# The 75% All New Trip! - All done! Bonus Material finished, Link to new TR!



## franandaj

The 75% All New Trip!


Welcome to my latest Trip Report!

I'm sure there are some of you out there who are reading the title and scratching your heads wondering "What the...?"  

Or maybe it's just psoriasis. 
You might want to get that checked out. 
Sorry. 

Maybe you're just wondering how can a DVC member of over seven years can take a trip and call it 75% new? Or not.

Regardless of whether you’re wondering or not, I'm going to tell you anyways. You see this trip actually caused me a small amount of anxiety. 

Not anything tremendous or that would require heavy medication, but just a slight feeling of “OCD planner’s” discomfort in the days preceding the trip. 

First we were sailing on a brand new ship. We didn't know where anything was on the ship, plus it was going to be twice as big as any other ship we'd ever sailed on. 

Second, for the WDW portion, we hadn't stayed at this resort in over seven years. Granted we did stay in the Treehouses in 2010, but we had a car and barely used the transportation system, and we would be staying in SSR proper.  Two people don't need a three bedroom tree house! People are always talking about how big and sprawling SSR is, and how the buses suck.

Third, the ADRs. I had purposely made almost all new ones, partially to get us out of our comfort zone, but also because these were all really places I wanted to try. 

All these things considered, I had mixed feelings in the days before the trip.  There was great excitement along with a little bit of trepidation. 

However, in the end it was all good.







When I was trying to come up with a title for the TR I started to do the math about our stay. 

a) Of the 10 nights, five of those we slept in places completely new to us. Of the five nights at SSR we were in a completely different section than last time. There are five sections where your room can be located, and each one has a different feel to it, so that counts as half new in my book, making it 75% new on the accommodations. 

b) When I counted all the places where we dined of the 20 locations 15 were new. That kinda sealed it up for me 75% new. 

c) Throw in the fact that I've never been to WDW during the Christmas season, this to me adds a whole element of newness.

Now I don’t think there is ever a need to justify *why* one is taking a trip to Walt Disney World, so I won’t do that. However, for every trip, there is always a backstory, so I think it’s benefitting to this trip to give a little bit of that before we begin. Let me introduce the players.  Most of you know us, Alison & Fran. We’re basically fun loving, bonafide Disney Freaks.





Many of you may have followed my trip report Sharing the Disney Magic with Naked Jim, and you know that originally we had planned to take a trip in April for a week at Disney World followed by four nights on the Dream. 

But that came crashing to an end when Fran fell and broke her leg in two places about a month prior to the trip. Well exactly one month prior to the trip.

So once we had seen the Orthopedic Surgeon and found out that there would be no surgery involved in the healing process we were clear to rebook a WDW trip. Obviously it would take place later in the year once her recovery was complete. Since we are somewhat retired we are free to take our trips at any time of the year we see fit, late June through September are pretty much off limits for us due to the heat and humidity in Florida. October was out of the question since we had a cruise to the Mexican Riviera, so that pretty much left November and December. We tend to schedule vacations around our band performances and we had a concert set for November 1st. Our band also plays out at Disneyland usually sometime in the first 2-3 weeks of November. Thanksgiving this year was with my parents at our house, so that ruled out November. I had never been to WDW during Christmas season so December sounded good to me.  When the closing of the Osborne lights was announced, I was happy to get a chance to see them one last time before they went away for good.

Now there was one small problem. I’m sure some of you know that we have had a black cloud hanging over our heads for over a year and a half. We moved into our lovely new house in June of 2014, and our old apartments stood untouched for almost a year. Sure we took some of the things we needed, clothes, kitchen supplies, and other mementos. For the most part, though, we bought almost all new furniture, and we had artwork and home décor that had been sitting in storage for years waiting for our Dream house to come to fruition. This meant a whole bunch of cra….er precious items have been sitting around the old house since we moved out.  I got a kick in the butt six months ago when we needed to have the second apartment ready by August 1 for a tenant, but that only helped us get the stuff out of apartment #2 and bring it over to apartment #1. Some of you might also know that we also had a goal to have both apartments cleaned about before said trip last April, and obviously it didn’t happen. So this has caused a sore spot for Fran that will come up later in this trip, but I get ahead of myself.

We had a couple of crazy weeks leading up to this trip, parents visiting over Thanksgiving, DIS friends in town the following week, and as a result we were in a packing craze in the days ahead of our departure date, but I’ll get to that later. 

I’ve given our detailed our plans back in my “Sharing” TR, so I’ll just summarize them in a nutshell. 

Fly to MCO, stay in Airport Hotel
Board Disney Dream for four nights
Stay at SSR for 5 nights with our primary objective to try new experiences and explore the resorts and their decorations.

The rest? Well you’ll just have to read along to find out how it all turns out!


----------



## franandaj

Day 2
Boarding the Ship, Embarkation Lunch, Stateroom Photos - Page 2
Checking Out the Ship - Page 3
A Tale of Three Cities & An Animated Evening - Page 4

Day 3
A New Day Dawns - Page 5
Avoiding the Funk - Page 7

Day 4
A Whole New Day - Page 8
Livin' the Island Life Mon - Page 9
Why we skipped Palo - Page 10

Day 5
Our Day at Sea - Page 11
The Day at Sea Comes to an End - Page 12

Day 6
Page 14

Day 7
Morning at DHS - Page 15
Lunch and Epcot Resort Decorations  - Page 16
The End of a Day - Page 17

Day 8

The Start of a New Day - Page 17
Finishing the MK Resorts and Morimoto's - Page 18

Day 9

A New Day At Epcot - Page 19
All That and There's No Casino - Page 20

Day 10

Back to our Old Ways - Page 21 & 22
Our Afternoon at the MK - Page 22
Last Night of the Trip - Page 23

Day 11

All done - Page 24

Bonus Material

Day 1 
Starts Now!  (Departure Date) - Page 26

Day 2 
Memphis Tour - Page 27
Barbeque Lunch - Page 28
We're on the Boat! - Page 29

Day 3
Breakfast - Page 30
More Touring the Boat - Page 31
If Ya Can't Win, Eat & Drink - Page 31

Day 4
Breakfast and a Mississippi Valley History Lesson - Page 33
Relaxing and Dinner - Page 34

Day 5
Ante-bellum southern living - Page 34
Chillin on the Boat - Page 35

Day 6
Chillin on the Boat - Page 35
A Tale of Two Plantations - Page 36
Post Laundry Dinner - Page 37

Day 7 
The Red Stick (Le Baton Rouge) - Page 37
Louisiana History Museum & Dinner - Page 39

Day 8
There's Gators in Them There Swamp - Page 39

Day 9
We're off the Boat - Page 39
Getting a Feel for the City - Page 40

Day 10
Lunch at Commander's Palace - Page 40
Touring the City and Dinner (sort of) Page 40

Day 11-12
Taste Touring, Dinner, and Ugh - Page 41


----------



## franandaj

And to get things started, here comes the first update, or maybe you might call it a pre-update.

I got all my clothes packed by Friday, and to her credit Fran gave me quite a few of her clothes to pack that day. Saturday we had a HUGE list of things to do including a trip to Walmart to try and find shoes, and other groceries that we were bringing for the WDW part. We finally got home from shopping sometime after dark (possibly 6PM) and then began the mad dash to get the remaining items into the suitcases. We ordered delivery on our way home, and at this point, I don’t even remember what it was, pizza I think? 

I finally finished packing the suitcases by 10PM. The car was loaded by 11PM. I think we spent the next hour working on Fran's carryon. At 12:37 I gave up on neurotically randomizing the cat food cans for our cat sitter Naked Jim, and sent him a text that he would need to randomize them himself and make sure they didn’t get too many cans of salmon on any one day. I can only imagine that I passed out almost immediately after.

I remember seeing 4:45 when I was getting dressed, later Fran told me she had to rip the covers off of me and pull me up by my arms to wake me. This actually is not unusual. Many of our trips begin this way. We were on our way to the airport by 5:30 and after a stop at Mickey D's, we were on the road to LAX. Our normal plan, drop Fran, the bags and scooter with a curbside porter, I show my ID, I park, and come back, worked just fine. 

Everything on the way to the gate went relatively smoothly and soon we were on board the plane. We had these cool movie screens at our seats with on demand in flight movies. 





Normally I might like to start vacation with a Bloody Mary or some other adult beverage, but I just didn’t get enough sleep so instead I went with coffee.





Fran had her usual Diet Dr. Pepper





We were served breakfast on the plane.  I got the oatmeal and it was pretty good.





Fran went with the Cheese Omelet with Turkey Sausage. She liked her choice well enough too.





For the first part of the flight I watched Aladdin (Disney cartoon version). Later I put on the movie Trainwreck.  I thought it was supposed to be a comedy, but I didn’t really find it very funny. As the flight was nearing the end, I started Monsters University. Throughout the flight, there was WAY more turbulence than I was comfortable with. Maybe it’s just that it’s been a while since I’ve flown, or maybe it was bad, but the flight home was not nearly as scary.

Once we had disembarked the plane, it took forever for Fran’s scooter to come up from underneath, and we figured that by the time we got back to the terminal and baggage claim that our bags would be sitting in a corner waiting for us as if we were terrorists who abandoned them.

Eventually the scooter arrived and it was time to take the fake monorail.





When we got to Baggage Claim, two of our bags were on the carousel, but they were still working on the rest of the bags and most of the folks on our plane were still waiting for their bags. After our Wonder Cruise and having to handle all our own bags, Fran purchased us all new luggage, 4 sets to be exact. But they all had spinning wheels, so when it came to our bags for this trip, we had spinners on our luggage. So when we decided to take our own luggage from baggage claim to the in airport hotel, it wasn’t a huge ordeal.  In fact we were in our room well before 5PM when I was scheduled to meet the personal shopper. The room was plenty nice and served our needs for at least one night. The gal at the front desk tried to get us a room with a bathtub, but that didn’t work out.





















Delivery was running late and arrived about 5:30 instead of the agreed 5:00, but our only appointment was dinner in the airport at our leisure. The groceries cost a lot more than I expected. The delivery fee was about equivalent to the cost of the groceries, but without it we wouldn't have had any Diet Mtn Dew on the cruise for Fran and we would have had to forage for breakfast in the airport instead of just nosh in the room the next day.

There were a couple of problems though, I had ordered one of those cups of Honey Nut Cheerios where you just remove the lid pour in the milk, and eat. No they didn’t have any cheerios in a bowl so she got me a box. The problem was how to eat them without a bowl?  Plus, I totally forgot about utensils! We had cereal and yogurt and nothing to eat them with!  Well we would figure something out.

Now that we had our groceries all that was left to do on this night was eat dinner. It had been a long time since I’d had that oatmeal on the plane and I was pretty starving.

There’s a Macaroni Grill in the airport and that seemed to me like as good a place as any to get a nice sit down meal. I eat enough fast food at home, that I really don’t want to eat fast food on vacation if I can avoid it. Our waiter’s name was Greg and he brought us a nice piece of bread and seasoned the oil with black pepper.





We started off with a Caprese Salad that we split





Fran ordered the Mushroom Ravioli in a Sherry Cream Sauce.





I got the Chicken Parmesan with capellini. It was really good, but way too huge a serving.





Greg was kind enough to pack up our leftovers, he even gave us another loaf of bread, but more importantly we got utensils. When we went through the hotel earlier, Fran spied a Cinnabon and she wanted one of those to take to the room for dessert. While at the food court, she noticed that Quiznos had soup and picked me up a bowl. She offered to buy it, but they were nice enough to just give one to her. Once we got back to the room, I found an NCIS marathon of old episodes that I ended watching while catching up on the DIS on my phone.  I knew this would be my last chance for a few days, so I tried to catch up on as much as I could. Eventually I fell asleep to the crime solving team of Gibbs, DiNozzo, Scuitto, and McGee.

So now that we are all settled in on the East Coast, we’ll get this party started in the next update!


----------



## mvf-m11c

Nice to see your latest trip report. Looking forward to hearing your adventures.


----------



## Steppesister

Subbing in as well, Alison.  back to comment in a bit....


----------



## Dis_Yoda

I'm here.  Train wreck would have been funny to you if you knew 20/30 somethings that live like that, which sadly I do (and thus it makes me happy I've been in a relationship for so long)  

Looks like you had a nice travel day!  Glad Fran got creative with getting you a bowl for your cereal  

All your food looks like a great start to your trip for Airline/Airport options!  I'll know it will just get better from here once you get to the Dream & WDW!  

Hope you enjoyed Disney at Christmas   Its truly magical!


----------



## cruisehopeful

I can't wait to hear your take on the ship. Dream was my first cruise and I thought it was great. Then, I cruised on the Wonder and thought Wonder was way better than the Dream. Since I'm on the west coast, I've been on Wonder ever since, but may be doing the TCM cruise on the Fantasy next year. I am wondering how I will feel about such a big ship when I am so at home on the Wonder.


----------



## ACDSNY

Great start.  I haven't paid much attention to the happenings at WDW so I'm sad to hear the Osborne Lights are gone.


----------



## ACDSNY

I enjoy SSR and th ed Tree houses too.


----------



## dolphingirl47

I am in. I am looking forward to reading all about your trip. 



franandaj said:


> First we were sailing on a brand new ship. We didn't know where anything was on the ship, plus it was going to be twice as big as any other ship we'd ever sailed on.



I am going through much of the same thought process at the moment. 



franandaj said:


> So this has caused a sore spot for Fran that will come up later in this trip, but I get ahead of myself.



I hope that everything is OK.



franandaj said:


> There’s a Macaroni Grill in the airport and that seemed to me like as good a place as any to get a nice sit down meal.



It is kind of ironic that this is one of our go to restaurants in Dubai, but we have never been to one in the USA.



franandaj said:


> I got the Chicken Parmesan with capellini. It was really good, but way too huge a serving.



That looks absolutely amazing.

Corinna


----------



## Mom2m&k

Very excited to read about your most recent adventure!


----------



## afwdwfan

Hi!  I'm 75% in!

Sorry about the turbulent flight, but at least you made it safely.

I can't knock relaxing in the hotel room watching NCIS.


----------



## rndmr2

Joining in! Can't wait to read all about your trip!


----------



## Malia78

Ready to follow along on the latest adventure.


----------



## DVCjj

I love your trip reports as I travel vicariously with you.  What a fun, exciting Disney life you are enjoying. 
Your adventures make me smile.

Thank you for letting me come along for the ride.


----------



## ljcrochet

Can't wait to read all about your trip


----------



## dizneeat

*Okay, I am definitely in, but I am still WAY behind on your other TRs, so I'll be back here in a bit to do the "in depth" reading. 


And all caught up here as well. 
Your packing frency sounds pretty familiar.  
And those little screens on the planes are pretty fun. We love to watch some movies while sitting on a plane for 10 hours. 
Staying at the airport Hyatt is just awesome. We have done it once and it was really great to be able to just not have to deal with traffic after a long flight. You were much luckier on the food front though. *
*We got in late and after trying to retrieve our Owners Locker box it had gotten pretty late and much of the airport restaurants were closed. We ended up with some "oldish" pizza. *

*Okay, you may go on now. Nothing more to catch up on. *


----------



## rentayenta

I'm finally here. Catching up!


----------



## rentayenta

All caught up.  

Your hotel was in/attached to the airport? Tell me more.....

I like Macaroni Grill well enough. The chicken Parm looks yum! Might have to try that next time. 

Breakfast on the plane looks good. We are lucky if we get a second bag of nuts when we fly.


----------



## dhorner233

Yay! Another trip report!   Love your trip reports! You are always so through with your descriptions and always have lots of photos and it looks like you are off to a great start here! I can't wait to see the tree houses!


----------



## Pinkocto

I'm here!  Haven't checked online for at least a week, sorry I'm late.  Must come back and read.


----------



## franandaj

mvf-m11c said:


> Nice to see your latest trip report. Looking forward to hearing your adventures.



  Glad you made it over here and congratulations on being the first!



Steppesister said:


> Subbing in as well, Alison.  back to comment in a bit....



  Glad to have you here!



Dis_Yoda said:


> I'm here. Train wreck would have been funny to you if you knew 20/30 somethings that live like that, which sadly I do (and thus it makes me happy I've been in a relationship for so long)



  Thanks for coming on over, and that explanation.  I think I know why I didn't find it funny.  



Dis_Yoda said:


> Looks like you had a nice travel day! Glad Fran got creative with getting you a bowl for your cereal



Other than I was so groggy in the morning that I barely remember it, the day went pretty well.



Dis_Yoda said:


> All your food looks like a great start to your trip for Airline/Airport options! I'll know it will just get better from here once you get to the Dream & WDW!
> 
> Hope you enjoyed Disney at Christmas  Its truly magical!



It was fun and interesting, but I don't want to get ahead of myself!



cruisehopeful said:


> I can't wait to hear your take on the ship. Dream was my first cruise and I thought it was great. Then, I cruised on the Wonder and thought Wonder was way better than the Dream. Since I'm on the west coast, I've been on Wonder ever since, but may be doing the TCM cruise on the Fantasy next year. I am wondering how I will feel about such a big ship when I am so at home on the Wonder.



  Glad you made it over!  Where are you on the West Coast?  We are doing a cruise on the Fantasy in 2017. I don't want to say too much and get ahead of myself!



ACDSNY said:


> Great start.  I haven't paid much attention to the happenings at WDW so I'm sad to hear the Osborne Lights are gone.



  Well they have a couple weeks left if you want to hop on a plane and see them!  But evidently half the world is doing that right now.



ACDSNY said:


> I enjoy SSR and th ed Tree houses too.



I better go back and edit that, it seems people are thinking we're staying at the tree houses this trip.


----------



## cruisehopeful

franandaj said:


> Glad you made it over! Where are you on the West Coast? We are doing a cruise on the Fantasy in 2017. I don't want to say too much and get ahead of myself!


I am in San Diego. Home to the worst cruise port!  
It's been nice to drive half an hour to the port, but as you know, the San Diego port leaves a lot to be desired. I am hoping for some more short cruises close to home in the future, but would totally understand if DCL decided San Diego wasn't worth the hassle.


----------



## franandaj

dolphingirl47 said:


> I am in. I am looking forward to reading all about your trip.



  I'm glad there are people here wanting to hear about it because no one else I know does!  



dolphingirl47 said:


> I am going through much of the same thought process at the moment.



I try to stay about a day ahead of my postings.



dolphingirl47 said:


> I hope that everything is OK.



All in all, she just gets a little bit mad about losing out on several thousand dollars a month, and occasionally reminds me about it.



dolphingirl47 said:


> It is kind of ironic that this is one of our go to restaurants in Dubai, but we have never been to one in the USA.



There's one right down the street from Sue and her husband's house, we've been to that one a couple times.



dolphingirl47 said:


> That looks absolutely amazing.



I'm thinking some Chicken Parm would be awesome for dinner tonight!



Mom2m&k said:


> Very excited to read about your most recent adventure!



  Thanks for joining in!



afwdwfan said:


> Hi!  I'm 75% in!
> 
> Sorry about the turbulent flight, but at least you made it safely.
> 
> I can't knock relaxing in the hotel room watching NCIS.



  Yeah, the flight wasn't so good.  Perhaps I should have had a drink.  It was nice to be able to sit around just watching TV and not doing anything.  Not many times that I get to do that!



rndmr2 said:


> Joining in! Can't wait to read all about your trip!



   Glad to have you here!



Malia78 said:


> Ready to follow along on the latest adventure.



  Next installment coming up hopefully soon!



DVCjj said:


> I love your trip reports as I travel vicariously with you.  What a fun, exciting Disney life you are enjoying.
> Your adventures make me smile.
> 
> Thank you for letting me come along for the ride.



  Thank you, we try to make the most of our "Disney" lives!


----------



## franandaj

ljcrochet said:


> Can't wait to read all about your trip



   Thanks for joining in!



dizneeat said:


> Okay, I am definitely in, but I am still WAY behind on your other TRs, so I'll be back here in a bit to do the "in depth" reading.







dizneeat said:


> And all caught up here as well.
> Your packing frency sounds pretty familiar.
> And those little screens on the planes are pretty fun. We love to watch some movies while sitting on a plane for 10 hours.



That was quick!  I can see how those screens would be nice on such a long flight, I only got through 2 1/3 movies and the flight was over.



dizneeat said:


> *Staying at the airport Hyatt is just awesome. We have done it once and it was really great to be able to just not have to deal with traffic after a long flight. You were much luckier on the food front though. *
> *We got in late and after trying to retrieve our Owners Locker box it had gotten pretty late and much of the airport restaurants were closed. We ended up with some "oldish" pizza. *



It really was perfect, but I could see where getting in late would not be quite as fun.  I knew our flight would get us in right at dinner time and help ease us into the time change.



dizneeat said:


> Okay, you may go on now. Nothing more to catch up on.



Alrighty then!  Planning on getting to it hopefully in just a few minutes.



rentayenta said:


> I'm finally here. Catching up!







rentayenta said:


> All caught up.
> 
> Your hotel was in/attached to the airport? Tell me more.....



OK, that was fast!  There is a Hyatt inside the MCO airport. You probably never see it because you go right to DME.  It made things a LOT easier since we were just going to the port the next day and Disney had transportation leaving right from the airport.  Some of the rooms have views into the Airport courtyard.



rentayenta said:


> I like Macaroni Grill well enough. The chicken Parm looks yum! Might have to try that next time.



It was either Macaroni Grill or Chili's Too.  There is a somewhat swanky restaurant in the Hyatt, but I knew that Fran would never go for that.  There was also a bar restaurant in the Hyatt, I knew Macaroni Grill would be my easiest sell!  I DID NOT want to end up at McDonald's!



rentayenta said:


> Breakfast on the plane looks good. We are lucky if we get a second bag of nuts when we fly.



We are lucky to have all those miles to be able to travel like we do!



dhorner233 said:


> Yay! Another trip report!   Love your trip reports! You are always so through with your descriptions and always have lots of photos and it looks like you are off to a great start here! I can't wait to see the tree houses!



  I will have lots of photos and stuff, but if you want to see Treehouses, you'll have to be satisfied with old pictures.  It was almost six years ago that we stayed there, and Fran and I by ourselves don't need a three bedroom tree house!  But here's a few shots from when we stayed six years ago.  I guess I didn't take shots of the bedrooms.


----------



## franandaj

Pinkocto said:


> I'm here!  Haven't checked online for at least a week, sorry I'm late.  Must come back and read.



  I hadn't realized I was already to the second page either!  Don't worry you're not late!  There's plenty of updates to go!  we're not even on the ship.  yet.



cruisehopeful said:


> I am in San Diego. Home to the worst cruise port!
> It's been nice to drive half an hour to the port, but as you know, the San Diego port leaves a lot to be desired. I am hoping for some more short cruises close to home in the future, but would totally understand if DCL decided San Diego wasn't worth the hassle.



Well howdy neighbor!    I'd like to see them come back to San Pedro, that's only 20 minutes from me!


----------



## franandaj

Day 2

I was up at 1AM, 3AM and 4AM. I gave up on my phone when I realized that 4AM was 1AM back home and that's the DIS Twilight zone time. I think I slept until 7AM but it was a rather light sleep.  When I finally woke up for good, I commented on a few threads on the DIS including my own then got dressed, and ate some Honey nut cheerios, Strawberry Yoplait and a little can of V8. It was really foggy outside. We had no visibility from our room.





Then I started to rearrange our bags. Nothing major, but a few things not permitted in carry on bags on airlines are only permitted in carry on bags on the ship. Once our bags were settled, Fran ate her bagel and yogurt, I got some Starbucks from downstairs.









This is where staying at MCO works out very well for cruising. We called the bellman to pick up our bags, they came and got them and the next time we saw them was in our stateroom on the ship. Like Magical Express for the DCL!!!! All we had to do was head down to the area where DME was located, and they had a separate little check in area for the cruise ship.  The scooter turned out to be a FP for the front of the line on the bus and next thing you know we’re seated on the bus which is boarding for the ship. The rest of the passengers boarded immediately after us and soon we were on our way.  This was our first experience of wondering whether or not kids were going to be a problem for us on a Disney cruise. There was a kid screaming at the top of her lungs. I'm guessing that she was "special needs", as she was probably 5 or 6 years old.  Once she moved into the front seat with her Dad she was able to calm down. I'm not sure if she talked much if at all. Our bus driver was a saint, and calmed down the kid expertly, while she talked to the girl, the girl never actually answered any questions, but she giggled and made other noises. It was sure better than screaming at the top of her lungs!

Soon we saw our first glimpse of the ship.





And there she is in all her glory.





The ride took about an hour and by 11:30 we were entering the port. It took us a while to get off the bus and go through security but we were checking in at the desk by 11:50AM. We got boarding group 3 and they were already boarding groups 1 through 10 so we were on. 





We took the boarding photo and headed right for the ship.





Our first stop on the ship was the spa. Fran had changed her mind on doing the Couples Choice treatment.  I was a little bummed since they didn't have this offered on the website as a single treatment like on the Wonder. But it turns out they could do it. But at 8AM that next morning.  I had big plans that morning. First Eggs Benedict then….. well? Turns out we found another treatment that I found acceptable and it could start at 9:30AM. Not ideal but Fran agreed that we could go to breakfast at 8AM and I could head off to the spa for my treatment so we scheduled me for that one instead.

Then it was off to Enchanted Garden. We could have gone to Carioca’s but we prefer the kind of buffet where they seat you at a table and then let you go to the buffet. They wait on you, remove your plates and all that stuff. I suppose we could have gone up to deck 11 and found a table and then had a similar buffet experience, but I think the enchanted garden was just a bit more civilized. Getting there was another story. Remember? We didn’t know where anything was. We had a map of the ship in our hands, but still it was a little confusing.

The gal at the spa told us to take the forward elevator from Deck 11 down to Deck 2 and just walk over to the restaurant. However when we arrived at Deck 2 it was roped off because the cabin stewards were still cleaning the staterooms. So we took the forward elevator up to Deck 3 and walked to the Midship elevators. There we found a HUGE line, so long that they had a Crew Member directing people to the elevators. Eventually we made our way down to Deck 2 where the Enchanted Garden was located.

They did think of all kinds of things on this ship. Even parking lots.

























































Here’s my first plate









Fran’s first plate, she likes Mushroom Soup just as much as Strawberry Soup if not more.





My second plate





Dessert Offerings

















Our dessert plates





On our way out I couldn’t resist a picture of this Mickey Fountain





*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

While we were at lunch we had our first opportunity to peruse the Navigator.

























We took enough time at the spa and lunch that our room was ready by the time that we finished lunch so we headed up.





















And our verandah


----------



## pkondz

Okay. Finally moseyed over here...



franandaj said:


> I'm sure there are some of you out there who are reading the title and scratching your heads wondering "What the...?"
> 
> Or maybe it's just psoriasis.
> You might want to get that checked out.
> Sorry.



Nope. Fleas.

I blame the wife.



franandaj said:


> Regardless of whether you’re wondering or not, I'm going to tell you anyways. You see this trip actually caused me a small amount of anxiety.
> 
> Not anything tremendous or that would require heavy medication, but just a slight feeling of “OCD planner’s” discomfort in the days preceding the trip.



I hear you. I'm having some right now, myself.



franandaj said:


> Two people don't need a three bedroom tree house!



Sure! Sleep in a new room every night!



franandaj said:


> a) Of the 10 nights, five of those we slept in places completely new to us. Of the five nights at SSR we were in a completely different section than last time. There are five sections where your room can be located, and each one has a different feel to it, so that counts as half new in my book, making it 75% new on the accommodations.



hmmmm...... okay. I'll buy it.



franandaj said:


> b) When I counted all the places where we dined of the 20 locations 15 were new. That kinda sealed it up for me 75% new.



Okay. Still with you.



franandaj said:


> c) Throw in the fact that I've never been to WDW during the Christmas season, this to me adds a whole element of newness.



So... maybe it should be 76 - 77% new, then?






franandaj said:


> Most of you know us, Alison & Fran. We’re basically fun loving, bonafide Disney Freaks.



emphasis on fun loving or Disney Freaks?

(Notice how polite I was to not just say Freaks???
Well, it applies to me, anyway.)



franandaj said:


> late June through September are pretty much off limits for us due to the heat and humidity in Florida.



Oh, sure. _Now_ you tell me!!



franandaj said:


> So this has caused a sore spot for Fran that will come up later in this trip, but I get ahead of myself.



Uh, oh. Dun, dun, dun, dunnnnnnnn....



franandaj said:


> The rest? Well you’ll just have to read along to find out how it all turns out!



That's what I'm doing!!



franandaj said:


> And to get things started, here comes the first update, or maybe you might call it a pre-update.



I don't really care for pre-nups.
I mean I get the necessity of them, especially if one partner brings in considerably more financially to the relationship. But it almost feels like your setting yourself up for...

What?


Oh.


Pre-update.


Nevermind.



franandaj said:


> Saturday we had a HUGE list of things to do including a trip to Walmart to try and find shoes



I can help!
You can find shoes at the back in the aisle with all the shoes.

You're welcome.



franandaj said:


> We ordered delivery on our way home, and at this point, I don’t even remember what it was, pizza I think?



It was pizza. And you seemed to enj... uh... I mean.
I don't know. How could I? It's not like I have a camera...
Uh...

I do not know what you ate.



franandaj said:


> I think we spent the next hour working on Fran's carryon.



Whoa! It must've been really full if it took both of you an hour to close it!



franandaj said:


> he would need to randomize them himself and make sure they didn’t get too many cans of salmon on any one day. I can only imagine that I passed out almost immediately after.



I understand. The stress of ensuring a cat doesn't eat salmon twice in a row is enough to knock anyone out.



franandaj said:


> I remember seeing 4:45 when I was getting dressed, later Fran told me she had to rip the covers off of me and pull me up by my arms to wake me.







franandaj said:


> Our normal plan, drop Fran,



Poor Fran!! 



franandaj said:


> We had these cool movie screens at our seats with on demand in flight movies.



In flight movies = good.
In flight movies that don't end until after you've landed = not so good.



franandaj said:


> Later I put on the movie Trainwreck. I thought it was supposed to be a comedy, but I didn’t really find it very funny.



You're not the first person I've heard say that.



franandaj said:


>



That's a very interesting shot of the fake-o-rail.
I like it.



franandaj said:


> The gal at the front desk tried to get us a room with a bathtub, but that didn’t work out.



Oh? Usually rooms have bathtubs unless...



franandaj said:


>



They're for disabled. Yup.
Been there, had that.



franandaj said:


> The delivery fee was about equivalent to the cost of the groceries



Can you imagine if you'd bought $300 worth???






franandaj said:


> No they didn’t have any cheerios in a bowl so she got me a box. The problem was how to eat them without a bowl?



Simple, silly.
Tilt head back, open mouth. Poor in cheerios. Poor in milk. Chew.



franandaj said:


> Plus, I totally forgot about utensils! We had cereal and yogurt and nothing to eat them with!



Yogurt in a tube.
There ya go.



franandaj said:


> We started off with a Caprese Salad that we split



OMG! Not again?!?!? 



franandaj said:


> but more importantly we got utensils



score.



franandaj said:


> While at the food court, she noticed that Quiznos had soup and picked me up a bowl. She offered to buy it, but they were nice enough to just give one to her.



And that's the way it should be. Not like at Miriwa in Winnipeg on St. Mary's Rd. where they won't even sell you one... even if you're willing to pay for the meal that goes in it. And are rude about it to boot.


Not still bitter about that at all.



franandaj said:


> I was up at 1AM, 3AM and 4AM



Oh for Pete's sake. Just pick one!



franandaj said:


> Nothing major, but a few things not permitted in carry on bags on airlines are only permitted in carry on bags on the ship.



Such as?



franandaj said:


> This is where staying at MCO works out very well for cruising. We called the bellman to pick up our bags, they came and got them and the next time we saw them was in our stateroom on the ship.



Nice!



franandaj said:


> This was our first experience of wondering whether or not kids were going to be a problem for us on a Disney cruise. There was a kid screaming at the top of her lungs.



Oy. Always a joy. But... It happens.



franandaj said:


> Our bus driver was a saint, and calmed down the kid expertly, while she talked to the girl, the girl never actually answered any questions, but she giggled and made other noises.



Wow. That's really impressive, actually.



franandaj said:


> And there she is in all her glory.



Meh. Not impressed.
It looks like a brown Ford pick-up truck to me.

Oh! You mean _behind_ the truck!



franandaj said:


> I had big plans that morning. First Eggs Benedict







franandaj said:


> Not ideal but Fran agreed that we could go to breakfast at 8AM and I could head off to the spa for my treatment so we scheduled me for that one instead.



Sounds nice and relaxing. Glad you got it. (Hopefully you did?)



franandaj said:


> we prefer the kind of buffet where they seat you at a table and then let you go to the buffet. They wait on you, remove your plates and all that stuff.



Ditto.



franandaj said:


> The gal at the spa told us to take the forward elevator from Deck 11 down to Deck 2 and just walk over to the restaurant. However when we arrived at Deck 2 it was roped off because the cabin stewards were still cleaning the staterooms. So we took the forward elevator up to Deck 3 and walked to the Midship elevators. There we found a HUGE line, so long that they had a Crew Member directing people to the elevators. Eventually we made our way down to Deck 2 where the Enchanted Garden was located.



Did you decide by that time that it was more of a disenchanted garden?



franandaj said:


> Here’s my first plate



Where's the Caprese salad????



franandaj said:


> Dessert Offerings



Okay, I'm back.
Had to change the keyboard.
Apparently these things can short out if you drool on them too much.



franandaj said:


> We took enough time at the spa and lunch that our room was ready by the time that we finished lunch so we headed up.



Nice room! So big!


----------



## Steppesister

Trying to unwind after a long day, and loved seeing all of your amazing pictures of VACAY!!! Beautiful ship; beautiful food.


----------



## dizneeat

*Memories! We just love the Dream, so thank you for all those lovely pics of Enchanted Garden (which we prefer for our first lunch as well) and the room. Looks like the one on deck 8 that our friends stayed in with their daughter.

Love the food pics and we have never tried the mushroom soup - guess we will next time we sail. And either I missed the ice-cream "bar" or they did not have one when we sailed on the Dream a few years back.

Like you we really enjoyed staying at the Hyatt at the airport. It is so convenient after a long flight. Bummer it was so foggy. *


----------



## afwdwfan

franandaj said:


> I was up at 1AM, 3AM and 4AM. I gave up on my phone when I realized that 4AM was 1AM back home and that's the DIS Twilight zone time. I think I slept until 7AM but it was a rather light sleep. When I finally woke up for good, I commented on a few threads on the DIS including my own then got dressed, and ate some Honey nut cheerios, Strawberry Yoplait and a little can of V8. It was really foggy outside. We had no visibility from our room.


Yuck... you really struggle to sleep on vacation, don't you?



franandaj said:


> Nothing major, but a few things not permitted in carry on bags on airlines are only permitted in carry on bags on the ship.


I'm sure that never causes any problems for anyone.... 



franandaj said:


> The ride took about an hour and by 11:30 we were entering the port. It took us a while to get off the bus and go through security but we were checking in at the desk by 11:50AM. We got boarding group 3 and they were already boarding groups 1 through 10 so we were on.


Wow, perfect timing!



franandaj said:


> They did think of all kinds of things on this ship. Even parking lots.


Just like Disney World!



franandaj said:


> Fran’s first plate, she likes Mushroom Soup just as much as Strawberry Soup if not more.


  Is there a soup that Fran doesn't like? 



franandaj said:


> And our verandah


Looks fantastic!


----------



## kid-at-heart

New trip report!  Awesome!  Great way to start a trip, spending the night at the airport hotel and then starting fresh the next morning.  We often do the same, either the airport hotel or one near by, same for returning home, if we have an early flight.  

Kate


----------



## dolphingirl47

franandaj said:


> I'm glad there are people here wanting to hear about it because no one else I know does!



I definitely want to hear.



franandaj said:


> I try to stay about a day ahead of my postings.



I actually referred to your feelings about the size of the ship. Hopefully I will get around to updating my pre-trip report before the year is out and then all will become clear.



franandaj said:


> There's one right down the street from Sue and her husband's house, we've been to that one a couple times.



Ken and Sue seem to have made it their mission to introduce us to new kinds of cuisines whenever we visit them.



franandaj said:


> I'm thinking some Chicken Parm would be awesome for dinner tonight!



I could settle for this.



franandaj said:


> Fran had changed her mind on doing the Couples Choice treatment. I was a little bummed since they didn't have this offered on the website as a single treatment like on the Wonder. But it turns out they could do it. But at 8AM that next morning.



What a shame that a spanner was thrown in the works.



franandaj said:


> Turns out we found another treatment that I found acceptable and it could start at 9:30AM.



I am glad that you found an alternative.



franandaj said:


> Getting there was another story. Remember? We didn’t know where anything was.



This had not even occurred to me. I just had a look at the deck plans and this is a lot more different from what I had thought.



franandaj said:


> The gal at the spa told us to take the forward elevator from Deck 11 down to Deck 2 and just walk over to the restaurant. However when we arrived at Deck 2 it was roped off because the cabin stewards were still cleaning the staterooms.



It seems a little strange to have a dining room on the same deck as the staterooms.

Corinna


----------



## PrincessInOz

Finally made it here!  Late, but here!

Food porn to start.  Always a great way to start.


----------



## ACDSNY

Nice start to the cruise, great room and balcony.  We enjoyed our Couple's Choice on the Wonder so that's too bad Fran decided she didn't want to go.  I'm glad you found a replacement spa treatment.


----------



## PiperGirlInWondrland

Hooray!  Another trip report!  I am soooo in!  Well, at least 75% in


----------



## rentayenta

Okay, how cool that the hotel is inside MCO! That makes so much sense. 

I am sure I missed it but what ship were you on?

The Enchanted Garden buffet looks delicious. Next cruise I will definitely take more advantage of the buffets. I ate so much pizza on deck that I think I made it into one or two. 

You room looks lovely.  Love the verandah! Its a must. 

Glad you found another spa treatment.  

Thank you for posting the Navigators. I enjoy reading them so much.


----------



## sarahk0204

Yay, a new trip report!

WDW at Christmas is my favorite time of year to go. Sadly, the kids' school schedule is precluding December trips for the near future. I will gladly live vicariously through your TR.


----------



## dhorner233

Great start to the cruise!  Love your stateroom! And another veranda! 

Thanks for throwing in the pictures of the tree houses! I don't know how I got confused  But I've never seen the inside of them. They look nice!


----------



## mvf-m11c

Very nice start to your cruise and the room looks very nice and the verandah is nice.


----------



## Pinkocto

Very nice start   You are making me very excited for our Fantasy cruise!!! 

Super convenient to stay at the airport.  I had no idea there was a Macaroni Grill somewhere there.  Not fun about the grocery delivery fee. 

75% new sounds like a big accomplishment, I hope you enjoyed the new stuff


----------



## franandaj

pkondz said:


> Okay. Finally moseyed over here...







pkondz said:


> Nope. Fleas.
> 
> I blame the wife.







pkondz said:


> I hear you. I'm having some right now, myself.



I hope you figure out your Maui dilemma!



pkondz said:


> Sure! Sleep in a new room every night!



Except that one if those rooms has a bunk bed AND they cost twice the points of a one bedroom if not more. Plus the disabled rooms don't have a hot tub. Not doing that again!



pkondz said:


> hmmmm...... okay. I'll buy it.
> 
> hmmmm...... okay. I'll buy it.
> 
> Okay. Still with you.
> 
> So... maybe it should be 76 - 77% new, then?



I'm going with 75% for the even math!



pkondz said:


> emphasis on fun loving or Disney Freaks?
> 
> (Notice how polite I was to not just say Freaks???
> Well, it applies to me, anyway.)



Well we'll go with DISNEY freaks!



pkondz said:


> Oh, sure. _Now_ you tell me!!



You could have checked weather.Com 



pkondz said:


> Uh, oh. Dun, dun, dun, dunnnnnnnn....



Not that bad, or maybe.



pkondz said:


> That's what I'm doing!!



Good



pkondz said:


> I don't really care for pre-nups.
> I mean I get the necessity of them, especially if one partner brings in considerably more financially to the relationship. But it almost feels like your setting yourself up for...
> 
> What?
> 
> 
> Oh.
> 
> 
> Pre-update.
> 
> 
> Nevermind.



Nope, no prenups here!



pkondz said:


> I can help!
> You can find shoes at the back in the aisle with all the shoes.
> 
> You're welcome.



Yeah. Thanks.



pkondz said:


> It was pizza. And you seemed to enj... uh... I mean.
> I don't know. How could I? It's not like I have a camera...
> Uh...
> 
> I do not know what you ate.



OK I think I got all the cameras.......how did you get them installed without the cats telling on you?



pkondz said:


> Whoa! It must've been really full if it took both of you an hour to close it!



No it just took us that long to find everything to put in it!



pkondz said:


> I understand. The stress of ensuring a cat doesn't eat salmon twice in a row is enough to knock anyone out.



They get five different flavors each meal, I sort the cat food into seafood, land food, and then bits/shreds.  They get four cans each meal, so sometimes they could have Salmon Seafood and Salmon "bits" in the same meal. Or the one can of Fancy Feast that makes the fifth can could also be salmon. Oh the horror!  My poor kitties.



pkondz said:


> In flight movies = good.
> In flight movies that don't end until after you've landed = not so good.



Well there was that.



pkondz said:


> You're not the first person I've heard say that.



I think I probably figured it out.



pkondz said:


> That's a very interesting shot of the fake-o-rail.
> I like it.



Thanks!



pkondz said:


> Oh? Usually rooms have bathtubs unless...
> 
> They're for disabled. Yup.
> Been there, had that.



Yeah, I'm finally in a state where I can use as much water as I want, and there is no tub.  



pkondz said:


> Can you imagine if you'd bought $300 worth???



Still would have had the same $28 delivery fee.



pkondz said:


> Simple, silly.
> Tilt head back, open mouth. Poor in cheerios. Poor in milk. Chew.



Gag!



pkondz said:


> Yogurt in a tube.
> There ya go.



But I didn't get yogurt in a tube.  It was in a cup.



pkondz said:


> OMG! Not again?!?!?







pkondz said:


> score.
> 
> And that's the way it should be. Not like at Miriwa in Winnipeg on St. Mary's Rd. where they won't even sell you one... even if you're willing to pay for the meal that goes in it. And are rude about it to boot.
> 
> 
> Not still bitter about that at all.



  I bet you'll never ever go back there.



pkondz said:


> Oh for Pete's sake. Just pick one!



Hey!  I couldn't help it!



pkondz said:


> Such as?



Well you can't carry on liquids to the airplane, but any beverages you want to bring on the ship must be in your carry on baggage.  That was the biggest transfer.  I took some other things like charging cords, Fran's "back of the scooter" bag. We put that in the suitcase for the airplane flight since they take her scooter and put it under the plane. However when boarding the ship, it's convenient to have the bag on the scooter as we can fill it with more stuff.



pkondz said:


> Nice!







pkondz said:


> Oy. Always a joy. But... It happens.



Thank goodness that it didn't continue for the whole trip.



pkondz said:


> Wow. That's really impressive, actually.



I couldn't believe what a great job she did calming the kid down, the parents couldn't even calm the kid down.



pkondz said:


> Meh. Not impressed.
> It looks like a brown Ford pick-up truck to me.
> 
> Oh! You mean _behind_ the truck!







pkondz said:


> Sounds nice and relaxing. Glad you got it. (Hopefully you did?)



I did!



pkondz said:


> Ditto.
> 
> Did you decide by that time that it was more of a disenchanted garden?



We were too hungry to worry about it.



pkondz said:


> Where's the Caprese salad????



It's in the sandwich!  



pkondz said:


> Okay, I'm back.
> Had to change the keyboard.
> Apparently these things can short out if you drool on them too much.



Sorry.



pkondz said:


> Nice room! So big!



It was!  Very spacious.



Steppesister said:


> Trying to unwind after a long day, and loved seeing all of your amazing pictures of VACAY!!! Beautiful ship; beautiful food.



Thanks, I hope you enjoyed your time off from school!



dizneeat said:


> Memories! We just love the Dream, so thank you for all those lovely pics of Enchanted Garden (which we prefer for our first lunch as well) and the room. Looks like the one on deck 8 that our friends stayed in with their daughter.



The lunch in Enchanted Garden was perfect for us.  I'm sure we made the right choice, as you will see in a later update.



dizneeat said:


> Love the food pics and we have never tried the mushroom soup - guess we will next time we sail. And either I missed the ice-cream "bar" or they did not have one when we sailed on the Dream a few years back.



I have a feeling they might have added that if you haven't seen it before. There's something else coming in the next update that I don't think you've seen before either.



dizneeat said:


> Like you we really enjoyed staying at the Hyatt at the airport. It is so convenient after a long flight. Bummer it was so foggy.



We're definitely doing the same thing for our cruise on the Fantasy in February. It worked out so well, I'm willing to repeat it again.


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> Well we'll go with DISNEY freaks!


 
Okay. If you insist.



franandaj said:


> You could have checked weather.Com


 
That takes the mystery out of life.



franandaj said:


> Yeah. Thanks.


 
No problem! Glad to help!



franandaj said:


> OK I think I got all the cameras.......how did you get them installed without the cats telling on you?


 
Cats understand me.
I, of course, will never understand cats. But I respect them.
They're not _dogs_ after all.



franandaj said:


> They get five different flavors each meal,


 
Your cats eat better than I do.



franandaj said:


> Yeah, I'm finally in a state where I can use as much water as I want, and there is no tub.


 
And that's the best thing about hotel tubs.
A never ending supply of hot water.



franandaj said:


> Still would have had the same $28 delivery fee.


 
I like my math better.
Worse for you... but more entertaining.



franandaj said:


> Gag!


 
Brussels sprout?



franandaj said:


> But I didn't get yogurt in a tube. It was in a cup.


 
Your cats would know how to handle that.
Take pointers.



franandaj said:


> I bet you'll never ever go back there.


 
Nope!



franandaj said:


> Well you can't carry on liquids to the airplane, but any beverages you want to bring on the ship must be in your carry on baggage.


 
Ah, yes. Of course.



franandaj said:


> We put that in the suitcase for the airplane flight since they take her scooter and put it under the plane.


 
They ran over her scooter?!?!?!?!?!?



franandaj said:


> However when boarding the ship, it's convenient to have the bag on the scooter as we can fill it with more stuff.


 
Makes sense.



franandaj said:


> It's in the sandwich!


 
 Okay!


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

I'm in!  Back to read later.  How do you keep up with all of these trip reports??


----------



## franandaj

afwdwfan said:


> Yuck... you really struggle to sleep on vacation, don't you?



Actually not usually. It was just these last two trips where I seemed to have troubles. I think with the exception of one other night this was the last time.



afwdwfan said:


> I'm sure that never causes any problems for anyone....



Well really Disney is very nice about it, if they find it in your bags, they just confiscate it, hold it at the port and if you remember to pick it up when you get back, you can have it back.  See no problem at all!  



afwdwfan said:


> Wow, perfect timing!







afwdwfan said:


> Just like Disney World!







afwdwfan said:


> Is there a soup that Fran doesn't like?



Pretty much, no.



afwdwfan said:


> Looks fantastic!



It was a nice verandah.  I made good use of it!



kid-at-heart said:


> New trip report!  Awesome!  Great way to start a trip, spending the night at the airport hotel and then starting fresh the next morning.  We often do the same, either the airport hotel or one near by, same for returning home, if we have an early flight.
> 
> Kate



    I wish that we would do that at home, but Fran is always so concerned about "spending time away from the cats".  She always says, "I hope they recognize us when we get home."



dolphingirl47 said:


> I definitely want to hear.



Yay!



dolphingirl47 said:


> I actually referred to your feelings about the size of the ship. Hopefully I will get around to updating my pre-trip report before the year is out and then all will become clear.



Got it now!  I have a feeling that pretty soon into this TR, my thoughts on this subject will become clear.



dolphingirl47 said:


> Ken and Sue seem to have made it their mission to introduce us to new kinds of cuisines whenever we visit them.



That's not hard to do around here!



dolphingirl47 said:


> I could settle for this.



I ended up going with that, and it was good!



dolphingirl47 said:


> What a shame that a spanner was thrown in the works.
> 
> I am glad that you found an alternative.



I would have really enjoyed doing the treatment with her, but she really was not up for it. The alternative worked out just fine.



dolphingirl47 said:


> This had not even occurred to me. I just had a look at the deck plans and this is a lot more different from what I had thought.



Yeah, very different.  The bars are in the back of the ship, the spa is still in the front.  It took some adjusting.  And there were bars everywhere!



dolphingirl47 said:


> It seems a little strange to have a dining room on the same deck as the staterooms.



I thought so too.



PrincessInOz said:


> Finally made it here!  Late, but here!
> 
> Food porn to start.  Always a great way to start.



  Glad you made it over here.  That's pretty much the core of my reports, so of course it would be at the front!



ACDSNY said:


> Nice start to the cruise, great room and balcony.  We enjoyed our Couple's Choice on the Wonder so that's too bad Fran decided she didn't want to go.  I'm glad you found a replacement spa treatment.



I'm hoping when she gets in better shape, that she will be up for doing more things like that.



PiperGirlInWondrland said:


> Hooray!  Another trip report!  I am soooo in!  Well, at least 75% in



   Glad you made it to the party!



rentayenta said:


> Okay, how cool that the hotel is inside MCO! That makes so much sense.



It's really cool. We were so tired after not much sleep and a long flight.  It was great not to have to get on a bus, walk a long distance or any of that.  It was a small pain to get all the luggage over to the hotel, but we managed.



rentayenta said:


> I am sure I missed it but what ship were you on?



We were on the Dream.



rentayenta said:


> The Enchanted Garden buffet looks delicious. Next cruise I will definitely take more advantage of the buffets. I ate so much pizza on deck that I think I made it into one or two.



I don't know how you could have eaten that much pizza.  Well like I don't like my food touching, I also don't like to eat the same things two or more meals in a row.  Heck, I don't even necessarily like eating food of the same ethnicity two meals in a row!  



rentayenta said:


> You room looks lovely.  Love the verandah! Its a must.



I just love watching the ship pull into ports and such from my room.  I don't have to get all dressed up, just throw on the closest thing to cover up, and go outside and enjoy!



rentayenta said:


> Glad you found another spa treatment.



Well truthfully, it's not hard, they have some really enticing treatments onboard!



rentayenta said:


> Thank you for posting the Navigators. I enjoy reading them so much.



Good!  I'm glad I'm not scanning them in vain.



sarahk0204 said:


> Yay, a new trip report!
> 
> WDW at Christmas is my favorite time of year to go. Sadly, the kids' school schedule is precluding December trips for the near future. I will gladly live vicariously through your TR.



   Well at least you are being responsible with their education (which is more than I can say for many of the folks we encountered on this trip), but more on that later.



dhorner233 said:


> Great start to the cruise!  Love your stateroom! And another veranda!
> 
> Thanks for throwing in the pictures of the tree houses! I don't know how I got confused  But I've never seen the inside of them. They look nice!



I won't get a room without a verandah, although our Mississippi River Cruise it's not a private verandah, so that should be interesting.

The tree houses were a nice place to stay, but we need to give them another go.  Fran got a bug on our first full day, and she was down for the count so she ended up being stuck in the room.  She ended up getting cabin fever and didn't like them at all.  She has decided to give them one more chance.  The idea that there was no "lobby" and such made her feel very isolated and alone.  I hope she doesn't get the same feeling with the Poly Bungalows.


----------



## franandaj

mvf-m11c said:


> Very nice start to your cruise and the room looks very nice and the verandah is nice.



Thanks, we enjoyed the room, it was very spacious.



Pinkocto said:


> Very nice start  You are making me very excited for our Fantasy cruise!!!



I think the Fantasy sounds like a wonderful cruise.  While we had a good time on the Dream, I'll get to my issues in about 10 updates!  



Pinkocto said:


> Super convenient to stay at the airport. I had no idea there was a Macaroni Grill somewhere there. Not fun about the grocery delivery fee.



It's right in the terminal on the second level just above the escalators that go to DME.  Super convenient for dinner and tasty too!



Pinkocto said:


> 75% new sounds like a big accomplishment, I hope you enjoyed the new stuff



For the most part, yes.  It was a little scary though.  Fran likes to be in her comfort zone as do I.



pkondz said:


> Cats understand me.
> I, of course, will never understand cats. But I respect them.
> They're not _dogs_ after all.



Well of course they're not dogs.  They are much smarter!



pkondz said:


> Your cats eat better than I do.



They eat better than most.  All our friends want to be adopted.



pkondz said:


> And that's the best thing about hotel tubs.
> A never ending supply of hot water.



That's the best thing of being somewhere that there isn't a drought and you have to ration your water, or take short short showers.



pkondz said:


> They ran over her scooter?!?!?!?!?!?



No silly, they put it in their belly!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I'm in!  Back to read later.  How do you keep up with all of these trip reports??





You yourself said it.  Plow through one, with furious updates so you don't have so many going at one time!


----------



## franandaj

We had just arrived in our stateroom on the ship.  Fran needed a nap, but I was curious about the ship being new to it and all. Plus after a look around the room, I realized that I needed to get an extension cord from Guest Services. So I took a walk around the ship snapping a few photos here and there of various different areas.

First stop, I went down to the Atrium to take a look around.  They were still boarding families and announcing their names over the loudspeaker and when I say loudspeaker, I mean LOUD.





Donald looks over the Atrium in the Dream.





The Dream’s Chandelier is almost as nice as the Wonder, but not quite.





After dropping off the extension cord in the room, I went up to Deck 11 (which is the main pool deck). It was definitely hopping!





I couldn’t even imagine getting in this hot tub.





The Mickey slide with a huge line of kids.





I was amazed at how many of these bars were set up on the pool deck.





This was the splash pool for the little ones.





I think this might have been added during the refurb. I have never seen anyone mention it on previous TRs on the Dream. Everything in here was for purchase, no freebies here. It sure looked good, but we never made it in here other than to browse.

















And to top off all your sweet concoctions.





Or if Ice cream or Gelato were not your bag.









*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

I decided to check out Cabanas to see if the food up here was much different from that of the Enchanted Garden.





The Pizza wasn’t at Enchanted Garden, but I was OK with skipping that.









This place had pretty much the same offerings.









French Fries, Mac & Cheese and Chicken Nuggets were not at Enchanted Garden, however, I did overhear one of the servers talking to a couple at another table while we were there.  I think the guy was saying there wasn’t anything on the buffet that he liked. The server offered him these exact things, although I didn’t pay attention to see if he took the server up on the offer.





This was at the Enchanted Garden.





I did enjoy the “tongue in cheek” signage that they had up.





I don’t’ believe that they had carrots and snow peas at the EG, but that’s OK, I didn’t need those.









This section had all the same stuff.









I also noticed that they had a lot of the “pods” with repeated items, so you could get certain things in more than one place.  Like these French Fries.





They had the same sandwiches downstairs, but not the individual meats and cheeses, again, I could do without those.





Same Seafood





And salad





Every other “room” in the seating area, was one of these drink stations.





All in all Cabanas had a few more offerings than the Enchanted Garden, but most of those were more kid oriented, I thought. What my pictures did not show, is what a total zoo it was up there.  It was around 2:30 or 3PM and people were still in a feeding frenzy. I was very pleased that Fran was not with me carrying luggage and trying to fight all the people grabbing for food up there.  Now here was something different than Beach Blanket Buffet on the Wonder!





Don’t mind if I do!  This was a Melon Vine. I remembered enjoying this one on the Wonder.





I decided to take my drink and explore some more of the ship.  I saw this mural on the way out and thought it was rather pretty.  There were actually more of these throughout the restaurant.





I headed here.





Now that hot tub looks much more like it!





I could possibly see myself hanging out here.





Then I went around to the other side of the fence again. I would be back to visit these sometime later in the cruise.













I thought this was really cute!









I noticed that they were really packing up the ship.  Oh yeah, there was going to be a sail away party in less than two hours.









So I headed back to the room to get Fran up and ready for the muster drill. Our suitcases arrived while I was gone. I started putting stuff away, and gathering up her clothes to be pressed. We had to leave for the Muster Drill before I was able to finish. Our Muster Station was in the Buena Vista Theater, and this was the only time we made it to any of the theaters.


----------



## Pinkocto

I hope I'm not jumping in mid-update, but I'm really enjoying seeing the Dream again   she was our first cruise ever and will always hold a special place in our hearts.  Of course I LOVE Donald being in the atrium!!!  You are correct, Vanellope's sweet shop is a new addition since the refurb. That gelato looks mighty tasty!


----------



## DVCjj

I will never understand why Disney allows children (and even babies!) into a hot tub that 'should' be well over 104 degrees.

It never fails to annoy my family and guests at the WDW resorts.

Hot tubs are and should be adults only.


----------



## jedijill

I'm very late but I'm here!  Love the Fantasy and can't wait to hear about all your experiences!

Jill in CO


----------



## PrincessInOz

New Ship....but it seems from your update that the food was "same ole, same ole"??

(Ship looks great!)


----------



## dolphingirl47

franandaj said:


> That's not hard to do around here!



We live in a pretty cosmopolitan city, but I am just blown away how many different cuisines there are on offer in your neck of the woods.



franandaj said:


> Yeah, very different. The bars are in the back of the ship, the spa is still in the front. It took some adjusting.



We got totally confused on the Splendour as there the spa is aft and the buffet is forward. I cannot tell you how often we got lost. It is funny how quickly you get used to a certain layout.

I loved all the photos. It is nice to get a good overview of the ship.



franandaj said:


> I think this might have been added during the refurb.



Yes, this was added in the recent dry dock. I think this is in the space that was previously occupied by the arcade.



franandaj said:


> Everything in here was for purchase, no freebies here.



