The Final Frontier (DCL without Young’ens)

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

Understood.

I may need to warn my PA about that though.
The mere specter of an enacted 14 is the type of consequence that requires considerable mental preparation.
She may want to rethink her choice of profession.

I think thats listed in section 45J subsection q on page 344 of the Personal Assistant secrecy agreement they should have initialed by it twice and signed there name under that section as well. Now if they signed it without reading it that can be a problem.

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

its nothing to do with wait it's a new requirement for ships as part of fuel ecomey and some other things. I think even the dream and fantasy will get them eventual http://www.cruiseind.com/2011/12/02/lets-talk-about-duck-tails/

Do you know what this means!
It means that someone actually read something I wrote...

No, wait...
That's the most unimportant thing in the entire history of communication.
Hummm... Let's try this again.


Do you know what this means!
It means that I've learned something new! That's totally Wicked!
And it was something I didn't know about ships. That's totally even more WICKED!!

Dude... I'm gonn'a have to promote you from Operative to Professor.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Why do we read Trip reports?

Eh, it beats working.

Well, actually…



…that right there is a view from only about 700 feet.

Gorgeous shot! Excellent tease there.

The name’s Rob, and I’ll be your tormentor… errr… I mean guide

Ghost Host?

And up until now at least, the only one of the four ships in the fleet which we had not yet the good fortune to board.

Way to cross 'em all off the list!

We found some unfinished wood boxes on-line and painted them all up. Then I designed the images, printed those on transparent labels and applied them to the boxes.

Looks like some quality items right there.

So let’s see now, bags packed…

Only one of those is yours, right?

Because what he was particularly good at was thinking through problems while under duress and recovering a situation when things went wrong.


And things often go wrong when one is leaving the known and entering new frontiers.



So obviously…
You’ll be learning a bit more about this guy in the future.

Cool..test pilot stories.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Thanks for the history of the Big Red Boat. Disney appears to have learned its cruising lessons very well!

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

Eh, it beats working.

First off…
Oficially.
And it’s good to see you here.
Now then…


Good point!
If I were giving away points, I’d give you several points for making that point.

Gorgeous shot! Excellent tease there.

Thanks! Proof that I may actually be getting better at taking pictures.

Well, I have a decent camera now…
And it’d be hard to take a bad picture from up there…
So maybe it doesn’t really prove anything at all.

But thanks just the same!

Ghost Host?

Way to cross 'em all off the list!

May not have been the single smartest use of our funds…
But it sure was a fun use of them.

Looks like some quality items right there.

We hope everyone liked them at least.
I’ll show y’all some of what we got in return as the TR rolls along.

Only one of those is yours, right?

If I had the final say, there may have been about three total.
But I’m not in charge here, and even if I didn’t choose to pack something…
I couldn’t prevent it from getting packed for me later on.

Cool..test pilot stories.

There were certainly be test pilots involved in many of the “added stories” to come
The theme got set in the title of this nightmare, so you can pretty much be sure of the kind of “extras” I’ll be tossing out.

Thanks for the history of the Big Red Boat. Disney appears to have learned its cruising lessons very well!

Some things they learn well; often by just watching carefully.
This is one of those occasions.

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

Chapter 2: The Space Coast

If one just happens to live in central Florida, then working out the travel time required to arrive in Port Canaveral at a decent point for boarding one of Disney’s ships is not all that tough.

Lucky them.


If like the remaining 99.97 percent of us, you live just a smidgen farther afield, than this is a bit of logistics that is going to require at least a modicum of planning. A lot of folks either have no choice but to fly into MCO, or possess the adequate funds needed to do the same without worrying about it. We followed that game plan just once. And while the Magical Express and fact that DCL will even retrieve your bags and get them to the ship are nice perks indeed, for us at least it’s generally cost prohibitive.

Driving makes more sense when it comes to applying our resources. From my front door to the port is around eight-ish hours at the prevailing speeds along the interstates. Quite doable but long enough to mean that we either need to drive through the night or have to head out the day before embarkation. Not wanting to be worn out before the ship even leaves The Cut, the day before route gets the nod.
But… now we need somewhere to camp

Again there are several viable options. A number of fairly fine hotels surround the port.
The Radisson is one example that we’ve partaken of and even reported on….
Welcome to the Rad


As an extra enticement for acquiring you’re business, these operations will usually offer some type of long term parking and port shuttle service for a bit of an upcharge.
Something else we‘ve experienced with varying degrees of success…
Shuttle Launch


But for this outing we opted to try something different.

As you’d expect there are a number of hotels a bit farther afield but still in the general area where the cost of a night’s stay is a good be cheaper (and generally includes breakfast). As an additional incentive, some of these establishments also offer vouchers good for a percentage discount against the cost of the standard parking fee at the cruise terminals. Some of these offers are for as much as 40% off and once you do the math the total outlay in this method ends up being on par with staying nearer the port and using a shuttle service. Additionally, once you return you won’t have to call or wait on said shuttle to get back to your vehicle.

This fact combined with the lessons from my last trip to WDW proving that doing my own driving actually improved our overall experience, meant the this option needed trying.

That’s how we ended up here the evening before shoving off…

Welcome to the Fairfield Inns and Suites in Titusville Fla.


This is pretty similar to say, a Hampton Inn or a Holiday Inn Express in terms of price, cleanliness, room size and as a reliably decent place to hang your hat for the night. In fact both of those other inn keeping establishments have outposts within spitting distance this place. And just a short walk to the next parking lot over will bring you to a “Cracker Barrel” restaurant just in case you’re feeling peckish.
Now as for the town we’ve stop in…
Titusville, while about 20 odd miles away from Port Canaveral, is still the largest city in the area and a major part of the Space Coast…

No…
Not Space Ghost.



Space Coast!

Basically the Space Coast is the shore line and barrier islands of Brevard County; everything from just south of Daytona Beach down to Melbourne and Patrick AFB. But the dead center of it is dominated by The Kennedy Space Center, the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and the city of Titusville.

And …
it’s an area I’m well familiar with
(but I’ll come back around to that point in a bit).

First things first though, we need to get some shut eye…

Tomorrow is a big day.





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Jackson Street Memoir

We have reached DOL
(Day of Launch)





The morning of May 23rd arrived early for me.
If you’ve read any of my previous TRs you’ll notice that this is a common occurrence.
I’m generally up early compared to everyone else in my household and this condition tends to become even more magnified when we’re traveling.

Not a problem, it gave me time to set up the lap-top and go on line for a little bit.
First stop… the Port Canaveral Web-Cam


You know… just to see what’s going on,
and the view looking up toward the turning basin did not disappoint…

The Fantasy at Dawn…



Pretty soon the DCL folks will begin the process of kicking the poor slobs currently on board to the curb so that they can turn the ship around for the new batch of scallywags. Now to be sure, a week from today they’ll be treating us just as unkindly, but for now at least, we’re numbered among the valued guests to be welcomed aboard with much pomp and fanfare.


