Disney Fantasy June 22-29th 2013: Boardwalk, Boat, and Boston! 2nd Wedding Annivesary

[elphie101]

Glad the grey stuff IS delicious! Sadly I have come to accept the fact that I will never try the grey stuff, since I don't eat chocolate (and DBF is allergic), so good thing I have trippers like you whom I can live vicariously through!

Yay cruise time! Can't wait to see that ship!

 

[klacey1]

You guys got a lot done at DHS! Great FP strategizing ;-)
We ate at Be Our Guest this past trip and it was just gorgeous! Glad you guys enjoyed the food!

 

[disneybarbie]

Love reading your report! Can't wait to hear about your cruise experience

Thanks for reading! Cruise part of our trip coming up soon

I am very excited to try Be Our Guest. Glad you would recommend it.

Hope you get to try Be Our Guest soon! It was a great restaurant, I would definitely eat there again for dinner - and would like to check it out at lunch time too.. maybe in January

Glad the grey stuff IS delicious! Sadly I have come to accept the fact that I will never try the grey stuff, since I don't eat chocolate (and DBF is allergic), so good thing I have trippers like you whom I can live vicariously through!

Yay cruise time! Can't wait to see that ship!

Aww that's a shame about the grey stuff .. I'm the same about popular Disney snacks with nuts in, I'll never get to try something like a Butterfinger cupcake from Starring Rolls café hehe

You guys got a lot done at DHS! Great FP strategizing ;-)
We ate at Be Our Guest this past trip and it was just gorgeous! Glad you guys enjoyed the food!

Thanks.. with the free Wi-Fi now in the parks, DH and I really like using the My Disney Experience & Touring Plans Lines apps to check out the wait times and decide what to do next

Btw.. I completely missed your latest PTR! I've subscribed now so I can catch up hehe

Emma x

 

[disneybarbie]

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After dinner, the rain had stopped – so we went back to the Haunted Mansion, via the new Tangled rest area.




Next we went to Pirates of the Caribbean, and hadn’t thought we’d do any rides while in MK this evening so everything felt like a bonus!


We noticed the mermaids in the water during the first scene – great addition.

Next we walked to Space Mountain, but there was a 70 minute wait – so instead we did Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin… DH won, as usual (I still don’t know how I got 999,999 one time!).

It was about 9.20pm by this time, so we found a nice spot near the hub, in front of the rose garden area. I went to check out the recently reopened Main St Bakery.. now combining two of my favourite brands… Disney and Starbucks!

I saw some of the MSEP on my way to the bakery…



I got a bottle of Coke for DH, and a grande skinny latte for me (my Starbucks usual) – the CM that served me randomly complimented my eyelashes, and we had a little chat about masacaras (I was wearing Benefit’s ‘They’re Real’, if you’re interested!) .



I stood in front of the castle with my coffee… dream come true



The projection show was excellent, we especially loved the Wreck It Ralph section… and Wishes was wonderful as always.





It didn’t take us long to get out of the park, and we hopped on a Yacht & Beach club bus as it came first.. then walked around the lake back to the Boardwalk.

Back in the room, we repacked our suitcases and went to bed… we’d had a wonderful day, and couldn’t wait for the next!

 

[elphie101]

Sounds like a perfectly magical evening! Great parade and fireworks spots with little wait! A delicious beverage and fireworks sounds perfect to me right now

 

[Dream426]

Hope you get to try Be Our Guest soon! It was a great restaurant, I would definitely eat there again for dinner - and would like to check it out at lunch time too.. maybe in January

We will definitely be trying it on our trip in September 2014 and I can't wait. Great pictures again of the fireworks show. Love the pictures of the castle. It never gets old for me.

 

[Leshaface]

So many updates!

I've never sat front row at RnRC. I should try it this next time!

That Oreo cupcake looks so amazing. I was just eating a couple oreos right now! What a coincidence

How do you add those little hearts and stars to your picture so you reservation number/last name doesn't show?

I thought Le Fou's brew was refreshing as well. It's a little on the sweet side so wouldn't mind sharing that.

