Our Magical WDW Adventure ~ 23 Days of Fun, Food, Cocktails... London Trip 2/8

[ariel2007]

Love the last update!!!! I saw Joseph when I was in London for my internship and thought it was really good too. I saw the original in Chicago when I was 10 with Donnie Osmond. It was my first big stage show that I had been to and loved it. I would act it out in my bedroom BY MYSELF...as the narrator. I was quite good at the ripe old age of ten.

I love the tube!!! It is SO much cleaner and more effiecient than the ones in Chicago. I would love if they brought the tube here. Yes, it is crowded, but for city living, I don't think you can except much more than that. I just brought my book and ignored everyone. The circle line was by far the most busy so I would avoid that one if I could.

Here's to your happy dance!!!

Thanks, I am SO excited now. Well not that I haven't always been

Joseph is great isn't it, much better than I expected. I had never really thought of going to see it but Nick mentioned he wouldn't mind so thought I would give it a go. It had some strange but good moments in, when you saw it were some of the songs not quite fitting with the times?

I can imagine the tube not being the worst but I could never deal with it on a daily basis. I am more a small town country/seaside girl, where we get around by walking or car.

 

[ariel2007]

Holiday Reminiscing...
... Where do you go when your not at Disney?​

Ok, after our mini trip updates to London I thought I would get back to part 3 of our holiday reminiscing. This will probably be quite a long post, so I warn you now. And sorry in advance if I babble, we did such a lot, its hard to cover it all.

When: July 2004

Where: Thailand

Who: Nick and I​

Why:Nick's friends were going traveling around Thailand for a few weeks the first summer holidays we were at university, and originally Nick was going with them. He bugged me to come but after a year at university I had little money to spend, I had already spent far to much on partying and buying far too many new clothes and shoes. Well then at the end of June Nick surprised me with tickets for flights to Thailand. He told me he really didn't want to go without me, so brought me the flight tickets for my birthday at the end of July (we would be away over my birthday). He had also booked 3 nights accommodation in Bangkok for both the beginning and end of our holiday. He then got us some guide books which we read through and started formulating ideas of all the places we wanted to go and the things we wanted to do. We planned to meet his friends over there at some point, as they had different dates and flights, and wanted to go to different places than us. From the guidebooks we formulated a basic idea of where we wanted to go, a route, and how long we wanted to spend in each place. We also decided on some of the things we wanted to do and see, and just got a real idea of everything we needed to know. And that was it, that was the extent of our planning. Now you should all probably know by now that I am a planning freak. I plan everything, I love planning but also need to plan else I panic, a lot. But for some reason I was ok about this. I was a little apprehensive but we knew we were going off-peak and that it wouldn't be that busy, and that we would be ok booking things there. And thats what we did.