Ok, back to the action, or maybe that’s inaction.
Obviously I was already up and about, but everyone else was pretty much zonked and taking their time.
So as to stay out of their hair, I decided to walk around and take a few pictures that I might be able to use for a future TR.

You are now suffering dearly from that decision.


Not from the pictures per say (they’re a small bit of a relief from the verbosity), no I mean from my decision to go ahead and write up something about the trip. But in any case, my figuring was that just on the outside chance anyone was considering following our game plan, they might want to see how the place looked. You’ve already seen the building elevation, but these digs also boasts a fairly decent pool…

And for those traveling with actual young’ens, that can be rather important.


The last picture I took that morning ended up being the image that led off this chapter.
Just a bit of a photo op to remind everyone that from here it’s just a short hop over to the KSC Visitors center.

A fact that gave me another idea…


As it turns out, this hotel partners with a number of area attractions and sells advanced tickets at slightly reduced prices to their guests. So I used a bit of my extra time to stop by the front desk and make a plan for a diversion to drown our sorrows after DCL forces us to walk the plank a week from now.

When I checked back in on the rest of the crew, Tamara was ready to go, but Max was only just stirring.
No matter. We still had time, so mom and dad headed down for a bit of breakfast and just brought him back a couple muffins and a drink once we’d finished. He’s not all that big on morning meals, so you’ll likely notice that this will be a trend that repeats itself a few times over the next few days.

We finally got everything and everyone packed in the car a bit after 9:30. Our assigned check-in time at the terminal however, wasn’t until 11:00 though, so for the time being we’re still not in a particular hurry. Now, there are those who prefer to arrive at any event as early as possible (and I’m usually one of those folks), but no one can board the ship before around 11:30.

So, just chill, Ok?


For this cruse at least, our assigned arrival time bothers me not.
Besides, this will give me an opportunity to do something else I’ve wanted to do for quite some time.

A bit of reminiscing.


We left the hotel, turned back onto Route-50…
And then drove under and right past I-95.
Like I said, I wasn’t heading for the cruise terminals just yet.
Instead I was headed on into Titusville.

A left onto Hopkins headed back north away from the ultimate destination…
and after a bit, a right onto Jackson Street finally brought me here…

Now why on earth am I showing y’all a picture of a tiny 1958 vintage cinder block house?

Because I spent a good bit of time here in my youth.



In 1963, my grandparents left the mountains of WV for the last time and moved into that little two bedroom “bungalow”. It would remain their home for the rest of their lives; a fact that as you might imagine brought my family there on a fairly regular bases.

Now the reason my mom’s folks acquired that little house had everything to do with something you could see quite clearly less than a block away at the end of Jackson St. where it meets up with US Highway-1

So I stopped there for a minute or two as well…

The body of water in the foreground is known as The Indian River, which is a misnomer as it’s actually an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean.

The “river” is one of two “rivers” that separate Merritt Island from the mainland.
Located on that there island is NASA’s Kennedy Space Center which is where my grandfather was employed
(and thus the reason he acquired that little bungalow way back in 63).

Now as for the “non-descript” building you see over there on what otherwise looks like a just a low, scrubby, sparsely inhabited barrier island, that is known locally as the VAB.

That’s NASA speak for “Vehicle Assembly Building”
and it is far and away the largest facility on the grounds of the KSC.


So just how large are we talking?

Well, it can be kind’a difficult to see it this way (especially from that picture)…
but that right there is currently the sixth “largest” building on the planet.
​

Spoiler: Extraneous details you do not want to know – Click at your own risk!

Oh my…
You don’t take warnings very well do you?



Or is it that you’re one of those folks that just has no choice but to press any button that presents itself regardless of the warnings or consequences?

Quick!
Click it again… there’s still time to escape the torment.



No?
You’ll live with the consequences?


OK…
But I did tell you that it was going to be a whole lot of nothing that you don’t really want to know.
And… it doesn’t have anything to do with the TR either.

Ok then, here goes.
The rest of this little side trip starts off like this…





I said that my Grandfather moved down to Titusville for employment reasons, but what specifically was the draw? Well, it seems that there was a rather large constriction project commencing over on Merritt Island at the time.

One that it really got moving right after this one particular speech in 1961.


Among the professionals that were being hired in droves were welders and iron workers.
A trade the Grandpa had picked up and practiced while doing a stent in a couple mid-Atlantic ship yards working on “Victory Ships” in the 40s.


Being as steady and decent paying work seemed like a good idea to him…
becoming a Floridian was just a logical choice.



Over his years working out on “The Cape” he was part of many different welding gangs and helped construct and repair a number of significant structures on site.

That picture is from back in 67



He’s the fell’a in middle there working on the service gantry for Delta rockets
over at Launch Complex 17A

(which is actually situated on the Cape Canaveral AFS that adjoins the KSC).


Given the date they were most likely doing some repair work and site adjustments after the
launch of the OSO-3 satellite.


Here’s a longer view of the beast…

Basically it’s the internal skeleton of a twenty story building.

Oh…
and it’s on tracks as well so the whole thing moves out of the way during launches.



Impressive as that may seem…
as structures out on The Cape go, this one is just about average.


There’s another structure a bit to the north of that spot that Gramps also spent some time working on.
One that tends to really warp the mind.



If we were going to get folks to the moon and back, then we were going to need larger rockets than those that had been developed previously.

Considerably larger…
And we were going to need a facility large enough to put those monsters together.

As such everything about the VAB is out of scale.
(Well, lookie there... I finally got back around to the thing that brought us over here in the first place.)


The design called for something able to handle up to four Saturn-V rockets at a time (even when fully assembled). This requirement necessitated that the whole of the interior space should be what we now call “Open Concept” and that the supports, scaffolding and internal structures be reconfigurable as needed. In practice, the VAB is actually only a “one story building”. But that single story also happens to be 526 feet in height. That is equivalent to a forty-one or two story office tower, and it was even the “tallest” building in all of Florida up until 1974.

But we’re only getting to the tip of that iceberg here.
See the thing is… this behemoth isn’t just forty-ish stories tall…
It’s also about forty stories in depth and nearly fifty stories across…

But sitting as it does on a great big ol’ flat island…
with nothing else of a similar scale anywhere within miles of the thing …

to a casual observer looking out of a bus window during a drive-by tour…
it just looks pretty much to be a good sized warehouse and not much more.

and certainly not all that amazing.



What we’ve got here is failure to communicate…



No, no, no…
I meant to say that what we’ve got here is a severe lack of context.



What if we could compare it to something with a more comprehendible size that also happens to be quite well known internationally?

Something that (thanks to liberal applications of both the family vacation concept and the notion of the junior high school field trip – on the east coast at least) a whole lot of folks have actually seen with their own eyes…

Being in the middle of a decidedly urban area, the scale of our national capital building is a lot easier to wrap one’s head around. It’s also pretty clear that we’re talking about
a rather Substantial Edifice

One might even say it was a massive structure.
For that matter, there is little in the District of Columbia that is even near as tall.

