We had to be up at 5:15am and despite the late night and less than 8 hours I was surprisingly awake. I had ear ache though so was struggling to sleep. We got up about 5:15, got ready, packed and left. Shuttle buses were parked outside and we took the one to our terminal. The airport was very empty and quiet and we got curbside check in. It was then up an escalator into the terminal and straight through security. Our gate was the literally the other side. All such a far cry from 12 hours previously.
We got some breakfast at Burger King then waited at our gate. We boarded on time and had business seats right at the front of the plane. The flight was an hour and it seemed no sooner we were up that the belt sign was on again to land. We landed early by about 15 mins. We were off and out (domestic so no immigration or customs) and at baggage claim in minutes. Sadly our luggage wasn’t so we had to wait. As we did so we looked for our driver. We had booked a private limo to the port and had been told our driver would find us in the baggage claim. As our bags came off and we began to put the DCL tags on them I spotted a guy with a clip board saying Paul Brenan (no typo by me there I assure you). He took us to the car and loaded our luggage (which from inside the car sounded like a bit of a mission for him). At about 11:45am we were off to Galveston. I had another 40 winks on the way, the journey taking about 1 hour 15 in total.
As we arrived into Galveston it was very much an industrial port but we spotted
Magic. We were dropped off and after a bit of repacking we headed in. After the usual security there was a short line to check in, during which the lady behind us suddenly said “are you Paul?”. She wasn’t psychic but had spotted his embroidered shirt that he had been selling to a group online. After another line to board (the system was not as good as Port Canaveral) we were finally aboard the Disney Magic by about 12:30. Since cabins are not accessible until 1:30 we decided to drop our black Vinylmation with gold and silver sharpies at guest services for signing and to get some food. We went to the Quiet Cove on deck 9 and got some hot dogs and fries. We saw a couple of folks from Paul’s online group. Team t shirts made them easy to spot. Paul was finally getting to put faces to names, some online user names not even actual names.
At 1:30 we made our way to our cabin. It’s slightly different to Dream and Fantasy and even being at the back our balcony is not as big as the cabin at the back on Dream. We don’t have loungers like we did there, just chairs and a table. Within half an hour our luggage turned up so we took the opportunity to unpack fully. It’s nice to finally not be living out of a suitcase. Paul had arranged to be at his group’s meet and greet at 2:45 so armed with a suitcase full of t shirts and hoodies we wandered down. There were loads of people gathering and many introduced themselves as we handed out shirts and ticked them off the list. Too many names to remember although a mix of Brits and Americans; a really friendly bunch too. We only stayed for about an hour before heading out on deck. We looked over the dock from the promenade deck as we sat in port then at sail away time moved up to the quiet cove. I had my first piña colada as we basked in the warmth. Being on early dinner we headed back to the room about 5pm to get ready.
As we found our table in Lumieres there were already 2 couples at the table. It was a table for 8 but no others ever turned up. Lumieres is a nice restaurant, akin to Royal Palace on Dream. Our table mates consist of a couple from El Paso; American chap and his wife from Japan and a couple from Massachusetts. They were quite chatty and friendly. Dinner was a new menu to us. I had bruschetta to start with prosciutto and mozzarella and Paul had a spicy chicken wrap. Mains we both opted for the sirloin steak which was tasty although a little tough. Paul then had the creme brûlée for dessert whilst I had a coffee and pistachio mousse. We had taken our tetley tea bags with us so had a nice brew to finish. The Japanese lady was a big tea fan and had a nifty portable tea strainer device that she used to ensure she had her Fortnum and Mason earl grey leaves.
After dinner we looked around the shops. I picked up another charm from my bracelet and we got a new cruise line Vinylmation. The show was at 8:30 so we had a 20 minute or so wait until doors opened. We got seats near the back by the sound desk. The WD theatre on Magic is all one level so no balcony. We were both absolutely shattered and considered ditching the show but eventually persevered. It was a welcome aboard so nothing special but ok. We have signers at the front of the theatre so may sit there for the added entertainment.
As soon as the show was over we wanted our bed so got a drink and went back to the cabin. Paul wanted a bath but there was an issue with the plug. He called maintenance and apparently the guy came and offered another plug but I must confess I slept through all that! We both slept like babies.
Dallas Fort Worth sucks! Sorry to start with a negative statement but you’ll see why when you read on. Just to lift you up a little, we are safely on board, it’s Sunday and we’ just at our second trivia of the day. No wins yet though.
So, we flew out of Heathrow on Friday. We had separate seats on the upper deck in BA Club World but a nice chap opposite me agreed to swap with Paul so we ended up across the aisle from each other. The flight was smooth apart from a 30 min stretch with the belt sign on but even that was not really bumpy. Food wise Paul had the steak and I opted for chicken Caesar salad. We’d had cooked breakfast in the airport earlier so I wasn’t overly hungry. Talking of the airport, I didn’t mention my airport shipping did I? I looked in Tiffany’s at the charm I was due to pick up in Dallas and bought a friendship bracelet from Links of London. Paul was looking for a specific camera lens but didn’t find it.
The flight itself seemed to pass really quickly to me even though it was the full 10 hours, I read my multitude of magazines that Paul had put on my iPad and did some puzzles. I did snooze for a few hours too I must confess. Paul watched a film called Cloud Atlas and also the latest Die Hard movie. The flight for him was tough though as he had a migraine but was well attended to by the cabin crew.
We landed early, about 3:45 and then it started. Apparently this made the UK news so you may already know but essentially it took 3 and half hours to get out of the airport. As we got to the immigration hall we knew we were in for a long wait just looking at the line. Of the 40 desks there were about 6 open for us. Even the US citizens had a long line (although it did clear quicker). Lots of people had connecting flights but it mattered not! No one was prepared to help so the line became full of rather fractious folks…..
After getting through in just under 2 hours we sighed with relief thinking we could finally get the car and go shopping but oh no…the line in the baggage hall to exit customs was just as long, winding it’s way all around the baggage hall.
We finally exited just after 7 and if you think that was the end of the evenings traumas you are mistaken. It got worse. Paul had found a map that showed a walkway to another terminal where our hotel was and given we had wheely cases we figured this was a better option that the shuttle bus. We followed the map and even asked 2 airport workers but no one knew so said walkway. It was hot, humid and tense as you can well imagine! Eventually we got the bus to the terminal and followed the signs to the hotel. Straight through the car park, what could be simpler? A car park without constant stairs up then down that’s what. I swear there were half a dozen sets of stairs and we had 3 x 26 kilo cases plus Paul’s photography equipment. As we finally made it to the hotel we must have looked very dishevelled, so much so that a very nice man rushed to my aid and even gave me a bottle of water. Poor old Paul, who had done most of the hard work I must admit was dripping with sweat. The hotel was lovely and the service was very good, things will get better now right? WRONG!
We had booked a hire car for the evening as we had researched some shopping malls and an Applebee’s for dinner. I also had to collect my Tiffany’s charm. Since time was getting short we thought a taxi to Hertz might be quicker so asked the concierge. It took about 10 mins when a town car arrived and offered the trip for 30 dollars. As its only 3 miles away we laughed and asked if he thought we were stupid. In another few mins the booked taxi arrived clearly displaying his meter rates of $2.95 plus 75c per quarter mile. As we approached the driver told us it would be a flat fee of $23, it would have been $21 for one person. Paul asked about the meter, demanding the trip be metered. The driver got very tetchy and in the end drive off! So, running later and later we opted for the shuttle bus after all. By now it was well after 7:30 and the mall we want closed at 9. Paul thought he best call Tiffany’s to check and looked at me horrified as he announced they closed at 7pm. Given we were flying out the next morning at 9am I was stuffed. We were going to have to ask nicely for a refund and I was without my birthday prezzie from my mum.
