DREAMing, some MAGIC and a little bit of Paris! Trip report link!

[Linda67]

Now that is my idea of a great day Karin
What time do you usually book your Brunch for Karin?
We went right at opening (10am) on our last cruise - I wasn't sure if we should try for a later time in May

 

[dizneeat]

Now that is my idea of a great day Karin
What time do you usually book your Brunch for Karin?
We went right at opening (10am) on our last cruise - I wasn't sure if we should try for a later time in May

We used to book for 11am to 11.30am, but have changed to 10am bookings. Reason is that we tend to snack more if we have a later reservation and cannot enjoy the buffet as much as arriving there hungry.
Also, the chance of a window table is far greater at opening than arriving later.

 

[stephielela]

Ok, trying to get caught up on everyones TR's/PTR's! I'm failing miserably

Loved the DLRP updates, I went once but I was by myself and it was rainy and somewhat miserable. I hope to make it back in the future though!

Your cruise plans make me homesick for the ships! I'm sure it will only get worse as I get ready to start my TR... Glad I can live vicariously!

 

[Linda67]

We used to book for 11am to 11.30am, but have changed to 10am bookings. Reason is that we tend to snack more if we have a later reservation and cannot enjoy the buffet as much as arriving there hungry. Also, the chance of a window table is far greater at opening than arriving later.

Thanks Karin.
DH prefers the idea of 10am again so I think that's what we will try and get.
20 more days before we can try and book

 

[dizneeat]

Ok, trying to get caught up on everyones TR's/PTR's! I'm failing miserably

Loved the DLRP updates, I went once but I was by myself and it was rainy and somewhat miserable. I hope to make it back in the future though!

Your cruise plans make me homesick for the ships! I'm sure it will only get worse as I get ready to start my TR... Glad I can live vicariously!

No problem falling behind. Happens to all of us from time to time. Only good thing with my TRs is that I don't get around to update all that often.

There are lots more updates to our Paris trip, I just want to finish off planning for our upcoming trip. Can't believe that in a weeks time I will already be on a plane on our way to Orlando.
DLRP is not that much fun when it is rainy or cold. Come back in the summer - lots more fun, and they even are open late and have fireworks.

Oh, and please give me a shout when you start that TR of yours!

Thanks Karin.
DH prefers the idea of 10am again so I think that's what we will try and get.
20 more days before we can try and book

We really liked the 10am brunch time, so I will keep my fingers crossed you get your prefered time as well.

 

[perfectmatch300]

Karin, you and Tom will be here REAL SOON!

We have had a fairly cold (well at least for us it has been cold!) and rainy few days, but it will be better this coming week. I hope it will be warm and sunny when you and Tom get here.

 

[kittymamma]

[Karin, the encyclopedia of all things DCL, need help with "wine tasting". I had asked about this on a separate post but had only one response and then saw where you and Tom had done the wine tasting soooo...are the wines the more unusual ones or standard fare? Do they give a study of the wines...region, production, proper pairings etc. ? Just curious if we should devote the time to this one.
I really enjoy reading your trip reports...they are so full of info and enthusiasm.

 

[caroleRWO]

Hi Karin,

Wonderful reading about your plans - absolutely love those FE magnets
Excited to hear what you think of Grand Floridian - Citrico´s is still our favourite place to eat on property - but don´t know if we could ever give up our beloved Old Key West. Not long now till we can book after our Transatlantic trip - that seven month window.
When you are onboard, please try and do some sleuthing as to next year´s schedules - we are hoping for a Panama Canal cruise in September - though I guess we´ll take a Transatlantic as a back-up.

Carole, Mike and Jenny.

 

[dizneeat]

Karin, you and Tom will be here REAL SOON!

We have had a fairly cold (well at least for us it has been cold!) and rainy few days, but it will be better this coming week. I hope it will be warm and sunny when you and Tom get here.

A week from now we will be on a plane heading for the US!

I did read about the cold weather and am hoping that it will warm up before we arrive!
But whatever the weather, we will be on vacation.

[Karin, the encyclopedia of all things DCL, need help with "wine tasting". I had asked about this on a separate post but had only one response and then saw where you and Tom had done the wine tasting soooo...are the wines the more unusual ones or standard fare? Do they give a study of the wines...region, production, proper pairings etc. ? Just curious if we should devote the time to this one.
I really enjoy reading your trip reports...they are so full of info and enthusiasm.