I am not sure what I make of this. Considering the theming, the location and what is on offer, this will give the kids serious pester-power.

Corinna


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> but I was curious about the ship being new to it and all.


 
I guess!!



franandaj said:


> Plus after a look around the room, I realized that I needed to get an extension cord from Guest Services.


 
I didn't know you could get that... anywhere!
(I mean other than buying one at a hardware store or something.)



franandaj said:


> First stop, I went down to the Atrium


 
Pretty.



franandaj said:


> They were still boarding families and announcing their names over the loudspeaker and when I say loudspeaker, I mean LOUD.


 
Well, gotta let people know who's boarding.



franandaj said:


> The Dream’s Chandelier is almost as nice as the Wonder, but not quite.


 
Beautiful!
I'd like one to go, please.



franandaj said:


> I couldn’t even imagine getting in this hot tub.


 
Ugh.
Did I mention I went to my folks place the other day and had pea soup?
No idea why that popped into my head.



franandaj said:


> The Mickey slide with a huge line of kids.


 
Nope!
I won't wait for an awesome ride, I'm sure not waiting for a slide.



franandaj said:


> I was amazed at how many of these bars were set up on the pool deck.


 
no bartender though. It wasn't open?



franandaj said:


>


 
Gelato!!!! I'd be there every day.
Probably more than once a day.



franandaj said:


> Or if Ice cream or Gelato were not your bag.


 




franandaj said:


> I think the guy was saying there wasn’t anything on the buffet that he liked.


 
What? Oh, go back to McDonalds.



franandaj said:


> I did enjoy the “tongue in cheek” signage that they had up.


 
Grill, gull. Grill!



franandaj said:


> What my pictures did not show, is what a total zoo it was up there.


 
They certainly didn't!



franandaj said:


> I headed here.


 
Right behind you.



franandaj said:


> Now that hot tub looks much more like it!


 
Way better. That right there just might make me think of going.


----------



## franandaj

Pinkocto said:


> I hope I'm not jumping in mid-update, but I'm really enjoying seeing the Dream again   she was our first cruise ever and will always hold a special place in our hearts.  Of course I LOVE Donald being in the atrium!!!  You are correct, Vanellope's sweet shop is a new addition since the refurb. That gelato looks mighty tasty!



Nope you got in after I was done with this one!  The Wonder has that honor for me.  It all looked really good, and I wish that I had been hungry enough to grab something from there, but with all the free ice cream and other treats, I just never made it in there hungry.



DVCjj said:


> I will never understand why Disney allows children (and even babies!) into a hot tub that 'should' be well over 104 degrees.
> 
> It never fails to annoy my family and guests at the WDW resorts.
> 
> Hot tubs are and should be adults only.



I could definitely agree with you, but evidently there are many more folks who don't feel this way so Disney goes on their side. 



jedijill said:


> I'm very late but I'm here!  Love the Fantasy and can't wait to hear about all your experiences!
> 
> Jill in CO



  I'm guessing that I will love the Fantasy next year, at least I hope so.  Looking forward though to revisiting the Wonder this summer.  For now, you'll have to hear about the Dream.



PrincessInOz said:


> New Ship....but it seems from your update that the food was "same ole, same ole"??
> 
> (Ship looks great!)



Well, this last update I was comparing whether or not we made the right decision going to the downstairs buffet instead of the upstairs buffet.  There was definitely a difference between the buffet on the Dream vs. the Wonder.  I don't know if that had to do with the Port or what.  There was more fruit on the Wonder's buffet, and there was other differences, no she crab claws on the Wonder.  What I was saying in the update was that Carioca's had more stuff, but it was mainly Pizza, Chicken Wings, French Fries, Mac and Cheese, and cold cuts.  Maybe a few veggies, but all in all I was justified in our choice to do the buffet in Enchanted Garden.  Even though it didn't have quite as many offerings, I think it was a much more civilized choice for lunch than going up to the pool deck at Carioca's.


----------



## eeyore45

sneaking in to say how much I enjoy your trip reports!  I cannot imagine going on a cruise (from sea sickness - to vertigo)

 but WOW is your room huge!  and that buffet!  Yes please!  How expensive are adult drinks on the cruise?

Looking forward to your further adventures!  Thank you for sharing


----------



## dizneeat

Ah, this makes me miss the DREAM even more. Thanks for sharing all the photos, Alison! 



franandaj said:


> The Dream’s Chandelier is almost as nice as the Wonder, but not quite.



*I am with you. This one IS beautiful, but the Wonder with its lovely chandelier wins. I really hope they will keep it after the refurb and not exchange for one as ugly as the one on the Magic.*



franandaj said:


> I couldn’t even imagine getting in this hot tub.



*Neither could I. But then I just don't understand why all theses kids are in the hot tub in the first place. Not the right place for a kid in my eyes.*



franandaj said:


> I think this might have been added during the refurb. I have never seen anyone mention it on previous TRs on the Dream. Everything in here was for purchase, no freebies here. It sure looked good, but we never made it in here other than to browse.



*YES! That area used to be the arcade (I think). Now, this is far more up my street. Looks yummy and I can see myself having a cup of ice-cream or two here. Even if you have to pay extra. *



franandaj said:


> I don’t’ believe that they had carrots and snow peas at the EG, but that’s OK, I didn’t need those.



*They usually have snow peas and carrots at EG as well. I usually have some and some asparagus. *



franandaj said:


> Don’t mind if I do! This was a Melon Vine. I remembered enjoying this one on the Wonder.



*I like your thinking, girl! Love to see a drink or two. *



franandaj said:


> Now that hot tub looks much more like it!



*Still two people too much in there. Well, I guess I could live with sharing the hot tub a little bit. *


----------



## jedijill

Oops, wrong ship.  

Jill in CO


----------



## mvf-m11c

The Dream looks very nice and it will be nice to read and see your pictures of the ship and compare the difference between the other DCL ships.


----------



## afwdwfan

franandaj said:


> After dropping off the extension cord in the room, I went up to Deck 11 (which is the main pool deck). It was definitely hopping!


 



franandaj said:


> I was amazed at how many of these bars were set up on the pool deck.


Well, why not?  You don't want to have to get up and go too far for a drink!



franandaj said:


> I think this might have been added during the refurb. I have never seen anyone mention it on previous TRs on the Dream. Everything in here was for purchase, no freebies here. It sure looked good, but we never made it in here other than to browse.


Wow, that looks awesome!  Too bad it isn't included though. 



franandaj said:


> All in all Cabanas had a few more offerings than the Enchanted Garden, but most of those were more kid oriented, I thought. What my pictures did not show, is what a total zoo it was up there. It was around 2:30 or 3PM and people were still in a feeding frenzy.


You know, this is the thing I'm not sure I'd like about a cruise.  I realize you have crowds at the parks, but it is pretty easy to get away from them and go off the beaten path if you want to. 



franandaj said:


> So I headed back to the room to get Fran up and ready for the muster drill. Our suitcases arrived while I was gone. I started putting stuff away, and gathering up her clothes to be pressed. We had to leave for the Muster Drill before I was able to finish. Our Muster Station was in the Buena Vista Theater, and this was the only time we made it to any of the theaters.


Interesting place for a Muster Drill.  Did the shows just not work in your schedule or were they shows that you'd already seen on other ships?


----------



## ljcrochet

Looks great.  Slightly making me regret that my next cruise on on RCCL, and DH will become a higher level on that cruise, which means our next cruise will wind up being RCCL as well.


----------



## cruisehopeful

franandaj said:


> What my pictures did not show, is what a total zoo it was up there. It was around 2:30 or 3PM and people were still in a feeding frenzy.


That is what I remember of my Dream cruise in Feb. 2011. We got on board around that time since we took DCL transfers from Jambo House. We were extremely hungry by the time we got on board and went up to the pool deck to get some food.  It was a complete madhouse up there. I was trying to get some quick service and kids in bathing suits kept pushing through the front of the line. When we did finally manage to get a couple plates of food (and it was a challenge to get), we headed straight for that 18 and up sign so we could sit down without being trampled. 

And when the Enchanted Garden was serving dinner, good luck walking down any of the hallways or anywhere else near there. The place was completely insane. I've been hoping the mass crowds and dysfunction of crowd control was due to it only being the 3rd time the ship had sailed. I'm hoping to read things have changed since then in your report.


----------



## rentayenta

What a beautiful ship (so far and hint hint).  Can't wait for more pics!!!

Yeah, I love to read the Navigators; it helps me believe we'll go on another Disney cruise one day.


----------



## dhorner233

I'm sorry Fran was under the weather when you stayed at the tree houses but interesting that you could feel isolated on Disney property! I wish I could stay in a tree house!

What a beautiful ship! Why wasn't there a bartender at the little bar? Not open? Surely not an open bar.

Venelope's was tempting but why? Where there is so much to eat that is free on the cruise??

Are the drinks of the day free?

Gull Grill makes me think Grilled Gull :


----------



## EJ4Disney

I am late to the party - as usual, but I am really enjoying this trip report.  Thanks so much for taking us along.


----------



## IowaTater

I don't know if I mentioned this on your other cruise TR but I love that you post the Navigator every day.  It definitely provides an overview of all the stuff that goes on every day. 

Ahh, yes.  The children.  Glad to see there is an area for some quieter times.  I'm not a kid-hater but I'm sure most people could use a break every once in a while. 

I love the Vanillope sweet shop.  So cute & colorful.  Between those pictures & your dessert pictures, I'm so craving ice cream right now!


----------



## franandaj

dolphingirl47 said:


> We live in a pretty cosmopolitan city, but I am just blown away how many different cuisines there are on offer in your neck of the woods.



We are pretty lucky. There are a lot I would like to try, but there are some I can't convince Fran to go to. I have done pretty well getting her out of her comfort zone.



dolphingirl47 said:


> We got totally confused on the Splendour as there the spa is aft and the buffet is forward. I cannot tell you how often we got lost. It is funny



I got the layout down just in time to get off the ship. I hope this makes our cruise on the Fantasy a little smoother. 



dolphingirl47 said:


> loved all the photos. It is nice to get a good overview of the ship.



I wish I had taken more of the bar area. I may be stealing some photos when it comes to those updates.



dolphingirl47 said:


> Yes, this was added in the recent dry dock. I think this is in the space that was previously occupied by the arcade.



Hmmm. The cruise director was really hyping it up.



dolphingirl47 said:


> I am not sure what I make of this. Considering the theming, the location and what is on offer, this will give the kids serious pester-power.



Yes as I said the cruise director kept making announcements which included comments about kids and how Vanellopies was always there. I hope they have this on the Fantasy. On a longer cruise I will make a point to go there.



pkondz said:


> I didn't know you could get that... anywhere!
> (I mean other than buying one at a hardware store or something.)



Just before my last cruise they put extension cords on the prohibited list. Something about surge protectors and grounding and the lack of grounding in the ship. If they find them in your luggage they confiscate them until after the voyage. 



pkondz said:


> Ugh.
> Did I mention I went to my folks place the other day and had pea soup?
> No idea why that popped into my head.



I certainly don't want a ride on your train of thought. 



pkondz said:


> no bartender though. It wasn't open?



Maybe he was getting something from underneath the bar. If the bottles and stuff were out it was open. Those little bars folded up all compact when they were closed, I noticed that one morning when we were on our way to breakfast.



pkondz said:


> Gelato!!!! I'd be there every day.
> Probably more than once a day.



I wanted to go there but was never hungry enough when it was open.



pkondz said:


> What? Oh, go back to McDonald



I know. Really? NOTHING looks good? 



eeyore45 said:


> sneaking in to say how much I enjoy your trip reports! I cannot imagine going on a cruise (from sea sickness - to vertigo)



 im glad youre enjoying the report! I suffer from benign positional vertigo, but the motion of the ship doesn't bother me.



eeyore45 said:


> but WOW is your room huge! and that buffet! Yes please! How expensive are adult drinks on the cruise?



I think that the DotD are $4.50. The other drinks are anywhere between $7 for a glass of wine. Premium liquor is $11-12, I saw glasses of wine as high as $16-20. They were offering a six pack of beer in one of those round coolers for $20.



eeyore45 said:


> Looking forward to your further adventures! Thank you for sharing



Hopefully the next update can be today if I can get caught up on replies!


----------



## franandaj

dizneeat said:


> Ah, this makes me miss the DREAM even more. Thanks for sharing all the photos, Alison!



Aren't you on the Dream in March?



dizneeat said:


> I am with you. This one IS beautiful, but the Wonder with its lovely chandelier wins. I really hope they will keep it after the refurb and not exchange



On my ship tour in October the guide said that the reason they replaced the one on the Magic was to give it a more Art Deco feel, but the Wonder being in an Art Nouveau style made the Chihuly more in line with its decor. So I hope that they keep it too!



dizneeat said:


> *Neither could I. But then I just don't understand why all theses kids are in the hot tub in the first place. Not the right place for a kid in my eyes.*



You're not the first person to say this.



dizneeat said:


> YES! That area used to be the arcade (I think). Now, this is far more up my street. Looks yummy and I can see myself having a cup of ice-cream or two here. Even if you have to pay extra.



You are more of an ice cream person than I am, but still if it had been open and I wasn't stuffed from all the other wonderful meals we had, I would have liked to get some gelato. 



dizneeat said:


> *They usually have snow peas and carrots at EG as well. I usually have some and some asparagus. *



I guess I didn't notice. I only like raw carrots and snow peas on their own don't do it either. They're fine in a mixed stir fry, in fact I bought some yesterday for tonight's dinner, so I guess I didn't notice. I do like asparagus and I figure I need some healthy vegetables at the first buffet since I may not eat many on the rest of the cruise!



dizneeat said:


> *I like your thinking, girl! Love to see a drink or two. *



Oh yeah. There is a drink or two!



dizneeat said:


> Still two people too much in there. Well, I guess I could live with sharing the hot tub a little bit.



I do like having it to myself, but I could like with a couple people.



jedijill said:


> Oops, wrong ship.
> 
> Jill in CO







mvf-m11c said:


> The Dream looks very nice and it will be nice to read and see your pictures of the ship and compare the difference between the other DCL ships.



It is definitely a nice ship.



EJ4Disney said:


> I am late to the party - as usual, but I am really enjoying this trip report.  Thanks so much for taking us along.



  you're not late! The ship hasn't even set sail yet!


----------



## franandaj

afwdwfan said:


> Well, why not? You don't want to have to get up and go too far for a drink!



Actually you don't even have to!  There are waiters walking around with trays full of DotDs.  However the reason I ended up ordering a non-DotD was that they were sitting on the trays for a while, ice melting and getting watered down.



afwdwfan said:


> Wow, that looks awesome! Too bad it isn't included though.



Well they want to make money off you anyway they can, I was getting that impression about the Dream about this point.  However every day you could get Chocolate, Vanilla and Strawberry ice creams free and hand scooped, FREE!  Also there is a self service soft serve ice cream dispenser, also FREE!!!!  You'll see that a little later in the trip.



afwdwfan said:


> You know, this is the thing I'm not sure I'd like about a cruise. I realize you have crowds at the parks, but it is pretty easy to get away from them and go off the beaten path if you want to.



There really were places that you could get away from things, just not so many with kids in tow.



afwdwfan said:


> Interesting place for a Muster Drill. Did the shows just not work in your schedule or were they shows that you'd already seen on other ships?



We were too busy doing other things. Mostly eating and drinking!  



ljcrochet said:


> Looks great.  Slightly making me regret that my next cruise on on RCCL, and DH will become a higher level on that cruise, which means our next cruise will wind up being RCCL as well.



   That's too bad you can't squeeze in a Disney Cruise.  My next cruise is also not on Disney so it will be very interesting.  It's also a much smaller ship than the Wonder, so we'll see how that goes.  The good news is that we won't have to turn off our wireless devices, so if we find ourselves bored in the room, there's always that!  



cruisehopeful said:


> That is what I remember of my Dream cruise in Feb. 2011. We got on board around that time since we took DCL transfers from Jambo House. We were extremely hungry by the time we got on board and went up to the pool deck to get some food.  It was a complete madhouse up there. I was trying to get some quick service and kids in bathing suits kept pushing through the front of the line. When we did finally manage to get a couple plates of food (and it was a challenge to get), we headed straight for that 18 and up sign so we could sit down without being trampled.



That's too bad.  I have a feeling it's the sheer number of people that does it.  I never checked out either of the bars on the top decks.  I don't know if they served any food or just drinks, but I suspect that might have been a good place to go for a little bit of quiet as well.



cruisehopeful said:


> And when the Enchanted Garden was serving dinner, good luck walking down any of the hallways or anywhere else near there. The place was completely insane. I've been hoping the mass crowds and dysfunction of crowd control was due to it only being the 3rd time the ship had sailed. I'm hoping to read things have changed since then in your report.



This wasn't our experience here, so I have good news to report there.  We had second seating for dinner and there was no waiting or anything like on the Wonder cruise.  We also had no problems navigating Deck 2 after that one time when the staterooms were closed.



rentayenta said:


> What a beautiful ship (so far and hint hint).  Can't wait for more pics!!!
> 
> Yeah, I love to read the Navigators; it helps me believe we'll go on another Disney cruise one day.



I'm hoping to have some more pics up today, although I don't know how many of them are actually of the ship itself.



dhorner233 said:


> I'm sorry Fran was under the weather when you stayed at the tree houses but interesting that you could feel isolated on Disney property! I wish I could stay in a tree house!



When you stay in the room for two days straight, and it's a small apartment 10 feet above the ground, I could totally understand.  She didn't see anyone but me and maybe my parents (if she came out of the room).  I don't remember if she did or not.



dhorner233 said:


> What a beautiful ship! Why wasn't there a bartender at the little bar? Not open? Surely not an open bar.



Oh no, it was open.  When those were closed, they folded up like a little box.  I'm guessing that he was either getting something below or was delivering a drink to a customer and I just didn't catch him in the frame.



dhorner233 said:


> Venelope's was tempting but why? Where there is so much to eat that is free on the cruise??



Because they want to separate you from your money.  When I looked at the map of the ship, they had gift shops and sundries shops on Deck 11 in two or three locations.  There were also two other coffee bars (with espresso drinks for sale) besides the Cove Café.  The more I walked around on this day, the more I was convinced that once Disney had launched the Wonder and Magic, they went back to the drawing board and asked the question, "How can we turn these ships into even more of a cash cow?"  I think the answer was, we can sell the adults drinks and premium beverages, how do we get the whole family in on the act?  As Corinna pointed out Vanellopes becomes a major pester point for the kids, and the parents give in.  Now they're buying expensive premium items for the under 21 crowd!



dhorner233 said:


> Are the drinks of the day free?



No, but they are less expensive than the other drinks.  Around $4.50 each for alcoholic and I think $2.95 for non, maybe $2.



dhorner233 said:


> Gull Grill makes me think Grilled Gull :



That doesn't sound like Good Eats.



IowaTater said:


> I don't know if I mentioned this on your other cruise TR but I love that you post the Navigator every day. It definitely provides an overview of all the stuff that goes on every day.



  I'm glad you like the Navigators!  That makes me feel that's it's worthwhile to spend the effort to scan them in a post them.  There is always so much to do, sometimes all at the same time!



IowaTater said:


> Ahh, yes. The children. Glad to see there is an area for some quieter times. I'm not a kid-hater but I'm sure most people could use a break every once in a while.



Especially since we don't have kids and aren't exposed to them very often, we appreciate the breaks.  We know that going to places like Disney, we won't be escaping them, but glad that Disney does provide areas where they are lower impact.



IowaTater said:


> I love the Vanillope sweet shop. So cute & colorful. Between those pictures & your dessert pictures, I'm so craving ice cream right now!



I'm glad that I have a limited sweet tooth.  If I didn't I'd have an even harder time trying to lose weight!


----------



## franandaj

Once the drill was let out we wanted to avoid the elevator rush, so we headed over to the Vista Gallery. On the Wonder the gallery is a Hallway on Deck 4, on the Dream they had two full rooms dedicated to separating you from your $$$. Normally Fran is tempted by the pictures here, however not this time.  In fact we even found several pictures there that we already own!





We made our way back to the room, and I had my own little sail away party on the Verandah.









Here comes our armed Coast Guard Escort.





Yep. Definitely armed.





There’s the Kennedy Space Center off in the distance.





Then I finished putting our stuff away and sent clothes out for pressing. Then I decorated our door and already found two FE gifts out there!

Once we were out in open waters, we went Shopping, but I didn't find anything. These pictures were taken later in the cruise as the shops were much busier on the first night. But you get the idea. I realized on the last day of the cruise why I didn’t really like the shops on this ship. On the Wonder the stores are whimsical and very “Disney store” like. These shops look more like Macy’s . They also sold a lot more than Disney merchandise. I couldn’t actually tell you what they were selling, because I don’t know designer names. There were watches, jewelry, handbags and beach clothing. Not that they didn’t have plenty of Disney merchandise, but when I asked about “jewelry with Mickey on it”, they had none.





























Since I wasn’t interested in any merchandise, I went back to the room to finish up assembling my FE gifts.  I had taken these bows and attached them to magnets for door decorations.





I also had these little bags to put them in, along with Candy, Christmas “Mardi Gras” beads, some more door magnets, lip gloss or crayons and notepads for the kids.





After I finished assembling the FE gifts, I headed out to deliver my gifts for Decks 7,8,9 & 12. I had called Fran on the wave phone to let her know and just as I was getting back to the room, she was coming back as well.

Normally I’m not much of a Bar scene kind of person, but I had heard about Skyline and really wanted to try out this place. The “Windows” you’re looking out rotate between these locations.













Fran had a Coke Zero.





I had my usual.





While we were there we visited Hong Kong, New York and Chicago. We chatted with the bartender a bit since we were the only ones in there, and gave him and his bar back a handful of chocolates each.  We had finally unpacked and found the chocolate for distributing.


----------



## franandaj

Dinner our first night was in Animator’s Palate.  I had no idea what the “show” was here, but it was located at Deck 3 Aft, which was just one floor below Skyline where we were having a drink.  The weird thing about the Dream is that the Aft elevators are right smack in the middle of stuff. When you get out of the Aft elevators on Deck 4 you are in the middle of all the bars. When you get out of the elevator on Deck 3 you’re actually practically in the middle of Animator’s Palate. This startled me a little bit.  I’m used to the Wonder where all the elevators have a foyer area outside where people wait for the elevator to come.  On the Dream it was just a little off putting to step off the elevator and be right in the middle of bars and restaurants.

The restaurant was much larger than I expected, but then again they have to fit twice as many diners in each seating, so of course it’s going to be larger.













Most of the “show” happened on these screens here. I don’t want to give away too much, but let’s just say that throughout dinner, the screens became animated and were able to talk to you. We actually didn’t have one close enough to our table that anyone interacted with us.





Table setting





The menu was animated.





But it was pretty much the same menu as they had in Animator’s Palate on the Wonder.  That’s OK, I already have this one down as to what I like.









Somewhere in this time frame one of our dinner companions showed up.  We were paired up with some very nice ladies, friends taking a little get away, Pam and Anne. Pam was feeling under the weather that night.  It was her first cruise and evidently the motion of the ship had gotten to her.  Now that I think back about it, the motion of the ship was a bit rocky that night. Nothing that made Fran or I sick, but I did stumble a time or two with the ship’s motion.

I went with my old standby menu.  A Tomato Tart to start with, Fran had one as well.





We both went for the Baked Potato and Cheddar Cheese soup.





And then here’s where Fran took a detour.  She ordered the Jumbo Shrimp Salad from the Lighter Note Offerings.  Totally took me by surprise, but she really liked it.





I on the other hand was a creature of habit and had the Truffle pursettes for my entrée.  He brought me two appetizer portions, and I don’t think I was able to finish it.  Six of them, like the server on the Wonder brought me was just perfect.





Then came time for dessert.









Fran went with her old standby, the Cookies and Cream Sundae.





I had the White Chocolate Fudge Cheesecake with Whipped Cream and Raspberry Coulis.  It was OK, in hindsight, I should have had a Mickey Bar.





After dinner we headed back to the room to find it all made up, and a shiny new Navigator was placed on our bed.





























Now if you poured over this as carefully as I did, you would have noticed a Tequila tasting at 4PM the next day!  I went right down to Guest Services and signed us up for that!

And then we crawled into bed for the night.


----------



## mvf-m11c

Your verandah is very nice and that is neat to see the Kennedy Space Center. I was a little surprise to read that Fran didn't buy art at the Vista Gallery. But I can understand why since you have them. The stores were decorated nicely with the Christmas garland and wreaths. 

The Animator's Palate restaurant looks very nice to have a meal. The food looks very good but I like the cover of the menu with the animation.


----------



## dizneeat

franandaj said:


> Aren't you on the Dream in March?



*Nope, we are staying at the BCVs for 10 days to enjoy Flower and Garden (and a few extras )*



franandaj said:


> On my ship tour in October the guide said that the reason they replaced the one on the Magic was to give it a more Art Deco feel



*I do see that, but did it have to be the ugliest and most cheap looking one they could find. 
*



franandaj said:


> You are more of an ice cream person than I am, but still if it had been open and I wasn't stuffed from all the other wonderful meals we had, I would have liked to get some gelato.


*
I have yet to find a soft serve that I like. So I guess this would have been a really nice treat for me. *



franandaj said:


> We made our way back to the room, and I had my own little sail away party on the Verandah.



*Yeah! We would get along nicely - just what we do for sail away. *



franandaj said:


> Normally I’m not much of a Bar scene kind of person, but I had heard about Skyline and really wanted to try out this place. The “Windows” you’re looking out rotate between these locations.



*Hm, only one drink during three cities? You should have the appropriate one to go with each city while it is on. Gets you in a great mood for the rest of the day. *



franandaj said:


> I on the other hand was a creature of habit and had the Truffle pursettes for my entrée.







franandaj said:


> He brought me two appetizer portions, and I don’t think I was able to finish it.



*Don't blame you about not being able to finish two portions. While the appetizer portion is small, that dish is filling.* 



franandaj said:


> Now if you poured over this as carefully as I did, you would have noticed a Tequila tasting at 4PM the next day! I went right down to Guest Services and signed us up for that!



*Great choice! And well spotted.*


----------



## franandaj

mvf-m11c said:


> Your verandah is very nice and that is neat to see the Kennedy Space Center. I was a little surprise to read that Fran didn't buy art at the Vista Gallery. But I can understand why since you have them. The stores were decorated nicely with the Christmas garland and wreaths.



Ever since she has gotten involved with her art "pusher" we have a new painting to pick up from the frame store every other week it seems.  The last two that we got after our trip still have not found homes on our walls yet!  She doesn't need any more artwork and she knows it!



mvf-m11c said:


> The Animator's Palate restaurant looks very nice to have a meal. The food looks very good but I like the cover of the menu with the animation.



I'm starting to like that place more and more, now that I've figured out to have the appetizer as my entrée!



dizneeat said:


> *Nope, we are staying at the BCVs for 10 days to enjoy Flower and Garden (and a few extras )*



Ooops!  Got that one confused!  I can't wait to see F&G as well!  You reminded me that I wanted to post a PTR update as well!



dizneeat said:


> *I do see that, but did it have to be the ugliest and most cheap looking one they could find. *



True.  True.



dizneeat said:


> *I have yet to find a soft serve that I like. So I guess this would have been a really nice treat for me. *



Well I also noticed that you could get Chocolate, Vanilla and Strawberry Ice Cream hand scooped every day at Cabanas.  I'm not sure if that was new since your last cruise on the Dream.



dizneeat said:


> *Yeah! We would get along nicely - just what we do for sail away. *



I've noticed!  Usually you return to your cabin and pop open something and head out to the Verandah.  That's exactly what I like to do!



dizneeat said:


> *Hm, only one drink during three cities? You should have the appropriate one to go with each city while it is on. Gets you in a great mood for the rest of the day. *



Either that or I'm falling on the floor!  All the drinks that were appropriate to each city sounded much too sweet for my taste.



dizneeat said:


> *Don't blame you about not being able to finish two portions. While the appetizer portion is small, that dish is filling.*



It is filling.  I think it makes a great dinner.  Filling, but not too much.



dizneeat said:


> *Great choice! And well spotted.*



It's our favorite tasting session!


----------



## Dis_Yoda

Looks like you had a successful first night!  We like the way the Fantasy is set up better than the Dream - it seems they learned some lessons after they completed the Dream for the Fantasy.  Its always interesting getting to know a new ship.  I think this is one of the first times I've looked at one of your trip reports & Fran had no luck shopping!  Sorry that the Art Gallery & the shops had nothing that stood out for you!  We always end up skipping Animator's Palette for the first night as my husband isn't a fan of being put on the spot.  Glad you enjoyed your drink at Skyline!  That bar is awesome


----------



## franandaj

So I wanted to post an update about our next Disney trip.  Many of you know that the next Disney trip is our redo of the canceled trip with Naked Jim.  At 7 months, I changed our reservations from 3 nights in a 2 BR at VWL and 4 nights in a THV, to 4 nights in a 2BR at the VWL and 3 nights in a Poly Bungalow.

We had also talked about doing Universal since I really want to ride Gringott's and take the Hogwarts Express between the two parks.  For Fran's sake, we are adding two nights to the front of the trip and staying at the Royal Pacific Hotel for the FOTL access. We had been holding off on booking this and our airfare.  I have no idea why, but Fran didn't want to talk about it way back when I brought it up.  Then I kept forgetting to check on it until a couple days ago, when I suggested that we book our flights and the rooms at Universal.  

I'm not sure how many of you know that we have not paid for a plane ticket in years.  OK, we did pay for our tickets to Seattle over Thanksgiving in 2014, and we did buy tickets on SW up to my folks in the Bay Area when we did an overnight jaunt that included a day at the Pixar Studios, but BIG trips, we try not to have to shell out money unless we can get three seats cheap on Southwest.  So I'm looking at the airline miles, and for the "saver" fare of 25K miles, we have to change planes, most likely in Dallas.  The non stop (like we took on this trip) is 45K, and Fran tells me to bite the bullet, she doesn't want to change planes.  I mean we have over 300K miles, so that's not a problem.  

Then I go to book the airfare home.  I tell her that I don't mind changing planes on the way home to save miles since we'll get home and just rest for a couple days.  She doesn't want to change planes and has me look at the Anytime mileage.  Coming home this one is 55K per person.    It's one thing to spend and extra 20K, but 30K!!!!!  That's two whole flights and then some!  I said, "what happens if we look at coming home on Saturday?"  Lo and behold, back to 45K.  "Shall I see if we can get another night on points?"  She decided that we could handle one night in a studio (one of us doesn't get a nightstand if we do that and we swore them off about 4 years ago).  Besides, I will have had 7 nights with a big Jacuzzi tub, and been in a Poly Bungalow.  A studio for one night will be OK.  Let's see if there are any studios available at the Poly!   

OMG!  We got a standard view studio for the one night!  There were no lake view, nothing at the VGF, or BLT, but there was a Standard View Poly Studio at 4 months!  Crazy!  I nabbed it!  Then I booked our rooms at the Royal Pacific.  I had put our airfare on hold while I made sure that we had hotel rooms to stay in, before actually pulling the plug.  So here it is!  Our April/May trip is all set.  We still have to work out a few things like, how to get to the hotel (ie rental car/shuttle), how to get to Disney (ie rental car/taxi, DME), and what to order for groceries.  Also Naked Jim and Alberto need to buy their plane tickets. They are looking for the cheapest airfare, so they might not be on as convenient a flight.

April 27 - fly to MCO Stay at Loew's Royal Pacific
April 28 - US/IOA, possible dinner at Palm Steakhouse in Hard Rock Hotel
April 29 -   Not sure if we want to go to US/IOA or right to Disney.  Stay at VWL, make dinner in the room.
April 30 - Whispering Canyon Breakfast, Free day, Hoop De Doo for Dinner
May 1 - My Birthday! Probably Epcot for Flower & Garden, Dinner at Artist Point
May 2 - Late Lunch at Sanaa, head to AK for their Late night spectacular.
May 3 - Moving Day, Maybe Behind the Seeds, Late lunch at Chefs de France, Poly to use grills to make dinner, watch Wishes
May 4 - Rope Drop MK, 10:40 Breakfast at 1900 Park Fare, back to MK, O'hana Dinner
May 5 - Lunch at Fulton's, Dinner at BoG, Wishes
May 6 - say goodbye to Naked Jim & Alberto, possibly Skipper's Canteen for lunch, Boathouse dinner, Poly studio
May 7 - ???? DME at around 2PM, 5PM flight home!

Yay!  I love it when a plan comes together!


----------



## Dis_Yoda

Palm Steakhouse is awesome!  You would love it.  

Overall - good plans for your redo trip!  Seems like you will get a decent amount done but still have a chance to relax


----------



## rndmr2

Your plans sound great! Awesome score on the Poly Studio so close to the time. 

Artist Point will be nice for your B-day dinner, we really enjoyed it there when we went on our last trip in 2014. (I love the Seared Diver Scallops!)


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Just catching up! I love that if you stay at MCO hotel you can get the bell hop to send your bags to to cruise. We have often considered this so now this has won me over. We have similar bags to yours Jo says they are a godsend. 

Nice dinner at mac Grill! Your room at hotel looks good. You got to the port at a good time too. Nice photo of you both on embarkation. 

Your stateroom is lovely. Lunch looks nice we like the Enchanted Garden. Dinner at Animators Palette too. I am not a fan of this place. Try to avoid it. Book Palo's or do double dip the other restaurants. Too stimulating for somebody who needs a quiet dinner space. Food is good though. . 

I like cabanas we go early to avoid the crowds! The offer a lovely meat Carvery. 
look at your cute FE gifts! 

Exciting about your April/May trip!


----------



## IowaTater

I love those chairs at Animator's Palate.  Absolutely adorable. 



franandaj said:


> Now if you poured over this as carefully as I did, you would have noticed a Tequila tasting at 4PM the next day! I went right down to Guest Services and signed us up for that!



Haha!  I did notice that!  

Congrats on your May trip coming together!!  I'm still in a holding pattern for our October trip and it's driving me NUTS!!


----------



## jedijill

I agree that they really improved on the design with the Fantasy.  Some of the decisions they made on the Dream were just odd.

Your plans for your May trip are really coming together!

Jill in CO


----------



## RedHatDisney

Finally finished other trip report, now here for this one.  You wear me out!  lol


----------



## Pinkocto

Great update, I love seeing the ship.  I know I keep saying it but the pictures are really getting me excited  And all the holiday decorations are so pretty.

I'm really confused at the CM saying there was no Mickey jewelry???  They have a special case specifically for the Mickey jewelry... I couldn't care less about all the non-Disney stuff they have in the shops, and it does confuse me why there's so much of it.

Dinner looks great and I'm glad you had some nice tablemates.  I'm a bit nervous about who we'll be paired up with this upcoming trip.  Some have been fabulous and others just not.  Do I spy a delicious sundae 

Very exciting about your May trip plans  Love it when a trip comes together!  Congrats on getting the Poly studio so late in the game, that's awesome.  And bonus to save on the airfare.


----------



## franandaj

Dis_Yoda said:


> Looks like you had a successful first night! We like the way the Fantasy is set up better than the Dream - it seems they learned some lessons after they completed the Dream for the Fantasy. Its always interesting getting to know a new ship.



That's good to know. Just a little over a year until we cruise on the Fantasy. The Wonder is our next Disney ship.



Dis_Yoda said:


> I think this is one of the first times I've looked at one of your trip reports & Fran had no luck shopping! Sorry that the Art Gallery & the shops had nothing that stood out for you!



I said that I had no luck at the shops. Fran came back with plenty of stuff.  Yesterday she was even wearing a "Star Wars at sea" hoodie that she picked up on the ship. But yeah, she only came up empty at the Gallery.



Dis_Yoda said:


> We always end up skipping Animator's Palette for the first night as my husband isn't a fan of being put on the spot. Glad you enjoyed your drink at Skyline! That bar is awesome



I may be more inclined to skip restaurants once I have been to all of them. Especially on the Dream and Fantasy with both Remy and Palo available.  I do like those truffle pursettes though!



Dis_Yoda said:


> Palm Steakhouse is awesome! You would love it.



I've been to a Tequila dinner at the one in Downtown LA, and we had lunch at the one in Vegas, but I've never actually ordered a steak there. Looking forward to that.



Dis_Yoda said:


> Overall - good plans for your redo trip! Seems like you will get a decent amount done but still have a chance to



I hope so. As you will see, we don't chill a lot. Spoiler.



rndmr2 said:


> Your plans sound great! Awesome score on the Poly Studio so close to the time.



Thanks! It should be a lot of fun!



rndmr2 said:


> Artist Point will be nice for your B-day dinner, we really enjoyed it there when we went on our last trip in 2014. (I love the Seared Diver Scallops!)



I remember reading about it in your TR. I'm looking forward to trying it.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Just catching up! I love that if you stay at MCO hotel you can get the bell hop to send your bags to to cruise. We have often considered this so now this has won me over. We have similar bags to yours Jo says they are a godsend.



I think it would be a great idea for you two. Makes things very simple!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Nice dinner at mac Grill! Your room at hotel looks good. You got to the port at a good time too. Nice photo of you both on embarkation.



I think it all worked out well!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Your stateroom is lovely. Lunch looks nice we like the Enchanted Garden. Dinner at Animators Palette too. I am not a fan of this place. Try to avoid it. Book Palo's or do double dip the other restaurants. Too stimulating for somebody who needs a quiet dinner space. Food is good though. .



I think of the three restaurants this one is now my least favorite too. I would be more inclined to skip this one, especially if they turn pirate night into a Star Wars day at sea on all the ships.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> I like cabanas we go early to avoid the crowds! The off



I found it to be crowded all the time!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Exciting about your April/May trip!



I love having three or four trips in the works. Keeps me sane.


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> Just before my last cruise they put extension cords on the prohibited list. Something about surge protectors and grounding and the lack of grounding in the ship. If they find them in your luggage they confiscate them until after the voyage.



I believe you mentioned that before, but I didn't realize that they'd then have cords to give out.



franandaj said:


> I certainly don't want a ride on your train of thought.



 I like that! Gotta try and remember it.



franandaj said:


> Maybe he was getting something from underneath the bar. If the bottles and stuff were out it was open. Those little bars folded up all compact when they were closed, I noticed that one morning when we were on our way to breakfast.



Ah. Or maybe he just stepped out of camera range for a second.



franandaj said:


> I wanted to go there but was never hungry enough when it was open.



A tragedy of epic proportions.



franandaj said:


> on the Dream they had two full rooms dedicated to separating you from your $$$.



Of course they did. Sheesh.



franandaj said:


> In fact we even found several pictures there that we already own!



Did you happen to notice the prices? Were they similar to what you'd paid? Higher? Lower?



franandaj said:


> I had my own little sail away party on the Verandah.



I like that.
While if I ever did a cruise I think I'd like to do a party, I do like the relaxation of doing this instead.



franandaj said:


> Yep. Definitely armed.



Wow. I wonder just what he's expecting to see on a cruise ship?



franandaj said:


> There’s the Kennedy Space Center off in the distance.



Biiiiiiiig building.



franandaj said:


> Then I decorated our door and already found two FE gifts out there!



That was fast!



franandaj said:


> I realized on the last day of the cruise why I didn’t really like the shops on this ship. On the Wonder the stores are whimsical and very “Disney store” like. These shops look more like Macy’s .



I totally get that.



franandaj said:


> They also sold a lot more than Disney merchandise. I couldn’t actually tell you what they were selling, because I don’t know designer names.



I can teach you designer names.
Look at the stuff. If it's way more expensive than it has any right to be, it's designer.



franandaj said:


> The “Windows” you’re looking out rotate between these locations.



I'd heard about that somewhere. I really like that.



franandaj said:


> I don’t want to give away too much, but let’s just say that throughout dinner, the screens became animated and were able to talk to you.



Cool!



franandaj said:


> A Tomato Tart to start with



No caprese salad? 



franandaj said:


>



Pretty room.



franandaj said:


> Now if you poured over this as carefully as I did, you would have noticed a Tequila tasting at 4PM the next day! I went right down to Guest Services and signed us up for that!



 This surprises... no one.


----------



## franandaj

IowaTater said:


> I love those chairs at Animator's Palate.  Absolutely adorable.
> 
> Haha!  I did notice that!
> 
> Congrats on your May trip coming together!!  I'm still in a holding pattern for our October trip and it's driving me NUTS!!



Thanks!   When will your October trip be if everything comes together?



jedijill said:


> I agree that they really improved on the design with the Fantasy.  Some of the decisions they made on the Dream were just odd.
> 
> Your plans for your May trip are really coming together!
> 
> Jill in CO



That's good to know about the Fantasy, I'm looking forward to checking out that ship, and a longer itinerary!



RedHatDisney said:


> Finally finished other trip report, now here for this one.  You wear me out!  lol



  Well, we don't do a lot else besides these trips, so I get plenty of time to rest!



Pinkocto said:


> Great update, I love seeing the ship. I know I keep saying it but the pictures are really getting me excited  And all the holiday decorations are so pretty.



You should be excited!  Is yours a Star Wars Cruise?



Pinkocto said:


> I'm really confused at the CM saying there was no Mickey jewelry??? They have a special case specifically for the Mickey jewelry... I couldn't care less about all the non-Disney stuff they have in the shops, and it does confuse me why there's so much of it.



Well, she did point to a case, and maybe they had one necklace.  I either already had it or it was cheesy looking.  I suppose that's good, with my taste in jewelry, I can get into trouble.



Pinkocto said:


> Dinner looks great and I'm glad you had some nice tablemates. I'm a bit nervous about who we'll be paired up with this upcoming trip. Some have been fabulous and others just not. Do I spy a delicious sundae



They were great tablemates!  Probably the best that we've had on cruises.  We had a lot to talk about even if we didn't have all that much in common.



Pinkocto said:


> Very exciting about your May trip plans  Love it when a trip comes together! Congrats on getting the Poly studio so late in the game, that's awesome. And bonus to save on the airfare.



I'm so happy about the May trip plans, one thing left to do is get Jim over here so we can call Disney IT and somehow get Alberto hooked up as my friend so I can make our FP+ reservations, we probably need to make sure he has a ticket too!    I guess there is still a lot to do!


----------



## franandaj

pkondz said:


> I believe you mentioned that before, but I didn't realize that they'd then have cords to give out.



Well they have to do something.  Folks with a medical necessity requiring power need a solution.  I was surprised at what a heavy duty cord they gave me.  On the other ship I was given a totally flimsy cord.



pkondz said:


> Ah. Or maybe he just stepped out of camera range for a second.



That too.



pkondz said:


> Did you happen to notice the prices? Were they similar to what you'd paid? Higher? Lower?



Most of the pictures ran from around $195-$995 depending on the artist and how many were in the run.  However Fran doesn't even pay attention to price tags when it comes to stuff like that, she says if you have to look, you can't afford it.



pkondz said:


> I like that.
> While if I ever did a cruise I think I'd like to do a party, I do like the relaxation of doing this instead.



I don't like being stuck in the middle of large crowds with loud dance music playing, so I like privacy of my verandah.



pkondz said:


> Wow. I wonder just what he's expecting to see on a cruise ship?



I'm just wondering what the possibility of him needing that gun is?  



pkondz said:


> I'd heard about that somewhere. I really like that.



It was cool, and the scenes moved slightly, like you were in one of those rotating restaurants.



pkondz said:


> No caprese salad?



You won't be seeing one of those for probably a week now.



pkondz said:


> This surprises... no one.


----------



## IowaTater

franandaj said:


> Thanks! When will your October trip be if everything comes together?



We are booked for October 19-26th.   I'm just getting antsy because I can't really plan meals or FP+ or daily plans yet.  Plus we're waiting to decide if we are going to get MNSSHP until we hear if WDW is going to lift the costume ban.   I like to plan things


----------



## franandaj

IowaTater said:


> We are booked for October 19-26th.   I'm just getting antsy because I can't really plan meals or FP+ or daily plans yet.  Plus we're waiting to decide if we are going to get MNSSHP until we hear if WDW is going to lift the costume ban.   I like to plan things



Where are you staying? We're at BCV the 18th-28th. I am planning on a proper F&W trip with lots of kiosks, several special lunches, maybe a dinner or PFTS.  We should plan a meet up to say "Hi". I think you were there the time I went with PIO and you were following her PTR and maybe did a meet up.  I like to plan too but I have at least three trips in some form of planning before that one! I did create the worksheet for that trip today in my excel spreadsheet!


----------



## dolphingirl47

franandaj said:


> These shops look more like Macy’s . They also sold a lot more than Disney merchandise. I couldn’t actually tell you what they were selling, because I don’t know designer names. There were watches, jewelry, handbags and beach clothing.



That is a real shame. This was the one aspect I did not like on Royal Caribbean. Somehow I cannot see myself buying designer stuff on a ship



franandaj said:


> Not that they didn’t have plenty of Disney merchandise, but when I asked about “jewelry with Mickey on it”, they had none.



How strange.



franandaj said:


> On the Wonder the gallery is a Hallway on Deck 4, on the Dream they had two full rooms dedicated to separating you from your $$$.



I would have loved having a good look around.



franandaj said:


> When you get out of the elevator on Deck 3 you’re actually practically in the middle of Animator’s Palate.



That seems a strange way of organizing things.



franandaj said:


> OMG! We got a standard view studio for the one night!



Wow, that was a bit of luck.



franandaj said:


> Yay! I love it when a plan comes together!



I am glad that things are coming together.

Corinna


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> Well they have to do something. Folks with a medical necessity requiring power need a solution.


 
Good point.



franandaj said:


> However Fran doesn't even pay attention to price tags when it comes to stuff like that, she says if you have to look, you can't afford it.


 
I have to look.



franandaj said:


> I don't like being stuck in the middle of large crowds with loud dance music playing, so I like privacy of my verandah.


 
I hear that. Although I'd like to see the ship, of course.
But going to my own sanctuary is a must.



franandaj said:


> It was cool, and the scenes moved slightly, like you were in one of those rotating restaurants.


 
Cool!



franandaj said:


> You won't be seeing one of those for probably a week now.


 
 How will I go on???


----------



## ljcrochet

franandaj said:


> OMG! We got a standard view studio for the one night! There were no lake view, nothing at the VGF, or BLT, but there was a Standard View Poly Studio at 4 mont


One of the best things about poly studio is 2 night stands.


----------



## franandaj

dolphingirl47 said:


> That is a real shame. This was the one aspect I did not like on Royal Caribbean. Somehow I cannot see myself buying designer stuff on a ship



Yeah, exactly.  I know on the Wonder they did have some non Disney watches and jewelry, but not much and I wasn't interested in any of it.



dolphingirl47 said:


> That seems a strange way of organizing things.



I'm wondering if that is one of the changes that I will see on the Fantasy.



dolphingirl47 said:


> Wow, that was a bit of luck.



Yes it was!  I was astonished to say the least!



dolphingirl47 said:


> I am glad that things are coming together.



Me too, and we have several trips where things need to come together so I'm glad they are going in sync!


----------



## franandaj

Day 3

I guess I slept through the night as I have no notes about what I watched in the middle of the night.  Oh yeah, now I remember!  Fran had put MSNBC on the TV and it kept droning on about Donald Trump slinging mud about Hilary Clinton.  I’m not going to get into any politics here, but I think no one wants to hear about that BS ever, much less on vacation.  It was 6:15 and so I started the movie Enchanted.

Now the thing that is very different about the Dream from the Wonder is that there are not movies constantly playing.  However, you have a huge library of “On Demand” movies to watch. Thinking back, I prefer the “loop” of movies because you only have to choose from half a dozen choices. On this ship, there was almost every Disney movie made and it was really difficult to select when I had that many choices.  

While the movie played, I wrote in my phone to document what we did the day before so I would remember when it came to this TR.  This worked out really well!  At first I just had cliff notes, one word buzz words to help me remember the sequence of events, but as the trip went on, I found myself writing almost full paragraphs so that the end of the TR will be a lot easier for me since it’s already half written!

Back to the in room movies, the thing that I DID like better about the movies on the Dream, was that I could pause the movie when I went out on the verandah to attempt sunrise pictures.  The Navigator said that sunrise was going to be at 6:40, so I was out there in plenty of time.  However, the weather did not want to cooperate.  The sun was out there somewhere.





And so was this.





I kept looking for the sun on the horizon, but I also had no idea which way was East.





And then we sailed right into the storm, well for a Southern Californian it was a storm.  It was wet.





So I gave up on the Sunrise and went back to watching Enchanted.  I started working on the “wake up Fran” project.  And around 7:40 we turned off the movie and started getting ready to go out for breakfast.  We arrived around 8:15 at the Royal Palace and were only the second or third party to be seated in the restaurant.

















I thought this little bread basket was so cute!





The menu was identical to Triton’s on the Wonder, which was nice because then I didn’t have to think about what I wanted!









They came by with a tray of pastries and I went with a Blueberry Muffin.





Fran went with a cherry Danish.





We both ordered the Eggs Benedict which was served to us very quickly.  I guess when you’re among the only customers, service is fast.





By the time we left, the place was fairly crowded. I don’t remember if I went back to the room with her before heading up to the spa for my treatment. But this picture that I posted on FB tells me that I did come back to the room because @ACDSNY was on the Wonder that was docked next to us and I posted this picture at 9:07AM.  





Then I went up to the spa for my treatment.





I got a really cool treatment.  They rubbed me with these herbal “mushroom things”.  And then massaged me, the “mushroom things” were supposed to release all sorts of toxins.  





The gal let me take them with me since my final destination was in the US, but she told me to make sure that I let them air out really good and I could reuse them, but if they didn’t dry properly they would grow mold.  They really smelled and I let them air out for the whole rest of the cruise and then I put them in a ziploc bag.  Evidently that wasn’t good enough because I had to throw them away a couple days ago since I noticed mold growing on them.

When I came out it was definitely raining.  When I went back to the room Fran was resting in bed.  I wasn’t hungry for lunch yet and decided to finish up Enchanted. After that I started the cartoon version of Robin Hood.  Eventually I got in the shower.

Next chapter coming soon....


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

I love those movies on demand but you are so right sometimes too much choice leaves me channel hopping and indecisive! On vacation a loop make my choice for me! 

Shame about the weather today good job there is so much entertainment on DCL! Looks like a njce breakfast I love this restaurant but it takes all my will power and resolve not to put that cute ole bread basket in my wheelchair bag! I just adore it. I wish they sold them! We got a really nice Cinderella coach wine stop from WDW at Christmas. 

Ohhh a spa treatment I have not seen this mushroom deal! Sounds interesting. Nice of the person to gift you those mushrooms shame you had to throw them away. We had our nails done last year with that shellac coating. Loved the experience and they looked great but never again! Ruined our nails! Just nail polish next time! 

Looking forward to reading more about this day. Good idea to write it up each day.


----------



## IowaTater

franandaj said:


> Where are you staying? We're at BCV the 18th-28th. I am planning on a proper F&W trip with lots of kiosks, several special lunches, maybe a dinner or PFTS. We should plan a meet up to say "Hi". I think you were there the time I went with PIO and you were following her PTR and maybe did a meet up. I like to plan too but I have at least three trips in some form of planning before that one! I did create the worksheet for that trip today in my excel spreadsheet!



As of right now, we are staying at All Star Movies.  We were there at the same time as you an PIO but we never got a chance to meet up, even though we found that we were in several of the same places at the same time.  I'd love to catch up with you guys.  We love F&W.  In fact, we haven't booked any TS on that day because I'm planning on mainly doing the kiosks.  Other than that, we don't have anything special planned except for maybe MNSSHP.  I'd love to do the afternoon tea at the Grand Floridian but that kind of stuff isn't exactly my husband's cup of tea.  

Enchanted is one my favorite Disney movies.  What a bummer about that storm moving in   Hopefully it didn't ruin your day.  Wait, was this day the day of the tequila tasting?


----------



## jedijill

Too bad the sunrise was muted due to the storm but breakfast and the spa sound lovely!

Jill in CO


----------



## skier_pete

Hi there! I've been reading along but I haven't chimed in because I haven't had much to say - Now I do - but not really about the cruise TR.

First off - looks like a nice long trip in April/May. I've already commented on wanting to see your Bungalow pix. When we were there we didn't realize they give DVC members tours of the Bungalows. I know I'll never stay in one so I really wish we had taken the time to see one. Good that you got a spare night at the Poly. Moving within a resort is a lot easier than moving between resorts. It will also give you a chance to check out the Poly studios to see if they are somewhere you'd ever want to stay. I know you usually go with 1-bedrooms, but the Poly rooms are bigger than typical studios. We moved there from the BCV studios, and there was a HUGE difference.

Second - I noticed that you mentioned to @IowaTater that you will be in WDW October 18th - 28th. Looks like we will be overlapping trips! Currently planning a big ABD-BSM reunion trip for October 15th - 23rd.  We'll be staying at "home" at the AKV. We've got a lot of DISmeeting going on on that trip - we'll be likely arranging our schedule around that group -  but maybe we'd have time to share a glass at food and wine one day with you and Fran!


----------



## Dis_Yoda

That spa treatments sounds really cool!  Too bad that your detox mushrooms molded  

Glad you enjoyed Enchanted and started the day with a nice breakfast!


----------



## franandaj

pkondz said:


> I hear that. Although I'd like to see the ship, of course.
> But going to my own sanctuary is a must.



You can always check out the ship prior to the sail away party, like I did.  Plus, since your spouse is mobile you can always meet her at the muster drill.  Now that I think about it, they only require one person to swipe their room key, I think next time I'm going to see if I can leave her in the room for the muster drill.  If that works, it might be a plan for future cruises, then she will get a whole lot more nap time!  



pkondz said:


> How will I go on???



I think you'll cope.



ljcrochet said:


> One of the best things about poly studio is 2 night stands.



cool!  That's good to note, it's one of the reasons that we swore off studios cause we both need a nightstand.  I used to use our cooler as my nightstand when I got the short end of the stick but as soon as Fran got the short end of the stick nightstand, she said NEVER AGAIN, and I was cool with that.  We have enough points and I like having the Jacuzzi tubs anyways!


----------



## dolphingirl47

franandaj said:


> Oh yeah, now I remember! Fran had put MSNBC on the TV and it kept droning on about Donald Trump slinging mud about Hilary Clinton.



I am not sure if this would send me to sleep or give me nightmares. It would probably be a bit of both.



franandaj said:


> On this ship, there was almost every Disney movie made and it was really difficult to select when I had that many choices.



I am with you there. I think I would have felt a little overwhelmed by so much choice.



franandaj said:


> the Wonder that was docked next to us



That would have been so difficult for me.



franandaj said:


> Evidently that wasn’t good enough because I had to throw them away a couple days ago since I noticed mold growing on them.



What a shame.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> We had our nails done last year with that shellac coating. Loved the experience and they looked great but never again! Ruined our nails!



They must not have done it properly. I think I had first shellac and now Gelish (similar product, different brand) for about 5 years now and far from ruining my nails, it has made them stronger.

Corinna


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> I guess I slept through the night as I have no notes about what I watched in the middle of the night.



You did.
Oh, sure there was that one time at 2:49am when you sat up, but you just flopped onto your other side and went right back to sle....

Uh.


I don't know how you slept. How would I?



franandaj said:


> Fran had put MSNBC on the TV and it kept droning on about Donald Trump slinging mud about Hilary Clinton.



I think that would annoy me too much to let me sleep.
I could be wrong.



franandaj said:


> Now the thing that is very different about the Dream from the Wonder is that there are not movies constantly playing. However, you have a huge library of “On Demand” movies to watch. Thinking back, I prefer the “loop” of movies because you only have to choose from half a dozen choices. On this ship, there was almost every Disney movie made and it was really difficult to select when I had that many choices.



I would prefer it this way. 
So I could watch a movie from the beginning.
But I get your feeling. Kay is like that.



franandaj said:


> The Navigator said that sunrise was going to be at 6:40, so I was out there in plenty of time. However, the weather did not want to cooperate. The sun was out there somewhere.



What's with that?
Come on Disney! Fix that!



franandaj said:


>



That does not look good.



franandaj said:


> I started working on the “wake up Fran” project.







franandaj said:


> We arrived around 8:15 at the Royal Palace and were only the second or third party to be seated in the restaurant.



Nice. I love being one of a few in a restaurant.
More elbow room.



franandaj said:


> I thought this little bread basket was so cute!







franandaj said:


> We both ordered the Eggs Benedict



Because you're both smart.



franandaj said:


> I got a really cool treatment. They rubbed me with these herbal “mushroom things”.



Interesting.



franandaj said:


> the “mushroom things” were supposed to release all sorts of toxins.



OMG! Poisonous mushroom spores! Run Alison, run!!!



franandaj said:


> Now that I think about it, they only require one person to swipe their room key, I think next time I'm going to see if I can leave her in the room for the muster drill. If that works, it might be a plan for future cruises, then she will get a whole lot more nap time!



That would be a whooooole lot more convenient!



franandaj said:


> I think you'll cope.



Phew! Thanks!


----------



## franandaj

Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> I love those movies on demand but you are so right sometimes too much choice leaves me channel hopping and indecisive! On vacation a loop make my choice for me!



It's much easier that way!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Shame about the weather today good job there is so much entertainment on DCL! Looks like a njce breakfast I love this restaurant but it takes all my will power and resolve not to put that cute ole bread basket in my wheelchair bag! I just adore it. I wish they sold them! We got a really nice Cinderella coach wine stop from WDW at Christmas.



I would totally buy one if they sold it!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Ohhh a spa treatment I have not seen this mushroom deal! Sounds interesting. Nice of the person to gift you those mushrooms shame you had to throw them away. We had our nails done last year with that shellac coating. Loved the experience and they looked great but never again! Ruined our nails! Just nail polish next time!



Hmmmm that's interesting.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Looking forward to reading more about this day. Good idea to write it up each day.



