Value Resorts and Inside Staterooms? Bah Humbug! 30 days of Disney fun! 02/10 Day 30

[Wicket's Mom]

Ellen you are such a sticker! My DH is certainly no Pods! You & your son will have a ball, wish that I were going!

 

[Swalphin]

Those desserts look really good, especially the chocolate cake. I would have been happy with the both desserts for my meal. Mental note, I definitely need to do the dessert party.

 

[YukiPhnx]

LOVE your updates and great pictures of food as always! Sounds like a very relaxing time before heading off to your cruise! I'm so looking forward to hearing about it.

Mmmm, all that food looks VERY good. I'll have to make an ADR there just to have the world-renowned sushi.

 

[dizneeat]

Yummy CG meal, such an amazing restaurant can't wait to eat there again this year

We LOVE the California Grill! (as if you didn't know that! ) This is one restaurant we make sure we go back to every trip (and we could every part of our trips seperately, so we can squeeze in another visit)
Hope you are going to have the best time when you go back!

Hey Karin! Your California Grill update made me think of something...We have an ADR for 9:30 on a night when Wishes is at 10. Being able to see Wishes while we eat is one of the main reasons we chose this place. Do you think we will be seated before Wishes begins if we check in at or a little before 9:30?? TIA.

Beware, not all the tables have a view of the castle! BUT ....... they will pace your meal and you are very welcome to walk out on the platform to view the fireworks and they pipe in the music as well. We always watch from the platform that is behind the restaurant because there are FAR less people there.
That being said, you should be seated by the time Wishes starts if you check in a bit early. They have a tendency of running about 20 minutes behind though!
If you are not seated by then, grab a drink from the bar and head outside to watch the fireworks - they don't page you during the fireworks, so you are free to enjoy them!
If you want to be sure to be seated, try to push your reservation forward a bit - I have always been lucky changing my CG reservations. Plus the meals take a little longer than a regular meal!

You were right!!! Pods CAN'T say no to me!! Timmy and I are going to WDW in 2 weeks!!!

I knew Pods could not resist you!
Going to Disney is the best news EVER!!!!!!!!

What an awesome view. I can't wait to hear about the cruise portion!

Yes, the view from that platform amazes me every time we visit the CG. Needless to say that I LOVE the dining portion of the visit!

Oh, and the start to the cruise portion is coming right up!

 

[dizneeat]

Ellen you are such a sticker! My DH is certainly no Pods! You & your son will have a ball, wish that I were going!

I am SO sure they are going to have a blast!

Those desserts look really good, especially the chocolate cake. I would have been happy with the both desserts for my meal. Mental note, I definitely need to do the dessert party.

While the chocolate cake was really good, I REALLY LOVED the breadpudding I had last time!
Dessert party - - it's fun, lots of yummy sweets and Tinkerbell flying right over you! What else can you ask for?

LOVE your updates and great pictures of food as always! Sounds like a very relaxing time before heading off to your cruise! I'm so looking forward to hearing about it.

Mmmm, all that food looks VERY good. I'll have to make an ADR there just to have the world-renowned sushi.

Thank you, Yuki!
We had a really wonderful time before we headed to the WONDER! We were relaxed and in the best of moods!

You should try the Sushi - it is SO good and I am NOT a sushi person!

 

[dizneeat]

Day 13, August 26

Going back to the WONDERful Disney WONDER and some WONDERful surprises - Part 1

We were up early this morning and got ready. While Tom was checking for forgotten things I packed up last night’s clothes and whatever was still out.
Once we were sure we had everything we carried suitcase by suitcase down to the car and loaded everything into the car.
It needed a bit of rearranging until everything was finally fitted in and we were able to leave our wonderful holiday retreat.

We had saved two Counter Service Credits for breakfast at Wolfgang Puck’s Express, so our first stop was Downtown Disney.
Since we were so early the parking lot was empty and we were able to park really close to the restaurant.
It was fun to see CJ, and while he was taking our order we talked about the fact that we were going on a Disney Cruise. He seemed all excited and we promised to get him a souvenir!
Then it was time to pick up drinks and find a table.

Tom got himself some Coffee and I had another cup of Tea. I really like their tea, they offer an organic Earl Grey and it is very fragrant.

We both actually got the same breakfast item,

the Smoked Bacon Pizza - scrambled eggs, tomatoes, mozzarella and cheddar cheese and Ranch Dressing. This is one of the best breakfast items I have ever had.
Since we got a second beverage with our meal we both opted for a bottle of water.

