Thoughts before reading:
My original plan with this project was to read just the main BSC series, #1-131, in order. Since that is already an insane number of books, I figured when I finally finished I would just pick up the super specials and mysteries here and there, and only if I still wanted to go on. Reading and reviewing 131 books would already be a massive feat...BUT then the books started mentioning the trip to Disney World. I then obviously realized my plan was flawed, because even reading in order I was missing things, whether they were referenced or not.
I did some research and found a great list on the Babysitters Club wiki that had all the series related to the BSC by year of publication. The year is actually really important to tackling any of these books, because even though the characters don't age, there are continuity issues. This order determines what big plot events have happened, what experiences the characters have had, who they are dating, which babies have been born, etc.
So needless to say, I decided to change my project to suit this new information. Reading in order was always my intention, and I want to stay true to that. I'm a little behind since I was supposed to read this book after #12, but from now on I'm going to be inserting the super specials, mysteries, portraits, and reader requests where they fit into the order of publication.
This book seems to take place the summer before 8th grade, so it was already out of order anyway. That summer was already jammed full and pretty accounted for, especially since they actually told us months and dates back then. The time for this trip really doesn't fit in at all, but what's one more week stuffed into summer vacation, I guess...?
I've never read this before either. I didn't really get into the super specials when I was a kid. I liked reading about normal kids dealing with somewhat relatable problems with school, friends, family, etc. These wish fulfillment adventure books never appealed to me. The only super special I've ever read was #2, because I LOVED anything set in summer camp...but more on that later!
The basics:
Mr. Pike wins a contest at his work, and his prize is a 4 day cruise ending in 3 days at Disney World. The Pikes invite Stacey and Mary Anne along as mother's helpers, since they did so well in Sea City. Watson then finds out that Kristy has never been outside of Connecticut, so he books tickets for his whole family and invites Dawn and Claudia so the BSC will all be together.
Once onboard the cruise ship, The Ocean Princess, all the kids get into various adventures. Karen charges random things like a manicure to her cabin without permission, Mallory spies on people, Dawn crushes on a guy, Claudia has a secret admirer (really more of a stalker), Kristy befriends an elderly man, and Stacey befriends a little kid with a heart problem. The Pike triplets find what they think is a treasure map, and hunt for it whenever the ship docks. Mary Anne meets a girl named Alex Carmody, who turns out to be a compulsive liar. She claims to be an orphan, but really her parents are famous and she's just starved for attention.
During the 3 days at Disney World, Dawn spends more time with her crush, Parker Harris. Claudia discovers her secret admirer is a boy she's already been spending some time with, but he was too shy to tell her. Mary Anne and Mallory uncover Alex's lies. Stacey learns her friend, Mark, will be having major heart surgery after the trip. The Pike triplets find Dawn's missing bracelet, thinking it's their treasure, until Stacey tells them the truth. Karen thinks a ghost from the Haunted Mansion is haunting her.
Kristy and the other BSC members decide to make a book out of their collection of trip photos as a thank you for Watson. Stacey gets a letter from Mark's parents letting her know he made it through surgery and is doing great.
Timeline:
Summer before 8th grade. It's August, most likely, because the Sea City trip has already happened.
My thoughts:
It was REALLY hard to write a summary for this one, because it has absolutely no plot. This is one where we get multiple POVs, which I did like, but everyone has a completely different storyline and each one is insanely random. They are also all really pointless, since they mostly revolve around characters that will never be mentioned again. When I was a kid I probably would have enjoyed this just because I would get to read about kids at Disney World. I wish I'd read it back then so I would have some fond memories of it, because now it was just a disjointed, pointless mess.
This book really got off to a bad start with me too, because it's centered around a ridiculous premise. The Mr. Pike winning the contest part is fine, if a little crazy. (He certainly got an awful lot of free tickets, enough for his huge family and 2 mother's helpers.) Why are Stacey and Mary Anne even involved in this though? Can't the Pikes ever take their poor kids on vacation and actually spend time with them? Sea City was already a stretch, but I can't believe they can't just watch their own kids on vacation, and actually have quality time with them. Not to mention it's unfair to the rest of the BSC to select the two sitters themselves. Kristy has always told clients they can't do this before.
