After all the late night fun of Pirate Night the previous evening, losing yet another hour of sleep due to the second time change of the cruise was tough. I woke up at 8:30am wanting to go back to sleep immediately but at the same time, I knew that I had to get out of bed as I would have quite happily stayed there all day otherwise. Sailing in this direction from Hawaii to Vancouver was the only downside we found to doing this cruise as gaining an hour every day like we did when we sailed on the Westbound Transatlantic cruise in 2015 was so much easier. Thankfully we had another very quiet and relaxed day with no plans at all. We were going to have breakfast in Triton’s but decided to sit in bed a little longer with some much needed caffeine then go to Cabanas instead which was open much later.

It was Friday the 13th and as forecast the weather had definitely turned overnight from blue skies and sunshine to grey skies and lots of rain. As we were having our breakfast at Cabanas, our Cruise Director Lee made an announcement to say that they were planning to do the fireworks that evening at 10:30pm – they had not gone ahead during the Pirates IN the Caribbean deck party the night before due to technical issues.

I desperately wanted a nice coffee to try and wake up fully so we walked along the empty and flooded outside decks to Cove Cafe. Most people onboard were sat inside throughout the ship that day (for some reason two people were even sat behind the Future Cruise Desk of all places) but all of the comfortable chairs outside at the Quiet Cove were still taken. Inside the Cove Cafe we heard a familiar British accent and noticed our Cruise Director Lee was helping out there behind the counter as part of the Officer Hide and Seek that was taking place. We did not officially take part but we decided to walk around the ship with a coffee in hand to see if we could spot anyone.

We walked down to Deck 4 when all of a sudden I saw Daisy dressed in her Alaskan outfit leaving the Lobby Atrium before Alaskan Minnie in her incredible and beautiful winter coat appeared and the longest character line of the cruise so far quickly formed. I was so excited and lost for words as Alaskan Minnie Mouse was one the many reasons that convinced me to go on our first cruise on the Disney Wonder out of Vancouver ten years ago which started my love of cruising and Disney Cruise Line. I never expected to see her again so this was a complete and absolutely wonderful surprise – she was definitely dressed and ready for the cold weather outside.

Whilst we were in the line waiting to meet Alaskan Minnie, we saw Alberto the Hotel Director who was walking around dressed as one of the Cruise Staff as well as our Assistant Cruise Director Ann who was working as a character handler for Moana who was out on Deck 3. We did not see Captain Fabian anywhere as we walked around but we later learned that he had been helping out in Cabanas – one of the only places we did not go.

Back in our stateroom we had been left an invitation to the Gold and Platinum Castaway Club Onboard Reception that was taking place in the Walt Disney Theatre the following day. As this event only happens on cruises that are eight nights or longer, this was the first time we had been invited.

After meeting Minnie we went back up to Cove Cafe where amazingly the comfortable chairs looking out to sea were empty for the first time since we boarded a week earlier. We both got a cup of tea (as well as a pastry from Cove Cafe) and I used this time to write up all of the notes on my phone into my journal that I keep on all of our cruises and other travels and which I had fallen slightly behind with for the last few days onboard.

The When You Wish Upon a Star horn sounded at Midday followed by Captain Fabian making his daily announcement to tell us that we were now over half way to Vancouver and had 1166 nautical miles left of our voyage.

There was a Character Photo scheduled at the Deck 9 Gazebo at 1:00pm but it started to rain heavily once again so no one appeared but we did check just inside the doors on Deck 9 in case they had moved there for shelter (this is what happened during our last cruise on the Wonder during bad weather) but there was no one to be seen. Goofy’s Boat Building Bash was taking place at the family pool at this time and despite the pouring rain it was quite busy out on deck. It was actually for the best that no characters appeared in the Gazebo that lunchtime as everyone watching the Boat Building Bash was standing underneath it to get out of the rain.

We went back to Cabanas for lunch as we had been told that there was an “Indian Corner” that day which we have both loved on our previous cruises. I had the Vegetable Biryani, Daal and Papadams which was absolutely delicious and a perfect lunch.

After lunch we were both starting to feel very tired once again and as we knew we had another late night due to the rescheduled fireworks we decided to do what our Assistant Cruise Director Ann told everyone to do and take a nap. She said many times during the Good Morning Disney Wonder show that it was her mission to start a fleet-wide initiative to have a nap scheduled every afternoon in the Disney Cruise Line Navigator app which is a brilliant idea.

The nap was exactly what we both needed that day and we were both feeling much more awake afterwards. After having a shower and getting dressed ready for the rest of the day ahead, we got a much needed cup of tea before going down to Preludes and the Lobby Atrium at 4:30pm where we met Donald and Daisy, Chip and Dale, Minnie and Mickey as well as Donald and Pluto who were all out dressed in their best ready for semi-formal night. Frozen: A Musical Spectacular was playing that night in the Walt Disney Theatre but after a lot of deliberation we decided not to go and watch it again as we had seen it on on our last cruise on the Disney Wonder and had only just seen the full length musical of it in London’s West End as well.

After meeting all of the characters, it had finally stopped raining so after a walk around Deck 4 as well as Deck 10, we returned to our stateroom where we found another plate of cupcakes and treats that had been left for us.

Our dinner on this night was back in Triton’s and it was the Captain’s Gala Dinner Menu which I have always enjoyed. I ordered the Star Night mocktail to drink and to eat I had the Marinated Tiger Shrimp and the Baked Eggplant to start and the Lobster Tail for my main course – I always order the same thing every time!

Before going up to Deck 10 for the rescheduled fireworks we went back to our stateroom to get changed and put on some much warmer clothes before heading outside. It was a lot colder than it had been earlier in the day so we also grabbed a hot drink as well as a couple of blankets each to wrap around us whilst we waited. I have always said “you know it’s cold if I think it’s cold as I never feel the cold” but it was freezing out and I was shivering! Even all of the crew were wearing woolly hats.

As there was no deck party to watch, we stood against the railing on the starboard side of Deck 10 where we could watch the Disney Ever After fireworks with an unobstructed view. I did wonder if it would be as busy as it had been the evening before for Pirate Night as it had turned so cold but ten minutes before the fireworks were due to start, it felt like everyone onboard the ship all arrived on Deck 10 at the same time all wrapped up in blankets as well!

I had never seen the Disney Ever After fireworks before as they had only been done on the sailings during the pandemic when there were no deck parties so I was actually really excited to see something new and different. They only lasted for a few minutes but they were so lovely to watch and with the Disney music playing, it really felt like I was back standing on Main Street USA in the parks whilst watching them.

Once the fireworks had finished we waited for a few minutes for the crowds to clear as some areas of Decks 9 and 10 are blocked off when the fireworks take place so it can take a while for everyone to leave the area to get to where they need to be. We got another hot drink to take back to our stateroom to enjoy with one of the cupcakes we had been left earlier that day.

We had an adorable Towel Rhino waiting for us on the bed and as we had had a nap earlier in the day, neither of us felt drained or exhausted which was a great feeling – Friday the 13th is not that bad! I sat in for a while catching up with writing my journal again before finally falling asleep ready for another day at sea onboard the beautiful Disney Wonder.

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