If we can DREAM it, we can do it! ..... another 30 day vacation Update 02/07

[Minnie&Nana]

What a lovely way to end the evening, Karin. Dis friends are special!

 

[dizneeat]

Never heard of Cookes of Dublin, but I will have to give it a try next time we are there. Rachel & I tried the fish & chips from the Yorkshire F&C shop and also found it to be greasy. We haven't eaten there again. In Dec we ate at Rose & Crown for the first time and really enjoyed the food.

We ate at the Yachtsman a few years ago and I don't remember those onion rolls..they look so yummy!!

We had such a good time with both of you at the lounge. So glad we were able to spend the night together. And thank you for convincing me to order the drink. I loved it....I wanted to get it in Dec, but the way the vacation went, I just never had the chance. I will keep the drink in mind for future trips.

Cookes is really a nice spot to have lunch! Please give it a try - the food is yummy there!

This was our second visit to Yachtsman and we had the onion rolls both times - they are SO yummy!

I count you as one of mine as well.

Thank you, Ann!

Fabulous looking meals!! We love YSH!

Yachtsman is really wonderful, isn't it?

What a lovely way to end the evening, Karin. Dis friends are special!

DIS friends are the best! We had such a fun evening with Elaine and Howie.

 

[KatMark]

Oh I am drooling over your dinner at Yachstman. I had that same filet and that same dessert and CANNOT wait to have it again in just over two weeks.

Sorry the service was a little slow, but glad you got back to hook up with your friends and then have the sad goodbye.

 

[dizneeat]

Oh I am drooling over your dinner at Yachstman. I had that same filet and that same dessert and CANNOT wait to have it again in just over two weeks.

Sorry the service was a little slow, but glad you got back to hook up with your friends and then have the sad goodbye.

What an awesome and yummy coincidence that you had the same main and dessert, Kathy! Great minds think alike!
We have made another reservation there, while we are staying at BCV this summer, can't wait to go back.
We would not have minded the slow service that much, had it not been for Elaine, Howie and their son and daughter waiting for us.

 

[dizneeat]

Day 14, August 24

It’s the DREAM - Part 1

We woke up around 7am, had showers, then checked all through the villa if we had forgotten something and hauled our luggage downstairs.

Part of it had to go on the back seat, but as long as everything fit, we were fine.
Around 9am we finally said goodbye to Old Key West and drove over to Downtown Disney. As always when we go on a Disney cruise we wanted to have breakfast at Wolfgang Puck’s Express first.
We found a parking spot right behind the Once Upon A Toy store and headed right over to the restaurant. Knowing the menu by heart there was no stopping to read the menu and we went right up to the first counter to place our order. The girl behind the till could even remember us as being Maritza’s friends and informed us that she was even here that day. So we picked up our drinks and went to find a table.
Maritza came right over to bring us some cutlery and to thank us again for the cake-pop we had given her and to tell us that one of the managers had thought it was something “free” and had eaten half of it. But she had enjoyed the rest together with her little boy. We chatted some more and then she went to pick up our breakfast. Tom again had ordered

Wolfgang's Breakfast Pocket, Scrambled eggs, peppers, Niman Ranch Bacon, onions, mushrooms, mozzarella and cheddar cheese baked into Wolfgang's pizza dough, while I had again ordered the

Smoked Bacon Pizza, scrambled eggs, tomatoes, mozzarella and cheddar cheese and Ranch Dressing. While we enjoyed our food we came up with a nice idea on how to surprise Maritza again and use up our left over snack credits. So once we had finished our breakfast and said goodbye to Maritza we walked over to Goofy’s Candy Kitchen and picked up two more Mickey Cake Pops,