More coming up soon!



IowaTater said:


> As of right now, we are staying at All Star Movies. We were there at the same time as you an PIO but we never got a chance to meet up, even though we found that we were in several of the same places at the same time. I'd love to catch up with you guys. We love F&W. In fact, we haven't booked any TS on that day because I'm planning on mainly doing the kiosks. Other than that, we don't have anything special planned except for maybe MNSSHP. I'd love to do the afternoon tea at the Grand Floridian but that kind of stuff isn't exactly my husband's cup of tea.



As it gets closer and plans solidify we should make a plan to say "hi".



IowaTater said:


> Enchanted is one my favorite Disney movies. What a bummer about that storm moving in  Hopefully it didn't ruin your day. Wait, was this day the day of the tequila tasting?



On a Disney ship, not much can ruin ones, day, but there was a reason I stopped where I did.  



jedijill said:


> Too bad the sunrise was muted due to the storm but breakfast and the spa sound lovely!
> 
> Jill in CO



Yeah, it wasn't the best day, but I tried to make up for it.


----------



## franandaj

********** said:


> Hi there! I've been reading along but I haven't chimed in because I haven't had much to say - Now I do - but not really about the cruise TR.
> 
> First off - looks like a nice long trip in April/May. I've already commented on wanting to see your Bungalow pix. When we were there we didn't realize they give DVC members tours of the Bungalows. I know I'll never stay in one so I really wish we had taken the time to see one. Good that you got a spare night at the Poly. Moving within a resort is a lot easier than moving between resorts. It will also give you a chance to check out the Poly studios to see if they are somewhere you'd ever want to stay. I know you usually go with 1-bedrooms, but the Poly rooms are bigger than typical studios. We moved there from the BCV studios, and there was a HUGE difference.



I certainly plan on doing a TR and sharing pix, I can't wait to stay in such a luxurious place as the Bungalows!  We were thinking that transferring to a new room at the same resort would be soooo much easier.  However, we would never consider staying more than one night in a studio at WDW.  If we are flying all the way across the country to a land of water-plenty I want my Jacuzzi tub!  Besides we really utilize the kitchen.  Maybe not every day, but normally we cook in the room quite a bit.  The trip where I brought a Prime Rib in my suitcase, we were at WDW 8 nights and four of those nights I cooked in the room using that Prime Rib in completely different ways every time.



********** said:


> Second - I noticed that you mentioned to @IowaTater that you will be in WDW October 18th - 28th. Looks like we will be overlapping trips! Currently planning a big ABD-BSM reunion trip for October 15th - 23rd. We'll be staying at "home" at the AKV. We've got a lot of DISmeeting going on on that trip - we'll be likely arranging our schedule around that group - but maybe we'd have time to share a glass at food and wine one day with you and Fran!



Cool!  As I said to @IowaTater we need to schedule it once the nitty gritty planning starts.  I've found that if you don't plan it, rarely does it happen.  Although you will see on this trip there are a few (although undocumented with pictures) DISmeets.



Dis_Yoda said:


> That spa treatments sounds really cool!  Too bad that your detox mushrooms molded
> 
> Glad you enjoyed Enchanted and started the day with a nice breakfast!



It was cool.  I could totally feel the effects of the herbal stuff.  At first I was worried that I might have an allergic reaction, but I ended up being fine.  I can't believe that they didn't dry out after three days, but I guess I should have taken them out of the bags as soon as I got home.  In our dessert weather, I'm sure they would have dried out, but boy did they smell!



dolphingirl47 said:


> I am not sure if this would send me to sleep or give me nightmares. It would probably be a bit of both.



Yeah, I think I was having nightmares and that's why I woke up!



dolphingirl47 said:


> I am with you there. I think I would have felt a little overwhelmed by so much choice.



It was totally overwhelming!  Hard to deal with.



dolphingirl47 said:


> That would have been so difficult for me.



I was having mixed feelings.  I was enjoying checking out the new ship, but somewhat longing for the ship I already knew!



pkondz said:


> You did.
> Oh, sure there was that one time at 2:49am when you sat up, but you just flopped onto your other side and went right back to sle....
> 
> Uh.
> 
> 
> I don't know how you slept. How would I?



OK.  Now you're starting to freak me out dude.



pkondz said:


> I think that would annoy me too much to let me sleep.
> I could be wrong.



Why do you think I woke up and had to put something else on.  It was seriously annoying.



pkondz said:


> I would prefer it this way.
> So I could watch a movie from the beginning.
> But I get your feeling. Kay is like that.



What I think I would like is a DVR where you can flip through the channels and then rewind the movie to the beginning.  But then again, I've seen every Disney movie (just about) enough that I can pick it up in the middle.  Although perhaps Pocohontas and Mulan could use a brush up.  I don't really remember how those went.  Hercules too.



pkondz said:


> What's with that?
> Come on Disney! Fix that!



I know.  Why can't they control the weather, they have everything else under control!



pkondz said:


> Nice. I love being one of a few in a restaurant.
> More elbow room.



And the attention of the servers.



pkondz said:


> OMG! Poisonous mushroom spores! Run Alison, run!!!



No the poison is in me!  I have to run from my toxins, but actually they run from me in a different manner that we probably shouldn't discuss in this forum.



pkondz said:


> That would be a whooooole lot more convenient!



I know.  I should try that on our Alaskan cruise.


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> OK. Now you're starting to freak me out dude.







franandaj said:


> Why do you think I woke up and had to put something else on. It was seriously annoying.



Ah yes. Of course.



franandaj said:


> What I think I would like is a DVR where you can flip through the channels and then rewind the movie to the beginning.



Yes! Perfect!



franandaj said:


> But then again, I've seen every Disney movie (just about) enough that I can pick it up in the middle.



I've missed a lot of the newer stuff.



franandaj said:


> Although perhaps Pocohontas and Mulan could use a brush up. I don't really remember how those went. Hercules too.



I'm a bit more refreshed on Pocohontas, but definitely not Mulan or Hercules.



franandaj said:


> And the attention of the servers.







franandaj said:


> No the poison is in me! I have to run from my toxins, but actually they run from me in a different manner that we probably shouldn't discuss in this forum.


----------



## IowaTater

franandaj said:


> As it gets closer and plans solidify we should make a plan to say "hi".



Sounds like a plan!



franandaj said:


> On a Disney ship, not much can ruin ones, day, but there was a reason I stopped where I did.



Oopsss.  Once again, I'm getting antsy.  lol


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

You're already 3 days into the cruise and I'm just catching up now.   Why do I get the feeling I'm going to be saying that often?

Looks like the cruise got off to a good start.  Relaxing, spa treatments, good food.  Sorry the weather wasn't looking so hot on day 3.


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

Oh, and the birthday plans look great!  I had to note "Artist Point" with a knowing chuckle.


----------



## rentayenta

Can't believe I was so behind. Been working a little extra and then under the weather yesterday but I am all caught up.

I see what you mean about the shops. They look more like shops that would be in South Coast Plaza and not a Disney ship. Not fun at all. And no Disney jewelry?  Odd.

Love the chairs in AP. So cute.

The Eggs Benedict looks yum! I think I went with a Mickey Bar every night. The only thing that compared was the strawberry sundae. 

 Your bday plans look awesome!


----------



## PrincessInOz

I'm so far behind with your updates that I'll just say that I'm hungry and all caught up!

YAY for the extra night with the re-do!


----------



## franandaj

pkondz said:


> I've missed a lot of the newer stuff.



Other than Inside Out, we've made it a point to go to the new Disney movies.  I do have a gap in there from after the Aladdin/Beauty & the Beast/Under the Sea period (around 1995 to 1998), and the 1980's when I was a teenager and "too cool" for "kid's stuff".  When we get caught up with moving, I intend to go back and catch up on Disney animated movies!



pkondz said:


> I'm a bit more refreshed on Pocohontas, but definitely not Mulan or Hercules.



Pocohontas came out at a bad point in my life. I saw it in the theater, but don't have good memories of that time.



IowaTater said:


> Sounds like a plan!







IowaTater said:


> Oopsss. Once again, I'm getting antsy. lol



You and @rentayenta !  



Captain_Oblivious said:


> You're already 3 days into the cruise and I'm just catching up now.  Why do I get the feeling I'm going to be saying that often?



You have a lot going on right now.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Looks like the cruise got off to a good start. Relaxing, spa treatments, good food. Sorry the weather wasn't looking so hot on day 3.



It was a pretty good start, the weather wasn't the worst part of that day.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Oh, and the birthday plans look great!  I had to note "Artist Point" with a knowing chuckle.



I have big expectations now that I know it's inspiration!



rentayenta said:


> Can't believe I was so behind. Been working a little extra and then under the weather yesterday but I am all caught up.



You've been rather busy!



rentayenta said:


> I see what you mean about the shops. They look more like shops that would be in South Coast Plaza and not a Disney ship. Not fun at all. And no Disney jewelry?  Odd.



I know!  I'm more likely to be separated from my money when Mickey is standing over the display!



rentayenta said:


> Love the chairs in AP. So cute.
> 
> The Eggs Benedict looks yum! I think I went with a Mickey Bar every night. The only thing that compared was the strawberry sundae.



Disney does all the details so well! The eggs Benedict were awesome. I can't wait to have that breakfast again!



rentayenta said:


> Your bday plans look awesome!



Thanks! It should be a fun trip!


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> Other than Inside Out, we've made it a point to go to the new Disney movies. I do have a gap in there from after the Aladdin/Beauty & the Beast/Under the Sea period (around 1995 to 1998), and the 1980's when I was a teenager and "too cool" for "kid's stuff". When we get caught up with moving, I intend to go back and catch up on Disney animated movies!



I had hardly seen any (except for the really old stuff) until we had kids. We owned a copy of Pocahontas (VHS) so I've seen it a few times, but it wasn't one of Elle's faves, so it wasn't on as often as other stuff. The new stuff? My girls are too old and/or too busy. I _just_ saw Toy Story 3 a couple of weeks ago because I happened to stumble across it on TV.


----------



## franandaj

PrincessInOz said:


> I'm so far behind with your updates that I'll just say that I'm hungry and all caught up!
> 
> YAY for the extra night with the re-do!



You've been really busy.  Evidently everyone but me is busy.  Although I have also been somewhat busy as well!



pkondz said:


> I had hardly seen any (except for the really old stuff) until we had kids. We owned a copy of Pocahontas (VHS) so I've seen it a few times, but it wasn't one of Elle's faves, so it wasn't on as often as other stuff. The new stuff? My girls are too old and/or too busy. I _just_ saw Toy Story 3 a couple of weeks ago because I happened to stumble across it on TV.



Since our kids all have four legs and don't appreciate the nuances of animation, we are the ones who appreciate it.  We don't go out to the movies very much unless a new Disney feature is coming out.  Normally we wait until movies come out on HBO, Showtime or Starz. But we want to make sure that we have our say at the box office via ticket purchase.


----------



## franandaj

I was able to sneak in a quick update a few days ago, but I’ve been pretty busy. We spent three days this past week working on packing up the old house.  We took at least five boxes to the thrift store, and put another 15 or so boxes in storage. There is still a ton of stuff over there, but at least we are making a start. We are scheduled next Saturday to have the guys who work for the contractor to help get the 50-100 boxes stored in the attic at the old house.  Those will pretty much go directly into storage.  We also have it on the schedule to put the loveseat out to the curb this week, the city will pick it up and trash it.

Hopefully everything will be out before our trip in March.  Crossing my fingers, we’ll just have to see.

We also took care of another round of airfare for our cruise to Alaska.  The planes that fly direct from LA to Vancouver are much smaller than other flights, say to Orlando.  We had planned to fly in the day before the cruise and stay for three days after, but because of the way the miles worked out, we are flying out three days early and staying for one night after the cruise.

We leave July 1 and stay two nights in a downtown hotel, they we transfer to the Pan Pacific hotel at Canada Place (which is adjacent to the cruise terminal) for one night. We board the Wonder on the 4th of July for a week long cruise of Alaska. We disembark the ship on the 11th and stay for one more night before catching a plane home at noon the next day. 

At 1:00PM, we had to try and register online for an event at DL, one where you would get to dine inside the HM.  It was severely limited in attendance (like 20 people) and the actual sign in was very convoluted.  We pretty much didn’t get in as the thing closed within 1 minute of opening, we got on the waitlist after 10 minutes, but with only 20 people, our hopes of actually getting in are doubtful.  So this pretty much soured Fran’s mood for the entire day.  She had no interest of getting lunch and just wanted to hold a pity party. She sent off a seething email about the convoluted sign in process, and actually there was another event just two weeks ago where they clearly stated the process for signing up. Little good that did us for this time.

At this point she also tells me that she never even wanted to go on this trip, and her breaking her leg earlier this year ruined everything. We have been losing thousands of dollars every month by not having our old apartment cleaned out and ready to rent and taking a vacation is only taking away from that income.  Essentially she was just bitter about everything at this point, and I was flabbergasted. I thought she understood that I needed to get away after everything we had been through.  Clearly we had a difference of opinions and I had no idea!

She told me that she wasn’t hungry, and I could “do whatever I wanted.”  Well I certainly didn’t want to hang around the room at that point in time.  I was sad that we didn’t get into the event, but I wasn’t going to let it ruin my life or the trip. So I went up to Cabanas to check out what they had to offer. It was somewhat late in the afternoon maybe 2PM.  I was a little bit dismayed that most of what they had to offer was pretty much the same stuff they had the day before.  On the Wonder the buffet changes every day, which is nice.

I didn’t want to eat too much and spoil my appetite for dinner.  There was actually one thing that was different from the day before.  They had a sushi chef making small plates, there weren’t any choices, but this plate with a maguro nigiri, California roll and some sort of lobster roll seemed like it would fit the bill.





And they had this peach and apple cobbler with hand scooped vanilla ice cream, and that sounded like a good ending to my lunch.





It was definitely a dreary day outside.





You can see the Atlantis Resort off in the distance.









I decided to explore the ship a little more and I climbed the aft stairs up to Deck 12.  We would be dining here at Remy tomorrow night.





And we would be skipping Palo this cruise.





And Meridian Lounge, we never made it here this trip.





Since it was so dreary outside, I decided to go back down to the atrium.  I took a couple more shots.





They had a gingerbread house set up here.





And another of the chandelier.





Since we had a tequila tasting coming up, I decided to have a margarita at the lobby bar. The bartender appreciated his chocolates!





I went back to the room, to get my gifts for the Fish Extender.  I delivered the last of them to the folks on Decks 2 & 6 and then stopped by Tow Mater’s Grill to get a Cheeseburger and fries for Fran.  Sorry no picture!

We kicked it in the room for a little while. On her tablet she had downloaded some TV series and she decided that we should start watching Blue Bloods, so we watched the pilot on the tablet while we waited until the time for our Tequila Tasting which was at 4PM.  Around 3:30 we headed out to the District Lounge where we would be tasting today.  I wish I had taken more photos of many areas of the ship.  These two pictures of the District Lounge I had to steal from the Internet.  There are five different bars in this area.  Skyline, where we were the previous night, Pink which is a champagne bar, 687 which is a sports pub style bar, and Evolution, a dance bar.  The District is the first one that you walk through if you are approaching this area from Mid Ship on Deck 4. This is the bar area where our tasting was held.





This is the lounge area where there is entertainment at night. They are all in one room, but there is a walkway behind the seats of the bar which takes you to 687, Evolution and finally Skyline.





Tasting classes on the Dream are different than the Wonder.  The bars are set up smaller so that folks can be “all together” in one location.  The entire class was seated at the bar and they had even made two Handicapped Accessible seats at the left end of the bar (not pictured) so that Fran could stay in her scooter.  It’s much more comfortable than a bar stool as she has an extra cushion on there.

There were a couple people who did not RSVP for the class and showed up to find that there weren’t any seats left at the bar.  The host was very hospitable and he had his assistants set up folks in the walkway behind the barstools using tables and chairs from the lounge part of the bar.

Our class was conducted by the bartender from behind the bar and it was sometimes hard to hear him as it was a very long bar and we could only hear him when he faced us.  When he talked to the other end of the bar his voice was inaudible.  Good thing we have done many tequila tastings and there isn’t much about the drink we don’t already know.  What was very different about tastings on the Dream is that they do not “prepour” the drinks, so there is no chance to steal your “no show” neighbor’s drinks.  Here was our original set up.





The bartender came by and filled the glasses as each person showed up and took their seats.





We had a silver, reposado and Anejo tequila all made by Patron.  Quick recap for those not familiar.  

Silver, not really aged, just made from the fermented Agave plant. This is what you want to use for margaritas as the lime juice masks the flavor.

Reposado (my favorite), aged in oak for 1-3 years.  The aging cuts a little bit of the bite of the tequila

Anejo , aged in oak for 4-7 years. This is the most expensive, but I’m not a huge fan of oak in my tequila or my chardonnay which is why I like the Reposado better.

Then he poured us a tiny glass of the coffee flavor.  Anyone who remembers my Mixology class on the Wonder where the show off guy used more than half the bottle will notice how small a pour he gave us.  Yes, it’s THAT expensive.





Then they gave us a traditional Margarita.





Here’s where the Dream makes up for not being able to steal drinks on no shows.  They premixed an entire jug of margaritas which was more than enough for everyone to have one serving.  So they kept pouring more for everyone until the jug was empty.  I think we had 3-4 refills! Then we got a Mango Margarita.  This was much sweeter, but they also let us have more.  I took whatever they would give me, but I preferred the traditional margarita.









We were definitely happy when leaving this tasting!  Mickey Mouse was going to be on Deck 4 at 5:15 so we headed there to get in line. Fran was still in her funk and didn’t want to get in the pictures with Mickey.

















We went back to the room and ended up watching the rest of the Blue Bloods episode on the tablet before changing for dinner and going down to meet Minnie Mouse.









*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

Then we headed to Skyline for another pre dinner drink.  I had a Capirainia but it was the weirdest tasting that I have ever tasted!  I’ve had quite a few at Brazilian Steakhouses back home.





When time for dinner came, we headed to Enchanted Garden.  This is a bright and cheery restaurant.













The menu here has some similarities to the menu at Parrot Cay on the Wonder, but also some differences.  That was a refreshing change.

















Tonight our second dinner companion was feeling much better and was able to join us for dinner.  For my starter I went with the North Atlantic Lobster Ravioli with Roasted Garlic and Sweet Basil in a Tomato Broth.  It was very tasty!





Fran skipped the appetizer section all together and went for the Cream of Green Asparagus Soup with Crabmeat and Asparagus Tips.  She really likes this one in Parrot Cay, so it didn’t surprise me that she ordered this.





I had the Romaine Wedge for my salad.  It was pretty good.





For a salad she ordered the Spinach and Raspberry Salad.





For my entrée I had the Caramelized Sea Scallops with Roasted Asparagus, Sundried Tomato Cous Cous, Caramelized Leeks and Red Wine Veal Jus.  This was really tasty and a huge portion.  I’m pretty sure I couldn’t finish it all.





Part of the problem was that Fran ordered the Prime Rib, and gave me a nice size slice so that I could have surf and turf!  Best of both worlds.





Then the dessert menus arrived.









I went with the Date pudding, that I’ve had before.  I knew it was really good!





Here we are with our tablemates.





After dinner we went back to the room to find another Navigator. Tomorrow was our day at Castaway Cay and we also had a map for that.  We spent a bit of time studying the map and planning our strategy for the day.


----------



## mvf-m11c

Hope everything works out and you will all be ready for your trip in a couple of months. Sorry to read that you didn't get in for dining in the HM. That would be fun to do.

The ship looks very nice especially with the Christmas decorations. The tasting class looks fun  to do. Very nice pictures with Mickey.

The Enchanted Garden restaurant looks amazing and the atmosphere must be refreshing especially when dining there. The food looks good.


----------



## DnA2010

Great update! Enjoying all the pictures of the ship and look forward to hearing about your day at CC!

Love the pictures with Minnie, so adorable! 

So you are staying at the PP pre-cruise, where are you staying the nights before? I thought we might be in Vancouver around that time as I think I'm there for work in July, but we need to be in Edmonton on the 1st for DHs grandmother's 90th.


----------



## PrincessInOz

You sound like you're busy in real life too!
Sorry you didn't get in for dining in the HM.  Hope that Fran came out of her funk.  

Pictures of you and Minnie are great!  Love it.
Love the tasting and food pictures.  I've said it before...I'd love to do a tasting.  I'd take a few sips and then pass the drinks over to you and Fran.


----------



## dhorner233

Sorry you didn't get into the dinner at the HM. That would have been so cool! Well, you are on the waiting list.....

Looks like you had a great day anyway! Beautiful ship! So much to do! So much to eat!


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> I was able to sneak in a quick update a few days ago, but I’ve been pretty busy. We spent three days this past week working on packing up the old house. We took at least five boxes to the thrift store, and put another 15 or so boxes in storage. There is still a ton of stuff over there, but at least we are making a start. We are scheduled next Saturday to have the guys who work for the contractor to help get the 50-100 boxes stored in the attic at the old house. Those will pretty much go directly into storage. We also have it on the schedule to put the loveseat out to the curb this week, the city will pick it up and trash it.
> 
> Hopefully everything will be out before our trip in March. Crossing my fingers, we’ll just have to see.



That's a ton of stuff! Hopefully you get it all worked out.



franandaj said:


> We also took care of another round of airfare for our cruise to Alaska. The planes that fly direct from LA to Vancouver are much smaller than other flights, say to Orlando. We had planned to fly in the day before the cruise and stay for three days after, but because of the way the miles worked out, we are flying out three days early and staying for one night after the cruise.
> 
> We leave July 1 and stay two nights in a downtown hotel, they we transfer to the Pan Pacific hotel at Canada Place (which is adjacent to the cruise terminal) for one night. We board the Wonder on the 4th of July for a week long cruise of Alaska. We disembark the ship on the 11th and stay for one more night before catching a plane home at noon the next day.



Sounds like the makings of a great trip.



franandaj said:


> At 1:00PM, we had to try and register online for an event at DL, one where you would get to dine inside the HM.



I think... _think!_ I've heard of that... but it fell completely off my radar.
That's just too cool.
I wonder where exactly they dine?



franandaj said:


> We pretty much didn’t get in as the thing closed within 1 minute of opening, we got on the waitlist after 10 minutes, but with only 20 people, our hopes of actually getting in are doubtful.



Sucks.



franandaj said:


> So this pretty much soured Fran’s mood for the entire day



Oh. That's too bad.



franandaj said:


> At this point she also tells me that she never even wanted to go on this trip, and her breaking her leg earlier this year ruined everything. We have been losing thousands of dollars every month by not having our old apartment cleaned out and ready to rent and taking a vacation is only taking away from that income. Essentially she was just bitter about everything at this point, and I was flabbergasted. I thought she understood that I needed to get away after everything we had been through. Clearly we had a difference of opinions and I had no idea!



Whooo.... yeah. That doesn't sound like a pleasant situation.



franandaj said:


> She told me that she wasn’t hungry, and I could “do whatever I wanted.” Well I certainly didn’t want to hang around the room at that point in time.



I get that. Don't blame you one bit.



franandaj said:


> And they had this peach and apple cobbler with hand scooped vanilla ice cream, and that sounded like a good ending to my lunch.



Want!



franandaj said:


>



Beautiful!



franandaj said:


> There are five different bars in this area. Skyline, where we were the previous night, Pink which is a champagne bar, 687 which is a sports pub style bar, and Evolution, a dance bar.



Interesting. Which one did you prefer?



franandaj said:


> What was very different about tastings on the Dream is that they do not “prepour” the drinks, so there is no chance to steal your “no show” neighbor’s drinks.



Dang.



franandaj said:


> Silver, not really aged, just made from the fermented Agave plant. This is what you want to use for margaritas as the lime juice masks the flavor.
> 
> Reposado (my favorite), aged in oak for 1-3 years. The aging cuts a little bit of the bite of the tequila
> 
> Anejo , aged in oak for 4-7 years. This is the most expensive, but I’m not a huge fan of oak in my tequila or my chardonnay which is why I like the Reposado better.



Also interesting. Didn't know that.



franandaj said:


> They premixed an entire jug of margaritas which was more than enough for everyone to have one serving. So they kept pouring more for everyone until the jug was empty. I think we had 3-4 refills!



 Well thank goodness for that!



franandaj said:


> I took whatever they would give me, but I preferred the traditional margarita.



It was very good of you to take those drinks.
You know... so you wouldn't hurt the bartender's feelings.



franandaj said:


>



Look at that grin! You seem awfully happy!



franandaj said:


>



Was that a real skylight? Or Disney magic to make it appear that you were dining under the sun?



franandaj said:


> For my entrée I had the Caramelized Sea Scallops with Roasted Asparagus, Sundried Tomato Cous Cous, Caramelized Leeks and Red Wine Veal Jus. This was really tasty and a huge portion. I’m pretty sure I couldn’t finish it all.



Wow that looks good.



franandaj said:


> Part of the problem was that Fran ordered the Prime Rib, and gave me a nice size slice so that I could have surf and turf! Best of both worlds.



Nice!



franandaj said:


> Tomorrow was our day at Castaway Cay



Can't wait! I'm very curious to see what that's like.


----------



## longneckthree

This is my first time replying to a trip report in a long time, but I had to come and let you know that I love reading yours!  You guys are amazing.  I can't wait to read more of this adventure and future ones - please don't stop sharing with us.   Thank you for taking the time.
Maggie


----------



## IowaTater

Dining at the HM would have been awesome.  What a bummer that you guys didn't get in 

Sorry to hear about Fran's funk.  DH gets like that sometimes too.  I normally do what you did & just give him some space.  No sense 2 people being cranky.

Such cute pictures with Minnie! Looks like you guys had a great dinner and tequila tasting too.

What did you think of Blue Bloods?  DH really likes it.  To me, it's just okay.  I have a hard time watching Donnie Wahlberg be a jerk.


----------



## afwdwfan

franandaj said:


> Not that they didn’t have plenty of Disney merchandise, but when I asked about “jewelry with Mickey on it”, they had none.


Because, why would a Disney ship have jewelry with Mickey on it????  



franandaj said:


> Normally I’m not much of a Bar scene kind of person, but I had heard about Skyline and really wanted to try out this place. The “Windows” you’re looking out rotate between these locations.


It does look like an interesting place to have a drink. 



franandaj said:


> When you get out of the elevator on Deck 3 you’re actually practically in the middle of Animator’s Palate. This startled me a little bit. I’m used to the Wonder where all the elevators have a foyer area outside where people wait for the elevator to come. On the Dream it was just a little off putting to step off the elevator and be right in the middle of bars and restaurants


That does seem a little bit odd... and awkward.  I mean, standing in the middle of a restaurant waiting to go back to your room??? 



franandaj said:


>


Love the chairs!



franandaj said:


> So I wanted to post an update about our next Disney trip.


Looks like the plans are coming together nicely!  I love the fact that you're going to get to stay at a Poly Bungalow.  I want lots and lots of pictures! I'm glad you were able to come to a reasonable compromise on your flight/extra night. 



franandaj said:


> On this ship, there was almost every Disney movie made and it was really difficult to select when I had that many choices.


I can only imagine...



franandaj said:


> And then we sailed right into the storm, well for a Southern Californian it was a storm. It was wet.


So, about 5 or 6 rain drops?  Sorry the clouds interfered with your sunrise plans.



franandaj said:


> We leave July 1 and stay two nights in a downtown hotel, they we transfer to the Pan Pacific hotel at Canada Place (which is adjacent to the cruise terminal) for one night. We board the Wonder on the 4th of July for a week long cruise of Alaska. We disembark the ship on the 11th and stay for one more night before catching a plane home at noon the next day.


This really looks like a lot of fun! 



franandaj said:


> At 1:00PM, we had to try and register online for an event at DL, one where you would get to dine inside the HM. It was severely limited in attendance (like 20 people) and the actual sign in was very convoluted.


This looks like it would be a wonderful experience to get to visit HM like that.  I'm really sorry that it didn't work out for you to get signed up for it. 



franandaj said:


> I was sad that we didn’t get into the event, but I wasn’t going to let it ruin my life or the trip.


You really can't let it get you down too much.  With such a small window of opportunity, you've got to assume that even if you hadn't had difficulties with the system, there's still a good chance that you might not have gotten in.  No point to let it ruin a good day!  I'm sorry that Fran was taking it a little bit harder.



franandaj said:


> And they had this peach and apple cobbler with hand scooped vanilla ice cream, and that sounded like a good ending to my lunch.


That looks amazing.



franandaj said:


> And we would be skipping Palo this cruise.


WHAT????  Did Hell freeze over? 



franandaj said:


> Then he poured us a tiny glass of the coffee flavor. Anyone who remembers my Mixology class on the Wonder where the show off guy used more than half the bottle will notice how small a pour he gave us. Yes, it’s THAT expensive.


Wow...



franandaj said:


> Here’s where the Dream makes up for not being able to steal drinks on no shows. They premixed an entire jug of margaritas which was more than enough for everyone to have one serving. So they kept pouring more for everyone until the jug was empty. I think we had 3-4 refills! Then we got a Mango Margarita. This was much sweeter, but they also let us have more. I took whatever they would give me, but I preferred the traditional margarita


You can never go wrong with a good margarita!



franandaj said:


> When time for dinner came, we headed to Enchanted Garden. This is a bright and cheery restaurant.


It really looks nice.  I like the outdoor effect in the ceiling!


----------



## Steppesister

UGH! Moving. Sounds like you still yet have a lot of hard work ahead of you. I don't envy you at all. I do hope the remainder goes smoothly and it happens long before that March trip. 

It's hard when the spouse goes into a funk. Until Mike is ready to snap out of it or talk, my policy is to go on with life and avoid until constructive communication can happen again. 

That looked like a lot of good booze right there. I starting to wonder if a tasting during Food and Wine might not be kinda fun. I'll have to see when the time comes up. Dinner looked amazing! I'm a scallop kinda gal as well. YUm!


----------



## dolphingirl47

franandaj said:


> I was able to sneak in a quick update a few days ago, but I’ve been pretty busy. We spent three days this past week working on packing up the old house. We took at least five boxes to the thrift store, and put another 15 or so boxes in storage. There is still a ton of stuff over there, but at least we are making a start. We are scheduled next Saturday to have the guys who work for the contractor to help get the 50-100 boxes stored in the attic at the old house. Those will pretty much go directly into storage. We also have it on the schedule to put the loveseat out to the curb this week, the city will pick it up and trash it.



It sounds like a great deal of progress is being made.



franandaj said:


> Hopefully everything will be out before our trip in March. Crossing my fingers, we’ll just have to see.



I will keep my fingers crossed for you.



franandaj said:


> We also took care of another round of airfare for our cruise to Alaska. The planes that fly direct from LA to Vancouver are much smaller than other flights, say to Orlando. We had planned to fly in the day before the cruise and stay for three days after, but because of the way the miles worked out, we are flying out three days early and staying for one night after the cruise.



That sounds good. Do you have any plans for Vancouver yet?



franandaj said:


> At 1:00PM, we had to try and register online for an event at DL, one where you would get to dine inside the HM.



That sounds really neat.



franandaj said:


> We pretty much didn’t get in as the thing closed within 1 minute of opening, we got on the waitlist after 10 minutes, but with only 20 people, our hopes of actually getting in are doubtful.



What a shame that registering was such a pain. I keep my fingers crossed that your waitlist comes through.



franandaj said:


> At this point she also tells me that she never even wanted to go on this trip, and her breaking her leg earlier this year ruined everything. We have been losing thousands of dollars every month by not having our old apartment cleaned out and ready to rent and taking a vacation is only taking away from that income. Essentially she was just bitter about everything at this point, and I was flabbergasted. I thought she understood that I needed to get away after everything we had been through. Clearly we had a difference of opinions and I had no idea!



Looks like the issue with the registration was the the last straw. 



franandaj said:


> I was a little bit dismayed that most of what they had to offer was pretty much the same stuff they had the day before.



That is a bit strange. I love the themed buffets on the Magic and the Wonder.



franandaj said:


> You can see the Atlantis Resort off in the distance.



As much as I loathe Nassau, I really hope that I will get to visit the Atlantis at some stage.



franandaj said:


> They had a gingerbread house set up here.



This looks very understated.



franandaj said:


> Tasting classes on the Dream are different than the Wonder. The bars are set up smaller so that folks can be “all together” in one location. The entire class was seated at the bar and they had even made two Handicapped Accessible seats at the left end of the bar (not pictured) so that Fran could stay in her scooter. It’s much more comfortable than a bar stool as she has an extra cushion on there.



I actually quite like the idea of this setup.



franandaj said:


> Our class was conducted by the bartender from behind the bar and it was sometimes hard to hear him as it was a very long bar and we could only hear him when he faced us. When he talked to the other end of the bar his voice was inaudible.



However, it looks like some aspects of this need to go back to the drawing board.



franandaj said:


> Then he poured us a tiny glass of the coffee flavor. Anyone who remembers my Mixology class on the Wonder where the show off guy used more than half the bottle will notice how small a pour he gave us. Yes, it’s THAT expensive.



That is strange as this is the cheapest of the ones you were served. I normally pay $20 for a bottle in the USA for this and the other ones are at least twice that.



franandaj said:


> I had a Capirainia but it was the weirdest tasting that I have ever tasted! I’ve had quite a few at Brazilian Steakhouses back home.



This is one thing I will never get. The bartenders on the Disney ships don't seem to be able to make decent Caipirinhas. This is so simple and I can't understand why they can't do a nice one. The one I had on our recent cruise on Royal Caribbean on the other hand was delicious.



franandaj said:


> The menu here has some similarities to the menu at Parrot Cay on the Wonder, but also some differences. That was a refreshing change.



I would have loved that menu. The dessert menu however looked a little disappointing.

Corinna


----------



## Flossbolna

I am sorry that Fran got so upset about everything triggered by the reservation fiasco. But it seems like you got some nice things done that day anyway. 

I am happy to hear that you enjoyed Enchanted Garden. I am not sure why so many people on the cruise board are so down on it, Michael and I absolutely loved it. It was really strange, we both love Triton's on the Wonder, by far our favorite of the ones on the Wonder. On the Fantasy Royal Court/Palace (not sure which ship has which) was our least favorite, my favorite was Enchanted Garden and Michael's was Animator's. Which, btw, on the Fantasy does have an Elevator lobby and a door. You do not exit from the elevator into the restaurant. That sounds weird!

I am horribly behind on commenting everywhere, but I hope to improve soon!! And to get my own trip report going again!!


----------



## franandaj

mvf-m11c said:


> Hope everything works out and you will all be ready for your trip in a couple of months. Sorry to read that you didn't get in for dining in the HM. That would be fun to do.



Thanks. We're working over there again today. Hopefully we can get some if the furniture cleaned up and on Craigslist in addition to boxes to storage.



mvf-m11c said:


> The ship looks very nice especially with the Christmas decorations. The tasting class looks fun



This was my second Christmastime cruise and Disney always does a great job on the decorations.



mvf-m11c said:


> The Enchanted Garden restaurant looks amazing and the atmosphere must be refreshing especially when dining there. The food looks good.



This was one of the places I was looking forward to experiencing. At one of the Expos, I went to a seminar on Imagineering the Fantasy and as the Dream and Fantasy are similar this restaurant is on both of them. It sounded neat.



DnA2010 said:


> Great update! Enjoying all the pictures of the ship and look forward to hearing about your day at CC!
> 
> Love the pictures with Minnie, so adorable!



 We love our character pictures. I just finished writing up the time at CC. It was nice.



DnA2010 said:


> So you are staying at the PP pre-cruise, where are you staying the nights before? I thought we might be in Vancouver around that time as I think I'm there for work in July, but we need to be in Edmonto



Right now we are booked at the Century Plaza Hotel and Spa, but I plan to look around and see if I can find anything closer to Robson street that's more affordable.  I haven't been to Vancouver in over 15 years and prices have gone way up since my last visit!



PrincessInOz said:


> You sound like you're busy in real life too!
> Sorry you didn't get in for dining in the HM. Hope that Fran came out of her funk.



I think by dinner time it sort of wore off. At least by the next day she was all better.



PrincessInOz said:


> Pictures of you and Minnie are great! Love it.
> Love the tasting and food pictures. I've said it before...I'd lo



Hmmm. Your post got cut off. But we'd love to do some tastings with you and have you hand us off your drinks after a taste or two!



dhorner233 said:


> Sorry you didn't get into the dinner at the HM. That would have been so cool! Well, you are on the waiting list.....
> 
> Looks like you had a great day anyway! Beautiful ship! So much to do! So much to eat!



It would have been nice, but it's this Thursday and it's not happening, otherwise we would have heard anything.  I did make the best of it exploring parts of the ship that we had never seen (due to it being a new ship) and avoiding the rain.  There is always so much food, you never go hungry.  I'm surprised they had so many "pay to play" kinds of places with all the complimentary food they had on offer.


----------



## sharksfinatic17

franandaj said:


> Right now we are booked at the Century Plaza Hotel and Spa, but I plan to look around and see if I can find anything closer to Robson street that's more affordable.  I haven't been to Vancouver in over 15 years and prices have gone way up since my last visit!



Make sure you are looking in US dollars. The exchange rate is so favorable for the dollar right now. We went on the Wonder last year to Alaska, and benefited from the exchange rate, but not as much as right now. Last Minute Travel had some great rates about this time last your for the upcoming summer. (long time reader...first time poster)


----------



## DnA2010

sharksfinatic17 said:


> Make sure you are looking in US dollars. The exchange rate is so favorable for the dollar right now. We went on the Wonder last year to Alaska, and benefited from the exchange rate, but not as much as right now. Last Minute Travel had some great rates about this time last your for the upcoming summer. (long time reader...first time poster)




Yes, Canada is 35% off for Americans right now! Killer for us up north that want to go to Disney  
I will check which downtown hotels I get friends and family corporate rates at


----------



## Dis_Yoda

I think every vacation, most couples have some type of gift like that.  Yes its disappointing you didn't get into the HM but she shouldn't have taken it out on you but thats the deal with relationships sadly.  Glad you got out of the room and got to explore the ship some!  Looks like the cool down period worked well  

Your tequila tasting looks like it was a lot of fun - you can tell you are a bit happy afterwards but thats what should happen at tequila tastings!  Glad you had a fun time!


----------



## franandaj

pkondz said:


> That's a ton of stuff! Hopefully you get it all worked out.



Well we took an another "Expedition load" to storage yesterday.  Although it would have been better if it was to the thrift store instead. 



pkondz said:


> Sounds like the makings of a great trip.



My parents will be along with us so that should be nice. So many of our trips we are all alone. However it does add an interesting dynamic as well.



pkondz said:


> I think... _think!_ I've heard of that... but it fell completely off my radar.
> That's just too cool.
> I wonder where exactly they dine?



The last dinner they dined in the hallway just outside the stretching room.



pkondz said:


> Sucks.
> 
> Oh. That's too bad.



Yeah, it was sad.



pkondz said:


> Whooo.... yeah. That doesn't sound like a pleasant situation.



I'm used to dealing with it at home, bit on vacation sucks.



pkondz said:


> I get that. Don't blame you one bit.







pkondz said:


> Beautiful!







pkondz said:


> Interesting. Which one did you prefer?



I think you'll be able to figure that one out, especially since there are two we never even made it to.



pkondz said:


> Also interesting. Didn't know that.



When you've done as many Tequila Tastings as we have you look for new and more interesting information. These are the basics.



pkondz said:


> Well thank goodness for that!



Exactly. 



pkondz said:


> It was very good of you to take those drinks.
> You know... so you wouldn't hurt the bartender's feelings.



Well of course. 



pkondz said:


> Look at that grin! You seem awfully happy!



It's the Tequila. 



pkondz said:


> Was that a real skylight? Or Disney magic to make it appear that you were dining under the sun?



No that was Disney Magic. When you enter the restaurant it's bright and airy. As you dine the "sun" sets and there is a starry night overhead. If you notice in the picture with our tablemates the room is somewhat dark.



pkondz said:


> Wow that looks good.



It really was. The scallops were cooked perfectly. 



pkondz said:


> Can't wait! I'm very curious to see what that's like.



It's all written, I just need to respond to all the shout outs first. 



longneckthree said:


> This is my first time replying to a trip report in a long time, but I had to come and let you know that I love reading yours!  You guys are amazing.  I can't wait to read more of this adventure and future ones - please don't stop sharing with us.   Thank you for taking the time.
> Maggie



  There's plenty more ahead! I'm glad you're enjoying it. 



IowaTater said:


> Dining at the HM would have been awesome. What a bummer that you guys didn't get in



Yeah, it's sad, but I'm over it. 



IowaTater said:


> Sorry to hear about Fran's funk. DH gets like that sometimes too. I normally do what you did & just give him some space. No sense 2 people being cranky.



That's about all you can do.



IowaTater said:


> Such cute pictures with Minnie! Looks like you guys had a great dinner and tequila tasting too.



I think the Tequila helped her mood, and getting out of the room and interacting with the tablemates as well. 



IowaTater said:


> What did you think of Blue Bloods? DH really likes it. To me, it's just okay. I have a hard time watching Donnie Wahlberg be a jerk.



Actually we only watched the one episode. When we got back our DVR was so full, we are just now catching up. We're almost out of stuff to watch so we might start it up again.


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> My parents will be along with us so that should be nice. So many of our trips we are all alone. However it does add an interesting dynamic as well.



I hear you.
Nice to have 'em along... sometimes not so nice.



franandaj said:


> The last dinner they dined in the hallway just outside the stretching room.



Cool!



franandaj said:


> It's the Tequila.



Oh, really? Doesn't show.






franandaj said:


> No that was Disney Magic. When you enter the restaurant it's bright and airy. As you dine the "sun" sets and there is a starry night overhead



Wow! That is really impressive.


----------



## rentayenta

Boo on Fran for being a crab apple.  I'm sorry. Glad you made the best of a crappy situation. Love that you got some sushi and what looks to be champagne. 

The gingerbread house is fantastic! 

Tequila tasting = shots.   And yay for refills on the margaritas. 

Cute dress, cute toes! 

That prime rib looks delicious.


----------



## franandaj

afwdwfan said:


> Because, why would a Disney ship have jewelry with Mickey on it????



I know, right?  



afwdwfan said:


> It does look like an interesting place to have a drink.







afwdwfan said:


> That does seem a little bit odd... and awkward. I mean, standing in the middle of a restaurant waiting to go back to your room???



Well, it wasn't the "middle" of the restaurant.  I guess the podium was right there, but I seem to remember tables on the side where the podium wasn't. Although they led us past the podium to our table.



afwdwfan said:


> Love the chairs!



I wonder if they sell them at a home store somewhere.



afwdwfan said:


> Looks like the plans are coming together nicely! I love the fact that you're going to get to stay at a Poly Bungalow. I want lots and lots of pictures! I'm glad you were able to come to a reasonable compromise on your flight/extra night.



I know!  Part of me can't wait for this trip, but the one in March is going to be just as exciting. I'm hoping this will be the year of great vacations instead of cancelled vacations!



afwdwfan said:


> I can only imagine...



Almost like going to our DVD collection except the player is actually hooked up to the main TV!



afwdwfan said:


> So, about 5 or 6 rain drops? Sorry the clouds interfered with your sunrise plans.



5-6 drops per minute, yeah, kind of like tonight.  The weathercasters are now on "stormwatch".  Before that the only thing they could report on was "surfwatch".



afwdwfan said:


> This really looks like a lot of fun!



I think so.  As I said to @pkondz we are bringing my parents so this will be nice to have company, but could be interesting to see how this pans out.  My Dad usually doesn't wake up before 9AM even when something big is planned.  My Mom has already picked her own excursions, so we'll see how it all turns out.  We'll still have a great time regardless, there just may be three different trips going on that report back at dinner every night!



afwdwfan said:


> This looks like it would be a wonderful experience to get to visit HM like that. I'm really sorry that it didn't work out for you to get signed up for it.



I'll be interested to see the posts if there are any from those who were selected.  It's this Thursday.



afwdwfan said:


> You really can't let it get you down too much. With such a small window of opportunity, you've got to assume that even if you hadn't had difficulties with the system, there's still a good chance that you might not have gotten in. No point to let it ruin a good day! I'm sorry that Fran was taking it a little bit harder.



I'm usually better at accepting reality than she is.  She really hasn't spent a lot of time in the real world.  Long story, but true.  Her parents really never let her out enough to know how brutal it really is out there.



afwdwfan said:


> That looks amazing.



It was quite tasty and a perfect end to the light meal.



afwdwfan said:


> WHAT???? Did Hell freeze over?



No there was just something more enticing, and it was a tough choice.



afwdwfan said:


> You can never go wrong with a good margarita!



These were really good, I could have tossed them back all night!



afwdwfan said:


> It really looks nice. I like the outdoor effect in the ceiling!



This was one of the reasons that I wanted to try this restaurant.  At a seminar at the D23 Expo I heard about how this restaurant was where you entered in the sun and during your meal it turned to night.



Steppesister said:


> UGH! Moving. Sounds like you still yet have a lot of hard work ahead of you. I don't envy you at all. I do hope the remainder goes smoothly and it happens long before that March trip.



Yeah, thanks.  We have a lot of boxes to move.



Steppesister said:


> It's hard when the spouse goes into a funk. Until Mike is ready to snap out of it or talk, my policy is to go on with life and avoid until constructive communication can happen again.



I've learned at home how to cope.  It is just tough on vacation.  I think I'm getting it a little.



Steppesister said:


> That looked like a lot of good booze right there. I starting to wonder if a tasting during Food and Wine might not be kinda fun. I'll have to see when the time comes up. Dinner looked amazing! I'm a scallop kinda gal as well. YUm!



I'm going to post on your TR, if I can remember some links to my F&W TR tastings.  They might add a bit to your bottom line, but they are really worth it. IMHO.


----------



## dhorner233

"I'm usually better at accepting reality than she is. She really hasn't spent a lot of time in the real world. Long story, but true. Her parents really never let her out enough to know how brutal it really is out there."

Sounds like Fran had an interesting life. Only child? Sometimes reality can be brutal! 

And, back to the dinner you didn't get at the Haunted Mansion. Have you done it before? They eat right there by the front door? Do they close the ride for the dinner?? I was imagining some cool special tour of rooms that the mere mortals don't get to see.


----------



## Pinkocto

franandaj said:


> You should be excited!  Is yours a Star Wars Cruise?


 
I'm in single digits today     No, not a Star Wars cruise, but I will definitely be seeing the movie on the ship.  I had to choose between the Star Wars cruise or going to Tortola.  Tortola won. 




franandaj said:


> Well, she did point to a case, and maybe they had one necklace.  I either already had it or it was cheesy looking.  I suppose that's good, with my taste in jewelry, I can get into trouble.


 
I've been disappointed at the lack of options.  And them discontinuing things so fast. 




franandaj said:


> They were great tablemates!  Probably the best that we've had on cruises.  We had a lot to talk about even if we didn't have all that much in common.


 
That's fabulous about your tablemates, it adds such a fun aspect to dinner. 



franandaj said:


> I'm so happy about the May trip plans, one thing left to do is get Jim over here so we can call Disney IT and somehow get Alberto hooked up as my friend so I can make our FP+ reservations, we probably need to make sure he has a ticket too!    I guess there is still a lot to do!


 
Why do you need to call Disney IT?  it's super easy to add friends to MDE. You just make him an account and email him an invite.  Or is it more complicated with your passes? 

And I completely missed the fact that you also have a Fall trip planned, how exciting!!!  Where are you staying for that one? 



I'm sorry this day wasn't the best and that Fran got into a funk.  Glad you didn't let it ruin your day though.  The spa treatment sounded lovely.

Great pictures with the characters 

Dinner looked quite yummy too.  Mom really likes the Enchanted Garden.  I haven't been as impressed with the food choices but looking forward to trying it again.


----------



## Leshaface

franandaj said:


> Or maybe it's just psoriasis.
> You might want to get that checked out.
> Sorry.







franandaj said:


> Two people don't need a three bedroom tree house!



Why not?!?



franandaj said:


> When I counted all the places where we dined of the 20 locations 15 were new. That kinda sealed it up for me 75% new.



Holy cow, that should bring your Golden Spoon up high!



franandaj said:


> Our normal plan, drop Fran, the bags and scooter with a curbside porter, I show my ID, I park, and come back, worked just fine.



Okay so I just found out about this service, maybe you've heard of it, maybe not.  But there is a company near LAX who will meet you at curbside, take your car and park it (covered parking, I believe) and when you return from your trip with luggage in hand, you call them up and they will bring your vehicle back to you at curbside!  This sounds amazing and something I may look into next time...



franandaj said:


> The groceries cost a lot more than I expected.



Did you use Wegoshop again?  I used them, last minute, this trip and was surprised at how much it was for how little we got this time around, especially since we didn't have a full kitchen (no eggs, bacon, etc)  



franandaj said:


> Macaroni Grill in the airport



Okay, need to remember this next time.  We had a HORRIBLE night when we arrived (lost luggage) so ended up treating ourselves to room service while at the MCO Hyatt.



franandaj said:


> This is where staying at MCO works out very well for cruising. We called the bellman to pick up our bags, they came and got them and the next time we saw them was in our stateroom on the ship. Like Magical Express for the DCL!!!!



Yes!



franandaj said:


>





franandaj said:


>



This restaurant is so pretty!



franandaj said:


>



You've tried Artist Point's soup, yes?  Is it similar?



franandaj said:


>



So. Much. Room.



franandaj said:


>



Yeah, no thanks.  Pass on that!



franandaj said:


>





franandaj said:


>





franandaj said:


>



Uh, I don't remember this?!?  I'd still pay for it though!



franandaj said:


>







franandaj said:


>



Ahh, best part of the ship, IMO.


Will be back to catch up on the rest!


----------



## Leshaface

franandaj said:


> In fact we even found several pictures there that we already own!



So does this mean you're actually becoming your own art store yourself?!  



franandaj said:


> I had taken these bows and attached them to magnets for door decorations.



Cute idea!



franandaj said:


> Normally I’m not much of a Bar scene kind of person



Uh, could have fooled me



franandaj said:


> I on the other hand was a creature of habit and had the Truffle pursettes for my entrée.



 I love these things.  I watched a special on the Food Network the other day and a group of cooks went on the Dream (maybe the Fantasy?) and one of cooks really enjoyed this dish! 



franandaj said:


> OMG! We got a standard view studio for the one night! There were no lake view, nothing at the VGF, or BLT, but there was a Standard View Poly Studio at 4 months! Crazy! I nabbed it!



  Can you believe we grabbed 4 nights at the Poly 2 months out?!?  How does that even happen?!  



franandaj said:


> Then I go to book the airfare home. I tell her that I don't mind changing planes on the way home to save miles since we'll get home and just rest for a couple days. She doesn't want to change planes and has me look at the Anytime mileage. Coming home this one is 55K per person.  It's one thing to spend and extra 20K, but 30K!!!!! That's two whole flights and then some! I said, "what happens if we look at coming home on Saturday?" Lo and behold, back to 45K.



WOAH!  I'm used to SWA points...i'm like, "25,000 Roundtrip is pushing it!"  



franandaj said:


>



A little frightening.



franandaj said:


> I started working on the “wake up Fran” project







franandaj said:


> hey rubbed me with these herbal “mushroom things”. And then massaged me, the “mushroom things” were supposed to release all sorts of toxins.



Does it give you some cool hallucinations too???  No? Not those type of mushrooms?  Drat.



franandaj said:


> Evidently that wasn’t good enough because I had to throw them away a couple days ago since I noticed mold growing on them.







franandaj said:


> At this point she also tells me that she never even wanted to go on this trip, and her breaking her leg earlier this year ruined everything. We have been losing thousands of dollars every month by not having our old apartment cleaned out and ready to rent and taking a vacation is only taking away from that income. Essentially she was just bitter about everything at this point, and I was flabbergasted. I thought she understood that I needed to get away after everything we had been through. Clearly we had a difference of opinions and I had no idea!



  Yikes, that's a bit of a downer situation.  But glad you took it upon yourself to get out and try to make the situation better, at least for you.



franandaj said:


> And we would be skipping Palo this cruise.



  This is shocking.  What gives?



franandaj said:


> What was very different about tastings on the Dream is that they do not “prepour” the drinks, so there is no chance to steal your “no show” neighbor’s drinks.



At least they haven't told the Wonder to start doing this yet 



franandaj said:


> Here’s where the Dream makes up for not being able to steal drinks on no shows. They premixed an entire jug of margaritas which was more than enough for everyone to have one serving. So they kept pouring more for everyone until the jug was empty. I think we had 3-4 refills!



Well that's good then, plenty of drinks!



franandaj said:


> We were definitely happy when leaving this tasting!



Was Fran in a better mood at this point too?



franandaj said:


>



Oh yum.



franandaj said:


> Here we are with our tablemates.



I was going to ask about your tablemates, were they nice?


----------



## franandaj

dolphingirl47 said:


> t sounds like a great deal of progress is being made.



I don't know as I would go so far as to say a "great deal of progress", but we are not sitting still or going backwards. 



dolphingirl47 said:


> I will keep my fingers crossed for you.



Thank you. We have exactly two months from today.



dolphingirl47 said:


> That sounds good. Do you have any plans for Vancouver yet?



Nothing concrete.  I know we'll do something in Stanley Park, and probably visit Granville Island. What I REALLY need to do is figure out our plans for New Orleans!



dolphingirl47 said:


> What a shame that registering was such a pain. I keep my fingers crossed that your waitlist comes through.



Not gonna happen. The event is tomorrow night. 



dolphingirl47 said:


> Looks like the issue with the registration was the the last straw.



Pretty much. I think we had basically smooth sailing after that. So to speak.



dolphingirl47 said:


> That is a bit strange. I love the themed buffets on the Magic and the Wonder.



I know. The steakhouse was my favorite, but the Indian one you had on your PC cruise sounded good too.



dolphingirl47 said:


> As much as I loathe Nassau, I really hope that I will get to visit the Atlantis at some stage.



I've heard mixed reviews, but I wouldn't mind checking it out as well. But I'd avoid the rest of the place. At least near the port.



dolphingirl47 said:


> This looks very understated.



It wasn't nearly as impressive as some we saw later in the trip.



dolphingirl47 said:


> I actually quite like the idea of this setup.



For the most part it worked out well. And no one had to sit with their back to the speaker. 



dolphingirl47 said:


> However, it looks like some aspects of this need to go back to the drawing board.



It was mainly when he turned his head the opposite direction when we couldn't hear what he said. I suppose if you were in the middle and not the far end, you would have been fine.



dolphingirl47 said:


> That is strange as this is the cheapest of the ones you were served. I normally pay $20 for a bottle in the USA for this and the other ones are at least twice that.



Huh. I googled this and the cheapest I found was $24.99 for a 750ml bottle, but it was as high as $39.99 some places.  I consider $16.99 a lot for that much booze. Wine on the other hand, I will pay quite a bit for.  I also found that the other tequilas were priced very similarly for the same size bottle. I guess the bottles that Costco was selling for $100+ were much larger than 750ml.



dolphingirl47 said:


> This is one thing I will never get. The bartenders on the Disney ships don't seem to be able to make decent Caipirinhas. This is so simple and I can't understand why they can't do a nice one. The one I had on our recent cruise on Royal Caribbean on the other hand was delicious.



Now this makes me want to go to the Brazilian steakhouse down the street and get ine! I just can't justify eating all that meat!



dolphingirl47 said:


> I would have loved that menu. The dessert menu however looked a little disappointing.



I actually loved that date pudding and had been craving it since the trip on the Wonder. But nothing else on that dessert menu appealed to me at all.



Flossbolna said:


> I am sorry that Fran got so upset about everything triggered by the reservation fiasco. But it seems like you got some nice things done that day anyway.



This happens to her occasionally, I've dealt with it at home. I just don't like it to happen on vacation. I did do some nice things on my own.



Flossbolna said:


> I am happy to hear that you enjoyed Enchanted Garden. I am not sure why so many people on the cruise board are so down on it, Michael and I absolutely loved it.



Huh. I didn't know people were down about it. It may have been my favorite MDR on the ship.



Flossbolna said:


> It was really strange, we both love Triton's on the Wonder, by far our favorite of the ones on the Wonder. On the Fantasy Royal Court/Palace (not sure which ship has which) was our least favorite, my favorite was Enchanted Garden and Michael's was Animator's. Which, btw, on the Fantasy does have an Elevator lobby and a door. You do not exit from the elevator into the restaurant. That sounds weird!



I don't remember if it was Royal Court or Palace either. Maybe it's in my notes. I only like that one because it's where they serve the soufflés. I'd say Enchanted Garden was best for ambience and the food was excellent!


----------



## Flossbolna

On the caipirinhas: on our Norway cruise we did a mojito and caipirinha tasting and Katharina was in shock that they poured syrup into the glass for the caipirinha, not brown sugar. They make the drink at home quite often. She discussed that with the bar tender and the answer was that due to DCL customers being so health conscious, DCL is only using agave syrup in all drinks, no sugar. In my opinion that is total stupidity as it changes the character of the drink and really, it does not matter if the sugar comes from sugar cane or the agave plant. If it is sweet it is either sugar or chemistry, so what does it matter?


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

franandaj said:


> We also took care of another round of airfare for our cruise to Alaska.



I can't wait to see Alaska.  I'll be living vicariously through you, I'm sure!



franandaj said:


> At 1:00PM, we had to try and register online for an event at DL, one where you would get to dine inside the HM. It was severely limited in attendance (like 20 people) and the actual sign in was very convoluted. We pretty much didn’t get in as the thing closed within 1 minute of opening, we got on the waitlist after 10 minutes, but with only 20 people, our hopes of actually getting in are doubtful. So this pretty much soured Fran’s mood for the entire day. She had no interest of getting lunch and just wanted to hold a pity party. She sent off a seething email about the convoluted sign in process, and actually there was another event just two weeks ago where they clearly stated the process for signing up. Little good that did us for this time.
> 
> At this point she also tells me that she never even wanted to go on this trip, and her breaking her leg earlier this year ruined everything. We have been losing thousands of dollars every month by not having our old apartment cleaned out and ready to rent and taking a vacation is only taking away from that income. Essentially she was just bitter about everything at this point, and I was flabbergasted. I thought she understood that I needed to get away after everything we had been through. Clearly we had a difference of opinions and I had no idea!



