It's A Small World - A Never-ending Pre-trip Report

[dolphingirl47]

I have had another eventful couple of days today in terms of planning for my upcoming trips. It was payday yesterday and I decided to tie up some loose ends. Top of my list was booking my flights for my quick Disneyland Paris trip in October and this is now done. They were slightly more expensive than the ones for September, but still a fantastic deal. I also got the train tickets for the way back for those two trips. So this means that I am now done in terms of planning for both the September and October Disneyland Paris trips.

I was tempted to pre-purchase the train tickets for when we arrive as well, but it is not a precise science how long it will take us to get through passport control and I neither want to miss the train nor do I want to sit around at the airport any longer than I have to. So if there is a direct train leaving soon when we get to the station, we will take this. Otherwise we will take the the RER. There is a TGV at 17:58 that I hope we may be able to get. Our flight arrives at 16:55 and as we are travelling with hand luggage only, there should be at least a chance that we will make it. On both trips this would be a blessing. During the September trip, this would mean that we can pick up our race pack before meeting with my friend Michelle and heading to Champs sur Marne to check into our hotel and have dinner. In October, I actually may get some park time that day. If I get this train, I can leave my bag at left luggage and do Buzz Lightyear a couple of times before watching Disney Dreams. I want to see if I can get some better photos.

Speaking of flights, I was more than a little amused yesterday. We are flying with a low cost carrier this time round and you can do online check in a month ahead of your travel date so while I was on the website anyway, I decided to take care of this. The prices on the airline I am flying with just include the flight and one piece of hand luggage. If you want anything else (checked luggage, choose your own seats, etc.), they charge extra. When I did my online check in, they offered me the chance to pre-assign my seats for a cost and suggested some seats. I declined and clicked to have seats auto-assigned. On a short flight like this, I am not bothered about sitting apart. Anyway, when I got my boarding passed, we got exactly the same seats as they were suggesting for a fee.

I also have now purchased my ticket for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. As I won't get standard park tickets, I have decided to go to two parties. I will go on 27th and 29th November. Now I am not so patiently waiting for the 60 day mark so that I can make some Fastpass reservations during the cutover period.

Today we decided what we are doing in the different ports. We have not booked the excursions yet, but this is most likely how it will pan out:

Boston - Boston Trolley Tour. This will give us a good overview of the city. The jewellery artist that I have been working with for years has suggested she could come to Boston to meet us so we may have lunch with her at Quincy Market.

New York Day 1 - City Lights and Empire State Building by Evening Tour. This includes visits to Empire State Building, Brooklyn Bridge and Times Square.

New York Day 2 - we will do our own thing and take to the subway. The must dos for me that day are Central Park and the 9 11 memorial. If we get time, I would also love to see Times Square during the day.

Port Canaveral - I will finally get to cross something else of my bucket list. Graham has agreed to a tour of the Kennedy Space Centre. I can't wait.

So apart from booking the excursions for the cruise, the only things outstanding now are booking the car hire and booking the standby tickets to come back to the UK.

Corinna

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Well done for booking those flight tickets makes sense to hold back on the train and play it by ear.

How funny the airline trying its luck to get more money out of you. I find this with car rental. They always offer you an updrade for a fee. I advise people you need nerves of steel here hold your position keep your credit card in your pocket. Sure enough you get the car for free. Basically they don't have the category you booked and trying to get you to pay! Same as the plane. Those were the seats they had!

That is great re the MVMCP I loved that this past Christmas it was the highlight.

That is a great ports you have there. This is the translatic cruise? It docks at Port C? Cool I hope you enjoy the Space centre. Nice to tick it off your list!

 

[dolphingirl47]

I find this with car rental. They always offer you an updrade for a fee. I advise people you need nerves of steel here hold your position keep your credit card in your pocket. Sure enough you get the car for free. Basically they don't have the category you booked and trying to get you to pay!

We have that pleasure to come, too. I really don't mind what car we will get. It just has to get us from Miami to Vero Beach and then onwards to Orlando.

That is great re the MVMCP I loved that this past Christmas it was the highlight.

I have been twice before and loved it. Really looking forward to going again.

This is the translatic cruise?

Yes, it is.

It docks at Port C?

I know that some of the DCL cruises out of New York dock in Port Canaveral as well.

I hope you enjoy the Space centre

I am sure I will.

Corinna

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

I am excited for you to try Vero! We found the inn rooms better as they are in the main hotel. We regretted not having a balony. Pam and Mom's had amazing views of the Atlantic. We were enchanted by it.

 

[dolphingirl47]

I have been meaning to reply to this, but somehow forgot. Things have been very hectic here.

We found the inn rooms better as they are in the main hotel.