Well of course, the Washington monument off in the distance there is.
In truth, at 555 feet (or about 43 stories), that graceful obelisk is the tallest thing in the district.



Now just for arguments sake, what if we could pick those two structures up…
and drop them down at the Kennedy Space Center?

Might that provide a little better sense of scale…

Yep… that’s a big som’ b… errr… building.



Being so large and so open also means that the VAB is also capable of generating its own weather. On particularly humid days (right… like that ever happens in Florida), rain clouds can form inside near the roof. This fact meant that the builders had to install an incredibly powerful ventilation system to abate such potential problems. A system strong enough to completely recycle every cubic inch of air in the building at least once an hour when running at full tilt.

Oh and by the way, that would be a total of 223,651,584,063 of them there cubic inches.

That’s a lot of elbow room.



Ok, here’s one last tool for trying to visualize the immense volume of the VAB.
If you could – for arguments sake – pick up the Empire State Building…

That’s an image I borrowed from a chapter in another one
of my TRs titled: From On High



…and somehow or other snap it in to three equal pieces,
then all three would fit inside the VAB with room to spare.
How much room spare?


Well enough that you could then take the Chrysler building…
break it into three pieces and then stuff that in there as well.


Alright, I think we’ve probably beat this horse about as far as decency permits.



So is this the “biggest” building there is?
Well no, like I said a while back, it actually comes in at number six.

Care to know what structure comes in at number five?

Well, tough! I’m gonn’a tell you anyway.

With around a third more total internal volume when compared to the VAB, the next biggest building ends up being a facility located in Papenburg ,Germany and owned by Meyer Werft GmbH.

It’s something they refer to simply as: “Dockhalle #2”…

I think it’s pretty obvious from that image just what kind of madness goes on inside this petite little doll house.

And seeing that also reminds me that I probably ought to get back to updating this next update before my pitiful excuse for a TR gets any farther out of control.





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Parking Orbit

You are go for EPO





Now if I remember correctly from way back at the top of this post, I was stopped at the end of Jackson Street looking over at The Cape. But it’s time to stop all this reminiscing and get back to the mission at hand.

So we hopped back into our transport vehicle and headed south along US-1. I was more interested in the view at this point than shear speed, so this route following along the Indian River suited me more than the interstate would have. A while later we turned onto route 528 and crossed over onto Merritt Island. Shortly thereafter we crossed the Banana River (that’s that other misnamed inlet I was talking about earlier) and were bearing down on Port Canaveral…

Look! Ze Plane! Ze Plane!

Errr… I mean
Look! Ze Ship! Ze Ship!



And moments after that, our ship was getting a whole lot bigger in the window…

I’ve seen similar views of DCL ships tied up along that same dock before, but it was always from the window of either a bus of a shuttle van. This time though I was in charge of the driving. Doing it this way is really not all that intimidating. Just follow the signs pointing to the Disney Terminal until you come to the guard shack at the main gate. Then it’s just like arriving at any of the WDW resorts. Show them a photo ID, let them find you on their expected arrivals list and you’re in!

Now all you have to do is wait your turn to pull up alongside the baggage handling area and drop all your tagged luggage at the curb. You can check as many bags as you like, but it’s a good idea to keep some stuff with you; medicines, electronics, valuables, you passports, any change of clothes you might need that evening (because sometimes, you bags might not make it to the room before dinner), you get the idea here. Just to be safe, also make sure you see one of the porters load them up (and be sure to tip him while you’re at it). Once that’s done it’s off to the parking deck. Of course, you have to pay upfront for the parking but the voucher I got the night before certainly made that aspect of the day all the much better. That deck is a nice addition to the facility actually. It used to be just a large lot, but this holds far more vehicles and keeps them shaded from the fierce Florida sun. That last point is really nice once you come back a week later and don’t have to climb into a cabin with a radiant temperature approaching that of a blast furnace.



Before you actually get to the baggage drop off and parking area though, the entrance road takes you right by the main entrance to DCL’s grand terminal building…

Hummm… 11:00, I made it right at my assigned check-in time.



And I’m glad I snapped that picture beforehand because we wouldn’t be entering via that front door this time around. Over on the right side of the picture you’ll see that there is a glassed walkway leading from the parking deck directly to the passenger floor of the terminal building. And if you park on the third floor of the deck, then you won’t have to deal with any stairs or elevators to get to it.

Of course, just like an airport terminal, at this terminal you do have to go through the TSA station.
Unlike airports though, you don’t have to kick off your shoes or separate all you electronics into separate trays.

But… do remember this one thing:
they will thoroughly search your bag if you pack a back scratcher in it.

Say What?



Ok, here’s the story…
so we have this silly back scratcher with a telescoping handle on it that looks sort’a like this…

In truth, it looks exactly like that.

Anyway I grabbed the thing up while we were packing and started thinking (my first mistake, I’m sure) to myself - you know, what the heck - I’d just toss it into the bottom of one of our bags and then we’d have it handy in case a need for it arose. The problem is that when that particular carryon bag went through the x-ray station, someone got nervous about what they “thought” they saw and I got pulled out of line.

Serriously?!?
What’s the issue here, then?


Well the issue was that something in my bag looked - to that agent at least - like a corkscrew.

Really?
That’s the issue?


Well apparently that was the issue.
After going through about three quarters of the bag, the second agent finally explained what they thought they’d seen.

Stunned, I assured them that I didn’t have a corkscrew of any type and that the only thing that even remotely had a similar silhouette was that silly backscratcher. She pulled it out and went to ask the first agent to see if just possibly, this might resemble what he thought he had seen…

must have been, because at that point they finally relented.


Later on I looked this foolishness up with the TSA and there’s no rule against a corkscrews on aircraft (so long as they aren’t part of a pocket knife). Basically I’m mystified here as to the problem of bring one on a ship. Unless that’s actually a DCL rule designed to prevent me from opening a bottle of wine while on board without first paying them their corking fee. But seeing as you’re also allowed to bring hard liquor in your carry-on bags, that makes no sense either. In fact the agent doing the searching was properly impressed with my particular selection of booze as she ran across the stash in that same bag.


Whatever… lesson learned.
On the upside, that was one of the very few annoying glitches that we’d encounter on this cruse.


Let’s get a move on here people…
Next stop… the check in line.

And we weren’t in it very long.
I think it was less then fifteen minutes before the CM was taking our pictures and handing over the bit of hardware that becomes your magic key to everything aboard the Fantasy…

And it’s here where one is finally clued into that penultimate DCL cruisers mystery…


your dinning rotation.
It’s that code that I circled up there in the enlarged detail of my card.



This rotation will vary by itinerary. In the case of the week long cruses though it generally rolls alphabetically and you’ll usually end up back wherever you started. The trick is just knowing which dining room you’ll start off in. Disney won’t let you in on it until they hand you this card though.


