Just the two of us! (Need I say anything more?) Our Fantasy & Dream trip~many photos

[tessasmom]

Thank for a wonderful trip report Linda! So many happy and unfortunately sad memories. We hope to see you again real soon!

 

[shadowryter]

Thank for a wonderful trip report Linda! So many happy and unfortunately sad memories. We hope to see you again real soon!

I'm glad you enjoyed it, Julia. Hopefully your next cruise will help you leave the sad memories behind.

 

[shadowryter]

We are on cruising on the Fantasy in April and are enjoying your trip report!

Thank you.

 

[shadowryter]

Now that this part of my TR is coming to a close I wanted to share a few pics of things that didn’t make it. Mostly due to my poor wireless router and how many names I’ve had to choose every time it re-booted itself. Very long story. Lol. So as if you have not seen enough of my photos, here are a few more.
Christmas Vinylmation…souvenir from Magic Kingdom

Plate I had signed…great memento

Christmas Time Cup…offered at Walt Disney Theater and other places on ship...also the parks

Jewelry from St. Thomas
Heather’s

Mine

Close-up

Dan’s Mardi Gras Birthday Beads from Boatwright’s and a collection of glow cubes from the Fantasy

The few photos that we did purchase
Welcome Aboard

Formal Night

Pirate Night

Animator’s Palate


There you have it….for now anyway.

 

[Trvlr66]

Just saw this AWESOME trip report! Beautiful pictures. Thank you for sharing.

 

[shadowryter]

Just saw this AWESOME trip report! Beautiful pictures. Thank you for sharing.

Thanks for reading.

 

[shadowryter]

December 7th…Goodbye Fantasy…Hello Wilderness Lodge

We were up early and all set. What I forgot to mention is that I woke up with a scratchy throat and just thought it was my allergies. I did a last minute check and then it was time to leave. Sigh!!! Despite the fact that we skipped breakfast we still ran into Larry and Kris. We left the atrium together, went through customs and sadly parted at the exit. There were great people and I really enjoyed their company and yes we did run into each other on the ship...not just at dinner or the islands.

Our wait for our bus to the World was not a long one. Soon we boarded and were on our way to our first ever stay at the Wilderness Lodge. I have always wanted to vacation here and felt bad that Heather was not with us as this was her dream resort stay. But she was home working hard and visiting her grandmother when she could. We got off the bus, collected our luggage and made our way to the entrance of the Wilderness Lodge. We were greeted by a young man holding a tablet who took our name and proceeded to lead us inside. I admit both Dan and I were a bit confused as were passed the registration counter and went directly to the elevator. I did pre-register so maybe this was just something different?

Once in the elevator he used a key card and took us to the seventh floor where we were greeted by a couple of young woman behind a small counter. One of them looked up our info and explained that our room wasn’t ready and if we didn’t mind a queen bed room with bunk beds and a Magic Kingdom view…Huh??? Now I had booked this room as a post stay after our cruise. You know…rack room…you get what you get. Well it took me a while to realize that we had just been upgraded to Club level and believe me both of us were floored. Dan was after I explained to him what had happened. A free upgrade? I've heard of them but never would believe in a million years that we would be a recipient of one.

Our Magic Bands were checked and we were told that these were what would give us access to the floor and then another young woman began to show us around. Well we did miss breakfast so we checked out the Old Faithful Club. I was still pinching myself to make sure.
Welcome to the World

Old Faithful Club

Lots of breakfast choices




Just pastry

The view from the top is great






Hello!

Christmas tree outside of 7th floor elevators

Once our snack was done and we were finally over the shock we made our way to the bus stop to begin our one day adventure at Epcot.
Christmas wreathes at Wilderness Lodge bus stop

We had about a ten minute wait and then we were off and running. We tapped our Magic Bands and slinked our way past the photographers at the and as we approached the Fountain of Nations I remembered that I was told I had to go to the drink station, “Club Cool,” and sample all of them including the notorious, “Beverly”. I stood in a line behind a bunch of giddy teenagers waiting patiently for them to move on while Dan stood watch against the wall behind me. I grabbed two samples of each, taking one back to Dan to try and returning to fight the crowds to continue my quest towards the Beverly. I have to admit that at this point I thought some of them were good while others were kind of fare. But all in all, not bad. Then came the Beverly. They say a picture is worth a thousand words so here you have it.
Dan being all cool

Yep…that’s bad alright

All the pretty flavors, sans one…lol!