Yikes.  Those "discussions" are never any fun.  I hope the storm blew over quickly and you could both get back to enjoying the cruise.



franandaj said:


> And they had this peach and apple cobbler with hand scooped vanilla ice cream, and that sounded like a good ending to my lunch.



Now that just sounds wonderful.



franandaj said:


>



Nice photo!  I love the colors in this one.



franandaj said:


> What was very different about tastings on the Dream is that they do not “prepour” the drinks, so there is no chance to steal your “no show” neighbor’s drinks.



Do I detect a note of disappointment?


----------



## franandaj

sharksfinatic17 said:


> Make sure you are looking in US dollars. The exchange rate is so favorable for the dollar right now. We went on the Wonder last year to Alaska, and benefited from the exchange rate, but not as much as right now. Last Minute Travel had some great rates about this time last your for the upcoming summer. (long time reader...first time poster)





That's a good point!  I wasn't really thinking of that when I booked the room, but if the price was in Canadian dollars, that's even better!



DnA2010 said:


> Yes, Canada is 35% off for Americans right now! Killer for us up north that want to go to Disney
> I will check which downtown hotels I get friends and family corporate rates at



Back 15 years ago when I traveled there a lot the exchange rate was similar.  I used to love going clothes shopping as I got some great deals on some nice outfits.



Dis_Yoda said:


> I think every vacation, most couples have some type of gift like that. Yes its disappointing you didn't get into the HM but she shouldn't have taken it out on you but thats the deal with relationships sadly. Glad you got out of the room and got to explore the ship some! Looks like the cool down period worked well



Yeah, it's bound to happen. It's been almost 20 years we've been together so something is bound to come up every so often.  Hopefully this was the last of it.  I took notes because I'm getting old and forgetful!  



Dis_Yoda said:


> Your tequila tasting looks like it was a lot of fun - you can tell you are a bit happy afterwards but thats what should happen at tequila tastings! Glad you had a fun time!



It was fun and we haven't actually done a tequila one since the cruise out of Miami.



pkondz said:


> I hear you.
> Nice to have 'em along... sometimes not so nice.



At least they are fairly easy going and enjoy similar things to us.  Good food, wine.  We'll probably do different excursions as my mother is really into birding.  Us, not so much.



pkondz said:


> Wow! That is really impressive.



And to think that it on Deck 2 way down in the ship, they had to do something to dress it up.



rentayenta said:


> Boo on Fran for being a crab apple.  I'm sorry. Glad you made the best of a crappy situation. Love that you got some sushi and what looks to be champagne.



Yeah.  It happens.  The sushi was pretty good.  I don't remember, but I think it might have been prosecco. Went great with the sushi!



rentayenta said:


> The gingerbread house is fantastic!
> 
> Tequila tasting = shots.   And yay for refills on the margaritas.
> 
> Cute dress, cute toes!



Well, we didn't do them as shots.  We sipped our tequila and savored it, not slammed it town.  Thanks!



rentayenta said:


> That prime rib looks delicious.



It was.  I think I need to put Prime Rib on the menu coming up soon.  Or even better I think I should demand a trip to Lawry's The Prime Rib!


----------



## dolphingirl47

Flossbolna said:


> On the caipirinhas: on our Norway cruise we did a mojito and caipirinha tasting and Katharina was in shock that they poured syrup into the glass for the caipirinha, not brown sugar.



That is almost a cardinal sin and explains a lot. 



Flossbolna said:


> They make the drink at home quite often.



I do, too.



franandaj said:


> It's been almost 20 years we've been together so something is bound to come up every so often.



Graham and I reached that landmark at Christmas. It is actually quite scary that I have almost spent half of my life with him.



franandaj said:


> We'll probably do different excursions as my mother is really into birding.



Oh, now you are talking. this is an interest that we definitely share.

Corinna


----------



## franandaj

dhorner233 said:


> Sounds like Fran had an interesting life. Only child? Sometimes reality can be brutal!



Yes she is an only child, and her parents really sheltered her.  She has only worked in the "family business", so never got out and worked for "the man."



dhorner233 said:


> And, back to the dinner you didn't get at the Haunted Mansion. Have you done it before? They eat right there by the front door? Do they close the ride for the dinner?? I was imagining some cool special tour of rooms that the mere mortals don't get to see.



We've never gotten in, yes they close the ride, and the dinner is in the corridor with the lenticular (changing) portraits.  The guests got to do a walk through of the attraction last time.


Pinkocto said:


> I'm in single digits today   No, not a Star Wars cruise, but I will definitely be seeing the movie on the ship. I had to choose between the Star Wars cruise or going to Tortola. Tortola won.



Yay for single digits!  I'm on the same cruise in 13 months.  We got sick of going to Cozumel and Grand Cayman and wanted the Eastern Itinerary.



Pinkocto said:


> I've been disappointed at the lack of options. And them discontinuing things so fast.



I'm kind of glad there wasn't anything.  The 60th Anniversary necklace felt like a punch in the stomach when they told me the price.  I don't want to think of how many cruises I could have gone on for that!



Pinkocto said:


> That's fabulous about your tablemates, it adds such a fun aspect to dinner.



It was really nice, we've never had tablemates that we enjoyed as much as these two.



Pinkocto said:


> Why do you need to call Disney IT? it's super easy to add friends to MDE. You just make him an account and email him an invite. Or is it more complicated with your passes?



We've already tried that.  Alberto doesn't even have a pass yet, but somehow, the system thinks that I am in control of his account.  Jim is the one who is setting up his stuff, and we can't get it work right between the two of us.



Pinkocto said:


> And I completely missed the fact that you also have a Fall trip planned, how exciting!!! Where are you staying for that one?



Beach Club.  Every three years I get to go to F&W, so this has been planned since 2013.



Pinkocto said:


> I'm sorry this day wasn't the best and that Fran got into a funk. Glad you didn't let it ruin your day though. The spa treatment sounded lovely.



I have to not let it get to me.  Otherwise I would be a wreck.  I have enough other things that can get to me.  



Pinkocto said:


> Great pictures with the characters



thank you!



Pinkocto said:


> Dinner looked quite yummy too. Mom really likes the Enchanted Garden. I haven't been as impressed with the food choices but looking forward to trying it again.



In looking back it was my favorite MDR on that ship.



Leshaface said:


> Why not?!?



Well because I've had enough of switching bedrooms with the whole Olga thing. Besides it's too many points.



Leshaface said:


> Holy cow, that should bring your Golden Spoon up high!



Actually, no it didn't.    I need at least 20 more restaurants to get over the 50% mark.  I might do it on the next trip with the kiosks at F&G.



Leshaface said:


> Okay so I just found out about this service, maybe you've heard of it, maybe not. But there is a company near LAX who will meet you at curbside, take your car and park it (covered parking, I believe) and when you return from your trip with luggage in hand, you call them up and they will bring your vehicle back to you at curbside! This sounds amazing and something I may look into next time...



Yeah but how much does it cost?  



Leshaface said:


> Did you use Wegoshop again? I used them, last minute, this trip and was surprised at how much it was for how little we got this time around, especially since we didn't have a full kitchen (no eggs, bacon, etc)



I did.  I used them for both parts of the trip.  Delivery was $28 for the Hyatt portion, but only $12 for the WDW part.



Leshaface said:


> Okay, need to remember this next time. We had a HORRIBLE night when we arrived (lost luggage) so ended up treating ourselves to room service while at the MCO Hyatt.



Sorry about that.  I really liked the Macaroni Grill.



Leshaface said:


> You've tried Artist Point's soup, yes? Is it similar?



I will be dining at Artist Point for the first time on my birthday this year.



Leshaface said:


> Yeah, no thanks. Pass on that!



I know.  I would be afraid to imagine what's in that water.  



Leshaface said:


> Uh, I don't remember this?!? I'd still pay for it though!



It was added last fall in the dry dock refurb.



Leshaface said:


> Ahh, best part of the ship, IMO.







Leshaface said:


> So does this mean you're actually becoming your own art store yourself?!



No. A Museum.



Leshaface said:


> Uh, could have fooled me



OK let me rephrase that. Outside of Disney bars, I am not at all a bar scene person.  When you questioned me on this I had to ask Fran the last time we went to a bar in Long Beach, and it was when our conductor "won" a Happy Hour party at Panama Joes.  That was probably three years ago, and before that who knows when? Probably when I had margaritas with you!

I'm not saying that we don't enjoy our fair share of beverages but it's usually at dinner.



Leshaface said:


> I love these things. I watched a special on the Food Network the other day and a group of cooks went on the Dream (maybe the Fantasy?) and one of cooks really enjoyed this dish!



We watched that too! Once before the cruise and then again last week. 



Leshaface said:


> Can you believe we grabbed 4 nights at the Poly 2 months out?!? How does that even happen?!



You got lucky!



Leshaface said:


> Does it give you some cool hallucinations too??? No? Not those type of mushrooms? Drat.







Leshaface said:


> Yikes, that's a bit of a downer situation. But glad you took it upon yourself to get out and try to make the situation better, at least for you.



Yeah. I did get to see some of the ship and get out a little. 



Leshaface said:


> This is shocking. What gives?



Remy.



Leshaface said:


> At least they haven't told the Wonder to start doing this yet



I don't think they could do it that way on the Wonder. The seating is too awkward for the bartender to get in there and pour the drinks individually. 



Leshaface said:


> Was Fran in a better mood at this point too?



It wasn't until dinner that her mood started to pick up.



Leshaface said:


> I was going to ask about your tablemates, were they nice?



Yes they were very nice.



Flossbolna said:


> On the caipirinhas: on our Norway cruise we did a mojito and caipirinha tasting and Katharina was in shock that they poured syrup into the glass for the caipirinha, not brown sugar. They make the drink at home quite often. She discussed that with the bar tender and the answer was that due to DCL customers being so health conscious, DCL is only using agave syrup in all drinks, no sugar. In my opinion that is total stupidity as it changes the character of the drink and really, it does not matter if the sugar comes from sugar cane or the agave plant. If it is sweet it is either sugar or chemistry, so what does it matter?



That's weird. I don't mind agave but sometimes you need to use real sugar.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I can't wait to see Alaska. I'll be living vicariously through you, I'm sure!



I will take lots of pictures! 



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Yikes. Those "discussions" are never any fun. I hope the storm blew over quickly and you could both get back to enjoying the cruise.



Next update will be happy.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Now that just sounds wonderful.



I should make one. That sounds good.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Do I detect a note of disappointment?



Perhaps.


----------



## franandaj

dolphingirl47 said:


> Graham and I reached that landmark at Christmas. It is actually quite scary that I have almost spent half of my life with him.



Well congratulations!  I have to wait until 2029 to say that.



dolphingirl47 said:


> Oh, now you are talking. this is an interest that we definitely share.



Perhaps someday you and my mom will meet.  She has bird feeders in her back yard and she keeps track of the birds that visit her yard.  She logs into a website and records the birds that she sees in her yard every day.  She also goes out on weekend trips to see birds throughout California, sometimes overnight trips.


----------



## dolphingirl47

franandaj said:


> Perhaps someday you and my mom will meet. She has bird feeders in her back yard and she keeps track of the birds that visit her yard. She logs into a website and records the birds that she sees in her yard every day. She also goes out on weekend trips to see birds throughout California, sometimes overnight trips.



That would be nice. We try to do at least some bird watching on every trip and of course, you find birds in the strangest places. I saw my first bald eagle perched on a construction crane near Universal Studios in 1999. That was the day after we had been to a nature reserver where they were meant to be relatively common and all we saw was American coot. With birds you never know what you will find and where. 

Corinna


----------



## franandaj

Day 4

I woke up in the middle of this night around 4AM and found MSNBC on the TV.  You know how it is when things happening around you when you’re asleep work their way in to your dreams?  Well Donald Trump was on the TV and I just couldn’t bear listening to that BS any longer so I decided on Finding Nemo instead.  I mostly slept through the movie, but it was better than the alternative!

Around 6:45 I did check to see if I could take any sunrise pictures, but I was on the wrong side of the ship, so I just crawled back in bed, until I realized that I could take pictures of us pulling into Castaway Cay!





















Earlier I had called down to guest services to find out if the trams on Castaway Cay were HA, and they assured me that they were, but I took this picture just to calm any fears that Fran might have had.





As soon as we docked, there was a flurry of action.  I was completely enthralled by this. I’m not sure why, but it always intrigues me “how things work” and to pull off a day at Castaway Cay like DCL does, every day, it must take a “well oiled machine” to really do it.  I mean think about it.  They are feeding almost 4,000 people on an island.  All the food comes from the ship.  What about the plates and utensils and stuff?  Do the few people who live on the island spend the evening “cleaning up and doing dishes from a giant picnic”?  Or does all this stuff come back to the ship every night?  Well regardless I watched as literally a ton of boxes were unloaded from the ship













After this I went up to the Cove Café and got an Americano and a Hot Chocolate.  I kept my coffee card from the last cruise, and these last two filled the card.  The next one is free!

Character appearances started on the island at 9:15 and I had hoped to be able to see some of them, but we didn’t even get going until around 9:45 when we headed up to Cabanas for breakfast.  It seems that they had the other side of the signs turned around for breakfast.









There was quite a variety of food on offer here.  Bacon, eggs, Eggs Benedict, asparagus…





Smoked salmon and other fish.





Toppings to go with it.





Toasted Breads





Eggs and potatoes galore.





Sweet griddle treats









And the toppings





But wait!  There’s more!









I’m not even sure what that vat of green stuff is!





Oatmeal and cream of wheat





And toppings for your cereal





Cold Cereals





Dairy products





Fresh fruit and all those fancy yogurts they serve in the dining room





And if all that still wasn’t enough there is more at the end of the buffet which doesn’t even double up what you’ve seen previously.  Steak, eggs over easy, two kinds of omelets….





Pastries





Croissants





Muffins





And then donuts!





Geez!  I feel like I need to take a break before I show you what we ended up choosing!

*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

OK, I’m back.  So Fran started her day with a selection of bacon, waffles, chocolate croissant…





And some Eggs Benedict.





I had some cereal.





And I got us both a plate of fruit.





Then I got myself some breakfast meat, a Mickey Waffle and potatoes.





We went back to the room to get the stuff we would need on the island, and for some reason she decides that she NEEDS to purchase tickets for some show this April. In the end, the website kept acting up and I don’t think we got the tickets because I have nothing on my calendar.  It was 10:30AM before we actually left the room for the island. 

On our way off the ship Belle was in the lobby in her Christmas outfit, so I took a picture with her.





The island was decorated for Christmas.





There were some characters out for meet and greets, but there wasn’t a photopass person with them and the line was long so we skipped the greets. Looking back at the Dream, this is the first time that we had gotten off a ship in over a year!









There was a photopass photographer by the ship so we stopped there. You see when you buy the photo package your first picture costs about $225, every subsequent picture cuts that cost in half, then in third and so on.  I think we ended up with about 10 unique photoshoots.





Here’s looking out to the family beach from the pier area.





This is the tram stop where we catch the Tram to Pelican Point.





Artsy fartsy shot





I’m not sure how many of you play the lizard game, but we always count the lizards that we see on our WDW vacations.  This was #1.





Here we are waiting for the tram with tons of other people.





And here’s a tram stop with nobody waiting!





However, it was still 45 minutes until they would begin serving lunch so we decided to have a look around.  Of course Fran found something here to purchase!





I thought it was cool that they had these wheelchairs available for use on the sand.





After Fran picked up a T-shirt, a “Hawaiian style” shirt, a shot glass and a couple other things, we decided to go to Olaf’s Summertime Freeze.





We both agreed on the “Let It Go” as that was the only one without Coconut something in it. And of course we got it in one of these cool sipper cups.









While Fran ordered our drink, I walked out to take a look at the family beach.





Looking over towards the ship.





Better view, except for that darned umbrella!





That’s a little to crowded for my taste.









Olaf had a great time when he visited Castaway Cay.





























Fran was enjoying our Olaf Specialty Beverage.





http://s915.photobucket.com/user/franandaj/media/2015/December WDW Dream Trip/IMG_9313.jpg.html

Off to the right of Fran in this picture was a pathway that leads back to the other family beach area, but along the way were some shops with wares from some of the locals.  There were a few trinkets that were handmade along with some touristy stuff, and bathing suits and T-shirts as well.  There were signs up asking folks not to take pictures, probably for mostly the handcrafted merchandise. After I got myself a dress, we decided to head over to the adult area, Serenity Bay.


----------



## jedijill

Catching back up!

I'm sorry you missed out on the HM dinner...that would have been so cool!  Glad Fran's mood finally improved...the tequila tasting looks fun!  I so love pulling into CC!  It's one of my favorite spots on Earth!

Jill in CO


----------



## RedHatDisney

Still here and enjoying your trip!


----------



## skier_pete

Donald Trump in your dream: "You know Alison, being on the Dream is just the best. You know nobody does it like Disney does. Disney and I are completely at the top of our game. Everybody loves me and everybody loves Disney!"  (Maybe you can tell, also not a Trump fan.)

Anyways, just wondering, did you find Castaway Cay crowded? We were at the family beach the whole time when we were there, and it was my favorite part of the cruise, and I realize this was mostly because it was the first time I didn't feel like I was packed in with 3,000 people. But we were there off the Wonder, and it occurred to me that they had to build the place to accommodate the larger ships, so CC would feel less crowded with the smaller ships simply because they were designed to hold a lot more people.

Looks like you'll be heading to the adult beach. I would've liked to check it out, but the perils of Disney with children I guess.


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> I woke up in the middle of this night around 4AM and found MSNBC on the TV.



And how did you find it? Informative?






franandaj said:


> until I realized that I could take pictures of us pulling into Castaway Cay!



Yay! Thanks for those.



franandaj said:


>



Hey look! Snow!

I probably would've run, screaming.



franandaj said:


> to pull off a day at Castaway Cay like DCL does, every day, it must take a “well oiled machine” to really do it.



 I would've been just as fascinated.



franandaj said:


>



Oh, man. I am _so_ not from the States!
I read that. And read that. And read that.
"Surfin' us eggs... _Surfin'_ us eggs... Surfin' us _eggs..._"

Finally, the nickel dropped. "Oh! US! Not us!"


Oy.



franandaj said:


> There was quite a variety of food on offer here. Bacon, eggs, Eggs Benedict



You can stop right there.



franandaj said:


>



Hey! Get that finger out of there! You don't know where it's been!



franandaj said:


> But wait! There’s more!







franandaj said:


> Geez! I feel like I need to take a break before I show you what we ended up choosing!



I'm full just from looking at all that!



franandaj said:


> And some Eggs Benedict.



???
Where's the rest of it?
And... I have to say, it does _not_ look appetizing.
Was it okay?



franandaj said:


> and for some reason she decides that she NEEDS to purchase tickets for some show this April.



I'm getting the feeling that Fran might have been a bit of a handful this trip?



franandaj said:


> Looking back at the Dream, this is the first time that we had gotten off a ship in over a year!



Wow! That's a really long cruise!!







franandaj said:


>



I really like that!



franandaj said:


> I’m not sure how many of you play the lizard game, but we always count the lizards that we see on our WDW vacations.



Nope. Watch for the little guys, but never counted.



franandaj said:


> I thought it was cool that they had these wheelchairs available for use on the sand.







franandaj said:


> We both agreed on the “Let It Go” as that was the only one without Coconut something in it.



I whole heartedly approve of this decision!



franandaj said:


> Better view, except for that darned umbrella!



Go over there and rip it out of the ground, Alison!


----------



## PrincessInOz

Glad that it really is a brand new day and Fran calmed down.
The day looks fun.  And yes, that's a lot of food and totally fascinating to find out how it all works.

I'd love to visit CC someday; but until then, I'll just have to live vicariously.


----------



## dolphingirl47

Those breakfast offerings look amazing.



franandaj said:


> There was quite a variety of food on offer here. Bacon, eggs, Eggs Benedict, asparagus…



I like the look of the asparagus on the breakfast buffet.



franandaj said:


> And if all that still wasn’t enough there is more at the end of the buffet which doesn’t even double up what you’ve seen previously. Steak, eggs over easy, two kinds of omelets….



I think that photo may convince Graham that a cruise on the Dream at some point may be a good idea. I have never seen steak on the breakfast buffet on any of my cruises.



franandaj said:


> On our way off the ship Belle was in the lobby in her Christmas outfit, so I took a picture with her.



That was a stroke of luck. I am still hoping to meet Belle in her winter outfit at some stage.



franandaj said:


> The island was decorated for Christmas.



I love this tree.



franandaj said:


> Artsy fartsy shot



I really like this.



franandaj said:


> We both agreed on the “Let It Go” as that was the only one without Coconut something in it. And of course we got it in one of these cool sipper cups.



Love the Olaf cups.

Corinna


----------



## franandaj

jedijill said:


> Catching back up!
> 
> I'm sorry you missed out on the HM dinner...that would have been so cool!  Glad Fran's mood finally improved...the tequila tasting looks fun!  I so love pulling into CC!  It's one of my favorite spots on Earth!
> 
> Jill in CO



Yeah, I haven't heard any reports or seen any pictures from it.  Kind of curious how it was.  Yeah, usually a good night's sleep cures her bad mood.  We hadn't been here in 15 or so years, so it was pretty cool!



********** said:


> Donald Trump in your dream: "You know Alison, being on the Dream is just the best. You know nobody does it like Disney does. Disney and I are completely at the top of our game. Everybody loves me and everybody loves Disney!"  (Maybe you can tell, also not a Trump fan.)







********** said:


> Anyways, just wondering, did you find Castaway Cay crowded? We were at the family beach the whole time when we were there, and it was my favorite part of the cruise, and I realize this was mostly because it was the first time I didn't feel like I was packed in with 3,000 people. But we were there off the Wonder, and it occurred to me that they had to build the place to accommodate the larger ships, so CC would feel less crowded with the smaller ships simply because they were designed to hold a lot more people.



I thought the family beach looked really crowded.  The stores weren't too bad, but I'm not sure how the food locations would have been if we had gone there.



********** said:


> Looks like you'll be heading to the adult beach. I would've liked to check it out, but the perils of Disney with children I guess.



Yeah.  We've mostly only been to the adult beach with the exception of shopping in the stores.  I don't think when we were there in 1999 that there were two "family beach" stops.  They might have added that when the larger ships started sailing.  I haven't kept up on the happenings at Castaway Cay.



pkondz said:


> And how did you find it? Informative?



Annoying. 



pkondz said:


> Yay! Thanks for those.



Happy to oblige!



pkondz said:


> Hey look! Snow!
> 
> I probably would've run, screaming.



Well except from the temperature you would have know that it was not real snow, so you would have been OK> 



pkondz said:


> I would've been just as fascinated.



I know, I still have questions about like who does the dishes and where?  I'm sure if I thought about it more I could perplex myself further but I don't need to do that to myself!



pkondz said:


> Oh, man. I am _so_ not from the States!
> I read that. And read that. And read that.
> "Surfin' us eggs... _Surfin'_ us eggs... Surfin' us _eggs..._"
> 
> Finally, the nickel dropped. "Oh! US! Not us!"
> 
> 
> Oy.



And I guess you're not a fan of the Beach Boys either.  I did show the picture to Fran and she had the same reaction as you did, "Surfin' us eggs"  I had to sing it to her for her to get it.



pkondz said:


> You can stop right there.



Well maybe for you, but I had them yesterday.  



pkondz said:


> I'm full just from looking at all that!



I can understand that, it just makes me hungry.



pkondz said:


> ???
> Where's the rest of it?
> And... I have to say, it does _not_ look appetizing.
> Was it okay?



Well evidently they only had bowls there.  She was pulling an "Alison" and didn't want her Hollandaise touching her Mickey Waffles, so she put the eggs Benedict in the bowl and then covered it with hollandaise.  It's all in there, just in the bowl.  She ate it all, so I guess it was good.



pkondz said:


> I'm getting the feeling that Fran might have been a bit of a handful this trip?



This trip?  She is always a handful!  But that's part of her charm.



pkondz said:


> Wow! That's a really long cruise!!







pkondz said:


> Nope. Watch for the little guys, but never counted.



Our last trip we got up to One hundred twenty something.



pkondz said:


> I whole heartedly approve of this decision!



Yeah, I thought you might.



pkondz said:


> Go over there and rip it out of the ground, Alison!



Oh sure, and walk on the sand???  



PrincessInOz said:


> Glad that it really is a brand new day and Fran calmed down.
> The day looks fun.  And yes, that's a lot of food and totally fascinating to find out how it all works.
> 
> I'd love to visit CC someday; but until then, I'll just have to live vicariously.



Yeah at least a new day makes things better.  I hope someday you can take a cruise and visit CC.  I would love to do it with you!



dolphingirl47 said:


> Those breakfast offerings look amazing.



It was definitely at great buffet!



dolphingirl47 said:


> I like the look of the asparagus on the breakfast buffet.



I'm normally a lunch or dinner asparagus person.



dolphingirl47 said:


> I think that photo may convince Graham that a cruise on the Dream at some point may be a good idea. I have never seen steak on the breakfast buffet on any of my cruises.



I think you are much more Fantasy kind of folks, the Dream only does 4 and 3 day cruises.  I'm hoping that I enjoy the Fantasy more.



dolphingirl47 said:


> That was a stroke of luck. I am still hoping to meet Belle in her winter outfit at some stage.



Wow!  I'm surprised that I've met a character you haven't!  It was a stroke of luck.



dolphingirl47 said:


> Love the Olaf cups.



They are really cool!


----------



## dolphingirl47

franandaj said:


> I'm normally a lunch or dinner asparagus person.



I can eat asparagus at any time of the day and night. The funny thing is, as a child, I really heated it. It is only in the last few years that I started to appreciate it.



franandaj said:


> I think you are much more Fantasy kind of folks, the Dream only does 4 and 3 day cruises.



Maybe so. I am still worried that we would absolutely hate the bigger ships and therefore 4 nights would be a safe option.



franandaj said:


> Wow! I'm surprised that I've met a character you haven't!



I came close. I saw Belle out in this dress once, but it was just as we were heading for dinner and I figured she would be out again later in the cruise. Unfortunately she was out in her yellow dress or the blue dress for the rest of the cruise.

Corinna


----------



## rentayenta

Love the CC pics!!!  The holiday touches are just too cute. 

Great purse! 

@Pinkocto We need to go back to CC!


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> Well except from the temperature you would have know that it was not real snow, so you would have been OK>



I shall avert mine eyes.



franandaj said:


> And I guess you're not a fan of the Beach Boys either.



Oh, but I am!
I just didn't read it that way at first. But as soon as I read it as U.S. instead of "us" it clicked.



franandaj said:


> Well maybe for you, but I had them yesterday.



I made them about a week or two ago.
I loved it. Ruby liked it. Both DDs turned their noses up at the sauce.

Savages.



franandaj said:


> It's all in there, just in the bowl. She ate it all, so I guess it was good.



Oh, okay.
I guess just from the camera angle it looked like there was just the egg and sauce, and the sauce looked like it might have broken.



franandaj said:


> This trip? She is always a handful! But that's part of her charm.







franandaj said:


> Our last trip we got up to One hundred twenty something.



Whoa.



franandaj said:


> Oh sure, and walk on the sand???


----------



## Flossbolna

I love all your pictures of the Dream and CC! I can't wait to get back there, such a beautiful spot!!

I also had no idea what the US eggs was about! So funny, I always learn new things on trip reports!!


----------



## mvf-m11c

I was wondering the same thing of what does Disney do with the resupply to CC island. CC looks amazing.


----------



## DnA2010

Wow I love the holiday touches on CC, it is such a fun place. Look forward to reading about the rest of your day.
Awesome score of meeting Belle in her holiday clothes, nice one!


----------



## afwdwfan

franandaj said:


> As soon as we docked, there was a flurry of action. I was completely enthralled by this. I’m not sure why, but it always intrigues me “how things work” and to pull off a day at Castaway Cay like DCL does, every day, it must take a “well oiled machine” to really do it. I mean think about it. They are feeding almost 4,000 people on an island. All the food comes from the ship. What about the plates and utensils and stuff? Do the few people who live on the island spend the evening “cleaning up and doing dishes from a giant picnic”? Or does all this stuff come back to the ship every night? Well regardless I watched as literally a ton of boxes were unloaded from the ship


That really is interesting to think about.  I'd have been watching it as well.  Look at all those forklifts! 



franandaj said:


> Geez! I feel like I need to take a break before I show you what we ended up choosing!


That is one heck of a breakfast buffet!



franandaj said:


> Better view, except for that darned umbrella!


Just go take it down... 



franandaj said:


> That’s a little to crowded for my taste.






franandaj said:


> Olaf had a great time when he visited Castaway Cay.


I'm glad to see that he didn't melt!


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

franandaj said:


> Around 6:45 I did check to see if I could take any sunrise pictures, but I was on the wrong side of the ship, so I just crawled back in bed, until I realized that I could take pictures of us pulling into Castaway Cay!



Yes!  Such a glorious sight.  I love that island.



franandaj said:


> I was completely enthralled by this. I’m not sure why, but it always intrigues me “how things work” and to pull off a day at Castaway Cay like DCL does, every day, it must take a “well oiled machine” to really do it. I mean think about it. They are feeding almost 4,000 people on an island. All the food comes from the ship. What about the plates and utensils and stuff? Do the few people who live on the island spend the evening “cleaning up and doing dishes from a giant picnic”? Or does all this stuff come back to the ship every night? Well regardless I watched as literally a ton of boxes were unloaded from the ship



I can't blame you, I'm enthralled by this as well.  It's one of the things I love most about all of the Disney operations.  I'm fascinated at how such a massive operation is run so smoothly for the most part.  I would have been out there with you watching the activity.



franandaj said:


> I’m not even sure what that vat of green stuff is!



"Vat of green stuff" = automatic pass.  I bet it was still filled to the same level at the end of the meal.



franandaj said:


> That’s a little to crowded for my taste.



Yep.  But the second photo looked more manageable.



franandaj said:


> Olaf had a great time when he visited Castaway Cay.



I bet he did what snowmen do in summer.


----------



## franandaj

dolphingirl47 said:


> Maybe so. I am still worried that we would absolutely hate the bigger ships and therefore 4 nights would be a safe option.



Ahhh.  I can see where that would be a good idea to test the waters.



dolphingirl47 said:


> I came close. I saw Belle out in this dress once, but it was just as we were heading for dinner and I figured she would be out again later in the cruise. Unfortunately she was out in her yellow dress or the blue dress for the rest of the cruise.



This was the first time I've seen her in this dress on a cruise ship.



rentayenta said:


> Love the CC pics!!!  The holiday touches are just too cute.
> 
> Great purse!
> 
> @Pinkocto We need to go back to CC!



I have more coming too!  That's my first DCL Dooney, I have to alternate them.  I didn't find one I liked on this cruise, which is a good thing!



pkondz said:


> Oh, but I am!
> I just didn't read it that way at first. But as soon as I read it as U.S. instead of "us" it clicked.



Huh.  I got it as soon as I saw it and silently groaned.  I heard it with the music and everything.



pkondz said:


> I made them about a week or two ago.
> I loved it. Ruby liked it. Both DDs turned their noses up at the sauce.
> 
> Savages.



Wow!  I haven't actually made them myself in over 20 years.  I guess ever since I could afford to go to a restaurant and pay for them, I haven't needed to make them myself.  That's the only reason I actually learned to cook.  I couldn't afford to eat like I wanted unless I did it myself!



pkondz said:


> Oh, okay.
> I guess just from the camera angle it looked like there was just the egg and sauce, and the sauce looked like it might have broken.



The sauce does look a little broken.



Flossbolna said:


> I love all your pictures of the Dream and CC! I can't wait to get back there, such a beautiful spot!!
> 
> I also had no idea what the US eggs was about! So funny, I always learn new things on trip reports!!



It is really nice.  I'm pretty sure that they have expanded it since we were there in 2001.


----------



## orangecats2

Hi reading along. I'd love to take a cruise some day. The Enchanted Garden restaurant looks so nice. Can't wait for more.


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> I heard it with the music and everything.


 
You can't _not_ hear it.



franandaj said:


> Wow! I haven't actually made them myself in over 20 years. I guess ever since I could afford to go to a restaurant and pay for them, I haven't needed to make them myself. That's the only reason I actually learned to cook. I couldn't afford to eat like I wanted unless I did it myself!


 
I keep going to places and seeing it on the menu.... then when I get it, it's that crappy sauce that they got out of a package instead of doing it right.

Well, not the better places.


----------



## Pinkocto

Look at how cute CC is all decorated for the holidays! Love it!!! 

I would have been watching the unloading process right along with you. They take all the dishes back to the ship, we've asked the Serenity Bay people. 

I'm going to have to go find that cute Olaf area.


----------



## jedijill

rentayenta said:


> Love the CC pics!!!  The holiday touches are just too cute.
> 
> Great purse!
> 
> @Pinkocto We need to go back to CC!



@rentayenta  There is a 3 day repo cruise from San Juan to PC that stops at CC in Jan 2017....Girls trip? 

Jill in CO


----------



## dhorner233

Great update! Loved that breakfast buffet! I could have spent the whole day there!!!

Belle's dress was pretty. Was it hot on the island? The island was interesting. Was your ship the only ship there? So all those people on the beach were all people from your ship? How many people were on your ship?


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Loving CC update. How do you cope with that Trump BS? Worse still the folk that suck it up! 

I like how things work also. Last time I found out CC has not got permission for people to stay overnight but that Disney were working on that. If they have it now I don't know. So they did have to bring it all on the Island! 

Great photos from the ship. That cabanas breakfast never grows old. I see my breakfast right there on the donut stand... I will disgust you by saying..seperator plate, ice cream from Eye Scream, donuts, strawberry compote , mickey waffles..

Those trams are good for disabled folk. That store is nice she sells seashells. Like Fran for a little store I manage to charge the stateroom for items everytime. 

Sandwheels! Cool until you try them... It's like pushing a tank.. Nice that they supply them though. 

I like the photo of you both in front of The Dream.


----------



## franandaj

mvf-m11c said:


> I was wondering the same thing of what does Disney do with the resupply to CC island. CC looks amazing.



Evidently everything that goes on the island food, beverage and plate wise, comes from the ship.  According to Pam they take back all the dirty dishes and wash them onboard.



DnA2010 said:


> Wow I love the holiday touches on CC, it is such a fun place. Look forward to reading about the rest of your day.
> Awesome score of meeting Belle in her holiday clothes, nice one!



It was very nice all decorated for the holidays!



afwdwfan said:


> That really is interesting to think about. I'd have been watching it as well. Look at all those forklifts!



It was amazing how quickly they got it all started.  They only have about two hours to get things ready for the guests, and four and a half hours total until the lunch service begins.



afwdwfan said:


> That is one heck of a breakfast buffet!



It sure is!



afwdwfan said:


> Just go take it down...



Ha!



afwdwfan said:


> I'm glad to see that he didn't melt!



I guess he didn't do what know does in summer.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Yes! Such a glorious sight. I love that island.



This entire day was my whole reason for really wanting to do this cruise.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I can't blame you, I'm enthralled by this as well. It's one of the things I love most about all of the Disney operations. I'm fascinated at how such a massive operation is run so smoothly for the most part. I would have been out there with you watching the activity.



It's a huge task if you think about it.  4000 people all being fed and taken care, and they do an awesome job.  The CMs work very hard.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> "Vat of green stuff" = automatic pass. I bet it was still filled to the same level at the end of the meal.



I don't doubt it.  I still can't even think what it might be.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Yep. But the second photo looked more manageable.



Just wait, well I guess you have a family so you would be staying put there, but I like the next option better.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I bet he did what snowmen do in summer.



I didn't see any pictures of that. = no proof.


----------



## franandaj

orangecats2 said:


> Hi reading along. I'd love to take a cruise some day. The Enchanted Garden restaurant looks so nice. Can't wait for more.



   Glad to see you over here!  I've got plenty to come!



pkondz said:


> You can't _not_ hear it.



Pretty much.



pkondz said:


> I keep going to places and seeing it on the menu.... then when I get it, it's that crappy sauce that they got out of a package instead of doing it right.
> 
> Well, not the better places.



Hmmm...Long Beach is really a "breakfast town".  We have lots of restaurants that close by 2:30PM, and I'm not sure any of them would make it from a package mix.  I've had pretty good luck with it around here, so no need to go to all the trouble myself.



Pinkocto said:


> Look at how cute CC is all decorated for the holidays! Love it!!!



Disney does such a great job.



Pinkocto said:


> I would have been watching the unloading process right along with you. They take all the dishes back to the ship, we've asked the Serenity Bay people.



It is just so fascinating!  Thanks for clearing up what happens with all the dishes and stuff!



Pinkocto said:


> I'm going to have to go find that cute Olaf area.



It's just off where you transfer trams to Serenity Bay.  Go past the little souvenir store and look to your left, you can't miss it!



jedijill said:


> @rentayenta  There is a 3 day repo cruise from San Juan to PC that stops at CC in Jan 2017....Girls trip?
> 
> Jill in CO



Too short for my taste!



dhorner233 said:


> Great update! Loved that breakfast buffet! I could have spent the whole day there!!!



The buffets on the ships are great.



dhorner233 said:


> Belle's dress was pretty. Was it hot on the island?



No it was very nice on the island, not hot at all.



dhorner233 said:


> The island was interesting. Was your ship the only ship there? So all those people on the beach were all people from your ship? How many people were on your ship?



There is only one dock.  The Dream is there on Wednesdays and Sundays, the Fantasy is there on Fridays.  Depending on the itinerary, the Magic and Wonder sometimes visit.  Although I had not been to CC on the Wonder since 2001.  There can be as many as 4000 passengers on the Dream or Fantasy.  The Wonder and Magic hold half as many.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Loving CC update. How do you cope with that Trump BS? Worse still the folk that suck it up!



Ignore it.  Or just roll my eyes.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> I like how things work also. Last time I found out CC has not got permission for people to stay overnight but that Disney were working on that. If they have it now I don't know. So they did have to bring it all on the Island!



Huh.  I didn't know that no one was on the island at night.  I thought there were a handful of folks that were like caretakers/security guards.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Great photos from the ship. That cabanas breakfast never grows old. I see my breakfast right there on the donut stand... I will disgust you by saying..seperator plate, ice cream from Eye Scream, donuts, strawberry compote , mickey waffles..



Doesn't disgust me at all.  I'm hoping that on the Fantasy, there will be more days to eat from there.  There wasn't enough room in my tummy to try everything I wanted!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Those trams are good for disabled folk. That store is nice she sells seashells. Like Fran for a little store I manage to charge the stateroom for items everytime.



The Tram was a lifesaver!  Yes, she charged quite a bit back to the room!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Sandwheels! Cool until you try them... It's like pushing a tank.. Nice that they supply them though.



Huh.  I didn't think of that.  I bet it would be tough to push, especially if the person weighed more than you did!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> I like the photo of you both in front of The Dream.



Thank you!


----------



## franandaj

When I left off we were on our way to Serenity Bay, the adults only area of the island. No Disney location would be complete without all kinds of “set decoration”. And a backstory that you’ll find here.  http://www.disneycruiser.info/stateroom/legend_of_castaway_cay.pdf

Actually the island has quite a past, it’s rumored that Pirates frequented the island in the 1700s, later it was used as farmland by farmers from the mainland. In the 60s the island was purchased by a businessman who put in the runway, but soon in his absence the runway was used by drug smugglers to bring narcotics into Florida. Eventually the island was sold to a private company owned by one of the main drug smugglers. This continued well into the 1980’s until he was arrested and put in prison where he died. Years later Disney purchased the island and created the backstory in the link above.  Why go into all this?  Because there are all sorts of “things” around the island that are supposedly left over from that backstory.  I’m sure these cannons are part of that story.  They were across from the tram stop where we waited for the Tran to Serenity Bay.





After we boarded the tram, and drove around the loop, we could see that the second canon was a dragon canon.





The runway that was previously used by drug smugglers for landing planes is now the road where the trams drive to get to and from Serenity Bay.





Here’s Fran on the Tram.





The abandoned planes you see here, are part of the backstory as the planes were “retired” when the Castaways living on the island abandoned the runway and opted for only boat traffic to the island.





Here’s how the loading of the scooters works on the trams.





Another thing that the abandoned runway is used for are the bicycles available on the island.









Here’s a peek out to the ocean.





But first we’re going to have lunch.





They had a fairly extensive buffet for an island paradise.





























They had buns for the burgers and dogs.

















The ribs were pretty picked over, but they refilled this quickly enough.  I wasn’t interested in those, so that was OK.





Chicken pickens were kind of slim, but there was enough for me!





Hot dogs and brats.





I didn’t get a picture of the steaks, and they served baked potatoes and mahi mahi from behind the counter.  I got both of the latter.  They also had a whole section of fruit.









And condiments for your meal.





When we had chosen our food, we headed to the tables, but they were all occupied.  However, as we were looking for our table, we spied our tablemates, and asked if they minded if we shared their table. They were more than happy to let us join them, so that worked out well for us.

My plate.





Fran’s lunch.  She didn’t get a lot because my plate was so full, she knew I couldn’t finish it all.





They had a soft serve ice cream machine, and there were probably four different flavors.






Also there was a section with cakes and breads.





I grabbed us some of the sweets.





*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]
*
Then we headed over to the beach area, or the bar.  Fran doesn’t like to walk on the sand, so I found her a place to sit. We had a bit of trouble figuring out how to get to the bar.  One of the bar waitresses told us that the only way was to walk on the sand. Well that wasn’t technically correct.  The way there was paved, but it was covered in sandy water.  A treacherous combination for someone walking on two canes, but I stuck close to her, we took it slow and she made it through.  This route was passing by the entrance to the women’s restroom.  It turned out that on the other side of the building was the men’s restroom, and because it was farther from the beach, the shower was used less and it wasn’t nearly as wet and dangerous.  There might have even been a ramp on that side. Well, now we know for next time.









She had her tablet, and I decided I was going to go stick my feet in the water. I hadn’t brought my swim suit, because I really didn’t fancy getting “all wet”. So I took off my sandals and walked down to the water. It was cold!  I asked her to take a picture of me in the water, but because it was so cold and I didn’t want to go very deep, I never actually made it into her field of vision, the fence at the bar blocked her from being able to see me. Plus I stumbled a bit and almost fell, and I decided that I’m not a “beach person”.  Unless that means sitting at the bar having a drink or a meal!

Here’s a few shots of the view.





















Pam, Pinkocto, raves about the Konk Koolers, she gets the virgin variety, but she says they are her favorite Castaway Cay drink.  I was reluctant to try it because one of the ingredients is Coconut something. Fran said she would drink it if I didn’t like it.  I ordered one, and took a sip before I had been charged for it and immediately ordered myself a Deep Blue Sea.  Much more to my liking!









By this time it was about 1PM and the sun and food was making me tired.  We decided to catch the trams back to the ship, but not before stopping at Scuttle’s Cove to check out the shops.  To do this you catch a tram from Serenity Bay back to Pelican Point, and then from Pelican point you catch the tram back to the ship, but you get off at the first stop which is Scuttle’s Cove. We had a nice view of the ship from here.





Here is an abridged version of the history of CC that I posted a link to earlier.





And the iconic buoys.





Here is the shop where we did some more damage.  I’m glad we stopped here. There wasn’t a lot of merchandise at the other shop and nothing that either fit me or interested me.  Here at this shop I found at least one T-shirt, maybe two that said, “Castaway Cay” on it, so now I can prove I’ve been there!





After we boarded the ship, I took a shower and a short nap.  The sun really wiped me out that day and I was tired.  We had a big night and I didn’t want to sleep through it or not enjoy it!

After I slept for a bit, I decided that I was hungry.  Dinner wasn’t until 7:00 and it was probably around 3:30 or so.  I went up to Deck 11 hoping for something small to tide me over. At first I thought some fruit or a small salad would be good, but they didn’t have anything that fit the bill, so I ended up with this.









I took it back to the room, and offered some to Fran, but she was good. I took the time we had to use up some internet moments and I think that’s when I posted an update on the previous trip report. Then I woke up Fran and she took a shower, and we got dressed to go see Pirate Mickey. I wore the dress that I had purchased earlier that day on the island. It was Pirate Night and I don’t like that menu so we had other plans for dinner. But first it was pictures. But before we could even get pictures we had to wait in line. Fran held our spot while I snuck outside for some sunset pictures.









While waiting in line, both Donald and Minnie were downstairs. I knew that we would never get down to their lines before they were done.  That was one thing about the Dream, there are so many people on board, the character lines were incredibly long.





























After Mickey we went back to the room. I was able to get one last shot of the sunset.





She took a nap and I put on The Princess & the Frog.


----------



## rndmr2

Great update! Castaway Cay is so pretty, I love to see pics of Serenity Bay, I really want to get there some day. 

Cute dress that you got on the island! 

Fun pics with Mickey!


----------



## Steppesister

Someday.... someday....

Meanwhile, I will soak all the beachy photos and CC info I can get. I read back a little bit, and was found the topic of re-stocking the island fascinating as well. Hmmm... one wonders. So glad you had a nice day all-in-all, even if there were some issues with walking on sand to get to where you wanted to go.  Cute dress! And super awesome sunset photos! Can't beat tropical sunsets!


----------



## afwdwfan

franandaj said:


> Why go into all this? Because there are all sorts of “things” around the island that are supposedly left over from that backstory. I’m sure these cannons are part of that story. They were across from the tram stop where we waited for the Tran to Serenity Bay.


Ok... I've got to admit.  I actually find the real story about pirates and drug smugglers to be more interesting. 



franandaj said:


> When we had chosen our food, we headed to the tables, but they were all occupied. However, as we were looking for our table, we spied our tablemates, and asked if they minded if we shared their table. They were more than happy to let us join them, so that worked out well for us.


Lunch looks good.  I'm glad you can find a table.  I'd be in a meat coma by the time I ate there though... give me ribs, chicken, a burger, a dog, a brat and a steak.  Why?  Because I can! 



franandaj said:


> It was cold! I asked her to take a picture of me in the water, but because it was so cold and I didn’t want to go very deep, I never actually made it into her field of vision, the fence at the bar blocked her from being able to see me. Plus I stumbled a bit and almost fell, and I decided that I’m not a “beach person”. Unless that means sitting at the bar having a drink or a meal!


  Well, thankfully nobody took a spill.  Either Fran getting to the bar or you in the water.  Your drinks look good though, so I think making use of your time to sit at the bar and enjoy them was probably a good idea.  



franandaj said:


> Here at this shop I found at least one T-shirt, maybe two that said, “Castaway Cay” on it, so now I can prove I’ve been there!


Not only can you prove you've been there, but you've been there and actually got off the boat!  



franandaj said:


> While waiting in line, both Donald and Minnie were downstairs. I knew that we would never get down to their lines before they were done. That was one thing about the Dream, there are so many people on board, the character lines were incredibly long.


Yuck... hadn't thought about that, but it is a valid point.  I'm sorry you didn't get a chance to meet Donald and Minnie, but at least you got some nice pictures with Mickey!


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Fun read. It's funny about CC because I am not a beach person. I do not like sand like Fran, water or getting wet. Why do I enjoy CC? I don't know I just do! It has something about it. Like you two we enjoy a morning there then go back to the ship. I do not like the BBQ so we go back for lunch then enjoy the adults only area on The Dream that is empty. Oh those day beds! Plus the view of CC and the colour of the water! 

Nice you made it to serenity bay. Have you ever had a cabana? People rave about them but have you seen the price? Hard to justify for 2! Might be good to share for more though. 

I love the 'history' they invented for the island thank you for including that. Lol the signs with 'Bahamian time' always make me laugh.

Love the iconic buoys! 

Oh that darn Pirate night menu. We always try to book Palo I can tell you that much. Curious if you have done the same for your dinner. 

Love the photos of you with pirate Mickey too cute.


----------



## jedijill

I love Serenity bay!  I'm sorry you didn't like the Konk Kooler...they are my favorite!  

Jill in CO


----------



## dizneeat

*Caught up here too! Somehow I have such problems staying on top of things ..... I am tempted to blame it on my age. 

Love, love, love CC at Christmas time. So pretty, thank for sharing. 

I have never seen the barbeque so full that we would not be able to find a table. WOW!!! Glad you spotted your tablemates. *


----------



## dhorner233

Is Castaway Cay considered part of the Bahamas? It's a little speck east of Fort Lauderdale? Does anyone live on the island? Or do the CM's from the boat go work on the island while you are there? Was that buffet included with your cruise or did you have to pay for it? You had to pay for your drinks I assume? 

Did they have any entertainment? Any thing on the island at night or did the ship even spend the night there?


----------



## franandaj

rndmr2 said:


> Great update! Castaway Cay is so pretty, I love to see pics of Serenity Bay, I really want to get there some day.
> 
> Cute dress that you got on the island!
> 
> Fun pics with Mickey!



Thanks, it really is beautiful and peaceful.  I'm fine with just sitting at the bar with a drink watching everyone else in the ocean.



Steppesister said:


> Someday.... someday....
> 
> Meanwhile, I will soak all the beachy photos and CC info I can get. I read back a little bit, and was found the topic of re-stocking the island fascinating as well. Hmmm... one wonders. So glad you had a nice day all-in-all, even if there were some issues with walking on sand to get to where you wanted to go.  Cute dress! And super awesome sunset photos! Can't beat tropical sunsets!



It is pretty fascinating how they get everything on the island to take care of the guests and then get it all back again.  It's such a beautiful and peaceful place, I'm glad I will be going back in a little over a year.



afwdwfan said:


> I've got to admit. I actually find the real story about pirates and drug smugglers to be more interesting.



I know. huh!



afwdwfan said:


> Lunch looks good. I'm glad you can find a table. I'd be in a meat coma by the time I ate there though... give me ribs, chicken, a burger, a dog, a brat and a steak. Why? Because I can!



If I could eat that much I would do that too!



afwdwfan said:


> Well, thankfully nobody took a spill. Either Fran getting to the bar or you in the water. Your drinks look good though, so I think making use of your time to sit at the bar and enjoy them was probably a good idea.



I'm just going to have to remember that.  Unless we both get in much better shape and decide to go parasailing again or something crazy like that, I think kickin it with a drink in our hands is the best solution.



afwdwfan said:


> Not only can you prove you've been there, but you've been there and actually got off the boat!



Yeah, we hadn't done that since Cozumel in 2014!



afwdwfan said:


> Yuck... hadn't thought about that, but it is a valid point. I'm sorry you didn't get a chance to meet Donald and Minnie, but at least you got some nice pictures with Mickey!



That's the only reason I can think of for the lines being so long. The only one we waited that long for on our last cruise was Jack Sparrow.  Although Jack and Sally had equally as long a line.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Fun read. It's funny about CC because I am not a beach person. I do not like sand like Fran, water or getting wet. Why do I enjoy CC? I don't know I just do! It has something about it. Like you two we enjoy a morning there then go back to the ship. I do not like the BBQ so we go back for lunch then enjoy the adults only area on The Dream that is empty. Oh those day beds! Plus the view of CC and the colour of the water!



I think it might have something to do with the ocean breeze and how the air just feels calm.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Nice you made it to serenity bay. Have you ever had a cabana? People rave about them but have you seen the price? Hard to justify for 2! Might be good to share for more though



No we have never had a cabana and I don't see us doing that because you would really need to be there all day and I can't see Fran getting up at the crack of dawn just to go sit in a Cabana.  How could she shop?



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> love the 'history' they invented for the island thank you for including that. Lol the signs with 'Bahamian time' always make me laugh.



I think the real history is even more fascinating!  But Disney wouldn't like that.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Oh that darn Pirate night menu. We always try to book Palo I can tell you that much. Curious if you have done the same for your dinner.
> 
> Love the photos of you with pirate Mickey too cute.



Yeah, too much coconut and other things I don't care for.  You will find out shortly!



jedijill said:


> I love Serenity bay!  I'm sorry you didn't like the Konk Kooler...they are my favorite!
> 
> Jill in CO



If we didn't "need" to go shopping, I would have gone directly to Serenity Bay, but I'm glad we got the Olaf sipper cup!


----------



## franandaj

dizneeat said:


> *Caught up here too! Somehow I have such problems staying on top of things ..... I am tempted to blame it on my age.
> 
> Love, love, love CC at Christmas time. So pretty, thank for sharing.
> 
> I have never seen the barbeque so full that we would not be able to find a table. WOW!!! Glad you spotted your tablemates. *



I was surprised it was that full as well, we were there before noon even!



dhorner233 said:


> Is Castaway Cay considered part of the Bahamas? It's a little speck east of Fort Lauderdale? Does anyone live on the island? Or do the CM's from the boat go work on the island while you are there? Was that buffet included with your cruise or did you have to pay for it? You had to pay for your drinks I assume?
> 
> Did they have any entertainment? Any thing on the island at night or did the ship even spend the night there?



I have no idea if CC is considered part of the Bahamas.  I didn't realize that it was that far north.  No wonder people used it for farmland back when.  I thought a handful of people lived on the island for security type purposes, but Paula says no. She has been on more cruises that have gone there than I, so I defer to her knowledge.  The CMs from the ship do work the island in whatever capacity they work on the ship, the do a similar job on the island.  All food on the cruise is included except Palo, Remy, and Vanellopes.  There is also a smoothie, place that I am not sure if you have to pay for those. "Specialty" Beverages are extra.  That includes alcohol, the Olaf beverage, and fancy coffees from the Cove Café.

I'm not sure about the family beach, but at Serenity Bay they had a duo (that also performed in the Atrium on the ship).  The guy played guitar and she sang.  They did older rock n roll songs, you know things I knew like "Hotel California", "Love Potion No. 9".  Stuff like that.  The ship left the island by 5PM at the latest.  I think before we got in line for Mickey the ship had already pulled out of the dock.


----------



## franandaj

So things are moving along here with respect to our move out. Not sure how many Expedition loads we had transported last time I checked in here, but by now we've moved at least five trips to storage but still only one to the thrift store.

What we did do that was really monumental was get everything down from our attic. I had told you all that it was about 50-100 boxes. I could not have been more wrong! No, there were more than 60 boxes labeled DIS alone! Then there were 15-20 boxes of old tax papers. Some dating back to 2003 or 4. At least we can shred everything older than 2009 and that frees up another dozen boxes or so. Then there was all the rest of the stuff. We counted approximately six rows of boxes across the room and each row was like 4 maybe 5 boxes tall. So let's just say that one "wall" of boxes is made up of 28 boxes. The spare bedroom where we stashed those boxes (not counting Disney which is in the living room, or taxes in the dining room) has probably 7 walls deep of all those boxes. When we were done stacking, the entire room was filled with walls of boxes. You could not even set foot more than a yard past the threshold! So figure 7 walls of 28 boxes and you've got almost 200 boxes in that room alone! Don't ask me what is in them all. There are many boxes of books on the Civil War, lots of boxes of clothes from 2005 & 2006 that Fran wasn't willing to part with. She put them away until she lost the weight.  I know I had no less than 12 boxes of Christmas ornaments. That doesn't include the boxes for garland, lights, Pooh's Christmas Village, and other such things. Plus Fran had equally as many Halloween decorations that I've never even put up in our 19 years together. In addition to boxes, there were cauldrons, skeletons, giant spider webs and plastic electric pumpkins.  I’m not sure where all this stuff is going to go, but it needs to get out of the house somewhat pronto!

Also I did some math with respect to this trip report.  There are 8 days left in the report (including finishing up the day I’m in the middle of).  If I am going to wrap this up before my Mississippi River cruise, I need to post a complete day every 6.571 days.  So that means some pretty rapid fire updating.  So hang on to your hats folks, it may get pretty crazy around here!

Speaking of the Mississippi river trip, thank goodness the rest of the world isn’t Disney World or I would be sunk.  I still can’t get Fran to talk with me about restaurants to make reservations at. Every time I try to talk to her, she say something like, “let’s sit down with a map and figure it out, but not right now.”  So I’ve been researching on my own.  I did get her to say that we are definitely eating at Antoine’s (known for inventing Oysters Rockefeller). We talked about going to Willie May’s Scotch House (famous soul food, most notably Fried Chicken) but it’s way outside the French Quarter/Central Business District where we are staying. Others on the list include:

Commander’s Palace – It’s a long time NOLA favorite, Emeril Lagasse got his start there, and 25 cent Martinis
Café du Monde – because beignets!
Brennan’s – Among other things tableside Banana’s Foster
Mother’s – Known for comfort food, po-boys and one of the first restaurants to come back after Katrina.
Lüke – Because I have always wanted to try Chef John Besh’s cooking, and their bread pudding looks amazing.

We have three full days there or about 75 hours, I think we might be a little ambitious trying to get all that food in!  

Anyone have any thoughts, experiences, suggestions?  Inbetween feedings we plan on sightseeing at various locations, fancy mansion yards in the Garden district, Audobon park, maybe the Voodoo museum.  I’m still working on what there is to do there besides eat!  So that’s it, back to the Trip Report!


We had just left off with meeting Pirate Mickey and we came back to the room to relax a little more. Soon it was time we got ready for our dinner at Remy and headed up to deck 12. Some of you questioned while we were not dining at Palo this cruise. Well, there were only four nights on this cruise, and only one day at Sea. Since I had never been on this ship before, I didn’t want to skip the Main Dining Rooms on any other night besides Pirate night.  If we go on the Dream again, I know that I can skip our night in Animator’s and I will request the same rotation we had on this cruise and go to Palo the first night on the ship.