a large lolly for Maritza’s little boy,

a Mickey shaped brownie

and some other long lollies, which came in bags as fish extender gifts. When we finally got to pay for them, the Cast Member at the till informed us that we still had another snack credit left, so Tom went back to get another bag of lollies. Finally having spent all our snack credits we quickly stopped outside the store, took pics of the goodies, so we knew what we had spent our credits on and then we wrote a quick note, saying that these were Maritza’s goodies and then attached them to the Cake Pop. We headed back to the restaurant and the girl at the till was surprised to see us again.
Maritza came right over asking if we had forgotten something and then we presented her with her goodies. She was so surprised and hugs were exchanged. And while we were handing our gifts to Maritza, the other girl jokingly asked where her Cake Pop was and the surprise on her face was just priceless, when I reached in my bag and handed her the second one we had bought.
More hugs were in order and it was fun to see the surprise on other diners faces when we all said our goodbyes. So we were on our way back to our car, but there was just one more thing we wanted to buy. A soft cuddly Mickey Mouse for Angelina. She loves all things Mickey and we thought it would be nice for her to have one. Mickey in hand we headed back to our car and were on our way to Port Canaveral by 10.30.
The drive there was without any problems

and soon we were getting close to the Port. It is always so exciting to catch that first glimpse of the ship and soon we crossed the bridge and there she was, waiting for us.

In no time we were driving up to the luggage drop off, handed over our luggage, tipped the porter and off we went again to the Dollar office to return our car. We were amazed at how much further down the road than Hertz the office was, but finally we made it there

and it did not take long until we had finished the paperwork and were looking out for the shuttle.
We must have waited for no longer than two minutes and the shuttle returned. The driver told us that he had a 5 minute break and we were welcome to wait in the car. So we loaded our hand luggage inside and got a seat while waiting for the driver to return. We were the only people on the shuttle when he returned and we were off quickly. He dropped us off at the front gate and we showed our passports, let them know our stateroom number and joined the rather long line for security.
Right when we got in line one of the security guys came over and told the couple in front of us to follow him, as they had opened another line. We were next and it had cut our wait down terribly. Security behind us, we used the escalator to go up to the check in area.

To be continued ............

 

[Teri1]

ready for another cruise on the Dream!

 

[dizneeat]

ready for another cruise on the Dream!

yes!!!!!! And this one had two stops at CC and then another cruise back to back with this one. It was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!

Only thing that would have even made it better, would have been if we would have been able to spend it with you guys!

 

[Teri1]

yes!!!!!! And this one had two stops at CC and then another cruise back to back with this one. It was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!

Only thing that would have even made it better, would have been if we would have been able to spend it with you guys!

You are so sweet Karin. I sure would have liked going on a double dip to CC. We would like to book one in the future. I hope we get to cruise with you again some day.

 

[annmarieda]

Every time you post a breakfast from WGE, I vow I WILL eat there someday for breakfast. Who knows... maybe in the fall.

I am sure you made the day of those cms at WGE! You are so thoughtful!

Glad you got through security easily enough.

 

[jenseib]

Wooo hoo. almost time for the ship!!!!! I am having cruising urges lately. I .... Must....cruise!!!!!!

 

[englishrose47]

Great update Karin !!! I remember your friendly waitress from Wolfgang Pucks when we ate lunch there !!! I can't believe in a few short weeks I will be heading for Port Canaveral and boarding the Dream !!

 

[MEK]

.

I know it's the angle of the photo, but doesn't it just look like the top layers of the dream (I mean decks - lol) are going to slide right off into the water.

Catching up on two updates - dinner - totally amazing!

Breakfast pizza - if I don't finally try it in June there is probably something seriously wrong with me.

Yeah for a DIS meet and another martini.

Good bye OKW and HEL-LO Dream!

 

[Marsheliz]

Oh wow, that breakfast looks so good and it is making me extra hungry!!

I have only been on one cruise and I remember how exciting it was when we first caught a glimpse of the ship waiting for us!! I want to take a DisneyCruise too but afraid the kids are too young ( almost 5 and 2).. what do you think?

 

[dizneeat]

You are so sweet Karin. I sure would have liked going on a double dip to CC. We would like to book one in the future. I hope we get to cruise with you again some day.

