Pixie dust on our DREAM vacation! Update 06/08 TR finished!!

[dizneeat]

Very nice beginning, Karin! They always have such yummy snacks on the international flights - for us it is typical on the way over, but always yummy on the way back...just what does that say about the U.S.? lol (I know I say that every trip!!)

I remember the days when we could walk out to the plane and on international flights have a bus take us to/from the plane - have not had that experience in a very long time...except in Frankfurt on the way to Rome.

Looking forward to the next installment of fun! Thanks so much for taking the time to share your trip with those of left at home - every update makes my day!

p.s. Poor Pixie! Does she do okay at the cat hotel? Always so hard to leave our furbabies behind. Give her lots of kisses from us.

I really had to when you said that the snacks are typical on the way over - same here - Tom and I just don't care for the food Lufthansa offers on the way back to Europe, it's bland and always the same, so we stuff ourselves silly before we leave and then try to sleep through the meals.

The reason we can still walk to the plane here in our hometown is that the airport is really small. Sometimes when there are more planes and you would have to cross under one they take you "out" on the bus, which takes a lot longer to load and unload than walking would take.

As for Pixie - totally our fault.
She has a wicker basket, which I deemed pretty small (it actually isn't) which she likes, as she can easily reach out to me through the "bars". (I sit in the backseat with her when she has to travel in the car.
Now before this trip to her cat retreat, we decided to buy a new basket - a plastic one with metal "bars" at one end and on top. Boy, did she NOT like to travel in it. She scratched at the metal bars so hard that I started shouting at her when I saw that she was going to hurt herself.
She was okay in the end and she likes to stay at her "hotel" where she has a whole room to herself, all made up to cat heaven (it's actually the host's office, so she gets lots of company!). She started looking for food right away and even ate while we were still there.
The host provides catfood as well, but we took a huge basket of her favourite foods and we were told that she was a good eater.

I wasn't as worried about her this time, since we knew she would be in good hands - it was VERY different the last time, when it was the first time she had to go there. But the host is such a sweet lady that we totally trust her with our furbaby.

 

[bluejasmine]

Loving it! Cant wait for more!

 

[disney67]

Jeff, was it that foggy that day that you didn't notice "who else" was there with you enjoying a glimpse at the new Disney Fantasy?

OMG and yes he pops in from time to time wherever i go shhhh i do not want them to catch Elliott , it was that cloudy it was even raining early and it got a bit nicer when i met up with my TA do not tell her I was plotting to whack her I had a dress and make up ready to take her place but there were 3 check points so i decided against it ! they had more sercurity there then at Port Canaveral . we also went to disney store NYC that day to it was alot of fun standing between the intrepid and the Fantasy i had goose bumps . even if i did not get to go on it was just amazing just to be able to see her before alot of people so i felt her magic that is about to begin for many Disney friends

 

[dizneeat]

Loving it! Cant wait for more!

Great to hear that you are enjoy it so far! More coming up!

OMG and yes he pops in from time to time wherever i go shhhh i do not want them to catch Elliott , it was that cloudy it was even raining early and it got a bit nicer when i met up with my TA do not tell her I was plotting to whack her I had a dress and make up ready to take her place but there were 3 check points so i decided against it ! they had more sercurity there then at Port Canaveral . we also went to disney store NYC that day to it was alot of fun standing between the intrepid and the Fantasy i had goose bumps . even if i did not get to go on it was just amazing just to be able to see her before alot of people so i felt her magic that is about to begin for many Disney friends

I am happy to hear that you have a close connection to Elliot!

Wow! Seems like they really had TIGHT security that day! But you are a very lucky guy to have seen her in NY! The photos I have seen are just breathtaking - a Disney ship truely adds to the NY skyline! Just kidding, but it is a beautiful sight.
And soon enough we will be able to sail on her - now if you could just move your travel dates a "little bit" and join us on the Fantasy in 2013!

 

[dizneeat]

Day 1, February 18


“Did you notice the castle over there?” - Part 2

I peeled away the dry layer and what was moist and chewy was pretty good, but all in all it was wasted money.
Once we had eaten we called a friend in Austria, we checked the internet and finally around 11am we cleaned up and finally started our trek over to our departure gate. On the way there we passed the store with the noise reduction headphones again and bought another pair for me, since Tom had tried his new ones during our lunch break and found that they were far better than the ones we had had before. And I have to say, he was right!
Now, Frankfurt has several departure terminals and ours was at the complete opposite side of the airport. So we went up to the little Monorail that connects the terminals and went to the terminal we needed to go to.
We actually had to leave the airport, walk through the open area and walk into the check in area again. We had our passports checked, then went through security and finally through another checkpoint, where they check if you have pre-registered your visit to the US and are allowed to travel there. Then we proceeded to our departure gate and were stunned as the screens were not on and there were only very few people there.

