A Birthday Trip without a Birthday - 2/16: Conclusion and Bonus Birthday Tea

[nodnol]

Wow Katharina, that looks like a very fun and enjoyable trip! And some really great pictures!

It was a great trip and it is not so nice being back at work. Althoug I can!t complain, at least it is quiet here, so I have time to read the Dis and plan our trip...

So how many miles did you walk in a day? Were you able to stop and visit things on the way to your next location? This sounds really fun and something I think I would enjoy.

We walked between 6 and 17 miles per day, so there was always time to do some sightseeing as well.

 

[jenb1023]

Great photos and it looks like a lovely trip! I am always amazed at how old buildings and other things from centuries ago are around every corner in Europe. Woo-hoo for your DH being willing to go to a Disney park!

 

[Flossbolna]

Sorry everyone that it has been so long between updates. I have already put quite a few pictures up on photobucket from DLP, so I really hope to continue with those in the near future.

Today we are looking at Frontierland. This is the first land when you go clockwise from Main Street - it is in the location where Adventureland would be at the MK. It is a very large land as you will see in the pictures. The reason for its very prominent position is supposedly that Europeans really like the Wild West theme (they do!) and so this would appeal to them very much.

I think it is a very beautiful land, and we were lucky to see it with pink flowers on a lot of trees which added to the atmosphere.

One big difference to the MK is that Big Thunder Mountain (without Railroad in its's name) is located on an island in the "Rivers of the Far West" - it replaces Tom Sawyer Island. It is a fantastic coaster, faster than the one in the MK and in order for the train to get to the island (the station where you get on board is on the river bank) it has to go through very dark tunnels. This certainly adds to the thrill!

The second big difference is that there is no Haunted Mansion at DLP. Well, at least it isn't called that, it is called Phantom Manor and is located in Frontierland. It has a western theme all over it. I think the approach is incredibly well themed and from the porch you have a fantastic view towards Big Thunder Mountain.

I hope you will enjoy the pictures, they can be found here, the password is again "Flossbolna".

 

[kid-at-heart]

Thank you! Your photos are great. The cowboy lunch looks very tasty. How did it taste? Yummy???

 

[Flossbolna]

And in addition to the DLP update, I also have a tiny PTR update. Katharina and I are still discussing all kind of details - just spent 20 minutes talking about the Food & Wine Festival booth offerings which were released today - so much we want to eat and drink there!!

And both of us are already thinking about what to pack - since any summery items which we might need ought to be purchased now since the summer sales have started and soon we will only be able to buy wooly jumpers and other autumn clothing like that which we hopefully won't need in October in Orlando!

My big project was to find some new light sneakers and get new flip flops. And i finally located a pair of sneakers that fits and does not make my not so small feet look like they belong to a giant!

So this is the result:

And then I realised that Katharina and I have no idea what this Dr. Seuss is about. And since this is one of the areas which a lot of people consider a highlight of Universal's Islands of Adventure, I decided that we would need to do some reading with regard to that. I ordered two books from Amazon and am rather proud that I can tell you that I have already finished reading both of them!! Those were my choice:

They are now waiting for Katharina to pick them up when she comes to visit me in August.

Next week I have one week off from work and will be in Helsinki in Finland for a few days for a city break. I am really looking forward to the architecture and the design there as well as taking a boat trip out to some islands. At the moment the weather there is much warmer than here in Bavaria, despite it being nearly at the North Pole (well not really, but is is far in the north!). I guess next week when I am there, things will be the other way around... But I am still very much looking forward to exploring a new city and not working for a whole week!

 

[Flossbolna]

Thank you! Your photos are great. The cowboy lunch looks very tasty. How did it taste? Yummy???

You are welcome!

The lunch was pretty good, but not excellent. I think the sausage was a bit strange, but the ribs were good. And I loved the corn bread, the others not so much. But that was ok for me.

It has always been our favourite place for lunch since our first trip, because it is so American food. Something we don't get here very much.

 

[glennbo123]

Very cool pictures Magdalene. I didn't realize that the "frontier" theme would be so popular in Europe. It's neat to see the Haunted Mansion made-up with the western theme.

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

Floss,

I am enjoying this PTR...I have been off the boards for a bit and have quite a bit of catching up to do...

As always I love your photos and stories...

Dr Seuss is (was) a kind of whimsical children's author...there is a definite nonsensical tone to his books...as well as him illustrations...I am interested to see what you think of them...

I have missed some of your other trip reports...will have to go back and catch up....

I am so glad that you will be able to celebrate your birthday at WDW...

 

[englishrose47]

Wonderful pictures of MK DL !!!I really liked the BigThunder on the Island ,not that I'd ride it but it's neat!!!

