„Did you feel pressured to provide only EXCELLENT ratings?“

[eandesmom]

How lovely! I really hope the treatments helped/are still helping!

I'm in awe at your insurance, my SIL had something similar in Germany and went to a spa for 2 weeks.

Sigh. My neck would be cured I swear!

Don't worry about us, we will still be here!

 

[dizneeat]

I know everyone has commented on it but - Wow! love the leg room. Being a very tall person (almost 6 ft) the hardest thing to do is long flights. My knees are always pushed into the seat in front of me and there is no way to stretch - I am very achy by the time we land.

I hear you on the leg room! I am not that tall, but being able to stretch out on a long flight!

Food on your flight is amazing. Flying for us includes some pretzels and a small glass of pop. And that sure is hard when you have a 4 hour flight over dinner time.

I know, we are still very lucky that they cater even on shorter flights, but we got real lucky with scoring that business flight.

My DD flew to Europe last year and she constantly talks about the food on the international flights. They were not in first class but she said they kept feeding them - not that she was complaining She was just surprised at how much food they were given.

Your DD is right - there is PLENTY of food around on those long flights.

It is airline food porn!!!!!!!!!! Unreal. SOOO yummy, very impressive.

Airline food porn!
But you are right it was really yummy!

So true!!!

Good grief! That food could be served at a Signature restaurant at WDW and you'd never know it came off of a plane! So much good food.

....and now it's already time to eat again!

It definitely was very good food - I have eaten worse food in good restaurants.
Perfect start to get us into the mood for Disney cruise food!

 

[dizneeat]

the Food again looks like i need a meal delivered to my house , that veal tom had OMG goood , and the Salmon looked liked Lox ? guess wanted to catch up on our favorite show before the NEW SEASON STARTS tonight let the word DONKEY fly Gordon Ramsey is back T-Minus 5 hours and 6 minutes

Hope you HAD a nice meal after going through my pics, Jeff. Saw the pics of your breakfast wrap and waffle this morning.

Jeff, every time we see Gordon we think of you. Isn't it fun that we have so many things in common.
Can't wait for the next "chapter" of Gordon tonight.

It is just ridiculous how hungry your AIRPLANE FOOD pics make me. YUM!!!

Ann, that is one of the funniest comments ever.

I'm in this is going to be fun to read never read a international persons trip report before can't wait to hear about your endeavors.

Welcome!
Hope I can keep up with your expectations.

I have seen plenty of your airplane food pics but this was absolutely the best. Everything looks delicious!

Ah, Mary Ellen, it WAS delicious! It was some of the best airplane food ever - and the Champagne was not too bad either.

I hope there is no trouble with getting through immigration. I can't believe you are going to the MK when you arrive. Hope you make it!

I hope to reveal how the evening went very soon - maybe even tonight if I get around to it.

 

[dizneeat]

Okay, I'm back and all caught up.

I love the intros as always.

Lovely flight pictures. And it continues to amaze me the nice food you get when you travel on the plane. We flew first class home last week and we still got nothing that nice.

Wow! You are quick catching up. I have been gone the last two weekends and look where I am. Not even had time to respond.

We were really lucky when that Business upgrade came through. It was a great flight with great service and food.

Wow, that's some great looking in flight food
I hope immigration was OK when you landed, we've spent two hours in line before and it's not fun after a long flight !

We were very satisfied with the offers, and having a comfy seat really helped on that long flight.
Immigration on the other hand .............

Oh, yay! I've made it at the start of your report for a change. I always seem to find them when complete and too late to post.

Welcome!
You really caught this one at the start - and I really hope that I find a lot more time to post on a more regular basis.

We left just before you arrived - well, by a few days. And since I obsessively checked the weather after we left to see what we could have had...I think you should have had nice temps!

We had really beautiful weather. Given the temps that were had at the beginning of the month we were so lucky.

The first 11 days of February were a little erratic; either cold and wet or scorching.

Can't wait to follow along!

More coming up shortly.

I can't beleive the amount of food they serve you. That is a heck of a lot of food!!!!

And VERY good it was indeed.

I think all my flights except the last connecting one out of nashville coming hom for DL were ahead of schedule and it is so nice. My last flight was delayed and I was in Nasville for several hours. At least it was coming home and not going.
I am due for a WDW trip delay. Word is that snow is coming again next week and I pray it doesn't mess with our flight or travel to the airport.

Well, by the pics you posted I guess you made it to your "destination" without a lot of delay.
Hope you are having a blast.

