June 15 - June 22 2013 Eastern Fantasy

[TIGGER/POOH4]

Good morning fellow cruisers. Another week has gone by.
We now have only

weeks to go to the Fantasy.

 

[TIGGER/POOH4]

Thought I'd post a few pictures from our first day on the Fantasy.
More Day 1 to come

Awesome pics. We are off for our day 1 on the Fantasy in just a few hours. Unfortunately our weather is not nearly as nice. Lots of rain forecasted for day and Debby in the Gulf. Cloudy right now and hoping the rain stays away.

 

[KSDisneyDad]

Awesome pics. We are off for our day 1 on the Fantasy in just a few hours. Unfortunately our weather is not nearly as nice. Lots of rain forecasted for day and Debby in the Gulf. Cloudy right now and hoping the rain stays away.

I like your picture. Where were you when you took that picture? You seem to be north of the new ship terminal building. That's a great angle. (ETA: Nevermind - that seems to be a webcam).

Enjoy your cruise. I hope the weather turns nice for you. Who knows, you might have to go on an Eastern this week with Debby in the Gulf. I look forward to hearing your impressions of the ship as well.

 

[msteddom]

Last post tonight.

Is anyone visiting DLR before the cruise next year? We are planning a trip at te tail end of our Christmas break to visit Cars Land. We are really looking forward to revisiting the Original again!

I live about 15 minutes away from Disneyland, so I've seen Cars Land a few times already. Let me know if there is anything you would like to know!

Melissa

 

[Texas Disney Fan]

How was Aulani? At the DVC member event on the ship, they were really pushing Aulani hard (as well as AKL). I was really hoping to hear more about the new Grand Floridian Villas, but they were silent on that property and BLT. I am glad we purchased BLT on the cruise two years ago. It has made our vacations so much more enjoyable.

Back to Aulani. There was only one person in our group that had been to Aulani and although he had a great vacation, he commented about how expensive it was. It does sound like an awesome DVC property and it's definetely on our wish list for a future vacation, but we may have to do it sans kids to save some money!

We loved Aulani and Hawaii. It was our first trip to Hawaii, so we stayed busy doing all of the must do items. The resort is beautiful. Hawaii itself is little more expensive than we consider "resort/theme park pricings" We went to the grocery store and cooked in the room for several meals, and had easy breakfast, and sandwich stuff for some lunches. I think that made a big difference for us. I know that Disney is adjusting some of its pricing at Aulani and including other dining options. We would definetely recommend it.

 

[KSDisneyDad]

I live about 15 minutes away from Disneyland, so I've seen Cars Land a few times already. Let me know if there is anything you would like to know!

Melissa

We are just in planning stages and trying to pick a place to stay. The Hyatt 2 bedroom suite with 1 king, 2 queens and a sofa bed and over 700 sq ft and two baths is a little less than the DLR. Part of me wants to stay "on-site" at DLR but I'm not sure it's worth it. You may not be able to answer but if you have any on-site or off-site advice I'd appreciate it.

Also, what is the weather like around the first week of January?

Finally, do you have any park strategies or don't miss attractions?

 

[KSDisneyDad]

We loved Aulani and Hawaii. It was our first trip to Hawaii, so we stayed busy doing all of the must do items. The resort is beautiful. Hawaii itself is little more expensive than we consider "resort/theme park pricings" We went to the grocery store and cooked in the room for several meals, and had easy breakfast, and sandwich stuff for some lunches. I think that made a big difference for us. I know that Disney is adjusting some of its pricing at Aulani and including other dining options. We would definetely recommend it.

I think this would be an awesome vacation. My oldest wants to do back-to-back cruises for his graduation trip. Perhaps we might talk him into a Hawaii trip! I think it sounds great and I like your idea of fixing light meals in the room to save some money.

Did you see any other sights on the island! Was it convenient from Aulanai? What would you recommend doing such as Pearl Harbor, Waikiki, etc?

 

[Texas Disney Fan]

I think this would be an awesome vacation. My oldest wants to do back-to-back cruises for his graduation trip. Perhaps we might talk him into a Hawaii trip! I think it sounds great and I like your idea of fixing light meals in the room to save some money.

Did you see any other sights on the island! Was it convenient from Aulanai? What would you recommend doing such as Pearl Harbor, Waikiki, etc?

