Think of all the joy you’ll find …….. Update - January 06

[dizneeat]

.........when you leave the world behind and bid your cares goodbye.

Peter Pan




What is this TR all about?

It’s all about our trip to WDW, which was short, but filled with lots of surprises and a weeklong Western Caribbean Cruise on the Disney Magic. All of this was in honour of the “Birthday Boy”.

The “Birthday Boy”, who celebrated his 50th birthday on the second day of our vacation is my brother, Thomas, who for most of his life has been working for the Austrian PO and loves everything and anything Disney.

I pressured him into taking a Disney cruise for my milestone birthday a few years back and we both fell in love with cruising on the Disney ships. So it was a no brainer when I found out that there was a cruise leaving Port Canaveral on his actual birthday, it would call at Key West, which he had always wanted to sail into AND it was a perfect date, as it fell right at the start of my Easter holiday, to book this cruise and give it to him as his birthday present.


When?

March 28 – April 7


Who?

It was just the two of us. The “Birthday Boy”, my baby brother Thomas and me, Karin, teacher by day, Disney vacation organizer for the two of us in my spare time.


And here are a few impressions to get you into the mood.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Day 8

Day 9

Day 10

Day 11

Hope you’ll come along and share some of those magical experiences with us.
​

 

[dizneeat]

Extras:

Italy trip:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

Birthday

Germany trip:
Part 1
Part 2

Cinque Terre trip August 2015:
Day 1, August 16
Off to a great start - Part 1
Off to a great start - Part 2
Off to a great start - Part 3
Off to a great start - Part 4
Off to a great start - Part 5

Day 2, August 17
I never knew Lake Garda is quite so large … Part 1
I never knew Lake Garda is quite so large … Part 2
I never knew Lake Garda is quite so large … Part 3
I never knew Lake Garda is quite so large … Part 4
I never knew Lake Garda is quite so large … Part 5
I never knew Lake Garda is quite so large … Part 6

Day 3, August 18
From one beautiful place to another ... Part 1
From one beautiful place to another ... Part 2
From one beautiful place to another ... Part 3
From one beautiful place to another ... Part 4
From one beautiful place to another ... Part 5

Day 4, August 19
More than one beautiful view … Part 1
More than one beautiful view … Part 2
More than one beautiful view … Part 3
More than one beautiful view … Part 4
More than one beautiful view … Part 5
More than one beautiful view ... Part 6
More than one beautiful view ... Part 7

Day 5, August 20
What are the odds ... Part 1
What are the odds ... Part 2
What are the odds ... Part 3
What are the odds ... Part 4

Day 6, August 21
Exploring by train - Part 1
Exploring by train - Part 2
Exploring by train - Part 3
Exploring by train - Part 4

Day 7, August 22
Exploring by ship - Part 1
Exploring by ship - Part 2
Exploring by ship - Part 3
Exploring by ship - Part 4
Exploring by ship - Part 5

Day 8, August 23
Goodbye Vernazza, hello Florence - Part 1
Goodbye Vernazza, hello Florence - Part 2
Goodbye Vernazza, hello Florence - Part 3
Goodbye Vernazza, hello Florence - Part 4

Day 9, August 24
A whole day of sightseeing - Part 1
A whole day of sightseeing - Part 2
A whole day of sightseeing - Part 3
A whole day of sightseeing - Part 4

Day 10, August 25
Florence in the morning and Venice in the afternoon - Part 1
Florence in the morning and Venice in the afternoon - Part 2
Florence in the morning and Venice in the afternoon - Part 3

Day 11, August 26
On the way back home … - Part 1
On the way back home … - Part 2


Italy trip September 2015
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6

Vacation updates:
Summer 2015 vacation changes
Summer 2016 vacation plans
Summer 2016 NEW plans as of February 16

Birthday trip report links:

Day 01: Saturday, March 28
Celebrations are about to start … - Part 1
Celebrations are about to start … - Part 2
Celebrations are about to start … - Part 3

Day 02: Sunday, March 29
They say it’s your birthday …… Part 1
They say it’s your birthday …… Part 2
They say it’s your birthday …… Part 3
They say it’s your birthday …… Part 4
They say it’s your birthday …… Part 5

Day 03: Monday, March 30
Welcome to the Conch Republic - Part 1
Welcome to the Conch Republic - Part 2
Welcome to the Conch Republic - Part 3
Welcome to the Conch Republic - Part 4
Welcome to the Conch Republic - Part 5
Welcome to the Conch Republic - Part 6