We sat for a while and then Tom went to check the outside screens and finally found out that our departure gate had changed. So we moved over to Gate 13, my favourite gate number as M is the 13th letter of the alphabet and stands for my man Mickey! We sat and waited for about ¾ of an hour before we were finally allowed to board. We tried to be within the first people to board as we were seated in one of the three last rows of the plane.
Now, there is a plan to that madness. When we booked we could choose our seats right away and I noticed there were mostly three chairs per row at the windows and 4 in between them. Flying for 10 hours being squeezed in with a stranger is not our kind of thing, so we jumped on the opportunity of having only 2 seats next to each other towards the back. Downside – most of the overhead containers are used for airplane stuff, so you either are early and have your carry on close to you, or you have it “somewhere” in the cabin.
We were lucky and found ample overhead space for our carry ons, settled into our seats and waited for the plane to leave. The captain came on and told us we were to leave on time, just to come back about 10 minutes later to let us know that there was a problem with some luggage and we had to stay put for a little longer.
We left about 20 minutes after our scheduled departure time and were soon at cruising altitude

and the flight attendants started handing out drinks and snacks. Tom ordered

some beer, while I stuck to the still water and we both were handed

a small bag of Pretzels and Crackers from Soletti. Shortly after that they came through with hot towels and we knew lunch time was here and they started handing out the trays.

There was a

Small Salad and

some French dressing to start things off. Tom had chosen

the Beef Stroganoff, served with rice and carrots and peas, while I went with their Pasta, which was

Maccaroni and Cheese. I am not usually a huge fan of Mac and Cheese, but this was the baked variety and it was pretty nice. There was also

a Whole Wheat roll and some butter and

really nice Camembert Cheese.
For dessert we had some really nice

Chocolate Cake with chocolate icing. Once we had finished our meal we both took some sleeping aid and before the movie even started we had drifted off to sleep. We never sleep very well on the way to our holiday destination so we woke up quite a few times, but it was nice to see that some time had passed

and those new earplugs surely helped a lot as well. About an hour and a half before we were supposed to land we woke up as there was some commotion in the cabin when the flight attendants started to serve dinner.

This time there was no choice of what to eat, we all had pasta,

Ravioli, filled with cream cheese and tossed in a light tomato sauce, topped with stewed spinach tossed in cream. It was very well prepared and we both enjoyed it very much. Dessert was some very nice, but runny

Vanilla Pudding. Soon after they were announcing that we were descending onto MCO and we were a little early for our scheduled arrival time!
Yippie ….. or so we thought.

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

 

[MAGICFOR2]

You are on your way! You always have the best airline food and snacks!

ALOHA!

Try not to get too far ahead of me, or I'll never catch up!

 

[Minnie&Nana]

There's that yummy airline food again! I do not recall have such yummy food on Lufthansa flights from Frankfurt to NYC or Boston. The Frankfurt airport can be a bit intimidating - twice going to Rome I was alone on that leg of the trip - those security guys in the booth take their job very seriously.

Like your thinking about the 2 seats in the back and especially the #13! I always consider 13 good luck, but with this new found connection it's even special! Leave it you, Karin, to think of that!! Instead of 13 just think MICKEY!!!

So exciting to arrive early...but cliffhanger!!

 

[DMMarla07860]

can't wait to read more of your report I got off the Disney Dream the day you got on so I'll enjoy this.

Feel free to read my trip report if you want.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2883216

 

[disney67]

Great to hear that you are enjoy it so far! More coming up!



I am happy to hear that you have a close connection to Elliot!

Wow! Seems like they really had TIGHT security that day! But you are a very lucky guy to have seen her in NY! The photos I have seen are just breathtaking - a Disney ship truely adds to the NY skyline! Just kidding, but it is a beautiful sight.
And soon enough we will be able to sail on her - now if you could just move your travel dates a "little bit" and join us on the Fantasy in 2013!

Actually I have been thinking about the 7 day cruise on the Fantasy but with lily being out of work it might be 2014 for us . I'm a little sad but hoping i can still swing a Solo trip late this year early next year !! we were taking to one of the security guys he said that the guy that brought in the fireworks for the Fantasy said there was less security at the White House ( im hoping he was joking ) but with everyone that was on that ship i do not know .
i was on cloud nine when i saw elliott in the fog
thank you both that made me smile . philips poscard arrived yesterday and he could not shut up about it all day lmao it was funny
you know with all these trips you take you should have your own Ship built ?
you can call it Imagine Big and you can put Elliott on the back of the boat ??