The Holiday: We started our holiday with 3 nights in Bangkok, which was a very interesting and amazing city. From the moment we got off the plane we were met by extreme heat, in the taxi to the hotel we were so intrigued with everything we saw, everything was so big and there were some beautiful buildings and palaces situated right next to falling down squats, it was quite a site. We stepped into the amazing hotel, the staff were so friendly (they actually bow to you) and the hotel was so gorgeous. Then we experienced the prices we would get used to over the next 3 weeks, we could eat and drink the whole contents of the mini bar for about £2.50, less than we would normally pay for a coke in England. Anyway we spent 3 days touring Bangkok, checking out the huge shopping malls (one of which sold designer things, the other sold pretty much everything over 7 floors for incredibly low prices), and the Bangkok market, and experiencing transport in the shape of tuk tuks, fun but very scary. We saw some strange and amazing things, one of the most memorable was an elephant walking down the middle of the street, not something you see every day hey?
After Bangkok we caught a train South. The train journey was 13 hours, an overnight journey and for about £12 we got first class tickets, about what we would pay for an hours journey in the UK. Ok it wasn't quite up to the UK standards, but we had our own little cabin with a sofa turn bunk beds, a sink, a lockable door and we were brought dinner and breakfast for about £1. Our next destination was the jungle, so from the train we had to take a bus. When we got to the jungle we were taken by truck to see a hut site, toured the rooms and decided to stay. The huts were so funny, they were so basic, we choose the best ones and they literally had a bed and a bathroom. But for £2 a night what more can you ask. We spent the afternoon and evening walking around the area, it was pretty but it was pretty wet and there wasn't much there apart from a few little cafes. After the night there we decided it wasn't really for us and moved on. It was in fact my birthday and we had wanted to ride elephants into the jungle but it was raining so hard and there was little else we could do. So on to Phuket we went, one of the main tourist destinations in Thailand. We decided to stay at Patong Beach (the main beach) and found a nice hotel on the hill. The hotel had a great pool, great views from the balconies over the pool and beach and breakfast was included for less than £20 a night. We spent a couple nights there, touring the area, spending time in the pool and checking out the local restaurants (very good and great value). After a few nights we moved to another hotel down in the town and right opposite the beach. This hotel had a rooftop pool which was small great. We always had it all to ourselves and it had great views over the mountains behind, a nice hot tub and waterfall. There was also a bar right beside selling cocktails we could drink in the pool and hot tub and the deck also looked over the beach at the front. It was our bit of paradise. We spent the days on the beach and pool, shopping in the beachfront shops (the whole beachfront is full of loads of shops, restaurants, bars etc). We also did a tour to see the Jame's Bond island and visited a monkey cave place and Muslim fishing village. This place was quite strange, it was literally built on polystyrene crate things, and from the moment we stepped on the place we were harassed by people offering us to touch a monkey for a price, or children selling postcards. We also went to Phuket Fantasea, a Thai show with dancers and elephants, set in its whole own little village.
From Phuket we caught a boat over to Koh Samuii, an island. We stayed in beachfront apartments, the resort was only small with a pool overlooking the beach and little restaurant. Nick's friends joined us here for a few days and we spent our time touring the island (we hired a van), seeing the beautiful beaches and shopping in the local towns. Nick and I also rode an elephant which was an amazing and fun experience.
We then caught the boat back to the mainland (not a good experience at all), and the train back up to Bangkok for our last few nights. The trip was amazing, we got to see and do some really interesting and good things. And everything was so cheap, the most we spent on a nice hotel was £20, we budgeted the same for food and never went over, and spent about £500 on gifts and souvenirs and came back with so much stuff including clothes, watches, bags, sunglasses, things for the house and gifts (I got Sophie the cutest Thai dress). Any way we can't wait to go back again one day, and although I love to plan normally, it was actually really nice just going with the flow.

The jungle, you can see some of the huts that people stay in in the background

The pool in our first Phuket hotel

And the view from our balcony

Our second hotel, the great roof top pool. It was so great sitting in at night with a lovely cocktail, it was all lit up including the waterfall

And the view from the roof

Nick and I on the beach, one of the only pictures we have together

Phuket FantaSea show, it was like a mini attraction park and all so beautiful

The tour we took in Phuket, we went to a Buddah temple first

And then on to the island by long boat

The Muslim fishing village

Enjoying a nice tropical drink

Our beach in Koh Samuii

And the view from the pool

This gorgeous beach we found when touring, if we go back I want to stay at the resort above this beach

Nick and his friends were looking for fish (I was sunbathing of course)

And our elephant trek

 

[ariel2007]

So strange, I have just been reminscing about Thailand and am now talking to my brother and he is going in 2 months time. I am so jealous . And then in May he is going to Disneyland Paris. I thought he understood that he wasn't allowed to go without me, he obviously didn't get that memo .

Oh and I am just catching the American Idol auditions, so funny . Who exactly is the new judge?

 

[xoktenox]

Thailand looks amazing! I can't believe you guys rode on an elephant, thats crazy!! I'd probably get scared as I got scared riding a horse once and was screaming the whole time haha I was only like 11 at the time but still. btw, you guys were there on my birthday too, I kept waiting for a picture to have my birthdate stamped on it. Such an amazing view and I can't believe how CHEAP everything was!!