I am happy to give you my opinion on the wine tasting. To be honest, we have done several, loved them all, but they were all quite different. I guess no two are the same.
I think it is the sommelier who picks the wines and so far we have always had a background of where they come from, what it would go with, how to even enhance the experience (chocolate!).
If you get the chance please go and enjoy. They usually have quite good wines, not your "everyday" house wines. Last cruise I found one I really liked and ordered it a few times lateron.

I am glad you enjoy the trip reports - I love to share my love for Disney.

Hi Karin,

Wonderful reading about your plans - absolutely love those FE magnets
Excited to hear what you think of Grand Floridian - Citrico´s is still our favourite place to eat on property - but don´t know if we could ever give up our beloved Old Key West. Not long now till we can book after our Transatlantic trip - that seven month window.
When you are onboard, please try and do some sleuthing as to next year´s schedules - we are hoping for a Panama Canal cruise in September - though I guess we´ll take a Transatlantic as a back-up.

Carole, Mike and Jenny.

Carole, how lovely to hear from you again. We often talk about the time when we spent quite some time in the Old Key West pool together.

Wow! You are doing a Transatlantic! I am officially jealous!

No problem about trying to get info on next year's schedules - I really want to find out for ourselves too! We would love to do another Fantasy back to back next summer, but the way the prices hike, I am not sure we can pull it off.

 

[dizneeat]

Day 6, February 20 - Back to WDW and OKW

I am sure that when we get up and take a peek out onto the veranda we will see that all too well known parking structure at Port Canaveral. So after taking a shower we will check if we have not forgotten anything and then head up to Cabanas for a quick breakfast.



After that it will be time to say goodbye to our stateroom and our stateroom host before trying to get off the ship. We will join the long lines for immigration and then head over to the parking structure, pay our dues, pack everything into the boot and off we will go. Well, not without driving past the Dream one more time, but then we will be on our way.





I guess we will arrive at OKW around 11am



and since our room will not be ready by then we will just drop off our luggage and then try to grab a bite to eat either at Downtown Disney or offsite,



depending on the time.
Next we will head over to Publix to do some shopping. Guess once shopping is done we will ask again if our room is ready and if it is, we will “move into” our villa.



If not we will just head over to Disney’s Hollywood Studios

to put our Fastpass+ to good use. So after going through the turnstiles we will first head to the Tower of Terror.

Then we will walk over to the Indiana Jones Stunt show and use our next fastpass there. We haven’t seen the show in ages, so that should be fun. After the show we should be right on time to get on Toy Story Midway Mania.

Depending on when we will have used up our fastpasses we can either stroll around a little more but we will have to leave the park by 5.30. And after a quick shower and getting changed it will be time to head out again. This time we will drive over to the Contemporary for our reservation at the California Grill.



And while we enjoy a leisurely meal



at our favourite restaurant we hope to be able to enjoy Wishes from the platform on top of the Contemporary. We should be able to finish our dinner



in ample time to hop over to the Magic Kingdom for a stroll through and maybe even a ride. But if not it will still be nice to spend a little more time in the Magic Kingdom. Once the park closes we will head back to the car and drive back to Old Key West for a good night’s sleep.

​

 

[Leshaface]

Looking at your Palo Brunch pictures never gets old

Even though it's sad that you'll be getting off the ship, I think your day at WDW TOTALLY makes up for it! You guys will have a busy day at DHS, then your ADR, followed by a nice night at MK!

 

[HowieHowie]

Wonderful cruising plans, Karin. I know it's hard to get off the ship, but at least you still have Studios, California Grill and Mk to look forward to.

 

[dizneeat]

I will do replies when we get back, I just wanted to post plans for the last two remaining days (sans pics, as I don't have the time to look for some).

We will be leaving early (flight leaves at 6.50am!) on Saturday. See you all after we return.

Day 7, February 21

Two parks in one day – IF we can pull it off!

