More Fun With Dick & Kaz - & Sam! The Mouse, The Magic & Mexico...

[Pinky166]

Sounds amazing Karen....can't wait to read more!

 

[tiggerwannabe]

Sounds like another fah-bu-lous Taylor Family adventure!

It'll be lovely seeing California thru your eyes Kaz~

I'll have to say tho, the only thing that stuck out in my mind is when driving in Cali, double the amount of time you would normally use to drive anywhere! Seriously. Rose drove us wherever we went. The drive itself isn't so bad - it's the traffic in between that gets ya

 

[KayleeUK]

Another one book marked

Great start.

 

[Lizzybear]

Wow sounds amazing, but then again your trips always do We're doing Disneyland this year too and i'm so excited, staying offsite but doubtless we will gawk at the Disneyland hotel on the way in

 

[CustardTart]

...flustered, guilty, humiliated, mortified, penitent, regretful, and shamefaced!!!

Those adjectives and smilies almost adequately describe how I feel at having failed to finish last August's trip report!!! Profuse apologies and fruit-based cocktails all round whilst I endeavour to right this wrong as speedily as Safari and iPhoto allow...

I shall be relying on an already confused combination of pre-trip itinerary, photos and muddled memory to put the pieces of the trip together as I take no notes. Therefore I can't reliably attest to the accuracy of the account but I promise to do my best within the alphabetical format I recently utilised in More Fun With Dick & Kaz - plus Sam! The Most Eggcellent Easter Eggstravaganza...

So, gentle reader, without further ado let us commence this A-Z Adventure of High Seas and Hollywood Highlights!!!

 

[CustardTart]

...of Who's Who!!!

Dick...

Kaz...

...and Sam!!!

And as we are today...

 

[wickesy]

Love the then and now pics. You haven't changed a bit.

 

[CustardTart]

As I put together this alphabetti spaghetti of trip highlights, it occurs to me that one of the reasons I didn't post a report at the time has to be due to the bizarre barnet I was sporting last summer! It really is a horrible hairdo and I haven't returned to that salon since!!! So apologies and I hope none of you have nightmares...

A is for... All Aboard!!! OK so it wasn't quite the same leaving from San Pedro instead of Port Canaveral but the Magic is most definitely the Magic and, within moments of being announced (Samuel couldn't enter a room without saying "The Taylor Family!" and clapping for weeks afterwards) we were happily dropping off our hand luggage in 8602!

Next up, Parrot Cay, the lunch buffet and an obligatory Bahama Mama or two - cheers!!!

After lunch we swung by the concierge reception and made our bookings for the week ahead. We also wanted to tweak one of the excursions as Samuel had decided to join us for the horse riding which was quickly sorted. All paperwork complete we returned to our stateroom and enjoyed the sunshine...

...before falling asleep and completely missing the DISmeet in the Promenade Lounge!!! I blame transatlantic flight... All I remember is Richard waking me for the lifeboat drill thingy and enjoying the view from our verandah as we left San Pedro...

...with yet another fruitaholic drink in a commemorative Mexican Riviera cup...

B is for... Breakfast with Goofy in his kitchen!!!

From the first day to our last - the character brekkie in Goofy's Kitchen was our last planned activity of the trip and very good it was too! We posed for a pic with the Celeb Chef himself...

And a enjoyed the company of a host of other characters...

Samuel looks ecstatic to meet Mulan...

Dick was delighted to hang out with Baloo and compare bellies...

And the food was rather yummy...

C is for... Cruise Cuisine - or cruisine, as I like to call it!!! We knew we were in for a good time when we arrived for our first evening meal of the cruise and discovered that we had been assigned a table for three - woohoo!!! We had two terrific servers and nothing was too much trouble...

Here we are in our various publicity shots...

Enjoying Adults-Only time in Palos for dinner...

...and brunch..

 

[Chilly]

YEAH - more more more

 

[wicket2005]

As usual another excellent report, very humourous, thanks for posting. Looking forward to reading C.

 

[wickesy]

Great photos Karen. I'm so looking forward to experiencing a Disney cruise for myself.

 

[CustardTart]

D is for... Disneyland!!! Both the hotel and the theme parks were fabulous and didn't disappoint!!!

We stayed in the Dreams tower...

...and although the room was a little on the small side, it had a great view of the pool area...

...and we enjoyed the nearby concierge lounge most days...

As for Disneyland, it's my absolute favourite park as it's inextricably linked with my childhood in a way that will always ensure it's place in my heart.

I guess it actually represents my earliest concept of America as a relative went there in the mid 1960s and bought back a variety of gifts which I wholeheartedly wish I still had! Also I associate the place with a programme that used to be on TV called (I think) Disneytime in which excerpts from Disney films were shown. The host would invariably be standing by the old-style Disneyland sign...

or walking through the park as they introduced each clip and it seemed so exotic.

Add to that the fact that The Enchanted Tiki Rooms opened it's doors the day after I was born and I think you get the general idea...

E is for... Exam results!!! AAARGH!!!!