We got the shuttle to the terminal, then another shuttle to Hertz where thankfully our car was waiting. We still went to the Gallaria mall, arriving just after 8. I did manage to get the things I want from Sephora (make up items) and also got a charm from pandora (guardian angel – angel wings and a pearl) and also a leather cuff that I’d seen online and wanted from Coach.
We left the mall and headed for WalMart. We needed to stock up on tablets for home and Paul got some coke to take on board. He also decided to joke distastefully at the counter that we had loads of pills and a bottle of coke to go wash them all down with. The lady at the counter seemed unimpressed but sold us over Thousand pills and the coke anyway!!
It was getting late, 9pm, and we were both tired (being Texas we were 6 hours behind). We found the Applebee’s on sat nav and off we went. Paul opted for the chicken won ton tacos and I had a fajita wrap, both with fries. It was 10pm when we got out of there and had the awful palaver of the 2 shuttles again to get back to our hotel and we worked out by the time we got to bed we’d been up for 22 and a half hours.
OK, so I’ve remembered some stuff from the cruise you might be interested in; namely our purchases. Firstly, I treated myself to a Disney Dooney and Bourke messenger style handbag. It was the Dream’s inaugural voyage collection and had 40% off. We also bought some Cruise edition Vinylmations. There is a whole set of 12 or more but we just got 2: one of Captain Mickey and one of the ships livery. We considered the Chinese zodiac ones but decided against it. We are not about to become avid collectors but may get a few pertinent and meaningful ones as we go along.
So, back to journal (it’s Thursday am remember?). The 528 was quiet despite in being rush hour and we made really good time. Since it was early enough when we got back to the Orlando area we stopped at the World’s Biggest McDonalds for breakfast. Our plan was to go to the Premium Outlets (Previously Prime) at the top of I-Drive and got there by 9:45. Stores opened at 10am so we walked to the far end to kill some time. We bought some candles from the Yankee outlet and Paul tried to get some replacement foam pads for his earphones from Bose. The store didn’t have any but confirmed they do sell them so he can try elsewhere or online. We looked in Juicy and Neiman Marcus Last Call but there were no more purchases. The shops were really quiet. Not sure if that was because it was early or merely the time of year. Either way it was nice.
After the shops we went over to Saratoga Springs. It was a really hot again and a glorious day. We collected our membership cards, helped ourselves to a cookie and went to take a look at the model units. First we looked at the Aulani villas, the new unit in Hawaii now selling as DVC villas. Then we looked at the Animal Kingdom villas. Both were stunning. Fab décor, great amenities, huge whirlpool tubs, really comfortable and very inviting. We definitely think we will use some of our points for a stay in May.
We left Saratoga Springs and made our way to Downtown Disney, Westside. First stop was the silver shop where I managed to get a really nice amethyst ring. A little pricey but a really nice piece; very simple solitaire bezel set oval stone in silver. After this we wandered past the candy store, briefly stopping to watch the cast member making chocolate covered pretzel sticks, and into the store that sells Vinylmation. We looked at some awesome special editions, hand painted large pieces for $1,200 as well as some weird sets, like a sushi set! We did buy our zodiac editions; they were better than the Chinese zodiac ones so not getting those was a good decision!
It was now about 2pm so we decided to make our way to Bahama Bay to check in. After unpacking we headed over to the clubhouse to get some lunch. Since we had planned dinner at Longhorn we didn’t want too much so shared a portion of cheesy bacon fries. It was still a pretty big portion but they were yummy. We checked our email, having been at sea for 4 days before making our way back to our own verandah where I wrote yesterday’s blog entry.
After hours of typing we got ready and went to Longhorn. It was quite busy so we had a 20-minute wait. Thankfully this time they didn’t forget us and we sat down to eat around 6:30pm. We had our usual Flo’s Fillet and Paul tried the new bourbon glaze that was advertised. It was way more oniony than the TGI Jack Daniel’s glaze but he said it was OK. After dinner we went over to Target to get a few groceries then came home and watched an episode of Hawaii-5-O with a nice cup of tea.
Friday morning saw a bit of a lie-in but we were up and about for about 10am. We had considered going east to a mall called Waterford Lakes as it had a Bose store for Paul to look for his earphone pads but since I still had so much blog to write we decided to sit outside and chillax. It was a much cooler day and very cloudy but warm enough to be outside as our verandah is nicely sheltered. We eventually went out about lunchtime after posting the cruise blog. Our first stop was the Center State bank (on 27 by the Polo park). We wanted to open a checking account since it was recommended for offering free banking without a minimum balance. The bank requires you to own property in Florida and since our DVC membership comprises a formal ownership deed this allowed us to open an account. The process took about half an hour and we still have to email over the formal deed once we have paid up with DVC and receive the paperwork but we have 90 days to do this. Once we got out of the bank we went over to Animal Kingdom (our new home ?). Showing our membership card gets us in so easily with a great welcome and greeting. We firstly went to Jambo House, the original Lodge. We looked around the shop, which is really big and bought a couple of cushions that say “once upon a time, happy ever after” and “never grow up”. We then went out back to the viewing outlook but other than birds nothing was really near. We saw some Zebra and Wildebeest in the distance and Paul got some pics. There were 2 viewing areas with one being behind the pool area. This had some nice hot tubs and secluded seating areas. We then went over to Kidani Village and got a cup of tea each to drink as we sat in the rocking chairs at the overlook area. The Giraffes were around and there does seem to be better viewing from Kidani. We took a look in the shop on the way out and Paul bought a DVC members only pin whilst I bought a pink DVC members t-shirt with Tinkerbell embroidered on it. Sadly, this has turned out to be a little big so I need to try and swap it tomorrow. I also got some African made stone animals; a Hippo and a Rhino, which will go really nicely with my wooden Giraffe and Elephant back home.
We stayed at AK until about 5pm before heading over to Kobe for dinner. We shared a meal again but as well as the shrimp and fillet had some teriyaki chicken. The food was as good as ever and our chef had some new tricks like ‘lava from the volcano’ which was the sauce spitting our of the onion volcano. We didn’t really talk to our tablemates again which consisted of a family of mum, dad, 2 kids and grand parents then one other couple.
We finished at Kobe around 6:30 and after a stop for gas went over to the Polynesian to watch the Wishes fireworks from the beach. It was cool but not too cold and we perched on sun beds. The film on the beach was “Tangled” and there was a dad with his 2 kids next to us who was struggling to get them to sit and wait for the fireworks as all they wanted was to go and watch Rapunzel! We saw, and heard, a couple of Pirate firework cruise boats out on the lake. Wishes was good and half way through I swear I saw an Alligator swimming past in the lake. Paul saw something too but thought that folks swam in the lake. After the fireworks we checked the signs which do say ‘no swimming’ so I am still convinced it was a gator.
We came straight back after the fireworks and after a welcome cuppa we did most of our packing. We had bought out 3 suitcases (one inside another on the way out) so have plenty of space and should be able to even out the weight.
It is now nearly midnight. Paul is in the tub whilst I finish up this last blog update before we head back to Blighty tomorrow ? ?