Day 04: Tuesday, March 31
What the ship has to offer …… - Part 1
What the ship has to offer …… - Part 2
What the ship has to offer …… - Part 3

Day 05: Wednesday, April 01
A Taste of George Town - Part 1
A Taste of George Town - Part 2
A Taste of George Town - Part 3
A Taste of George Town - Part 4
A Taste of George Town - Part 5

Day 06: Thursday, April 02
Kicking back and enjoying the day - Part 1
Kicking back and enjoying the day - Part 2
Kicking back and enjoying the day - Part 3


Day 07: Friday, April 03
Days at sea are never long enough - Part 1
Days at sea are never long enough - Part 2
Days at sea are never long enough - Part 3
Days at sea are never long enough - Part 4

Day 08: Saturday, April 04
And a visit to Disney’s private island … - Part 1
And a visit to Disney’s private island … - Part 2
And a visit to Disney’s private island … - Part 3
And a visit to Disney’s private island … - Part 4
And a visit to Disney’s private island … - Part 5

Day 09: Sunday, April 05
Happy Easter! - Part 1
Happy Easter! - Part 2
Happy Easter! - Part 3
Happy Easter! - Part 4
Happy Easter! - Part 5
Happy Easter! - Part 6
Happy Easter! - Part 7
Happy Easter! - Part 8
Happy Easter! - Part 9

Day 10: Monday, April 06
Lots of things to still fit in - Part 1
Lots of things to still fit in - Part 2
Lots of things to still fit in - Part 3
Lots of things to still fit in - Part 4

Day 11: Tuesday, April 07
Just a few more hours …

 

[Flossbolna]

I am here!! Thanks for starting it in my lunch break!!

ETA: Ok, now I read the introduction! The sneak peaks look exciting! I wonder what that tour guide is telling you about in Grand Cayman! And I thought you would be a way for two full weeks, that was really a short trip!

 

[ShellB8585]

Can't wait to follow a new adventure Karin, Love your trip reports

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Checking in! Your title sounds like a Dr Seuss book!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Checking in! Your title sounds like a Dr Seuss book!

I was thinking that the tile mural looks like our weather map this morning ! Looking forward to the fun and

 

[linetbo]

I can see me on the Palo photo .

 

[KatMark]

I'm here; great intros and can't wait to hear all about the birthday trip.

 

[jedijill]

I'm here! Looks like a fabulous trip!

Jill in CO

 

[jenseib]

joining in!!!!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Yay! Another Karin & Tom report! Looking forward to reading all about it!

 

[alpinemouse]

I am in

 

[dizneeat]

I am here!! Thanks for starting it in my lunch break!!

ETA: Ok, now I read the introduction! The sneak peaks look exciting! I wonder what that tour guide is telling you about in Grand Cayman! And I thought you would be a way for two full weeks, that was really a short trip!

Magdalene! You are first.

When I looked at the preview after posting I realized that there are a lot of pictures of food. Seems to tell a lot about us. And without giving too much away, we did a "Taste of Grand Cayman" tour and the guide was really knowledgeable and told us a lot about the islands' history.

Can't wait to follow a new adventure Karin, Love your trip reports

Great to know that you will be reading along as well.

Checking in! Your title sounds like a Dr Seuss book!
I was thinking that the tile mural looks like our weather map this morning ! Looking forward to the fun and

Tammie!
I had to about your Dr Seuss comment. That is someone who is not very known around here, but I am happy to report that I stuck with a Disney quote - Peter Pan.

And I hope your weather is nice today.

I can see me on the Palo photo .

Linet!
Thanks for pointing it out that you are in the photo. I didn't realize at first, but it is a great reminder of the fun we had.

 

[linetbo]

I laughed so hard when I saw the photo

 

[pas130]

I am here, thanks for the invite Karin

 

[dizneeat]

I'm here; great intros and can't wait to hear all about the birthday trip.

Kathy!

I'm here! Looks like a fabulous trip!

Jill in CO

Jill!

joining in!!!!

Jen!

Yay! Another Karin & Tom report! Looking forward to reading all about it!

Lisa!

Great to have all of you here!

 

[dizneeat]

I am in

"Birthday Boy"!!

I laughed so hard when I saw the photo

I am here, thanks for the invite Karin

Great to have the Queen of resort changers on board!

 

[dizneeat]

​

Day 1, March 28

Celebrations are about to start … - Part 1


The morning of Tom’s birthday trip was about to dawn and we were up bright and early at 4.30 to get ready to head out on our next adventure.