Samuel had two GCSE results due whilst we were carousing in California as he had taken Maths and French a year early just for kicks. It was only on the journey back from Heathrow that he remembered what was waiting for him so he was mighty keen to dash in and examine the post as his father and myself struggled with the luggage... Fortunately there were no 'scares or swears' - an old Samuel phrase that describes Dick's driving - as he earned himself an impressive A* in both subjects...

So party on, Samuel!!!

F is for... Fireworks!!! Despite having stayed in 8602 before, it wasn't until this trip that we discovered we could actually see the onboard fireworks from our veranda! I'm don't have much firework foto finesse, so please excuse the quality of the following - I think you get the idea...

We shall definitely be enjoying this viewpoint again in September 2009 when we're back in 8602 - just think of it as the Dick & Kaz Suite!!!

We also experienced the fireworks at Disneyland. The display is called Remember...Dreams Do Come True and I love it as Julie Andrews narrates.

We experienced the display in the park and from the comfort of the concierge lounge where, white zinfandel in hand, the lights were dimmed, the windows flung open and the narration/music piped in. I think you can guess which one I preferred tho' next time I would arrive at the lounge a little earlier to snag a window seat... I hope to be able to post a little extract from our camcorder if I can work out how to upload to Youtube - watch this space...

G is for... Gift Exchange!!! Actually it's called Fish Extender Exchange and is a unique DIS practice that requires it's participants to collect small gifts to distribute to other participants onboard at intervals throughout the cruise. Got it??? Well, I thought I had - I'd remembered the gifts (mostly items with an English/London twist) and had purchased my own personalised FE from a creative DISer on eBay.

All set? Most definitely. Until I realised I'd forgotten to print off the list of participants and room numbers!!! SO I had to contact my eldest son back home and get him to send them to me via email which eventually I was able to access onboard. I think we ended up running around the ship, stuffing the FEs with our gifts on the penultimate night...

 

[CustardTart]

H is for... Hot, hot, hot!!! The weather was pure perfection on this trip with gorgeous blue skies...

...and sensational sunsets...

and a fabulous heat that just lifts the spirits this much...

Apart from one late afternoon in Puerta Vallarta when it went from this...

to this... in a couple of hours!!!

The rain was sooo bad they had to postpone the Pirate Party and fireworks...

I is for... Indiana Taylor and the Lost Leather Lid!!! Samuel decided prior to the trip that he was going to invest in a hat - I have no idea why. So we searched in every Mexican port of call to no avail but finally found what he was looking for in Disneyland opposite the Indiana Jones ride!

Suffice to say, the boy didn't take it off for the rest of the trip... Hats off to Samuel!!!

J is for... Just visiting!!! Here are a collection of photos from the trip that reflect our touristic status...

That Hollywood sign...

View of LA from the Hollywood Hills...

Yo homes to Bel Air!

Disney's El Capitan Theatre...

Mann's Chinese Theatre...

K is for.. Kaz's Kruise Kreations!!! By that, I mean the magnets that grace our stateroom door for the duration of the cruise!!! OK, I confess - my name is Karen and I am a Photoshopaholic!!! Give me an image, give me a font, give me a few hours of mind-numbing solitude and what have you got??? Well, these actually...

The overall effect...

Oh come on - no need to laugh... No really... And that was just unkind...

L is for... Lavish Los Angeles Living!!! We toured the homes of the stars in Beverley Hills and Bel Air - I can't recall who most of them belonged to right now, here's a few of the more magnificent mansions...

Well, you get the general idea...

 

[wickesy]

Love the first sunset pic. I've got one very similar that I took on our cruise round the Mediterranean, which I had printed onto canvas and it's hanging above my bedroom door.

 

[wicket2005]

Thanks Karen. Your lad suited that hat.

 

[CustardTart]

M is for... Merry Christmas - in August!!! I love this little Christmas Shop inside Disneyland. It's called La Boutique de Noel and is in the cutest section of the park called New Orleans Square...

True to form, I bought a few things to remind me of the trip but it's this collection of baubles that will keep the memories alive for ever...

From the cruise...

From Disneyland...

N is for... Napa Rose!!! We spent our final evening in this upscale restaurant in the Grand Californian and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves...

Richard and I chose the Vintners Table menu with accompanying wine pairings - naturally...

We had a fab time and even though I can't recall the joke, Samuel and I were clearly cracking up over something...

We had a delightful server, Saucey who was a fountain of wisdom - I liked him so much I took a sneaky pic tho' that could've been the wine pairings...

I was delighted to spot my fave digestif on the menu - Bonny Doon's Framboise so had a glass with dessert. Unfortunately, it's proved to be the last glass (actually, I may have had 2) I will ever have as Saucey reliably informed me that the vineyard has ceased production!!! After the laughter came the tears - I believe I was inconsolable...

O is for... On-site dining at Steakhouse 55!!! We ate here on our first evening and would have liked to return but just didn't have time. The food was exceptional and the atmosphere intimate - it really didn't feel like an on-site restaurant at all... Sadly, I didn't bring my camera, so no photos. I will however share some others of my menfolk stuffing their faces - on-site of course!!!