Not my taste though maybe others like it. Dan just nodded though weather it was approval or disapproval I couldn’t tell. We were finally out of there and made our way to World Showcase. Dan was getting hungry and we had already made the decision that we were going to eat around the countries so we headed to China to try out a counter service snack.
Mexican Pavilion Temple


Continued next post...

 

[shadowryter]

The Lotus Blossom Café is one place that I know Dan has been dying to try. We walked in to find it almost empty. We placed our orders and easily found a place to sit and enjoy. The seating area has a roof but it is open to the elements. Lucky for us, today was a mild one with a nice occasional breeze.
Lotus Blossom Cafe

Menu

Our shared snack…egg rolls and pot stickers with Iced Peach Oolong Tea

Outside sign

We stopped to take a look inside the shops and actually purchased a sword for our daughter’s boyfriend for a Christmas gift. This had to be mailed to us since it was illegal to take it with us to Massachusetts. Not to mention airport security might had objected. No problem here.
Swords behind glass

Chinese dragons of all sorts

Next a stop in Germany and the Karmel Kuche for a treat.
So many goodies

Since it was a tad warm out Dan and thought fruit might be good so fruit it was. The chocolate covered strawberry was divine but omg…chocolate covered pineapple spear. Incredible. You bite into that caramel and chocolate and then the juice from the pineapple was so good and so refreshing. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
Just the best!

Our first Magic Band Fast Pass was slowly nearing so we headed for The Land by way of the Imagination Pavilion where we took in a showing of Michael Jackson’s Captain EO. I’ve seen this twice before. Once on my honeymoon in ’89 and again in 2012. It was great then and it is great now.
Christmas Flowers along World Showcase


Imagination Fountain

Cute Christmas Lamps

By the time we got to The Land the wait line for Soarin’ was 80 minutes so I was really glad that I took the opportunity to get this reserved prior to arriving. We were in and out in no time, tapping our little Mickey Head icons on the matching turnstiles over and over again. The tables at the Land were filled to capacity so snacking here was shot down in a heartbeat but I did get some cool photos.
Adventures by Disney Gingerbread



A Gingerbread Disney ship…who knew?

Images of The Land



Our last stop at World Showcase would be for some killer fish and chips so we went to one of our favorites, the Yorkshire Country Fish Shop
Fish and chips for two…a yummy favorite


More to come...

 

[shadowryter]

December 7th…continued

I’ve been wanting to go to the Boardwalk Bakery for such a long time and now was the time. We took the friendship boat over to the Boardwalk and headed to the Boardwalk Inn. I have only seen the Christmas decorations at the Monorail Resorts or where I was staying so this time I wanted to see what the Boardwalk had to offer and if time allowed the gingerbread carousel at the Yacht Club.
The Boardwalk outside and in
















After my photo shoot we headed to the Bakery. There was a line which was moving on the slow side but this gave me the time to take some shots of all the lovely sweets.
Across the Boardwalk

Oh my








Continued next post...

 

[shadowryter]

Dan opted for his traditional Cannoli while I tried the Salted Caramel Ganache. We found a place to sit outside but it was right in the sun and Dan was getting a little warm so we enjoyed our treats and started for the Yacht and Beach Club. We thought we had to take the boat but soon realized that it would be quicker on foot.