We stayed 11 nights with the first night in Waikiki. We did a lot and would say all would be worth seeing:

* We used GyPS - GPS touring plan to Circle the Island with lots of stops that included - hiking Diamond Head, maze at the Dole Plantation, and Turtle Beach just to name a few - I highly recommend this way of exploring the island versus a tour bus. We did two days on this.
* Paradise Cover for the luau
* Kualoa Ranch - Jungle Tour, Movie Tour, and their Secret island beach break
* Pearl Harbor
* My DS and I did a day tour to the Big Island to see Volcano National Park
* Polynesian Cultural Center - did the tour, meal, and show

Aulani was about 30 minutes to Honolulu. Waikiki was our least favorite area. It was about an hour or so to the side of the island for the Ranch and PCC. It was a beautiful drive when you were away from Honolulu. Traffic could get pretty bad around there.

My DS is 13 currently and he did get a little bored on some of the island touring but loved everything else. We would go back to Hawaii in a heartbeat. Now we would like to explore some of the other islands.

They is an area about 5 miles or so from Aulani that had grocery stores, other shopping, fast food, and sit down dining.

 

[msteddom]

We are just in planning stages and trying to pick a place to stay. The Hyatt 2 bedroom suite with 1 king, 2 queens and a sofa bed and over 700 sq ft and two baths is a little less than the DLR. Part of me wants to stay "on-site" at DLR but I'm not sure it's worth it. You may not be able to answer but if you have any on-site or off-site advice I'd appreciate it.

Also, what is the weather like around the first week of January?

Finally, do you have any park strategies or don't miss attractions?

Some things to consider on your hotel:

* the Hyatt is not within walking distance of DLR, so that means you will either have to drive or take the shuttle. Daily parking at the theme park means a $15/ day fee. I think there is also a mandatory parking fee at the hotel, but I haven't stayed there in almost 10 years. Also, I'm pretty sure the shuttle only runs once per hour.

* I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Disneyland Hotel, but it is EXPENSIVE. There is nothing quite like it at Disney World, it is truly a special place. There will be discounts released about six weeks before your travel dates, which historically have been anywhere from 20%-30% off.

As far a weather in January goes it is incredibly unpredictable. It could be sunny and 75, or it could rain for 5 days straight. Bring layers though, days almost always start off cool, then warm up (if its not raining), then temperatures drop again once the sun goes down.

In terms of park strategies, they really are similar to Disney World: get to the park for rope drop and make good use of Fastpass. Unlike WDW however, Disneyland still honors Fastpasses past their expiration time.


If you have any more questions as your planning shapes up please let me know!

 

[KSDisneyDad]

Some things to consider on your hotel:

* the Hyatt is not within walking distance of DLR, so that means you will either have to drive or take the shuttle. Daily parking at the theme park means a $15/ day fee. I think there is also a mandatory parking fee at the hotel, but I haven't stayed there in almost 10 years. Also, I'm pretty sure the shuttle only runs once per hour.

* I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Disneyland Hotel, but it is EXPENSIVE. There is nothing quite like it at Disney World, it is truly a special place. There will be discounts released about six weeks before your travel dates, which historically have been anywhere from 20%-30% off.

As far a weather in January goes it is incredibly unpredictable. It could be sunny and 75, or it could rain for 5 days straight. Bring layers though, days almost always start off cool, then warm up (if its not raining), then temperatures drop again once the sun goes down.

In terms of park strategies, they really are similar to Disney World: get to the park for rope drop and make good use of Fastpass. Unlike WDW however, Disneyland still honors Fastpasses past their expiration time.


If you have any more questions as your planning shapes up please let me know!

What makes the Disneyland Hotel so special? If we can get a discount, I think that will be the place we stay.

 

[KSDisneyDad]

I thought I'd post a few more pictures from our first day of our Eastern Fantasy cruise earlier this month while I can still say it was earlier this month:

A few hours before sailaway:

Where we spend sailaway:

Our kids checking out the teen club (which they loved):

Sunset from our verandah before dinner:

Deck 12 after dark:

We have lots of pictures of the ship. If anyone has a request, let me know.

 

[TIGGER/POOH4]

Good morning fellow cruisers. Another week has gone by.
We now have only

weeks to go to the Fantasy.

 

[msteddom]

What makes the Disneyland Hotel so special? If we can get a discount, I think that will be the place we stay.

That's a hard question to answer. It is the only deluxe resort that doesn't have a theme of some other place or time. Its only theme is classic Disneyland. Each tower is themed to a different land at Disneyland; the ambient music played around the resort is all classic Disney similar to the cruise ships; the water slides at the pools are shaped like monorails. I just really like being in the "Disney bubble". I live about 15 minutes away from Disneyland, and I love booking a room there whenever I can!