I am sure there will be another cruise for us to cruise together. We had so much fun that first time around, it needs to be repeated! )

Every time you post a breakfast from WGE, I vow I WILL eat there someday for breakfast. Who knows... maybe in the fall.

I am sure you made the day of those cms at WGE! You are so thoughtful!

Glad you got through security easily enough.

One day, Ann, you will get to try breakfast at WPE! I am so looking forward to my next meal there!
It was so fun to see their faces light up when they got their treats.

Wooo hoo. almost time for the ship!!!!! I am having cruising urges lately. I .... Must....cruise!!!!!!

Yes, almost time for 9 nights on board of that beautiful ship.

Do I understand your cruising urges? ..... YESSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!! My urges start the moment I get off the ship!

Great update Karin !!! I remember your friendly waitress from Wolfgang Pucks when we ate lunch there !!! I can't believe in a few short weeks I will be heading for Port Canaveral and boarding the Dream !!

Thanks, Rosie!
Yes, Maritza is a very special server. She is very dear to our hearts.
May will be here before you know it, Rosie! Guess I need to speed up my trip reports so you can read all about our adventures before it's your turn.

 

[dizneeat]

I know it's the angle of the photo, but doesn't it just look like the top layers of the dream (I mean decks - lol) are going to slide right off into the water.

Catching up on two updates - dinner - totally amazing!

Breakfast pizza - if I don't finally try it in June there is probably something seriously wrong with me.

Yeah for a DIS meet and another martini.

Good bye OKW and HEL-LO Dream!

Yes, it definitely looks like the top part is sliding off!

You really should give WPE a try - his food is really good. Well, why shouldn't it be ..... he's a fellow Austrian.

We love the DISmeets we go to during our travels. And getting together with Elaine and her family after the fun cruise we had had the year before was super special.

Oh wow, that breakfast looks so good and it is making me extra hungry!!

I have only been on one cruise and I remember how exciting it was when we first caught a glimpse of the ship waiting for us!! I want to take a DisneyCruise too but afraid the kids are too young ( almost 5 and 2).. what do you think?

We LOVE breakfast at WPE .... it's a tradition to have some before we go on another cruise.

As for your question ...... we have never travelled with kids (other than the ones of our DISfriends) so I am not quite sure. But going by the many small kids (like your 2year old) there are a lot of kids that age on the ship and they all seem to be very well entertained.
Only you know if your kids would love it, but in my opinion I guess they would be old enough.

 

[dizneeat]

Day 14, August 24

It’s the DREAM - Part 2

Security behind us, we used the escalator to go up to the check in area.
We were shocked to see it so full and to see the long lines, but one look to the side and we noticed that there were just a few people in the non-US line. We filled out the health form and told the CM at the lines that we were non-US, walked down the line and were waved right over to a counter.
To us this is like a Fastpass line – seriously FAST.
I had been able to secure an early boarding time, so after we had been handed our lanyards we were already able to board. We skipped the photographer and headed right on board. There is something about getting on board for the first time.
Such a beautiful and majestic atrium. After we had been welcomed we headed right to the Enchanted Garden for lunch. We were led to a 4 top and a server was on hand to take our drinks order. Our luggage was parked towards the back of the table and we headed to the buffet. The line was short and we quickly were handed a plate and filled it at the buffet.