 

[englishrose47]

I too have been absent for 4 days !!! I have been soo tired that I have not had the energy to Dis !! I am off today so taking some time to catch up on my favorite threads !!!

 

[dizneeat]

I am waiting for those 2015 itiniraries too - DS wanted to do DCL together next Summer and we are waiting to decide if he can swing it with a family of 4, or if we should plan to do WDW. I am driving him crazy too. He says we'll plan when we visit them in August, but I want to know NOW!

Did you find what you wanted in those new DCL offerings? We knew what we wanted before they officially announced them, but to get them .........

Well, Bad Hofgastein looks quite pretty. And I'm thinking Tom must have some amazing medical insurance!

Tom has just regular medical insurance, but these treatments are nothing special here. They are only giving them every other year, but that's okay.

It's a lovely little village and the treatment he gets is really good. He gets up to 7 different treatments a day, so that should give him a bit of relief.

Hope the treatments helped Tom, and it looks amazing there!!!

He really enjoys it there and he is quite pleased with the results so far. The village is nice and quiet - I have spent the last two weekends there and will go there tomorrow. It is really nice.

I hope that the treatments help to relieve Tom's pain. The facility looks amazing as do the views.

He feels pretty good at the moment. Not so sure what it will be like when he goes back to lifting those mail crates around.
The spa itself is really beautiful.

 

[disney67]

as for the dinner that night did not compear to what you had . and as per Hell's Kitchen this season seems to be the worst so far for cooks I would send them all home right now ?

PLEASE tell Tom Pixies that i hope that treatment helps and he feels better soon!!
now on to those pictures OMG Karin those pictures are simply breathe taking all are so beautiful the one like i could just pick one lol the one with the mountains in the back , that's where i would love to live . and it is so magical how many things we have in common other then disney

wow we are down to 56 days to leave for our trip and im so excited we have a lot of first timers cruising with us and maybe 4 total that have cruised before but inside my disney heart i wish you and Tom could come with us !!
but till we hug again XOXOXO

 

[scottny]

Looked like a nice meal.
It looks so pretty where he went.

 

[PrincessCaitlin]

I'm in!

I am very surprised by how good all of that airplane food looks

Can't wait to hear about the cruise!

 

[dizneeat]

The spa looks beautfiul!!! I hope you enjoyed yourself!

So he is there for 3 weeks? Wow!!!

It is a beautiful little village in the Alps. I spent the last three weekends there with Tom, that's why I have a hard time catching up on the DIS. I literally do NOTHING at these weekends and have to catch up during the week.

Yes, he stays/stayed there for three weeks - he'll be coming home on Thursday again.

WOW! I hope the treatments gave Tom some relief.

They did, Kathy! Thank you!

Nice, I remember the first time I saw the Alps I was breathless.

Well, I didn't see them for the first time, but every time we go to an Alpine region I am in awe. It's funny that we have all that beauty right in front of our door and go so far on vacation.

Looks so beautiful there! Hope Tom is feeling some relief...nothing worse than back pain

It is a really beautiful part of Austria. And Tom is feeling a lot better and his mood is really good. I just hope it stays that way for a while - his work is really hard and I guess his back pain will be back sooner or later.

 

[annmarieda]

It is a beautiful little village in the Alps. I spent the last three weekends there with Tom, that's why I have a hard time catching up on the DIS. I literally do NOTHING at these weekends and have to catch up during the week.

Yes, he stays/stayed there for three weeks - he'll be coming home on Thursday again.

I bet it will be nice to have him home. I hope the three weeks have helped him.

 

[jenseib]

Well, by the pics you posted I guess you made it to your "destination" without a lot of delay.
Hope you are having a blast.

WELL...I jinxed myself. We had a 2 hour delay coming home.

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Did you find what you wanted in those new DCL offerings? We knew what we wanted before they officially announced them, but to get them .........
Well, just before they came out, DS decided they wanted to just do WDW, so I didn't even seriously look at the new itineraries. Did you get what you wanted?

 

[dizneeat]

Wow that was some meal on the plane !! I kept checking that you were on the plane !!!. As for Tom's spa .... WOW!!!

It was a really great meal, Rosie! We enjoyed it a lot .... and yes, that WAS served on a plane. Goes to show that they could serve better food on all flights.

The spa was beautiful. I intend to post some more pics on my PTR once I have caught up with everything else.

How lovely! I really hope the treatments helped/are still helping!

I'm in awe at your insurance, my SIL had something similar in Germany and went to a spa for 2 weeks.

Sigh. My neck would be cured I swear!

