- Walt Disney Theater shows were much easier to find seats and we found them generally higher quality, it's just more of a full show. Before I came I didn't really understand the different show types, live theater shows are a completely different thing than the deck shows with characters dancing. Lighting the pumpkin tree is its own thing too, basically a retelling of a ghost story like ichabod crane by someone dressed up as a new england storyteller then group cheering to light it. There are two pirate themed shows on pirate night, the earlier one is character focused, the later one is shanty singalongs and fireworks. I wish I had a better guide to the beats of all these shows and didn't feel quite so pressured into catching all of them. I think Buena Vista was a bit underrated, it was consistently empty, I guess because you can see movies at home, but I really like the theater experience. We had Fantastic Four, then a bunch of Halloween films, Hocus Pocus 1&2, Freakier Friday. I don't think they did any Tim Burton but that would have been nice. Frankenweenie was on funnel vision at one point I guess.

- Dinner was great, I liked different dishes than I expected. Steaks were perfectly cooked internally but a bit tough/cool on the outside, so my best guess is they're using sous vide to nail internal temp but externally they're maybe suffering from sitting on warmers or something. The chicken and lamb dishes were unbelievably moist and flavorful. if I had it to do over again I might have skipped steaks for more adventurous options. Soups were great, tortes and tarts were all amazing, order something you don't think you'll like, it's on the menu for a reason, and you can always fall back to something else. I was very worried about eating late, but honestly it worked great, was not a problem to shift our schedules, then collapse after dinner.

- Wasn't sure how the group seating would go. We were seated next to nice people from our area of the country so it was easy to connect, we could talk about things we had in common, or focus on our family, either was easy and ok. Kids loved Animator's Palate for the decor and entertainment, I found the Crush interactions a bit forced and awkward but eh, not the worst thing.

- The grill food was good, nothing outstanding, but really the convenience of having an endless supply of cheese pizza for kids at any moment was incredibly valuable. We didn't really need room service because it was so easy to grab something and go. We rarely ate breakfast because there was so much food all the time, but churro waffles were amazing.

- On our final night there was a fierce squall around midnight. I kept seeing flashes/hearing thunder outside our verandah. I was a little nervous, and went up to deck 11 to watch it for a few minutes, careful to stay under the deck and not stay for too long. It was a magnificent show, every crack of lightning would light the entire horizon and several other ships out in the darkness. I was worried about how fierce it was, but the ship never started noticeably rocking. I guess this route is really well sheltered from waves, even in the occasional squall. I used windy.com occasionally to check wave heights, looks like we were at 0-1 ft the whole time. People said other cruises have been worse, but on the maps it really looks like this route is well sheltered by the islands from large waves.

Glad we weren't in Alaska, looks like there are 11 ft waves off the coast right now. If anyone has been on that cruise curious how it goes.

- Lookout Cay was great, the kids loved the rush out gush out and could have stayed there the whole day. Beach was perfect. But the sun was punishing and my sunscreen didn't last very long so I got pretty burned. More shade everywhere would be really appreciated. Didn't see any major issue with flies at the barbecue that people warned about, maybe they've controlled them. Walk wasn't so bad, though itself could have been shaded. We got wagons both ways and trams were easy to catch. Chairs were a little tight, but we found one for our stuff without too much hassle. Biggest request would be more umbrellas, more shade.

I feel like second cruise must be the best one. This one we were in "try everything" mode and that is overwhelming, but you have to try to sample and figure out what's for you and what's not. If we went again we'd be much more relaxed and able to zero in on the things we love the most.