So according to the secret code there, dinner will begin during the first seating each night (and that’s something new for us) and we’ll be starting off in: “R” - Royal Court.

We’ll switch each evening after that, first to “A” - Animator's Palate…
then “E” - Enchanted Garden…
and after that it just rolls back around the horn.


Obviously, we had a one in three shot at picking up any of the possible rotations, but this is actually the exact line up we were hoping for. Our reasoning (or lack thereof) I’ll get into latter on in the TR, but suffice it to say we were pleasantly pleased with this outcome.


While we’re on the subject, there are several other things you can quickly learn from your key card. Things like where you muster station will be (that’s the big letter underneath Captain Mickey’s foot there; Station-P for us this time), or what ship and which literary you’re actually on (although these should be obvious to you), but never will you find your cabin number. Like any good hotel, if you were to lose the card somewhere, they don’t want anybody picking it up to knowing exactly which stateroom can be ransacked.

But even with all of that extra detail, there’s still a one quandary remaining.
Even though you have part of the answer right there in your hand.


You’ll note that it says we’ll be dinning at Table #53

But what it does not say is exactly where in each dining room that might be located and more importantly…
just how many other folks will be sharing the table with us.


For the gregarious majority, that may be of little real concern.
But for those of us in the somewhat introverted minority, it’s no small detail.

For a little while longer though…
That “small” detail is gonn’a remain bit of a mystery.


The last two things the CM will hand over before setting you loose in the terminal are a set of lanyards…
and a boarding card…

The point of the lanyards should be obvious to any WDW of DL vet.
The card though determines how quickly you’ll be boarding the ship today.


Once the ship has been cleared and is ready for boarding (usually around 11:30-ish), they will start boarding passengers by these numbers. The concierge passengers all get the #1 cards so they’re always first to board.

The rest of us will get placed in groups numbered somewhere between #2 and #12. There’s no real rhyme or reason as to what number you’ll draw (at least not one that I can ascertain). The number #7 card we pulled ain’t too bad actually, except for one thing…


Once we had finished checking in, they were already boarding and already up to #9.


That means we won’t be spending any time or taking any pictures inside the terminal during this trip. But if you’d like to see more about the building itself, I did write up a bit on it over in the old “627” TR, and you can find it in this chapter here:
Terminal Velocity


The other thing that this turn of events dictates is that clearly, we need to get a move on.
So grab a bag and follow me…

Onward!



Next up: We have cleared the Tower…
I mean Channel
​

 

[EskiLvr]

**Loving** the bonus write up on KSC. We went there in 2008, and I remember my Thing 1's jaw just dropping as we went out to the launchpads and he could see the scale of just how *big* everything was. (Thing 2 was also impressed, but Thing 1 was just blown away).

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

Do you know what this means!
It means that someone actually read something I wrote...

No, wait...
That's the most unimportant thing in the entire history of communication.
Hummm... Let's try this again.


Do you know what this means!
It means that I've learned something new! That's totally Wicked!
And it was something I didn't know about ships. That's totally even more WICKED!!

Dude... I'm gonn'a have to promote you from Operative to Professor.

I'll have to take that under advisement and I'll have my secretary draw up the necessary forms as soon as I find her apparently she saw the post about number 14 and has gone missing

 

[pkondz]

No fair! You can't just go and post a picture like that and then not go to KSC!!

(Which always makes me think of KFC when I abbreviate it like that.)

From my front door to the port is around eight-ish hours

Nice! That's not bad at all.

Quite doable but long enough to mean that we either need to drive through the night or have to head out the day before embarkation. Not wanting to be worn out before the ship even leaves The Cut, the day before route gets the nod.

Exactly how I would do it.
That way it becomes part of the holiday.

Welcome to the Fairfield Inns and Suites in Titusville Fla.


This is pretty similar to say, a Hampton Inn or a Holiday Inn Express in terms of price, cleanliness, room size and as a reliably decent place to hang your hat for the night.

I'm familiar with 'em. I'd have no problem staying at one.

Pretty soon the DCL folks will begin the process of kicking the poor slobs currently on board to the curb so that they can turn the ship around for the new batch of scallywags. Now to be sure, a week from today they’ll be treating us just as unkindly, but for now at least, we’re numbered among the valued guests to be welcomed aboard with much pomp and fanfare.

Not having done a cruise, but comparing it to checking in vs checking out at WDW.
You laugh at the disconsolate, downtrodden masses making their way back to their dull lives and menial jobs while you... You! Are just embarking on a magnificent journey!

And you try to ignor the fact that all too soon, you will be one of the disconsolate, downtrodden masses.

You are now suffering dearly from that decision.

Nope!
I like a good verbose TR.
(Emphasis on good... so you're still on probation bub.)

And for those traveling with actual young’ens, that can be rather important.

Now why on earth am I showing y’all a picture of a tiny 1958 vintage cinder block house?

Because I spent a good bit of time here in my youth.



In 1963, my grandparents left the mountains of WV for the last time and moved into that little two bedroom “bungalow”. It would remain their home for the rest of their lives; a fact that as you might imagine brought my family there on a fairly regular bases.

That's so cool. I love reading stuff like this.

That’s NASA speak for “Vehicle Assembly Building”
and it is far and away the largest facility on the grounds of the KSC.


So just how large are we talking?

Well, it can be kind’a difficult to see it this way (especially from that picture)…
but that right there is currently the sixth “largest” building on the planet.

Although I had it in my head as #5... but I was close.

You don’t take warnings very well do you?

Nope.
And it's gotten me into trouble too.

I said that my Grandfather moved down to Titusville for employment reasons, but what specifically was the draw? Well, it seems that there was a rather large constriction project commencing over on Merritt Island at the time.

Were they building a Denny's?

That picture is from back in 67

That is such a great picture!
Is that a family photo or a Nasa photo?

There’s another structure a bit to the north of that spot that Gramps also spent some time working on.
One that tends to really warp the mind.

No way! He worked on the VAB?!?!?
That's awesome!

Something that (thanks to liberal applications of both the family vacation concept and the notion of the junior high school field trip – on the east coast at least) a whole lot of folks have actually seen with their own eyes…

Not me.
Perhaps someday... but not yet.

Yep… that’s a big som’ b… errr… building.

And thanks for that pic.
Even though I knew it was big... that pic really brings it home.

I think it’s pretty obvious from that image just what kind of madness goes on inside this petite little doll house.

Sure. They store dolls. You just said it.

Look! Ze Plane! Ze Plane!

Errr… I mean
Look! Ze Ship! Ze Ship!

Welcome to.... Fantasy Isl... uh.... Disney Fantasy?

That deck is a nice addition to the facility actually. It used to be just a large lot, but this holds far more vehicles and keeps them shaded from the fierce Florida sun. That last point is really nice once you come back a week later and don’t have to climb into a cabin with a radiant temperature approaching that of a blast furnace.