Don't worry about us, we will still be here!

Tom feels a lot better, both, his back and his spirit! Thank you, Cynthia.

Insurance paying for this kind of treat ment is a regular thing here. We are entitled to one of these spa treatments every other year (if you need it), we just never had any intention of using it up to now. Tom is sure to ask for another one as soon as he can now.

Now trying to get on top of ALL my threads again - will be SOME work. But this is "work" I don't mind doing.

I too have been absent for 4 days !!! I have been soo tired that I have not had the energy to Dis !! I am off today so taking some time to catch up on my favorite threads !!!

Thanks for stopping by, Rosie. I thought that while being on my own I would be able to get a lot done, but the exact opposite has happened. I need to say that I went to Bad Hofgastein right after work on Fridays and stayed until Sunday late afternoon, which left me with "weekend chores" during the week. Cut right into my DIStime!

as for the dinner that night did not compear to what you had . and as per Hell's Kitchen this season seems to be the worst so far for cooks I would send them all home right now ?

Jeff, there are a lot of "characters" in that new Hell's Kitchen season. But to just watch him (Gordon) explode, is worth watching.

PLEASE tell Tom Pixies that i hope that treatment helps and he feels better soon!!

He does feel a lot better, but has not been back to work yet. We will see once he starts working again, how well he will stay.

now on to those pictures OMG Karin those pictures are simply breathe taking all are so beautiful the one like i could just pick one lol the one with the mountains in the back , that's where i would love to live . and it is so magical how many things we have in common other then disney

The mountains and the village of Bad Hofgastein are so pretty. It reminded us how beautiful Austria really is. You never really see it, if it is there every day. We have a lot more photos and I intend to post them on my PTR.

wow we are down to 56 days to leave for our trip and im so excited we have a lot of first timers cruising with us and maybe 4 total that have cruised before but inside my disney heart i wish you and Tom could come with us !!
but till we hug again XOXOXO

Your trip is getting so close, Jeff! We wish, we could come with you too, but the time frame is just not working for us - so I hope that you might be able to do another summer cruise with us in the near future.
We will be doing another b2b in 2015 - just to give you something to think about.

 

[dizneeat]

Looked like a nice meal.
It looks so pretty where he went.

It was such an awesome meal! We were delighted with it. One of the best meals on a plane we had had so far.

Bad Hofgastein is really pretty, all nestled in this mountain valley. Showed us how pretty our home country is.
And I hope you decide to at least take a peek when you are travelling Europe!

I'm in!

I am very surprised by how good all of that airplane food looks

Can't wait to hear about the cruise!

Welcome!
Great to have you on board!

It was really a nice meal on the plane. One of the best we have had "in the air" so far.

More updates coming up shortly.

I bet it will be nice to have him home. I hope the three weeks have helped him.

Yes, it's lovely to have him back home again. Even though that means now more "vacation weekends" for myself, while visiting him.

He is feeling really good at the moment, Ann. We'll see how he holds up once he needs to go back to work again. I am keeping my fingers crossed that it at least gives him some relieve.

WELL...I jinxed myself. We had a 2 hour delay coming home.

Oh no!!!!!! Hope it was the only bad experience during your vacation.

Well, just before they came out, DS decided they wanted to just do WDW, so I didn't even seriously look at the new itineraries. Did you get what you wanted?

They have a lot of great cruises (some really exciting Europe ones, like Norway or the Baltics again). And even without a cruise you are going to have a blast at WDW. Is there a special time frame you are looking at? We are going the second half of August and into September in 2015.
And to answer your question - YES, I did get what I wanted but it was quite a long way there. (I will disclose all the details in my PTR hopefully this weekend)

 

[annmarieda]

I am glad he is doing better at the moment, Karin. I will keep my fingers crossed that it holds once he gets back to work.

 

[dizneeat]

Day 1, February 15

Here we go again ……….. - Part 4

About two hours before we were supposed to land we were handed some more hot towels to freshen up and then they started preparing the tables again.
We were offered some drinks again, and even though the thought of having another glass of that yummy Champagne again I decided against it. The thought of having to go through immigration and customs and then picking up a rental car just did not fit with drinking Champagne. So we both opted for water and were quickly served some dinner.