I so want to eat at BoG! I couldn't secure a Dinner reservation, so am hoping to get there during lunch time. Too bad they don't serve wine during lunch. I was looking forward to having an alcoholic beverage in the MK.

I think Starbucks and Disney is the best combination!

I wasn't planning on watching Wishes at all this trip, but now that you mentioned they have Wreck-it-Ralph in it, I must watch it now. Thanks!

 

[dreamerchic33]

so many fab updates!
Excited to hear more!
xxxooo

 

[klacey1]

I love your picture of your Starbucks cup and the castle!! Zach is addicted to Starbucks, so he was soooo happy when that was added to WDW! I think he used about 4 snack credits there this past trip.
Haha, love the convo about your eyelashes! They're Real is my going out/nighttime mascara-- love it!!

 

[disneybarbie]

Sounds like a perfectly magical evening! Great parade and fireworks spots with little wait! A delicious beverage and fireworks sounds perfect to me right now

It was a wonderful Disney evening!

We will definitely be trying it on our trip in September 2014 and I can't wait. Great pictures again of the fireworks show. Love the pictures of the castle. It never gets old for me.

I agree - the pre-Wishes show is so incredible, it's hard to capture on camera the effects that they show!

So many updates!

I've never sat front row at RnRC. I should try it this next time!

That Oreo cupcake looks so amazing. I was just eating a couple oreos right now! What a coincidence

How do you add those little hearts and stars to your picture so you reservation number/last name doesn't show?

I thought Le Fou's brew was refreshing as well. It's a little on the sweet side so wouldn't mind sharing that.

I so want to eat at BoG! I couldn't secure a Dinner reservation, so am hoping to get there during lunch time. Too bad they don't serve wine during lunch. I was looking forward to having an alcoholic beverage in the MK.

I think Starbucks and Disney is the best combination!

I wasn't planning on watching Wishes at all this trip, but now that you mentioned they have Wreck-it-Ralph in it, I must watch it now. Thanks!

Hi Lesha,

I think you can just ask to ride in the front row of RnRC (or any roller coaster at WDW actually!) - we have done that before on Everest

The cupcake was so delicious, there are so many cupcakes in WDW I need to try on future trips!

For the hearts/stars - if you edit your photos in Photo Bucket, there is an option called 'stickers' that I used.

Hope you get to see Wishes and eat at BoG this trip... even if the latter is without a glass of wine... it was a pretty unique experience getting to drink a beverage while in the Magic Kingdom! I think they've done it right though, that sort of food goes well with a good wine/beer list.

so many fab updates!
Excited to hear more!
xxxooo

Thank you - update on the way!

I love your picture of your Starbucks cup and the castle!! Zach is addicted to Starbucks, so he was soooo happy when that was added to WDW! I think he used about 4 snack credits there this past trip.
Haha, love the convo about your eyelashes! They're Real is my going out/nighttime mascara-- love it!!

I'm excited to try the other Starbucks in WDW in January.. I saw that the one in Epcot opened recently too! - 'They're Real' is such a good mascara! (I use that one or Maybelline.. Colossal, Rocket, Falsies etc...)




Emma x

 

[disneybarbie]

Saturday 22nd June 2013

We woke up early again (still jet-lagged), but that was fine as we needed to get up, make coffee and finish packing… it was cruise embarkation day!

View from the balcony..


Bell services phoned us at 7.55am to say they were on their way, and 15 minutes later a bell hop arrived to take our luggage – we’d attached the DCL tags, which meant the next time we’d see our bags would be outside our stateroom door on the ship!

We left our room, and headed down to the lobby to check-in our hand luggage with bell services, it was actually the bell hop who’d collected our suitcases who took our hand luggage – he noticed my ‘happy anniversary’ button and said “Stay happy guys” to us!

Then we went outside and requested a taxi to Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge… we had an ADR at Boma.

When planning our vacation, I asked DH where he would like to have breakfast before the cruise – I suggested places such as Cape May Café and Kouzzina as we were staying at the Boardwalk.. however, as we’d had such a fantastic experience at Boma before our honeymoon cruise… he wanted to go back there!