Well hello again, it’s been a while. We are now back on dry land (suffering with sea legs a tad) and sitting out the back of our Bahama Bay apartment. Good news is the bed is bigger in the deluxe. It is peaceful again and very sunny as I type at just after 4pm. I think I must have about 3 days to catch up on so this could take a while. You might want to put the kettle on, treat yourself to a biscuit as well and settle in…
…so, some pertinent updates for you to begin with. Firstly, the Vinylmation Mickey came back all signed and is AWESOME. They have made such a good job of it we were both in wonder. It will be displayed well away from Norah as it is (to quote a famous credit card ad) priceless! Secondly, the cruise itself was also awesome. Probably the best Cruise we have done. Definitely not too overbearing on the Disney although it was busy with 4000 passengers. The time flew and we didn’t even get to do everything we wanted but have vowed we will definitely do it again. Very probably we will book in Jan next year and try to get the same deal we did this time. Finally, before I go back to Monday afternoon, we are now members of the Disney Vacation Club. We have pondered if for some time but there was an on board offer so we took the plunge and signed up. I’ll not go into the details of how it all works and what that means in this blog.
So, where did I leave you? Monday lunchtime I believe as we were getting off the boat to take a wander around Nassau. It was a pleasant day, a little cloudy but warm enough and no sign of the forecasted rain. We looked in a few shops and in ‘Diamonds International’ I tried on a canary yellow diamond ring, which was a snip at $600,000!! I also was interested in some Amolite pieces but the prices were not even comparable to what I can buy from jewellery channels on TV, and it’s the same branded stone. We tried to barter and get a deal but the shops didn’t seem to want our business. Maybe they get enough sales from all the tourists but they seemed happy to let us walk away. I also looked at the Larimar (the stone of the Caribbean) but that too was way more then back home. So, after a couple of hours we got back on board with our dollars in our pocket. On board we went up to deck 11 to get a hot dog and fries and a drink. We sat in the quiet cove (which is mis sold as a live guitarist ruins the peace) before heading back to our room to watch the Princess and the Frog.
Dinner was at the Enchanted Garden restaurant which we were told was based on the gardens of Versailles although it was a tad tacky for our liking. The food was ok and after appetizers of soup and salad I had the roast chicken with sweet potatoes and Paul had prime rib. There was no entertainment in this restaurant and the evening was slightly marred by the entire table (10 of them) of children behind us that were very boisterous and loud. Our fellow table guests were not best pleased either.
After dinner we went to the theatre for the evening’s show that was “Villains Tonight”. It was a stage production with Hades (the ruler of the underworld from the film Hercules) trying to ensure he was still evil enough (having been defeated by Hercules) by enlisting the help of his friends such as Ursula,The Evil Queen, Maleficent, Jafar and Scar. It was not as good as the first night’s show but still good. Afterwards we went back into Pink and had a champagne cocktail then watched a family Disney quiz show before bed.
Tuesday began as all cruise days with breakfast being delivered to our room and consumed on our balcony. We were docked at Castaway Cay (pronounced ‘key’ by Disney for some reason) which is their private Island. It has clearly been well “designed” and was quite idyllic. We got off the boat about mid morning and wandered along the pathways to the beach areas taking photos. At lunchtime we stopped for the on-shore BBQ food which was really good. The weather was amazing, so amazing that I have burned arms to show for it. There were plenty of activities for families to do including lots of the usual water sports as well as bike rides and a water slide called Pelican Plunge.
There were bars and shops as well so we each bought a souvenir t-shirt and had an official photo taken as a memento. We walked all the way down to Serenity Bay, which is the adults’ only beach. We had a paddle in the turquoise blue ocean and then sat in beach chairs with our feet in the sea as the waves lapped. To be absolutely honest, the water was freezing but the scene was certainly paradise. We had decided to get back to the boat for about 2:30 for a ship tour so got the tram all the way back to the boat. We were cutting it fine time wise and then struggled to find the bar the tour start from so ended up missing it. Instead we went to a presentation on the making of the Disney Dream (our boat). I’d got myself a frozen Piña Colada with lashings of rum to sip on so was happy enough 🙂 After this we stayed in the same lounge to here the DVC presentation and as you have already read, they did a good sales job on us! We left there having made an appointment for 9:30pm and went back to our room to get ready for dinner.
Tonight’s dinner was Pirates night and we were in the Royal Palace restaurant. The restaurant was really nice with particularly cute Cinderella Coach breadbaskets. The menu was Mickey and Pirate themed with a Caribbean flavour. I had a Pineapple appetizer whilst Paul opted for the pork dumplings. I then had a jerk chicken salad before a main course of sirloin steak. Paul went for the shrimp and scallop linguini, asking Sean (our server) to de-shell his shrimp. Deserts were rum soaked sponge, yummy. In our cabin we had each been given a bandana and some families had really gone to town with the dressing up. After dinner we went to the theatre, we were late out so had no time for a pre dinner drink. The show was Ronn Lucas, the ventriloquist we had seen on the first night. His main show did not differ much sadly so we saw a lot of the same. He was funny though and is definitely very talented. After he finished we darted to our DVC meeting and were “sold to” by Rob, a very typical American salesman from NJ whose wife was called Cindy. We asked all our questions and got our info but did not want to sign there and the as we still wanted to think about it and work some numbers. He really wanted the sale but we said we may well be back. We were with him an hour which meant we had to run up to deck 11 afterwards as this was fireworks night. DCL is the only ship allowed to set off fireworks at sea from on board. They are called Buccaneer Blast:-
They were excellent, obviously smaller scale as they we set of from the ships funnels, but still excellent. Afterwards there was a show on the deck stage with Captain Jack Sparrow and various Pirate dancers. It was really mild out on deck with no wind and plenty warm enough with just a light cardie. Once the show was over we headed for bed. There was a 3D showing of the 4th Pirates movie in the cinema that we considered but tiredness over ruled.
Wednesday was our sea day so we had a little more of a lie in before breakfast was delivered at about 9:30. Having looked at our planner (called the Personal Navigator as opposed to RC’s Cruise Compass) there was a lot we wanted to do including the ship tour we had missed the day before and various quizzes. Before all of this however, and having done some sums, we called up Rob and made an 11:15 appointment to give him the good news. We couldn’t sign up there and then as paperwork needed t be drawn up but we paid or closing costs and agreed to come back and sign at 2:30pm. We left with a few freebies such as baseball caps, a bag and a really nice wooden box. We grabbed some lunch before we met for the ship tour at 1pm. It was hosted by Lauren; a Brit from Basingstoke. She was new to it (this only being her second tour) but was very good. Her grammar was a little lacking in places (lots of ‘them features’ and ‘them characters’ with seemingly no knowledge the word ‘those’ even existed) but she was enthusiastic and friendly. We learned all sorts of facts from this and the previous days presentation including:
(OK, I’ll be honest, I had to stop here and go for dinner and being really tired after an early start I couldn’t do anymore before bed. So, it’s now Friday morning but I have made a commitment to finish this!)
The ships colour scheme of black, yellow, white and red are the colours of Mickey Mouse
Painting the hull of the ship pure black was a little too imposing so Disney wanted a very dark navy blue. After searching unsuccessfully a meeting was called with several top Disney bigwigs and one of them was a lady in navy trousers; the exact colour they wanted, so they took her trousers and had paint made the same colour. They then named it Monica blue in her honour!
Disney had to get special permission from the Coast Guard to have yellow lifeboats instead of fluorescent orange as was the law. They had to prove their colour was just as noticeable but eventually were granted permission.
Magic and Wonder hold 2000 passengers, the Dream and Fantasy hold 4000
The Magic and Wonder only have “When You Wish Upon A Star” as their horn sound but the Dream has several. On You Tube you can find a video of the ‘battle of the horns’ when The Magic and Dream met each other at Castaway Cay. We’ve watched it and it is so cool.
