Disney Cruising – Day 8

Note: This post was originally written on Sunday, February 5th.
We got up super early this morning. We didn’t really have a choice. We had to be out of our stateroom and at breakfast by 8:30 am with all of our stuff. We set our suitcases out last night so they could be loaded off the ship while we were sleeping.
The ship arrived into the Port of Los Angeles around 7 am. We packed up the rest of our things, woke up the kids, and headed to Triton’s for our final breakfast. We all had usual breakfast fare: pancakes, eggs, sausage, and pastries.
We said our final goodbyes to our new friends Karen, Dan, and Luka and to our awesome servers Carlo and Andre. We dawdled, as we usually did at meals and were one of the last families off the ship. The customs line was LONG, so we waited for about an hour.
It seems pretty overwhelming to go through customs, but it’s a very simple form that you fill out, one per family (as long as you have the same last name and live at the same address). You show the form and your passports (or birth certificates and ID’s), they ask you a couple questions, and you’re done.
After we got through customs, we headed down the Goofy luggage area, picked up our suitcases, and headed out to wait for our friend Brad to pick us up. We had to wait for about an hour because I was misinformed about what time we would be off the ship.
Before we left, I called the Disney Cruise hotline and they told me we would be off around 12 pm noon or 1 pm. On the night before the cruise ended, we found out that everyone had to be off the ship by 9:45 am. So we waited and the kids were antsy, but it wasn’t too bad. But my advice to you is to plan for a ride in the late morning and not early afternoon!
Note: In the hustle and bustle of the day, we didn’t actually take any pictures today. By the time we got to our friend Brian’s house, I had a bad headache that later turned into a migraine. And the craziest thing is, I still felt the rocking of the ship all day long.
Since we didn’t take any pictures today, I’m going to share some that we took last Saturday at Seal Beach. Standing with my feet in the sand, watching my kids splash in the waves and squeal with delight, I’ve never felt so at home. In that moment, an overwhelming rush of this-is-where-we-belong washed over me. I’m not sure if it’s just the pull of the tides or if people in general are just drawn to the ocean. Either way, I’m hoping we can make another trip this summer. (Josh’s note: Or just find some miracle way to move out there. The Solars are ocean folk.)
Thanks for following along with us on our Disney Cruise! Coming up tomorrow, I’ll be sharing the good, the bad, and the ugly about Disney cruising.