A Trip Around The World + An 11-Night Fantasy Trip to Paradise! June 14-28, 2017! *COMPLETED 8/24*

[AMusicLifeForMe]

A Trip Around The World + An 11-Night Fantasy Trip to Paradise!

June 14-28, 2017​

Part 1: Introduction​

“To all who come to this happy place, welcome!” - Walt Disney​

Hi everyone. Welcome to my first trip report! My name is Zach, and I have been on the boards for a little over a year. I have also been a long-time podcast listener. I will be traveling with my Dad on this vacation, and I can’t wait to share the experiences of our upcoming trip which includes a trip to Walt Disney World and 11 nights aboard the beautiful Disney Fantasy for the first Disney Cruise Line 11-night Southern Caribbean cruise!


Picture of myself with BB-8 while at WDW for the DIS 20th Anniversary Celebration.

A LITTLE ABOUT ME...

Favorite Disney Theme Parks: Disneyland, Disney's Animal Kingdom (WDW).
Favorite Disney Theme Park Show: Festival of the Lion King.
Favorite Disney Parade: Main Street Electrical Parade.
Favorite Disney Theme Park Nighttime Show: Illuminations.
Favorite Disney Theme Park Attractions: Big Thunder Railroad, Expedition Everest, and Flight of Passage.
Favorite Disney Theme Park Entertainment: Voices of Liberty!
Favorite Disney Movies: Lion King, Aladdin, and Toy Story (1, 2, and 3).
Favorite Disney Songs: Anything from the Lion King, A Whole New World (Aladdin), Santa Fe (Newsies - Broadway version), Seize the Day (Newsies), Go the Distance (Hercules), You've Got A Friend In Me (Toy Story), and many more.

I grew up 20 minutes away from the Happiest Place On Earth (Disneyland) before choosing to go to school in Kansas. I still wonder why I left Disneyland for a school in a colder climate? So, Disneyland is where my love for Disney began at a very young age. We would go to Disneyland about 2 times a week for most of my life.

I really like music (my Disboards name might answer that), and I actually got my degree in Music Education. I play several instruments (saxophone and piano), and I also sing. For this reason, I really like seeing shows more than riding attractions while at Disney Theme Parks. Even if I like shows more than attractions, I will still find myself going on rides.


Picture of my Dad and I in front of Spaceship Earth.

ABOUT OUR TRIP...

My Dad is a member of Disney Vacation Club, but for this specific vacation, we are using an AP discount at All-Star Sports. All-Star Sports wasn't the first choice, but we didn't want to use DVC points. So, we ended up choosing All-Star Sports, because it was the cheapest resort we could get for this pre-cruise vacation. Our first choice was Pop Century, because that is our favorite value resort. There was just no AP discounts for that resort when we booked this vacation.

For the cruise, we are going on the Disney Fantasy and staying in an inside stateroom with a virtual porthole (our first time getting to see the virtual porthole). This Southern Caribbean cruise itinerary includes Aruba, Barbados, Martinique, St. Kitts, Tortola, and Disney's Castaway Cay!

I will try and update each evening while at Walt Disney World. I won't be able to update the cruise portion until later on in the summer.

Now sit back, relax, and pull up a chair as I proudly present...A Trip Around The World + An 11-Night Fantasy Trip to Paradise!

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

Table of Contents:

Walt Disney World:
1: Introduction
2: Day 1: Midwest to the World! - Part 1
3: Day 1: Midwest to the World - Part 2
4: Day 2: Quick Trip to Magic Kingdom!
5: Day 2: Am I in a Rainforest? - Part 1!
6: Day 2: Am I in a Rainforest? - Part 2!
7: Day 3: Traveling to the Future and Around the World (Showcase)! - Part 1!
8: Day 3: Traveling to the Future and Around the World (Showcase)! - Part 2!
9: Day 4: A Final Morning at the World!

11-Night Southern Caribbean Disney Cruise:
10: Day 4: It's Embarkation Day!
11: Day 5: A Fantasy Day At Sea!
12: Day 6: Another Day at Sea!
13: Day 7: Welcome to Aruba! - Part 1!
14: Day 7: Welcome to Aruba! - Part 2!
15: Day 8: A Great Day At Sea!
16: Day 9: Barbados - Sailing in + Harrison’s Cave!
17: Day 9: Barbados - Back on the ship + Palo!
18: Day 10: Adventure Around Martinique!
19: Day 10: Yoho! A Pirate Night I Won’t Forget!
20: Day 11: An Adventure Around St. Kitts!
21: Day 11: I Finally Made It Into A Fort On St. Kitts!
22: Day 11: Continuing the Adventure Around St. Kitts!
23: Day 12: Tortola...Why?
24: Day 13: A Fantastic Day At Sea!
25: Day 14: A Day in Paradise (Castaway Cay) - Part 1!
26: Day 14: A Day in Paradise (Castaway Cay) - Part 2!
27: Day 14: See Ya Real Soon!
28: Day 15: Debarkation Day + MCO to the Midwest!
29: Final Thoughts on the Vacation!