The tour took us into Remy, one of the restaurants you can pay to eat in. It is $75 a head and French themed. It is based on the film Ratatouille and has a glass model of Remy worth over $45,000 as well as a private dining room that looks exactly like the one in the film. It also has little stools at each table for a lady to put her handbag on so it never has to touch the floor. We also looked at the Bar areas. We had already seen Pink, the champagne bar, but there are about 3 or 4 other bars one of which is called the Skyline. The views from this bar are all LCD screens showing an evening view of a major city. The view looks lifelike with moving cars, flashing lights and waves on the water. Every 15 minutes pixie dust covers the screens and they change to another city. There are about 4 in all so guests can drink for an hour or so and get to see all revolutions. I told you earlier this cruise was neat and way more than just Mickey and his friends. Some if the features and technology are really clever and that’s the Disney we love.
The tour took about an hour and finished in the grand atrium where there is a bronze statue of Admiral Donald. Each ship has a statue: the Magic has Captain Mickey, the Wonder has Ariel and the new Fantasy will have Mademoiselle Minnie. Apparently she has been in over 75 cartoons with Mickey but has never starred in her own feature so the fact she now has her own ship that is bigger than Mickey’s is well deserved according to all the crew.
After the tour concluded we were just in time to see the Princess parade in the Atrium. Cinderella, Snow White, Aurora, Tiana and Belle all floated down the grand staircase and then pranced around signing autographs for the kids. We got a few pics, especially of “Cinders” with “Cinders”. It was now time to go and sign our DVC deeds so we made our way to the office. The whole process took about 20 minutes or so but by 3pm on Wednesday 1st Feb 2012 we were members of the family. Now wherever we go in DVC areas we are greeted with “Welcome Home”. Since the membership gets us some discounts on property (including Raglan Road the Irish Pub at Pleasure Island) we were told we could pick up our membership cards at Saratoga Springs when we disembarked so we could start enjoying our membership immediately.
We had missed one of the trivia quizzes but headed up to another one in the 687 lounge; so named as that was the hull number of our ship as she was built (it is bad luck to refer to a ship by name before it is completed). The quiz was about the Fantasy and as we had learned a lot on our tour and presentation we got quite a lot correct. We were late starting though so couldn’t win as we hadn’t answered all questions.
After a quick look at our Castaway Cay photos in Shutters we got a place on the atrium balcony to see the “See Ya Real soon” show. It turned out not to be a show, just Mickey and friends signing autographs. Since we still had about an hour before dinner we decided to complete the ‘Midship Detective Agency’ assignment. This is another really cool Disney feature. Each ‘detective’ (young or old and trust me there were several adults having more fun with this than the kids) has a key card that is registered to a screen with your detective number. You then need to seek out the enchanted artworks and solve clues. Enchanted artwork are interactive pictures (LCD screens in reality) but again really cleverly done as framed art. You hold your key card to the screen and your clue could be found in some way such as popping the on screen balloons by pointing your card at them, removing metal objects as your card became a magnet and brushing dust away to reveal stuff. All this was done by merely holding a piece of card about 18 inches from the screen – really neat! We solved our crime, that of the missing artwork and it turned out to be Ymza from the Emperor’s New Groove. The other really cool thing is that if you take another assignment you’ll get different clues for a different crime and criminal. We saw our tablemates on their 3rd assignment.
This took us nicely up to getting ready for dinner and we both felt that for a sea day it had absolutely flown by. Not only this but we could have done more and were both a little disappointed that we didn’t ride the Aquaduck but we’ve decided that it’s a reason that we have to come back.
Dinner was in the Royal Palace again and the menu was easily the best all cruise. Paul had 2 steaming bowls of Belle’s French Onion soup whilst I had some sliced duck and then the garlic escargot which were fab. Main course for me was the lamb and Paul had the Beef with Lobster although he didn’t realize it was a lobster medallion and so left it, much to the disgust of fellow diners and serving staff! Desert was an amazing Grand Marnier Soufflé with Crème Anglaise and Paul also had tasters of the others including a peanut butter chocolate mousse that was really nice. Like I said this was definitely the best meal. We gave our tips to our staff (not paying the prepaid full amount) and made our way to the theatre for the final show. The show was called Believe and was the story of a man who didn’t believe in magic but his daughter wanted him to. After finding the Genie he went on a journey with various characters to make him believe. There were plenty of Disney classics like Mary Poppins, Peter Pan, Lion King, Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast along the way so we sang and clapped to our faves. This was the best show of the cruise and we both loved it.
After the show we needed to get some packing done so went back to our room and stuffed it all in our cases, remembering to keep out the next day’s clothes and filling in our comment form. We did take a stroll up to the Outlook bar, the highest point on the ship, but it was closed so we headed down to deck. Paul grabbed a coke and I had a hot chocolate and we went back to bed.
Thursday was an early start; up at 7 for disembarkation. Paul went for breakfast in the dining room but I skipped that. We were all ready to get off by 8am and the atmosphere was very different to RC. There was no push to get out of the stateroom, no sitting around in lounges and no time to disembark. We headed up to mid ship and merely wandered off. No line, no fuss, just shook the Captain’s hand and got off. We have no idea why RC make such a meal of disembarkation and seemingly cause more trouble as a ‘free for all’ by Disney worked way better. We found our cases, had a short wait in line for customs and were in our car and on the road by 8:30am which was amazing (and unheard of with RC).
I’m gonna stop now and get this posted for ya (you’ve probably drowned in tea and put on half a stone from all the biscuits). I’ll complete the ‘back on land’ stuff in the next post.
It’s now Monday morning and we have just had breakfast. A toasted English muffin with grape jelly, a selection of pastries, some juice and a nice cup of tea. We docked about about an hour ago here at Nassau and watched from our balcony as we came in, turned around and docked. It seems like a nice day, although there is a chance of rain in the forecast. We plan to head off for a wander about town once I’ve updated you all on the last day or two.
So, where did I leave you? Saturday night I believe as we headed out to Kobe for dinner. We go there about 5:30 and having made a reservation online were seated within 5 minutes or so. We had two groups of 4 at our table; the first a group of middle aged women seemingly doing Disney and the second a family with parents, adult child and respective partner. We didn’t chat amongst the table to be honest so I can tell you no more about them than that. It was absolutely freezing in Kobe; the whole table ended up donning cardies and jackets. Our chef was Kenny and the food and show was as good as ever. Paul had the shrimp and I had the fillet. The beef was as tender and flavoursome as ever and given we had only had a pastry for lunch we ate a lot; even half the rice bowl! A couple of guests had teriyaki chicken which Paul wants to try next time to see how that flavour compares. We finished up by just after 6:30 and the plan was to go to the beach at the Polynesian to watch the Wishes fireworks. Since we had time to spare we took a scenic route to Disney to ‘sit our dinner down’! We had coats etc in the car as the temperature does drop at night. The car park at the Polynesian was absolutely heaving. We had no idea why but we drove around and around to look for a space. After about 10 minutes we eventually found one and parked. We never did find out why it was so busy, there was no evident signs about an event or anything, strange. There were a few people on the beach and the movie playing was “Cars”. We got a bed to sit on (dusted it down with a towel as there was sand everywhere) and perched. The music was difficult to hear from the speakers but the fireworks were good. The night was very still so the after smoke hung in the air a lot. You a could still see but it became very smoky/cloudy. We made our way home for about 8:45. We did some packing and prep for our cruise but had an early night as we were both shattered.
We were up at 8am on Sunday as we had a 10am checkout. We asked about a top floor room for our reservation later in the week but were told we’d been upgraded to a deluxe suite which is ground floor only so we opted to stay with that and check out the deluxe difference!
We had decided to go to Premium Outlets before making our way down to Port Canaveral and since we knew we had early seating on board, decided on brunch as our best option so headed straight for the food court. We had wanted Charlie’s Steakery Philly Cheese Steaks but when we got there Charlie’s had gone! The other choices weren’t great so we end up with Chinese! It was ok though and did the job.