It was a Soup and Salad menu and we were handed a tray that had some



Belgian Goulash Soup with Apple Wedges, which was incredibly good, warm and smooth with just the right amount of heat. There was also a



Mixed Leaf Salad with Quinoa, boiled Egg, Zucchini, herry Tomatoes and Red Radish accompanied by Yogurt Lime Dressing. This was by far my least favourite item all day. The salad was very cold, the quinoa was absolutely tasteless and the dressing had an odd taste. I ate a fork full or two and that was it. I must not forget to mention that again we were offered some different kinds of rolls to go with our dinner and we both picked a



traditional Bavarian Pretzel, which was warm and absolutely tasty. Last but not least we had a slice of Chocolate Raspberry Cake, which was silky and moist and we both loved it.
Once we had finished dinner we were a little over an hour from Orlando.
We watched a little more onboard entertainment, and then when we finally left cruising altitude to prepare for landing



we kept looking out the window







and saw some cruise ships which had just left port and the NASA assembly building. It was great seeing all those landmarks and suddenly we were only minutes away from Orlando.







We were about 15 minutes late when we finally reached our arrival gate. Thanks to us travelling in the nose of the plane we were off the plane fast and hot footed it over to immigration.
When we went around the last corner our hopes sank. There were already quite a lot of people in there. We got in line and I counted that we would have to walk across the room 5 times to make it to an officer.
It took its time to go from one end to the other but the line moved faster than expected. It was mainly due to a few kiosks, where you could scan your prints yourself and therefore speeded up the process.
When it was our turn we were able to go to one of the kiosks and therefore skipped quite a bit of the line. Working the kiosks was easy enough and even though we consulted an officer because we had brought some chocolate, but he helped us understand and we were soon in a very short line to see another officer.
Unfortunately it had taken quite some time since we had landed and time was running short. At quarter past seven we headed over to baggage claim and saw both our pieces of luggage coming our way.
Tom quickly took them off and we got in line for customs. Again, we hit a long line and it took another 10 minutes until we were able to go through. But soon enough we found ourselves in line for the fake monorail



and in the terminal building.
We headed downstairs to the rental car agencies and …….





hit another line at the Hertz desks. There were at least 10 people ahead of us and the young lady at the side table working Hertz Gold Club members was talking to another group who had been on our flight too. The husband was talking rather loud, so it was easy to “be informed” of his problems. Somehow he had booked a special offer, which didn’t recognize his Gold Club status and he was not on her list. We got in line while they were still discussing and so did several other people behind us. Can you tell that he took quite some time?
The four employees took forever to book cars for the people in line and when it was finally clear that the Gold Club guy had to get in line he kept on how unfair it was that HE had to be in line.
Well, live and learn, we all have to wait our turn. It took over an hour until we had made it to the desk and another 10 until we had a car key in hand. And while in line we had come to a conclusion.
It was now going on 9pm, and given that we needed to do some shopping and it would be a half hour drive to our hotel, we would only have about 2 hours in a park and we were no longer Annual Passholders.
So while in still in line we decided to just skip going to the Magic Kingdom that night and enjoy the new resort.
So, when we had finally found our car, stowed all the luggage in the boot and fixed the GPS we were in no immediate hurry to get anywhere. So we started our drive and soon were on the freeway on the way to Publix at the Watertower.
We found a space to park the car, headed inside, picked up a few things for dinner and some beverages to take on the cruise and within 20 minutes we sat in our car again.
And since we were already in Kissimmee there was one more place we wanted to visit,



the Krispy Kreme doughnut store. We were in heaven when we saw that their “Hot Now” sign was on, so we headed inside and picked up a dozen fresh, hot off the conveyer Glazed doughnuts.





We got a Diet Coke to go and off we went to the car where we both inhaled the first doughnuts. GPS set to our final destination and we were off. Excitement was rising when we went under that beautiful arch that said “Walt Disney World” and then onto that other sign that said, “Magic Kingdom”.



We were definitely on the course to our home away from home for the first night.

To be continued ............ ​

 

[dizneeat]

I am glad he is doing better at the moment, Karin. I will keep my fingers crossed that it holds once he gets back to work.

Thank you, Ann!

 

[MEK]

Yay! An update!

Hope Tom is doing better!

Boo to a long immigration line and a long wait for the car. Sometimes we are able to get our car so fast its ridiculous. I am still waiting for luggage and Denny already has it. Other times it take FOR-EVER!

Yay for Krispy Kreme and a trip to the MK!

 

[Queenofallthings]

Loved the pictures of your decent, nothing greater than seeing those familiar surroundings to know your almost "home".

We have never rented a car at the airport so I have no idea how the whole process works, but what I do know, I just want to get to my hotel and I'm sure that's what you were thinking as well

Oh, that soup looks beyond delicious!