When we returned to our table our drinks had already been served and we sat down to enjoy our lunch. Once lunch was done we headed to the Royal Palace to find out if we could change our seating arrangement. We were second in line and the lady at the computer did her best to change everything for us and then told us that our request for a table for two had been granted and that we should ask for Zan, when checking in for dinner that day.
We knew we were in luck as we know Zan from former cruises. There was only a little time left until our staterooms were to be ready, so we slowly made our way up and we could not believe it, but even before the official time our stateroom was ready and even some of our luggage was already there. We headed into the room, found the Castaway Club Gift,

a backpack, sitting on the bed and walked right through and out onto the balcony. It felt real good to be back on the ship and enjoy that view.
We pulled our suitcases inside, started to unpack and when I went to look for more suitcases I met our stateroom host, Oana. We talked for a while and asked to have the second bed made up at night. She was a really fun person, laughing a lot and we came to really like her a lot during our cruise. Once all our suitcases had arrived and we had “somehow” unpacked we went to sit out on the balcony for a while, but it was soon time to head to the DVC presentation.
We arrived a little before it was supposed to started and found a nice seat. A server came around quickly to offer us some

champagne and a few nice canapés. This presentation was quite different to the ones we had seen.

They played lots of games which we would have expected to be played at a kids birthday party, threw in a bit of presentation and a raffle. The reps were very pushy, trying to sell add ons. Not as interesting and fun as the ones we had seen before but at least there was a brief visit by Goofy.

The presentation over we headed over to the Vista Café, where the DISmeet for our group was in full swing. We handed Angelina her Mickey and she was pretty happy about. Since we had been late we were introduced to all the other attendees, but stuck with Michelle and her family as most of the other people were in conversations. It didn’t take long and the meet was over and we had to return to our staterooms

in order to get to the lifeboat drill. Tom and I took our DVC loot back to the room, had a quick drink and then headed out to the lifeboat drill again. This time we were in an outside location and it was hot and I had forgotten my sunglasses in our stateroom, so I was not a happy camper.
It took quite a while until the drill was over and we were allowed to head back inside, which was not easy with all the guests trying to do the same thing. We walked up all the way to deck 10 as the elevators were jammed and sat outside on the veranda for a while again.
When we noticed that they undid the ropes we grabbed our cameras, Mickey gloves and went up onto deck 12, to watch the DREAM sail out. We found a nice spot to stand along the railing and once we got into the channel we put on our gloves and waved to the people on shore.

It is such a fun thing to see the reactions of the people on shore, pointing and waving back. It takes quite a while until we reached the open seas and when we wanted to remove our gloves again we were asked to wave one more time by some other guests. They had seen us wave and thought that might make a fun picture, so we happily obliged. Photo done we headed back to our room, ran into our stateroom host again and then stood out on the balcony

while the pilot boat picked up the pilot and headed back to Port Canaveral. We chilled for a while, freshened up and then headed down to check out the shops and make ourselves familiar with the ship again.

Time just seemed to fly by and it was soon time to get ready for dinner.

To be continued ............

 

[jenseib]

Oh dear, this is not curing my urges, it's making them stronger. I even went and did myself a quote today. LOL
This ship is beautiful and I love that sun setting shot as you are sailing away that looks to be on Deck 4. Gosh something about cruising is just so wonderful and seeing the open sea is so beautiful

 

[KatMark]

I thought I was up to date and then see I'm two updates behind.

Glad you got back to Wolfgang's again before you left and saw your friend again before you headed to the ship.

Love the pictures as you are sailing out.

 

[dizneeat]

Oh dear, this is not curing my urges, it's making them stronger. I even went and did myself a quote today. LOL
This ship is beautiful and I love that sun setting shot as you are sailing away that looks to be on Deck 4. Gosh something about cruising is just so wonderful and seeing the open sea is so beautiful

Jen, getting quotes is something I do on a regular basis! Only adds to the urge to book another cruise and then another ..........

It felt so good to be back on the ship and know that we could stay for 9 nights! Awesome!

I thought I was up to date and then see I'm two updates behind.

Glad you got back to Wolfgang's again before you left and saw your friend again before you headed to the ship.

Love the pictures as you are sailing out.

No problem, Kathy, you are all caught up again!

It would not be the right start without having some WPE food beforehand.

Sailing away is always such a special moment, especially if there is a captain who LOVES to use his Mickey whistles!

 

[Linda67]

Lovely photos Karin, the veranda looks so inviting