We had 2 hours before we knew we had to leave so scooted around the shops that we liked. Paul bought a t shirt from Marc Ecko and saw some new polo shirts that he is hoping will be discounted when we are back here in May. We also bought some stuff in the Disney Character Warehouse. Paul got a cool rain pac-a-mac that was on offer, I got a Pirates t-shirt (there is a pirate night on board), we bought some magnets to decorate our stateroom door (as yet still in situ and not been thieved!) and a couple of beach towels that were buy on get one free, so at 10 bucks seemed ideal for a cruise. We reckon we got about $25 worth of savings again, we’re deffo good at this savings lark. I did search for some crop jeans but couldn’t find any at all :-(.
We left Premium at half twelve and got on the 528 to Port Canaveral. It was a gorgeous day. Cooler at 70 degrees but still nice and sunny. We saw several Disney cruise Line coaches on the road and made good time arriving at the port about 1:30. We had pre-booked a check in time of 2pm so all was good. We had considered parking at the Park and Cruise which was cheaper that the port itself but it was a long way out so we opted to pay the extra for the convenience, especially when lugging cases etc. We dropped our cases with the porter and parked in the multi story. There was a gangway into the terminal building and it was very quiet. Boarding had commenced about midday so a lot of passengers were already on board; you could even see folks in the aqueduct. Check in was quick, Paul had completed most things online so it was pretty much a case of getting our key. We were then straight on board for just after 2pm where every family or party is announced on board!
We made our way to our state room to drop off our hand luggage bags (we had packed our evening change of clothes and toiletries just in case the suitcases didn’t get to us in time). The state room is very nice with a sofa area and balcony. The bathrooms are typical cruise ship small but we do have a tub: the worlds smallest tub mind and Paul is practising contortionism as he bathes. We then went exploring the ship staring with handing in our Vinylmation and pens at guest services. After a shaky start the Italian cast member soon knew what we meant and it was absolutely no problem so we will get our signed piece back in our state room on the last day – how cool is that? We then went to Cabanas, the buffet restaurant, as we were a bit peckish and had chip butties. Afterwards we wandered out on the pool deck and into the over 18’s area to get some peace. There were a few kids that kept wandering through so if that continues I feel a complaint coming on! I had a frozen piña colada and Paul had a coke as we sat in the sun and Paul phoned home. We also took a look at the restaurants we’d be eating in. We move between 3 but our serving staff moves with us. Tonight we are at “Animator’s Palate” so we found our table number and had a look around. We are at a table for 8 so we’ll find out later who we are dining with.
The muster drill was planned for 3:45 so we left this area about then and made our way to our muster point K. There is no need to wear the life jackets but the check in and line up is the same as RC. It took about half an hour and afterwards it was the sail away party on deck. We went to take a look and saw the characters and dancers etc. we were each given streamers to wave by a crew member. There was a keen wind on deck and it was very busy so we came to or room to get ready and sail away. The ships horn as we left port is in the tune of “When You Wish Upon A Star”. The ‘bing bong’ for an announcement is the same. I like the little things like that and so far do prefer this to RC.
We got ready and then went for our dinner (our cases had arrived by the way) at 5:45. The waiting staff at “Animator’s Palate” all had shirts with character sketches all over them and the restaurant had screens all around and was decorated with artwork and figurines. As we ate the screens showed Crush (the turtle from “Finding Nemo”) talking to us and there we’re quizzes in the form of fish making shapes of characters that we had to guess. The coolest thing of all though was when Crush had a conversation directly with some diners at tables right by the screens. We tried to spot the guy or cameras but couldn’t.
Our fellow diners were all couples older than us. There were a quiet couple who were first timers like us and the others were gold members consisting of a couple from California and a couple originally from NY state who had retired to Orlando. We talked with them a lot as they were opposite us. They were retired teachers and each worked part time at Disney. He was on the gate at Epcot and we never did quite catch what she did ;-). They travelled a lot too and their retirement sounded idyllic to us. They were a really nice couple and we were envious of their lifestyle. Dinner was 4 courses. Paul started with a mushroom risotto but I skipped appetizers. We then both had the baked potato and cheese soup with bacon bits. It was really nice although each course did seem to arrive with a skin on it as though it had been sitting for a while. As we talked to the couple opposite they said that their favourite cruise line was Carnival which surprised us. We thought this was a bit if a party chavvy boat but they say the food is the best. They actually said that Disney food is the worst although the Disney entertainment on board is easily the best. For main course we chose the Angus beef, cut to order. It was very tender and tasty. I did swap out my wasabi mash for a baked potato but Paul said the wasabi mash was really nice. For desert Paul had the cookies and cream sundae and I had the chocolate brownie cheesecake. Soda is free on board so coke and sprite kept coming to wash it all down. There was some more entertainment from Crush with dancing and a turtle pledge so all in all dinner was pretty good.
We left the dining room at about 7:30 and the show was at 8:30. Doors did not open until 8 so we looked around the ship. Donald Duck was in the atrium and the photo place had a cool twist. Each guest has an allocated photo album where any shots that have been taken are put so no trawling through everyone’s pics and at least no one can man handle your pics. Mind you, it means you can’t laugh at others expense!
We got seats on the front row of the dress circle in the theatre although it was tight I space and Paul’s legs didn’t quite fit! The was some pre show fun in the shape of screens showing the audience with Disney characters super imposed sitting amongst them and also a pre show interview with kids as they came into the theatre. The show was the “Golden Mickeys” which was a tribute to great films and music with awards for friendship, love, hero’s etc. it was a mix of on screen and on stage with excerpts from The Lion King, Mulan, Toy Story, Beauty and the Beast, Tangled, Tarzan and The Hunchback of Notre Dame to name but a few. In true Disney style it was excellent.
After the show we made our way to the Pink bar. It is designed to look like a pink champagne glass with bubbles all around. It is adults only so again we could get some peace. We had a champagne cocktail and chat to the bar tender, a young Slovenian girl. She had plenty to say so we whiled away 40 minutes or so. We had considered going to a show called Mirror Mirror but she said it was for kids so instead we went to another adult lounge to watch Ronn Lucas, a ventriloquist. He has been on TV loads, including the UK where he appeared on “A Night At The London Paladium” in front of the queen. His show was hilarious and we sipped cocktails as we watched; Paul with a mojito and me with a chocolate martini. The show ended just before 11 and as we were tired we opted for bed. I slept really well, comfy bed and pillows but Paul said he was a bit restless. It is quite noisy though with a fair amount of banging and clattering going on.
So, we’re back to this morning and now we’re all showered and this is typed we are off to explore Nassau.
Yippee I hear you cry; a blog to read at last! I’ll get on with it then and our journey begins with a very long flight from Manchester: 9 hours 40 mins in total. We were about an hour late leaving too as there had been a delay to the incoming flight. It’s was actually the Gatwick flight (as always) but they seemed to swap our planes so we can’t seem to avoid the dreaded Gatwick curse no matter how we try. The flight was ok. The new Premium seats are comfy enough and after no queue at check in we managed to get moved to the front row with oodles of leg room. This also meant we got stand alone foot stools which were pretty cool too. The cabin was half empty and the crew we really good (a tad northern so there were lots of “love”, “darlin” and “duck” as they addressed us but definitely very friendly and helpful). The food was a bit grim. We are not used to the tightly packed tray of square plastic containers and foil covered muck, and missed our china plated course by course service. There was a very nice Lilly O’Brian’s desert though and some cheese and crackers to fill up on. Afternoon tea was cheese and onion finger sandwiches and a scone. Not a warmed scone with your choice of fruit or plain but a cold dry one so Paul proceeded to pick out his fruit as I picked the onion from my sandwiches. Have we become too fussy and spoiled do you think??