Melissa

 

[TIGGER/POOH4]

Good morning fellow cruisers. Another week has gone by.
We now have only

weeks to go to the Fantasy.

 

[FLDisneyMom]

Checking in after our busy June. We spent a week in Orlando but only managed to go to Epcot, Typhoon Lagoon and Disney Quest. Kids and I went up on Sunday and DH was supposed to join us on Wednesday but didn't get there until late Thursday night. We were also in TX for DHs high school reunion. DS and I are heading to Orlando on Thursday because he is competing in a taekwondo tournament being held at Coronado Springs. We come home Sunday for a week and then the whole family goes back for a week at Saratoga Springs. I'm very excited about staying on property. The last time was at the Contemporary in 2005 (in the wing they tore down for Bay Lake Tower). DD is excited to finally be able to "eat in the castle" at Cinderella's Royal Table. Living in Florida we usually decide to make a trip about 6-8 weeks (or less) before we go, which makes getting advanced reservations at CRT next to impossible. This time we booked Saratoga Springs (by trading our Hilton timeshare) in March so I was able to book CRT for DD.

Haven't given too much thought to our cruise just yet with it being so far off but we're all looking forward to it.

 

[KSDisneyDad]

That's a hard question to answer. It is the only deluxe resort that doesn't have a theme of some other place or time. Its only theme is classic Disneyland. Each tower is themed to a different land at Disneyland; the ambient music played around the resort is all classic Disney similar to the cruise ships; the water slides at the pools are shaped like monorails. I just really like being in the "Disney bubble". I live about 15 minutes away from Disneyland, and I love booking a room there whenever I can!

Melissa

I think we've decided to switch from the Hyatt to the DLH! We too like being in the Disney bubble on our trips. On our last trip to DLR, we stayed at the HoJo. Even though our room included views of the monorail, Matterhorn, ToT, etc., we didn't like walking along the very busy road by so many non-Disney establishments with the big wall. It truly felt like we had left that Disney bubble even though we were barely on the outside of it.

Checking in after our busy June. We spent a week in Orlando but only managed to go to Epcot, Typhoon Lagoon and Disney Quest. Kids and I went up on Sunday and DH was supposed to join us on Wednesday but didn't get there until late Thursday night. We were also in TX for DHs high school reunion. DS and I are heading to Orlando on Thursday because he is competing in a taekwondo tournament being held at Coronado Springs. We come home Sunday for a week and then the whole family goes back for a week at Saratoga Springs. I'm very excited about staying on property. The last time was at the Contemporary in 2005 (in the wing they tore down for Bay Lake Tower). DD is excited to finally be able to "eat in the castle" at Cinderella's Royal Table. Living in Florida we usually decide to make a trip about 6-8 weeks (or less) before we go, which makes getting advanced reservations at CRT next to impossible. This time we booked Saratoga Springs (by trading our Hilton timeshare) in March so I was able to book CRT for DD.

Haven't given too much thought to our cruise just yet with it being so far off but we're all looking forward to it.

That's a lot of trips! Have fun. We would be the same way if we lived close.

Our oldest son is going to WDW over Labor day to play football at the WWOS complex. My DW and youngest son are going with him to watch. The team has been doing lots of fund raising for the last 9 months to get ready for the trip.

 

[KSDisneyDad]

Good morning fellow cruisers. Another week has gone by.

How was your Western Fantasy cruise?

 

[TIGGER/POOH4]

How was your Western Fantasy cruise?

The family had another great time. This was our first time on the Fantasy and it took a little while to figure her out compared to the Magic. We originally thought our weather was going to stink with Tropical storm Debby in the Gulf but besides the first night it was really a non factor. We had fantastic weather south of Cuba and going back to CC. The seas were glass smooth on our CC day. We are looking forward to this upcoming cruise and all the Fantasy brings to the Eastern itinerary so let the planning begin.

 

[bobbi565]

The family had another great time. This was our first time on the Fantasy and it took a little while to figure her out compared to the Magic. We originally thought our weather was going to stink with Tropical storm Debby in the Gulf but besides the first night it was really a non factor. We had fantastic weather south of Cuba and going back to CC. The seas were glass smooth on our CC day. We are looking forward to this upcoming cruise and all the Fantasy brings to the Eastern itinerary so let the planning begin.

Are you doing a trippie or posting pics?

 

[TIGGER/POOH4]

Are you doing a trippie or posting pics?

Sorry but I will not be doing a trip report due to time restraints. I will be posting some pics here and on the FB page. I would be happy to answer any questions regarding the Fantasy or the Eastern itinerary if anyone has any.