Given that we will only have gotten in around midnight the day before I can only hope that we can get up in time to make it to the Animal Kingdom for rope drop at 9am. Once there we will head straight for Expedition Everest and hop in line. We will not have any Fastpasses for Animal Kingdom as I saved those for later that day. So depending on how thick the crowds will be we will hop in line for a second ride if the wait is not too long or even use the single rider line. Then we will head over to Kilimanjaro Safari to get in line there. Once we get off the ride we will grab a bite to eat either at Tamu Tamu or Pizzafari. Depening on wait times we might throw in another ride or two before returning to Old Key West, to enjoy some time and some rest there. Then around 4pm we will head over to the Beach Club for our reservation at Beaches and Cream. Depending on how hungry we will be we will either have some early dinner or just enjoy some ice-cream. Bellies filled we will go to Epcot to utilize our Fastpasses for the day. Our first one will start at 6pm at Mission Space and depending on how long the single rider line for Test Track will be we will ride Test Track as well. Our next Fastpass is for Spaceship Earth and after this trip into our future we will head over to the Land and use our last fastpass on Soarin’. If we got off Soarin’ in time we will try to get over to the World Showcase lagoon to watch Illuminations. The park has Extra Magic Hours that day and we will head to Spice Road Table which should have some empty tables after the fireworks for a taste of Morocco. We will then walk around World Showcase before trying to get onto Mission Space and MAYBE Soarin again. And after some shopping at Mouse Gear we will head out of the park and drive back to Old Key West, where we will have to pack up all our stuff as we will have to leave Old Key West early the next morning. I guess we will be able to go to bed shortly after midnight.

​

 

[dizneeat]

Day 8, February 22

Time to say goodbye again!

We will have to get up around 7am and after we have gotten ready we will figure out how many pieces of luggage we need to drop off at bell services. At least our Owner’s Locker box will need to be sent back to its resting place. Then we will head over to the Contemporary for breakfast at The Wave. Tom and I do not enjoy buffets very much, but we love the one at The Wave. Go figure, LOL! After breakfast we will make our way over to the Magic Kingdom where we have a Fastpass for Peter Pan after 10am. And after flying over London we will stroll around a bit and maybe get onto Pirates before checking into the Haunted Mansion using another Fastpass. If there is time left, we can hop onto It’s a Small World and maybe Philharmagic before checking in at Be our Guest, where we have already placed our order for lunch. After that we will head over to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad to take the trip on the runaway mine train and that should conclude our visit to the Magic Kingdom for that year. Needless to say that on the way out of the park we will stroll through the shops one more time and pick up a sweet or two from the Confectionary. Once we are back in the car we will head to Downtown Disney to do a little more shopping at World of Disney and depending on how late it is and how hungry we are, we will either pick up dinner from Wolfgang Puck’s Express, or eat right there. All too soon it will be time to drive to the airport, drop off our luggage and after a last stroll through the airport shops we will go through the Security Checkpoint and then take the fake monorail to our departure gate. This time we will travel economy class, but it won’t be a huge problem as we will be tired and as soon as we are airborne we will take some sleeping aid and sleep through most of the flight.
​

 

[dizneeat]

Day 9, February 23

Almost home

If we wake up in time we will have breakfast on board. Around 11am we will hopefully land in Frankfurt on time and after going through passport control and another security check we will head to our departure gate. There should be just enough time to pick up a snack for breakfast before it will be time to board again and do the last leg of the trip, a 55 minute flight to our home town. Once there we will wait for our luggage, then head through customs, and head out to the car-park. We will stow all our luggage in the boot, and after we have got going we will stop at a gas station to pick up a few groceries before driving to the cat hotel to pick up Pixie. It will then take us another 30 minutes until we finally return home and this year’s trip to the US will be over.
​

 

[jenseib]

Have fun Karin!!!!

 

[HowieHowie]

Have a great time!!!

 

[scottny]

Have a magical trip.

 

[perfectmatch300]

Karin and Tom, hope you have a great trip! Your plans sound awesome.
I am not sure if we will make it into any of the parks while you are here, but we will look for you if we do manage to fit some park time into our schedule. I am sure I will be watching your sail away on the webcam so be sure to wave as you go past Fishlips. Oh, be sure to tell our cabin that we'll be there in September. I hope you enjoy 8188 as much as we do.

 

[jedijill]

Have a great trip!

Jill in CO