 

[ariel2007]

Thailand looks amazing! I can't believe you guys rode on an elephant, thats crazy!! I'd probably get scared as I got scared riding a horse once and was screaming the whole time haha I was only like 11 at the time but still. btw, you guys were there on my birthday too, I kept waiting for a picture to have my birthdate stamped on it. Such an amazing view and I can't believe how CHEAP everything was!!

Riding the elephant was so much fun and one of those once in a life time experiences (although I would do it again when we go back ). When is your birthday then?

 

[xoktenox]

Riding the elephant was so much fun and one of those once in a life time experiences (although I would do it again when we go back ). When is your birthday then?

My birthday is August 4th. Are you a Leo too? I think Leo's are the best people, funny and intelligent and dont let people take advantage of them. I know I'd freak out on an elephant, I'm such a wuss. I'm afraid of fish, in the Caribbean if I see them by me I run out of the water. I'm afraid of birds and can't really even look at pictures of them without getting squeemish. And that one horse experience really made me freak out too. I'm crazy

 

[ariel2007]

My birthday is August 4th. Are you a Leo too? I think Leo's are the best people, funny and intelligent and dont let people take advantage of them. I know I'd freak out on an elephant, I'm such a wuss. I'm afraid of fish, in the Caribbean if I see them by me I run out of the water. I'm afraid of birds and can't really even look at pictures of them without getting squeemish. And that one horse experience really made me freak out too. I'm crazy

Yes I'm and Leo and yes they are definitely the best . Leo's are also part of the fire sign and suppose to be hot headed and hot tempered. My Mum has lived with 4 Leo's as both my sisters and my Dad is too, I think she had her work cut out

 

[disneydusted]

Yay!!! Double Digit Dance!!!! So fun!!!
Thailand! Amazing! that's all I can say!
Our subways here in Washington DC are very clean, they are really uptight about people messing them up! Actually it is nice because it is a pleasant ride when we go downtown.

 

[ariel2007]

Yay!!! Double Digit Dance!!!! So fun!!!
Thailand! Amazing! that's all I can say!
Our subways here in Washington DC are very clean, they are really uptight about people messing them up! Actually it is nice because it is a pleasant ride when we go downtown.

I know, not too long to go now

I think it should be more like that in other places, I wish it was in London. The worst parts though are they get so, so busy, to the point you cannot breathe. And in winter it is so hot on the tubes, but so cold outside, its horrible. I will have to remember when I eventually get to Washington that its ok to use the subway

 

[troobabiee7]

How did I miss so many updates??!! I just read through your London report and loved it! I feel the same way about big restaurants in Chinatown, our Chinatown's the same way. The big fancy places are overpriced with mediocre food, while the little hole-in-the-wall places are usually really, really good! That's how it is in most places.

How funny was Avenue Q?! We all loved it a few weeks ago, I thought it was so funny! I watched a documentary about the making of the show a few months ago and it's no surprise that it was written by two college guys in their dorm. It was definitely that kind of humor Was the George Bush line in it? They had a big contest here to replace that line in the "For Now" finale song, and they just sent me an update saying they found the replacements - "Recession," "Prop 8," and "Your Mother-in-Law" are all only for now, and they'll rotate through each one in different shows!

You saw Joseph!!!!!!! I'm so jealous!!!!! As much as I LOVE Spring Awakening and Rent, Joseph's still my favorite show. It was my mine and my brother's very first Broadway show back in 1993 and I LOVED it! My mom was in her school production growing up and then saw the first Broadway production with Donny Osmond so she was psyched to introduce it to us. We were in the 1st row and it starred Michael Damien at the time, a soap and music star from the 90's, and he was my very first crush. He was HOT! http://www.michael-damian.net/broadway2.html I still listen to the soundtrack all the time. I wish they'd bring it back here already!

