magical facilitator to our dream come true!

PHOTO COURTESY OF DENISE TRONE (The Disney Dream cruise ship is pictured in the background with Denise Trone (back row, left), and her traveling companions, Stacy Hanisits, Stacy Thompson, Dylan Hanisits and Christina Schultz.)