It's the Watson part that really turns this bizarre though. First of all, he's already known Kristy for over a year, so how does he not know she's never traveled? Even if he just learned this, it's a weird solution. The even bigger problem here is that during the Sea City trip in book #8, everyone in the BSC went on vacation except for Kristy's family. We were told her parents wanted everyone to stay home and bond as a family. Yet according to the timeline, this was only a short time later. Kristy was also upset that she would be the only one stuck at home. So why didn't they take a family vacation during that time instead of bonding at home? It would certainly have been more effective, more fun, and a good icebreaker for Watson and his new stepchildren. A post wedding family vacation makes so much more sense than the weak, contrived set up we're given here. Then again, an 8 year old would certainly buy it.
In addition to the weird sub-plots of each character, there's also an on-going feud between Dawn and Kristy about keeping their room messy vs. neat. They literally fight about this the entire cruise, wasting a lot of their own time. These girls are on the trip of a lifetime, who the hell would give a damn about this? It's such a waste. Dawn's there as a guest, and should be much more grateful and polite. Kristy should also be way more appreciative, since this whole trip supposedly came about for her, AND she's the only one of the Thomas/Brewer kids who gets to bring friends along. It's beyond pathetic to waste such great luck fighting over the state of a room you'll occupy for 4 days. It was so obnoxious to read about.
I already mentioned this some, but I REALLY hated the Pike parents in this book. Stacey and Mary Anne literally watched the Pike kids all day long, and slept in shared cabins with them at night! On the ship, they kept them occupied all day. At Disney World, they are the ones dividing them up and spending the whole day with them, taking them on the rides, getting them snacks, etc. Their parents spend even less time with them than they did in Sea City, which I didn't think was possible. Why do they even take their kids on trips at all? What the hell were two adults doing all day long at Disney World for 3 days without their children? Wouldn't they miss them, and all those memories/moments? It's also really unfair that poor Stacey and Mary Anne spend the entire week working hard while the rest of the BSC is on vacation. You'd think they would all pitch in together, but they don't. They don't even get one of the days off the entire week! The Pikes give them a meager hour and a half off a day.
Misc:
*I usually really like the multiple POV books, but it was poorly done in this one.
*Kristy makes the girls have a mini club meeting every single day on the trip. Yikes, I can't believe they all agree. She really needs to learn to have some fun.
*This book has pictures, snapshots from the trip, but they are terrible. One of them is literally a banana flying through the air from when the ship was tossing a lot.
*Only book where Mal has a POV as one of the kids and not a sitter.
*Byron still hates ocean water that isn't calm, which we learned in #8. Good continuity there at least.
*Claudia's also favored butterscotch sundaes in multiple books.
*Kristy, Dawn and Claudia have all never seen an R rated movie by 13? Seems crazy to me. What about at sleepovers?
*Karen's favorite ride is the Haunted Mansion, very fitting.
*I couldn't believe Mallory spent the whole time at Disney World roaming around spying on people instead of having fun with her family and going on rides. She's only 11, wasn't she excited?
*Dawn being jaded about Disney World because she'd been to Disneyland so many times was really annoying. You're still a kid, Dawn! Just go and have some fun already.
*Stacey's parents were really freaked out about her going to Sea City, so it's hard to believe they'd even let her go on this trip.
Books mentioned:
*Mallory just read Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh. Hence all the spying. Honestly I did the same thing, but I was much younger and not on vacation at the time.
*Kristy's senior friend is reading The Mayor of Casterbridge, by Thomas Hardy
*Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
*Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson (Byron read it recently)
*Vanessa Pike is reading Baby Island, by Carol Ryrie Brink
*Mallory is now reading The Princess and the Goblin, by George Macdonald
My rating:
2 stars. I'm hoping the other super specials are much better.
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