Everything had been prepared the day before, so we only had to check if we had everything in our hand luggage and we were ready to leave. All our stuff was loaded into my car and then at shortly after 5am we left our house and headed for the gas station as I had not filled up my car previously and we didn’t want to run out of gas on the way to the airport. Since we had not had breakfast we even picked up a sandwich for Tom and a chocolate croissant for myself to eat at the airport. Since it was still so early we made good progress and found ourselves at the airport just 25 minutes later, stopping in the no parking zone, pulling out our suitcases and heading inside to send them on their way. Having done online check in we could use the business class check in to get our luggage checked in and we were in and out of the airport in just a few minutes. We drove the car to the long term carpark, found a space close to the exit, grabbed our carry-ons and headed back to the airport. One last stop at the ATM and we were ready to join the line for the security check.
Once we had gone through, which didn’t take too long we bought a bottle of Coke and sat down to finally have some breakfast. Breakfast finished we strolled through the duty free shop and made a final stop at the restroom. It was funny to see a bus pull up when the plane was just 20 steps from the main building,

but it stood the wrong way around and they will not let you walk all around, and maybe a bit underneath the aircraft. So once they started “boarding” we headed outside and onto the bus which then drove for about 20 seconds until we had reached the correct side of the aircraft to board. We quickly found our seats and stored our carry-ons, then settled in and soon enough the doors were closed and we went on our way.

And as soon as the fasten seat belt signs were off the flight attendant handed out

Corny Milk breakfast bars and started serving drinks. I think Tom had Diet Coke and I had water, but neither of us tried the breakfast bar. The flight was smooth and nice and the most interesting part was seeing a 747 flying very close to our small plane

and then watching it land at Frankfurt airport

while we were on route to another runway. And soon we had landed too and the plane was parked at an outside position and we were on another bus which was going to take us to the terminal. This time the bus ride took about 10 minutes and once we were inside the terminal we checked if our gate had been changed. Hm, well, we had a five and a half hour layover and our flight was not even on the board yet. We strolled around a bit, then made our way to the terminal where flights to the US depart from and finally went in search of a restaurant.
We were happy to see that Hausmann’s was really close to our gate and we headed over. There was a nice table for two and we were quickly handed menus. It did not take long and our drinks arrived at the table. I had ordered a large

Diet Coke, while Tom had decided to have

a beer with his breakfast sandwich. A few minutes later our food was served. Tom had ordered the

“Räucherlachsstulle”, smoked salmon, cream cheese, horse radish, honey mustard sauce, pickled cucumbers and fennel on a slice of freshly baked bread. It looked and tasted wonderful. I thought I’d better start our vacation on a high and ordered the

Toast Eggs Benedict Style, slow poached eggs with grilled green asparagus, Hollandaise Sauce and crispy bacon. We sat for quite a while enjoying our wonderful breakfast before we paid our bill and finally left the restaurant. We did more wandering around

and exploring the shops and finally we decided to have a look at the Duty Free fare. Tom actually found some spirits he wanted to try and we purchased them, then finally went to our gate. We took out our laptops and checked mail and caught up on news. And after some time we got ourselves some

coffee and Hot Chocolate and tried our breakfast bars, but they tasted pretty mediocre, so most of it ended in the trash. About an hour before they were starting to board we heard some announcements that they were looking for people to delay their flight as they were hopelessly overbooked. We watched for a while and then struck up a conversation with a lady who told us that she was on the way to visit her daughter in Florida and she had not done online check in and now was one of those on the waitlist. We chatted for quite some time until it was our turn to get in line for boarding. Didn’t take long until we were actually on the plane and had found our seats. I had paid a little extra to have the seats at the emergency exit, where you are able to stretch your legs. Tom stowed all our carry ons and my handbag and we took our seats. Sitting in these a bit exposed seats we got to witness a lot of people not happy with their seating, especially families who had not done online check in and now faced sitting apart from each other. It was very interesting to see the purser reseating people and sorting out problems. It all went pretty fast and soon we heard, “all doors in flight” and our flight attendant came over, pulled the handle and it would not fall into place.

To be continued ..........​

 

[scottny]

I am here.

Great start and I would not like how close the other plane was.

 

[dizneeat]

I am here.

Great start and I would not like how close the other plane was.

Scott!
Seeing how close that plane was, was pretty scary at first, but there was quite some space between us even if we seemed close. It was cool watching the large plane land from the air though.