We got to the resort and headed out to the savannah viewing areas – it was pretty quiet as at that time of day the animals are having their breakfasts. I had a lovely sense of déjà vu as we did exactly the same thing 2 years earlier on our honeymoon.






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[disneybarbie]

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We went back inside and checked in at Boma, we waited a couple of minutes and then a server called us as our table was ready.



Our server was called Kenny D, he was so animated and although it was a buffet meal, he really made an effort to make conversation with us and make sure we had a great breakfast (at one point he asked what we were up to that day.. so I replied “going on a cruise!”).
We ordered some of the delicious jungle juice, DH had tea and I had a coffee – all were refilled during our meal.



I tried some African hot dishes first – beef bobote, turkey bobote, mealie pap, goats cheese scrambled eggs and grilled tomatoes.



My next plate I had fruit, mini muffin, banana bread and M&M pancakes… everything was fantastic!



We left very full but satisfied… Boma remains one of our favourite places in the whole world for breakfast – we’ll have to try dinner there on a future trip.

Before leaving AKL, we stopped in the shop and I noticed all of the new My Magic Plus band accessories! AKL was the first resort they were trialling the new system while we were there.. I really hope we get to try it out next January.



We hopped on a bus to Hollywood Studios, and then got the Friendship back to the Swan & Dolphin (usually we would walk, but it was so humid that we agreed an air-conditioned boat was appealing as we had a long day ahead!).



We decided to walk over to Fantasia Gardens and play a round of mini golf, as we still had over an hour before we needed to be back at the Boardwalk.

We played the fairways course which is the harder one – it is miniature versions of real golf course holes! I played pretty well but DH won… I almost fell into the lake at one point which would have been quite unfortunate since all of our clothes were on their way to the ship!







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[disneybarbie]

...

We walked back to the Boardwalk about 11.20am, collected our hand luggage and then went to the Bellvue Lounge to check-in. The DCL representative was waiting there (Joyce) and checked us in – there were only 6 families at the Boardwalk for our cruise.

We sat in the lobby for a while – both making the most of the free wifi before a week ‘unplugged’ I was taking photos of the lobby, and the doorman came over to chat to me about the elephant hotel model; he was so friendly – we had a nice chat about the DVC resorts and he congratulated us on our anniversary.



We headed back to the lounge where the other cruise passengers were waiting, one family never turned up though! There was a bride and groom having photos taken around the hotel while we sat there.



At 12.15pm it was time to get onboard the bus! The bus was almost full but we managed to get seats together a few rows from the front. There was a family in front of us that we actually saw nearly every day during the cruise – we were on the same excursions and ended up queueing next to each other for the Aquaduck one day, I found it quite amazing to see people so often when there are 4,000+ onboard!

We made one more stop at Caribbean Beach Resort, and then we were on our way. The transfer took about one hour, DH watched Ted on his iPad for most of the journey while I quite happily watched the pre-cruise videos, Disney trivia, Disney quiz questions and America’s Funniest Home Videos shown on the screens!

The feeling on the DCL buses is so good – you can just tell that everyone is so excited for the cruise, as another guest said quite loudly “of course we’re all excited, we’re about to get on a Disney cruise… life is GOOD!”

Our coach driver made sure to tell us when we’d be able to get our first glimpse of the ship… it’s sooo exciting to see the red funnels appear on the horizon!















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[disneybarbie]

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We got to Port Canaveral about 1.45pm, we were quickly through security as the ship had already begun boarding.



There was no longer an international guest check-in desk (which we’d used on honeymoon) however the lines were moving quickly to check-in. We signed our health questionnaires and checked in.. it was exciting to be handed silver lanyards – we were now part of the Castaway Cay Club!



Our meal rotation, on our key cards, was RAERAAE (Royal Court, Animator’s Palate, Enchanted Garden) – we knew we’d miss the last night as we had reservations at Remy.