Not bad. As long as some yahoo doesn't get it in his head that they can now leave Fido in there.

But… do remember this one thing:
they will thoroughly search your bag if you pack a back scratcher in it.

Say What?

What?

Well the issue was that something in my bag looked - to that agent at least - like a corkscrew.

Ah yes. The deadly corkscrew...

Basically I’m mystified here as to the problem of bring one on a ship. Unless that’s actually a DCL rule designed to prevent me from opening a bottle of wine while on board without first paying them their corking fee.

I did think about that until...

But seeing as you’re also allowed to bring hard liquor in your carry-on bags, that makes no sense either.

...until you reminded me of that.

In fact the agent doing the searching was properly impressed with my particular selection of booze as she ran across the stash in that same bag.

So according to the secret code there, dinner will begin during the first seating each night (and that’s something new for us) and we’ll be starting off in: “R” - Royal Court.

We’ll switch each evening after that, first to “A” - Animator's Palate…
then “E” - Enchanted Garden…
and after that it just rolls back around the horn.

Didn't know that.
I thought you got to pick your dining room.
Sorry. Never been on a cruise.

But what it does not say is exactly where in each dining room that might be located and more importantly…
just how many other folks will be sharing the table with us.

So there's still a little mystery left, huh?

The point of the lanyards should be obvious to any WDW of DL vet.

Yes. They're used to flick at your DW's butt.

The other thing that this turn of events dictates is that clearly, we need to get a move on.
So grab a bag and follow me…

Onward!

Can't wait!

 

[Flossbolna]

Another great chapter!

I like the look of the Titusville hotel, seems a decent choice. And after our last trip to WDW, I absolutely agree with you on how driving yourself makes things just a lot easier. I am lucky to have a private driver (i.e. my boyfriend), so it is even more enjoyable for me!

The family history was fascinating and of course I read everything about the VAB. As I am German, I loved to hear that number 5 is in Germany and then went to look it up on Wikipedia and it turns out that I have even been inside the number 4 of the largest buildings in the world! That's in Germany as well. It was originally designed to built airships inside it which were supposed to be used to transport oversized goods through the Europe (in order to avoid special transports on roads). But that business idea crumbled, the company went bankrupt and now the building houses a large indoor water park. The building is large enough to even have a microclimate with a rainforest in the middle and drier areas outside.

Looking forward to reading about you getting onto the ship!

 

[ScottishMummyof2]

Bonus Feature 1:

”The Big Red Boat”





Chances are pretty good that if you’re even reading along within the DCL forum, then you may just have heard of something called: The Big Red Boat. Before it was all said and done several ships would be referred to by this moniker, but in truth (and from a Disney perspective) we’re really talking about one ship in particular. A ship named Oceanic, and this is her story (well an abbreviated version, but you should get the gist of it non-the-less).

This tale begins in 1946 with the creation of “Home Lines”. This was a highly respected Italian passenger shipping company that operated both ocean liners and cruise ships. For the first part of their existence Home Lines purchased and operated existing vessels, and for that reason did not take delivery of their first purpose built ship until 1965. That ship was SS Oceanic. It was built by Cantieri Riuniti dell' Adriatico in Monfalcone, Italy., and designed for both liner and cruise work. Oceanic’s graceful hull first touched the seas 15 January 1963…

…and entered service on 31 March of 1965 with a transatlantic crossing from Genoa to New York City.

When built, the ship was seventh largest on record at 782 feet in length and weighing in at 29,000 tons; paltry by today’s standards, but not so then. She was powered by steam boilers (thus the S.S. in her name) and could comfortably make 26.5 knots (30.5 mph). Oceanic was operated by a crew of 560 and could carry up to 1600 passengers. Although capable of plying the open ocean as a swift liner, Home Lines decided to focus on cruising so Oceanic began making regular seven-day runs from New York to the Bahamas with longer cruises to the Caribbean during the winter months. The ship was one of the largest vessels plying the Caribbean trade at the time. With stylish and novel design, vast open-air spaces, indoor/outdoor pool (with a retractable roof no less), and her inclusion of private facilities in all cabins, sailing aboard Oceanic became a New York institution for the next two decades.

It’s at this point where a new player enters the picture. “Premier Cruise Lines” was formed in 1983 by two cruise industry veterans. Their thought was to use older but well maintained ships to offer shorter cruises in Bahamian waters that would be more affordable to families and younger passengers. By using older ships they hoped to allow this new clientele to have the grander and more classic experience of Atlantic crossings from earlier times. They also partnered with Disney (and you knew this was coming), to offer packages that included stays in Orlando with a cruise leaving out of Port Canaveral. That deal also put Disney characters and entertainment aboard their ships. The first vessel acquired by Primer was the 1958 vintage cruiser: “Federico C” formally of the Costa Lines. After renovations and a coat of bright red paint on her hull, she entered service as “Star/Ship Royal” and Primer lines began plying the waters of the Caribbean.

The Oceanic reenters the picture in 1985 when she became the second and largest ship that Primer would own and operate for the better part of the 1980s. Also painted in the now famous (or maybe infamous) and easily recognizable red and white color scheme, the ship was officially renamed “Star/Ship Oceanic” and immediately became known as “The Big Red Boat” in both the advertising and the general public arenas.

As much as I like to look at the curves and lines that make up the outside of a ship, I suspect that y’all would like to see a little bit of the inside of this one as well.



One of the staterooms

the Seven Continents Restaurant

The entrance to the Starlight Caberet and the Broadway Showroom

the Sunrise Terrace and the Satellite Café

The Riviera pools with the "Magradome" retracted

You could also see Disney’s hand in the usage of space during this time frame as even then areas were set aside for kids including: a “Children’s Recreation” area and small pool on the Primer Deck aft, the Star Fighter Arcade and a “Teen Center” on the Lounge Deck, and an additional “Children’s Playroom” on the Continental Deck.

The years of partnering with Disney were good for the Primer Line. So much so that the folks at Disney decided that running a cruise line was something that they might like to try for themselves. Using what they had learned from Primer and especially from the Oceanic, Disney Cruise Line’s first ships were designed to resemble Atlantic Liners of the past (both inside and out) and to offer impeccable service and entertainment. DCL even went as far as to purposely give up “valuable deck space” just to improve the look and line of their vessels.



An interesting image of the Wonder with a preimer ship in the background

After severing ties with Disney, Primer contracted with Warner Brothers to offer similar character entertainment and continued to do well for a time in the same market. Below are great shots of a brochure for Primer Cruises dating from the period right after the split with Disney. These will give you a really good idea of what you could have expected to see and experience on one of the original “Disney Cruises” aboard the Big Red Boat.



