Day 5: A Hectic Goodbye
Like all great adventures, our trip had to end—but not before some chaos.
The night before disembarkation, Simon was barfing nonstop. Meanwhile, Nat and Michael were lying in bed wondering what all the banging noises were. Turns out, it was Jack desperately trying to wake them up for backup. They didn’t budge, assuming it was just ship noises. Poor Simon’s bathroom apparently looked like a crime scene.
And the fun didn’t stop there—Simon powered through an entire day of travel while still throwing up, making for an especially miserable plane ride home.
Splitting Up—Utah vs. Colorado
The Utah crew had a mad dash off the boat to catch their early flight, while the Colorado crew had one more adventure in store—a visit to the Kennedy Space Center before their 9 PM flight.
Cyrus and the Magic Band
As we were walking off the ship, Cyrus spotted a discarded Magic Band and claimed it as his own. He was obsessed, especially when it started flashing lights randomly while we were at Kennedy.
At one point, Dan saw it light up and joked, “Cyrus, the Avengers are calling!”
Without missing a beat, Cyrus lifted the band to his mouth and deadpanned, “Avengers, I can’t talk right now. I’m busy doing moon stuff.”
We were dying.
Rusty also showed him how if he touched the band to the back of a phone, it would pull up the disney webpage. Well, he had to test alllllll the phones. And was delighted every time it worked.
Sleepy Send-Off
Kennedy is so cool, but the exhaustion of the trip hit hard. During the IMAX film about the James Webb Telescope, Halle looked around and realized that every single person in our group—except for her and Carlie—was completely passed out. We were all so very glad to get home to our own beds.
The Perfect Ending
I’ve dreamed of taking a Disney Cruise with the Cornell crew for years, and this trip did not disappoint. Every moment was magical, from the big adventures to the little in-between moments that made us laugh until we cried.
And really, how lucky are we to have a family that we love spending time with?
Disney Cruise 2025—over and out.
Little Moments We’ll Always Remember
- Dan and Rusty snuck off to see the new Snow White movie on board, which we immediately rebranded as Bro White.
- Sitting in my room, trying to write down memories, while Mave was absolutely losing it with laughter—she was full-on punch-drunk and could not recover.
- Halle and Josh staying out late, exploring all the different lounges and nightclubs like they were seasoned cruisers.
- Gwen pointing out that the blonde dancer we kept seeing everywhere was giving serious Draco Malfoy vibes. We couldn’t unsee it after that.
- Cyrus, every single night after dinner, covered head to toe in melted Mickey bar. An absolute disaster in the best way.
- Walking up and down the stairs at least 20 million times a day. Our calves will never be the same.
- Cyrus developing a special talent: squeezing Landon’s neck until his tongue stuck out.
- Papa somehow managing to get pooped on twice—once by a seagull, once by Finn. Turns out, swim diapers are more of a suggestion than a solution.
- Every single time Finn rode the elevator, he solemnly repeated, “Doors opening. Doors closing“.
- Pin trading at the gift shops and hunting for hidden trading spots on stateroom doors—pretty sure I liked this more than the kids did.