Reflection of Beach Club in bakery window

Gingerbread Carousel at Beach Club










Christmas signs at boat ramp

With our little impromptu Christmas decoration hunt and the Boardwalk Bakery behind us we caught the boat back to the International Gateway and decided to check out the new bakery in France. This place was packed and though the lines moved quickly there was not a seat to be found so we ended up standing up propped against a little bar just wide enough for our tray. I admit I was kind of miserable standing there. My leg was protesting just a bit and I found myself looking at the tables and waiting to see if someone anyone was about the move. But every time they did someone else would swoop on down and there I stood…still. We shared a ham and cheese on a baguette and a salad with blue cheese dressing along with a drink from the soda fountain. When all seemed lost I spied a family getting ready to leave to my left and scurried over as fast as I could with Dan trailing behind me. Finally a place to rest my weary bones and enjoy the rest of my salad.
Everything on a tray…
Ham and Cheese on a baguette, Salad Blue and Pepsi

When it was time to leave I saw a mother with young children and quietly motioned to her that we were about to leave. She and her family gratefully took over our table and we were on our way.
Displays in France



Holiday decorations



To be continued...

 

[*Flower*]

Amazing pictures! I'm looking forward to the next installment...

 

[shadowryter]

Amazing pictures! I'm looking forward to the next installment...

Hey there, I see you have lot's of trips in your future. I think I'm jealous. Dan and I are waiting for the info and rates on Hawaii. would love to cruise there and if not maybe Alaska? I'll have to pick your brain on that last one.

 

[shadowryter]

A few minutes before 5 I received a text that our room was ready. We kind of did everything we planned on doing in Epcot. Soarin’ was on the top of the list and though we did have a Fast Pass for Test Track we never made it and didn’t really mind. We hopped the bus for the Wilderness Lodge to return to what we did not know. What I did know was that I had a surprise Anniversary cake waiting in the wings to be delivered by the Contemporary Bakery upon our return. Problem is we got this upgrade which I was told was no problem at all. Our cake would arrive.

We found our room and opened the door with anticipation. I must say I was not disappointed one bit. The bunk bed made no difference. The room was wonderful and the slider to the balcony did indeed have a Magic Kingdom view, though far away. Lol! Once our luggage arrived we went to check out the rest of the WL. After all it was Christmas time and I heard that this was the best place for decorations so I wanted to look further.
Our room with a view

Better with flash?

Nice Queen Size bed

Bunk beds

The shower adorned with our favorite friends

Little balcony

Tiny Cinderella’s Castle

Minnie Mouse towel

Welcome letter and chocolates

Our Club Room ~ 7042

A little snack

Famous Magic Bars…so good!

Night caps of all kinds

And I settled for a Magic Bar and a Berry Crumble


Continued Next Post...

 

[shadowryter]

The little snack didn’t quite cut it. You think it would have since we had been “snacking” all day! We had no reservations for dinner so the Roaring Fork seemed like good idea. It was kind of quiet which was nice. We checked out what they had to offer and made our orders.

Mmmmm pastry

Honey turkey on a roll…with homemade cucumber salad

BBQ pulled pork on a roll…with homemade potato chips

The cucumber salad and chips were so good as were the sandwiches. They were very filling and we skipped dessert because we knew we had one on the way. I know so much for the surprise. On our way back to our room we caught a glimpse of the electric Water Pageant passing by and when I opened our door…you guessed it…no cake. Dan and I went out on the balcony to catch the Holiday Wishes fireworks over the castle. Ok behind it. You could not really hear it. Just a pop, pop, pop from the bursts. It was cool though and to get a shot was nearly impossible.

Blurry but there

When the fireworks were over I decided to head on downstairs to see what happened to my cake. The Contemporary has never let me down so I was kind of mystified about it. Of course Concierge was closed so I talked with a young woman at the counter who tried to help me. At this point I just didn’t want to be charged for something that I did not receive. She assured me that I hadn’t and wouldn’t. I pushed aside my disappointment and proceeded to walk the resort with my camera. You got it more photos.
Wilderness Lodge by night

After I finished taking pictures of everything but the kitchen sink we returned to our lovely room and called it a night. Or did we?