But since I wanted to try them all once this cruise, Palo was the only place I had been before.  I couldn’t do Palo AND Remy Brunch, so again Remy won out for Pirate night and for Brunch.  On the Fantasy, I will be sure to do both!

We arrived at Remy right at 7:00PM, and were seated at our table. I took a few shots of the room.









Our server made us a cocktail tableside, it consisted of Grand Marnier, Grey Goose Vodka, black Currant, Champagne and a drop of pineapple.  It was very tasty.  I don’t remember if she had a name for it, but we both enjoyed it.









I couldn’t believe that they had a water menu!  @Captain_Oblivious I KNOW this place will not be getting a Homer award from you, but stay tuned, you will like the second half of the trip.









I have heard of this Amuse Bouche, it was a deep fried bite of tomato soup. We were instructed to eat the whole thing in one bite. I’ve read in other’s trip reports how it bursts of flavor inside your mouth, but until you actually experience it, you can’t understand.





The bread and butter service was really good!









Our server took our picture early on, before I had too much to drink and spilled anything on my dress.  Because it is hanging in my living room waiting for me to find time to take it to the dry cleaner.





We were served another pre dinner specialty.  I was a little afraid of it, it had foie gras, some kind of nuts, Macadamia I think, and heavy cream or something similar.  It was actually very good.





They have several different ways that you can order.  There is the French Prix Fixe menu, the American Prix Fixe Menu or you can pick and choose from the menu a la carte.  I ordered the French menu, Fran got the American menu, and then halfway through each course we would switch plates and wines.

My first course was a Scallop with citrus, celery, and a citrus cream sauce. The little white pillows may have been some kind of cream or goat cheese but they were amazing when eaten with a bite of citrus section, the poached celery, and scallop.





Fran’s first course was Shrimp, hearts of palm, not sure what the red and white rectangle cube was, but again served up with a little taste of everything it was just divine.





My next course was Lobster, you have the tail here and two pieces of claw meat. Salsify cooked in lobster sauce. 





Then with lobster juice on top.





Now throughout the meal, our server kept asking us “Who won? The French or the Americans?”  for the first course there was no winner, both were equally delicious. When she set the plates down for the second course, I was sure that the French Lobster would be the clear winner, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.  Fran’s dish marinated Sablefish with ****take and enoki mushrooms, soba noodles and bok choy was the clear winner of this round. The broth was so tasty, obviously it had an Asian flair to it and was just perfect. 





My next course was Halibut with fried pureed Jerusalem artichoke, this was cooked to perfection with a hint of sea salt on the top of the fish. Inside that ball was pureed Jerusalem artichoke almost a thick sauce. Fran liked it, I'm not real keen on the taste of that particular vegetable as I have had it before in its "natural" state.





Fran’s dish was a Kurobuta Pork Tenderloin and pork belly with root vegetables.  This was tender and had just enough fat to make it unxious. Fran asked me as she took her bite, "why don't they sell pork belly at Ralph's?"





It was hard to choose between the two of these.  The Halibut was so good, but the pork belly was too.  I think it was a draw again.

With the French menu, my next course was Veal, but at the beginning of the meal we had the option to add an extra piece of beef to Fran’s meal.  It was pricey, and we had a choice of 2 oz or 4 oz, and we knew there would be a lot of food, so we went with the 2 oz portion.  When they set down the plates, Fran could tell I had “Entrée Envy” and let me start with hers. The Veal was wonderful and if I hadn't been getting so full and had the beef selections first I'm sure I would have loved it, but with those factors in mind I was a bit underwhelmed. They did the full presentation for my meal.











*[Continued Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

Here it is with the sauce.





I started off with what were Fran's choices which were

Australian beef machine massaged (right)

Wagyu beef hand massaged (left)

The right was paired with a Spanish Temperanillo and the left with a Syrah.  Well actually it was a French wine that begins with H and most regarded of the Syrah.  I’m thinking it was Hermitage. While both pieces of meat were exquisite, we thought that the machine massaged beef was superior. While the other had a bolder flavor, the Aussie had a melt in your mouth factor that couldn't be beat.













Following the main course we were offered the option of a cheese course.  Well have you ever known me to refuse a cheese course?  Heck I’ve been able to create a cheese course from the salad bar at Sizzler!





we were served 8 Different cheeses, among them were triple cream, camembert, a blue cheese a goat cheese, at least one hard cheese. There was only one that I wasn't wild about and I let Fran have that one.





The bread had a little bit of a spicy kick to it.





She also gave us figs, dried apricots and honeycomb.  I asked for more honeycomb because that is sooooo good.  All of these things paired with the cheese were just delicious.





Then we were served our desserts. I had the Chocolate Praline which was crunchy and creamy all at once.





I had a Grand Marnier with my desserts.





Fran ate all the bananas of her Chocolate banana, but she shared with me the chocolatey cookie type part of her dessert. Both were incredibly scrumptious. 





Then they brought us these Chocolate and coffee tarts. They were cut into four quarters, but I could only eat one piece of each. Fran finished the chocolate for me, but left the coffee flavored one.





They were accompanied by these Hazelnut biscuits. I ate one and Fran finished the rest of them off.





They gave us Lollipops and truffles to go, plus a red rose for each of the ladies.





And they gave us these to take with us.





*[Continued Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

Since it was Pirate Night, there were fireworks, and we decided to go check them out. On our way to view the fireworks we drove through Vanellopies sweets and treats. This was Fran's first exposure to this place and she decided a return trip here was definitely in order, but not when we had just stuffed ourselves to the gills.

We found what we thought was a good location, but a CM came over to us and said we wouldn’t see anything from where we were and suggested that we go to the handicapped area for the fireworks.  OK.  Cool.









Now here is where the Wonder’s Pirate Party kicks booty over the one on the Dream. On the Wonder they play Pop/Rock ‘n Roll music for about 20 minutes while the characters dance in the crowd and on the stage.  It’s songs that everyone knows, hits from the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, and probably beyond, but I wouldn’t know any of those songs.  Then Mickey kicks off the fireworks show as he ziplines across the pool area.

On the Dream they had Pirates on stage for about 5 minutes.





Then this lame video skeleton show came on before the fireworks.





Just before the fireworks started, these other pirates came out.





And then Jack Sparrow jumped from this podium to kick off the show.  I liked Pirate Mickey better.





I took a few pictures of the fireworks, but I only had my point and shoot camera, so I mostly watched the fireworks.





After the show they had a pirate related dance party. We left and got ice cream cones. 





Came back to room to find hanging monkey.  And Wow!  Just as I was "previewing" this post to make sure everything about it was correct, I noticed how much of our "trashed room" you can see in this picture!


----------



## Dis_Yoda

Your meal at Remy's looks outstanding!  Glad you finally understand the flavor burst that is the first course as I think I used those exact words to describe it before!  Loved all the choices you all made - looks like you totally picked the right ones for your enjoyment!  Wagyu beef beats veal any day!  Interesting they have added the tarts in now.


----------



## dhorner233

Wow! You have really been busy! That was a lot of boxes! 

Remy is so fancy! It doesn't look like there very many other people there.

Did Jack Sparrow jump off that little platform? Onto the stage? Looks like it was a long way up there.


----------



## jedijill

Ah, Remy, I miss thee!  The food and service is divine!  That Australian Waygu beef is amazing!  I don't love the Pirate Party anymore.  I just watch the fireworks and then go to bed!

Jill in CO


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Wow those boxes you got out to sort sounded like one of my maths exams at school. If I have 26 boxes in a 20 foot by 15 foot room.. How do I get to the door? 

Good luck sorting those. You broke the back of it anyway. The process has begun. I hope it's not like here sometimes which goes.... Let's sort out the attic Jo. Sure... So all she does is admire what she has, rearrange it. To my horror bring some of it into the house to 'use' and the rest goes back. None in the thrift store nooooo! 

It was Remy! How nice. Can I just say how lovely you both look. That white shirt of Fran's looks super dangerous. I would have that red with sauce in seconds. Pretty dress and I love Fran's jacket. 

Yum cocktail. Ohhh scallops... I love this French vs American theme. If it's American land well we know the winners.. Lol. Oh I adore Halibut but so few chefs cook it right! It must be a very difficult fish to cook. Glad to hear Remys can do this. 

Now we are talking veal what! I adore veal. I look no further... 

Nice desserts and cheese selections. What a delightuful restaurant. 

Thanks for the update can't wait for the river cruise that sounds amazing!


----------



## skier_pete

Oooh...that Remy meal looks fantastic! What is the up-charge on that?


----------



## Flossbolna

I loved reading about your Remy experience. Amazing how much the menu has changed over a year! I am really excited to see what they are going to offer when we will be back there on our next cruise! Michael and I decided that the cost of a meal there will just have to be built in every cruise we take on the Dream or Fantasy.

The cocktail they serve at the beginning of the meal was called Colette - after the female chef from the movie. At least the cocktail they served us, which seemed a little different from ours (I thought we had some kind of berry, not pineapple).

I love the picture of Fran with the soft serve. It looks like she is totally shocked that you are making her eat even more! 

Did you have the full wine addition to the meal? How was that? Were your servings ok? I had heard that they had cut down a lot in serving size and with that price I would not have appreciated that!


----------



## afwdwfan

franandaj said:


> You could not even set foot more than a yard past the threshold! So figure 7 walls of 28 boxes and you've got almost 200 boxes in that room alone!


Wow... that's a lot of stuff to go through.  Glad it is out of the attic.  Good luck with the rest of the work. 



franandaj said:


> We have three full days there or about 75 hours, I think we might be a little ambitious trying to get all that food in!


Definitely ambitious, but how often do you get to go to New Orleans?



franandaj said:


> Our server made us a cocktail tableside, it consisted of Grand Marnier, Grey Goose Vodka, black Currant, Champagne and a drop of pineapple. It was very tasty. I don’t remember if she had a name for it, but we both enjoyed it.


Based on the ingredients, it should be good! 



franandaj said:


> Our server took our picture early on, before I had too much to drink and spilled anything on my dress. Because it is hanging in my living room waiting for me to find time to take it to the dry cleaner.






franandaj said:


> While the other had a bolder flavor, the Aussie had a melt in your mouth factor that couldn't be beat.


Ok, it is the American menu... why are they serving Australian beef???  Come on Disney!



franandaj said:


> Heck I’ve been able to create a cheese course from the salad bar at Sizzler!


  



franandaj said:


> We found what we thought was a good location, but a CM came over to us and said we wouldn’t see anything from where we were and suggested that we go to the handicapped area for the fireworks. OK. Cool.


I'm glad the CM came along to look out for you.  Sorry the show was a little bit of a let down though.



franandaj said:


> After the show they had a pirate related dance party. We left and got ice cream cones.


Because, ice cream.



franandaj said:


> Came back to room to find hanging monkey. And Wow! Just as I was "previewing" this post to make sure everything about it was correct, I noticed how much of our "trashed room" you can see in this picture!


I like the monkey.  Honestly, your room is no worse than ours ever is.  I probably wouldn't have even noticed if you hadn't mentioned it.


----------



## pkondz

Phew! Made it over here!
And it looks like I better not fall behind again!



franandaj said:


> We have lots of restaurants that close by 2:30PM



Interesting. There are very few of those up here.



franandaj said:


> and I'm not sure any of them would make it from a package mix



Good!



franandaj said:


> When I left off we were on our way to Serenity Bay, the adults only area of the island.



Which, I'm sure, is where I'd head to as well.



franandaj said:


> it’s rumored that Pirates frequented the island in the 1700s



Cool!



franandaj said:


> but soon in his absence the runway was used by drug smugglers to bring narcotics into Florida.



That's really interesting.
Modern day pirates in a sense.



franandaj said:


> This continued well into the 1980’s until he was arrested and put in prison where he died.



Cautionary tale there kids.



franandaj said:


> After we boarded the tram, and drove around the loop, we could see that the second canon was a dragon canon.



I like that one.



franandaj said:


> Here’s Fran on the Tram.



That almost sounds like a children's book.

Fran on the tram.
See Fran on the tram?
The tram ran with Fran on the tram.
The tram ran until... wham!

Hit a tree.

The end.


I could _so_ be a children's book author.



franandaj said:


>



Look at that smile!
Someone's pretty happy!



franandaj said:


> The abandoned planes you see here, are part of the backstory as the planes were “retired” when the Castaways living on the island abandoned the runway and opted for only boat traffic to the island.



Love those planes.



franandaj said:


> Here’s how the loading of the scooters works on the trams.



Looks pretty easy and convenient.



franandaj said:


>



Nice view!



franandaj said:


> But first we’re going to have lunch.



Can't enjoy paradise on an empty stomach.
And that buffet looks really good, too.



franandaj said:


> Fran’s lunch. She didn’t get a lot because my plate was so full, she knew I couldn’t finish it all.



 Just how long have you two been married?



franandaj said:


> The way there was paved, but it was covered in sandy water. A treacherous combination for someone walking on two canes, but I stuck close to her, we took it slow and she made it through.



Glad you guys made it safely.
Odd that Disney, of all companies, wouldn't have better access.
But maybe you're right and there was a ramp on the other side.



franandaj said:


> So I took off my sandals and walked down to the water. It was cold!



Really! I wouldn't have thought that.



franandaj said:


> Plus I stumbled a bit and almost fell, and I decided that I’m not a “beach person”. Unless that means sitting at the bar having a drink or a meal!



That'll work!



franandaj said:


> Here’s a few shots of the view.



Beautiful! So relaxing to look at!



franandaj said:


> I was reluctant to try it because one of the ingredients is Coconut something. Fran said she would drink it if I didn’t like it. I ordered one, and took a sip before I had been charged for it and immediately ordered myself a Deep Blue Sea.



 If it has coconut anywhere in the ingredient list... no.



franandaj said:


>



Nice shot of the ship.
Hard to believe it fits there.



franandaj said:


> And the iconic buoys.



Like those.



franandaj said:


>



That looks good. Just the thing to tied you over.



franandaj said:


> While waiting in line, both Donald and Minnie were downstairs. I knew that we would never get down to their lines before they were done. That was one thing about the Dream, there are so many people on board, the character lines were incredibly long.



Huh.



franandaj said:


>



Love the colour in that one. 



franandaj said:


> but by now we've moved at least five trips to storage but still only one to the thrift store.



I'm thinking you wish the storage to thrift store ratio was a little more on the other side of that scale.



franandaj said:


> No, there were more than 60 boxes labeled DIS alone! Then there were 15-20 boxes of old tax papers. Some dating back to 2003 or 4. At least we can shred everything older than 2009 and that frees up another dozen boxes or so. Then there was all the rest of the stuff. We counted approximately six rows of boxes across the room and each row was like 4 maybe 5 boxes tall. So let's just say that one "wall" of boxes is made up of 28 boxes. The spare bedroom where we stashed those boxes (not counting Disney which is in the living room, or taxes in the dining room) has probably 7 walls deep of all those boxes. When we were done stacking, the entire room was filled with walls of boxes. You could not even set foot more than a yard past the threshold! So figure 7 walls of 28 boxes and you've got almost 200 boxes in that room alone!



 



franandaj said:


> Also I did some math with respect to this trip report. There are 8 days left in the report (including finishing up the day I’m in the middle of). If I am going to wrap this up before my Mississippi River cruise, I need to post a complete day every 6.571 days. So that means some pretty rapid fire updating. So hang on to your hats folks, it may get pretty crazy around here!



pkondz buckles up the TR seatbelt.



franandaj said:


> I did get her to say that we are definitely eating at Antoine’s (known for inventing Oysters Rockefeller).



Love Oysters Rockefeller... and I've only had them once!
I can't find them anywhere anymore!

"Raw oysters Monsieur?"
No! I want them Rockefeller, darn it!



franandaj said:


> Commander’s Palace – It’s a long time NOLA favorite, Emeril Lagasse got his start there, and 25 cent Martinis
> Café du Monde – because beignets!
> Brennan’s – Among other things tableside Banana’s Foster
> Mother’s – Known for comfort food, po-boys and one of the first restaurants to come back after Katrina.
> Lüke – Because I have always wanted to try Chef John Besh’s cooking, and their bread pudding looks amazing.



Those places all sound amazing.



franandaj said:


> Some of you questioned while we were not dining at Palo this cruise. Well, there were only four nights on this cruise, and only one day at Sea. Since I had never been on this ship before, I didn’t want to skip the Main Dining Rooms on any other night besides Pirate night.



Ah. Now I know.



franandaj said:


> Our server made us a cocktail tableside, it consisted of Grand Marnier, Grey Goose Vodka, black Currant, Champagne and a drop of pineapple.



mmmm.... sounds good.



franandaj said:


> I don’t remember if she had a name for it



Heaven.



franandaj said:


> I have heard of this Amuse Bouche, it was a deep fried bite of tomato soup. We were instructed to eat the whole thing in one bite. I’ve read in other’s trip reports how it bursts of flavor inside your mouth, but until you actually experience it, you can’t understand.



That sounds interesting. Would love to try it.



franandaj said:


> Our server took our picture early on, before I had too much to drink and spilled anything on my dress. Because it is hanging in my living room waiting for me to find time to take it to the dry cleaner.



whoops!



franandaj said:


> I ordered the French menu, Fran got the American menu, and then halfway through each course we would switch plates and wines.



Smart.
And I won't comment on every dish, but... wow! What a meal!



franandaj said:


> Fran’s dish marinated Sablefish with ****take and enoki mushrooms



 That kills me that the DIS removed that part of ... that type of mushroom.



franandaj said:


> Since it was Pirate Night, there were fireworks, and we decided to go check them out.



I'd like to see fireworks off a ship some day.
sigh.



franandaj said:


> On our way to view the fireworks we drove through Vanellopies sweets and treats. This was Fran's first exposure to this place and she decided a return trip here was definitely in order, but not when we had just stuffed ourselves to the gills.



That makes sense. On both levels.



franandaj said:


> We found what we thought was a good location, but a CM came over to us and said we wouldn’t see anything from where we were and suggested that we go to the handicapped area for the fireworks. OK. Cool.



Nice of him/her.



franandaj said:


> After the show they had a pirate related dance party. We left and got ice cream cones.



"Would you put that camera down before these melt all over me!"



franandaj said:


> I noticed how much of our "trashed room" you can see in this picture!



 It doesn't look bad at all. Love the monkey too!


----------



## disney ny

I finally have had some time to check in here and was excited to see your new report. I have had about zero Dis board time since school started in September but I had to have surgery a few weeks ago and am having a super slow recovery so I am catching up. I tell everyone I would recover faster at Disney but they ignore me. 
   So I am all caught up now and really enjoying your report. I am looking forward to the WDW portion and hearing about all the new stuff you try. I am glad you are making progress at the apartments, you will feel so much better once it is finally done and you can focus all your energy on your dream home. Are all those DIS boxes more decor for the house? I would love to come help- I am pretty sure I would recover better in California too lol!


----------



## dizneeat

*Love the update! I am amazed at how the menu at Remy has changed. Some things I recognized (but together with other components) others were new to me. Thanks for sharing.

The pirate parties are definitely more fun, with Mickey kicking off the fireworks on the Magic and Wonder. But what we like is to sit out on our balcony and watch the firework. Yip, I know you should not, but it is still nice. *



franandaj said:


> Just as I was "previewing" this post to make sure everything about it was correct, I noticed how much of our "trashed room" you can see in this picture!



*And this could have been our room as well. *


----------



## franandaj

Dis_Yoda said:


> Your meal at Remy's looks outstanding!  Glad you finally understand the flavor burst that is the first course as I think I used those exact words to describe it before!  Loved all the choices you all made - looks like you totally picked the right ones for your enjoyment!  Wagyu beef beats veal any day!  Interesting they have added the tarts in now.



It was a fantastic meal.  You're not the only one who used those words to describe it, but even having heard that it totally took me by surprise when I tasted it.  Next time (on the Fantasy), we may just go for the American or pick and choose possibly.



dhorner233 said:


> Wow! You have really been busy! That was a lot of boxes!



  Yup!  Going to move a bunch to storage today when Darcy gets here.



dhorner233 said:


> Remy is so fancy! It doesn't look like there very many other people there.



It is very fancy!  The chef from V&A's designed the American menu.  There were only about 3-4 other parties there. We also took our time. One young couple who was seated after us, also left before us. They didn't have the wine pairings either.



dhorner233 said:


> Did Jack Sparrow jump off that little platform? Onto the stage? Looks like it was a long way up there.



It was sort of a bungee jump.  I don't remember if he came all the way down to the stage or not because the fireworks started and I was looking up there instead.



jedijill said:


> Ah, Remy, I miss thee!  The food and service is divine!  That Australian Waygu beef is amazing!  I don't love the Pirate Party anymore.  I just watch the fireworks and then go to bed!
> 
> Jill in CO



It was, I'm going to make sure and have that as long as it is on the menu.  It was nice to try the other one, but next time, I'll just save my appetite and have the Australian one.  I never loved the Pirate Party in the first place.  If I could see the fireworks from my stateroom I would, but they seem to shoot them on the Starboard side and we are always on the Port.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Wow those boxes you got out to sort sounded like one of my maths exams at school. If I have 26 boxes in a 20 foot by 15 foot room.. How do I get to the door?
> 
> Good luck sorting those. You broke the back of it anyway. The process has begun. I hope it's not like here sometimes which goes.... Let's sort out the attic Jo. Sure... So all she does is admire what she has, rearrange it. To my horror bring some of it into the house to 'use' and the rest goes back. None in the thrift store nooooo!



You're so funny!    Yes it could sound like an algebra problem!  Well for now they are just going into storage because I don't think they will ever be gone through.  I hope that I am proven wrong!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> It was Remy! How nice. Can I just say how lovely you both look. That white shirt of Fran's looks super dangerous. I would have that red with sauce in seconds. Pretty dress and I love Fran's jacket.



She actually didn't spill on hers!  I don't remember what it was that I spilled.  Still need to get that dress to the cleaners!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Yum cocktail. Ohhh scallops... I love this French vs American theme. If it's American land well we know the winners.. Lol. Oh I adore Halibut but so few chefs cook it right! It must be a very difficult fish to cook. Glad to hear Remys can do this.



I tried to cook Halibut last night, and while it wasn't bad, I chickened out and didn't sear it long enough to get that lovely caramel crust on the top.  There was browning, but not like what I had here.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Now we are talking veal what! I adore veal. I look no further...



It was good, but I'm going for the beef on the Fantasy!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Nice desserts and cheese selections. What a delightuful restaurant.
> 
> Thanks for the update can't wait for the river cruise that sounds amazing!



Everything was wonderful.  I am getting very excited!  I know you don't have AAA, but I'm sure you have something like it. We stopped there this morning and picked up maps of the states we will be visiting and yet another guide book!  Plans are really starting to come together. I may even be making our reservations for dinner soon!



********** said:


> Oooh...that Remy meal looks fantastic! What is the up-charge on that?



The meal itself was $75pp, worth every penny.  We paid $55 for the 2 oz American Wagyu, and while we don't regret it, next time we will just go with the Australian cut. That way I can eat more of the desserts!  I don't remember what the wine pairing was, but I think with gratuity and everything it came in just under $500.  We always tip our servers on the "value" of the meal and not the actual cost. They probably got about $150 in tip for the two of them (sommelier and server).



Flossbolna said:


> I loved reading about your Remy experience. Amazing how much the menu has changed over a year! I am really excited to see what they are going to offer when we will be back there on our next cruise! Michael and I decided that the cost of a meal there will just have to be built in every cruise we take on the Dream or Fantasy.



So I can bet that it will again be different on our Fantasy trip in a year?  I agree, that's the entire reason for being on the larger ships is Remy!



Flossbolna said:


> The cocktail they serve at the beginning of the meal was called Colette - after the female chef from the movie. At least the cocktail they served us, which seemed a little different from ours (I thought we had some kind of berry, not pineapple).



Oh thank you for the name!  You're absolutely right!



Flossbolna said:


> I love the picture of Fran with the soft serve. It looks like she is totally shocked that you are making her eat even more!



Yes, her expression is pretty hilarious!



Flossbolna said:


> Did you have the full wine addition to the meal? How was that? Were your servings ok? I had heard that they had cut down a lot in serving size and with that price I would not have appreciated that!



Yes we did the wine pairings.  I could have used a slightly larger glass of wine.  I had to restrain myself not to drink it too fast as they were all very good and matched the food perfectly.  The serving sizes were perfect.  I was definitely full by the end.


----------



## franandaj

afwdwfan said:


> Wow... that's a lot of stuff to go through. Glad it is out of the attic. Good luck with the rest of the work.



I have a sinking feeling that we won't be going through it and it will just sit indefinitely while we keep paying the storage fees.



afwdwfan said:


> Definitely ambitious, but how often do you get to go to New Orleans?



I hope more often that I have before!



afwdwfan said:


> Based on the ingredients, it should be good!



It was awesome!



afwdwfan said:


> I'm glad the CM came along to look out for you. Sorry the show was a little bit of a let down though.



The fireworks show was great!  It just wasn't nearly as entertaining to wait for as previous trips.



afwdwfan said:


> Because, ice cream.







afwdwfan said:


> I like the monkey. Honestly, your room is no worse than ours ever is. I probably wouldn't have even noticed if you hadn't mentioned it.



Well that's good to know.  I didn't notice it until I had the picture large and in preview mode on the computer.  I guess everyone else throws their clothes all over the chairs and stuff when they come back to the room!



pkondz said:


> Phew! Made it over here!
> And it looks like I better not fall behind again!



I'll try to be gentle, but I don't want to start the next trip with a bunch of days left on this one!  That happened with the last one and I ended up just plowing through it over Christmas.  I don't like doing that.



pkondz said:


> Interesting. There are very few of those up here.



I don't know if it's because we're a beach city or what, but I was surprised when I moved here how many places opened from 6AM-2:30PM, no dinner, just breakfast and lunch.



pkondz said:


> Good!



I hate when restaurants cut corners, use package mixes, or frozen stuff.



pkondz said:


> Which, I'm sure, is where I'd head to as well.



It's much more calm and peaceful!



pkondz said:


> Cool!
> 
> That's really interesting.
> Modern day pirates in a sense.







pkondz said:


> Cautionary tale there kids.







pkondz said:


> I like that one.



I wonder if the Imagineers made it or they found it somewhere.  



pkondz said:


> That almost sounds like a children's book.
> 
> Fran on the tram.
> See Fran on the tram?
> The tram ran with Fran on the tram.
> The tram ran until... wham!
> 
> Hit a tree.
> 
> The end.
> 
> 
> I could _so_ be a children's book author.



  



pkondz said:


> Look at that smile!
> Someone's pretty happy!



And I was especially pleased with the previous days events!



pkondz said:


> Love those planes.



They do add character.



pkondz said:


> Looks pretty easy and convenient.



Thank goodness something for her was!



pkondz said:


> Nice view!



Kinda sums things up nicely.



pkondz said:


> Can't enjoy paradise on an empty stomach.
> And that buffet looks really good, too.



Lots of tasty stuff there!  I wish I had a bigger stomach!



pkondz said:


> Just how long have you two been married?



Married? 7 1/2 years, with an 11 year engagement.



pkondz said:


> Glad you guys made it safely.
> Odd that Disney, of all companies, wouldn't have better access.
> But maybe you're right and there was a ramp on the other side.



I'll have to notice when we're back there next February.



pkondz said:


> Really! I wouldn't have thought that.



I know I was expecting warm Gulf Current!



pkondz said:


> That'll work!



  I live in a beach town and I don't think I've actually gone in the ocean once in 18 years, but some of my favorite restaurants have an ocean or harbor view.



pkondz said:


> Beautiful! So relaxing to look at!



Yup!



pkondz said:


> If it has coconut anywhere in the ingredient list... no.



I usually think the same, but I wanted to give it a shot and see if my palette had changed.  Nope.



pkondz said:


> Nice shot of the ship.
> Hard to believe it fits there.



I think they trimmed those plants specifically like that.  In fact I think we got a photopass in that spot in 2001.



pkondz said:


> Like those.



They looked freshly painted too.



pkondz said:


> That looks good. Just the thing to tied you over.



It was a perfect little snack.



pkondz said:


> Love the colour in that one.



It did come out nice.  I have another at WDW that was also pretty good.



pkondz said:


> I'm thinking you wish the storage to thrift store ratio was a little more on the other side of that scale.



Yeah, the amount of stuff she keeps putting in boxes saying, "I can sell that on eBay..." is a little daunting, especially since we only have two things on eBay.



pkondz said:


>



Yeah, that's a lot of boxes!



pkondz said:


> pkondz buckles up the TR seatbelt.







pkondz said:


> Love Oysters Rockefeller... and I've only had them once!
> I can't find them anywhere anymore!
> 
> "Raw oysters Monsieur?"
> No! I want them Rockefeller, darn it!



Evidently the recipe for these is so secret the owner wouldn't even share it with her husband once they got married!



pkondz said:


> Those places all sound amazing.







pkondz said:


> Ah. Now I know.



On such a short cruise, there were only so many meals we could eat!



pkondz said:


> mmmm.... sounds good.



very much



pkondz said:


> Heaven.



Magdalene was able to point out that it was called a Collete, after the woman chef in the movie.



pkondz said:


> That sounds interesting. Would love to try it.



someday....



pkondz said:


> whoops!



Yeah, it happens.



pkondz said:


> Smart.
> And I won't comment on every dish, but... wow! What a meal!



It was fantastic!  I can't wait to do it again in about a year.



pkondz said:


> That kills me that the DIS removed that part of ... that type of mushroom.



I know I remember someone had ordered the mushroom soup at Artist Point and it did the same thing on her TR!



pkondz said:


> I'd like to see fireworks off a ship some day.
> sigh.



Someday.....



pkondz said:


> That makes sense. On both levels.



Unfortunately there weren't many times that we weren't stuffed to the gills!



pkondz said:


> Nice of him/her.



It was.



pkondz said:


> "Would you put that camera down before these melt all over me!"



  That's another good one!



pkondz said:


> It doesn't look bad at all. Love the monkey too!



Cool, maybe we're not as big of slobs as I thought!


----------



## franandaj

disney ny said:


> I finally have had some time to check in here and was excited to see your new report. I have had about zero Dis board time since school started in September but I had to have surgery a few weeks ago and am having a super slow recovery so I am catching up. I tell everyone I would recover faster at Disney but they ignore me.
> So I am all caught up now and really enjoying your report. I am looking forward to the WDW portion and hearing about all the new stuff you try. I am glad you are making progress at the apartments, you will feel so much better once it is finally done and you can focus all your energy on your dream home. Are all those DIS boxes more decor for the house? I would love to come help- I am pretty sure I would recover better in California too lol!



I'm sorry you've been so busy and that you're laid up with surgery, but I'm glad you stopped by!  I'm sure you would recover even faster in Florida or California, or even on a cruise where everyone is pampering you! 

I'll tell you I have no idea what is in those DIS boxes. It's not stuff to decorate with.  It's all souvenir type stuff from probably 1995 and before.  All these boxes were created before we were even together, and she didn't have the kind of money back then to buy as much stuff as she does now.  Well I take that back, in some of the boxes there are Bronze figures that we have a cabinet in the new house where they will go.  Right now it's all full of books and crud, so we need to clean that out so the shelves are freed up.



dizneeat said:


> Love the update! I am amazed at how the menu at Remy has changed. Some things I recognized (but together with other components) others were new to me. Thanks for sharing.



It's good to know that they are constantly updating parts of the menu, so that it is still fresh on repeat visits.



dizneeat said:


> *The pirate parties are definitely more fun, with Mickey kicking off the fireworks on the Magic and Wonder. But what we like is to sit out on our balcony and watch the firework. Yip, I know you should not, but it is still nice. *



We're always on the wrong side of the ship!



dizneeat said:


> *And this could have been our room as well. *



I'm glad everyone else makes a mess of their room!


----------



## franandaj

Day 5

I woke up at 4AM to the DVC video loop going on and on. I couldn't take it anymore and put on Ratatouille as they kept asking us at Remy the night before if we had seen the movie. Of course we had but not for a while.  I mostly drowsed through it, but before going back to sleep, I opened the curtains a bit so I could see when the sun came up. 

I woke around 5AM and it was still dark. Just after 6AM I woke to see light and jumped out of bed. I could still see the sun under the horizon. Having a mid ship cabin and not aft was not ideal for taking morning sunrise pictures.  I could tell that the direction that the ship was veering would definitely put the sun out of view from my cabin.









For the first time on a cruise, I threw on some clothes and shoes grabbed the camera and ran out the door. Not bothering to do my hair. I went up to deck 13 aft to catch the sunrise and ran into table mate Pam. I regretted not having done anything to my hair, we know two people on the whole cruise, and that is who I ran into! We chatted as we waited for the sun to rise.













Turns out the clouds obscured the sunrise, but we had a lovely discussion about winter, Christmas, and seasons with a gentleman from Connecticut.  Pam is from Eastern New York and both of them were enjoying escaping from their colder climates. This is probably the shot that shows the sun had already risen.





It was after taking this shot that I realized the sun had risen quite a while ago.





After saying goodbye until later I walked around the ship taking pictures. There’s the Mini Golf Course.









I’m sure these tables get lots of use during the day.





There’s this basketball court.





Here is yet another bar, never made it here and probably wouldn’t spend much time here.  I’m guessing that it would be hot and sunny.





Here’s a look from above of what I think was the family pool.





I’d seen this in seminars on the Dream and Fantasy, but this is one of the imagineers jokes related to the Aqua Duck (which I never did get on during this cruise.)





I just happened to stumble upon this pool area and bar.  I had no idea it was here.  Not that we had time or the weather had cooperated, but good to know for the future.









And looking down on the adult pool.





Back in the room I started to detail my notes on dinner the previous night while it was fresh in my mind. We also perused the Navigators.

























I went up to the Cove Café to get my free coffee.

Here’s the midship elevators.





And the elevator itself.





This elevator has drawings that you pass by on the walls.









This was one of the sundries stores on Deck 11 conveniently located near the pool to separate you from your money when you’re relaxing poolside.





The pool wasn’t open at this early hour.





Here is the area where they have soft serve ice cream and smoothies.









Adult pool





*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

Time for my free Americano!

























Now that looks inviting!





And I could have the whole area to myself!





But instead I came back to the room to finish my notes and work on the previous TR as well as start packing. While writing the Wonder TR, I read about how I never actually finished National Treasure on that ship and decided to put that on the TV. Fran woke up and we decided it would be good to have a small snack for our Brunch, so around 9:00 I went up to Cabanas and got us some food. I had the Special K and watermelon.  She had the bagel with cream cheese and pineapple.





She snoozed a little while longer while I started the unpleasant task of packing up our suitcases. We had a fair amount of alcohol scheduled for the day and I certainly didn't want to leave packing to the last moment. I had set an alarm to go off, but to my surprise Fran got up and dressed well before it went off.

We had decided to play Bingo before brunch this morning and presales began at 11:00. She wanted a good seat, so we left as soon as I finished getting dressed up for Brunch. We arrived nice and early getting our choice of seats.  Bingo was played in Evolution which was the dance bar.









We ordered some non alcoholic drinks, I got the passion cream freeze and she got the DOTD Princess Cream Freeze. 





When sales opened up we got the MEGA family pack because everything on the Dream is bigger and better. So now we each had 48 games instead of 24 and it only cost $80 now.  









The room started to fill up quickly.





And wouldn’t you know it a big guy walks into the room and sits down right in front of me.





1st game winner would get Bingo in 1 row, but not using the free space

2nd game winner gets 1 row either top or bottom

3rd game the winner would have to fill all the columns G & O 

4th game winner gets black out

This time we didn't win.  I was really close.

The screens tell you how well you are doing.  It tells you how many you are away on how many cards.





We also had manual cards to play.





When ever they call B11 they do this dance on every ship.  It has something to with Beyonce and they sing, “All the Bingo Ladies!”





Bingo ran a little long. We were supposed to be done at noon and it went just a few minutes past. I went ahead of Fran up 8 decks to Remy where we had our Champagne Brunch scheduled.

*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

We were just in time for our "briefing" prior to the Brunch.  The chef explained to us about the menu and what we could expect. The sommelier told us about the region of champagne and a few little “fun facts” about the different Champagnes that we would be tasting.





We were then seated at our table.









This was our menu for the afternoon.





Our first course was Jamon or ham which was served with a Brut Champagne. It was nicely salty and I suppose it was just supposed to be a little taste to get your palate going.





Our next course was a vegetable risotto with root vegetable shavings. Our server encouraged us to stir it up so you got a bit of everything in one bite. I was a little dubious about this one, but it was really good, lots of flavor and I didn’t miss that there was no meat.





The third course was a lobster dish with a mango shaving as a border, and all kinds of other complex flavors . It was served with a Tattinger that also was supposed to last until the next dish. This was another one that was really tasty when you got a bite of everything in your mouth.





For our next course, I asked if they would pour us (me) more of the Tattinger Champagne, it was too good not to almost finish it off with the last course. Fletan or Halibut. It had a potato seafood soup over a spicy Thai sauce. The complex mix of flavors here was just incredible. The spicy acidic brown Thai sauce balanced with the creamy potato and the seafood was seared to get a crispy top. Every dish was created to be combined so that all the flavors are mixed together and you get bit of everything in one bite, and it becomes something greater.





Our "main" was Chicken Oscar. I didn't give it much thought. It sounded good enough, but in actuality it was one of the most amazing preparations of chicken that I have ever tasted. It was moist and tender, melt in your mouth like, but yet the skin actually had some crispiness to it.  I had to ask the server about the preparation and it turns out that it was seared on the skin side on a very hot grill and then cooked in a sous vide. For those who don’t know about this method of preparation, it like boiling the meat in a bag, but the water is not actually hot enough to boil. It’s a slow cooking method in a vacuum sealed bag. If you watched Iron Chef America, they used it on that a lot. The Chicken was just incredible and that's not a word you will hear me use often to describe chicken. 





Both the halibut and the chicken were served with POP from Pomeroy Champagne.  The story we were told by the Sommelier at the beginning of the meal was that back in the day Madame Pomeroy was a "party girl". She liked to go out to the theater and other events, but she liked to bring her drinks along. So she invented this bottle in her Champagne house to fit in her purse so she could bring her beverages with her.  Sounds like my kind of gal!





The Oscar part of the Chicken means that there was crabmeat served with it.  Our crab was in the form of this little crab cake ball. It was good enough that it could have been served as a course on it’s own!





Our last course was a spicy chocolate soup that was paired with Moet Ice. I can’t remember what the flavor of ice cream was but I know it was good.  I ate every last bite, and would’ve licked the plate if it wasn’t so rude!





They joked about adding Parmesan Cheese, but it was really white chocolate.





After our dessert they brought us more of these weird Hazelnut biscuits.  I let Fran eat all of these.





We took one more shot in the restaurant before heading out to our next destination.





We had practically closed the place down!





But we didn’t want to forget our souvenirs, signed by the chef!


----------



## PrincessInOz

OMG!  What an amazing meal with Champagne!  LOVED every picture.

And was there ANYONE on that ship???  Those are amazing empty pictures.


----------



## franandaj

PrincessInOz said:


> OMG! What an amazing meal with Champagne! LOVED every picture.



It was a fantastic meal, actually they both were!



PrincessInOz said:


> And was there ANYONE on that ship??? Those are amazing empty pictures.



Sure but they were all still asleep in their cabins!


----------



## tlynk

Your trip report is excellent! It makes me want to try Remy when I sail the Fantasy again! Thank you for sharing!


----------



## SixtoMouse

I have read several of your trip reports and have enjoyed them all. Thank you for sharing.


----------



## dizneeat

*So, the Brunch menu has changed as well. Looks yummy to me. And the champagne ......... don't blame you at all to ask for a refill. 

And what a neat idea to have your "souvenirs" signed. I need to keep that in mind. 

I really love the early morning pics you took, even though the sun was hiding, but the empty ship is always an awesome sight. We sometimes do the same - head up to the top deck in the early morning, and we love to "kind of" have the ship to ourselves when the first dinner seating is on and the rest of the guests watches the show.  So peaceful!*


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> I'll try to be gentle, but I don't want to start the next trip with a bunch of days left on this one!



I hear ya.
Now that my Tr's (temporarily) done. I hope to be able to keep up a bit.



franandaj said:


> I don't know if it's because we're a beach city or what, but I was surprised when I moved here how many places opened from 6AM-2:30PM, no dinner, just breakfast and lunch.



Huh.



franandaj said:


> I wonder if the Imagineers made it or they found it somewhere.



Good question.
Ask it if you can.



franandaj said:


> Lots of tasty stuff there! I wish I had a bigger stomach!



Don't we all.... don't we all.



franandaj said:


> Married? 7 1/2 years, with an 11 year engagement.



Figured it had to be a while!



franandaj said:


> I live in a beach town and I don't think I've actually gone in the ocean once in 18 years, but some of my favorite restaurants have an ocean or harbor view.



I find that the more I stay out of the ocean, the higher the likelihood that I won't be eaten by something in it goes.



franandaj said:


> Yeah, the amount of stuff she keeps putting in boxes saying, "I can sell that on eBay..." is a little daunting, especially since we only have two things on eBay.



So if eBay crashes, I'll know it's because you guys decided to sell some stuff.



franandaj said:


> Evidently the recipe for these is so secret the owner wouldn't even share it with her husband once they got married!



Wow.



franandaj said:


> Magdalene was able to point out that it was called a Collete, after the woman chef in the movie.



Ah.

Back to read the updates.


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> I couldn't take it anymore and put on Ratatouille as they kept asking us at Remy the night before if we had seen the movie. Of course we had but not for a while.



I haven't seen that one yet.



franandaj said:


> I could tell that the direction that the ship was veering would definitely put the sun out of view from my cabin.



Drats



franandaj said:


> I regretted not having done anything to my hair, we know two people on the whole cruise, and that is who I ran into!



 Of course!



franandaj said:


> It was after taking this shot that I realized the sun had risen quite a while ago.



Whoops! Did Fran ever wake up while you were gone and wonder where you were?



franandaj said:


> There’s the Mini Golf Course.



I had no idea you could do that!
Well, of course they can... but that anyone would!



franandaj said:


>



 That's great!



franandaj said:


>



Yesss....



franandaj said:


> This elevator has drawings that you pass by on the walls.



cool



franandaj said:


> conveniently located near the pool to separate you from your money when you’re relaxing poolside.



Disney does that?
Who knew!







franandaj said:


> She snoozed a little while longer while I started the unpleasant task of packing up our suitcases.



Ugh. Packing to go on a vacation is fine. Packing to _leave_ a vacation... not so fine.



franandaj said:


> And wouldn’t you know it a big guy walks into the room and sits down right in front of me.



 Figures.



franandaj said:


> When ever they call B11 they do this dance on every ship. It has something to with Beyonce and they sing, “All the Bingo Ladies!”





And since you didn't mention it... neither of you won any games?



franandaj said:


> The story we were told by the Sommelier at the beginning of the meal was that back in the day Madame Pomeroy was a "party girl". She liked to go out to the theater and other events, but she liked to bring her drinks along. So she invented this bottle in her Champagne house to fit in her purse so she could bring her beverages with her. Sounds like my kind of gal!





That meal looks almost as good (in some instances better) than your last.


----------



## jedijill

I love Remy brunch as well.  Loved the looks of your menu...Completely different than the last time I was onboard. Love all the pics of the empty ship!  

Jill in CO


----------



## dhorner233

Such nice pictures of the empty ship! It's nice they have separate pools for the adults. Very pretty ship. Interesting elevator!

I've never played Bingo on a hand held device. Interesting. Sorry you didn't win anything after spending $80 

How may restaurants are on the ship? You have to pay extra for Remy's right? Fancy, artistic meal!


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Great sunrise photos. Even though you were mid the colours are still delightful. How nice to meet Pam. Funny how you keep seeing the same folks! 

Lovely brunch. We have done Palo many times and love it but not Remy. Looks delightful. I love the menu. Crab and chicken yes please. Adore crab. Love the pop story! My kind of gal also. Have you tried Cristal champagne Alison? Holy moly. I thought who would pay that for a bottle then hunted it down in Costco....liquid gold my friend.

I have seen that cooking water bath method on masterchef. I have been dying to try it. Sous Vide. I have seem they have started selling the machines over here. 

Oh that chocolate soup. Ought to have a viewing cinema cetification! Looks divine. Is that a 'quinelle' I don't know how to spell it! Of ice cream. I like it when they do that on masterchef also. 

How nice the chef signed your gifts. Again you both look lovely.


----------



## dolphingirl47

I am finally all caught up again. Having finally something to plan has taken up all of my time at the moment.

I loved all the photos from Castaway Cay. It is far too long since we have been there. The lunch looked nice and they seemed to have a really good selection there.

I loved the sunset photo. What a shame that the sunrise the next morning did not quite happen. Both meals at Remy looked amazing, but they reinforced that I would struggle to find something to eat there. Having said that, I loved the look of the fried tomato soup, the beef and the dessert.

From your description, I think I would actually prefer the Pirate party on the Dream as it seems to be less drawn out. I am still not sure if I would bother to go though as this really is not my thing. Speaking of Pirates, I loved Donald in his pirate costume.

Finding out what is in all those boxes must be like Christmas, but it also sounds like a massive pain. 

I hope that you will manage to sit together and firm up the dining plans for New Orleans.

Corinna


----------



## franandaj

tlynk said:


> Your trip report is excellent! It makes me want to try Remy when I sail the Fantasy again! Thank you for sharing!



  Thank you very much!  I can't wait to try the Fantasy, the Dream was just too short to do everything that I wanted.



SixtoMouse said:


> I have read several of your trip reports and have enjoyed them all. Thank you for sharing.



  Thank you for reading and posting!



dizneeat said:


> So, the Brunch menu has changed as well. Looks yummy to me. And the champagne ......... don't blame you at all to ask for a refill.
> 
> And what a neat idea to have your "souvenirs" signed. I need to keep that in mind.



I don't remember what you had on your Brunch, but it was the one that spurred me to do it!  They actually asked if we wanted the bottle autographed, so of course I said "yes".



dizneeat said:


> *I really love the early morning pics you took, even though the sun was hiding, but the empty ship is always an awesome sight. We sometimes do the same - head up to the top deck in the early morning, and we love to "kind of" have the ship to ourselves when the first dinner seating is on and the rest of the guests watches the show.  So peaceful!*



Because it was so crowded on other times, it was great to have a little time where no one was around, and not have to wait and fight to get on an elevator.



pkondz said:


> I hear ya.
> Now that my Tr's (temporarily) done. I hope to be able to keep up a bit.



Good luck!  I always find there is something that keeps me from being able to stay caught up.



pkondz said:


> Good question.
> Ask it if you can.



I will.  Next February.



pkondz said:


> Figured it had to be a while!



  Next year will be 20 blissful years.  



pkondz said:


> I find that the more I stay out of the ocean, the higher the likelihood that I won't be eaten by something in it goes.



Good point!



pkondz said:


> So if eBay crashes, I'll know it's because you guys decided to sell some stuff.



Nah, there was a time when we had hundreds of items listed and it never crashed.


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> Good luck! I always find there is something that keeps me from being able to stay caught up.



I was chuckling and saying "Yeah right!" to myself as I typed that.



franandaj said:


> Next year will be 20 blissful years.



Emphasis on the bliss.



franandaj said:


> Nah, there was a time when we had hundreds of items listed and it never crashed.



Try 1,000s.


----------



## Flossbolna

Loved to see your brunch experience! But how did you end up with the "souvenirs"??? They are not part of the normal package, are they?


----------



## franandaj

pkondz said:


> I haven't seen that one yet.



Oh, C'mon Pkondz, you really need to step up your Disney flick game!  It's a classic!



pkondz said:


> Of course!



I never allow myself to be photographed with my hair like that, but most of the time, I wear it on top of my head in a little tight bun, so it was like that AND all messy from having slept on it!



pkondz said:


> Whoops! Did Fran ever wake up while you were gone and wonder where you were?



I probably told her I was leaving, but rarely does she wake up without me prodding her.



pkondz said:


> I had no idea you could do that!
> Well, of course they can... but that anyone would!



There's a lot of cool things to do on the larger ships, so many that you could never do everything you want to try.



pkondz said:


> That's great!



Leave it to the Imagineers.  They're always thinking!



pkondz said:


> Disney does that?
> Who knew!







pkondz said:


> Ugh. Packing to go on a vacation is fine. Packing to _leave_ a vacation... not so fine.



Well for now, just think of it as packing for "the next phase of vacation."



pkondz said:


> Figures.



I know, always happens to the short girl.



pkondz said:


> And since you didn't mention it... neither of you won any games?



Nope.  Not this time.  



pkondz said:


> That meal looks almost as good (in some instances better) than your last.



They were both awesome, and those two meals, plus Castaway Cay were my whole reason wanting to go on this cruise.



jedijill said:


> I love Remy brunch as well.  Loved the looks of your menu...Completely different than the last time I was onboard. Love all the pics of the empty ship!
> 
> Jill in CO



That's good to know that it changes, so it will be fresh the next time I go!



dhorner233 said:


> Such nice pictures of the empty ship! It's nice they have separate pools for the adults. Very pretty ship. Interesting elevator!



It wouldn't be such an enjoyable time if there wasn't separate adult areas.



dhorner233 said:


> I've never played Bingo on a hand held device. Interesting. Sorry you didn't win anything after spending $80



It's fun, even though we didn't win.  We look at it this way, $40 per person for an hour of entertainment.  It's cheaper than our theater tickets two weeks ago, and it was actually more fun!



dhorner233 said:


> How may restaurants are on the ship? You have to pay extra for Remy's right? Fancy, artistic meal!



There are three Main Dining Rooms, Cabanas is the buffet restaurant, there are the three Quick Service places on the pool deck (pizza, burgers, salads), and then Palo ($25 upcharge) and Remy ($75 upcharge).


----------



## franandaj

Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Great sunrise photos. Even though you were mid the colours are still delightful. How nice to meet Pam. Funny how you keep seeing the same folks!



Well, they were our tablemates....they were the only people we knew on the ship.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Lovely brunch. We have done Palo many times and love it but not Remy. Looks delightful. I love the menu. Crab and chicken yes please. Adore crab. Love the pop story! My kind of gal also. Have you tried Cristal champagne Alison? Holy moly. I thought who would pay that for a bottle then hunted it down in Costco....liquid gold my friend.



I have not tried Cristal champagne.  I'll have to put it on my list.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> I have seen that cooking water bath method on masterchef. I have been dying to try it. Sous Vide. I have seem they have started selling the machines over here.



I've had it a couple times, and done right, it's really good.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Oh that chocolate soup. Ought to have a viewing cinema cetification! Looks divine. Is that a 'quinelle' I don't know how to spell it! Of ice cream. I like it when they do that on masterchef also.
> 
> How nice the chef signed your gifts. Again you both look lovely.



Thanks.  The chocolate soup was divine!



dolphingirl47 said:


> I am finally all caught up again. Having finally something to plan has taken up all of my time at the moment.
> 
> I loved all the photos from Castaway Cay. It is far too long since we have been there. The lunch looked nice and they seemed to have a really good selection there.



It was a great selection, especially on the island.  It had been 15 years since we had been there!



dolphingirl47 said:


> I loved the sunset photo. What a shame that the sunrise the next morning did not quite happen. Both meals at Remy looked amazing, but they reinforced that I would struggle to find something to eat there. Having said that, I loved the look of the fried tomato soup, the beef and the dessert.



You can always order individual courses from the menu, and you could probably choose some of the vegetarian options as well.  I remember that they Magdalene's boyfriend a nice meal, and he doesn't eat seafood at all.



dolphingirl47 said:


> From your description, I think I would actually prefer the Pirate party on the Dream as it seems to be less drawn out. I am still not sure if I would bother to go though as this really is not my thing. Speaking of Pirates, I loved Donald in his pirate costume.



I just thought the video pirate on the screen was really annoying.



dolphingirl47 said:


> Finding out what is in all those boxes must be like Christmas, but it also sounds like a massive pain.



Actually no, it's a PITA!  We moved about 40 boxes yesterday, I peeked in a few of them and there is a lot of stuff that I really want to just get rid of, but for now we need to empty the apartment and deal with stuff later.



dolphingirl47 said:


> I hope that you will manage to sit together and firm up the dining plans for New Orleans.



I hoping we do that in about 15 minutes.



pkondz said:


> I was chuckling and saying "Yeah right!" to myself as I typed that.



I can bet.



pkondz said:


> Emphasis on the bliss.







Flossbolna said:


> Loved to see your brunch experience! But how did you end up with the "souvenirs"??? They are not part of the normal package, are they?



Those were the champagnes that they served us for the last two courses and they let us purchase them.  As I remember they were fairly pricey.


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> Oh, C'mon Pkondz, you really need to step up your Disney flick game! It's a classic!



Picture me standing with my head hanging in shame.



franandaj said:


> There's a lot of cool things to do on the larger ships, so many that you could never do everything you want to try.



Impressive.



franandaj said:


> Well for now, just think of it as packing for "the next phase of vacation."



 I like that!



franandaj said:


> They were both awesome, and those two meals, plus Castaway Cay were my whole reason wanting to go on this cruise.



Those are very good reasons.


----------



## Flossbolna

dolphingirl47 said:


> Both meals at Remy looked amazing, but they reinforced that I would struggle to find something to eat there. Having said that, I loved the look of the fried tomato soup, the beef and the dessert.



I see that Alison commented on this mentioning our experience, so I thought I add a little. Yes, Michael is a bit difficult with the type of ingredients he would eat (nothing from the sea, no meat on the bone, no "fancy" meat). However, he did get pheasant as one course and really liked it. If I remember correctly, it was kind of like a chicken salad. They definitely worked with him! Besides the set menus there is a a la carte menu as well and they encouraged him to order the same amount of courses that I had in my set menu. I have also heard of people going there a few days earlier in the cruise and discuss the menu with them. The vibe I got was that they love showing off their wonderful food and understand that people have different comfort levels. They definitely encouraged us to think a little out of the box, but I did not find it pushy at all. Our server got me to order the scallop which I usually don't eat and I loved it! The thing Michael and I took back from the meal was that if you have someone of that caliber preparing your meal, they can make things tasty that you usually don't like. At least for us it worked that way!


----------



## dolphingirl47

Flossbolna said:


> I see that Alison commented on this mentioning our experience, so I thought I add a little. Yes, Michael is a bit difficult with the type of ingredients he would eat (nothing from the sea, no meat on the bone, no "fancy" meat). However, he did get pheasant as one course and really liked it. If I remember correctly, it was kind of like a chicken salad. They definitely worked with him! Besides the set menus there is a a la carte menu as well and they encouraged him to order the same amount of courses that I had in my set menu. I have also heard of people going there a few days earlier in the cruise and discuss the menu with them. The vibe I got was that they love showing off their wonderful food and understand that people have different comfort levels. They definitely encouraged us to think a little out of the box, but I did not find it pushy at all. Our server got me to order the scallop which I usually don't eat and I loved it! The thing Michael and I took back from the meal was that if you have someone of that caliber preparing your meal, they can make things tasty that you usually don't like. At least for us it worked that way!



Thanks.

Corinna


----------



## mvf-m11c

From all of your pictures, there does seem to be a lot to do instead of playing in the ocean, beach, etc. which is good to know if I even go on a DCL.

Just like on the DCL, there is a lot to do from the outdoor activities which is nice to have on the ship like the basketball court. I have been so busy with basketball lately that i haven't been on the boards lately. The food at Remy's look amazing. The dishes are like works of art. Great updates.


----------



## franandaj

pkondz said:


> Picture me standing with my head hanging in shame.







pkondz said:


> Those are very good reasons.



I thought so!



mvf-m11c said:


> From all of your pictures, there does seem to be a lot to do instead of playing in the ocean, beach, etc. which is good to know if I even go on a DCL.



There is a ton of stuff to do. I know there is some sort of tower on the island.  @Pinkocto and her Mom walked to it on their first trip to CC.  The bikes could be fun if you ride.  There is also a 5K that they run in the mornings there.



mvf-m11c said:


> Just like on the DCL, there is a lot to do from the outdoor activities which is nice to have on the ship like the basketball court. I have been so busy with basketball lately that i haven't been on the boards lately. The food at Remy's look amazing. The dishes are like works of art. Great updates.



All the ships have a basketball court, and plenty of other sports activities that I probably don't know about.

The dishes at Remy are works of art, and delicious too!


----------



## franandaj

Our next activity of the afternoon was a Mixology class that I had arranged for our DIS cruise meet group.  It took place in Skyline, can you figure out which bar I liked best and visited no less than three times this cruise?

What was nice about this session was that there were just enough people to fill all the seats in the bar, but we could still hear the bartender.





They had all the glasses set up on the bar waiting for drinks to be poured but this time we were actually going to be making the drinks.





He called up volunteers to make the first drinks, and I was quick to volunteer! Sorry about the blurry pic.





I got a full size drink out of it!





So then he chose the people on the far side of the room from Fran and myself to start making the drinks. The 1st drink had Malibu rum, midori, pineapple, and whipped cream.  I forget what he said it was called.





It was good!  I think there were extras and they gave those away to anyone who wanted one.





The second group made a chocolate martini with Bailey's, vanilla vodka, vanilla Godiva, and chocolate Godiva.  Of course that one was good too! I think I took some extra of that one as well.





I think by the 3rd drink, I was starting to feel a tad bit queasy and I don’t have any notes on what was in that one.





I made the 4th drink which was the Captains Mai Tai, 2 oz captain jacks, 1 oz Amaretto, pineapple juice, float of Meyers dark rum





I must have been getting a bit tipsy at this point because the pictures stop, but I do have notes on what we did next.  He made a drink called a Cake Shot which was Frangelico and Absolute Citron.  It was pretty good, but then he kicked it up a notch and made it into a Pineapple Upside down Cake shot by adding pineapple juice and amaretto!  Woooo boy!  That was a really tasty little drink!