Special Report:
30: Details of the Disney Fantasy - Part 1!
31: Details of the Disney Fantasy - Part 2!
32: Details of the Disney Fantasy - Part 3!

Conclusion:
33: Conclusion & The Rest of My Summer!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

joining in! That itinerary for the 11-night Southern Caribbean cruise looks amazing!

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

joining in! That itinerary for the 11-night Southern Caribbean cruise looks amazing!

Thanks! Looking forward to telling you about it!

 

[lucas]

Hi there! Hope you have a great time at WDW. That is a great pic of the 2 of you. Can't wait to read more - you are off to a great start.

And.... can't wait to meet ya'll on the 11-nighter! It is nice to put a face with posts.

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

Hi there! Hope you have a great time at WDW. That is a great pic of the 2 of you. Can't wait to read more - you are off to a great start.

And.... can't wait to meet ya'll on the 11-nighter! It is nice to put a face with posts.

Looking forward to meeting you!

 

[lucas]

Looking forward to meeting you!

It is just dh and myself and we dress in the same color scheme, so we may be easy to pick out. Ha ha!

Your vacation has already started - I'm jealous.

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

It is just dh and myself and we dress in the same color scheme, so we may be easy to pick out. Ha ha!

Your vacation has already started - I'm jealous.

Yep! We are on DME now...or Mears. I'll explain more later lol.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Have a great trip!

 

[lucas]

Yep! We are on DME now...or Mears. I'll explain more later lol.

Ahhhhhh... I think I just got it! Tell Mickey hi for me!

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

Day 1 - Midwest to the World! - Part 1​

It’s travel day! This day was very busy as it included an early morning, flying to MCO, Disney’s Magical Express, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom. So….Lets get started!



It was way too early to drive to the airport! However, whenever I fly to Orlando, these early flights are a lot more manageable since I know where I’m going (Walt Disney World).





After one of the most interesting flights I have ever been on, we arrived in Orlando!!!



Up next, Disney’s Magical Express, or should I say, Mears? Yep, we got the pleasure of taking a Mears bus from MCO to All-Star Sports. The bus driver said that we were on one of the Florida Gators Football Team busses, so that was kinda cool (Fight on USC Trojans). The only thing about this bus trip was it was 30 minutes of no DME video while on the bus. This was my first time (even with past experiences on Mears busses) that the DME video wasn’t shown. I missed seeing my favorite bus driver, Gus!





We arrive at All-Star Sports, and even though we got a text saying our room wasn’t ready, we went to the check-in desk anyways. We were able to get a preferred room like we purchased, but didn’t get a high level room. We were ok with that, so we were able to have a room at 10 a.m.



We ended up in the football section, and after dropping our stuff off, we were off to EPCOT!



We have arrived at EPCOT!!!

When we arrived at EPCOT, I quickly got the new Lion King magic band since I’m a huge Lion King fan. I also had plans to eat at Katsura Grill for lunch, but based on the bus schedule, I quickly changed that to Liberty Inn based on the quickness and proximity of where I was heading next.



My favorite thing to do at Walt Disney World is sit in the American Adventure and listen to the Voices of Liberty all day. Well, I wasn’t listening to the Voices of Liberty all day, but I was able to see their 12:20 p.m, 1:05 p.m, and 1:50 p.m. performances. These were probably three of the best shows I have ever seen them perform. Disney was “filming” them for promotional material we think, so they brought out all of their big numbers to start the day! They even sang a song that is so rare that they sing it only on the Fourth of July and maybe a handful of times the rest of the year. That song is, “Golden Dream!” Anyways, that was a great start to this vacation.



Bring on the rain!!!

It is time to leave EPCOT and head to Hollywood Studios! So, we headed to the Friendship boats and sailed all the way to Hollywood Studios!







So far, it had been a great day minus the rain.

*Day 1 continued on the next post.*

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

Day 1- Midwest to the World! - Part 2​

Welcome to part 2 of my first day at Walt Disney World!



We arrived at Hollywood Studios, and we immediately traveled to our first fastpass location of the day…Star Tours!!! We traveled to Jakku and had the Boba Fett meteor field scene.



After riding Star Tours, I wanted a picture with BB-8 while wearing a BB-8 shirt. So, I got one!



Our next fastpass was Toy Story Midway Mania. I might have beaten my Dad, and I also got the best score in our vehicle.