Once we had finished our meal we walked back to the car, had a sip of water out of one of the bottles and got going.

Off to see the WONDER again!

We hit the highway, paid the tolls and finally got close to Port Canaveral. The last time it had been raining so heavily we actually missed the port completely, so this time we were determined to hit it straight on.

Um, guess what, even though we did look out for signs we missed the correct exit again, but we noticed right away, got off at the next exit, turned around and in no time we were at the right part of the port.

There were some CM directing you to the correct place to go to and we soon were in line to drop off our luggage.
Once that was done we got into the car again and drove over to the parking lot. We paid our fee and actually found a spot that was close to the exit and even close enough to be seen from the ship.

We unloaded our hand luggage, got our passports and paperwork out and off we went to check in.

There weren’t too many people around so we got through the first check point easily, then we got in line for the security scanning. Managed to get through it in about 5 minutes and up the escalator to finally check in and receive our stateroom keys and charge cards.
They had already started boarding and it did not take long until it was our turn to get on the ship. We skipped the photo options and were soon announced in the lobby of this wonderful ship.

There was only about half an hour until we could finally get to our stateroom and leave our luggage there, so we decided that instead of lugging our luggage around at lunch we would wait until we could finally drop it off. We walked around the ship and actually wandered into areas we had never been to before.

 

[englishrose47]

Glad everything went smoothly on you boarding day!!The Breakfast Pizza looks sooooo good !!

 

[Stefy]

Ooh the Cruise part of your TR, very excited

 

[jenseib]

OOOOH...exciting!
Is it clearly marked where to go once yo uget there. My dad will be dropping us off now, and I assume there wil lbe signs telling us where to drive to be dropped off and then where to go to get in line.

 

[CRdisMom]

Cali grill by far was my favoritist meal evah!!!! I think we spent 4 hours there in Oct. Our ressies were for 5:45 and we were still at our table when wishes started at 9. Ron was the best CM. I have his card and if we need end up there in May I will call him to make sure he is our server.

Got caught up on the TR today. Remind me, Austrian schools go year round right? Thus the long breaks that you get. Isn't it amazing that you can spend so much time at one place and still always see something new? Love the magic of Disney.

We went to Coco this last time and when you drive over that hill and see the cruise ships it is a magical view. Almost made me want to get on one. I said almost. Still have that nagging fear of the boat going upside down LOL.

 

[YukiPhnx]

Yay, we've gotten to the cruise!

My internet is so bad, that your pictures just aren't loading properly, but I can see that the ship lobby looks SO PRETTY. So elegant.

Haha, how did you get to that part of the ship? Were you even allowed in there...?

 

[dizneeat]

Glad everything went smoothly on you boarding day!!The Breakfast Pizza looks sooooo good !!

Yes, we were truely lucky that trip! No Hurricanes, no downpour so we would not find the ship! That Breakfast Pizza is the BEST! You need to try it one day, Rosie!

Ooh the Cruise part of your TR, very excited

It's only getting better, Stefy!

OOOOH...exciting!
Is it clearly marked where to go once yo uget there. My dad will be dropping us off now, and I assume there wil lbe signs telling us where to drive to be dropped off and then where to go to get in line.

Everything is very clearly marked - this is Disney, they know how to do it!
You will be directed to an area where you just drop off your luggage, then your dad can take you to the first check-point. This is where you will have to say goodbye to him!

Cali grill by far was my favoritist meal evah!!!! I think we spent 4 hours there in Oct. Our ressies were for 5:45 and we were still at our table when wishes started at 9. Ron was the best CM. I have his card and if we need end up there in May I will call him to make sure he is our server.

Got caught up on the TR today. Remind me, Austrian schools go year round right? Thus the long breaks that you get. Isn't it amazing that you can spend so much time at one place and still always see something new? Love the magic of Disney.

We went to Coco this last time and when you drive over that hill and see the cruise ships it is a magical view. Almost made me want to get on one. I said almost. Still have that nagging fear of the boat going upside down LOL.

We always stay looooooong at the California Grill! I am so with you, Ron is the best CM there! If you see him in May give him a hug from us! We missed him in February!

Austrian schools - our school year starts the second Monday in September, and it will end on the second Friday in July. Inbetween we have a nine week break during the summer (2 weeks off for Christmas, 1 week for half term and nearly 2 weeks for Easter). So with a 9 week break we can easily go away for 4 weeks during the summer (Tom gets 6 weeks off a year).
I guess we will never get tired of the place, but then we venture offsite as well. As I told Tina this February - things you take for granted are very exciting for us - the size of Publix and going shopping for school supplies at Walmart!
But we will always come back home to Disney!