We went back to the room and then we really had to finish up packing.  

I went down to Guest services to check our account balance, and add a couple more gift cards to the account. I took this shot of this pretty mosaic while waiting.





They had already charged the credit card on file twice, so they reversed those charges and put it on the gift cards.  We had bought them from Sam’s Club for like a 5-7% discount, so we wanted to use those instead of the credit card.  The nice thing was that the charges are still showing up in my purchase eraser on the Capital One Visa, so I could use my miles to take off several hundred dollars from my card that I never actually even spent on it!

I also asked about the photopass photographers, you see on the Wonder, the last full day they aren’t out because they are evidently busy putting together the CDs for guests, but the folks at Guest Services told me that they would be out until 7PM, it turns out that they were out much later than that.

Fran got dressed for dinner and we went to the atrium.

First we took pictures on the staircase.





And then in front of the Christmas tree.









Next we got in the super long character line. Goofy was there when we started but we ended up with Pluto.













We gave all the PP folks some of the candy we had been passing out and they said that people were talking about us all over the ship for giving out candy. Good to know we were appreciated! After that we went back to the room to finish packing. I got our four large suitcases packed and left out my clothes for dinner and clothes for the next day. Then I got dressed for dinner.

And as we were going out the door I realized that I had failed to put our stateroom door decorations away.  I guess I was sad that I finally had to take our decorations off the door, and so I sort of forgot about it.





So Fran went back for one last shopping trip while I took those down and set the suitcases outside the door. I met her at the Lobby bar where she had a margarita and I had a belvedere martini with a lemon twist.





Our last night dinner was at the Royal Palace.











 













I skipped the app and ordered a potato soup for Fran, but it seems I didn’t get a picture of that. She got the lobster and shrimp cocktail





Later she also ordered the Onion Soup, but I had that for my starter.





She had the chateaubriand for her entree



 

While I had the lamb chops. I only ate one, the potatoes were delicious!  I even tried the Brussel sprouts and they weren't so bad.

















And then you know I had to have a second one!





We came  back to the room to find our final towel animal of the evening.





After that we changed out of our formal clothes and put them in the last suitcase.  Our cabin steward had informed me that he didn’t take our bags until they were all out there so that they would remain together in the unloading process. Once the final bag was placed outside, I’m guessing that the bags were whisked away. We droned off to sleep with Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.


----------



## dhorner233

Boy you get a lot to drink at the Mixology class! I'd like to taste all of those drinks! 

Your last dinner looked delicious as usual. I love lamb. I would love to have tasted those lamb chops! 

Looks like you and Fran had a fun cruise!!!!


----------



## jedijill

You had good drinks at your mixology!  I love chocolate martinis!  I would have volunteered to drink all those extras!  Dinner looked fantastic.  So sad about packing and having to put your bags out. 

Jill in CO


----------



## orangecats2

Your meals tonight look fantastic! Except I don't eat any seafood so i would skip all that. Is the beef like a prime rib? I don't like that, I get my meat a medium well. Did Fran get a dessert?

The mixology class looks fun and good! Was that an extra expense? That bar looks neat too. I can see why you went there so much!

Your dress is so pretty! Teal colors are my favorite!


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> It took place in Skyline, can you figure out which bar I liked best and visited no less than three times this cruise?



Nope. No clue.






franandaj said:


> He called up volunteers to make the first drinks, and I was quick to volunteer!



Because in a little while you weren't going to be quite so quick... or stable.



franandaj said:


> I got a full size drink out of it!



Woot!



franandaj said:


> It was good! I think there were extras and they gave those away to anyone who wanted one.



And you guys were one of them.



franandaj said:


> The second group made a chocolate martini with Bailey's, vanilla vodka, vanilla Godiva, and chocolate Godiva. Of course that one was good too! I think I took some extra of that one as well.



No! I never would have guessed!





franandaj said:


> I think by the 3rd drink, I was starting to feel a tad bit queasy



"Queasy"? Is that what you kids are calling it these days?



franandaj said:


> I must have been getting a bit tipsy at this point



Now "tipsy" I recognize.



franandaj said:


> They had already charged the credit card on file twice, so they reversed those charges and put it on the gift cards. We had bought them from Sam’s Club for like a 5-7% discount, so we wanted to use those instead of the credit card.



Not a bad deal.



franandaj said:


> The nice thing was that the charges are still showing up in my purchase eraser on the Capital One Visa, so I could use my miles to take off several hundred dollars from my card that I never actually even spent on it!



how does _that_ work?



franandaj said:


>



Cute pic of you guys.



franandaj said:


>



Aww... Look how she's got her head on his.



franandaj said:


> We gave all the PP folks some of the candy we had been passing out and they said that people were talking about us all over the ship for giving out candy.







franandaj said:


>



Other than the fish extender, are all those magnets? Are any of the door decorations _not_ yours?



franandaj said:


> Later she also ordered the Onion Soup, but I had that for my starter.



Love French onion soup.



franandaj said:


> She had the chateaubriand for her entree



mmmm.... wow that looks good.



franandaj said:


> I even tried the Brussel sprouts and they weren't so bad.



blech!!! Nope. nope. nope.



franandaj said:


>


\

Wow. That looks amazing.



franandaj said:


> And then you know I had to have a second one!







franandaj said:


> Our cabin steward had informed me that he didn’t take our bags until they were all out there so that they would remain together in the unloading process.



Huh. Not bad. Not bad at all.


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

That is neat you got the mixology class in the fabulous skyline bar! Well great drink to kick matters off. Malibu is divine. I need to have three of those. I would then be in the ships rig. Waiting for that dog on the pirates ride to bring me the key...

I love the creative names of these drinks! Pineapple upside down cake shot. Sounds so inviting!

That really is a lovely mosaic. I often have admired the detail of The Dream. The carpets are something else too. the way they change as you move through the ship.

That is a pretty dress with the pasley type pattern. Fran's leather waistcoat is very neat. I do love waistcoats.

Hello Pluto! Really nice photos. No matter how many. Cruises we do we still end up looking at each other just leaving the ship and say 'our last evening photos! ' I wonder how many folks do this..

Last night at Royal Palace that was nice catch. I bump AP for 2 of those any day! Last chance Alison to accidently let that Cinderella bread basket fall in your purse...

Dinner looks top notch. Well French. How could it not! Well once my chicken was a little over. Oh my goodness I mentioned it to the server and I think I set off code red in the kitchen. 3 chefs came to inspect. It is they cried...it is a little dry.. I thought they might throw themselves overboard.. It was instantly recooked for me to perfection. A fresh piece presented and lots of sides, apologising..... Heads hung in French shame..

Time to pack boo hoo. Nice towel animal tonight. I have to ask the host NO MONKEY as hate monkeys lol. This is extra special now as they stopped doing it in the resorts. A cruise treat only!


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

franandaj said:


> So that means some pretty rapid fire updating. So hang on to your hats folks, it may get pretty crazy around here!



Uh oh.  That means I'm going to fall way behind again.

Hey, look!  I did!



franandaj said:


> Café du Monde – because beignets!



 No further justification is required.



franandaj said:


> Anyone have any thoughts, experiences, suggestions? Inbetween feedings we plan on sightseeing at various locations, fancy mansion yards in the Garden district, Audobon park, maybe the Voodoo museum. I’m still working on what there is to do there besides eat!



Sorry, I haven't researched that part of the country yet.  But I look forward to stealing your ideas later!



franandaj said:


> I couldn’t believe that they had a water menu! @Captain_Oblivious I KNOW this place will not be getting a Homer award from you, but stay tuned, you will like the second half of the trip.



A water menu?  Seriously?  You know those all come from the tap in the back of the kitchen.



franandaj said:


> I have heard of this Amuse Bouche, it was a deep fried bite of tomato soup.



Deep-fried?  I'm with you so far.



franandaj said:


> The bread and butter service was really good!



Bread and butter.  Yeah, I can dig it.



franandaj said:


> Because it is hanging in my living room waiting for me to find time to take it to the dry cleaner.







franandaj said:


> it had foie gras



There it is.  I'm out.



franandaj said:


> The little white pillows may have been some kind of cream or goat cheese but they were amazing when eaten with a bite of citrus section, the poached celery, and scallop.



Poached celery?  Can we go back to the deep-fried stuff?



franandaj said:


> Then with lobster juice on top.



Lobster juice??  Seriously?  Does that sound completely unappetizing to anybody else?



franandaj said:


> This was tender and had just enough fat to make it unxious.



If you have to break out SAT words to describe it, I'm in the wrong place.



franandaj said:


> Wagyu beef hand massaged (left)



Here I'm picturing a cow saying, "Oh yeah...that's the spot.  Dig in a little harder..."



franandaj said:


> but she shared with me the chocolatey cookie type part of her dessert.



Hey, chocolate cookies!  I knew I could find something I'd like.



franandaj said:


> We found what we thought was a good location, but a CM came over to us and said we wouldn’t see anything from where we were and suggested that we go to the handicapped area for the fireworks. OK. Cool.



Always good to have good CM service.



franandaj said:


>



 This photo just cracks me up for some reason.



franandaj said:


> There’s the Mini Golf Course.



I like how they have the path you're supposed to follow drawn on the course, as if I could ever hit what I was aiming at.



franandaj said:


> I’d seen this in seminars on the Dream and Fantasy, but this is one of the imagineers jokes related to the Aqua Duck (which I never did get on during this cruise.)



Cute.  I love it.



franandaj said:


> So now we each had 48 games instead of 24 and it only cost $80 now.



Wow.  That is a mess of bingo cards.



franandaj said:


> Our last course was a spicy chocolate soup that was paired with Moet Ice.



Spicy chocolate?  Is that supposed to happen?



franandaj said:


> They joked about adding Parmesan Cheese, but it was really white chocolate.



Hey, in these froo-froo places, I could never be too sure if that was a joke or not.



franandaj said:


> It took place in Skyline, can you figure out which bar I liked best and visited no less than three times this cruise?



Um...the bingo one?



franandaj said:


> I guess I was sad that I finally had to take our decorations off the door, and so I sort of forgot about it.



That's understandable.  You suffer from DDP as well (Disney Departure Procrastination).



franandaj said:


> Our last night dinner was at the Royal Palace.



That doesn't look very appetizing.



franandaj said:


> And then you know I had to have a second one!


----------



## dolphingirl47

The drinks at mixology looked lovely. I particularly like the look of the first one. I love Midori and the cream looks like it may add something to it.

How nice that the photographers were out until quite late. I love the photos you ended up with. Dinner looked lovely.

Corinna


----------



## franandaj

dhorner233 said:


> Boy you get a lot to drink at the Mixology class! I'd like to taste all of those drinks!



They were all really good drinks!   I love doing Mixology on the ship, you get to taste so many unique drinks!



dhorner233 said:


> Your last dinner looked delicious as usual. I love lamb. I would love to have tasted those lamb chops!



I love lamb too!  I can't wait to go to Palo and have some of their lamb.  It is out of this world!



dhorner233 said:


> Looks like you and Fran had a fun cruise!!!!



All in all, it was a good cruise, just too short!



jedijill said:


> You had good drinks at your mixology! I love chocolate martinis! I would have volunteered to drink all those extras!



They were really good!  I love my chocolate martinis too!



jedijill said:


> Dinner looked fantastic. So sad about packing and having to put your bags out.



At least I was putting them out to go to WDW and not home!



orangecats2 said:


> Your meals tonight look fantastic! Except I don't eat any seafood so i would skip all that. Is the beef like a prime rib? I don't like that, I get my meat a medium well. Did Fran get a dessert?



The beef was like a filet mignon.  I think Fran didn’t get dessert.



orangecats2 said:


> The mixology class looks fun and good! Was that an extra expense? That bar looks neat too. I can see why you went there so much!



It was either $15 or $20pp extra. Any alcohol is extra.



orangecats2 said:


> Your dress is so pretty! Teal colors are my favorite!



Thanks.  We're you the one on pkondz TR who got the Dalek dress?


----------



## afwdwfan

Not a bad morning at all.  I enjoyed your photo tour of the ship.  I'm glad that you were able to do that and see things while most of the ship was clearly still sleeping. 

Your brunch looks like it was a good time as well.  I don't tend to call chicken incredible either.  Maybe the sauce on it can be incredible.  But I'm glad that this dish exceeded expectations.  Your souvenirs look very nice as well!


----------



## afwdwfan

And the finish to your day looks pretty good too... or at least as good as the last evening can be. 

Your mixology class, as always, looks like a lot of fun.  Looks like you got to try several drinks that look very good. 

It always stinks packing up to leave.  I don't blame you for wanting to forget to do some of it.  It's hard to not block less pleasant things from our minds. 

Your dinner looks very good and I'm glad to see you were able to double up on your dessert again!


----------



## IowaTater

Oh, that Mixology class would get me into so much trouble.  I'm a big fan of froo froo drinks so they all look amazing to me. 

Boo for having to pack up  Especially when you've had such a wonderful trip.


----------



## Dis_Yoda

I'm not sure who could get through one of those mixology classes and not get 'happy'  They are so much fun! 

Packing is no fun but at least you have some WDW to follow


----------



## franandaj

pkondz said:


> Because in a little while you weren't going to be quite so quick... or stable.



Now why would you say that?  



pkondz said:


> And you guys were one of them.







pkondz said:


> No! I never would have guessed!



I can't imagine why.



pkondz said:


> "Queasy"? Is that what you kids are calling it these days?
> 
> Now "tipsy" I recognize.



Tipsy usually leads to queasy, in this instance it was the other way around.



pkondz said:


> how does _that_ work?



Well, I don't know why they didn't take the purchases out of the "purchase eraser" when the charges were reversed, but with your Capital one credit card, it identifies certain purchases as "Travel".  Then you can go online, click on "Redeem Miles" and for every 100 miles you can erase a $1 charge.  They key is that you need to have enough miles for the total purchase.  So when I paid for the Mississippi River Cruise, I paid six increments of $200.  Each time I rack up 20,000 miles on that card, I go in and erase one of those charges and they credit my card for $200.  You have three months to do it.



pkondz said:


> Cute pic of you guys.



Thanks, if we ever send out Christmas cards that would be a good one for them.



pkondz said:


> Aww... Look how she's got her head on his.







pkondz said:


> Other than the fish extender, are all those magnets? Are any of the door decorations _not_ yours?



No everything on the door is mine, either I made it or it was given to me on a cruise.  I save them from cruise to cruise.  Well not the holiday ones, those have a limited use time.  But my door was nothing compared to a lot of people's.



pkondz said:


> Love French onion soup.



cheesy, gooey, goodness.



pkondz said:


> mmmm.... wow that looks good.



I'm pretty sure it was.



pkondz said:


> blech!!! Nope. nope. nope.



  



pkondz said:


> Wow. That looks amazing.



I could go for one of those about now.  I need to find a place locally that makes them.



pkondz said:


> Huh. Not bad. Not bad at all.







Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> I love the creative names of these drinks! Pineapple upside down cake shot. Sounds so inviting!



And very tasty!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> That really is a lovely mosaic. I often have admired the detail of The Dream. The carpets are something else too. the way they change as you move through the ship.



I bet on the Art of the Theme Ship tour, they tell you all about them.  They did on the Wonder. Carpets were matched to the area they were in.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> That is a pretty dress with the pasley type pattern. Fran's leather waistcoat is very neat. I do love waistcoats.



Well thank you. Normally I don't like Paisley, but this one worked for me.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Hello Pluto! Really nice photos. No matter how many. Cruises we do we still end up looking at each other just leaving the ship and say 'our last evening photos! ' I wonder how many folks do this..



We don't say that because we never realize that it is our last photo until we figure out that we forgot to go back and get more!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Last night at Royal Palace that was nice catch. I bump AP for 2 of those any day! Last chance Alison to accidently let that Cinderella bread basket fall in your purse...



Ha!  You're funny!  My cruise purse is not big enough for the bread basket!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Dinner looks top notch. Well French. How could it not! Well once my chicken was a little over. Oh my goodness I mentioned it to the server and I think I set off code red in the kitchen. 3 chefs came to inspect. It is they cried...it is a little dry.. I thought they might throw themselves overboard.. It was instantly recooked for me to perfection. A fresh piece presented and lots of sides, apologising..... Heads hung in French shame..



It's great that they take their work so seriously!  They really do try and make the absolute best meals that they can.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Time to pack boo hoo. Nice towel animal tonight. I have to ask the host NO MONKEY as hate monkeys lol. This is extra special now as they stopped doing it in the resorts. A cruise treat only!



What have you got against Monkeys?  



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Uh oh. That means I'm going to fall way behind again.
> 
> Hey, look! I did!



Well the good news is that doesn't have to be posted until the 8th of February to keep me on track, so you have a couple days before the next update gets posted.  And heck I need to catch up on the shout outs!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> No further justification is required.



Fluffy little pillows of dough coated in sugar.  What's not to love?  



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Sorry, I haven't researched that part of the country yet. But I look forward to stealing your ideas later!



I'm not sure how many of my ideas you're going to want to steal, this is going to be a heavily food based trip, but then there is the swamp tour.  That should be fun!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> A water menu? Seriously? You know those all come from the tap in the back of the kitchen.



  



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Deep-fried? I'm with you so far.



Good.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> There it is. I'm out.



I knew it had to happen sometime.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Poached celery? Can we go back to the deep-fried stuff?







Captain_Oblivious said:


> Lobster juice?? Seriously? Does that sound completely unappetizing to anybody else?



Sounds lovely to me!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> If you have to break out SAT words to describe it, I'm in the wrong place.



I didn't realize that was an SAT word.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Here I'm picturing a cow saying, "Oh yeah...that's the spot. Dig in a little harder..."



  



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Hey, chocolate cookies! I knew I could find something I'd like.



I'm glad you wouldn't starve!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Always good to have good CM service.



 And to be able to see the fireworks!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> This photo just cracks me up for some reason.



She looks like a deer in the headlights!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I like how they have the path you're supposed to follow drawn on the course, as if I could ever hit what I was aiming at.



I would have liked to have played this, looks like a fun little course.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Wow. That is a mess of bingo cards.



Just imagine if you had to punch the numbers on all the virtual cards!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Spicy chocolate? Is that supposed to happen?



It was good.  I think it's all the rage now.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Hey, in these froo-froo places, I could never be too sure if that was a joke or not.



Especially when the folks telling you it's cheese are French!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> That's understandable. You suffer from DDP as well (Disney Departure Procrastination).



But at least we weren't departing Disney, just changing locations.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> That doesn't look very appetizing.



You don't eat the _napkins_ silly!


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> Tipsy usually leads to queasy, in this instance it was the other way around.


 
Good to have variety.



franandaj said:


> Well, I don't know why they didn't take the purchases out of the "purchase eraser" when the charges were reversed, but with your Capital one credit card, it identifies certain purchases as "Travel". Then you can go online, click on "Redeem Miles" and for every 100 miles you can erase a $1 charge. They key is that you need to have enough miles for the total purchase. So when I paid for the Mississippi River Cruise, I paid six increments of $200. Each time I rack up 20,000 miles on that card, I go in and erase one of those charges and they credit my card for $200. You have three months to do it.


 
Interesting. Never heard of that before.



franandaj said:


> Thanks, if we ever send out Christmas cards that would be a good one for them.


 




franandaj said:


> No everything on the door is mine, either I made it or it was given to me on a cruise. I save them from cruise to cruise. Well not the holiday ones, those have a limited use time. But my door was nothing compared to a lot of people's.


 
Really! wow. I thought it was a ton!
But, are they all magnets? Some look like stickers.


----------



## franandaj

dolphingirl47 said:


> The drinks at mixology looked lovely. I particularly like the look of the first one. I love Midori and the cream looks like it may add something to it.



That one was really good!



dolphingirl47 said:


> How nice that the photographers were out until quite late. I love the photos you ended up with. Dinner looked lovely.



When I picked up my pictures in the morning, the girl said that they stayed up all night working on them.



afwdwfan said:


> Not a bad morning at all. I enjoyed your photo tour of the ship. I'm glad that you were able to do that and see things while most of the ship was clearly still sleeping.



For how crowded the ship was, it was nice to be out and about when there was no one around.



afwdwfan said:


> Your brunch looks like it was a good time as well. I don't tend to call chicken incredible either. Maybe the sauce on it can be incredible. But I'm glad that this dish exceeded expectations. Your souvenirs look very nice as well!



It was a great Brunch and a fabulous way to spend a day at sea!



afwdwfan said:


> And the finish to your day looks pretty good too... or at least as good as the last evening can be.



It was pretty good, and luckily it wasn't the last night of vacation!



afwdwfan said:


> Your mixology class, as always, looks like a lot of fun. Looks like you got to try several drinks that look very good.



That's the best part of Mixology, getting to try such a variety of drinks!



afwdwfan said:


> It always stinks packing up to leave. I don't blame you for wanting to forget to do some of it. It's hard to not block less pleasant things from our minds.



I can be really good at that!



afwdwfan said:


> Your dinner looks very good and I'm glad to see you were able to double up on your dessert again!



It would be a crime if I could not have that second soufflé!



IowaTater said:


> Oh, that Mixology class would get me into so much trouble. I'm a big fan of froo froo drinks so they all look amazing to me.



There's only been one Mixology class I've done where one of the drinks wasn't to everyone's liking, but in the end at least it sort of grew on Fran and I.



IowaTater said:


> Boo for having to pack up  Especially when you've had such a wonderful trip.



I just kept thinking of it as starting the next phase of our trip.



Dis_Yoda said:


> I'm not sure who could get through one of those mixology classes and not get 'happy' They are so much fun!



I know, the instructors know that most everyone is there to drink fairly heavily!



Dis_Yoda said:


> Packing is no fun but at least you have some WDW to follow



Exactly!


----------



## orangecats2

franandaj said:


> Thanks. We're you the one on pkondz TR who got the Dalek dress?


Yes that's me! Thanks for remembering. I still haven't worn it yet. It's not an everyday dress. You know?


----------



## pkondz

orangecats2 said:


> Yes that's me! Thanks for remembering. I still haven't worn it yet. It's not an everyday dress. You know?


 
Yes it is!


----------



## rentayenta

Konk Koolers are my favorite too.  

Love the back story you told. Very cool.


----------



## rentayenta

Hand massaged beef? Or machine massaged? How would one tell the difference?  Remy might be too fancy for this girl. Michael would love it though. And I saved that cheese plate picture to show Braden. he is dying to try a cheese plate now. LOL! 

Love your Remy dress!


----------



## rentayenta

Brunch looks amazing! Michael recently prepared steaks sous vide or as I say seared then bag-in-water. UNREAL! I didn't believe him and thought it would taste poached but nope. Incredible. I think he got it from one of Gordon Ramsey's cook books.


----------



## rentayenta

Love the photo of you ladies by the tree. Fantastic!

Your Mixology looks great. I think your first drink is called a Melon Ball. That's what we use to call them anyway. I am sure there are multiple names for the same drink.


----------



## Malia78

Still halfway through this trip report but wanted to comment--will be sailing on the Dream next year for the first time so enjoying your ship report. I hope to one of these days have a trip that overlaps yours so we can meet--there are two near misses this year. I'm sailing on the first Alaska trip of this season and then will be in WDW the first couple weeks of October...


----------



## franandaj

pkondz said:


> Good to have variety.







pkondz said:


> Interesting. Never heard of that before.



I would imagine that your Canadian banks have different incentive programs through the credit cards.



pkondz said:


> Really! wow. I thought it was a ton!
> But, are they all magnets? Some look like stickers.



Some people, you can't even see the door, it's so plastered.  Many are stickers that I've attached to magnets.  There is a strict "no adhesive" policy, so I think they would charge you if you put stickers on there.  Some of the doors have been painted so many times that the magnets barely stick anymore.



orangecats2 said:


> Yes that's me! Thanks for remembering. I still haven't worn it yet. It's not an everyday dress. You know?



That's too bad.  I wore mine on my Mexican Riviera cruise.  I don't think anyone on the ship knew what it was, but the folks on my TR did!



pkondz said:


> Yes it is!



Not if you live somewhere with temperatures like you have!



rentayenta said:


> Konk Koolers are my favorite too.
> 
> Love the back story you told. Very cool.



I just can't do the coconut part.  Which one, the real one or the Disney made up one?



rentayenta said:


> Hand massaged beef? Or machine massaged? How would one tell the difference?  Remy might be too fancy for this girl. Michael would love it though. And I saved that cheese plate picture to show Braden. he is dying to try a cheese plate now. LOL!
> 
> Love your Remy dress!



We wouldn't have known if they hadn't told us, but the flavor of the machine massaged was better.  Those were among the pictures I showed him on Saturday.



rentayenta said:


> Brunch looks amazing! Michael recently prepared steaks sous vide or as I say seared then bag-in-water. UNREAL! I didn't believe him and thought it would taste poached but nope. Incredible. I think he got it from one of Gordon Ramsey's cook books.



Interesting. The only other time I've had it was when Marcel was experimenting on us with one that he had just received.



rentayenta said:


> Love the photo of you ladies by the tree. Fantastic!
> 
> Your Mixology looks great. I think your first drink is called a Melon Ball. That's what we use to call them anyway. I am sure there are multiple names for the same drink.



Thanks!  Melon Ball, I will have to remember that and try making one sometime.  I think that would be a good cocktail party drink.



Malia78 said:


> Still halfway through this trip report but wanted to comment--will be sailing on the Dream next year for the first time so enjoying your ship report. I hope to one of these days have a trip that overlaps yours so we can meet--there are two near misses this year. I'm sailing on the first Alaska trip of this season and then will be in WDW the first couple weeks of October...





It would be nice to finally meet up.  Sorry I missed you last October.  Enjoy your Alaska cruise, you'll have to tell me all about it!


----------



## franandaj

Well good news for you folks who might be falling behind.  I don’t have to finish the next day until February 8th so you have some time to get caught up.  Not saying I’m gonna wait until the 8th to post it, but I’ll certainly let most of the week go by for folks to get caught up. In the meantime we will be moving boxes. So far we’ve moved at least 50 or more of the “downloaded” boxes to storage.  I wish I could say it was more that went to the thrift store, but I haven’t been able to get Fran over to the old house even to look through these boxes and most of them are hers, so we are just moving them for a later “go through”.  For now the focus is getting stuff out of that place and then we will deal with getting rid of stuff once the apartment is under construction. Today would have been the first morning that I would have awakened in the Grand Californian for our annual, “let’s go out there to use up points” trip, but I canceled that when we were not yet out of the old apartment. I’m thinking that it’s not going to happen before our Mississippi trip.  And even thinking that it will be happening before our trip with Naked Jim is being hopeful, at this point I just need to hope that before we go to Alaska the place is under construction!

But speaking of the Mississippi River trip, it’s now 45 days away, and things are really coming into place.  ADRs have been made!  All that is left to sort out is transportation to and from the airports in Memphis and New Orleans.

We figured out what we will be doing on some of our stops when we get off the ship, and even booked one of their premium excursions.  Most of the excursions are included in the price of the tour, but just to give you an idea of what this will be like, here are a few photos that I stole from the Internet.

The Ship:





Our room will be a lot like this:





Because of the steep pricing on this cruise, we went with a bay window instead of an actual verandah.  But here are the deck plans. We are on the Cabin Deck the last cabin in the middle of the ship. If you notice, there is a little patio right next to our stateroom. The agent who booked our cruise let me in on a secret that not many people know about this little patio and while it isn’t exclusively ours, it could be ours for the most part.





Here are some shots around the ship, the Ladies Parlor (although it is for use by Ladies or Men)





The Mens Parlor (also open to both sexes)





The formal dining room.





The excursion that we booked is a Cajun Swamp Tour. We take a bus for about 40 minutes to the Swamp, where we get an hour and a half long tour.  I was a little wary about this as Disney does not allow scooters on their excursions. After a phone call to the company, they told me that not only could Fran bring her scooter, but that the bus drives right up to the boat for loading.  This picture I found made me happy to see that the bus literally pulls right up to the boat!





And here’s some pictures that I stole from the website of the Swamp Tour Company.


----------



## jedijill

Sounds like you are making progress on the move!  

The riverboat looks really beautiful...love your cabin!  How nice that the tour can accommodate Fran's scooter so well!

Jill in CO


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> I would imagine that your Canadian banks have different incentive programs through the credit cards.



I've had a few different cards, but right now my go to card is my WestJet card.
With it (for about $100/year) I get free bags (already more than paid for the card fees), up to 3% cash back towards WestJet flights (no exclusions) and a $99 companion flight anywhere in Continental North America where WestJet flies. Plus all the usual perks, free trip and cancel insurance, car rental insurance, etc.



franandaj said:


> Some people, you can't even see the door, it's so plastered.



Huh.



franandaj said:


> Many are stickers that I've attached to magnets. There is a strict "no adhesive" policy, so I think they would charge you if you put stickers on there. Some of the doors have been painted so many times that the magnets barely stick anymore.



I thought there was a "no adhesive" policy. That's why I was so surprised to see what looked like stickers.



franandaj said:


> Not if you live somewhere with temperatures like you have!



Not to worry. She's from the deep south. You know. Cleveland.



franandaj said:


> Well good news for you folks who might be falling behind. I don’t have to finish the next day until February 8th so you have some time to get caught up.



But I'm caught up already!



franandaj said:


> So far we’ve moved at least 50 or more of the “downloaded” boxes to storage. I wish I could say it was more that went to the thrift store, but I haven’t been able to get Fran over to the old house even to look through these boxes and most of them are hers, so we are just moving them for a later “go through”.



It's amazing how much you accumulate, isn't it?



franandaj said:


> at this point I just need to hope that before we go to Alaska the place is under construction!



I don't think I'd like to go to Alaska if it was under construction.







franandaj said:


> We are on the Cabin Deck the last cabin in the middle of the ship. If you notice, there is a little patio right next to our stateroom. The agent who booked our cruise let me in on a secret that not many people know about this little patio and while it isn’t exclusively ours, it could be ours for the most part.



Nice score!



franandaj said:


> Here are some shots around the ship, the Ladies Parlor (although it is for use by Ladies or Men)
> 
> The Mens Parlor (also open to both sexes)



I don't know how old the ship is, but I'm sure it or its predecessor had rigidly divided rooms at one time.



franandaj said:


> And here’s some pictures that I stole from the website of the Swamp Tour Company.



Cool.


----------



## dolphingirl47

What a shame that you had to cancel the stay at the Grand Californian. The ship looks wonderful. What a bonus with the patio right by the cabin. I am pretty sure that friends of ours have been on the same ship and loved it. The excursion looks pretty neat, too.

Corinna


----------



## orangecats2

pkondz said:


> Not to worry. She's from the deep south. You know. Cleveland.


Yeah we got a little snow today! 



pkondz said:


> But I'm caught up already!


So am I!


----------



## pkondz

orangecats2 said:


> Yeah we got a little snow today!



Did your Mayor call out the National Guard?
(If you didn't know, a few years back Toronto did... and became the laughing stock of the entire country.)


----------



## orangecats2

Of course not! It was just a tiny bit, even the cats didn't mind.


----------



## pkondz

orangecats2 said:


> Of course not! It was just a tiny bit, even the cats didn't mind.



Silly me. Of course it was a tiny bit. You live in the deep south!


----------



## dhorner233

The Mississippi River trip sounds well organized and the ship is gorgeous! Expensive huh? Compared to a Disney cruise?


----------



## mvf-m11c

Nice to see that you did another Mixology class on the Dream during your trip. It must be fun to try all these different drinks.

Dinner at the Royal Palace looks very appetizing.


----------



## cruisehopeful

franandaj said:


> But speaking of the Mississippi River trip, it’s now 45 days away, and things are really coming into place.


Will you post a report from that trip somewhere? I know a couple who have taken a couple different versions of those cruises and they want to take more. I've heard nothing but rave reviews from them.


franandaj said:


> The Ship:


I didn't realize that they could be called a ship.


dhorner233 said:


> The Mississippi River trip sounds well organized and the ship is gorgeous! Expensive huh? Compared to a Disney cruise?


The pricing is on their website and can be very expensive, but the couple I know who have taken them have booked them on short notice and got deals like 2 for one. They are retired and able to travel on short notice. They keep telling me to go and to get on discount cruise email lists, but week long or longer travel on short notice isn't anywhere in my foreseeable future. Someday.......


----------



## dhorner233

What is the name of the company?


----------



## franandaj

jedijill said:


> Sounds like you are making progress on the move!
> 
> The riverboat looks really beautiful...love your cabin!  How nice that the tour can accommodate Fran's scooter so well!
> 
> Jill in CO



Slow but steady progress. 

It does look very nice.  It's in dry dock right now, and they are replacing all the carpeting and linens, sounds fairly extensive, so it should be in good shape when we board.



pkondz said:


> I've had a few different cards, but right now my go to card is my WestJet card.
> With it (for about $100/year) I get free bags (already more than paid for the card fees), up to 3% cash back towards WestJet flights (no exclusions) and a $99 companion flight anywhere in Continental North America where WestJet flies. Plus all the usual perks, free trip and cancel insurance, car rental insurance, etc.



We have a few as well. Right now we are concentrating on our American Airlines cards.



pkondz said:


> I thought there was a "no adhesive" policy. That's why I was so surprised to see what looked like stickers.



You can turn anything into a magnet with the magnetic sheets. They just don't stick as well to the heavily painted doors.



pkondz said:


> Not to worry. She's from the deep south. You know. Cleveland.



Any place that a jacket is a part of your daily wardrobe in winter is no place to wear a Dalek dress in Winter!



pkondz said:


> But I'm caught up already!



Well, not everyone is!  But I'll give you a hint.  I won't have much to do during the Superbowl but watch commercials, so that might be a good time for an update!



pkondz said:


> It's amazing how much you accumulate, isn't it?



Heck half this stuff got here before I even came on the scene!



pkondz said:


> I don't think I'd like to go to Alaska if it was under construction.



But I would like to go to Alaska if my previous apartment was under construction, in fact that would be the ideal situation, in fact it would be even more idea if the previous apartment were completed construction and it was rented, but I think that's a bit much to ask given the current circumstances so I'm just going to hope that by the time we go to Alaska the contractor is working on the apartment and not Alsaka.





pkondz said:


> I don't know how old the ship is, but I'm sure it or its predecessor had rigidly divided rooms at one time.



Yes the predecessor did have separated rooms, the current ship only pays homage to those times, not respects them.  They even mention that in the brochure for history's sake.  Another reason I think we're going to really enjoy this ship, there seems to be a lot of tradition that is honored in the history of the riverboats.  We both love history!



dolphingirl47 said:


> What a shame that you had to cancel the stay at the Grand Californian. The ship looks wonderful. What a bonus with the patio right by the cabin. I am pretty sure that friends of ours have been on the same ship and loved it. The excursion looks pretty neat, too.
> 
> Corinna



I know, I hate canceling trips like that, but really they are only just for us to waste time around the resort.  Last year we were so exhausted all we did was sleep in the room, I went to the spa and we went out to dinner.  We were so exhausted from life that it was kind of wasted.  This year she was feeling about the same so we would have done the same thing.  I will book it again next year and hopefully we will do it.  I hate that I have so may points at this resort and they stopped the main reason I bought the points.  Other than birthdays and such there aren't as many reasons to own at a resort only half an hour away from home.  Perhaps once we are completely settled in our new home we can come up with better parties to use up the points we own there!



orangecats2 said:


> Yeah we got a little snow today!



Any snow would have me going 



pkondz said:


> Did your Mayor call out the National Guard?
> (If you didn't know, a few years back Toronto did... and became the laughing stock of the entire country.)



Yeah, but wasn't he the mayor that was on crack and himself became the laughing stock of the world?



orangecats2 said:


> Of course not! It was just a tiny bit, even the cats didn't mind.



Even a tiny bit sounds cold!  Anything that requires a jacket means you are living somewhere that is COLD!



pkondz said:


> Silly me. Of course it was a tiny bit. You live in the deep south!



I don't know where you keep going on about this deep south!  I don't care how deep it is, it still sounds cold!  Below 60 degrees F in the daytime is cause for brrrrr.  We have had a couple days where it hasn't got out of the 50s and I have had to actually find my jacket!  That is not something we Southern Californians take lightly!



dhorner233 said:


> The Mississippi River trip sounds well organized and the ship is gorgeous! Expensive huh? Compared to a Disney cruise?



I hope that it is well organized!  I have read mixed reviews online.  Well as far as the price goes it is quite a bit more per day compared to the Dream cruise on this TR, but actually only about 15% more than the Alaskan Cruise which is interesting since there are various differentiating factors between the two cruises. 



mvf-m11c said:


> Nice to see that you did another Mixology class on the Dream during your trip. It must be fun to try all these different drinks.
> 
> Dinner at the Royal Palace looks very appetizing.



The Mixology was and fun and dinner at the Royal Palace was quite good.



cruisehopeful said:


> Will you post a report from that trip somewhere? I know a couple who have taken a couple different versions of those cruises and they want to take more. I've heard nothing but rave reviews from them.



I will post it at the end of this TR which is why I am trying to wrap this one up so quickly.



cruisehopeful said:


> I didn't realize that they could be called a ship.



Well, I'm not sure what else to call it, a boat?



cruisehopeful said:


> The pricing is on their website and can be very expensive, but the couple I know who have taken them have booked them on short notice and got deals like 2 for one. They are retired and able to travel on short notice. They keep telling me to go and to get on discount cruise email lists, but week long or longer travel on short notice isn't anywhere in my foreseeable future. Someday.......



We are on their list as well and I keep getting things about 2 for 1 sailings, so we may not book so far in advance if we decide on future cruises, but we need the HA stateroom and those are hard to come by, so even if we can travel on short notice we also need the HA stateroom and that might be difficult.


----------



## rentayenta

Your riverboat cruise is going to be fantastic!!!


----------



## franandaj

rentayenta said:


> Your riverboat cruise is going to be fantastic!!!



I sure hope so!


----------



## franandaj

Day 6

I woke up in the middle of the night around 1AM wanting some noise and made the mistake of putting on "Muppets Most Wanted" because I ended up watching more of it than sleeping though it. After it finished, I decided to go with what had been my second choice of drowsing movie, Sister Act. This was a good choice as I slept through almost the entire movie and woke for the last "chase" scene. By this time it was about 5:20 AM and we were pulling into the port.

Once we were well into the port canal I decided to turn my phone off of airplane mode. Of course all the text messages started pouring in. Naked Jim had disarmed the panel at our house twice a day to feed the cats. Good. And I had a couple voice mails from a 407 area code.

I listened to my voice mails and it was the resort. It seems they were transferring us from SSR to OKW.  WHAT????????

OK this throws a major Monkey wrench in our plans. I had multiple deliveries coming to SSR, not to mention all our ADRs and such pretty much were relying on staying at this resort. The idea of motoring over the bridge to Disney Springs played a big part in our plans, so that we could easily transport to the resorts, as this was a heavy resorts trip and not so much the parks.

I called and spoke to someone at the resort and thought we had it all sorted out. It seems that they could not provide us with a room with a roll in shower at SSR. When we got off the phone she had told me that we would have a shower with a very small (like 2-3 inch lip) to step over for entry. We would still have the jacuzzi tub. And I thought everything was solved. 

I got dressed, packed up the last of my stuff and headed down to turn in my extension cord (get my $50 back) and pick up our digital pictures.

After a short wait at Guest services the refund was complete and I got in line for the photos.  It was about quarter to seven and I was maybe 10th in line. They didn't open until 7AM and by that time the line must have had 30-40 people waiting. It turns out that now they give you a USB drive and not a CD. Interesting. 

I got back to the room at 7:15, woke Fran, helped her get dressed and she packed up her stuff. We were out of the room by 7:40AM. WOW! Breakfast didn't start seating until 8:00AM, but they started 10 minutes early and we were there and ready.  













I got a cinnamon roll.





She had a Croissant and a Chocolate Croissant.  You can even catch a glimpse of our "candy bag" in the side of the picture.





She had the Route 66





While I had Eggs for the Road. No surprise there. 





I took a few last shots of the room before we finished up.









Pretty soon we were disembarking.  This was so much better than the last experience.  As soon as we reached the luggage room a porter asked if we would like assistance.  He helped us find our bags, loaded them all on his cart, whisked us through customs, and in no time we were boarding our motorcoach.

It was an uneventful ride and soon we were seeing this.





We were the first drop off at SSR. Score!

I had received the text that our room was ready and one of the bellmen loaded our luggage onto his golf cart and prepared to take me to the room. We had ordered a second scooter so that I could get around the parks without my foot hurting and since it wasn't from a licensed Disney company Fran had to be there for the pick up. So she waited at the front of the resort while I went to the room.









The first thing I checked was the shower and immediately I realized there was a problem. Evidently there was a language barrier problem as the person I spoke to in the morning thought a regular bathtub shower combination was an appropriate solution since there were bars on the wall. Because I know that even a non handicapped room has a more appropriate shower than this, I picked up the phone immediately and called the front desk. They told me that EVERYTHING was full and there were no other rooms available. I was put on hold several times and before the last time, the gal told me she was going to triple check something.

Lo and behold they had a room where someone had not done online check in, and it just happened to be on the same floor of the same building.  In a resort this big, what are the odds? Something tells me the entire resort was not completely sold out and they had a tiny bit of wiggle room in there. The bellman had already left, but I said that I could move our luggage myself without a problem. They also told me that my Magic Band would not work on the old room anymore, and that it would take a while for my Magic Band to sync up with the new room, so they would send a runner with an actual key to open the door. 

As he arrived with my key I got a call from Fran saying the scooter had arrived and that our Bellman Manny had located our owner's locker and would be bringing it to the room momentarily.  Then he would drive me back to the front where Fran was waiting. What a sweetie!  I quickly snapped these photos of the room while I waited for Manny to arrive.





















































I love the cute little touches in the Mickeys on the balcony.





Our view.










After meeting back up, we went back to the room so I could change. I didn't anticipate that it would be nearly so warm and I was wearing long pants and a T-shirt. Fran changed out of her long pants into shorts as well.

Our plan was to have lunch at Marrakesh which is all the way at the back of Epcot, so rather than take a bus to Epcot, we found the bridge to Disney Springs and caught a bus to BCV. On our way to Disney Springs we walked past the pool at Congress Park. We were a little confused as to how to get to the walkway to Disney Springs because there were steps leading from the pool area, just as we were turning around, I heard someone call out, “Alison!” I was pretty sure they were talking to their daughter or sister at the pool. I mean really no one would be calling my name. And then I heard it again. I looked into the pool where the call was coming from and who should I see but @bobbiwoz! I knew she was going to be here they were leaving on a cruise out of Miami soon, but what a small world!  


*[Continued in Next post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous post]*


We chatted briefly and then Fran and I were on our way to the BCV via Disney Springs.





Since we had stayed here only two years ago, I knew the shortest route to Epcot without having to go through the hotel or the lobby. We went right to Guest Relations and after about a 5 minute wait. Purchased our TIW card and we were off.

I was starving, so we made a beeline to Morocco, and right to Marrakesh. We were seated immediately, and perused the menu.





































While we waited for our meal, I took some shots of the restaurant.  This was a good call. Hardly anyone was in there, so a good spot to go without an ADR.  Besides, I would have been way off on the timing had I made one.  The whole thing with switching rooms really ate up a huge chunk of time.

























It was so pretty inside!

We ordered the appetizer sampler, chicken bastila, beef brewat roll, and Jasmine salad. 









We also got another separate order of the chicken bastila which was included on the appetizer sampler.  This is my favorite Moroccan dish, so I didn’t want to be shorted! 





For our entree we split the braised beef Cous Cous. 





It was a little bland, but once I got some Harissa to spice it up, the dish was delicious. Those who don’t know what Harissa is, it’s a blend of spices mixed with Ketchup (at least that’s how I make it at home).  It’s more flavorful than spicy hot, but it does has a small kick to it.









I also had a glass of Moroccan wine to go along with it.

During our meal, this duo came out to play traditional music.





Then this Belly Dancer came out for a little while.





All in all, we really enjoyed our meal at Marrakesh.  I don’t know why it took me so long to dine here.  Maybe since I’ve had such great Moroccan food at home, I didn’t feel the need to try it at WDW.  And as you saw there was no problem eating there as a walk up, the place was practically empty when we ate there.


*[Continued in Next post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous post]*

All the while, Mark (@Captiain_Oblivious), Julie and I had been texting each other.  They were making their way around WS from Mexico via Germany and Italy.  We left without ordering Baklava for dessert because I wanted to get something from the various Christmas Kiosks set up around the park.





Fran and I did catch a bite from the American kiosk. Some peppermint bark. A gingerbread cookie and egg nog with Kentucky Bourbon. Hence why we didn't get any Baklava in Morocco.









We met up in the American Adventure after listening to the Voices of Liberty. We chatted for a bit, took the obligatory photo and we're each on our way. 









We stopped in Germany for Caramel.  Not just a piece for now, but for the week and what ended up lasting until about a month ago. We got popcorn that ended up going to Naked Jim.  It was fun watching them make it while we waited in the long long line.

































We also got a glass of Riesling at the kiosk.









And then we went into Mouse Gears. I needed some coffee for the room and I'd had Mickey's Diner coffee before, it's pretty decent. 





Fran bought a few other things, but I was totally hitting the wall. I had been up since 5:20 AM and it was after 5PM, so I hurried her along and out of the park.

We got to our bus stop and she picked up her book to read and within a minute our bus drove into the pick up area. Score! 

Back at the room we called for delivery of our groceries which had been delivered while we were having lunch.  While we waited I unpacked the suitcases and got our laundry ready to wash. We enjoyed our bottle of Moet Ice from the ship while making dinner.





She helped me by chopping the veggies and cheese and soon the meatloaf was in the oven. 

The washer wasn't working properly. I noticed that after the meatloaf was done, it was still on the wash cycle which was only supposed to be 12 minutes. I slid the knob to rinse and finished serving up dinner. 

Meatloaf.





Fran’s dinner.





My dinner.





After dinner I had to put it on the spin cycle manually as well. I started the load of whites and packed up our dinner leftovers.

Fran went to bed and I took advantage of the Jacuzzi tub before crawling into bed myself.

For those concerned about falling behind, the next day needs to be finished by Feb 15 and I'm planning on posting it in two installments if that helps any!  TTFN!


----------



## dizneeat

*Last breakfast on the ship .......  so not fun at all! 
Seeing that WDW sign ....... 

I was in awe that your room was ready when you arrived ...... I should have guessed there was a hickup and how lucky that you were able to get it sorted after all. 

It looks like you enjoyed your lunch at Marrakesh - we have only eaten there once and it was the worst meal ever. It rained into my glass from the ceiling, the food was cold and the bread stale. We swore "never again", but your food looks really nice. Hm, maybe .........

And you were cooking dinner!!!! We have stayed so often in a 1br but never cooked more than a frozen pizza. Maybe we should pick up some steaks or something in the summer. 
Thanks for sharing. 
I am so sorry for not commenting more, but next Friday is half term and there were a gazillion tests and exams and I rarely had time for the DIS. 
*


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> Well, not everyone is! But I'll give you a hint. I won't have much to do during the Superbowl but watch commercials, so that might be a good time for an update!


 
Did I miss the game? I see an update just below...



franandaj said:


> Another reason I think we're going to really enjoy this ship, there seems to be a lot of tradition that is honored in the history of the riverboats. We both love history!


 
Cool! This something I think I should look into.



franandaj said:


> Yeah, but wasn't he the mayor that was on crack and himself became the laughing stock of the world?


 
No that was two mayors later.



franandaj said:


> I don't know where you keep going on about this deep south! I don't care how deep it is, it still sounds cold!


 




franandaj said:


> Below 60 degrees F in the daytime is cause for brrrrr. We have had a couple days where it hasn't got out of the 50s and I have had to actually find my jacket! That is not something we Southern Californians take lightly!


 
 We haven't seen it hit 50 for over 3 months now.

Going back to read the update now.


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> I woke up in the middle of the night around 1AM


 
Ugh. You seem to do that a lot. Or is that a cruise thing... or an aberration?



franandaj said:


> made the mistake of putting on "Muppets Most Wanted" because I ended up watching more of it than sleeping though it.


 
Try picking something that'll put you to sleep next time.
Like... oh, I don't know. How about Sister Act?



franandaj said:


> I listened to my voice mails and it was the resort. It seems they were transferring us from SSR to OKW. WHAT????????


 
Not the message you want to receive.



franandaj said:


> And I thought everything was solved.


 
Uh, oh.



franandaj said:


> I got dressed, packed up the last of my stuff and headed down to turn in my extension cord (get my $50 back)


 
$50. They _really_ want their cord back.



franandaj said:


> It turns out that now they give you a USB drive and not a CD. Interesting.


 
Huh.



franandaj said:


> You can even catch a glimpse of our "candy bag" in the side of the picture.


 
You still had some left? I thought you would've handed it all out by now.



franandaj said:


> Pretty soon we were disembarking. This was so much better than the last experience. As soon as we reached the luggage room a porter asked if we would like assistance. He helped us find our bags, loaded them all on his cart, whisked us through customs, and in no time we were boarding our motorcoach.


 
Nice.



franandaj said:


> It was an uneventful ride and soon we were seeing this.


 
Wow! Only one truck among all those cars. That _is_ interesting!



franandaj said:


> We were the first drop off at SSR. Score!


 
Had my fingers crossed here that you still were _staying_ at SSR.



franandaj said:


> The first thing I checked was the shower and immediately I realized there was a problem. Evidently there was a language barrier problem as the person I spoke to in the morning thought a regular bathtub shower combination was an appropriate solution since there were bars on the wall.


 
Oh.... crap.



franandaj said:


> I was put on hold several times and before the last time, the gal told me she was going to triple check something.


 
What does that even mean? You type in rooms available and the computer should give you the same answer every time.
It makes me wonder what the experience was of the people who hadn't done online check in was.
"But we asked for a room with a walk in shower!"



franandaj said:


>


 
There's the tub. I assume the shower was a walk in with just a little lip?



franandaj said:


> Our view.


 
Nice.



franandaj said:


> We chatted briefly and then Fran and I were on our way to the BCV via Disney Springs.


 
Nice fortuitous little meet, there.



franandaj said:


> This was a good call. Hardly anyone was in there, so a good spot to go without an ADR. Besides, I would have been way off on the timing had I made one. The whole thing with switching rooms really ate up a huge chunk of time.


 
I'd like to try it. Haven't had the opportunity yet.
It's outside my normal comfort zone.
Which is why I need to try it.



franandaj said:


> We ordered the appetizer sampler, chicken bastila, beef brewat roll, and Jasmine salad.


 
Thanks for the photos of the food.
I was really curious to see what it'd look like.



franandaj said:


> It was a little bland, but once I got some Harissa to spice it up, the dish was delicious. Those who don’t know what Harissa is, it’s a blend of spices mixed with Ketchup (at least that’s how I make it at home). It’s more flavorful than spicy hot, but it does has a small kick to it.


 
And now I (sorta) know what Harissa is.



franandaj said:


> During our meal, this duo came out to play traditional music.


 
Any good? I remember pausing to watch some band outside the pavilion. I hated it.



franandaj said:


> Then this Belly Dancer came out for a little while.


 
Oh? Well, maybe I'll stick around for a while...



franandaj said:


> Maybe since I’ve had such great Moroccan food at home


 
I'm ashamed to say I've never had any. At home or otherwise.



franandaj said:


> We left without ordering Baklava for dessert


 
 How could you pass that up!?!? I love baklava.



franandaj said:


> and egg nog with Kentucky Bourbon


 
Hello!!



franandaj said:


> We met up in the American Adventure after listening to the Voices of Liberty. We chatted for a bit, took the obligatory photo and we're each on our way.


 
Nice you got to meet them. Was Mark fairly quiet? (just a hunch)



franandaj said:


> We stopped in Germany for Caramel. Not just a piece for now, but for the week and what ended up lasting until about a month ago.


 
How did you do that???? In my house, a month's worth of Caramel/chocolate wouldn't last a week.



franandaj said:


>


 
Excuse me a sec.
Gotta go find a towel to wipe the drool off the keyboard after looking at those pics.



franandaj said:


> And then we went into Mouse Gears. I needed some coffee for the room and I'd had Mickey's Diner coffee before, it's pretty decent.


 
Huh. I had no idea you could buy coffee... well pretty much anywhere on Disney property.



franandaj said:


> Fran bought a few other things


 
Did she also buy some boxes to store them in?






franandaj said:


> but I was totally hitting the wall. I had been up since 5:20 AM and it was after 5PM, so I hurried her along and out of the park.


 
Long day. Didn't help being up at 1am for a while either.



franandaj said:


> We got to our bus stop and she picked up her book to read and within a minute our bus drove into the pick up area. Score!


 
A good. I see you took my advice and purchased the VIP bus package.



franandaj said:


> We enjoyed our bottle of Moet Ice from the ship while making dinner.


 
How was that, compared to a regular champagne?



franandaj said:


> The washer wasn't working properly. I noticed that after the meatloaf was done, it was still on the wash cycle which was only supposed to be 12 minutes. I slid the knob to rinse and finished serving up dinner.


 
Solved!
You didn't mention it, did you call maintenance?



franandaj said:


> Fran went to bed and I took advantage of the Jacuzzi tub before crawling into bed myself.


 
I get that. A nice tub is soooo relaxing.


----------



## disney ny

That room mess sounds crazy,. I don't understand how they run out of rooms or how they think just switching someone to another resort will not cause issues. Your room looks beautiful! I love the colors and it looks relaxing. I have never stayed there but I really think with Disney Springs coming back to life it will make Saratoga more desirable for people.


----------



## dolphingirl47

franandaj said:


> It turns out that now they give you a USB drive and not a CD.



That sounds interesting. I saw Royal Caribbean now does their photos on a USB drive as well. 



franandaj said:


> The first thing I checked was the shower and immediately I realized there was a problem. Evidently there was a language barrier problem as the person I spoke to in the morning thought a regular bathtub shower combination was an appropriate solution since there were bars on the wall.



What a shame that there was such an issue with the room assignment. I am glad that it got sorted out in the end.



franandaj said:


> We also got another separate order of the chicken bastila which was included on the appetizer sampler. This is my favorite Moroccan dish, so I didn’t want to be shorted!



I was surprised that the restaurant was so empty. I love the restaurant and the bastila is one of my favourites.

It looks like you still had a nice day despite the various issues.

Corinna


----------



## dhorner233

Wow! Long day for you! Seeing that entrance to DW is always so exciting! Loved the pictures from Sarasota Springs. I've never been there. Loved the room. I like the Moroccan restaurant but I've had better food elsewhere but the atmosphere and the music is nice.


----------



## mvf-m11c

I can never get tired of the WDW entrance every time I enter the property. The pictures at SSR are very nice especially the room. I rarely have Moroccan food but it was nice to see your pictures of the dishes. Nice first day at WDW during your trip.


----------



## PrincessInOz

Ok.  I'm so far behind that there was 3 full pages for me to catch up on!!!

Let's see how much I remember.
1. Generous serves at mixology, with amazing flavour combinations.
2. Boo for last night and having to take down the door decorations, pack up and leave.
3. I didn't know that Disney could "just" change your resort reservation from SSR to OKW without longer notification.  WOW!  Glad you got it sorted out.
4. Your trip to the Mississippi is going to be one that I'll be hanging by the seat here to read.  I've always wanted to do a cruise down that river (and sing Ole' Man River, whilst doing so).  Everything looks amazing.
5.  Bobbi was there at the same time???  How awesome to catch up with her at the same time.
6.  And yay for catching up with Captain Oblivious as well.
7.  Marrakesh looks great.  We always stop by Tangierine; but have never made it to Marrakesh.  I think I might need to put that on the list for if I ever get back to WDW.
8.  YUM to the meatloaf.


(How did I do???  )


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

franandaj said:


> Well good news for you folks who might be falling behind.



My ears are burning...



franandaj said:


> Today would have been the first morning that I would have awakened in the Grand Californian for our annual, “let’s go out there to use up points” trip, but I canceled that when we were not yet out of the old apartment.



Dang.  Hope things work out for all of the trips you have planned!



franandaj said:


> But speaking of the Mississippi River trip, it’s now 45 days away, and things are really coming into place. ADRs have been made!



Woohoo!



franandaj said:


>



That looks really cool.



franandaj said:


> After a phone call to the company, they told me that not only could Fran bring her scooter, but that the bus drives right up to the boat for loading.



Even better.  Things are coming up roses!  But bring mosquito repellent.



franandaj said:


> It seems they were transferring us from SSR to OKW. WHAT????????



Now is the time to PANIC!!!!



franandaj said:


> We were out of the room by 7:40AM. WOW!



Will wonders never cease?!



franandaj said:


> It was an uneventful ride and soon we were seeing this.



Does that ever get old?



franandaj said:


> We were the first drop off at SSR. Score!



Even better.  I hate being the last one on the bus.



franandaj said:


> Lo and behold they had a room where someone had not done online check in, and it just happened to be on the same floor of the same building. In a resort this big, what are the odds?



Well, we can either say it was an amazing coincidence and they hedged on the available rooms a bit, or it was good customer service.  Maybe a bit of both.



franandaj said:


> Our view.



Nice!



franandaj said:


> While we waited for our meal, I took some shots of the restaurant. This was a good call.



Wow, that really was empty.  You're on a roll of good luck here!



franandaj said:


> Those who don’t know what Harissa is, it’s a blend of spices mixed with Ketchup (at least that’s how I make it at home). It’s more flavorful than spicy hot, but it does has a small kick to it.



Thanks!  I thought Harissa was the name of the belly dancer.



franandaj said:


> All the while, Mark (@Captiain_Oblivious), Julie and I had been texting each other.