After Toy Story, we had a Pixar Live/Fantasmic Dinner Package booked at Hollywood Brown Derby.









I ended up getting the crab cake as an appetizer. It was really good! However, they changed it to a giant crab cake from 3 small crab cakes like it was the last several times I had been to the Brown Derby. I think I preferred the smaller crab cakes. For an entree, I got the beef. It was just ok. I didn’t end up eating all of it. For dessert, they had a grapefruit dessert and a dessert that consisted of some bananas. I’m slightly allergic to bananas so they gave me a small cheesecake instead with the grapefruit dessert. The cheesecake was delicious, but I thought the grapefruit dessert was disgusting. This was another change I noticed, because you used to get 3 desserts with the dining package. Now it is only two. I feel like I have had better experiences at the Hollywood Brown Derby.

The dining pack cost $70 per person and my Dad and I both thought it was worth it! We usually do dining packages for shows though. It was only $5 more per person to add the 2nd show the package.

After dinner, I wanted a picture with Minnie and Sorcerer Mickey before heading to Pixar Live!





Pixar Live!











Pixar Live was a really cool show! This is coming from someone who has his music degree, and it was really cool to hear from some of the composers on how they developed aspects of the films music score. I also found myself watching the conductor a lot since that is something I’ve done.

Pixar Live included music from Toy Story, Cars, Up, The Incredibles, Finding Dory, and Monsters Inc.

After Pixar Live, I had a fastpass for Tower of Terror.





After Tower of Terror, it was time to see Fantasmic with the dining package!







When Fantasmic was over, it was time to leave Hollywood Studios, and I decided to go to Animal Kingdom to ride Flight of Passage.

The bus transportation from Hollywood Studios to Animal Kingdom ended up being a charter bus. First time I had seen that.



I finally arrived at Animal Kingdom to ride Flight of Passage. My Dad didn’t join me for this part of the day.





After waiting an hour and half to ride Flight of Passage, I was finally able to ride it, and I absolutely love that ride!

After riding Flight of Passage, I decided to ride Na’vi River Journey. It had a posted 20 minute wait, and I didn’t wait at all. It was a walk-on. The Shaman is absolutely amazing!



Time for bed after a long day of traveling and visiting three of the four Walt Disney World Theme Parks! Will I be visiting the Magic Kingdom tomorrow? You will have to wait and find out.

 

[rdkeim]

Following along! Wow, that was a long day but you did a lot of fun things! Were you able to ride Flight of Passage without a fast pass?

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

Following along! Wow, that was a long day but you did a lot of fun things! Were you able to ride Flight of Passage without a fast pass?

Thanks for joining in!

Yes. I got in line around 10:30 p.m, and I rode the ride at midnight.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Great update - you got a lot done!

This day was very busy as it included an early morning, flying to MCO, Disney’s Magical Express, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom.

... yeah, I'd call that a busy day!

Interesting about the buses and having the one for the Florida Gators - guess they were busy if they needed extra busses

Great that you had a room ready at 10am!

The Voice of Liberty are amazing, I find myself occasionally just putting them up on YouTube. I think it is performances like that which make me love ECPOT as you won't see that in most theme parks

The dining pack cost $70 per person and my Dad and I both thought it was worth it! We usually do dining packages for shows though. It was only $5 more per person to add the 2nd show the package.

... That's pretty cool how they have the 2 shows in the package. Seems like a lot at the signature restaurants, depending on what you order, those pre-fix can turn out to be a good deal (I know for the one at Tiffins you can actually save money by getting the package if you order some of the more expensive entree options)

Sorry you didn't have the best meal at HBD. I think the grapefruit cake is one of those things you either love or hate

Pixar Live was a really cool show! This is coming from someone who has his music degree, and it was really cool to hear from some of the composers on how they developed aspects of the films music score. I also found myself watching the conductor a lot since that is something I’ve done.

.... that is very cool - glad you hear from the composers and get a bit of a "behind the curtain" look at the music and stuff - I think it is great they have this live music going on in the park!

... I love Fantasmic! and the Steamboat Willie part with all the characters is probably my favorite part - it's like the most Disney *feels* thing ever

The bus transportation from Hollywood Studios to Animal Kingdom ended up being a charter bus. First time I had seen that.

... did you have the express transportation or were they just running regular buses directly to AK?

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

... did you have the express transportation or were they just running regular buses directly to AK?

No express transportation for us on this trip. They literally just brought a charter bus. However, no one was allowed to stand in the aisle like on a Disney bus.

 

[lucas]

Great update.

I really want to see Pixar Live next trip to WDW.