And Thailand looks AMAZING!!!!!! We used to love going on the elephant rides at the circus, but needless to say, you're experience was much more authentic It looks like such a gorgeous place, thanks for sharing!

I know you've probably mentioned it before but how long have you and Nick been together?

 

[ariel2007]

How did I miss so many updates??!! I just read through your London report and loved it! I feel the same way about big restaurants in Chinatown, our Chinatown's the same way. The big fancy places are overpriced with mediocre food, while the little hole-in-the-wall places are usually really, really good! That's how it is in most places.

How funny was Avenue Q?! We all loved it a few weeks ago, I thought it was so funny! I watched a documentary about the making of the show a few months ago and it's no surprise that it was written by two college guys in their dorm. It was definitely that kind of humor Was the George Bush line in it? They had a big contest here to replace that line in the "For Now" finale song, and they just sent me an update saying they found the replacements - "Recession," "Prop 8," and "Your Mother-in-Law" are all only for now, and they'll rotate through each one in different shows

You saw Joseph!!!!!!! I'm so jealous!!!!! As much as I LOVE Spring Awakening and Rent, Joseph's still my favorite show. It was my mine and my brother's very first Broadway show back in 1991 and I LOVED it! My mom was in her school production growing up and then saw the first Broadway production with Donny Osmond so she was psyched to introduce it to us. We were in the 1st row and it starred Michael Damien at the time, a soap and music star from the 90's, and he was my very first crush. He was HOT! I still listen to the soundtrack all the time. I wish they'd bring it back here already!

And Thailand looks AMAZING!!!!!! We used to love going on the elephant rides at the circus, but needless to say, you're experience was much more authentic It looks like such a gorgeous place, thanks for sharing!

I know you've probably mentioned it before but how long have you and Nick been together?

Yes I think I will definitely stick to the cheaper places we already know, they are always good. Or Wagamama's, that is so good and we don't get to go much anymore

Yes the George Bush line was still in it, I wondered what line you meant for a moment and then remembered everyone laughing. I think it worked keeping it here, it was kind of ironic. But yes we loved it, it was so funny and clever. I would have loved to have seen the original Broadway cast, it must have been great with Stephanie D'Abruzzo, she is so funny when she was in Scrubs. It was a bit weird with Gary Coleman being a woman though, was he when you saw it?

Joseph was great, we loved that too. Although I had completely forgotten the story, I remember the music from primary school choir and love it. When it started over here Jason Donovan was Joseph. I don't know if you know him but he used to be in a big soap called Neighbours. Its Australian but is really big over here. Anyway in the show he was married to Kylie Minogue and they both left together and started their singing careers together. And the night before we went Joseph was played by someone who won the part on a reality TV programme. Our Joseph was amazing though, and it was his first night.

Nick and I have been together for just over 5 years. We celebrated our anniversary at Disneyland Paris which was great. And we get to celebrate our 5 1/2 year anniversary at WDW

 

[lmillercrew]

That's my party dance for you!!! Hooray for you on double digits!!! Your Thailand TR was awesome. My dad was stationed there during the Vietnam War. He took some pretty interesting pictures. Funny story. My mom is a big April Fools day person. Loves to do practical jokes. So, she found a squirrel road kill that was in pretty good shape, considering, and had a taxidermist stuff it, then mailed it to my dad. I guess there are pretty big rats there. Anyway, my dad had a house boy that cleaned in the barracks for him and came in and saw the squirrel on my dad's dresser and FREAKED out! My dad came back to his barracks and the house boy was yelling "rat! RAT!!" SO funny!!
I love the picture of you and Nick on the beach. I hope you have that one framed.