 

[annmarieda]

As usual, I am impressed by the food you receive on the plane. Long flights are no fun, but food does tend to help to make them more tolerable.

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

WOOHOO!! You're in flight now Yummy airline food - um, only sometimes! I've learned not to rely on it but it is a nice surprise when it's yummy!

My grandparents (Oma & Opa) always believed in lucky #13 so I think of them when #13 pops up. They were married on 9/13, and everything about it had 13's in it. You've given me another reason!

Uh oh, I feel a story coming on about not arriving early.... hmmm...

Heather

 

[Minnie&Nana]

Hi, Karin!

Saw your question to Kathy about the OKW studio and although you likely already know, wanted to mention that BLT Studios are exceptionally small and OKW studios are the largest of all DVC studios. OKW was built back in the day when Disney was very generous with room size. For instance - CBR rooms are the same size as WL and AKL resort rooms...and monorail resort rooms are huge compared to the EPCOT resort rooms! First time we stayed at the then new BC we all said the same thing when we opened the door, "The room is so small!". At that time we'd only stayed at CR and the Poly...both fabulous and so roomy.

So! If you decide to save points by staying in an OKW studio you'll likely be fine - I'd think the hardest for a long stay would be no washer/dryer in the studio - but at least it is still free to do laundry.

We liked the location of the laundry room for studio guests at BWV the best, but those room have the one queen bed and one pull out - and I've slept on those pull outs (have rented points often over the years) for 4 to 7 nights - the old style even with that darn metal thingy was far more comfortable than the new ones...those are hard as stuffed straw...which I know about having slept on a straw mattress in my convent days!

Sorry for the interruption!

 

[Linda67]

Woo hoo for landing on time; I just hate it if our flights from the UK land late

I bet you ended up standing up in a longer line than Soarin' to get through passport control though

 

[michelle9343]

I can't wait to read some more!!!!!

 

[ajf1007]

Thanks so much for the info on the FE, what a great idea! I love it How many different Disney ships have you been on and which one is your favorite? I'm so excited to see we're getting closer to your boarding the ship, and thank goodness your flight was on time! I travel alot internationally and domestically and delayed flights drive me batty! Can't wait for the next update!!!

 

[jenseib]

Yay, you arrived a little early. Sounds like customs was slow though......

 

[eandesmom]

You've eaten well, slept a little and made it to Orlando. I sense a hiccup coming up though.

 

[englishrose47]

Subbing and will go back to read !!

 

[disney67]

Karin
it is off to Chicago for me in 23 minutes i will play catch up when i return from Neices reception and i will take many picture to share
XOXO hugs always
Jeff

 

[dizneeat]

You are on your way! You always have the best airline food and snacks!

ALOHA!

Try not to get too far ahead of me, or I'll never catch up!

I hope you have a wonderful time in Hawaii, Tammie!
No problem being slow posting .....

There's that yummy airline food again! I do not recall have such yummy food on Lufthansa flights from Frankfurt to NYC or Boston. The Frankfurt airport can be a bit intimidating - twice going to Rome I was alone on that leg of the trip - those security guys in the booth take their job very seriously.

Like your thinking about the 2 seats in the back and especially the #13! I always consider 13 good luck, but with this new found connection it's even special! Leave it you, Karin, to think of that!! Instead of 13 just think MICKEY!!!

So exciting to arrive early...but cliffhanger!!

Usually we are fed quite well by Lufthansa, but even they have room to improve. Lufthansa has now gotten involved with the caterer, who provides food for Austrian Airlines .... and that is outstanding, so I hope they will let him do the catering for all the flights.
Frankfurt airport is ... - there are so many departures and arrivals and with so many terminals it can get pretty confusing. It definitely is not my favourite airport, but the only one where we can fly out of our hometown easily.

I love to think of 13 as Mickey! We learned about that during a tour of Disneyland ...... it used to be 1313 Harbour Drive - MM Harbour Drive - Mickey Mouse Harbour Drive! I think they renamed it to Disneyland Drive now - but the number is still 1313!

can't wait to read more of your report I got off the Disney Dream the day you got on so I'll enjoy this.

Feel free to read my trip report if you want.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2883216

How fun is it you got off the ship the day we got on? Small world, comes to mind!
Loved your report!