I just double-checked what I have a reservation for and we are in an inn room.

Pam and Mom's had amazing views of the Atlantic.

We have a garden view booked so no sea view for us. However, we are just coming off a cruise so will have had plenty of sea views then and we tend to spend not much time in the room anyway.

Corinna

 

[dolphingirl47]

I can finally say that this month we are heading to Disneyland Paris. We will leave three weeks from today.

Corinna

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Great news about this month going to DLP how exciting! I was telling Jo about your Transpacific cruise her eyes were very wide! If she only she could get that time off work!

 

[dolphingirl47]

Great news about this month going to DLP how exciting!

I am really looking forward to this.

If she only she could get that time off work!

We are lucky in that respect. Graham has his own consultancy business and my employer is pretty flexible.

Corinna

 

[dolphingirl47]

I was going to post an update today anyway, but since I made up my mind to do so, it has been all happening.

Today was a well deserved day off so I managed to spend some quality time sorting out odds and ends. Top priority was sorting out my new gadget. When I went grocery shopping on Friday, I found wireless headphones. That makes running so much easier if you do not have to worry about getting tangled up in the wires. Considering that they were an absolute bargain, the sound quality is fantastic, too. I will give them another charge over night and then I will road test them on my run tomorrow. We see how they work out for this.

The next thing I noticed that they have now released the photo packages for cruises up to the beginning of November. I had started to get worried as they had not updated the page for Royal Caribbean cruises since May and the last cruises showing had been for the end of August. For the last two weeks, the information for each ship was just empty. Our transatlantic cruise in November is not listed yet, but the 12 night cruise before ours and the earlier transatlantics that are actually longer are listed and are $249 for all photos so I am hoping it will be the same for us. I also checked the transpacific cruise on the Explorer in October and for that all photos are also $249, which I thought was a fabulous deal.

I was a little naughty this afternoon when I was in town. However, I figured with all the crazy hours I have been putting in recently, I have deserved this. I got myself an Apple Watch. I am not too keen to have something on my right wrist. However, for the past 18 months, I have had my watch on my left wrist and my Fitbit on my right wrist. Now I just have to have one gadget that does everything. I am very impressed that I can even listen to my music on my watch. Again, this makes running a lot easier. I like listening to music when running. I have a running armband for my iPhone, but this is a bit of a pain to use and the watch is so much more comfortable. Unfortunately I have found out that the Couch to 5K app I have been using is not compatible with the Apple Watch so I have to make do for the next two weeks, but I think I will invest in a compatible app after this. It also gives me a real buzz that one of the watch faces has Mickey and in the next update, which will come in a month or so, there will also be a Minnie. For now I am very happy with Mickey.

However, the highlight today was that we got our bib numbers for the 5K at Paris this evening. This makes this so much more real.

Corinna

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

That is great you got yourself two new gadgets. I love gadgets! I have often wondered about the wireless headphones and considered them. Nice to know you don't have to spend a fortune to get a good pair.

If the photo packages are the same on your cruises and why wouldn't they be $249 is a very good deal. Do you have to purchase this upfront to get any package at all or is it availiable on the cruise but more expensive?

How cool re the Apple watch! That is a nice treat. How cute to get a Mickey or Minnie in the next update!

Contrats on your bib numbers.

 

[dolphingirl47]

I love gadgets!

Me, too.

Nice to know you don't have to spend a fortune to get a good pair.

Indeed. I absolutely love them. Mine were £16 from ASDA.

If the photo packages are the same on your cruises and why wouldn't they be $249 is a very good deal.

I think so, too.

Do you have to purchase this upfront to get any package at all or is it availiable on the cruise but more expensive?

You don't have to purchase upfront, but thee is quite a significant discount if your do. If you change your mind while you are on the ship, you can cancel the packaged up to a certain cut off point on the last full day and they refund the money.

How cool re the Apple watch!

I am still in the process of finding out what it can do, but so far I really like it.

Contrats on your bib numbers.

Thanks.

Corinna

 

[dolphingirl47]

Yesterday was a double landmark day. It was 2 weeks until I run my first ever 5 K. Actually, two weeks from now, it is all over and I will hopefully have enjoyed two full and happy days in the parks before flying home Monday morning. I can’t believe how close this is getting.

I am ever so slightly bewildered why how laid back they are about everything. They were going to publish the race plans by 31st August the latest. It is now 11th September and still nothing. I am not overly worried about this. As far as I am aware, the 5 K route goes from somewhere in Disney Village down Main Street, past the castle into Walt Disney Studios, past Tower of Terror and back to Disney Village. It will just be a question of following the masses. I can however understand that the people running the half marathon are getting nervous as only half of this is on Disney property.