The flight itself was relatively smooth. Landing was bumpy but other than that no seat belt signs. Paul amused himself with a very macabre foreign film (The Skin I Live In) that we were amazed was shown on a flight. I did lots of puzzles, read lots of magazines and had a snooze I must confess.
We landed at about 3:30 local time and made it off the plane, through security and into our hire car in under an hour. Virgin do excel at priority baggage it had to be said. The airport was very quiet. We made our way directly to the Mall at Millenia, parked outside Neiman Marcus (creatures of habit that we are) and headed to Tiffany’s. We did stop briefly at Jimmy Choo and the Sony store en route. We picked up my bracelets (plain silver with an open heart and starfish charm on them) then had a brief look in L’Occitane and Swarovski before heading back to the car. It was rush hour traffic so I4 was heaving as made our way back to the 192 and into TGI’s for some food. Paul had Jack Daniels sesame chicken bites and I had Jack Daniels chicken breast. Great food as ever and needed after the inflight servings. We made a final stop at Publix for some essentials before checking into the Bahama Bay resort.
Our apartment is good. Great location over looking the lake, quiet and sunny outlook and given the price (35 quid a night) awesome value. The ordinary double bed was a bit of a shame as we like a king and the child upstairs is annoying as he/she runs up and down their apartment. The wifi is slow and the tub is small but despite those niggles it’s extremely pleasant as I sit on our balcony and type this.
Today we we up about 8. I think Paul was earlier so I made the most of having all of the double bed. We left about 9:15 and went for breakfast at the McDonalds on Osceola Parkway in Disney. Even at that time in the morning as the sun shone down on us it was really warm. We ate brecky in t-shirts outside in January. As Paul tweeted this morning, this is why we’d rather be in Florida at this time of year than Blighty.
After breakfast we made our way to Downtown Disney, Marketplace. It was really warm and sunny. We wandered around the shops and made a few purchases (well it is me after all). I got a top (blue with red lip shapes on it) and a case for my camera (so that Paul could have my existing one). It was actually an iPhone case but fits my camera perfectly and being purple with Tinkerbell on it is right up my street. Being an iPhone case it came with a hard shell for the iPhone so Paul now proudly displays the WDW Cinderella castle on the back of his phone.
We also bought a large white Mickey Vinylmation that we intend to get signed by the characters on our cruise. Apparently you can give any item to a cast member to get signed so we’ll find out later if that’s true. If not then look on eBay for the Vinylmation ;-).
Paul also bought a Disney book with photography ideas and we each bought an insulated mug for our morning tea on the way to work. Our purchases allowed us to get some items on offer so we now also own a Disney tote bag and a fleece throw with the castle on it.
We left Downtown and headed over to the Florida Mall. The traffic was pretty good so we made good time. The Mall was reasonably quiet. Local weekend folk but nothing too busy. Purchases included some Pandora beads for my bracelet (which retail at the same amount in dollars as pounds back home), some nail products (incl a purple lacquer), some Yankee candles (gingerbread mmmmm), a Tinkerbell shower gel and body lotion set (from the Disney store) and a very cool PanAm flight bag, authentic as carried by those in the recent TV show. We also got the ‘Sharpies’ for the character sigs I mentioned. All this expense better not be in vein. We managed to use vouchers and save about $50 in all as well as getting some freebies incl shampoo and lipgloss samples.
We returned to the apartment about 4pm and had a cuppa on the balcony. We are now going to freshen up before going to Kobe for dinner. We are going to meal share as the supplement still makes it cheaper. We are coupon and savings aficionado’s now!!
Well here it is, my final posting of this trip. I don’t know about you folks but its gone well quick for us with this final week flying by.
We’re all checked in and bags dropped off at the Downtown Disney check-in service and now back at the villa for the final couple of hours tidying round (and saying our goodbyes to it :-(). We’ve packed all 3 cases (incl. the broken one) and each weighed in heavy but under our upper class allowance thankfully. Just hope now we don’t get stopped by UK customs as we have a lot of luggage – must be all those prezzies we’ve bought y’all 😉
So yesterday, we went out quite late after doing some work stuff (trying to get back into it :-() and headed to Wall Mart. We’ve not been to one this trip and needed to stock up on cheap pills! We went to the one up the 27 and got our pills, some Xmas cards and some cool Xmas signs for the house back home. After self serve check out we decided to go next door to Chili’s for lunch. Since this would be our food for the day we needed a decent meal to help us get around Disney at our pace! There was an offer on for 20 bucks to share a starter and get a main dish each so we opted for that starting with the tortilla chips and salsa dip (I’m sure these used to be brought to the table free before) followed by chicken fajita’s. The food was good and was just what we needed to fill us up.
We left Chili’s and made our way to the Stein Mart store. It was not what either of us expected. Full of old folks and old fashioned like a 1970’s C&A! It did have good brands at cheap prices though. It was not a huge store so we left fairly quickly and got on the road to Disney. Whilst Mickey’s very merry Christmas party officially starts at 7pm guests can get in as early as 4pm and we’d decided about 6pm was good for us. We’d looked at the sample plan in Chili’s and there was an offer to watch the fireworks from the Tomorrow Land terrace with a buffet included. It said go to the restaurant for reservations but we thought we’d call and see. We did so but it was all fully booked; still, something for us to try and get for next time.
It was a cold evening so as we parked at Disney (seemingly way back) we added all our layers. The courtesy tram to the ticketing and transportation centre was freezing and we hoped that the park with all its people would be warmer. We decided to get the monorail to the park entrance….Por favor mantenganse alejado de las puertas.
There is also a ‘Tronorail’ running at the mo – a Tron painted monorail train but it was running on the other line.
We got into the park just before 6pm (timed to perfection by us as always). Since the Carousel of Progress is always closed during these evening special events but we were still officially in the daytime hours, we thought we’d go and see if it was running. It was and I was delighted. I adore this ride! It needs a little updating in places now but I merrily sang along as always.
After this we made our way to the TTA Peoplemover. The train ride that goes around Tomorrow Land and through shops and rides such as Buzz Lightyear’s Space Rangers and Space Mountain. Space Mountain was closed for re-furb this time last year but its now re-opened with jazzy music added. We saw the cars flying round in the dark and heard the screams of the riders.
After this we went over to Fantasy Land and stopped in one of the café’s for our complimentary cocoa and cookies. We needed a warm up after the train ride. As we went in there was a Mickey Mouse outline on the floor done in water – not just the round head and ears symbol either, a proper Mickey with detail. We reckon the cast members must have a stencil or something. When we finished our cocoa it had all but dried up.
We then went into Small World where the queuing system has changed and the exit is now the entry! And then to Philharmagic; Paul’s all time fave ride. We walked straight into a loading show with no wait at all. The smell of the cherry pie was good and this show still amazes new audiences as well as entertaining old hands like us over and over.
As we then walked through the Park we saw the 7 dwarfs at a photo spot and got a quick pic ourselves. We saw Hook and Smee later too.
Paul also loves the Haunted Mansion ride but ever since the guy touched me in the dark room at the start I’ve hated it and refused to ride. This time Paul persuaded me with a promise to protect me in the first room. I also had my lighy-up Tinkerbell on so had my own light source around me to help too. The complete darkness was not for long and my Tink certainly helped me see. The actual ride itself is really clever with some great special effects.
When we came out the parade so was in full swing so getting about the park is difficult. We found a quiet bridge where we could stand and watch (video posted for you to enjoy too). The park was fairly busy with what seemed like an inordinate amount of mobility scooters and pushchairs.