These are fairly large so click on each image to expand the view








Primer Lines grew and acquired additional ships through the late 80s or early 90s. Unfortunately they began running into issues related to the size and age of their fleet as the turn of the century approached. Coupled with management changes, strong competition and changing tastes, the line began to struggle. In a last ditch (and rather misguided) attempt to recapture market share Primer even renamed Oceanic as: “Big Red Boat I”, and acquired three other ships to be named “Big Red Boat II” through “IV”. The intention was to use this common name as a marketing tool and sail the four ships out of different ports on both US coasts. This plan was never fully implemented and by mid 2000, the Primer Line was forced into receivership. The entire fleet of ships was laid up and placed for sale. Most of them would be destined for the breakers, but on 30 December 2000, Oceanic was purchased by Pullmantur Cruises. Pullmantur was a newly-founded Spanish cruise line and they wasted no time putting the veteran liner into service. Renamed simply as “Oceanic” she began sailing out of Barcelona by May of 2001. She served admirably in the Mediterranean for the next decade.

After near a decade if continued elegance, the ship was sold once more to the Japan-based “Peace Boat” organization. Subtly renamed to “The Oceanic”, she departed Yokohama on her first around-the-world cruise under this new flag on 23 April, 2009. According to their mission statements, Peace Boat is an international NGO & non-profit that works to promote peace, human rights, equal and sustainable development and respect for the environment. The ship acted as a cross between a floating university and international ambassador. Her public spaces were adapted to serve as lecture halls, classrooms, offices, workshops and rehearsal/performance areas serving students from the Global University, International Student and Global English and Espanol Training programs. As the mobile home of the Peace Boat organization, the Oceanic sailed for several more years.

She well outlived the various ships that carried the “Big Red Boat” name, but time and money finally caught up to her. Having never been converted to diesel-electric, operating the last true steam liner became too costly for the nonprofit. Expensive repairs to the boilers and engines were looming and it was decided that the maintenance needed was not going to be feasible. Transactions were carried out rather quickly and the final change of hands took place in 2012. Something that left many in the cruising community bemoaning that no real opportunity was made to allow another line to take her on or possibly convert the ship to a hotel. For 47 years Oceanic had plied the world’s oceans. That’s quite old for a passenger ship, but pure economics did her in here.



These are the last images of the ship I can find…

Docked in Yokohama here the ship was renamed for the final time back to simply “Oceanic” and was brandishing a new “flag of convenience” from the tiny nation of Tuvalu (a fairly common site among ships bound for a breaker’s yard).

In June of 2012, shortly after those images were taken, the ship dropped anchor in the waters of Zhoushan, China and scrapping has since been completed on what as the last operational steam powered cruise ship. It’s the end that awaits nearly all ships (ultimately even our personal favorites), but it’s still a bit sad when it comes.



Below are a couple of links for additional sites dedicated to SS Oceanic. I found several others but these are the best that I encountered and supply a wealth of information and images.


http://www.sealetter.com/Jan-01/prem.html

http://www.classicliners.net/SS_OCEANIC.html
​

Happy memories of Premier! My now husband and I travelled from Scotland every year from 1990 to stay with my aunt in Orlando. We would pitch up at her local TA on our first day and check out the best Premier deal available during our stay. Think our best was $150 for a 4 day cruise on Atlantic - that was for both of us, our dining companions had paid 10 times that We are looking forward to our second DCL cruise on Fantasy in October. Loving your TR.....

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

As you’d expect there are a number of hotels a bit farther afield but still in the general area where the cost of a night’s stay is a good be cheaper (and generally includes breakfast). As an additional incentive, some of these establishments also offer vouchers good for a percentage discount against the cost of the standard parking fee at the cruise terminals.

Good info! I knew I'd learn something here.

No…
Not Space Ghost.

Aw, man.

Pretty soon the DCL folks will begin the process of kicking the poor slobs currently on board to the curb so that they can turn the ship around for the new batch of scallywags.

Heh. Suckers.

Just a bit of a photo op to remind everyone that from here it’s just a short hop over to the KSC Visitors center.

So I used a bit of my extra time to stop by the front desk and make a plan for a diversion to drown our sorrows after DCL forces us to walk the plank a week from now.

I like it. Excellent thinking.

Now why on earth am I showing y’all a picture of a tiny 1958 vintage cinder block house?

Because I spent a good bit of time here in my youth.

Whoa...

That’s NASA speak for “Vehicle Assembly Building”
and it is far and away the largest facility on the grounds of the KSC.


So just how large are we talking?

Well, it can be kind’a difficult to see it this way (especially from that picture)…
but that right there is currently the sixth “largest” building on the planet.

Hey, I think I heard that somewhere...

Being as steady and decent paying work seemed like a good idea to him…
becoming a Floridian was just a logical choice.

I can get on board with that idea.

In practice, the VAB is actually only a “one story building”. But that single story also happens to be 526 feet in height.

And the Grand Canyon is a "hole in the ground".

Yep… that’s a big som’ b… errr… building.

I like the comparison photo.

On particularly humid days (right… like that ever happens in Florida), rain clouds can form inside near the roof.

Cool!

I think it’s pretty obvious from that image just what kind of madness goes on inside this petite little doll house.

Printing money!

What’s the issue here, then?


Well the issue was that something in my bag looked - to that agent at least - like a corkscrew.

Because of all those recent corkscrew deaths?

Later on I looked this foolishness up with the TSA and there’s no rule against a corkscrews on aircraft (so long as they aren’t part of a pocket knife).

Well...I'm glad we cleard that one up.

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

Joining in. I love your writing style. This is going to be a fun one!

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

Howdy All!
Sorry for becoming scarce these past few days. My work life gets really nutty for a bit around the top of each month, so just keep in mind that I ain't forgotten about ya' when that happens.

On the up side...
things are starting to loosen up a bit now so I need to get back over here and get busy.

On the down side...
I intend to get back over here and get busy again, so there is that tragedy to be sorrowful of.


Anyway, the least I can do (and you'll see that I generally will only do the least I can do) is to catch up on the shout-outs before getting back to writing up the next chapter.
so....

**Loving** the bonus write up on KSC. We went there in 2008, and I remember my Thing 1's jaw just dropping as we went out to the launchpads and he could see the scale of just how *big* everything was. (Thing 2 was also impressed, but Thing 1 was just blown away).

Glad you're pleased. I figured that I might lose a few folks there, but adding extraneous stuff to my TRs is a defense mechanism. I'm offering y'all a defensive diversion from the rest of the actual writing
(Writing? Can one really call what I'm doing: writing? Hummm...)

I hadn't been to the Visitors Center at KSC in a very long time, so I wanted to get back over there and see what all had changed. I was just as dumbstruck as Thing-1 apparently. They had gone and added sooooooo much new stuff that I was completely gobsmacked. I now need to get back in there again in the near so that I can attempt to catch all the stuff that there just wasn't time to get into in that one day. That realization that I'd been missing out on a whole lot of history on a subject that I actually care a great deal about is what prompted me to add the "sub-plot" to this TR.

Stay tuned... there will be more to come.
Or might that be considered a bad thing?