 

[CustardTart]

P is for... Pacific horse-back riding and Cabo San Lucas!!! Cabo was our first stop on the Mexican Riviera cruise and the horse-back riding was undoubtedly my fave excursion! The mini bus journey took about an hour and we eventually arrived at a dusty, cactus-ridden remote setting that didn't look too promising initially. We bounced and bumped our way down the track until eventually coming to a ramshackle ranch where we alighted... Still couldn't see any sign of the Pacific or a beach but I'm a trusting soul and was soon saddled up with my gentle horse who was ready and waiting...

Accompanied by our gaucho guide and his hilarious dog,we trekked in single file through about a mile of scrubby undergrowth and cactii before the vista we had been waiting for unfolded before our eyes!!! And it was so beautiful - mile upon mile of deserted yellow beach and deep blue ocean!!! It took my breath away and I loved the time we spent trekking along the shore... Our guide taught us the words to La Bamba and we all had to sing our own section which is harder than it sounds when you're concentrating on not falling off your horse who has started to get a little skittish - I'd guess my steed wasn't a fan of Los Lobos or Ritchie Valens....

All too soon our time was up and we tramped back through the undergrowth to the ranch where we were offered beers and water until our minibus returned. I don't drink beer but felt it was important to at least take a sip of cerveza in this authentic setting...

The view from the upper section of the ranch was beautiful...

...and it was such a shame to leave - tho' riding a horse along the beach is something I shall definitely be repeating in the future!!! But we had to get back to Cabo where we had just enough time to hunt down Sammy Hagar's Cabo Wabo bar and have a late lunch with a margarita or two...

Q is for... Queen Mary!!! We spent our first night in Los Angeles at this Long Beach grand old lady where the liner is permanently moored...

...next to a Russian submarine, code name: Scorpion...

...and you can see Los Angeles from the deck...

It was a cool experience as so much of the original fixtures and fittings have been retained...

...and you could definitely see how such a beautiful ship had provided the Disney designers with inspiration for the Magic and the Wonder...

 

[PoppyAnna]

Lovely Karen, keep it coming
I'm loving this A-Z format you've started, might pinch the idea when we return from DLRP as pics are my thing whereas verse is not.

 

[CustardTart]

R is for... Rides!!! You know the drill - we came, we queued, we rode. I'll let the pics tell the story...
Space Mountain...

The Matterhorn - I loved this sign...

The very serious business of queuing for Indiana Jones...

...with Indiana Taylor - remember him...?

All Aboard the Disneyland Railroad...

A cheerful chap in a cap on Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes...

Queuing CAN be fun...

...even if the ride is just so-so...

View across the park from the Sun Wheel...

...and the construction of Grand Californian Villas where I hope to stay in September 2010...

My men on the Maliboomer...

Oh and California Screamin' is my fave ride at any theme park, there I said it!!!

Finally, picture the scene - we are visiting the Hollywood Tower Hotel where reservations have apparently been made in our name and things are a feeling more than a little spooky... Suddenly we are passengers on a most uncommon elevator and Dick feels compelled to turn on the camcorder and stash it in his man bag. What happened next - press PLAY and find out... If you dare...

S is for... Samuel & the Stack!!! This is the onboard teens club which is supposed to be a highlight of the cruise for the more discerning adolescent. Not so our son - he went the first evening, stayed for about an hour and then returned to the stateroom. "Full of kids!" he said in disgust and didn't bother going again. I can't say I was surprised, none of my offspring have ever been fans of the kids club concept tho' I did think with it being Disney things might be different... Even tho' we didn't press him to return, we couldn't resist reminding him what he was missing...

T is for... Trevor Carlton!!! This delightful Disney artist was onboard the Magic with his family and performed a couple of art demonstrations which (coupled with the free appletinis) were interesting to watch.

We liked one of his pieces so much, we bought it through the art auction...

...and it now resides over the Aga in our kitchen...

 

[CustardTart]

U is for... Unforgettable and Unexplainable!!! A collection of pics that aren't part of the A-Z but refuse be left out... Enjoy!!!

View of Greenland from the plane...

My holiday pedicure...

...and the Sky map - I wasn't joking about the unexplainable.

Piratical faces...

...with the unshaven look for authenticity...

Making an exit - this time with the all-important wallet...

Concentrating on sitting still on the Monorail...

Sulley strolling...

Seriously weird!!!

V is for... VIP Tour at Universal Studios!!! Another fantastic day in which we hurtled around the original Universal theme park in it's fabulous Hollywood setting. We had the usual Front of Line access to the various rides and attractions including Waterworld which was excellent...

...and the Simpsons ride...

Samuel drinking a Duff (it's really cola) outside the Kwik-e-mart...

We passed real-life recording studios...

...and took a tour bus around the huge lot...

...and I auditioned for a role in an upcoming disaster movie - see the naked fear, the raw emotion, the disheveled attire...?

For me, the highlight of the tour for me was the visit to the prop department...

At each turn we spotted the familiar...

...the scary...

...the spooky...

And the down-right strange...

It was especially fascinating to see articles that were ear-marked for certain well-known TV programmes...

Tho' I never did find out what Suzy was doing here...