As the parade ended we made our way through the crowds over to Pirates of the Caribbean. Again there was no queue and we got straight on (despite folks struggling with the boarding system big time!) After we exited we figured we’d get one more Philharmagic show in before the 9:30pm fireworks so headed on over. We were in the waiting area at 5 to 9 as the cast member announced there was a technical fault. About half those waiting opted to leave but we said we’d give it 10 mins. Literally, within a couple of minutes the doors opened so we were ok. Paul always likes to do this show twice!
We exited at about 9:15 – perfect timing to go and get out spot for the fireworks.
As soon as the fireworks ended we left the park. We managed to get straight on a tram and into the monorail station without too many crowds. We had just missed a monorail train so waited a couple of mins for the next but got on ok….Por favor mantenganse alejado de las puertas.
We were back in the car by 10pm. It was getting quite cold now but we’d been ok in the park; in and out of rides.
We did a bit of packing when we got in and emptied the owners’ closet (in case we get charged for disposal of items by the new owners). With all 3 cases we should have no problems getting stuff home.
Well, that’s about it…oh yeah, I forgot to post that we managed to get an old 1912 Penny in our change one day. It’s worth about $1.65 as it’s really battered but mint it could be worth 100’s! Either way, it’s nearly 100 years old and is rare because of some Titanic association that we can’t quite work out. We’ll deffo keep it as a collectors piece.
So, this really is it. We leave the villa in about an hour. Drop the car off and head for the lounge hoping for a smooth flight with no delays. In the words of Mickey himself…see ya real soon!
I left you on Friday evening as we were headed off to the California Grill. We left the villa about 8:15 and after popping some papers into IPG we got to Disney’s Contemporary Resort hotel at about 8:45 – perfect timing! The air was cool but still a seemingly very pleasant evening. We checked into the restaurant at the 1st floor check in desk then got into the elevator to the 15th floor where the restaurant is. It was pretty full and given the prices surprisingly with a lot of families. Mind you, it is included in the Disney dining package. We had been given a lighty-up thing to tell us when our table was ready so sat on bar stool perusing the menu. We were called bang on 9 so didn’t have to wait at all really. We were shown to a pretty good table. Not quite at the window but next row back and with a clear view of the castle and Magic Kingdom. Fireworks would be at 10pm so we would get a good view although there is an outside observation deck too.
There were 3 choices of starters: flatbreads, sushi or usual appetizers. The prices were high and the food was a little pretentious for our taste. We elected to share a starter of hearts of romaine lettuce with garlic sauce, Parmesan and croutons (or to the rest of the non pretentious world a caesar salad). We got them to hold the anchovies and olives though! We had soft drinks and water and got a basket of bread too. For main course we both elected to have the fillet of beef. This came with dauphinoise potatoes, ginger carrots and barbeque sauce (yep barbeque sauce). The piece of beef that arrived was huge – had to be 10oz easily. The rest of the portion was small as posh cuisine is. It was very nice steak it has to be said and it did melt in the mouth but the rest of the dish was nothing special and certainly not worth the prices in our opinion. We were served this course quite quickly as the waiter was timing us to be between courses for the fireworks bless him.
By now it was 9:50 so we decided to head out to the observation deck to watch “wishes”. It was very breezy out there which made it decidedly chilly. The music is played on the deck and in the restaurant so you can enjoy the show properly. Of course the perspective is a little wrong as the fireworks are meant to be viewed from in front of the castle and this is more side on. As the fireworks started it soon became apparent that there was very low thick cloud – almost like a mist or fog and as the fireworks went into it you couldn’t actually see them go off!! What a huge disappointment; all you could see was a coloured glow in the cloud! Paul took some video footage of it that can be found below.
We made our way back to our table and I decided to have the coconut and mango Panna Cotta for dessert. Paul elected to have a coffee. The dessert was really nice (despite my mango salsa on the plate being described as looking like sick by Paul). All in all we finished up by about half 10. We’re glad we did it as had not done so before but won’t rush to do it again – and when the bill came to more than I spent in Tiffany’s it’s a poor show 😉
We came home and pretty much went straight to bed with a cuppa and some TV viewing.
OK so some news updates: Pool heating still not fixed, we’ve found Delilah on another station and the Shuttle launch planned for the early hours of Tuesday has been postponed to 17th Dec. We’re quite gutted as there are only ever to be 2 more so we’ll never get to see it. As a result we can adjust our itinerary though and make the most of the weather.
Saturday was somewhat dull and overcast. We had a lie in and mooched around by the pool for most of the day. It was nice to simply relax and although the weather wasn’t hot it was nice enough to sit out – in some respects better than being too hot. We watched a lot of English TV on the laptop (Harry Hill, John Culshaw’s impressions show and a Corrie episode!). We’d got bread, bagels, crisps etc in the house so had enough for lunch.
We’d decided to go to Kobe for dinner after it being closed on Thanks giving. We wanted to eat earlier again so went out about 5:45. We must have got to Kobe about 6:15 and it was heaving – a 45 minute wait is what we were told. We sat with a drink at the bar as they called table after table and after at least 45 mins we eventually got called. Paul was just on his feet to check with them as they said it was our turn. We were seated around the corner of the table between a couple and a family of 4 young adults and 2 kids. No one really attempted to converse with the others at first and the family were local so clearly knew all the staff. The family then did talk to the couple next to us about baseball teams and it was then that we noticed we were the only white people in the whole bunch. Neither Paul nor I are racist at all, but these folk certainly proved to us that they were. Not one of them acknowledged we were even there all night. The family also ordered single meals to share amongst not only the kids but also the adults and as the chef knew them gave them extra portions too – bang out of order in our opinion.
The staff in Kobe seem to have changed a lot. The blonde is no longer on the front desk and there are way more western staff. We had a drinks server called Mitchell who had clearly had a bad day and was gonna let us know about it. Our chef was Takashi and was slow! The order of food has changed too. The portions have reduced (which is no bad thing as you got way too much before) but now the rice was served in bowls before the meat not at the very end like before. Since I hold onto my noodles until my beef arrives I had to wait through 1 veggie course, 2 lots of shrimp and the rice being cooked and served before my meat was even started. We presumed since one person was having a vegetarian meal they do this so as all her food is served before the meat goes anywhere near the grill. Sadly it meant my noodles were stone cold by the time my steak arrived. I’d opted for the fillet and it was a really nice cut. Very tender and tasty – just about worth the wait. Paul had opted to shrimp and steak so had finished his noodles and shrimp and then had steak with the rice. The food was as good as ever but the service was poor so we ensured this was reflected in our 2 dollar tip, which we hoped was more insulting that leaving nothing.
We came out of Kobe at half 8 and headed down the 192. We were off to Heritage Park in Osceola as it has a drive-thru lights display. It was only 15 mins away and despite trying to enter through the exit at first we made our way in. It was 10 bucks flat rate entry fee. It was pretty good. They had the 12 days of Christmas all in lights (which amused us trying to work out what each set of lights was representing), Santa playing basketball, reindeer hiding behind trees, Merry Christmas signs and the usual baubles, candy canes etc etc. It only took 10 to 15 mins to drive through (even at walking pace) but was good and something we’d not seen or done before. There is a promo video embedded here for you to watch (this is not our footage mind)
We came home and watched X-Factor on ITV-player with the obligatory cuppa.
It is now Sunday mid morning (well it was when I started this, it could well be lunchtime by now). It’s another hot and sunny day so we’ve caught some rays out by the pool. Paul looks like a foreigner as ever with his skin that goes brown at even the thought of the sun and the good news is his cold is on the way out today.
We are going to head out to Premium and Prime Outlets on I drive today as they are outside and we want to make the most of the weather. The forecast looked bleaker next week with dull days and rain tomorrow and Wednesday. We have a park day planned for Tuesday right now, as this still looks to be fine.