As for Dr Suess .. I do not like them Sam Iam I do not like green eggs and ham!!!

 

[eandesmom]

Odd to think of Helsinki as being warmer! I understand you had some nasty hail not all that long ago (my brother was making reference to Donner and Blitzen lol).

Wonderful updates. Coburg is just charming and oh, Paris! I've not been to Brittany but truly enjoyed the pictures. Frontierland seems incredibly well themed, just beautiful and somehow so peaceful looking at the same time.

Exotic food...cornbread. Huh.

You will love the Teva's, they are a great park shoe and just good all around flip flop.

 

[Flossbolna]

Very cool pictures Magdalene. I didn't realize that the "frontier" theme would be so popular in Europe. It's neat to see the Haunted Mansion made-up with the western theme.

Yes, it is pretty popular. There are the called "Spaghetti Westerns" - films made in Europe and very popular (it is even its own genre with a Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaghetti_western) and then in Germany there are the stories written by Karl May a popular author from the 19th century.

Floss,

I am enjoying this PTR...I have been off the boards for a bit and have quite a bit of catching up to do...

As always I love your photos and stories...

Dr Seuss is (was) a kind of whimsical children's author...there is a definite nonsensical tone to his books...as well as him illustrations...I am interested to see what you think of them...

I have missed some of your other trip reports...will have to go back and catch up....

I am so glad that you will be able to celebrate your birthday at WDW...

Patricia, great to see you back on the DIS! Katharina and I were thinking of you when we were at DLP!

The two books are very cute. I loved the language and read them out loud to me - just so much fun!

 

[Flossbolna]

Wonderful pictures of MK DL !!!I really liked the BigThunder on the Island ,not that I'd ride it but it's neat!!!

As for Dr Suess .. I do not like them Sam Iam I do not like green eggs and ham!!!

Big Thunder looks great! And watching the trains go around on it adds a lot to the atmosphere.

And yes! I do not like them here or there, I do not like them anywhere!

Odd to think of Helsinki as being warmer! I understand you had some nasty hail not all that long ago (my brother was making reference to Donner and Blitzen lol).

Wonderful updates. Coburg is just charming and oh, Paris! I've not been to Brittany but truly enjoyed the pictures. Frontierland seems incredibly well themed, just beautiful and somehow so peaceful looking at the same time.

Exotic food...cornbread. Huh.

You will love the Teva's, they are a great park shoe and just good all around flip flop.

Hy Cynthia, I need to go back to your TR... sorry for being so absent! I am glad that you enjoyed our updates.

The Tevas are replacing my old ones. After two years they still look good, but they have become rather flat not so cushioned anymore, so I wanted a new pair and I really like the colours in the new ones, they work very well with a lot of my clothes.

 

[nodnol]

pictures

And in addition to the DLP update, I also have a tiny PTR update. Katharina and I are still discussing all kind of details - just spent 20 minutes talking about the Food & Wine Festival booth offerings which were released today - so much we want to eat and drink there!!

We then had a look at our big planning sheet to find our how we would be actually in Epcot for lunch / dinner / snack time. Seems we already took that into account when planning our days...

And both of us are already thinking about what to pack - since any summery items which we might need ought to be purchased now since the summer sales have started and soon we will only be able to buy wooly jumpers and other autumn clothing like that which we hopefully won't need in October in Orlando!

I actually decided that I won't buy anything new, I will have to manage with what I got. But I think I'll be alright and I rather have more spending money than another pair of shoes So I hope all my shoes and favourite summer clothes survive the next months, hehe.

My big project was to find some new light sneakers and get new flip flops. And i finally located a pair of sneakers that fits and does not make my not so small feet look like they belong to a giant!

So this is the result:

Aren't those the same flip flops as the old ones?
I must be the only person left who doesn't like flip flops....

And then I realised that Katharina and I have no idea what this Dr. Seuss is about. And since this is one of the areas which a lot of people consider a highlight of Universal's Islands of Adventure, I decided that we would need to do some reading with regard to that. I ordered two books from Amazon and am rather proud that I can tell you that I have already finished reading both of them!! Those were my choice:

They are now waiting for Katharina to pick them up when she comes to visit me in August.

 

[Lady Lallie]

I really like both pairs of your shoes, both of them are very cute.

Enjoy your break from work.

 

[lovealldisney]

Adventureland would be at the MK. It is a very large land as you will see in the pictures. The reason for its very prominent position is supposedly that Europeans really like the Wild West theme (they do!) and so this would appeal to them very much.