I'm sure you were riveted by our updates of our progress along the WS.



franandaj said:


> We met up in the American Adventure after listening to the Voices of Liberty. We chatted for a bit, took the obligatory photo and we're each on our way.



"Chatted for a bit"?  You mean, you weren't amazed by my rapier wit?  Thunderstruck by being in the presence of DIS celebrity?  Thrilled to see Julie in spite of me?

Just messin' with ya.  It was great to meet up again, and to finally meet Fran!  And your pictures turned out really well!  Good to have a competent photographer doing our shots.



franandaj said:


> For those concerned about falling behind, the next day needs to be finished by Feb 15 and I'm planning on posting it in two installments if that helps any! TTFN!



So I should be ready to comment again by Feb. 24!



pkondz said:


> Nice you got to meet them. Was Mark fairly quiet? (just a hunch)



I'm not sure why we kept texting when we were standing right there.


----------



## cruisehopeful

franandaj said:


> Fran and I did catch a bite from the American kiosk. Some peppermint bark. A gingerbread cookie and egg nog with Kentucky Bourbon. Hence why we didn't get any Baklava in Morocco.



I look at that menu and I think I'd be inclined to order one of everything. 
I can never justify the cost of going across the country to WDW when I can drive to DL, but the holidays there do look like a lot of fun. I don't know how I would narrow down any choices, though.

Quick question - answer first thing that comes to mind, no thinking allowed - If the Wonder the Dream were sitting side by side and going on identical cruises, which one would you pick and why?


----------



## franandaj

dizneeat said:


> Last breakfast on the ship .......  so not fun at all!
> Seeing that WDW sign .......



I think whenever I get off a cruise at PC, it must be followed up with at least a few days at WDW!



dizneeat said:


> I was in awe that your room was ready when you arrived ...... I should have guessed there was a hickup and how lucky that you were able to get it sorted after all.



It was very frustrating and made me wonder if I should even try booking accessible rooms as I know that the regular rooms at SSR, VWL, BCV, BWV all have better showers than that room they had originally assigned us. It's just that having bars on the wall really is helpful for the toilet. At least it worked out, but it sure took a long time.



dizneeat said:


> It looks like you enjoyed your lunch at Marrakesh - we have only eaten there once and it was the worst meal ever. It rained into my glass from the ceiling, the food was cold and the bread stale. We swore "never again", but your food looks really nice. Hm, maybe .........



I always believe in giving a place at least two shots. The first time they could have had an off day, but if it happens twice, I'm likely not to go back.



dizneeat said:


> And you were cooking dinner!!!! We have stayed so often in a 1br but never cooked more than a frozen pizza. Maybe we should pick up some steaks or something in the summer.
> Thanks for sharing.



I always cook at least one meal in the room. Usually a travel day as Fran often needs the rest, so she sleeps while I cook. One trip I packed a frozen 5 pound prime rib in my suitcase. It thawed while we were at UA/IOA (we had a fridge in the room) so our first night at Disney I made prime rib, baked potaoes, and green beans. For the rest of the trip every other night I used that meat to make dinner. Beef stroganoff, open faced hot roast beef sandwiches, and finally BBQ style ribs with baked beans and creamed corn. I still get stopped in the parks by people who say, "Aren't you the one who packed a big piece of meat in your suitcase?" 



dizneeat said:


> I am so sorry for not commenting more, but next Friday is half term and there were a gazillion tests and exams and I rarely had time for the DIS.



No problem! I need to get over to your thread and comment!



pkondz said:


> Did I miss the game? I see an update just below...



I ended up with some extra time due to an unplanned nap on someone else's part. 



pkondz said:


> Cool! This something I think I should look into.



If you ever have a schedule that allows somewhat last minute travel, they seem to offer 2 for 1 specials as the voyages get closer. Otherwise it's fairly pricey.



pkondz said:


> No that was two mayors later.



Ahhhh, Canadian politics are not usually covered in our news, only when it's really a spectacle.



pkondz said:


> We haven't seen it hit 50 for over 3 months now.



Yikes! It's almost 90 here today!



pkondz said:


> Ugh. You seem to do that a lot. Or is that a cruise thing... or an aberration?



I've really never had much of a problem sleeping through the night. At home I knock myself out daily by doing either physical work or just somehow burning the candle at both ends. I think on these last two trips I psyched myself up so much (due to all the cancelations earlier in the year) that I was literally "too excited to sleep."  That changes later.



pkondz said:


> Try picking something that'll put you to sleep next time.
> Like... oh, I don't know. How about Sister Act?



Good choice.



pkondz said:


> Not the message you want to receive.



No, transportation issues from OKW would have been a nightmare.



pkondz said:


> $50. They _really_ want their cord back.



I figured that out on the Mexican Cruise. It's not that the cord itself is worth anywhere that, they are trying to make a point to make you bring it back.



pkondz said:


> You still had some left? I thought you would've handed it all out by now.



We actually ended up bringing some home. We gave a few pieces out to the bellman at SSR, but it's not the same with CMs at the resort as it is with the ship.  They go home every night and can pick up whatever items they want, the CMs on the ship are very restricted due to space and ships rules.



pkondz said:


> Wow! Only one truck among all those cars. That _is_ interesting!



I find it interesting that is what you noticed about this photo, but there is another truck about three cars up in the same lane as the bus.



pkondz said:


> Had my fingers crossed here that you still were _staying_ at SSR.



I did consider taking them up on the offer as the tubs there are really cool and the rooms are HUGE!  But it would have been a real PITA as you will see by how much we utilize the Disney Springs convenience.



pkondz said:


> Oh.... crap.



Yeah, crap.



pkondz said:


> What does that even mean? You type in rooms available and the computer should give you the same answer every time.
> It makes me wonder what the experience was of the people who hadn't done online check in was.
> "But we asked for a room with a walk in shower!"



Well she said something to the effect of, "Can you hold on while I change your room category?"  I don't know if that meant she was changing us from a HA room to a regular one.



pkondz said:


> There's the tub. I assume the shower was a walk in with just a little lip?



This is a picture of the shower from our stay at the VWL a couple years back. The showers are exactly the same just different colored tiles in the accents.  I'm not sure why after all that going on about the shower, that I didn't take a picture of it.  I suppose that's when the bellman showed up with the Owner's Locker.







pkondz said:


> Nice fortuitous little meet, there.



It was pretty random.



pkondz said:


> I'd like to try it. Haven't had the opportunity yet.
> It's outside my normal comfort zone.
> Which is why I need to try it.



You definitely need to try it. My first time was in the early 90s and my friend's mother took us all to a place, interestingly enough called Marrakesh.  They had the whole deal, sit on the floor, eat with your hands, bellydancer came to your table. We were served 4-5 courses, after that I was hooked.



pkondz said:


> Thanks for the photos of the food.
> I was really curious to see what it'd look like.



It's not at all weird, I don't know why so many people are afraid of it.



pkondz said:


> And now I (sorta) know what Harissa is.



OK, to completely describe how to make Harissa, I need to include the entire recipe.  You will understand when you read it as you are a cook yourself.  This is something that I came up with by combining various recipes that I read online. It is based on a dish I had in France where there are many Moroccans who have emigrated there and set up restaurants. Their restaurant names can be loosely translated to "cous cous house".  I make this for two of us, but the ingredients can be easily modified for larger groups as I have not really indicated much in the way of quantities.  Kind of like when elders pass on recipes.

Alison’s Cous cous recipe

2 tablespoons olive oil
Chicken Thighs
1 medium cut onion (large pieces)
1-2 cloves garlic chopped
Carrot & zucchini cut in large pieces
1 can chicken broth
2 cloves
2 bay leaves
Parsley
Green pepper, chopped
Celery chopped
Small can garbanzo beans (if desired)
Merguez sausages (optional)
1/3 cup cous cous (per person approximately)
Harissa (recipe below)

Heat olive oil in a 5-6 quart pan over medium high. Salt Chicken and brown on all sides. Remove chicken and set aside.  Add onions and garlic to pot, reduce heat to medium and cook stirring until soft. Return chicken to pan and add carrots and zucchini, black pepper, broth, cloves, bay leaves and parsley.  Bring to a boil then cover and reduce heat and simmer until chicken is tender, about 30 minutes.

If you’re having Merguez, begin cooking them.  Cook for 10-15 minutes in a water bath, then grill in a pan or on a grill for about 5 minutes to brown.

Cook the cous cous according to package directions.

Add celery, green pepper and garbanzos to the chicken pot and simmer 5 more minutes.  Just before serving time, pour the broth from the chicken pan into a teapot or gravy bowl.  Skim and discard fat.

Mound cous cous in the center of a large platter.  Arrange meats and vegetables around the sides of the mound.  Serve a portion of Cous cous with meat and vegetables, add the broth to taste, and sprinkle with Harissa.

Harissa: In a bowl stir together 2 tbl ketchup and 1 tbl olive oil.  Stir in ½ tsp each ground red pepper (cayenne), ground cumin, white pepper.  Then add ¼ tsp each ground nutmet and ground cloves. When cooking broth is poured off from meat mixture, add ½ cup of the broth to the harissa paste.



pkondz said:


> Any good? I remember pausing to watch some band outside the pavilion. I hated it.



It wasn't something that I would choose to listen to in my car, but it fit the restaurant.



pkondz said:


> Oh? Well, maybe I'll stick around for a while...



  I figured that the male audience on the TR would appreciate that part!



pkondz said:


> I'm ashamed to say I've never had any. At home or otherwise.



I think you should try it, I have a feeling you might like it.



pkondz said:


> How could you pass that up!?!? I love baklava.



I see you figured it out!



pkondz said:


> Hello!!







pkondz said:


> Nice you got to meet them. Was Mark fairly quiet? (just a hunch)



I had spent a day at Disneyland with them a couple years ago, he was just as snarky in person as he is on the DIS.  



pkondz said:


> How did you do that???? In my house, a month's worth of Caramel/chocolate wouldn't last a week.



Well, I didn't put it in the report, because I don't remember which night it was, but let's say something happened a couple days from this day where she said, "Fine, they're ALL yours, I'm not going to eat ANY!"  I think we had about 20+ pieces of caramel, I ended up taking home over a dozen pieces, and I would only eat about a half of a piece a day. Sometimes, I skipped the candy.  Eventually Fran found my hiding place and they started to disappear much more quickly.



pkondz said:


> Excuse me a sec.
> Gotta go find a towel to wipe the drool off the keyboard after looking at those pics.







pkondz said:


> Huh. I had no idea you could buy coffee... well pretty much anywhere on Disney property.



I'm glad you could, I meant to pack it in my suitcase and completely forgot.  Since I didn't order it from the grocery delivery service.  I had bought some at MK several years ago, so I knew that it was pretty decent.



pkondz said:


> Did she also buy some boxes to store them in?



They were plush toys, so they fit easily in the suitcase.  In fact they are still in one of the suitcases sitting open in our guest room.



pkondz said:


> Long day. Didn't help being up at 1am for a while either.



No, it didn't.



pkondz said:


> A good. I see you took my advice and purchased the VIP bus package.



No, we didn't. Trust me you will see.



pkondz said:


> How was that, compared to a regular champagne?



It was lighter, and it was designed to be served over ice.  It also wasn't quite as bubbly as regular champagne.



pkondz said:


> Solved!
> You didn't mention it, did you call maintenance?



Oh, you have not heard the last of our laundry saga.  



pkondz said:


> I get that. A nice tub is soooo relaxing.



I have a lovely tub at home that I can not use because we have no water to spare.  I'm going to milk Florida's water situation for all that I can.


----------



## afwdwfan

That river cruise really looks like so much fun!  I think that will be a really cool experience. 



franandaj said:


> I listened to my voice mails and it was the resort. It seems they were transferring us from SSR to OKW. WHAT????????


If they can't give you your room, you'd at least like to have some kind of an upgrade.  Like maybe a Poly bungalow or something.  



franandaj said:


> Pretty soon we were disembarking. This was so much better than the last experience. As soon as we reached the luggage room a porter asked if we would like assistance. He helped us find our bags, loaded them all on his cart, whisked us through customs, and in no time we were boarding our motorcoach.


Breakfast looks like it was great.  I'm glad the disembarking process was smooth. 



franandaj said:


> The first thing I checked was the shower and immediately I realized there was a problem. Evidently there was a language barrier problem as the person I spoke to in the morning thought a regular bathtub shower combination was an appropriate solution since there were bars on the wall. Because I know that even a non handicapped room has a more appropriate shower than this, I picked up the phone immediately and called the front desk. They told me that EVERYTHING was full and there were no other rooms available. I was put on hold several times and before the last time, the gal told me she was going to triple check something.
> 
> Lo and behold they had a room where someone had not done online check in, and it just happened to be on the same floor of the same building. In a resort this big, what are the odds? Something tells me the entire resort was not completely sold out and they had a tiny bit of wiggle room in there. The bellman had already left, but I said that I could move our luggage myself without a problem. They also told me that my Magic Band would not work on the old room anymore, and that it would take a while for my Magic Band to sync up with the new room, so they would send a runner with an actual key to open the door.


Oh boy... this sounds like a pain, but I'm glad that they managed to meet your needs and got you a room in SSR that would work. 



franandaj said:


> Then this Belly Dancer came out for a little while.


And now I'm sold on it. 



franandaj said:


> All in all, we really enjoyed our meal at Marrakesh. I don’t know why it took me so long to dine here. Maybe since I’ve had such great Moroccan food at home, I didn’t feel the need to try it at WDW. And as you saw there was no problem eating there as a walk up, the place was practically empty when we ate there.


I'm glad you enjoyed your meal.  Always nice to find a place that can make a nice meal that you don't need an ADR for!



franandaj said:


> My dinner.


Looks delicious.  That would be the nice thing about DVC... getting to make a nice homemade meal every once in a while.


----------



## traceyg

To quote one of my favorite movies "You're killing me Smalls!"   .......
Our last family trip was June 2014. I spent a four day weekend in December with my best friend to get a "fix". We won't be back until June for another family trip. Due to some crazy family dynamics (I won't go into the sordid details) we won't cruise again until I am not obligated to pay for everyone to go with us. So alas, I must live vicariously though your pictures and experiences. June cannot get here soon enough and I'm going to have to wait for about a year before I can take my first Disney Cruise. Looking at your amazing food and trip details makes me so envious. 
I have lurked long enough and wanted to tell you that I absolutely enjoy your reports! We have 5 kids so the thought of having an alone trip is so outside the realm of any possibility. I really enjoy seeing what carefree looks like! lol


----------



## Mrs Doubtfire

Just joining your adventure and really enjoying your report


----------



## franandaj

disney ny said:


> That room mess sounds crazy,. I don't understand how they run out of rooms or how they think just switching someone to another resort will not cause issues. Your room looks beautiful! I love the colors and it looks relaxing. I have never stayed there but I really think with Disney Springs coming back to life it will make Saratoga more desirable for people.



I think when I finally talked to the rep who got it worked out, I had asked if I shouldn't reserve handicapped rooms in the future if this was going to happen. I believe she said that the room we were supposed to get with the roll in shower had a plumbing issue and had to serviced and would not be usable during our stay. There weren't any other HA rooms available.  I really like Saratoga too, and with all the options at Disney Springs it's very convenient.



dolphingirl47 said:


> That sounds interesting. I saw Royal Caribbean now does their photos on a USB drive as well.



It is actually easier to use since they are now just images on the drive and you don't have to install the CD software.



dolphingirl47 said:


> What a shame that there was such an issue with the room assignment. I am glad that it got sorted out in the end.



I hope that I've run the course of my room problems for a while now.  I don't want to deal with that in April.



dolphingirl47 said:


> I was surprised that the restaurant was so empty. I love the restaurant and the bastila is one of my favourites.
> 
> It looks like you still had a nice day despite the various issues.



Other than that glitch with the room, everything else was fine, well except being so tired at 5PM.



dhorner233 said:


> Wow! Long day for you! Seeing that entrance to DW is always so exciting! Loved the pictures from Sarasota Springs. I've never been there. Loved the room. I like the Moroccan restaurant but I've had better food elsewhere but the atmosphere and the music is nice.



It's always happy to see that gateway!  I haven't stayed at Saratoga since our first DVC stay in 2008.  It looked basically the same as I remember.  It certainly wasn't the best Moroccan food that I've had, but it was great that I could walk up to a TS restaurant not knowing what time we were going to get there.  And I have another place to add to my "Golden Spoon."



mvf-m11c said:


> I can never get tired of the WDW entrance every time I enter the property. The pictures at SSR are very nice especially the room. I rarely have Moroccan food but it was nice to see your pictures of the dishes. Nice first day at WDW during your trip.



That's certainly one thing that never gets old.  We have a good restaurant over in San Pedro, but we've only been there once. I eat it at home (recipe I posted above) more often than I got out for it.


----------



## franandaj

PrincessInOz said:


> Ok. I'm so far behind that there was 3 full pages for me to catch up on!!!



I'm sorry that I'm updating with rapid fire, but I don't want this TR to be half finished when I leave on the Mississippi one. As it is the Mississippi one will be only partially finished when I start on the Naked Jim one!  And then both need to be wrapped up by July 1 when we leave for Vancouver!    PLUS we need to clean out the old place!!!!



PrincessInOz said:


> Let's see how much I remember.
> 1. Generous serves at mixology, with amazing flavour combinations.



 That's a good way to put it!



PrincessInOz said:


> 2. Boo for last night and having to take down the door decorations, pack up and leave.



I look at it as Vacation Part 2 begins!  



PrincessInOz said:


> 3. I didn't know that Disney could "just" change your resort reservation from SSR to OKW without longer notification. WOW! Glad you got it sorted out.



Yeah, I didn't either!  As you will see in the days to come, we used that bridge to the Disney Springs busses quite a bit.



PrincessInOz said:


> 4. Your trip to the Mississippi is going to be one that I'll be hanging by the seat here to read. I've always wanted to do a cruise down that river (and sing Ole' Man River, whilst doing so). Everything looks amazing.



This has been on Fran's bucket list since we met.  I finally just said last year, "well let's go ahead and do it!".  If we like it, there is a sister ship in Washington/Oregon that we're going to consider traveling on.



PrincessInOz said:


> 5. Bobbi was there at the same time??? How awesome to catch up with her at the same time.



I knew she had a cruise coming up just after ours, but I didn't realize we were staying at the same resort.  Even so there are like 2400 rooms there, what are the odds of running into each other?



PrincessInOz said:


> 6. And yay for catching up with Captain Oblivious as well.



At least that one was a planned meet up!



PrincessInOz said:


> 7. Marrakesh looks great. We always stop by Tangierine; but have never made it to Marrakesh. I think I might need to put that on the list for if I ever get back to WDW.



They had some great options for the pesky vegetarian, and from what I understand, folks are afraid of this "unknown" food, so you can almost always get in as a walk in.



PrincessInOz said:


> 8. YUM to the meatloaf.



That's one of my comfort meals at home and so easy to make. It was a nice change after all the fancy food that we ate on the Dream.



PrincessInOz said:


> (How did I do??? )



  Nice job of catching up!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> My ears are burning...



You're not the only one who is behind!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Dang. Hope things work out for all of the trips you have planned!



Well the larger ones are going off as planned. We just couldn't justify running off for a midweek weekend with all that work needing to be done.  It just means that I get to do it hopefully later in the year once the hard work is done.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Woohoo!



Looking forward to trying some of the Landmark restaurants here, although you might not be as impressed with these meals, but I'm sure you'll see something we eat that you like!  I hope.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> That looks really cool.



I know, it's totally filled with history and all kinds of neat stuff.  They have a Riverlorian who gives talks about the region and stuff like that so you know about the area you are visiting.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Even better. Things are coming up roses! But bring mosquito repellent.



Oh yeah!  We will definitely bring it, but for whatever reason they don't like me, however they love Fran.  I thought it was because I have more wine than her, but my Mom drinks a lot of wine and she says they eat her alive. My Dad however, she thinks they bite him but he just doesn't have reactions.  Maybe I take after my Dad?  



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Now is the time to PANIC!!!!



I tried my best not to.  If they did have to shift us to OKW, I'm not sure how it would have affected our plans, but it sure would have made our bus rides a lot longer to get home.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Will wonders never cease?!



I know!  Every so often she surprises me by waking up early and just getting up and going.  But certainly not that often.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Does that ever get old?



Does seeing Old Faithful erupt get old?



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Even better. I hate being the last one on the bus.



I haven't had that happen, but I have been the last stop with about a dozen other people.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Well, we can either say it was an amazing coincidence and they hedged on the available rooms a bit, or it was good customer service. Maybe a bit of both.



Perhaps you are correct.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Wow, that really was empty. You're on a roll of good luck here!



Either that or just followed the dining boards and know that more people want steaks or French food then something they have never tried before.  Plus having lunch at 2:30 is always a good bet for a walk up.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Thanks! I thought Harissa was the name of the belly dancer.



  



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I'm sure you were riveted by our updates of our progress along the WS.



I'm just glad you were taking your time, it was sure taking us a while to get anywhere and there was no good reason.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> "Chatted for a bit"? You mean, you weren't amazed by my rapier wit? Thunderstruck by being in the presence of DIS celebrity? Thrilled to see Julie in spite of me?



Actually what stands out most was our discussion of changes in my DL Fairygodmother status and how you could have possibly rode Indiana Jones if only things had changed about six months earlier!    I guess that just means you guys need to come back and we'll really do it up right!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Just messin' with ya. It was great to meet up again, and to finally meet Fran! And your pictures turned out really well! Good to have a competent photographer doing our shots.



I guess I should have told her to take a couple that either cut off our heads or totally averted the focus just to keep up with others in your TRs!  



Captain_Oblivious said:


> So I should be ready to comment again by Feb. 24!



 my schedule says that day 7 and 8 need to be posted by then, Day 7 is a two update post, I haven't figured out Day 8 yet.  So you have that going for you.



cruisehopeful said:


> I look at that menu and I think I'd be inclined to order one of everything.



I know.  It was hard. At one time I looked at the menu and they had a Merguez appetizer, I was bummed that they didn't have one this time.  However, I remember that Fran had gone into the hospital (I think it was the hip surgery) and I had Merguez in the freezer at that time.  I made them like the appetizer I read about and they were great.  Now I don't remember how I made them!



cruisehopeful said:


> I can never justify the cost of going across the country to WDW when I can drive to DL, but the holidays there do look like a lot of fun. I don't know how I would narrow down any choices, though.



It is totally different than DL.  I don't go as much for the parks as the resorts and different experiences you can have.  It's much more immesrsive.



cruisehopeful said:


> Quick question - answer first thing that comes to mind, no thinking allowed - If the Wonder the Dream were sitting side by side and going on identical cruises, which one would you pick and why?



Wonder, hands down.  No need to think. less people, better adult vs family areas. More niches to hide and enjoy.  Even without Remy you can have a great time!


----------



## franandaj

afwdwfan said:


> That river cruise really looks like so much fun! I think that will be a really cool experience.



I'm thinking so as well.  It has been on Fran's bucket list ever since we met, so I'm glad we are finally doing it!



afwdwfan said:


> If they can't give you your room, you'd at least like to have some kind of an upgrade. Like maybe a Poly bungalow or something.



Yeah, well an OKW 1 BR would be sort of an upgrade if we didn't plan on going back and forth between Disney Springs so much. Otherwise it might have been cool, kind of.



afwdwfan said:


> Oh boy... this sounds like a pain, but I'm glad that they managed to meet your needs and got you a room in SSR that would work.



Yeah, I kind of really kvetched about it and that's not really the word I meant to use, but the DIS would have blocked my original word.



afwdwfan said:


> And now I'm sold on it.



  I knew that was what would get the male portion of my readers!  She was very beautiful!



afwdwfan said:


> I'm glad you enjoyed your meal. Always nice to find a place that can make a nice meal that you don't need an ADR for!



I did like that fact.  I had no idea when we were going to get off the ship, how long the bus would take and then the whole room fiasco added an hour to an hour and a half, plus I didn't count on us needing to head back and change clothes so we were having lunch at least an hour to two after I had originally planned.  Hence why I was absolutely starved!



afwdwfan said:


> Looks delicious. That would be the nice thing about DVC... getting to make a nice homemade meal every once in a while.



I love that about DVC.  We always get a room with a kitchen, also because I love the Jacuzzi tub, but because I want the ability to make us breakfast, make a grilled cheese, or a whole dinner. 



traceyg said:


> To quote one of my favorite movies "You're killing me Smalls!"  .......



  I know I've seen that movie, but it's failing me which one it is.



traceyg said:


> Our last family trip was June 2014. I spent a four day weekend in December with my best friend to get a "fix". We won't be back until June for another family trip. Due to some crazy family dynamics (I won't go into the sordid details) we won't cruise again until I am not obligated to pay for everyone to go with us. So alas, I must live vicariously though your pictures and experiences. June cannot get here soon enough and I'm going to have to wait for about a year before I can take my first Disney Cruise. Looking at your amazing food and trip details makes me so envious.



Ugh, I won't ask about the details, but I'm sorry for your cruise issues.  I think you need to come up with a reason for your husband and you to go on a couples cruise!



traceyg said:


> I have lurked long enough and wanted to tell you that I absolutely enjoy your reports! We have 5 kids so the thought of having an alone trip is so outside the realm of any possibility. I really enjoy seeing what carefree looks like! lol



Well I'm glad you came out of lurkdom!  How long until the kids have left the nest?  You definitely sound like you need a couples getaway!



Mrs Doubtfire said:


> Just joining your adventure and really enjoying your report



  I'm glad you have joined in!  Please comment! That's what makes the whole part of trip reporting fun!


----------



## dhorner233

What is the Golden Spoon? All the restaurants in DW? I guess with all the resorts, there must be a lot of them. How many? Just the sit downs?


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> If you ever have a schedule that allows somewhat last minute travel, they seem to offer 2 for 1 specials as the voyages get closer. Otherwise it's fairly pricey.



Good to know. Thanks!



franandaj said:


> Ahhhh, Canadian politics are not usually covered in our news, only when it's really a spectacle.



And Rob Ford definitely was that.



franandaj said:


> Yikes! It's almost 90 here today!



Are you on fire?!?! Do you need help???



franandaj said:


> We actually ended up bringing some home. We gave a few pieces out to the bellman at SSR, but it's not the same with CMs at the resort as it is with the ship. They go home every night and can pick up whatever items they want, the CMs on the ship are very restricted due to space and ships rules.



Good point.



franandaj said:


> I find it interesting that is what you noticed about this photo, but there is another truck about three cars up in the same lane as the bus.



I find it interesting that you noticed that.



franandaj said:


> It was pretty random.



I'd love that to happen to me.
I'm not famous like you.



franandaj said:


> You definitely need to try it. My first time was in the early 90s and my friend's mother took us all to a place, interestingly enough called Marrakesh. They had the whole deal, sit on the floor, eat with your hands, bellydancer came to your table. We were served 4-5 courses, after that I was hooked.



My Dad was far too set in his ways to try something like that, so never introduced to it.
But I would like to try it.



franandaj said:


> It's not at all weird, I don't know why so many people are afraid of it.



Different is frightening for a lot of people.



franandaj said:


> OK, to completely describe how to make Harissa, I need to include the entire recipe.



Thanks! I might try that.
Don't know where I'd get those sausages, though.



franandaj said:


> It wasn't something that I would choose to listen to in my car, but it fit the restaurant.



I get that.



franandaj said:


> I figured that the male audience on the TR would appreciate that part!







franandaj said:


> I had spent a day at Disneyland with them a couple years ago, he was just as snarky in person as he is on the DIS.



Good to hear! 



franandaj said:


> Well, I didn't put it in the report, because I don't remember which night it was, but let's say something happened a couple days from this day where she said, "Fine, they're ALL yours, I'm not going to eat ANY!" I think we had about 20+ pieces of caramel, I ended up taking home over a dozen pieces, and I would only eat about a half of a piece a day. Sometimes, I skipped the candy. Eventually Fran found my hiding place and they started to disappear much more quickly.



Ah. Been there.



franandaj said:


> No, we didn't. Trust me you will see.



Uh, oh.



franandaj said:


> It was lighter, and it was designed to be served over ice. It also wasn't quite as bubbly as regular champagne.



Interesting.



franandaj said:


> Oh, you have not heard the last of our laundry saga.





franandaj said:


> I have a lovely tub at home that I can not use because we have no water to spare. I'm going to milk Florida's water situation for all that I can.



Hotel tubs are the best... even if they're not as good as the home tub.
Unlimited hot water....


----------



## traceyg

Well I'm glad you came out of lurkdom!  How long until the kids have left the nest?  You definitely sound like you need a couples getaway!

The "kids" are 25, 23, 21, 17 and 5. Yes, you read that correctly 5! lol We went to Vegas over spring break last year. I'm hoping to do that again. We ended up winning almost $800 from the Michael Jackson machine and used that to finance the rest of the trip. By the time we left we rolled the $800 up and down into $2500 or so. We didn't leave with anything other than the initial $200 we had in our pockets when we arrived and the memories of a great time. That $800 paid for the roller coaster at NYNY, great seats to O at the Bellagio, lots of gambling and all of our food (including Starbucks). My favorite part was the 24 hr Starbucks in the lobby...woohoo! They even comped our room. I know we won't get that lucky again. MY DH prefers this method of vacationing as opposed to Disney. He realized pretty quickly that Disney's ploy was to separate you from your money as soon as possible, whereas in Vegas you at least have a shot of getting it back. lol I keep telling him that it's all about the experience. He just goes along to make me happy. lol


----------



## jedijill

Catching up again!  It's so sad to leave the ship but its good to be headed to WDW instead of the airport!  Glad the room situation worked out...I wouldn't have been happy at all to be moved!  What a great Dis-Meet!  Mark and Julie (especially Julie!  ) are fantastic people!

Your dinner looked delicious!

Jill in CO


----------



## Malia78

franandaj said:


> If we like it, there is a sister ship in Washington/Oregon that we're going to consider traveling on.



I'm really excited to read the river cruise trip report now and I hope it is a smashing success--I didn't realize there was an option right in my own backyard and it'd be great if you were travel up to the beautiful Pacific Northwest.


----------



## franandaj

dhorner233 said:


> What is the Golden Spoon? All the restaurants in DW? I guess with all the resorts, there must be a lot of them. How many? Just the sit downs?



It's something that a guy on the DVC boards came up with, but he also posted it on the other boards as well.  He has a program that he wrote that allows you to tick off various restaurants and then it calculates it for you.  There's a way to exclude F&W or F&G or if you want to include them you can as well.  Here is a link to the thread.

http://www.disboards.com/threads/are-you-a-dvc-disney-foodie-go-for-the-golden-spoon.3106043/



pkondz said:


> Are you on fire?!?! Do you need help???



I'm always on fire!



pkondz said:


> I'd love that to happen to me.
> I'm not famous like you.



Oh come on, don't sell yourself short, of course you're famous!  You have a harem!



pkondz said:


> Different is frightening for a lot of people.



  Sad but true.



pkondz said:


> Thanks! I might try that.
> Don't know where I'd get those sausages, though.



You know this got me thinking about our conversation on your thread.  I get mine at a market that sources locally grown produce, but originally my mother found them at her Farmer's Market. I realized that where you live, there probably aren't Farmer's Markets, at least year round.  People probably don't even grown things with all that snow. Huh?  Never thought of that.  



pkondz said:


> Hotel tubs are the best... even if they're not as good as the home tub.
> Unlimited hot water....



Hotel tubs in other states without droughts are the best.  The key words in that sentence are unlimited water, the hot part is just icing on the cake.



traceyg said:


> The "kids" are 25, 23, 21, 17 and 5. Yes, you read that correctly 5! lol We went to Vegas over spring break last year. I'm hoping to do that again. We ended up winning almost $800 from the Michael Jackson machine and used that to finance the rest of the trip. By the time we left we rolled the $800 up and down into $2500 or so. We didn't leave with anything other than the initial $200 we had in our pockets when we arrived and the memories of a great time. That $800 paid for the roller coaster at NYNY, great seats to O at the Bellagio, lots of gambling and all of our food (including Starbucks). My favorite part was the 24 hr Starbucks in the lobby...woohoo! They even comped our room. I know we won't get that lucky again. MY DH prefers this method of vacationing as opposed to Disney. He realized pretty quickly that Disney's ploy was to separate you from your money as soon as possible, whereas in Vegas you at least have a shot of getting it back. lol I keep telling him that it's all about the experience. He just goes along to make me happy. lol



Given the ages of your kids, I think you and your DH are well overdue for your own vacation!  I love vacations in Vegas just for this potential. We hit a $1000 jackpot on a dollar slot machine once, it was great!  I ended up going to the spa, we had a fancy dinner, and we even came home with money in our pockets.



jedijill said:


> Catching up again!  It's so sad to leave the ship but its good to be headed to WDW instead of the airport!  Glad the room situation worked out...I wouldn't have been happy at all to be moved!  What a great Dis-Meet!  Mark and Julie (especially Julie!  ) are fantastic people!
> 
> Your dinner looked delicious!
> 
> Jill in CO



Yeah, I think any cruise that ends at PC needs to be followed up by a stay at WDW, just to ease the Post Cruise depression!  It was way to convenient to be at SSR, I would not have been happy if we were at OKW.  I was glad to have a simple home cooked meal after all the fancy dining on the ship.



Malia78 said:


> I'm really excited to read the river cruise trip report now and I hope it is a smashing success--I didn't realize there was an option right in my own backyard and it'd be great if you were travel up to the beautiful Pacific Northwest.



It looks pretty cool, going from Clarkston, WA to Vancouver, WA.  Who knows?  Maybe in 2017!


----------



## franandaj

Day 7

I woke up sometime in the middle of the night to the washer still in it's wash cycle.  Definitely a problem. I moved it over to rinse and after a little while to spin. I figured I should put it in the dryer so we had clean dry stuff for the next day, but as I picked up the items I noticed brown splotches all over them. What??????

I put them back in the washer and tried to put them on "soak". I figured I would check it out again in the morning. 

I woke up late. I had looked up the EMH times in the middle of the night and they started at 7:00AM for DHS, the park opened at 8:00AM.  We woke at 7:00. So much for EMH. Fran said I should have told her and she would have set an alarm, but waking her at 3AM when I figured out the hours would not have been fun.

In the morning I ran the laundry through rinse and spin, but they were still heavily stained. Fran called the front desk, and they put in a call to maintenance and said that a housekeeping manager would be calling us. We ate breakfast in the room. Fran had some toast and V8. I had Honey Nut Cheerios, coffee and V8. 





I left the undried stained clothes on the dryer as I was hoping that before they went in the dryer and the stains were set, I could give another shot at trying to remove them. I mean stained underwear isn't that bad (even if it was a brand new package that I had packed in my suitcase) but a shirt that I got at WDI last summer was in the batch and I was rather fond of it.

We called one more time and they said we didn't need to be there for maintenance. The previous operator had not verified my cell number so we weren't sure if we had to stick around, but this operator verified the cell and said the housekeeping manager would call the cell, so off to DHS we went.

While at the bus stop the manager called, long and short he was crediting our account $100 for the damaged items. While on the phone, the bus pulled up, boarded us and we were on our way. I’m not sure how long we waited because I was talking on the phone and couldn’t keep track of time.

It was probably 9AM when we got to the park. 





Isn’t this view nice without the bloody hat?





Our first FP was for Star Tours. I made a mistake when I booked our FPs back when. I thought that the person booking was automatically included in the selection so for the first two days I originally only booked FPs for Fran. By the time I realized that I hadn't booked them for myself, I couldn't match our times for this day so I staggered them by 15 minutes.





My FP opened at 9:15 so I used mine first at 9:20. Fran went to the gift shop while I rode but she didn't find anything. I rode the ride a second time using her MB. We have quite a collection of these suckers so I have three valid bands to match almost every outfit and I keep one of Fran's spare bands on me just for the purpose of using her FPs. After the ride we took a few pictures.





And my wave to the masses





She stopped for a cinnamon roll at the writer's stop.





Then we checked out Watto's Grotto. She found a couple things she wanted there and tried to pay with her magic band to use up the credit we would be receiving,  however neither of us seemed to know the correct PIN, which is odd since we use the same 2 or 3 PINs.

We still had a little more time before our next FP+ so next we headed to the Launch Bay to check out the cool stuff they had there.





They had some cool exhibit rooms. There was a 10 minute movie about the making of Star Wars that we skipped.  I figured that they had it at our Launch Bay and didn’t want to waste precious time doing something in Florida that I could also do at home.  Turns out I was right and we watched it on another day visit to the park about a month ago, but you can read all about that when I post it in my Sharing TR.  It’s actually not that exciting to read about seeing a movie, so back to some of the cool props and costumes that they had on display. There were a limited number from Episode 7, and a whole bunch from the previous episodes.


























































*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

They had a replica of the Cantina complete with Jawas walking around.

















Then they had a room with stuff from Star Wars The Force Awakens.









Flametrooper.









Kylo Ren’s Light Saber





























Resistance X-Wing





Jakky Landspeeder





Han Solo Heavy Blaster Pistol





They called this a “Hero Lightsaber” but I think it was Luke’s





Poe Dameron Helmet





Stormtrooper costume, if you have an extra $1800 laying around





Of course the exhibit spilled out into a gift shop. Some of you might remember when we went to SWW two years ago that Fran got herself a lightsaber lamp with the Empire Logo on it.  It’s next to her side of the bed.  Well we saw that they also have Resistance logo lamps as well.  I decided we should have matching lamps, but one Empire and one Resistance.  We didn’t buy it this day as we have our own Star Wars Launch Bay, we also get a 20% discount and wouldn’t have to pay shipping. I went to ride ToT with my FP while Fran checked out the store. Dangerous I know.

I definitely don't know where the cameras are at WDW, but no matter they have made it impossible to take redneck photos, so the only way you get them now is if you have Memory Maker. Maybe we'll get it on our trip with Naked Jim. 

In the ToT gift shop, I found a shirt I liked and just as I was getting ready to head to RnRC Fran showed up and I pointed it out to her to buy for me.

When I walked up there was a 40 minute wait time. I went for the Single Rider line and noted the time at 11:15. At 11:40 I was given a spot in my limo, so the line paid off. I was scared because they had signs everywhere stating that wait times could be as long as standby. Again, I tried to take the picture, and even though I was able to shoot it with my cell phone, the picture that came up was not my car and was skewed.

After that Fran and I took off for our last FP of the day TSMM.  While the rides on each coast are identical, I have to say that the queue in this park is far superior.  It’s really fun and whimsical. I understand that they are going with a Boardwalk arcade feeling in DCA, but it’s not nearly as interesting as this one.





















Always the Beaver. 





I never had this happen though!  Best in Vehicle!  Woo hooo.  Either there was no one else in the car, or they must REALLY suck!






*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*





















By this time the park was really filling up, besides we had a lunch reservation to make.  Here are some photos on our way out of the park.  I remembered to get a photo without the Hat!





And then some more of the Christmas decorations on the way out.

















We opted to take the path to the Epcot resorts rather than ride the Friendship boat. We made good time but later we would realize it was at a cost.










Next up, Resorts, lunch and more resorts!


----------



## Mrs Doubtfire

I too enjoy the walk from the Studios to the BW area or Epcot it is a lovely walk.

I know I'm late to the party but perhaps I need some background on naked Jim as the name is certainly intriguing!

Also the manager was quick on the refund with the laundry, I hope it compensated you both sufficiently


----------



## Flossbolna

I absolutely love the view of the Chinese Theater!! I can't wait to get to see it!

I know I have not been commenting a lot, but I have been reading along and really loved your report. What a shock about them wanting to transfer you to OKW!! I know how I talked you into SSR a little bit way back when you were planning the trip. 

I love the look of the SSR one bedrooms. The studio we had seemed rather a bit bland, but the one bedroom looks lovely! I know that there is currently a lot of discussion about how the newly refurbished DVC rooms all look very generic. I actually like most of the new designs. I never liked that style of crazy patterns everywhere. In fact that was one of the reasons that kept me from buying DVC for a couple of years. But I understand that tastes are different for everyone.


----------



## dhorner233

I wish I could get more excited about the Star Wars stuff. It's all gray, black, white and metal to me. 

I agree about the Toy Story queue. Much more fun in DW!

It looks more like Hollywood when you are coming into HS without the hat.


----------



## PrincessInOz

There's a lot of focus on Star Wars at Disney now, isn't there?  I don't know if it is overkill or what...but I guess there are a heap of star wars geeks like me that just can't seem to get enough.  But i agree with @dhorner233 - that display just seems black, white and green.

Looks like a good day at DHS.  Nice to see the path and I hope you and Fran weren't too tired out from it.


----------



## jedijill

It's bad enough the washer wasn't working but to stain your clothes is awful!  I'm glad the manager gave you a credit...I'm hoping you managed to get the stains out! 

I screwed up our FP's for our October trip with my brother and family.  I didn't realize my SIL hadn't linked anyone to me other than myself so when I changed times, I only changed the two of us...thank goodness we figured it out a few minutes later!

I love the Star Wars stuff but I hope Disney doesn't over do it.  Sadly, I'm sure they will.  Oh well, I'm enjoying it for now!

Jill in CO


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> I'm always on fire!



 Yes you are!!



franandaj said:


> Oh come on, don't sell yourself short, of course you're famous! You have a harem!



This is true.
And while they are exceptionally beautiful, they are small in number.



franandaj said:


> I realized that where you live, there probably aren't Farmer's Markets, at least year round.



Not year round, no.



franandaj said:


> People probably don't even grown things with all that snow. Huh? Never thought of that.



Nope. No growing in winter.
In summer, though... Uh.... Just looked up wheat as an example.
We export about 15 million tonnes of the 25 million we grow.



franandaj said:


> I woke up sometime in the middle of the night to the washer still in it's wash cycle. Definitely a problem.



Just think how clean those clothes will be!!



franandaj said:


> but as I picked up the items I noticed brown splotches all over them. What??????



... or not. Bummer.



franandaj said:


> Fran said I should have told her and she would have set an alarm, but waking her at 3AM when I figured out the hours would not have been fun.



But it _would_ have been interesting.



franandaj said:


> We called one more time and they said we didn't need to be there for maintenance. The previous operator had not verified my cell number so we weren't sure if we had to stick around, but this operator verified the cell and said the housekeeping manager would call the cell, so off to DHS we went.



Nice that at least you didn't have to wait around.



franandaj said:


> While at the bus stop the manager called, long and short he was crediting our account $100 for the damaged items.



While that's nice, I would rather not have to go shopping while I'm trying to park tour.



franandaj said:


> Isn’t this view nice without the bloody hat?



Yes!!!!



franandaj said:


> so for the first two days I originally only booked FPs for Fran



Whoops!



franandaj said:


> I couldn't match our times for this day so I staggered them by 15 minutes.



Nice save.



franandaj said:


>



Oh, man... You look mean!!! 

Don't cross _this_ jedi!



franandaj said:


> And my wave to the masses



Nicely done. Always try to appease the common folk.



franandaj said:


> She stopped for a cinnamon roll at the writer's stop.



No carrot cake cookie?



franandaj said:


> so back to some of the cool props and costumes that they had on display. There were a limited number from Episode 7, and a whole bunch from the previous episodes.



Those props/costumes are great!



franandaj said:


> They had a replica of the Cantina complete with Jawas walking around.



No way! That's awesome!



franandaj said:


> Kylo Ren’s Light Saber



I never did quite figure out the advantage of that.
Seemed it would just make it more likely to cut your own hand off.



franandaj said:


> Han Solo Heavy Blaster Pistol



Very touchy trigger. Occasionally shoots first.



franandaj said:


> Stormtrooper costume, if you have an extra $1800 laying around



Hang on, lemme check... nope.



franandaj said:


> Of course the exhibit spilled out into a gift shop



No! 



franandaj said:


> I decided we should have matching lamps, but one Empire and one Resistance.



I like that!



franandaj said:


> Again, I tried to take the picture, and even though I was able to shoot it with my cell phone, the picture that came up was not my car and was skewed.



Darn. I would've liked to have seen what you look like on it.



franandaj said:


> After that Fran and I took off for our last FP of the day TSMM. While the rides on each coast are identical, I have to say that the queue in this park is far superior. It’s really fun and whimsical. I understand that they are going with a Boardwalk arcade feeling in DCA, but it’s not nearly as interesting as this one.



Huh. I'm so used to hearing the opposite remark.



franandaj said:


> I never had this happen though! Best in Vehicle! Woo hooo. Either there was no one else in the car, or they must REALLY suck!







franandaj said:


> We made good time but later we would realize it was at a cost.



Uh, oh. Sore feet? Dead battery? Both?


----------



## afwdwfan

franandaj said:


> While at the bus stop the manager called, long and short he was crediting our account $100 for the damaged items. While on the phone, the bus pulled up, boarded us and we were on our way. I’m not sure how long we waited because I was talking on the phone and couldn’t keep track of time.


That stinks.  I'm glad that they made an effort to make it right, but that's really frustrating.  Hopefully they fixed it and you were able to get the stains out. 



franandaj said:


> Isn’t this view nice without the bloody hat?


  



franandaj said:


> I made a mistake when I booked our FPs back when. I thought that the person booking was automatically included in the selection so for the first two days I originally only booked FPs for Fran. By the time I realized that I hadn't booked them for myself, I couldn't match our times for this day so I staggered them by 15 minutes.


  I'm glad you could at least make it work. 



franandaj said:


> She stopped for a cinnamon roll at the writer's stop.


That looks really good. 



franandaj said:


> Of course the exhibit spilled out into a gift shop. Some of you might remember when we went to SWW two years ago that Fran got herself a lightsaber lamp with the Empire Logo on it. It’s next to her side of the bed. Well we saw that they also have Resistance logo lamps as well. I decided we should have matching lamps, but one Empire and one Resistance. We didn’t buy it this day as we have our own Star Wars Launch Bay, we also get a 20% discount and wouldn’t have to pay shipping.


Cool!  I guess I missed those lamps, although I wasn't really examining everything in the store.  I saw prices on a few things and figured I didn't really need to spend much time in there.  



franandaj said:


> I went to ride ToT with my FP while Fran checked out the store. Dangerous I know.


 How many stormtrooper costumes do you have now? 



franandaj said:


> After that Fran and I took off for our last FP of the day TSMM. While the rides on each coast are identical, I have to say that the queue in this park is far superior. It’s really fun and whimsical. I understand that they are going with a Boardwalk arcade feeling in DCA, but it’s not nearly as interesting as this one.


I completely agree.  And it is in the A/C.  Which is nice. 



franandaj said:


> I never had this happen though! Best in Vehicle! Woo hooo. Either there was no one else in the car, or they must REALLY suck!






franandaj said:


> We opted to take the path to the Epcot resorts rather than ride the Friendship boat. We made good time but later we would realize it was at a cost.


Uh oh... did they deliver a partially charged scooter?


----------



## rentayenta

Holy moly on the resort issues. Glad the room issues got settled but I am anxiously awaiting what happened with the stained clothes. That would infuriate me. 

We love Marrakesh. It's a total hidden gem in my opnion. 

Your report is making me want to get back to WDW. It's been ages.


----------



## dolphingirl47

franandaj said:


> It is actually easier to use since they are now just images on the drive and you don't have to install the CD software.



This sounds promising. Having to install the software every time was a pain.



franandaj said:


> As it is the Mississippi one will be only partially finished when I start on the Naked Jim one! And then both need to be wrapped up by July 1 when we leave for Vancouver!  PLUS we need to clean out the old place!!!!




This sounds very familiar. I still have a good chunk to go on the the coast to coast trip report. I am actually typing this in Warwick, where I am currently on one of my mini trips. So I will do a report on this and I have two more mini trips this side of Easter. Then I have the report for my Arabian Gulf cruise to do and I am hoping to have the whole lot finished before we leave for our next big trip in May.

What a pain with the washing machine. It was good of them to compensate you so swiftly, but I have the feeling that money cannot replace everything.

The Star Wars Launch Bay looks really neat and it looks like you got a good amount of rides done.

Corinna


----------



## IowaTater

Your riverboat cruise seems like so much fun!  I can't wait to hear all about it. 

I spied your bag of chocolate and you still had a lot left!  And it was the good stuff too!  Do you guys hand them out at the parks as well?

That stinks that you had such an issue with your room.  I do love SSR's kitchens.  They look so warm & inviting.  I do have to ask...it looks like there are windows next to the jacuzzi tub....is that right??

I have to admit, that view straight to the Chinese Theater is pretty nice.  

I'm so excited to see all the Star Wars additions and I know DH will love it.  I've been keeping the details from him so he'll be surprised.

Hope things are working in your favor for the apartment construction.  I can't even imagine how much of a headache it is.


----------



## franandaj

Mrs Doubtfire said:


> I too enjoy the walk from the Studios to the BW area or Epcot it is a lovely walk.



And sometimes it's a lot faster than waiting for the boats!



Mrs Doubtfire said:


> I know I'm late to the party but perhaps I need some background on naked Jim as the name is certainly intriguing!



The story comes from our 2013 Wonder Cruise trip, but you would have to hunt for it in that trip report. If you click on the link in my signature "Sharing the Disney Magic..." I reposted the story as part of the original introduction to the TR. It was going to be a TR about taking our friend to WDW until Fran fell and broke her leg. Now it's just an ongoing chronicle of my DIS friends coming to DL and I go out there and meet up for the day, as well as my own day trips.



Mrs Doubtfire said:


> Also the manager was quick on the refund with the laundry, I hope it compensated you both sufficiently



Considering most of the load was socks and underwear, it probably did amount to much the WDI T-shirt was the most expensive thing in there.



Flossbolna said:


> I absolutely love the view of the Chinese Theater!! I can't wait to get to see it!



I hope you have it in your plans sometime soon!



Flossbolna said:


> I know I have not been commenting a lot, but I have been reading along and really loved your report. What a shock about them wanting to transfer you to OKW!! I know how I talked you into SSR a little bit way back when you were planning the trip.



And thank you for doing that! It really made things very convenient as we did a lot of dining at DTD and came back to our villa from quite a few resorts as opposed to from parks.



Flossbolna said:


> I love the look of the SSR one bedrooms. The studio we had seemed rather a bit bland, but the one bedroom looks lovely! I know that there is currently a lot of discussion about how the newly refurbished DVC rooms all look very generic. I actually like most of the new designs. I never liked that style of crazy patterns everywhere. In fact that was one of the reasons that kept me from buying DVC for a couple of years. But I understand that tastes are different for everyone.



I haven't heard that, but I don't mind bland. I find the rooms refreshing and once our stuff is scattered all over the room, it has that homey feel for us!



dhorner233 said:


> wish I could get more excited about the Star Wars stuff. It's all gray, black, white and metal to me.



That could be my pictures too. But you mentioned you don't even like the movies. I find the detail fascinating. 



dhorner233 said:


> I agree about the Toy Story queue. Much more fun in DW!







dhorner233 said:


> It looks more like Hollywood when you are coming into HS without the hat.



Except that the Chinese Theater isn't loacted at a "T" intersection,  but other than that small detail.


----------



## EJ4Disney

I am loving your report!!  I love the way you and Fran travel. 
I agree that last morning on the ship is brutal.  The people that all week have been so nice, all of a sudden have nothing to say and want you out of the room and off the ship pronto!!
I can't wait for more.


----------



## franandaj

PrincessInOz said:


> There's a lot of focus on Star Wars at Disney now, isn't there? I don't know if it is overkill or what...but I guess there are a heap of star wars geeks like me that just can't seem to get enough. But i agree with @dhorner233 - that display just seems black, white and green.



There was orange as well...but yes there is a lot of Star Wars going on right now.  I guess until Finding Dory comes out or something else to hype about they're going to capitalize on that.



PrincessInOz said:


> Looks like a good day at DHS. Nice to see the path and I hope you and Fran weren't too tired out from it.



It's hard work riding those scooters down the path!  



jedijill said:


> It's bad enough the washer wasn't working but to stain your clothes is awful! I'm glad the manager gave you a credit...I'm hoping you managed to get the stains out!



Well, no.  I just have a bunch of underwear that looks dirty. The stains on the WDI shirt are in places that they aren't obvious, but it really sucks.  I guess I'll have to find someone to get me back in to Mickey's of Glendale to get a replacement.



jedijill said:


> I screwed up our FP's for our October trip with my brother and family. I didn't realize my SIL hadn't linked anyone to me other than myself so when I changed times, I only changed the two of us...thank goodness we figured it out a few minutes later!



I'm getting worried about our upcoming trip, only three of us have passes and I don't see Jim doing anything to get Alberto a pass, so I might not be able to make reservations for him.



jedijill said:


> I love the Star Wars stuff but I hope Disney doesn't over do it. Sadly, I'm sure they will. Oh well, I'm enjoying it for now!



I have a feeling that the lands will be really cool, I've heard some stuff about what the Cantina will be like and it should be pretty neat.



pkondz said:


> Nope. No growing in winter.
> In summer, though... Uh.... Just looked up wheat as an example.
> We export about 15 million tonnes of the 25 million we grow.



It must be a quick growing season!



pkondz said:


> Just think how clean those clothes will be!!





pkondz said:


> ... or not. Bummer.



Or not.



pkondz said:


> But it _would_ have been interesting.



Nah.  I talk to her in her sleep all the time.  We have full conversations and she doesn't even remember.



pkondz said:


> Nice that at least you didn't have to wait around.



Especially when I had plans!



pkondz said:


> While that's nice, I would rather not have to go shopping while I'm trying to park tour.



Oh, no worries, I thought that I would put a $6 charge on the room so that I could help spend the $100, little did I know that Fran had already put $180 in pins on the room charge.  



pkondz said:


> Yes!!!!



I wonder why it took them that long to figure it out!



pkondz said:


> Whoops!
> 
> Nice save.



It worked out pretty well for us.



pkondz said:


> Oh, man... You look mean!!!
> 
> Don't cross _this_ jedi!



  



pkondz said:


> Nicely done. Always try to appease the common folk.



Fran always says, "Keep the peasants happy so they don't riot and storm the castle."



pkondz said:


> No carrot cake cookie?



She says that she can always get carrot cake, but it's hard to find a good cinnamon roll and this looked like one.



pkondz said:


> Those props/costumes are great!



I always like to look at the attention to detail, especially on the models.



pkondz said:


> No way! That's awesome!



The jawas were really popular, people were waiting a long time to get their pictures taken with them.



pkondz said:


> I never did quite figure out the advantage of that.
> Seemed it would just make it more likely to cut your own hand off.



Yeah, cause the side sabers weren't long enough to do anything besides that.  I guess they just thought it looked cool.



pkondz said:


> Very touchy trigger. Occasionally shoots first.







pkondz said:


> Hang on, lemme check... nope.



Aw, C'mon, it would be so cool!



pkondz said:


> I like that!



And it's better than my old nightstand lamp!



pkondz said:


> Darn. I would've liked to have seen what you look like on it.



You would have loved one of my DL photos from my December trip, I was channeling you and Kay on CA Screamin'.  Since you're not reading on that TR, I'll go ahead and post it here.







pkondz said:


> Huh. I'm so used to hearing the opposite remark.



Really about TSMM?  I mean DL's counterparts are far superior on almost all fronts with the exception of ToT.  WDW's is much better on that one, but the queue for TSMM in DCA is just kind of Blah.



pkondz said:


> Uh, oh. Sore feet? Dead battery? Both?



Hang on, you're about to find out.



afwdwfan said:


> That stinks. I'm glad that they made an effort to make it right, but that's really frustrating. Hopefully they fixed it and you were able to get the stains out.



I think the answer is coming up soon....



afwdwfan said:


>



Everyone seems to like it better without the hat!



afwdwfan said:


> I'm glad you could at least make it work.



It actually worked out better, since Fran didn't want to ride Star Tours.  What I should have done was make her a ToT, and me an RnRC FP+ and then use each of them.  Not a bad idea for May.



afwdwfan said:


> That looks really good.



She is a connoisseur of Cinnamon Rolls!



afwdwfan said:


> Cool! I guess I missed those lamps, although I wasn't really examining everything in the store. I saw prices on a few things and figured I didn't really need to spend much time in there.



If you're looking a prices at Disney, you pretty much won't buy anything.  That's why we waited until we were home and get our 20% discount!



afwdwfan said:


> How many stormtrooper costumes do you have now?



At least she knew not to buy that!  Though she did ask me if we had a place to put it!  



afwdwfan said:


> I completely agree. And it is in the A/C. Which is nice.



Weren't you the one pointing out how almost all of DLs queues are NOT in the inside in the AC?



afwdwfan said:


> Uh oh... did they deliver a partially charged scooter?



I think even worse, a scooter with an old battery that wouldn't hold a charge for very long.



rentayenta said:


> Holy moly on the resort issues. Glad the room issues got settled but I am anxiously awaiting what happened with the stained clothes. That would infuriate me.



Hopefully that's coming up soon.....



rentayenta said:


> We love Marrakesh. It's a total hidden gem in my opnion.



I'll definitely keep it on my list, especially if we find ourselves hungry without an ADR.



rentayenta said:


> Your report is making me want to get back to WDW. It's been ages.



Yeah, you haven't been since my first canceled trip.  Move first, then go.


----------



## franandaj

dolphingirl47 said:


> This sounds promising. Having to install the software every time was a pain.



It was.  I had forgotten about that until I did my Wonder TR and had to reinstall the software to view the pictures.



dolphingirl47 said:


> This sounds very familiar. I still have a good chunk to go on the the coast to coast trip report. I am actually typing this in Warwick, where I am currently on one of my mini trips. So I will do a report on this and I have two more mini trips this side of Easter. Then I have the report for my Arabian Gulf cruise to do and I am hoping to have the whole lot finished before we leave for our next big trip in May.



We sound really spoiled don't we!  



dolphingirl47 said:


> What a pain with the washing machine. It was good of them to compensate you so swiftly, but I have the feeling that money cannot replace everything.