So, you wanna know what bargains we got in the black Friday sales huh? Well all in good time my friends, as firstly we need to catch up as I am posting later than usual.
I think I left you on Thanks Giving morning as we contemplated a drive out to Daytona. Since little would be open we thought this would fill the day and we set off on I4. After only 20 mins though Paul had a bright idea to go to Downtown Disney instead (after Sunday’s boycott for those of you really paying attention) so we got off I4. We knew it would be busy and we did struggle to park to begin with but once you went way back there were spaces – it just meant more of a walk, which we know the Americans hate 🙂
We started off at Marketplace and firstly checked out the new chicken restaurant on the old McD’s site to see if it was any good for future use. It was kind of KFC like with a Mexican twist. We weren’t ready to eat at that point but may well try it at some point in the future. We made our way past the Lego shop and into the World of Disney store. The little princess boutique was now taking place in the window and there were plenty of little girls wandering around with the obligatory scraped back and glittered hair with blue eye shadow. There were a few new Tink items but nothing that really inspired. A lot of the items are for kids and are too brightly coloured. Paul has been contemplating buying the re-mastered Beauty and the Beast BluRay but as yet keeps putting it back. We left empty-handed and went into the Glass store. I sooooo wish I’d bought the Swarovski Tinkerbell when she was out as she’s now retired and can’t be bought anywhere. There were Disney glass Tinks and some high priced jewelled ones but again nothing inspired.
We wandered through sports and apparel stores and into Mickey’s Pantry where there is a new section dedicated to spices and teas. After this we headed on though the Christmas shop and out to design-a-tee and the Art of Disney store.
It was scorching hot so we bought some drinks and sat by the lagoon for a while. Paul managed to break his ipad somehow (fear not he fixed it later) that he carries around constantly as well as an iphone and some other gadgetry device!
We decided to get the boat over to Westside to check out what’s new over there and meander back. Gone is the Diana Exhibit as is the Memorabilia shop. The restaurants are all there and there is a new “build a car” store in the old Virgin Megastore (that had been the Diana exhibit). The idea is that you build a toy remote control car from various bits – a little like build a bear for boys (and tom boys). The idea was good and whilst we would have no doubt had fun building the end result was very much a child’s toy and the components soon added up in cost too so we didn’t partake!
The magic shop is still there as is Disney Quest, the sweet shop and a trinkety shop called Hoi Polloi. Then the old memorabilia shop is now a Disney store. On the way past eagle eyed Paul spotted a Chanel logo charm on the floor. It looked real so like a magpie I picked it up with the intent of making my own Chanel keying!!
The Disney shop here was full of the Vinylmation. These are plastic Mickey Mouse figurines that come decorated. The idea is that you don’t know what you get as the boxes are unmarked and kids (and adults) collect and trade them. There are several ranges like Parks 1 thru’ 5, Toy Story, Muppets, sports etc etc. Some recent ones are available to buy as seen ie you do know what you get. The standard size is about 3 to 4 inches but there is a large 6-inch version and a 1 to 2 inch key chain version too. There are also plain ones that you can customise by drawing on them and sticking things on them. I was going to buy one with some glitter in an attempt to create a bling Vinylmation but decided I am not creative so didn’t! Instead I bought a key chain. They were all ok bar a vile green and black one so I didn’t mind which of the other 17 I got. As I paid the server asked if I wanted to open it there and then. A little girl had just opened her normal size one and was ecstatic so at risk of an anti-climax I declined and opted to keep the suspense until later.
We wandered back past the balloon (which had very little queue after our 1 hour wait last year!) and though Pleasure Island back to Marketplace. The T Rex restaurant was heaving and seemingly has build-a-dino now too.
We walked back to the car and I decided to open by key chain……………. You know what’s coming don’t you? Yep, the bloody green and black one. Paul reckons he could have put money on it. I want to know why I deserve bad karma.
We left Downtown Disney and came home. We’d skipped lunch again so it was to be an early tea once more. Paul wanted his beloved Kobe so we set out about 6pm. As we approached we had a minor spider incident in the car – it crawled up the windscreen and out of site. Being dark I did not relish the journey home sharing with Mr spider and as I stressed out Paul got even stressier as he found Kobe to be closed! I know it’s Thanks Giving but surely these guys aren’t really American 😉
As we left Kobe Mr spider decided to show himself and Paul managed to squish him. As long as Mrs spider doesn’t come looking for him we’re ok.
We headed back down the 192 and decided on TGI’s. It was busy but we got seated easily enough. Paul had the chicken and prawn pasta again and I had the Jack Daniels’ chicken. The food was good but we seemed to be rushed through by our server.
We came home and decided to watch The Office DVD we had bought. It was unseen footage in small scenes. It started ok but after a while the DVD player began to play up to such an extent we had to give up. Being region coded we couldn’t watch it on the laptop before you ask and yes we do have a US player at home to watch it on thanks!
We needed to get an early night so went to bed setting our alarm for 7am!
When it went off at 7 this morning we were remarkably awake so leapt out to get ready. We got a drive thru’ brekky from Ronald as ever and arrived at the Florida Mall just after 8:30.
It was really busy at the Mall – seemingly more so than we remembered last year. We managed to find a parking space by the hotel. The cars were streaming out (there was a bigger queue to exit than to get in!) and people were walking out with tons of shopping – they’d taken suitcases and holdalls to fill!
So if you’re still with me we’re at the purchases bit (I often wonder if by this point you really are enthralled or bored witless but I get good feedback (honest) so I continue to drivel on). First stop was Nine West and I tried on some black wedge heeled ankle boots and a pair of black work shoes (heels and buckles on the front). The work shoes were 50% off the already discounted price coming in at $25 so were a must. The boots still worked out at 80 bucks so I decided were a no go.
After this we headed down to the Apple store. All Mac Air notebooks had $101 off so I got well excited as I want to get the 11inch. But guess what? It was all EXCEPT the 11 inch (bad karma again – not happy). Given it was still full price at 1000 bucks there was no reason to buy today so I’ll decide at the end of the holiday. There was money off ipods too for anyone who wanted one.
Then it was Sephora (a make-up store). I wanted some Dior eye shadow, which I did get but sadly at full price. After this we went into Macy’s but could see no door busters or deals. A few shops have gone from the Mall including my beloved Steve Madden (a shoe shop). A stop at Trade Secret next to get my nail stuff and then into Dillard’s. I invested in some Spanx (body control undies as it happens to us all ;-)) and also found a fab Ugg handbag. Being Ugg it was also full price as they don’t discount (if you ever see discounted Uggs I guarantee you they are fake (or knock off!)). We also got a few crimbo prezzies and I got a Blackberry case. Paul has a cold so was not really in the mood for shopping so got nothing at all!
So, all in all a few purchases but other then my Nine West shoes no real black Friday bargains.
We left the Mall at half 11 and headed to Subway for some lunch. We have 9pm reservations at the California Grill tonight so wanted a light lunch to see us through. We went to the old Goodings plaza and sat outside to eat.
After this we had to go to the IPG office to deal with the house short sale paperwork. We met with Craig who’d gone way too far with the teeth whitening and sun-bed in my opinion but seemed ok. A bit of a wide boy brit but insists this is our best option. We signed our paperwork and came home to write our hardship letter and fill in our finances table. And that’s where we are now. Out by the pool emailing, blogging and filling in the necessary. We’ve had a downpour but it’s cleared up now and the temperature is really pleasant. We have a couple of hours before we need to head out so are chillaxing!
We have not been to California Grill before so hope it is good. It is in Disney’s Contemporary Resort hotel and has a view of the ‘Wishes’ fireworks at Magic Kingdom. You’ll get the review soon enough readers so for now I’ll sign off.