 

[ariel2007]

That's my party dance for you!!! Hooray for you on double digits!!! Your Thailand TR was awesome. My dad was stationed there during the Vietnam War. He took some pretty interesting pictures. Funny story. My mom is a big April Fools day person. Loves to do practical jokes. So, she found a squirrel road kill that was in pretty good shape, considering, and had a taxidermist stuff it, then mailed it to my dad. I guess there are pretty big rats there. Anyway, my dad had a house boy that cleaned in the barracks for him and came in and saw the squirrel on my dad's dresser and FREAKED out! My dad came back to his barracks and the house boy was yelling "rat! RAT!!" SO funny!!
I love the picture of you and Nick on the beach. I hope you have that one framed.

I bet that was one gift your Dad loved receiving . Your Mum certainly does seem to love April fools to go to all that trouble.

I don't actually have it framed, but that is a really good idea. The only trouble is I had the stupid date and time stamp on and can't figure out how to get rid of it

 

[Villainess]

Yay!!! Double Digit Dance!!!! So fun!!!
Thailand! Amazing! that's all I can say!
Our subways here in Washington DC are very clean, they are really uptight about people messing them up! Actually it is nice because it is a pleasant ride when we go downtown.

I went to school in DC and the metro was great! Very clean!



You can photoshop the date out of your picture; it shouldn't be too difficult to do it. If you want, I can try a shot at it for you.

 

[ariel2007]

I went to school in DC and the metro was great! Very clean!



You can photoshop the date out of your picture; it shouldn't be too difficult to do it. If you want, I can try a shot at it for you.

Thanks so much for the offer, its very kind . Nick thinks he can do something to get rid of them. If he can't I will let you know. Thanks again

 

[ariel2007]

Where Do You Go When Your Not at Disney...
... Holiday Top 10
​

Now you probably all know by now that Nick and I like to travel. We love visiting new countries, seeing the sights, experiencing the culture, trying the food and drink, and just generally having a good time. We talk about holidays and traveling a lot. We talk about all the places we want to visit and all the things we want to see around the world. Many times we have tried to narrow it down to our top 10 places we want to go, although we often find this task quite difficult as we want to go to so many places. In one way we are lucky to have visited 2 of the places off of our list, 2 of the places we were most keen to visit, Thailand and Cuba. However, then we went to Disney World together, and that kind of screwed up any hope of going anywhere else for the foreseeable future . But being the planning freak I am, and after us both thinking it is probably time we tried somewhere different every once in a while, Nick and I actually sat down and each wrote a list of the top 10 places we wanted to go. We agreed that from our lists we would then choose a final list of 10 and this would be our next 10 international holiday destinations (although this doesn't count the US, France or mini breaks). So we thought about it and made our lists. Then we showed each other our lists and discussed which places we most wanted to go to. Luckily quite a few of those places were the same, which this makes life so much easier for us . Obviously there are lots of other places we really want to go. We may have well forgotten about somewhere, and we do reserve judgment to change our minds at any time , but we are determined to get through this list, hopefully by 2020. So since I have shared with you some of our favorite holidays together so far, I thought I would share with you some of our holidays to come. I will post our top 10, 1 by 1, over the next few days. These are in no particular order, however the first 3 are the ones we most want to go on, and the ones we will probably do first.

​

Destination 1 ~​

​

​

Type of Holiday ~ Skiing​

I have wanted to go to Canada for years. I'm not quite sure why, I just think it has always intrigued me and always looks so beautiful. A few years ago Mum, Dad and I decided we wanted to go on a big family holiday. Our first thought was skiing, as it was something we all really wanted to do together, so we decided on Colorado. We then decided that we would all prefer Canada as it is a different country, one we have never been too, and one we all want to visit, particularly Sophie and I (she has been desperate to go there for many years). Well as I have said before, we never ended up doing the skiing holiday, as I couldn't resist picking up that first Disney brochure, which turned quickly in to 10 more, which then turned into the first magical holiday of many. But we have kept the idea in the back of our minds, and are determined to do it soon. I have looked through brochures, and scoured the internet, and from this found the most amazing hotel, the Fairmont Chateau in Whistler. Its perfect as we wanted preferably to go to Whistler. It looks amazing, just like you would expect a hotel in the middle of a ski resort too. And it has the most amazing programmes and services over Christmas. With this we have made the tentative decision to spend Christmas there in 2010. Its a bit of time away but this will give us plenty of time to research and plan. I can't wait to go skiing. And I can't wait to see Canada. For now thought I will just have to do with the delights of Le Cellier