I am sure you would enjoy cruising - this being said, we took our first cruise in 2009 as a special treat for my milestone birthday. We were both sure it would be a "once in a lifetime" event. We loved it so much we booked a back to back for last year - now in 2011 we will go on cruises no 4, 5 and 6!

Yay, we've gotten to the cruise!

My internet is so bad, that your pictures just aren't loading properly, but I can see that the ship lobby looks SO PRETTY. So elegant.

Haha, how did you get to that part of the ship? Were you even allowed in there...?

You would love cruising Yuki! Fun, fun, fun!

Sorry your internet is so bad, I hope it gets repaired soon!

There is a walkway that runs all around the ship and this part is part of it. We would never have walked round but since we had time to kill ........

 

[YukiPhnx]

I've only been on one cruise and I loved it! I'm planning another one on RCCL for next Feb!

Wow...how bizarre that you were able to easily access that area

 

[dizneeat]

I've only been on one cruise and I loved it! I'm planning another one on RCCL for next Feb!

Wow...how bizarre that you were able to easily access that area

You should plan one on DCL for February! Mickey would love you for it!

 

[dizneeat]

Day 13, August 26

Going back to the WONDERful Disney WONDER and some WONDERful surprises - Part 2

We walked around the ship and actually wandered into areas we had never been to before.
About 5 minutes prior to opening the staterooms we walked up to our floor to wait with the rest of our fellow cruisers. They opened the rooms really on time and we walked to our stateroom.
It was the same stateroom we had had the year before on our first cruise and we felt at home right away.

Tom put the key in the door and opened it and even walked in. He was surprised to find some wonderful gifts in our stateroom. I knew we would get a welcome back gift from DCL but I didn’t expect it to be several gifts!

Once we got close enough we found out that on the bed there was a nice beach bag full of goodies,

a keyring,

two drinking bottles

and two rice crispy treats from DCL.

On the table there was a huge tray of fruit, cheese and nuts

and on the sideboard there was a cooler with a bottle of wine.

We went and read the little card that came with it and to our huge surprise we found out that our friends Mary Ellen and Joe had sent us this present!

What a way to start our magical second cruise. Once we had recovered from the surprises and we had stowed away our hand luggage we made our way up to Deck 9 to have a little lunch.

We got in line, were handed some hand wipes and some finally some trays, plates and silverware.
The food looked yummy and we both quickly filled the plates and picked up some drinks before we went to find a table. We found an in door table, got settled and started our meal.

It did not take long for a cast member to come over and offer us a Welcome Cocktail, a Bahama Mama!
Needless to say, we both got one and enjoyed it very much.

And this time we even remembered to take the souvenir glasses with us! Once we had finished our main courses we needed to try and sample the desserts. So we both got a plate full of yummy desserts,

which we really enjoyed together with our Bahama Mama.

There were still a lot of people looking for a table, so after we had finished our lunch we got up and let someone else have our table.
We walked back to our stateroom to find that our luggage had arrive.

 

[Swalphin]

Karin,
The lobby is just gorgeous, and what a sweet bag of treats from the Wonder love the rice crispy flip flop treats. Can't wait to see more pictures especially of the desserts, it is 4:45 pm and I have sugar on my mind!

 

[Teri1]

Karin I am excited you have gotten to the Wonderful Wonder portion of your trip report!

 

[englishrose47]

The buffet plates looked delish!!! How nice to have all those gifts waiting for you!!!

 

[dizneeat]

Karin,
The lobby is just gorgeous, and what a sweet bag of treats from the Wonder love the rice crispy flip flop treats. Can't wait to see more pictures especially of the desserts, it is 4:45 pm and I have sugar on my mind!

The lobby is pretty impressive! I knew we would get a "welcome back" present from DCL, but I wasn't prepared for the extra presents from Mary Ellen and Joe!
Sorry about the lack of more updates yesterday, I went to bed early yesterday - it has been quite a week!

Karin I am excited you have gotten to the Wonderful Wonder portion of your trip report!

Not much longer and I'll get to the second cruise of last year's vacation! ........ and new friends!

The buffet plates looked delish!!! How nice to have all those gifts waiting for you!!!

The buffet at Beachblanket is pretty good! I wonder how it is going to be on the DREAM - Cabanas has a bit of a different layout.
Those gifts were so nice - and the ones from Mary Ellen and Joe were such a surprise too!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

It sounds like the cruise was off to a great start! DCL is wonderful and I can't wait to cruise again!