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

Day 2: Quick Trip to Magic Kingdom!​

Hello everyone, and I am here with my report from day 2 of my fantastic Disney vacation! Now, where am I heading to today?



My first park of the day is the only theme park that I didn’t go to on the first day, the Magic Kingdom!



We got inside the Magic Kingdom at 9:30 a.m. (30 minutes after the park opened), and we only had planned to spend two hours inside the Magic Kingdom. How much could we get done in two hours without fastpasses? Well, here we go!



We got lucky that a train pulled into the Main Street Train Station as we entered. So, we elected for a nice relaxing ride to Frontierland.



When we disembarked the train, we headed to our favorite ride that is shared by both domestic parks (Disneyland and Walt Disney World), Big Thunder Railroad! So, you can say we left one train for another. Out total wait time at about 9:40 a.m. was a walk-on. The posted wait time was 5 minutes.





Whenever we ride Big Thunder Railroad, I always request to sit in the back. That ride is so much fun sitting in the back row.

What’s up next?

Splash Mountain!!! We headed to Splash Mountain with a posted 10 minute wait. It ended up being about a 7 minute wait, so very close to the posted time. Splash Mountain is one of our favorite rides especially on a hot Florida day!







Up next was Pirates of the Caribbean! This ride had a posted 20 minute wait, but we waited 10 minutes. This is a classic ride that my Dad and I both really like. However, being raised in Southern California, I always prefer Disneyland’s version. This version is still great though!





The dog still hasn’t given the pirates the key!

After riding Pirates of the Caribbean, we were on our way to see some ghosts in the Haunted Mansion!!! This had a posted 30 minute wait, but we ended up waiting 20 minutes.







Finally walked past Cinderella Castle!



No trip to the Magic Kingdom is complete without relaxing on the PeopleMover! This attractions is a great way to relax, see a model of Walt Disney’s plans for EPCOT, and get a unique view of the castle!







After riding the PeopleMover, we caught the Main Street Philharmonic playing “Under the Sea!” As a musician, it was great to hear them since I usually miss them on my trips.



Walking down Main Street.



My Dad always seems to want a Starbucks, so we got Starbucks on our way out of the Magic Kingdom.



We ended up leaving the Magic Kingdom at 11:45 a.m. (15 minutes behind my schedule). However, I had nothing but lunch planned until 1:30 p.m. at the next park, so we had plenty of time.



Total amount of attractions in two hours: 6 attractions! Not bad since we didn’t have fastpasses. The crowds seemed lower, and I feel like that is because the Magic Kingdom had evening Extra Magic Hours the night before.

At this point, I was ready to head to my favorite theme park on property! Any guesses on what that might be?

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

Day 2: Am I in a Rainforest? - Part 1!​

If you guessed Animal Kingdom as my favorite theme park at Walt Disney World, then you are correct!



The first place we went to in Animal Kingdom was Pandora, and the views in this land will never get old! This land is absolutely breathtaking (I will go further into depth on my thoughts on Pandora later in my Trip Report).







The place we went to in Pandora was Satu’li Canteen for lunch. This quick service location has quickly become one of my favorites on Walt Disney World property. The entree I got was a bowl that included slow-roasted sliced grilled beef, mixed whole grain and rice, and charred onion chimichurri sauce.



After eating at Satu’li Canteen, we left Pandora to see my favorite Disney Theme Park show, the Festival of the Lion King!













After Festival of the Lion King, we had a fastpass for Flight of Passage. This is the first time we rode on the bottom level. If I was to make a preference now of my favorite place to sit on this ride, it would be in the middle section. This is after I’ve experienced all three viewing levels. Also, this ride has quickly become one of my favorite Disney attractions. I don’t know if it beats Expedition Everest for me, but it is close.





When we finished our flight, we had a fastpass for Kilimanjaro Safaris. It was really hard to take pictures on this safari since our driver would not stop for some reason. Also, the rainfall began while we were on the safari.

















Where will I be heading to next in Animal Kingdom? Part 2 will be uploaded tonight.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

wow, you definitely got a lot done in MK in 2+ hours! I do think that early a lot of people head to Fantasyland so "going left" to Adventureland and/or Frontierland first thing is a great strategy (I found this to be even more beneficial at Disneland where mid-day the lines for Pirates and Haunted Mansion were never less than 60mins, but first thing they were walk ons)

Speaking of Pirates, the Disneyland version is way better - but like you said, the WDW version is still great

I love getting to see the model of Progress City on the People Mover (and my understanding is that is only 1/2 of the model, so it must have been huge when originaly complete)

Great shots of Pandora! Glad you continue to enjoy FoP so much - I only got to ride in the bottom and then the top (found the top much better than the bottom) - though seat location matters on it much less than on Soarin' I feel