Yesterday I found out that they are doing a special Photopass for the race weekend events. I was a little annoyed by this at first as I have an annual Photopass for Disneyland Paris. However, it is only €40 and it can be shared by up to 6 people. My friend Michelle is joining us and we will share it between the three of us so that makes it pretty good value.

I am not so patiently waiting for some information about merchandise being released. The only thing that has been published so far is a poster with the pins. I really love the 5K I Did It pin and I am hoping to get this. I may or may not get the logo pin.



New Balance is listed as a sponsor so I am hoping that they will sell the Run Disney New Balance shoes at the Expo. I particularly would love a pair of the Ariel shoes.

I am also still living in hope that there will be some Dooney and Bourke purses. They had a Disneyland Paris collection in the past, but that did not work out to well for them. However, the same was true for Disneyland Hong Kong and they brought out a new collection for the 10th anniversary. So I am living in hope.

The second landmark yesterday was that it was two months until our cruise. I am getting really excited about this one now. I paid off the balance today. I had until Wednesday, but I have a pretty busy week ahead and did not want to risk forgetting. As soon as I paid, our Set Sail passes were ready for printing and we can check in any time from 11:00 to 15:00. I am pretty sure we will be there right at 11:00.

With this sorted out, I decided to add the soda package for meand also the four night speciality dining package for both of. They have 4 speciality restaurants that are included. On top of this, they have Johnny Rocket's and a Chef's Table. Out of the four restaurants, three have a cover charge and you can eat as much as you want and the final one is a la carte and for this we will get a $30 credit each.

Giovanni's Table is an Italian restaurant and the menu is pretty similar to Palo. Sabor Modern Mexican will be a challenge as there is so much on the menu that I would love. The table-side guacamole is a must and I think I will end up making a meal out of the appetizer menu as there is so much on there that I want to try.

I am hoping to spend my birthday dinner at Chop's Grill, which is the steakhouse on board. We had brunch at Chop's Grill on our first Royal Caribbean cruise and that was amazing. I have already planned out what I am intending to eat.

The only potential challenge is Izumi, the Japanese restaurant, which is heavy on sushi and sashimi. However there are some options that I will eat.

So things are coming nicely together.

Corinna

 

[franandaj]

I'm glad to hear that your dining options are coming together for the cruise. Good luck on your first 5K!

 

[dolphingirl47]

I'm glad to hear that your dining options are coming together for the cruise.

I am pretty pleased with this.

Good luck on your first 5K!

Thanks. I am getting a bit nervous.

Corinna

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Exciting that the 5k is getting closer. Those pins are lovely. Fingers crossed that they do release those D & B bags.

I love the new balance shoes too. Ariel ones would be delightful on you.

How exciting about your cruise. What a thrill to have that in the pipeline. I look forward to that TR!

I am checking out for 2 weeks now. I might be slow in some responses. Going to WDW and a week b2b on The Dream

 

[Flossbolna]

I am checking out for 2 weeks now. I might be slow in some responses. Going to WDW and a week b2b on The Dream

have a fantastic trip Paula!!

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

have a fantastic trip Paula!!

Why thank you! I will force myself...

 

[Flossbolna]

Why thank you! I will force myself...

Hope there is not too much force necessary to have loads of fun!!

The Dream is the one ship that is missing in my "collection", but I really cannot see us going on her while she is doing those short cruises. Even with the B2B you have one day in the middle where you have to get up "early" (at least in my boyfriend's mind 8am is early) to do the changeover... But I absolutely love the pictures I have seen of Pink on the Dream and would love to have some delicious champagne there.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Exciting that the 5k is getting closer.

Both exciting and scary.

Fingers crossed that they do release those D & B bags.

I am out of luck there. Instead there will be a Barbara Rihl wristlet. I have seen the previous collaboration and those bags looked cheap and nasty.

I love the new balance shoes too. Ariel ones would be delightful on you.

I think I may be out of luck on that count, too. New Balance is not listed on the events guide. However, there seems to be a huge stall that does not have a name against it so I am not giving up hope quite yet.

How exciting about your cruise. What a thrill to have that in the pipeline. I look forward to that TR!

I am starting to get excited about this.

I am checking out for 2 weeks now. I might be slow in some responses. Going to WDW and a week b2b on The Dream

Have a magical trip. See you when you go back. By then I should hopefully have finished the trip report for the May trip.

Corinna

 

[Pinkocto]

I'm back from my vacation and finally catching up. The last week of work has been dreadful.

Sounds like your race is right around the corner! Very exciting!!!

The Apple watch sounds like an excellent investment for what you use it for. The Mickey is too cute.

All your other plans are coming together nicely. How fun to add a Halloween trip!