 

[ariel2007]

Come on lurkers, come by and say Hi . We're all rather friendly here, we don't bite here

 

[xoktenox]

Canada is really nice although I've never been skiing there, or skiing anywhere for that matter. It does look sooooo beautiful though!

 

[ariel2007]

Canada is really nice although I've never been skiing there, or skiing anywhere for that matter. It does look sooooo beautiful though!

What part of Canada have you been to? Whenever I think of Canada I think of snow, and hence, skiing, but obviously there is much more to Canada which I never thought of before. However, since seeing that video in WS Canada and going to Le Cellier, the whole country and everything about it looks just beautiful.

 

[lmillercrew]

Where Do You Go When Your Not at Disney...
... Holiday Top 10
​

Now you probably all know by now that Nick and I like to travel. We love visiting new countries, seeing the sights, experiencing the culture, trying the food and drink, and just generally having a good time. We talk about holidays and traveling a lot. We talk about all the places we want to visit and all the things we want to see around the world. Many times we have tried to narrow it down to our top 10 places we want to go, although we often find this task quite difficult as we want to go to so many places. In one way we are lucky to have visited 2 of the places off of our list, 2 of the places we were most keen to visit, Thailand and Cuba. However, then we went to Disney World together, and that kind of screwed up any hope of going anywhere else for the foreseeable future . But being the planning freak I am, and after us both thinking it is probably time we tried somewhere different every once in a while, Nick and I actually sat down and each wrote a list of the top 10 places we wanted to go. We agreed that from our lists we would then choose a final list of 10 and this would be our next 10 international holiday destinations (although this doesn't count the US, France or mini breaks). So we thought about it and made our lists. Then we showed each other our lists and discussed which places we most wanted to go to. Luckily quite a few of those places were the same, which this makes life so much easier for us . Obviously there are lots of other places we really want to go. We may have well forgotten about somewhere, and we do reserve judgment to change our minds at any time , but we are determined to get through this list, hopefully by 2020. So since I have shared with you some of our favorite holidays together so far, I thought I would share with you some of our holidays to come. I will post our top 10, 1 by 1, over the next few days. These are in no particular order, however the first 3 are the ones we most want to go on, and the ones we will probably do first.

​

Destination 1 ~​

​

​

Type of Holiday ~ Skiing​

I have wanted to go to Canada for years. I'm not quite sure why, I just think it has always intrigued me and always looks so beautiful. A few years ago Mum, Dad and I decided we wanted to go on a big family holiday. Our first thought was skiing, as it was something we all really wanted to do together, so we decided on Colorado. We then decided that we would all prefer Canada as it is a different country, one we have never been too, and one we all want to visit, particularly Sophie and I (she has been desperate to go there for many years). Well as I have said before, we never ended up doing the skiing holiday, as I couldn't resist picking up that first Disney brochure, which turned quickly in to 10 more, which then turned into the first magical holiday of many. But we have kept the idea in the back of our minds, and are determined to do it soon. I have looked through brochures, and scoured the internet, and from this found the most amazing hotel, the Fairmont Chateau in Whistler. Its perfect as we wanted preferably to go to Whistler. It looks amazing, just like you would expect a hotel in the middle of a ski resort too. And it has the most amazing programmes and services over Christmas. With this we have made the tentative decision to spend Christmas there in 2010. Its a bit of time away but this will give us plenty of time to research and plan. I can't wait to go skiing. And I can't wait to see Canada. For now thought I will just have to do with the delights of Le Cellier

I believe that Whistler is a future Winter Olymic location. How cool would that be to go during the Olympics!