 

[shadowryter]

It was around 11:00 when the phone rang. It was a gentleman who said he had a cake for us and if I still wanted it. Well I did just not this late in the evening. Dan was a bit perturbed, ok he was po’d but it was more because I was disappointed. It would also seem that when I made the order I had asked them to deliver it as late as possible. The kitchen was open until 11 pm. Who knew?
Our cake... better late than never


Next…Leaving Our Wonderful Surprise Stay at the Wilderness and onto the Disney Dream

 

[*Flower*]

Hey there, I see you have lot's of trips in your future. I think I'm jealous. Dan and I are waiting for the info and rates on Hawaii. would love to cruise there and if not maybe Alaska? I'll have to pick your brain on that last one.

Well.... we have our deposit down on the EBTA next year- hopefully we'll be able to go!
And I'll gladly let you pick my brain on the Alaska- just wish we had our tablemates with us. I think we'll be back to our own table. We won't be so lucky again with our companions...

 

[dseth]

Great TR!! Looking forward to your report on the Dream!

 

[shadowryter]

Great TR!! Looking forward to your report on the Dream!

Thanks for reading. Disney Dream coming up next.

 

[shadowryter]

December 8th….Hello Disney Dream
I awoke the next morning with coffee and cake in mind but at the same time knew we had 7:30 am breakfast reservations for the Whispering Canyon Café. I also woke up with a sore throat and a cough. We got dressed and went to find some throat lozenges before heading to WCC. There were no lines. A matter of fact we were the first ones there. Our Host led us to a nice table with a view of the Atrium and beautiful Christmas tree. This was our first time dining here and I was already pre-warned about asking for ketchup. Soon our server appeared announcing her name in a high pitched voice as she tossed a load of napkins and straws at us and on the table. Ok…this is different.

Whispering Canyon

View from our table

Glass of water in a canning jar

Western Omelet…Three-Egg Omelet with Ham, Cheddar, Bell Peppers, and Onions served with Western Home Fries, fresh fruit and a Biscuit

Chicken Apple-Raisin Sausage…with Onions, Peppers, Potatoes, and Scrambled Eggs


I always have Ketchup with my home fries and eggs…so when asked if I needed some, I answered yes please. To which our server yelled at the top of her lungs, “Ketchup!!!!” Then she proceeded to go to all the tables and scoop up the bottles of tomatoey (hmmm, is that even a word?) goodness into her apron and return.
The result

In the middle of our meal I heard another shout for ketchup and I guess I was supposed to bring some of our bottles over to her but she made some comment about doing things herself and collected the bottles. She then proceeded to embarrass a young teenage boy by placing one bottle at a time in his hand as he placed it on their table. The whole experience was funny and if you want a laugh when you visit Whispering Canyon Café, be sure to ask for ketchup.
Three Bears in the lobby

We headed back to our room to organize our luggage and call bell services. We had another Town car pick up for 10:00 to get us to the Port by 11:00 but it was still kind of early so we decided to have cake. It wasn’t until now that I learned the cake was the wrong flavor. It was supposed to be chocolate cake with white chocolate mousse filling. Turns out it was white cake. Turns out in the end it was ok as this is Dan’s favorite cake combo. I’m the chocoholic not him. Regardless, it was moist and yummy and decorated just the way I wanted and that’s what really counted. With all our bags in a neat row Dan and I just relaxed and waited for the time to pass. I took a few daytime photos of our cake and some more room pics. Who knew if this would ever happened again.
Our Lovely cake

Animals on the bed posts

The castle by day

How far away it really was

Fireworks view at night not necessarily pretty by day…lol!

View from the 7th floor window as we were leaving

I called bell services and it wasn’t any more than a few minutes when they arrived. We waited out front and then Dan remembered that he needed to break some bills for upcoming tips. He disappeared inside while I took a phone call that our ride to the port was on the way. Oddly enough I could have sworn that I saw the same driver who took us the last time, here but in a suit versus jeans. Sure enough when the Town car pulled up it was Damian. “I thought that was you,” he said and started loading the car while I waited for Dan who did eventually return. What a small world. So the ride was chatty and just as much fun as before and we made it to the port in plenty of time.
First glimpse of the Disney Dream


Continued next post

 

[PacificDisMommy]

Loving your trip report! Great photos! Thank you for sharing!