Our boarding card said number seven, however no boarding numbers were being called, so I asked a CM when we could get onboard… and he said ‘it’s open boarding, head straight on!’



We walked under the yellow mickey ears, and had our photo taken.. then it was time to walk the gang way and get onboard!



I filmed this as I wanted to capture the fun moment when they announced onto the ship, however, the crew member who asked for our family name was also from England – and we got chatting about the UK for a minute or so before we actually got onto the ship!

(Video here.. sorry for the shaky filming and awkward English accent )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBktcRvGE4Q&feature=youtu.be


Finally, after months and months of planning and dreaming… we were onboard the Disney Fantasy!!!



The lobby was stunning, very similar to the Dream in size but décor is themed to a peacock colour scheme.



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[dmwang9]

Joining in! I was also on this cruise and saw your post on the Facebook group about this TR. Can't wait to re-live the memories.

-- Dave

 

[puppytrainer]

Like Dave, we were on the ship with you. Glad you posted on FB you were writing this trip report. It's going to be weird (in a good way) to read a trip report of our same vacation. I look forward to hearing about the cruise from your perspective and reliving the fun!!

 

[ronnmel]

Hi Emma!

I'm back on the Dis after being away for almost a month, and I'm now caught up on your newest TR. I loved reading about everything so far. You guys managed to do so much on your morning before the cruise!

Cute video. FYI, a few pictures are missing from your intro.

 

[adamsclan]

We were on this cruise also. I'm too unorganized to write a trip report, so I'll just follow your.

 

[disneybarbie]

Joining in! I was also on this cruise and saw your post on the Facebook group about this TR. Can't wait to re-live the memories.

-- Dave

Like Dave, we were on the ship with you. Glad you posted on FB you were writing this trip report. It's going to be weird (in a good way) to read a trip report of our same vacation. I look forward to hearing about the cruise from your perspective and reliving the fun!!

We were on this cruise also. I'm too unorganized to write a trip report, so I'll just follow your.

Thank you all for joining in!

Hi Emma!

I'm back on the Dis after being away for almost a month, and I'm now caught up on your newest TR. I loved reading about everything so far. You guys managed to do so much on your morning before the cruise!

Cute video. FYI, a few pictures are missing from your intro.

Hi Mel! Thanks for reading - and for letting me know about the pictures on the first page (I rearranged my Photo Bucket folders so must have changed the links! )

I like that the cruise pick-up time is usually around 12pm - it's nice to have quite a leisurely morning at WDW before heading to Port Canaveral... I was tempted to go into one of the parks for an hour or so, but managed to resist!



Emma x

 

[disneybarbie]

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First we went to find our stateroom – we had verandah room, same as honeymoon, but decided to go a few decks lower – 8 rather than 10 (being underneath Cabanas, we’d found that it could be quite noisy during the night while the restaurant was being cleaned… chairs scraping etc!).

We easily found our room, no suitcases outside yet – which wasn’t a problem as there were still a few hours to go until sail away, however we did feel a bit uneasy until they arrived!
When I opened the stateroom door, there was already a bag on the bed… I thought our room had been double-booked!

On closer inspection, we realised it was a free gift from DCL, welcoming us to the Castaway Cay Club!



The rucksack contained a nice key ring as well as two tubs of Chip n Dale snack crackers.

Also in our room were the drinks I had pre-ordered – beer, wine and bottled water… plus there was a stateroom credit gift from our travel agent, and a bottle of champagne for our anniversary!



Next we headed up to deck 11 to explore – there is such a party atmosphere on the pool deck on sail away day!



We got the special cocktails in souvenir glasses, and then headed up to Deck 13 – the adults only area.



Two different crew members working the bar asked us if we’d like to purchase the beer package (I think it was 18 bottles delivered to the stateroom!), but we declined.

We sat up on deck, enjoying the sunshine – and letting it sink in that we were actually on board the Disney Fantasy.






We finished our drinks and went back down to the stateroom to see if the suitcases were there yet… still not there! But at least from our balcony we could see many suitcases still being loaded onto the ship.






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