I find this very interesting. When I went with my sister to Russia when she adopted all the host family could talk about is there visit to the US and seeing the southwest. Personally it really doesn't interest me (shame on me) I'm sure we'll visit someday but I'm not in any rush. I would rather come to Europe for all the great architechture, art and muesums!

I love your shoe choice! I love wearing flip flops but I have more of a flat foot so I most likely wouldn't wear them in the park. Let us know how they work out.

This is so funny I thought everyone knew of Dr. Suess. You chose the right ones to read they are the more well know ones of his. My DS loved Dr. Suess as a little boy. His favorite is Fox in Sox! What a tongue twister! Of coures we had to read this every night before bed.

Here is is.

(found on the Web)

And here is someone reading it on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3LXSnCROtI


Oh and have FUN on your trip to Finland.... and all I can say is please post pictures when you get back!!! PLEASE........

 

[jenb1023]

Great photos! I also did not realize that Western things were popular in Eurpore. It is really interesting to see the similarities and differences in the parks. The lunch and surprise character appearances look like fun!

My DH loves his Teva flip flops!

Seuss Landing is so well-themed. Being familiar with the books will definitely help with your appreciation of the details in the area. I just assumed he was a popular children's author everywhere.

Have a wonderful vacation in Finland! Hope the weather is great!

 

[Curiouser&curiouser!]

Wow! I didn't realize that the Western theme was so popular! The Phantom Manor looks cool! Is the inside of the ride more similar to WDW's Haunted Mansion, or is the storyline different?!

Corn bread is exotic food?!?! Wow! Next time I eat it, I will have to make sure not to take it for granted!

Nice shoe selections for WDW. We have to do the same thing up here in the Northeast. Back to school is already starting, so all the warm weather/summery clothes go on clearance!

 

[Poolrat]

Count me in on loving all the DLP pictures. BTM sounds great being on an island and having a tunnel.

Too funny about Dr. Suess. My son's favorite was Go Dog Go.

 

[brookelizabeth]

Brook, that is fantastic news!! I think every Disney fan ought to see the original park, I am sure that you will just love Disneyland! Are you planning on seeing other sights in Southern California as well? My absolutely favourite thing there (besides DL) was the Warner Brothers studio tour.

And 2014 Paris is a great plan! I think 7 is the age when my parents started to take Katharina and me for city breaks and we had always fun on these holidays. So I am sure that Henry will be fine. I think that kids actually do much better on these long flights than adults: they have more space in those airplane seats and they tend to just sleep.

And it will give you plenty of time to research - you could even sign up for a French language class or get some computer language course to pick up a few phrases. Being able to speak a few simple sentences is something which makes travelling abroad so much easier! I really need to get started to learn some basic Japanese...

And perhaps we can even have a DISmeet somewhere in Europe! If I don't make it tó NYC before then...

Yes, we definitely will have to have a meet, either here or there-or maybe BOTH! If I have it my way, we'll becoming to Germany as well. I cannot even imagine traveling to Europe and NOT going! I'll make the budget work to allow for it.


Wonderful pictures Katharina of Paris and Brittany. And good news on your DH possibly checking out a Disney park!

And, as always, loved all the pictures from DLP. How very cool that Big Thunder Mountain is on an island!!!

Henry just recently got into Dr. Suess...those books are tongue twisters! Green Eggs and Ham is his favorite so far.

 

[Flossbolna]

Hi everyone, thanks for the book recommendations! I will do proper replies once I am back form Helsinki - my flight leaves tomorrow morning. I am all packed and wanted to leave you at least with something nice while I am gone: more pictures from DLP!

Now we are entering Adventureland. It is very different because it does not have a Jungle Cruise. But it makes up for it with lots of beautiful theming. In the middle of it is Adventure Isle, similar to Tom Sawyer Island at the MK, but accessible via bridge, no raft necessary. It features a very impressive Skull Rock. Other attractions are the Indiana Jones roller coaster - a very simple coaster with one loop. It was rather built in a bit of a hurry because when DLP opened the guests missed coasters and Space Mountain would not open until 3 years later. And then there is also Pirates of the Caribbean - in my opinion the very best version of this ride. Unfortunately it was closed for refurbishment while we were there, so there aren't even pictures of the very impressive fort where you enter the queue for this.

You will also see quite a few pictures of a restaurant called "Pizza Outpost" - this was original the "Explorer's Club" a table service restaurant very much like the Adventurer's Club at Pleasure Island at WDW which is closed now as well. However, it did not survive the crisis of the first years of DLP and now is a boring counter service restaurant. But very lavishly themed inside.

You will also notice that there are rather different exotic themes used here, more Africa and Arabia, no tikis. But have a look yourself here.