I'll have to take that under advisement and I'll have my secretary draw up the necessary forms as soon as I find her apparently she saw the post about number 14 and has gone missing

Seems she was wise enough to maintain proper surveillance on all channels of communication.
I'd say she was a good assistant. Smart too. Doubt you'll relocate that one.
Better luck with the replacement.

 

[pkondz]

Sorry for becoming scarce these past few days. My work life gets really nutty for a bit around the top of each month, so just keep in mind that I ain't forgotten about ya' when that happens.

I'm sorry, and you are....?

On the down side...
I intend to get back over here and get busy again, so there is that tragedy to be sorrowful of.

Oh, dear Gawd!! Not that! Anything but that!!!

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

No fair! You can't just go and post a picture like that and then not go to KSC!!

(Which always makes me think of KFC when I abbreviate it like that.)

Who said we didn't go to the KSC? :
Granted, I may not have said exactly when we might be going, but it will be happening...

at some point...


before the conclusion of this TR...


And long before anyone will be catching me anywhere near anything that emanated from the demonic depths of a KFC.

Nice! That's not bad at all.

Nope. That’s a totally doable drive. The longest part is always traversing my own state. I live as far north in SC as one cane before running into NC. On the way down it means that better than a third of the drive is already over once we hit Georgia. On the way back though, we get the little boost once we cross back over into Carolina, but then were still a good haul away from home. That can be a mite frustrating.

Exactly how I would do it.
That way it becomes part of the holiday.

Always find some way to add just one more day to any trip.
(or at least one more day away from work)

I'm familiar with 'em. I'd have no problem staying at one.

We’d mostly been to their competitors in the past, but I found Fairfield to be just as good for a motel in the middle of the monetary scale. You can certainly find cheaper, but I don’t think it’s in ones best interest to do so.

Not having done a cruise, but comparing it to checking in vs checking out at WDW.
You laugh at the disconsolate, downtrodden masses making their way back to their dull lives and menial jobs while you... You! Are just embarking on a magnificent journey!

And you try to ignor the fact that all too soon, you will be one of the disconsolate, downtrodden masses.

Very much the same thing.
That crushing descent down in to the Pit of Despair at the end of the euphoric highs that await you…

Focus elsewhere; it’s always best not to dwell on that ultimate outcome.
Oh look… More “free” ice-cream!

Nope!
I like a good verbose TR.
(Emphasis on good... so you're still on probation bub.)

Double Secret perhaps?
Is that “foot” you?

That's so cool. I love reading stuff like this.

Glad I got a smile out of someone.
I’m getting more comfortable with writing stuff like that too, so it’s a win, win.
Actually, over time I’ve taken to using TRs as a way to chronicle our family history as well as just a particular trip. As I write them up I also create a Word Document version that ends up bring the household version of the “old fashioned” photo album.

Once I realized that’s what I was subconsciously doing, I figured I might as well start including other bits of family history as well. I mean, I’m going to go off on a tangent on a regular bases anyway so I might as well embrace it.

Although I had it in my head as #5... but I was close.

Wasn’t certain of the actual placement at first myself; led me to do a bit of research (which happens a lot to me when I’m writing TRs). When I found that #5 also happened to be the building where the ship I was about to board was constructed, its use as a segue became unavoidable.

Nope.
And it's gotten me into trouble too.

It seems your fortunes aren't improved much.

Were they building a Denny's?

“Oh, I hope not”

That is such a great picture!
Is that a family photo or a Nasa photo?

Both - I think – It’s too good an image to have been taken by any of the civilian “snap cameras” of the day (and civilians wouldn’t have been allowed up there either), buy I’ve never seen it in any of the NASA archives. I got a copy of it from my Aunt so it’s also a “family” picture, but I’ll have to ask her how she got ahold of it.

No way! He worked on the VAB?!?!?
That's awesome!

I agree. It just floors me the amazing things he got to work on day in day out.

Like… there’s this one story where back in 1970, several of the more expert welders from The Cape picked up some extra work on a project that was going up over in Orlando.

I always make a point to go see that particular and often overlooked structure when I get down that way.

Not me.
Perhaps someday... but not yet.

Well… I wouldn’t say that you were on the east coast either.
It is an amazing place. We did a serious trip up there about five years ago that had quite the impact on the whole family. That was the excursion just before I started writing TRs. Maybe I should do a “Historical TR” on that one some time.

And thanks for that pic.
Even though I knew it was big... that pic really brings it home.

You’re welcome.
When I started looking for something that was about the same width as the VAB that trip we took up to DC came to mind. Turned out they’re very close on that dimension so it became an excellent bit of context.

Sure. They store dolls. You just said it.

Sure… let’s go with that then.

I’ll make a point to share lot more “facts” of that caliber along the way that you can put to good use as well. Things like… How the San Juan Islands got their name and other such bits of curious lore.

Welcome to.... Fantasy Isl... uh.... Disney Fantasy?

Pretty sure I saw Mr Roarke once or twice while we were aboard.

Not bad. As long as some yahoo doesn't get it in his head that they can now leave Fido in there.

The bit that makes me shutter, is that I’d not be surprised to hear it had already been done.


And probable more than once.

What?

Good boy!

Now lay down… roll over…

Good boy!

Ah yes. The deadly corkscrew...

When I was in the French Foreign Legion I once defended a fortress single handedly from a Bedouin hoard with nothing but a croquet mallet and a corkscrew…

Or was it by using only my right thumb?
I think I’ll go get a drink or seven and see if I can remember it more clearly.

I did think about that until...

...until you reminded me of that.

Then you can see why I found the whole episode…

Ummmmm…

“Perplexing”.

Didn't know that.
I thought you got to pick your dining room.
Sorry. Never been on a cruise.

The way it works varies a good bit from one Line to the next. Making individual reservations at one dining room or another is now a fairly common option on several of them. Disney – being Disney – though tends to find their own way of doing things. I’ll go into the whys of their particular system when we get to dinner on the first night.

So there's still a little mystery left, huh?

Just a little.
I’ll get into that in the next little while as well.

Yes. They're used to flick at your DW's butt.

Aaaaaaaand you’ve been married how many years now?

Can't wait!

Sorry…
I’ve already made you have to do just that.
I’m am working on it though.


Really!

 

[pkondz]

Who said we didn't go to the KSC? :
Granted, I may not have said exactly when we might be going, but it will be happening...

at some point...


before the conclusion of this TR...

Oh boy!!!

And long before anyone will be catching me anywhere near anything that emanated from the demonic depths of a KFC.

I had KFC on my second trip to WDW. I believe we stopped in Chattanooga.
(There's a story about that too)
The next time I had KFC was once in the last two or three years or so.

That's plenty often enough.

We’d mostly been to their competitors in the past, but I found Fairfield to be just as good for a motel in the middle of the monetary scale. You can certainly find cheaper, but I don’t think it’s in ones best interest to do so.

I always think that the less the hotel costs (compared to others in the area) the higher the likelyhood they'll provide free pets to take home.

Double Secret perhaps?
Is that “foot” you?

Wow. Had to think about that one.

And it's Dean Foot, thank you.

When I found that #5 also happened to be the building where the ship I was about to board was constructed, its use as a segue became unavoidable.

Got lucky there!

Like… there’s this one story where back in 1970, several of the more expert welders from The Cape picked up some extra work on a project that was going up over in Orlando.

Wow.
Had to look at that for quite a while.

"Now he's got to be talking about MK. But that can't be the castle. It looks like a tree! But AK won't open for years! What looks like a tree in MK?
I forgive myself for not remembering since I didn't even bother with it on my last trip.
Actually, I would've skipped it on the previous trip too, but the kids wanted to do it.
And of course they ran through it without looking at anything!

I’ll make a point to share lot more “facts” of that caliber along the way that you can put to good use as well.

You're gonna talk about guns now?

Pretty sure I saw Mr Roarke once or twice while we were aboard.

Was he still yelling "Full impulse power!"

Good boy!

Now lay down… roll over…

Good boy!

Hey! Where's my treat!

When I was in the French Foreign Legion I once defended a fortress single handedly from a Bedouin hoard with nothing but a croquet mallet and a corkscrew…

I can top that.
See last chapter of my TR.

True story.

Aaaaaaaand you’ve been married how many years now?

In just under 3 months it'll be 25 years.

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

Another great chapter!

I like the look of the Titusville hotel, seems a decent choice.

I’ll certainly stay there again.

And after our last trip to WDW, I absolutely agree with you on how driving yourself makes things just a lot easier. I am lucky to have a private driver (i.e. my boyfriend), so it is even more enjoyable for me!

Funny…
My DW uses the same system. Seems that she has her own personal chauffeur as well.
You dames are just plain smarter than us poor dumb guys.

Doing my own driving may or may not have saved time in the long run…
But being in charge sure made it seem like things were smoother.
Delusion or not, I’ll stay with that method for the next few trips at least.

The family history was fascinating and of course I read everything about the VAB.

You have quite the strong constitution there.
Glad you enjoyed it (or at least tolerated it).

As I am German, I loved to hear that number 5 is in Germany and then went to look it up on Wikipedia and it turns out that I have even been inside the number 4 of the largest buildings in the world! That's in Germany as well. It was originally designed to built airships inside it which were supposed to be used to transport oversized goods through the Europe (in order to avoid special transports on roads). But that business idea crumbled, the company went bankrupt and now the building houses a large indoor water park. The building is large enough to even have a microclimate with a rainforest in the middle and drier areas outside.

Good to learn a little bit about those that are following along.
I saw the story about #4 as well, just didn’t add it in this time around. But…
I’m glad you brought it up. Hopefully others will read about that as well.

I like when folks add even more things and stuff into my TRs.
Please, feel free to add, embellish or hijack this one at any time (The other readers may well thank you).
Heck…. I’ll even add the better ones to the table of contents.

Looking forward to reading about you getting onto the ship!

It’s in the works.
Really! You’re just gonn’a have to trust me on that one.

Happy memories of Premier! My now husband and I travelled from Scotland every year from 1990 to stay with my aunt in Orlando. We would pitch up at her local TA on our first day and check out the best Premier deal available during our stay. Think our best was $150 for a 4 day cruise on Atlantic - that was for both of us, our dining companions had paid 10 times that We are looking forward to our second DCL cruise on Fantasy in October. Loving your TR.....

First off…



I’m glad to have you along for the ride. Seems I’ve got several folks from across the pond curiously watching the goings on over here.

Y’all are very savvy travelers. I think it fascinating that y’all have actually been aboard some of the Premier ships. I’ve only gotten to write a bit about that history. You lived it. Please add anything that comes to mind where a comparison can be made between then and now. I’d certainly love to hear about it. Which itinerary are you sailing in October? If the weather cooperates, that should be a marvelous time to be in the Caribbean.

Thanks again for following along.

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

Seems she was wise enough to maintain proper surveillance on all channels of communication.
I'd say she was a good assistant. Smart too. Doubt you'll relocate that one.
Better luck with the replacement.

Already in the process of finding a new one and have an order 42 on the last one should she be found an number 14 will be performed imdeitaly

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

Good info! I knew I'd learn something here.

True… but sometimes the thing to be learned from my ramblings is that there’s nothing to be learned from my ramblings.

The lesson about the parking vouchers come to us directly from Tamara’s research into the subject.
All the more evidence that I married well above my station.

Aw, man.

Well…
Maybe I can find some room for Space Ghost somewhere else in this foolishness.

Or you could add some content about the character as your disappointment leads me to believe that you harbor at least a smattering of closely held knowledge.

Heh. Suckers.

You bet’chem…
They made the supreme mistake of not stopping time while they were out there on the seas.


Dang shame that I made the same bloody mistake.

I like it. Excellent thinking.

In truth it saved me only a few bucks per person, but that was a few bucks so there is that. Mostly I didn’t have to spend time purchasing them once we got there or have to worry about whether or not their computer systems would be operational at the time of our arrival.


Something I’ve heard tale of as being an actual possibility.

Whoa...

Indeed…
Lots of memories from spending time in that little bitty house and out and about along the bit of coast line. My Ma was one of five siblings and there are a total of ten grandchili’n. Imagine how crowded it could get in that little 2-1 un-air-conditioned cottage when they all showed up at once.

Hey, I think I heard that somewhere...

Yeah, well…
You got down there a bit before I did so I got scooped on that one.
But the connections made it impossible not to add it into the story.

I can get on board with that idea.

Had I be about oh… seventeen years older back in 63, I’d have been looking for work down there myself.

I’m rather an older sole and always felt that I was born about 30 or 40 years out of my time. It’s not that it was a “better” time and certainly not a “simpler” one… just one that I may have fit into more easily.

And the Grand Canyon is a "hole in the ground".

And a great big pretty hole in the ground at that.
As Harrison Schmitt once pointed out: “seen one earth, seen them all…”

But like everything else under the sun, context is important here.

I like the comparison photo.

Thanks.
Once we got on that subject over there in that other TR that everyone here who hasn’t yet needs to go read (and the one coming up that we all need to be reading… ahem…) I got to thinking about just what would make it more understandable. That got me digging through pictures from past excursions and that lead me to the DC trip we took in 2010 (which resulted in a whole lot of pictures but was back before I’d ever heard of the concept of TRs). The similar measures of the Capital and Washington monument along two of the VAB’s dimensions were a grand coincidence.

Printing money!

Well they creating devices that allow their intended owners the ability to basically print money
(or at least suck up a lot of the money that others have printed).

Because of all those recent corkscrew deaths?

Maybe they were concerned that I might do something like this…

Well...I'm glad we cleard that one up.

I know I feel better about it now…