I still grumble when I see those stained undies.



dolphingirl47 said:


> The Star Wars Launch Bay looks really neat and it looks like you got a good amount of rides done.



Since I'm not a total ride junkie, I kind of like the whole FP+ system.  I think I will plan them in the future not that Fran and I ride together but that I can use hers for different rides, or to go twice on the ones I like.



IowaTater said:


> Your riverboat cruise seems like so much fun! I can't wait to hear all about it.



That's why I'm trying to plow through this one so quickly!  I don't want to have to wait to write about the Riverboat Cruise when it finally happens.



IowaTater said:


> I spied your bag of chocolate and you still had a lot left! And it was the good stuff too! Do you guys hand them out at the parks as well?



We bought like four bags of the Ghiradelli squares at Costco, we didn't hand them out at the parks because CMs can get their own candy when they don't live on the ship. Most of that bag came home with us, at least what we didn't eat in the room.



IowaTater said:


> That stinks that you had such an issue with your room. I do love SSR's kitchens. They look so warm & inviting. I do have to ask...it looks like there are windows next to the jacuzzi tub....is that right??



Those are shutter windows that open to the bedroom area.  That way I can watch the TV and read the captions while I'm in the tub.



IowaTater said:


> I have to admit, that view straight to the Chinese Theater is pretty nice.



It really seems like everyone likes it better this way.



IowaTater said:


> I'm so excited to see all the Star Wars additions and I know DH will love it. I've been keeping the details from him so he'll be surprised.



I hope they keep them around until the official land opens, but I hope that they rotate them since I get there fairly often.



IowaTater said:


> Hope things are working in your favor for the apartment construction. I can't even imagine how much of a headache it is.



Well we aren't even to the point of construction, but we did take two more loads of the Disney stuff to storage today, so most of the Disney boxes have been removed, and almost all the others have as well.  There's probably about 20-30 boxes left from the 200 or so that we took down from the attic.  We have even started shredding the taxes stuff that is older than 7 years!  So it's progress, but it is really slow.  At least some of our friends have started taking some of our furniture off our hands as well.



EJ4Disney said:


> I am loving your report!!  I love the way you and Fran travel.
> I agree that last morning on the ship is brutal.  The people that all week have been so nice, all of a sudden have nothing to say and want you out of the room and off the ship pronto!!
> I can't wait for more.



I'm glad you are enjoying the report!  It is amazing after all week they have been so great about serving you and it's not that they become mean or don't serve you, but they do have a change of attitude.  I did think that the CMs on the Wonder were a little bit nicer than on the Dream.  Since they only do short cruises, they are used to changing really often.


----------



## franandaj

So as we left off, we had decided to scoot on over to the Epcot resorts rather than take the Friendship boats.

We went to the Boardwalk first to check out their decorations.  

















































We even bought a Gingerbread cupcake for later. 





I couldn’t convince Fran to get in this photo op with me.









I was bummed this wedding party was monopolizing the fireplace and the freaky chairs. But I made the best of it. 





























Then we went to the gift shop where Fran found one of the DVC Hawaiian shirts in her size. I also got a DVC tank top, and then we headed out for our ADR. 





Then it was off to lunch. 

We approached the Beach Club









On our way to the Beach Club Fran's battery indicator started to dip dangerously low. We switched scooters since hers would carry me more easily and hopefully make it to the restaurant where we hoped we could charge. 


*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

We made it and they let us plug in outside. Here we were finally at Beaches and Cream!





















This place really is small! 













We split a Reuben and an order of onion rings. 









And then we got the Mudslide also to split.





We did good huh?





They let us leave the scooters charging while we went up to the lobby to take pictures of the decorations. 





























I just love all these little detailed touches on the trees!





















Then we unplugged our scooters and headed over to the Yacht Club.














*[Continued in Two Posts]*


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> It must be a quick growing season!


 
Three days!



franandaj said:


> Nah. I talk to her in her sleep all the time. We have full conversations and she doesn't even remember.


 




franandaj said:


> Oh, no worries, I thought that I would put a $6 charge on the room so that I could help spend the $100, little did I know that Fran had already put $180 in pins on the room charge.


 
 Surprise!



franandaj said:


> Fran always says, "Keep the peasants happy so they don't riot and storm the castle."


 




franandaj said:


> She says that she can always get carrot cake, but it's hard to find a good cinnamon roll and this looked like one.


 
I suppose. I _still_ haven't had a carrot cake cookie there.
Been too full!



franandaj said:


> I always like to look at the attention to detail, especially on the models.


 
Me too! Especially Sports Illustrated and Victoria's Secret models.



franandaj said:


> The jawas were really popular, people were waiting a long time to get their pictures taken with them.


 
This surprises me not at all.



franandaj said:


> You would have loved one of my DL photos from my December trip, I was channeling you and Kay on CA Screamin'. Since you're not reading on that TR, I'll go ahead and post it here.


 
 Awesome!! 



franandaj said:


> Really about TSMM? I mean DL's counterparts are far superior on almost all fronts with the exception of ToT. WDW's is much better on that one, but the queue for TSMM in DCA is just kind of Blah.


 
No I meant about other rides.
I seem to usually hear "But it's better in DL."

Back to read the update later.


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

They had the coolest display IMHO. 

















This Funicular even worked!









Check out all the characters and other touches in this Village.





































































After that we visited the gift shop and I got these spiffy earrings. They only had one pair of each, and since they were affordable enough, Fran always likes to get me two pair in case I lose one. Then I still have two more to lose, so we were on the lookout for a second pair.





We caught the bus back to Disney Springs. Fran called the scooter company while we were on the bus and explained (on their voice mail) that there was obviously a problem with the battery on the scooter, that it must be old and unable to hold a full charge and  that we would like to me arrangements to trade it in on a unit that works better. 





Driving by our resort on the way to Disney Springs.





On our way back to Saratoga Springs.





Fran was having restaurant envy that we weren’t eating here this trip.  I have booked it into our next trip, especially since it will be closing down for months during the middle of our trip in May.









When we got back we thought the maintenance guy had taken our ruined clothes, but instead he put them in the dryer and dried them to further cement the damage so that I could not remove the stains. I did make another attempt at trying to get the stains out of my Imagineering shirt. Stains in the underwear were annoying, but since I'm about the only one who sees them it's OK.

Fran took a nap. I checked the DIS. I worked on my Wonder Cruise TR and posted another update, plus I caught up on some other folks TRs. 


Next up: Dinner and the start to our new day.


----------



## DVCjj

Love your entire trip report as usual.  Always my favorite.  Your Yacht Club pictures gave me pangs.  I own at BCV but love YC (have only stayed here twice) because it's so peaceful and 'adult-like'.  Also, I have purchased Crislu jewelry for my daughter at the YC.  Yours are very pretty.

I smiled when you said Fran buys you duplicate of earrings.  I also do the same thing for some of the Disney earrings for the same reason.  Especially since Disney has a tendency to eliminate some of my favorites....and I've lost one.


----------



## PrincessInOz

*sigh*  Really wish I were there right now.  Or at the least....have a trip in the works to go see Christmas at WDW.


----------



## Dis_Yoda

Love all the Christmas decorations at the EPCOT resorts!  Disney really does make someone feel that Christmas Spirit!  The Yacht Club display looks awesome.  I can totally see why that is your favorite!  

Sorry the maintenance guy dried your clothes   I'm glad they did give you the room credit!


----------



## mvf-m11c

You had a nice day at DHS even though you didn't get there during EMH. There were some different props at the DHS Launch Bay compared to DL version. It was neat to see Launch Bay different from DL. The holiday season is so nice to see and you had a nice score on TSMM.

The Boardwalk, Yacht & Beach have one of the nicest Christmas decorations at WDW hotels during the holiday season from my experience.


----------



## Steppesister

I think my favorite part of the pictures was the little snow village. I am a total sucker for model train villages and will stand by that cute little one in the German Pavilion for hours! What an incredible amount of detail in there! And I agree, the little details on the trees were amazing! The fish and starfish ornaments are my favorite. Especially in the blue and purple/pink color scheme. I didn't know Fultons was closing. Wonder if it'll be open for my trip? I don't have plans right now to go, but I've always wanted to. Hmmm?


----------



## dolphingirl47

franandaj said:


> We sound really spoiled don't we!



I suppose we do. However, at the moment I am working 7 days in a row, then I have a day off next Sunday before working another 6. So I suppose if I work hard, I have deserved to enjoy myself when I have some time off as well.



franandaj said:


> Then we went to the gift shop where Fran found one of the DVC Hawaiian shirts in her size.



I got this for Graham for his birthday and he loves it.

It was nice to see all the Christmas decorations. The decorations at the Bordwalk have changed quite a bit. The ones at the Beach and Yacht Club are the same as I remember them. Lunch looked lovely, but what a pain about the scooters.

Corinna


----------



## dhorner233

Loved your update! I am putting Beaches and Cream on my list for my next trip! 

Love all the Christmas decorations! So beautiful and I love the way they work in little touches like the sail boats at the Yacht Club and the carrousel animals at the Boardwalk. 

That carousel at the Boardwalk, was it edible? Were the horses? 

And the little train village was the best! Love the way they worked in so many Disney characters! 

Pretty earrings! That's smart to get two pair!


----------



## orangecats2

That sucks about your clothes!
I love the train set up! Especially all the details.
I'd love to stay in that area someday. Doubt I'll get to unless I get DVC though. Although at this point I just want to go to Disney anywhere since I haven't been for so long!


----------



## franandaj

DVCjj said:


> Love your entire trip report as usual. Always my favorite. Your Yacht Club pictures gave me pangs. I own at BCV but love YC (have only stayed here twice) because it's so peaceful and 'adult-like'. Also, I have purchased Crislu jewelry for my daughter at the YC. Yours are very pretty.



I own at BCV, we are back there again in October. We haven't stayed there since 2013 so that will be nice to be back there during F&W.  I don't even pay attention to the makers of the jewelry, but normally I buy stuff from the Dream Collection.  They are always at D23 and even remember me because I always buy their "new" pieces.  Thank you, I've been wearing those a lot lately.  I just recently changed to my "Frozen" earrings that I got at the studios in November.



DVCjj said:


> I smiled when you said Fran buys you duplicate of earrings. I also do the same thing for some of the Disney earrings for the same reason. Especially since Disney has a tendency to eliminate some of my favorites....and I've lost one.



I'm glad to hear that others do it too.  It makes sense since they discontinue items when they run out of stock, you can't get replacements.  I have a lot spaces where I can wear just one earring, but mostly posts.  Danglies don't work so well higher up the ear.



PrincessInOz said:


> *sigh*  Really wish I were there right now.  Or at the least....have a trip in the works to go see Christmas at WDW.



I wish you had a trip in the works now too!  



Dis_Yoda said:


> Love all the Christmas decorations at the EPCOT resorts! Disney really does make someone feel that Christmas Spirit! The Yacht Club display looks awesome. I can totally see why that is your favorite!



I totally loved the little village idea and the fact that they incorporated all the Disney characters made it even more cool!



Dis_Yoda said:


> Sorry the maintenance guy dried your clothes  I'm glad they did give you the room credit!



Yeah that kind of sucked.  I was thinking that if I could have soaked them a few more times they wouldn't have looked like they were all dirty.  Every time I see them I get all 



mvf-m11c said:


> You had a nice day at DHS even though you didn't get there during EMH. There were some different props at the DHS Launch Bay compared to DL version. It was neat to see Launch Bay different from DL. The holiday season is so nice to see and you had a nice score on TSMM.



We did get a lot done that morning.  As much as people bash FP+ it kind of works for us since we aren't park commandos.  Especially since Fran lets me use hers most of the time.



mvf-m11c said:


> The Boardwalk, Yacht & Beach have one of the nicest Christmas decorations at WDW hotels during the holiday season from my experience.



They were definitely nice, but I also like the Grand Floridian. We didn't get to WL or AKL so I don't know about those two.



Steppesister said:


> I think my favorite part of the pictures was the little snow village. I am a total sucker for model train villages and will stand by that cute little one in the German Pavilion for hours! What an incredible amount of detail in there! And I agree, the little details on the trees were amazing! The fish and starfish ornaments are my favorite. Especially in the blue and purple/pink color scheme. I didn't know Fultons was closing. Wonder if it'll be open for my trip? I don't have plans right now to go, but I've always wanted to. Hmmm?



I loved all the details in the decorations and how they vary from resort to resort.  I saw these details on another's TR (now no longer on the DIS) and that made me really want to tour the resorts. Plus I think Corinna did a Christmas trip which made me want to go during this time.

No, Fulton's will not be open during your trip unless they are way ahead of schedule.  The rennovations are supposed to go all the way through December.  What is weird is that I have a lunch reservation there for the 5th of May and reports say that they are closing on the 1st or 2nd of May.  I made one on the 29th for dinner just in case.



dolphingirl47 said:


> I suppose we do. However, at the moment I am working 7 days in a row, then I have a day off next Sunday before working another 6. So I suppose if I work hard, I have deserved to enjoy myself when I have some time off as well.



Well you work a lot harder than I do. We did work for a few hours yesterday.  Two loads of Disney boxes went to New Storage yesterday, and on Friday a load of boxes went to old storage.  But today I have just sat around watching TV and updating on the DIS.  



dolphingirl47 said:


> I got this for Graham for his birthday and he loves it.
> 
> It was nice to see all the Christmas decorations. The decorations at the Bordwalk have changed quite a bit. The ones at the Beach and Yacht Club are the same as I remember them. Lunch looked lovely, but what a pain about the scooters.



I'm glad he likes the shirt, I hung hers up in the closet and it's stayed there ever since.

The lunch was really good!  We especially liked the Sundae!  But the Reuben was really good too.  I had my first one since then just the other night as I was totally craving one.


----------



## dolphingirl47

franandaj said:


> But today I have just sat around watching TV and updating on the DIS.



Sometimes days like this are needed. I had a very similar day on Saturday.

Corinna


----------



## afwdwfan

franandaj said:


> It actually worked out better, since Fran didn't want to ride Star Tours. What I should have done was make her a ToT, and me an RnRC FP+ and then use each of them. Not a bad idea for May.


As long as you aren't planning to ride Toy Story too... don't forget that you can't get both RnRC and TSMM FP+. 



franandaj said:


> She is a connoisseur of Cinnamon Rolls!


I can relate.  



franandaj said:


> If you're looking a prices at Disney, you pretty much won't buy anything.


True.  But there's a pretty big difference between a $70 sweatshirt and a $5000 Star Wars prop that gave me sticker shock in this store.  



franandaj said:


> Weren't you the one pointing out how almost all of DLs queues are NOT in the inside in the AC?






franandaj said:


> I think even worse, a scooter with an old battery that wouldn't hold a charge for very long.


Oh no...



franandaj said:


> I was bummed this wedding party was monopolizing the fireplace and the freaky chairs. But I made the best of it.


Nicely done.  That guy with the camera looks like he's giving you the death stare. 



franandaj said:


> We made it and they let us plug in outside. Here we were finally at Beaches and Cream!


Woohoo!!!  Looks like a fantastic meal. 



franandaj said:


> They had the coolest display IMHO.


That is really an awesome train set.  I like the one in Germany, but the detail in this one looks like it blows the Germany train set away! 



franandaj said:


> When we got back we thought the maintenance guy had taken our ruined clothes, but instead he put them in the dryer and dried them to further cement the damage so that I could not remove the stains.


  That's too bad.  I guess they were trying to help.  Unfortunately...


----------



## jedijill

I love the Christmas decorations!  Lunch at B&C is really good too!

I can't believe that guy dried your clothes!  Argh!  I know he was probably trying to be nice but jeez!

Hope the scooter issue got resolved.

Jill in CO


----------



## dizneeat

*Finally all caught up again.  I needed a few non DIS days - as Disney is really getting to me at the moment (well, at least their non working website)

Love, love, love all the photos at Christmas. So many great memories - thanks for reminding me. I needed that.

So you went to B&C!  We love it there - and SO happy you can make an ADR there now. Did someone order a Kitchen Sink while you were there? Perfect size sundae. 

Now, those earrings look great and how nice of Fran to get you a second pair in case you loose one. 

Now, the maintenance person who put your washing in the dryer to preserve the stains, really sucks. 


Alison, did I ever send you that PM with our dates in CA? I remember starting it, but cannot find a copy of it anywhere. If I did not send it, please let me know and I promise to send them out right away. *


----------



## IowaTater

franandaj said:


> Those are shutter windows that open to the bedroom area. That way I can watch the TV and read the captions while I'm in the tub.



That makes much more sense than what I was picturing.  For some reason, I thought they were windows to the outside.  lol

I love the miniature train set.  All the details are so cute.


----------



## franandaj

dhorner233 said:


> Loved your update! I am putting Beaches and Cream on my list for my next trip!



I've been wanting to try it for a long time.  It was a great and different option to our normal fancy food. We eat at places like that here at home, well without the yummy giant sundaes!



dhorner233 said:


> Love all the Christmas decorations! So beautiful and I love the way they work in little touches like the sail boats at the Yacht Club and the carrousel animals at the Boardwalk.
> 
> That carousel at the Boardwalk, was it edible? Were the horses?



Just wait until the next day, I really loved the decorations and how they were appropriate to the specific resort.  Technically everything was made from edible substances, well except for the moving parts.



dhorner233 said:


> And the little train village was the best! Love the way they worked in so many Disney characters!



That made it my favorite of all the displays.  At first I didn't notice them, and then all of a sudden they were everywhere!



dhorner233 said:


> Pretty earrings! That's smart to get two pair!



Thanks! I really like them and I'm still wearing the posts, I have to keep switching out the dangly ones just for kicks.



orangecats2 said:


> That sucks about your clothes!



I know, even if it was mostly underwear, it still makes me mad when I see them.



orangecats2 said:


> I love the train set up! Especially all the details.



They did a great job with that display.



orangecats2 said:


> I'd love to stay in that area someday. Doubt I'll get to unless I get DVC though. Although at this point I just want to go to Disney anywhere since I haven't been for so long!



You could always rent DVC points, but I understand the Disney withdrawl.  I went six years without going to WDW and had several years of canceled trips, so I get it.



dolphingirl47 said:


> Sometimes days like this are needed. I had a very similar day on Saturday.
> 
> Corinna



I didn't even realize how tired I was Sunday until Monday when I was doing strength training and had no strength!


----------



## DnA2010

Got behind again 

The Christmas decorations are just so great, your pictures do a nice job of capturing the colours well.
B&C- yum, can't wait to eat here once day (we have limited WDW experience, but hoping for a long trip there in 2017 perhaps)

Love the earrings, especially the dangly ones- super cute, can dress up or down. 

How very frustrating about your clothes  you just can't win!


----------



## franandaj

afwdwfan said:


> As long as you aren't planning to ride Toy Story too... don't forget that you can't get both RnRC and TSMM FP+.



OK. That's why I didn't get a FP+ for RnRC, Fran will ride TSMM with me, but not RnRC.



afwdwfan said:


> I can relate.



So I've heard....



afwdwfan said:


> True. But there's a pretty big difference between a $70 sweatshirt and a $5000 Star Wars prop that gave me sticker shock in this store.



True.  The lights we got were only $100, but with the 20% discount it was only $80.



afwdwfan said:


> Oh no...



Oh yes.  Just like on the Wonder.



afwdwfan said:


> Nicely done. That guy with the camera looks like he's giving you the death stare.



You picked up on that as well?



afwdwfan said:


> Woohoo!!! Looks like a fantastic meal.







afwdwfan said:


> That is really an awesome train set. I like the one in Germany, but the detail in this one looks like it blows the Germany train set away!



I guess I missed the one in Germany, or do you mean the one that is there year round?



afwdwfan said:


> That's too bad. I guess they were trying to help. Unfortunately...



It never fails, people trying to help rarely ever do.



jedijill said:


> I love the Christmas decorations! Lunch at B&C is really good too!



They really went all out on the decorations!  I think we might need to go back there when we're staying in October.



jedijill said:


> I can't believe that guy dried your clothes! Argh! I know he was probably trying to be nice but jeez!



I know.  People think they're helping out, but unless they know what you're thinking, they probably aren't helping. 



jedijill said:


> Hope the scooter issue got resolved.







dizneeat said:


> Finally all caught up again.  I needed a few non DIS days - as Disney is really getting to me at the moment (well, at least their non working website)



I know how that goes, which Disney website?



dizneeat said:


> Love, love, love all the photos at Christmas. So many great memories - thanks for reminding me. I needed that.



It was nice to finally see the WDW Christmas decorations for myself.



dizneeat said:


> So you went to B&C!  We love it there - and SO happy you can make an ADR there now. Did someone order a Kitchen Sink while you were there? Perfect size sundae.



I really liked it, definitely worth a trip back there.   A family in one of the booths ordered a Kitchen Sink and it looked HUGE!  The sundae we got was just perfect.



dizneeat said:


> Now, those earrings look great and how nice of Fran to get you a second pair in case you loose one.



She's sweet like that.



dizneeat said:


> Now, the maintenance person who put your washing in the dryer to preserve the stains, really sucks.







dizneeat said:


> Alison, did I ever send you that PM with our dates in CA? I remember starting it, but cannot find a copy of it anywhere. If I did not send it, please let me know and I promise to send them out right away.



I didn't get that PM from you, please go ahead and resend it.



IowaTater said:


> That makes much more sense than what I was picturing.  For some reason, I thought they were windows to the outside.  lol
> 
> I love the miniature train set.  All the details are so cute.



They really did a great job with the details.



DnA2010 said:


> Got behind again



That's not hard, I'm updating fairly quickly!  I completely understand.



DnA2010 said:


> The Christmas decorations are just so great, your pictures do a nice job of capturing the colours well.
> B&C- yum, can't wait to eat here once day (we have limited WDW experience, but hoping for a long trip there in 2017 perhaps)



Thank you!  A longer trip to WDW is always better, unless you can have FOTL access to everything you need quite a few days just to do most everything you want.



DnA2010 said:


> Love the earrings, especially the dangly ones- super cute, can dress up or down.







DnA2010 said:


> How very frustrating about your clothes  you just can't win!



I know, really annoying that he made that decision.


----------



## franandaj

We had returned from viewing the decorations at the Epcot resorts, and Fran had laid down for a nap. When we were getting ready to leave for dinner, I realized I had made a huge mistake on our ADRs. I wanted to dine at the Dining room at Wolfgang Puck's Grand Cafe.  However instead I had made a reservation at just the Wolfgang Puck's Grand Cafe which serves burgers, pizza, sandwiches and pasta. Now there is nothing wrong with that, but this was kind of a stretch for Fran. She asked why we were eating at Wolfgang Puck’s and I promised her there was a schnitzel on the menu. She loves Wiener Schnitzel and so that made it all good for her. There was no schnitzel on the menu at the regular cafe. I called Disney Dining to see if they could fix this and it was possible, but the only reservations were for 9PM. We weren't that hungry yet so it was OK. Our original reservation was at 7:00 so now we had a little more time to kill so she kept resting.

We took off around 7:30 and stopped at WoD on our way there. Naked Jim called and I talked to him while she shopped. It was a zoo getting to the restaurant. Disney Springs is really crowded on a Saturday night. We were half an hour early and they could seat us. There was absolutely no one in the dining room! Why could they not give us an ADR before 9PM?????  They sat two other parties at the same time as us. 

















I had a Ketel One Martini, sort of, no onions, but a lemon twist instead. But evidently I don’t have a picture of it.  I had a Caesar Salad to start.  It wasn’t anything special.





She had corn chowder and liked it well enough.





The Bread was pretty good.





Her Pork schnitzel was huge!  





I had the swordfish with shrimp. It was also a huge portion, she finished mine and we took what she didn’t eat of hers to go.





On our way out of the restaurant, I took this shot of the main dining area.  The room we ate in was up those stairs.





We went directly back to the room and I took a bath before going to bed.  It was pretty late and I was tired from a long and fairly active day.


Day 8


Tonight I slept through the whole night! This morning we were not planning on visiting any parks. We were continuing our tour of the resorts only today would be the Monorail resorts. About five months ago (September) Disney announced a new offering for Brunch at Narcoosee's.  We jumped on that right away and while it caused us to change our plans somewhat we didn't mind. The Grand would be a perfect place to launch our tour of the Monorail resort Christmas decorations. 

We got dressed and left the room around 8:30. Our plan was to scoot over to Disney Springs, catch a bus to the Grand and be done with it. Little did we know that buses don't run from Disney Springs to resorts until after 11AM. When we were informed of the error of our ways, we immediately headed back to the bus stop hoping that we didn't have long to wait for a MK bus, and we lucked out! One came right away, and by 9:10 we were on our way. We hustled to the resort monorail terminal and boarded a train fairly quickly.  





While waiting for our Monorail, I snapped this shot of the restaurant where we were headed.









It was 9:45, plenty of time to make it to our 10:10 brunch. And then the Monorail just sat there. For a good 10 minutes. They made the announcement that there were technical delays, and finally we were underway. We had a few more glitches on the way and it was 10:06 before we were unloading at the Grand. So we booked it over to the restaurant, checked in and we were seated pretty much immediately. I would have taken pictures along the way if we weren’t running so late.  But I did take this one while we waited to be seated.





We were given our menus and Nelson our server explained how the Brunch worked. 









There were way too many good choices on the menu but somehow we narrowed it down and picked out our meal. I went with coffee and they brought me a French Press full!





He brought us a basket of pastries with croissants, cinnamon twist, cherry and Cream cheese pastry, and a blueberry muffin. 





Our meal also came with our choice of a beverage. I had the bloody Mary while Fran had a glass of Prosecco. 





The Bloody Mary came with practically an appetizer itself in the garnish! There was a jumbo prawn, crab leg, slice of thick cut bacon, two blue cheese stuffed olives, and celery stick. I gave the olives to Fran. 





Next we were served our appetizer. Both of us selected the French Onion Soup. The broth was rich and flavorful and we both enoyed it very much. There was plenty of Gruyere cheese on top and it was very filling.





For our entrees she selected the Lobster Eggs Benedict which I tasted. The eggs were perfectly cooked and there was just enough Hollandaise. The ham balanced the lobster very nicely. 





I had the Chicken and Waffles, which came with chicken breast nuggets, a waffle, syrup and gravy. I had the latter two served on the side. These were really good little fried gems of goodness, combined with the maple syrup and waffle was a perfect combination. 





Then we were served a trio of desserts. There was a blueberry Trimble, chocolate cake, and blood orange cake. All three were really flavorful and not too sweet. 





White chocolate Minnie gave the ultimate sacrifice! 









After that we paid the bill and headed to the lobby to check out and photograph the Christmas decorations. But not before checking out this masterpiece that they had in the restaurant lobby. This entire sculpture is made of white chocolate.










And then we headed out to see the resort and what fun and exciting Christmas displays they had in the lobby.


----------



## rndmr2

Glad you were able to switch the dinner ADR, that's crazy they couldn't give you an earlier time.  That schnitzel was really huge, even just one piece would have been a big portion.  I've never had swordfish before but that looked pretty good. 

That brunch looked great! 

Love that sculpture, that is so cool how they can do that.


----------



## dhorner233

It's much more of a challenge getting around DW than it is at DL (duh!) You left your room at 8:30 and got to the restaurant in the knick of time almost 2 hours later!!  But both meals look delicious! That was the most garnished Bloody Mary I've ever seen! 

That white chocolate Minnie was so cute!


----------



## dizneeat

*Now that is what I call Schnitzel! (only called Wiener Schnitzel if it is made from veal  ) And those portions do look quite big, both of them. I have always wanted to try Wolfgang's dining room, just because I want to find out if they CAN make a good Schnitzel. But so far we have never made it there. 

The other thing is that today I researched the Brunch at Narcoossee's and could not find a decent review. Thank you for reading my mind and posting this today!!!!! There is no booking window for Brunch in August so far, but I will keep checking back - your brunch looks AWESOME. 

And I did finally send that PM. *


----------



## franandaj

rndmr2 said:


> Glad you were able to switch the dinner ADR, that's crazy they couldn't give you an earlier time.



I'm guessing that either they had a private party going on in there, or Disney Dining doesn't make reservations less than a couple hours in advance for same day reservations to aid in walk ups.  That's the only thing I could think of.



rndmr2 said:


> That schnitzel was really huge, even just one piece would have been a big portion.



I know!  We have a German restaurant at home and usually the portions are about half that size if not less.



rndmr2 said:


> I've never had swordfish before but that looked pretty good.



Swordfish is one of my favorite seafood choices.  It's often called the "steak" of seafood.  It's normally cut rather thick and can be grilled very similar to a steak.  I prepare it a lot at home, but really enjoy when I can have someone else prepare it for me skillfully.  This was very tasty.  I do have to add that it was the "Florida Local" choice on the menu.



rndmr2 said:


> That brunch looked great!



It was really good and I could have chosen almost any of the other entrée choices and I'm sure they would have been just as good!



rndmr2 said:


> Love that sculpture, that is so cool how they can do that.



I am always amazed at what Disney Chefs can do with edible products!



dhorner233 said:


> It's much more of a challenge getting around DW than it is at DL (duh!) You left your room at 8:30 and got to the restaurant in the knick of time almost 2 hours later!!  But both meals look delicious! That was the most garnished Bloody Mary I've ever seen!



Yeah it is crazy how much bigger WDW is than the DL property.  I mean we attended D23 events at the DL hotel Convention Center and I went back to the Villa at the GCH and I think I started our dinner in the oven (on delay bake) during lunch, plus made us sandwiches to eat in line while we were waiting to get back in for the afternoon session all within an hour, and got back in time for the afternoon session.  It's so much easier getting around DL and way quicker.  That said, there are 10 times as many (if not more) places around DL to get to.



dhorner233 said:


> That white chocolate Minnie was so cute!



I thought she was so cute, but I'm not a fan of White Chocolate, so I let Fran have her!



dizneeat said:


> Now that is what I call Schnitzel! (only called Wiener Schnitzel if it is made from veal  )



There is a German restaurant near Disneyland that we enjoy in case you are missing hometown food, called Jagerhaus.  They have Wiener Schnitzel, Jager Schnitzel, and probably 5-10 other kinds of Schnitzel as well as plenty of other German dishes.  I actually have them in the menu rotation for next week after we go to the Shabu Shabu place for my Valentines make up dinner.  We love German Food, and there used to be a great Oktoberfest that used to be held out at Disneyland with the Chef at Steakhouse 55. He apprenticed at a German restaurant when he was young and can make really authentic German food. He used to make a huge buffet complete with Weiner Schnitzel, Blood Sausage, pretzels and tons of other authentic food. Even folks who had German friends brought them along and they were thrilled with how true to real German tastes the food he made was.  However that is a thing of the past.



dizneeat said:


> And those portions do look quite big, both of them. I have always wanted to try Wolfgang's dining room, just because I want to find out if they CAN make a good Schnitzel. But so far we have never made it there.



We enjoyed this one, even though it was pork.  Most of what you find in America is Pork Schnitzel.  I guess folks are wary of veal, but it was pretty good as far as I thought.  Nice and crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.



dizneeat said:


> The other thing is that today I researched the Brunch at Narcoossee's and could not find a decent review. Thank you for reading my mind and posting this today!!!!! There is no booking window for Brunch in August so far, but I will keep checking back - your brunch looks AWESOME.



It was great!  And I would have like to try several others



dizneeat said:


> *And I did finally send that PM. *



Got it!


----------



## rentayenta

Yum yum yum!!! All of your meals look wonderful! Glad you were able to get Fran her schnitzel. 

Love the pic of her in the Santa hat. 

The Yacht Club looks amazing. I think next to AKV, the decor is my favorite. Those sail boats on the trees are just too cute. 

 Move first, then WDW.


----------



## IowaTater

franandaj said:


>



Now that's my kind of drink!  I love Bloody Marys but I've never had one with a crab leg in it. 



franandaj said:


> This entire sculpture is made of white chocolate.



Holy smokes, that is amazing!!!


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

franandaj said:


> Isn’t this view nice without the bloody hat?



Oh my goodness, yes.  Night and day!



franandaj said:


> They had some cool exhibit rooms. There was a 10 minute movie about the making of Star Wars that we skipped. I figured that they had it at our Launch Bay and didn’t want to waste precious time doing something in Florida that I could also do at home.



Thanks for the photos of the props.  We had limited time in DHS and decided to concentrate on rides and shows and not bother with promos for the movie.  The props look cool, though.



franandaj said:


> Well we saw that they also have Resistance logo lamps as well. I decided we should have matching lamps, but one Empire and one Resistance.



Sure, light side and dark side.  Whose is whose?



franandaj said:


> After that Fran and I took off for our last FP of the day TSMM. While the rides on each coast are identical, I have to say that the queue in this park is far superior. It’s really fun and whimsical. I understand that they are going with a Boardwalk arcade feeling in DCA, but it’s not nearly as interesting as this one.



I agree.  Although it is neat to exit into Andy's room in DCA.



franandaj said:


> I never had this happen though! Best in Vehicle! Woo hooo. Either there was no one else in the car, or they must REALLY suck!



 Maybe you were in my car!



franandaj said:


> I was bummed this wedding party was monopolizing the fireplace and the freaky chairs. But I made the best of it.



Darn.  The creepy chairs really make the display.



franandaj said:


> On our way to the Beach Club Fran's battery indicator started to dip dangerously low. We switched scooters since hers would carry me more easily and hopefully make it to the restaurant where we hoped we could charge.



D'oh!



franandaj said:


> This place really is small!







franandaj said:


> We did good huh?



Excellent work!



franandaj said:


> When we got back we thought the maintenance guy had taken our ruined clothes, but instead he put them in the dryer and dried them to further cement the damage so that I could not remove the stains.



NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooo....



franandaj said:


> However instead I had made a reservation at just the Wolfgang Puck's Grand Cafe which serves burgers, pizza, sandwiches and pasta.



Sounds wonderful!



franandaj said:


> She asked why we were eating at Wolfgang Puck’s and I promised her there was a schnitzel on the menu.



Oh.  Whoops.



franandaj said:


> It was 9:45, plenty of time to make it to our 10:10 brunch. And then the Monorail just sat there. For a good 10 minutes. They made the announcement that there were technical delays, and finally we were underway. We had a few more glitches on the way and it was 10:06 before we were unloading at the Grand.



 I really worry about the monorails.  I wonder if they just need new ones.



franandaj said:


> I had the Chicken and Waffles, which came with chicken breast nuggets, a waffle, syrup and gravy. I had the latter two served on the side. These were really good little fried gems of goodness, combined with the maple syrup and waffle was a perfect combination.



Mmmm...chicken and waffles.  Such a great combination.



franandaj said:


> After that we paid the bill and headed to the lobby to check out and photograph the Christmas decorations. But not before checking out this masterpiece that they had in the restaurant lobby. This entire sculpture is made of white chocolate.



That's incredible!


----------



## Dis_Yoda

Dinner at Wolfgang Puck Dining Room looks like it was a success!  We ate their once and enjoyed it but there are too many places to eat at WDW that we have skipped it for a while.  

Loved the photos from the brunch at Narcoossee's! I wish I could eat that French Onion Soup and Chicken & Waffle right now!  Totally up my alley!


----------



## dolphingirl47

How annoying about the mix up with the ADR, but great that you managed to get this fixed. It always amuses me that often the food choices that Fran makes would be my choice, too. The only exception is if there is seafood involved.

What a pain that it took so long to get to the Grand Floridian. Narcoosee's is one one of my all time favourite restaurants and brunch looked amazing. I would have loved the main course you had chosen. The chocolate display is very similar to something I saw at the Food and Wine Festival.

Corinna


----------



## Pinkocto

Oh wow, I was a whole 9 pages behind, and there was at least one update on each page.  I made it!  So much has happened and too much to comment on, but Remy dinner and brunch looked just amazing!  I agree completely, going to WDW after a cruise makes it much more palatable. 

I think I'm the only one who misses the hat 

I love love love all the Christmas decorations!!!  We still have yet to make it over to the Epcot resorts during Christmas time and we've been there five years in a row...


----------



## pepe3penelope

Oh my goodness! I just ran across this TR because you posted it on the October cruise report. I'm still in page one of this one!!! Then while reading this one I find out that you have another TR about some Naked Jim?!?!? What?!?! I'll have to read that one too! I don't know where you have the time for these TR's but I sure have so much fun reading them!!!


----------



## franandaj

rentayenta said:


> Yum yum yum!!! All of your meals look wonderful! Glad you were able to get Fran her schnitzel.



Yeah, she really liked it, I'm glad that Puck's Dining Room was a hit for her.  I was just looking for interesting new places to eat for this trip and that one fit the bill. Plus with us staying at SSR it was easy to just scoot over there.  I doubt we'll go back, even though it was good there are other places that I would rather go back to again.



rentayenta said:


> Love the pic of her in the Santa hat.



I'm so glad that she lightened up towards the end of the trip.  She had got the Santa hat out before she had the meltdown earlier in the trip, but one of the things she actually said was, "I don't feel very ho, ho, ho right now." and never wore the Santa hat on the cruise, at least she got that out of her system by the second half.



rentayenta said:


> The Yacht Club looks amazing. I think next to AKV, the decor is my favorite. Those sail boats on the trees are just too cute.



It's been a long time since I've seen the AKV Christmas decorations.  I know in 2007 when we stayed there, we had a Christmas tree in our Suite, but I don't remember any decorations at the actual resort.



rentayenta said:


> Move first, then WDW.



Good luck on your move!  I hope that it happens quicker for you than us!



IowaTater said:


> Now that's my kind of drink! I love Bloody Marys but I've never had one with a crab leg in it.



I haven't either, I was surprised that the garnish was so elaborate!



IowaTater said:


> Holy smokes, that is amazing!!!



I couldn't believe that the entire thing was made of white chocolate. At first I thought it was something else.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Oh my goodness, yes. Night and day!







Captain_Oblivious said:


> Thanks for the photos of the props. We had limited time in DHS and decided to concentrate on rides and shows and not bother with promos for the movie. The props look cool, though.



I can understand that. I think you guys had less time than we did, and more mobility to get on rides than Fran.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Sure, light side and dark side. Whose is whose?



She is the dark side.  :thubsup2



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I agree. Although it is neat to exit into Andy's room in DCA.



I rarely see that one since we usually take the HA boarding section that exits right into the gift shop.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Maybe you were in my car!



Not so good at this one?  



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Darn. The creepy chairs really make the display.



Yes they do, luckily I was able to have a make up.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> D'oh!



Yeah, it was kind of like the Cabo Cruise all over again.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Excellent work!



We did our best!  



Captain_Oblivious said:


> NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooo....



Yeah, and that same shirt that Julie has from Imagineering, let's just say I helped Magdalene with her choice....the underwear I could sort of live with, but that shirt....



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Sounds wonderful!



I knew you would be one of the folks who thought the other place was fine.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Oh. Whoops.



Yeah. That.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I really worry about the monorails. I wonder if they just need new ones.



I know first us. Then Andy.  I'm sure there are plenty of others who have also been stopped.  This worries me coming from a Transportation Engineer!  



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Mmmm...chicken and waffles. Such a great combination.







Captain_Oblivious said:


> That's incredible!



I know, I couldn't believe that it was made of chocolate!


----------



## afwdwfan

franandaj said:


> We were half an hour early and they could seat us. There was absolutely no one in the dining room! Why could they not give us an ADR before 9PM?????


  That's really frustrating...



franandaj said:


> We got dressed and left the room around 8:30. Our plan was to scoot over to Disney Springs, catch a bus to the Grand and be done with it. Little did we know that buses don't run from Disney Springs to resorts until after 11AM.


Really?  But aren't Disney Springs restaurants opened for breakfast? 



franandaj said:


> It was 9:45, plenty of time to make it to our 10:10 brunch. And then the Monorail just sat there. For a good 10 minutes. They made the announcement that there were technical delays, and finally we were underway. We had a few more glitches on the way and it was 10:06 before we were unloading at the Grand


Yuck... love the monorail, but I'm over all of these technical difficulties with it. 



franandaj said:


> The Bloody Mary came with practically an appetizer itself in the garnish! There was a jumbo prawn, crab leg, slice of thick cut bacon, two blue cheese stuffed olives, and celery stick. I gave the olives to Fran.


Wow, impressive!



franandaj said:


> White chocolate Minnie gave the ultimate sacrifice!


----------



## mvf-m11c

Even though you had a late dinner that night, it was good that you were able to eat at Wolfgang Pucks that night. There are so many sit down restaurants to choose from at WDW. The brunch meal looks very nice and it was neat to see the Finding Nemo chocolate sculpture.  

Interesting after reading your TR tonight, I talked to my dad the other night and and he told me that we ate most of the restaurants at WDW. I was laughing big time that we are not even close. I must have ate at least 10 different restaurants at WDW. I always enjoy reading your TR's about the meals at WDW and gets me the idea of trying it when I go back.


----------



## franandaj

Dis_Yoda said:


> Dinner at Wolfgang Puck Dining Room looks like it was a success! We ate their once and enjoyed it but there are too many places to eat at WDW that we have skipped it for a while.



Yeah, I don't see us going back anytime soon.  It was fine, but there are many other places that I would rather repeat than that, in fact one of them is coming up.  And you were just there the other night!



Dis_Yoda said:


> Loved the photos from the brunch at Narcoossee's! I wish I could eat that French Onion Soup and Chicken & Waffle right now! Totally up my alley!



You should make a reservations for there on your next trip!



dolphingirl47 said:


> How annoying about the mix up with the ADR, but great that you managed to get this fixed. It always amuses me that often the food choices that Fran makes would be my choice, too. The only exception is if there is seafood involved.



The problem I had was that I wasn't in front of my computer when I made the ADRs.  I did it from an outdated  spreadsheet on my phone.



dolphingirl47 said:


> What a pain that it took so long to get to the Grand Floridian. Narcoosee's is one one of my all time favourite restaurants and brunch looked amazing. I would have loved the main course you had chosen. The chocolate display is very similar to something I saw at the Food and Wine Festival.



I think the chefs like to challenge themselves and make things for special occasions. 



Pinkocto said:


> Oh wow, I was a whole 9 pages behind, and there was at least one update on each page. I made it! So much has happened and too much to comment on, but Remy dinner and brunch looked just amazing! I agree completely, going to WDW after a cruise makes it much more palatable.



Well that's what happens when you go away and unplug for a week or more! Plus I'm on a mission to wrap this up in three weeks, so that when I leave on the Mississippi trip, I can start posting immediately. Remy was amazing, I can't wait to do it again on the Fantasy. And we are definitely going to WDW for a few days after that.



Pinkocto said:


> I think I'm the only one who misses the hat







Pinkocto said:


> I love love love all the Christmas decorations!!! We still have yet to make it over to the Epcot resorts during Christmas time and we've been there five years in a row...



I can't believe in five years you have nevermade it to the Epcot resorts at Christmas! 



pepe3penelope said:


> Oh my goodness! I just ran across this TR because you posted it on the October cruise report. I'm still in page one of this one!!! Then while reading this one I find out that you have another TR about some Naked Jim?!?!? What?!?! I'll have to read that one too! I don't know where you have the time for these TR's but I sure have so much fun reading them!!!



:  I'm glad you made it over here! The TR with Naked Jim is an old one. I started it a year ago when we thought we were going to WDW with him, but Fran fell and broke her leg, so we canceled that trip. Then it turned into an ongoing TR about my visits to DL with friends from the DIS who came to So Cal. It was going to be wrapping up with a trip last Wednesday and one more next month. However then they announced the DCA F&W festival is coming back in April so now I'm going to tack that on there too. It will officially be over when we do finally go back with Jim this April/May.


----------



## Steppesister

What a lovely brunch! Everything was beautifully presented; I could use one of those Bloody Mary's for a nice little Happy Hour right now! I gotta way, that Nemo sculpture was amazing! A lot of time and care went into that for sure. 

Glad you made it on time to brunch after sitting on the track a bit!


----------



## franandaj

afwdwfan said:


> That's really frustrating...



Yeah, I wonder what would have happened if we just did a walk up.  



afwdwfan said:


> Really? But aren't Disney Springs restaurants opened for breakfast?



Well I'm guessing that they have busses that go to Disney Springs, but they don't go to the Resorts once they leave, because I do remember taking one from VGC to DTD to eat a Wolfgang Puck Express.



afwdwfan said:


> Yuck... love the monorail, but I'm over all of these technical difficulties with it.



Yup, You had the same problem that we did!



afwdwfan said:


> Wow, impressive!



Yeah, after that Bloody Mary, I was wondering if I really needed the brunch!    On some occasions that would be all I would need!



afwdwfan said:


>



I had to make sure we got a picture of that!



mvf-m11c said:


> Even though you had a late dinner that night, it was good that you were able to eat at Wolfgang Pucks that night. There are so many sit down restaurants to choose from at WDW. The brunch meal looks very nice and it was neat to see the Finding Nemo chocolate sculpture.



Both of our meals were definitely quite good!



mvf-m11c said:


> Interesting after reading your TR tonight, I talked to my dad the other night and and he told me that we ate most of the restaurants at WDW. I was laughing big time that we are not even close. I must have ate at least 10 different restaurants at WDW. I always enjoy reading your TR's about the meals at WDW and gets me the idea of trying it when I go back.



You should have him take the Golden Spoon test and see what he says after that!



Steppesister said:


> What a lovely brunch! Everything was beautifully presented; I could use one of those Bloody Mary's for a nice little Happy Hour right now! I gotta way, that Nemo sculpture was amazing! A lot of time and care went into that for sure.
> 
> Glad you made it on time to brunch after sitting on the track a bit!



I am glad that we made it brunch on time and it was definitely a wonderful brunch at that!  Those chefs at Disney definitely have some skills at their sculptures!


----------



## franandaj

To give you a life update, we have moved out just about all the boxes that were in the attic and we have even begun to shred the old tax papers. The move out it now going strong as Fran is committed to go over there almost every day and do something, which is good.  And bad.  Some days it takes a lot out of me to do that when we have been working on moving other things and then we have to go move more boxes, but it is good to get that place going so that it is finally finished.

Since I last updated you I think we took at least one load to the thrift store and that included cauldrons, skeletons and pumpkins which I didn't think they would take, but they did!  So Yay!  There was a bunch of other crap that they took but, I wasn't sure about the Halloween stuff. We have taken at least 5-6 loads to storage and all the boxes that came down from the attic have almost all been taken to storage so now we're back to where we were before.  We found our cels and have them safely now in our own house so that we can take them to a professional service to repair them (if needed and sell them for us). Things are going well and hopefully we will get out of there soon!

I took a TON of pictures at the Grand Floridian and somehow they got corrupted or something because I can’t view them at all. Here’s what’s left.





There were a lot of people and I had a very hard time trying to get pictures without a bunch of idiots in them. Eventually I gave up since we would be back on Tuesday for breakfast and I hoped there would be less people there then. 













We took the monorail over to the Contemporary. They had a Mary Blair inspired Frozen Gingerbread house complete with 15 hidden Olafs. I found 13 of them and gave up. 









It was at this stop that Fran realized that the little gift shops sell limited edition pins, so she bought one. 









Then we checked the gift shop.  The Yacht Club only had one pair each of the earrings that I purchased the day before, but they had checked inventory and it showed that the Contemporary had some so we got me a second set in case I lose any.





They did have a pair, so I got a second set of earrings, “One to use and one to lose” as she puts it.





Then we hopped on the Monorail over to the Poly and took more pictures. 













I love the detail of these ornaments and how they are uniquely themed to each resort.

































We picked up some shirts in the gift shop.  I also admired these tikis all dressed up for the holidays.





















Then we headed out in search of Trader Sams. Unfortunately it was only 2PM and they didn't open until 4PM.  I had heard of this but completely forgot. I mean what is up with that? The one in California opens a noon which makes much more sense!

So we headed back to the room as Fran was getting tired and cranky. She put in another call to the scooter company and got voice mail yet again. We went out to the bus stop, and had a moderate wait for a bus to Disney Springs.  On the way back to the room we encountered this little squirrel.





When we got back to the room she sent the scooter company an email notifying them that she intended to protest the charge with the credit card company as she was not receiving the services promised, ie a fully working scooter.

She laid down and took a nap while I updated my Wonder TR and posted on my Sharing TR about the WD studio tour. 


*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

We left at around 6:30 for our reservation at Morimoto Asia even though it was for 7:30PM. The ground was saturated so it had obviously rained recently. 

The reason we left so early was that Pam (pinkocto) and her Mom were just finishing dinner at Raglan Road right across the way from our destination. While we had seen Pam on quite a few occasions, we had never met her mom, so it was nice to put a personality to the pictures. And boy does she ever have one larger than life personality! I would have loved to have spent more time with them as she seems like a really fun lady! But alas our reservation time came up really quickly and soon we were saying goodbye.

The place was very pretty inside.





It looked like there were little somewhat private rooms upstairs.









We were seated very quickly and given food and drink menus. 





There was a very extensive sake list with prices to match. Prices were listed by the glass, carafe and bottle. I tried to get the gal to tell me how many oz/ml were in a carafe but she either didn't understand the question or was playing dumb.

I ordered a carafe of what turned out to be an INCREDIBLY EXPENSIVE sake. I knew Junmai Gingo was Japanese for better quality sake, but if we'd been talking Tequila I would have ordered not only Anejo but one that had been aged in the most pristine wood and maybe even gold!

Or if Champagne is your beverage it was like a split of Dom perignon reserve if they made them. Even the bottle of Madame Pomeroy's Champage that we purchased at Remy was cheaper than this!





But I digress, I ordered two pieces of tuna sushi, this is perhaps the only restaurant where I have ordered sushi that it didn't come priced as two pieces. 





While we were waiting for our food, I took some pictures of the open kitchen.









Maybe we should have tried the Peking Duck here.





We got an order of pork dumplings, 





a pork egg roll, 





and chicken lo mein between the two of us. 





We pretty much ate everything, it was all good, the lo mein was not quite what I expected, but I still enjoyed it. We weren't stuffed, but I wasn't hungry either. We paid the check and headed out. I took these pictures of the bar area on my way out.

















It had rained again while we were in the restaurant.  Though we had parked the scooters under an overhang, they had still gotten a little bit wet.  At least they started.

On our way back Fran saw the Guest relations office and we stopped in to reset the PIN on our MBs. Then we drove through the Co-op, but didn't find anything we couldn't live without. Next we went through the Christmas store and again didn't find anything we couldn't live without so we went home.  This was weird, how often do we strike out at shopping?

I stayed up for a little while and worked on the Sharing TR before going to bed. I also ate half of my Gingerbread cupcake which was lacking in Gingerbread flavor. I make a better Gingerbread from a box mix! It wasn't worth the calories to finish the other half. So I took a bath and went to bed.  Hey!  I’m going to milk this “no drought” situation for all that I can!


Up next: We go back to the parks!


----------



## dizneeat

franandaj said:


>



*I love that they use real flowers at the resorts. And this looks so festive.*



franandaj said:


>



*I remember you well, ginger bread house! Left quite a bit of money in the little shop. And I did not even like the gingerbread there. *



franandaj said:


>



*What a way to decorate a tree. AWESOME!!!! Thanks for sharing.*



franandaj said:


> Then we drove through the Co-op, but didn't find anything we couldn't live without. Next we went through the Christmas store and again didn't find anything we couldn't live without so we went home. This was weird, how often do we strike out at shopping?



*How could this happen????? No shopping???????? Wish it would happen to me. 

We have a reservation at Morimoto's for our next trip too. Thanks for reviewing all the right restaurants for me.  *


----------



## mvf-m11c

I can never get tired of the gingerbread house at the Grand Floridian during the holiday season. Very nice pics from the GF, Contemporary and Poly. The Frozen gingerbread is nice and that is a nice pin that you got. 

The food at Morimoto Asia looks very nice and appetizing.


----------



## dhorner233

Is Morimoto Asia in Disney Springs? I don't remember ever hearing of it before.

Loved the tour of the monorail resorts! Love all the Christmas decorations and gingerbread houses. I didn't see any hidden Olafs at the Contemporary's gingerbread house. Can you point any out? 

Love the pin! I collect pins too.


----------



## dglilbit

franandaj said:


> So things are moving along here with respect to our move out. Not sure how many Expedition loads we had transported last time I checked in here, but by now we've moved at least five trips to storage but still only one to the thrift store.
> 
> What we did do that was really monumental was get everything down from our attic. I had told you all that it was about 50-100 boxes. I could not have been more wrong! No, there were more than 60 boxes labeled DIS alone! Then there were 15-20 boxes of old tax papers. Some dating back to 2003 or 4. At least we can shred everything older than 2009 and that frees up another dozen boxes or so. Then there was all the rest of the stuff. We counted approximately six rows of boxes across the room and each row was like 4 maybe 5 boxes tall. So let's just say that one "wall" of boxes is made up of 28 boxes. The spare bedroom where we stashed those boxes (not counting Disney which is in the living room, or taxes in the dining room) has probably 7 walls deep of all those boxes. When we were done stacking, the entire room was filled with walls of boxes. You could not even set foot more than a yard past the threshold! So figure 7 walls of 28 boxes and you've got almost 200 boxes in that room alone! Don't ask me what is in them all. There are many boxes of books on the Civil War, lots of boxes of clothes from 2005 & 2006 that Fran wasn't willing to part with. She put them away until she lost the weight.  I know I had no less than 12 boxes of Christmas ornaments. That doesn't include the boxes for garland, lights, Pooh's Christmas Village, and other such things. Plus Fran had equally as many Halloween decorations that I've never even put up in our 19 years together. In addition to boxes, there were cauldrons, skeletons, giant spider webs and plastic electric pumpkins.  I’m not sure where all this stuff is going to go, but it needs to get out of the house somewhat pronto!
> 
> Also I did some math with respect to this trip report.  There are 8 days left in the report (including finishing up the day I’m in the middle of).  If I am going to wrap this up before my Mississippi River cruise, I need to post a complete day every 6.571 days.  So that means some pretty rapid fire updating.  So hang on to your hats folks, it may get pretty crazy around here!
> 
> Speaking of the Mississippi river trip, thank goodness the rest of the world isn’t Disney World or I would be sunk.  I still can’t get Fran to talk with me about restaurants to make reservations at. Every time I try to talk to her, she say something like, “let’s sit down with a map and figure it out, but not right now.”  So I’ve been researching on my own.  I did get her to say that we are definitely eating at Antoine’s (known for inventing Oysters Rockefeller). We talked about going to Willie May’s Scotch House (famous soul food, most notably Fried Chicken) but it’s way outside the French Quarter/Central Business District where we are staying. Others on the list include:
> 
> Commander’s Palace – It’s a long time NOLA favorite, Emeril Lagasse got his start there, and 25 cent Martinis
> Café du Monde – because beignets!
> Brennan’s – Among other things tableside Banana’s Foster
> Mother’s – Known for comfort food, po-boys and one of the first restaurants to come back after Katrina.
> Lüke – Because I have always wanted to try Chef John Besh’s cooking, and their bread pudding looks amazing.
> 
> We have three full days there or about 75 hours, I think we might be a little ambitious trying to get all that food in!
> 
> Anyone have any thoughts, experiences, suggestions?  Inbetween feedings we plan on sightseeing at various locations, fancy mansion yards in the Garden district, Audobon park, maybe the Voodoo museum.  I’m still working on what there is to do there besides eat!  So that’s it, back to the Trip Report!



I'm so excited for your trip to New Orleans!  I live on the other side of the state, about a 3 hour drive from NOLA and have made many trips there!
Your list of places to visit looks great.  I've never done Commander's Palace or Luke, but second the following choices:

Cafe du Monde - awesome any time of day!  We've had them for breakfast and we've also had them as a late-night-soak-up-alcohol snack!
Brennan's - YUM
Mother's - yes ma'am!
It's been 10+ years, but the brunch at the Royal Palace was divine.  The jazz brunch at the InterContinental Easter weekend was a great experience as well.  I don't know what days you'll be there but here's a link to other brunch locations.  We haven't checked it out yet but the Court of Two Sisters has a daily jazz brunch.  And I've heard good things about it!

Other places to check out, among the many:

Muriel's Jackson Square
The Ruby Slipper
Boucherie - DH and I stumbled upon this casual fine dining place on a couple's trip and loved it!
Chargrilled oysters at Acme Oyster House

I agree with Audubon Park and the Voodoo museum!  Other awesome touristy things to do:

take a look at the Art in Jackson Square, check out the St. Louis Cathedral
listen to the street musicians and watch the performers at Jackson Square and around the French Quarter
take a carriage ride through the French Quarter
Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop Bar - Oldest bar in the Quarter (some say the country, post Louisiana Purchase). Interesting mix of tourists and locals. Candle-lit atmosphere with piano sing alongs. Be careful with the 151-saturated cherries.
ride the St. Charles Streetcar (exact change needed)
go Tropical Isle, get drinks and watch people on Bourbon St.
have a hurricane at Pat O'Briens and listen to the dueling pianos
Marie Leveau Voodoo Tour (great tour!) - also any of the haunted tours are great as you get so much historical information full of flavor
The National WWII Museum
Oak Alley Plantation Tour

http://www.buzzfeed.com/followyournola/35-ways-to-do-new-orleans-like-a-local#.mmLP57250


----------



## dglilbit

franandaj said:


> Well good news for you folks who might be falling behind.  I don’t have to finish the next day until February 8th so you have some time to get caught up.  Not saying I’m gonna wait until the 8th to post it, but I’ll certainly let most of the week go by for folks to get caught up. In the meantime we will be moving boxes. So far we’ve moved at least 50 or more of the “downloaded” boxes to storage.  I wish I could say it was more that went to the thrift store, but I haven’t been able to get Fran over to the old house even to look through these boxes and most of them are hers, so we are just moving them for a later “go through”.  For now the focus is getting stuff out of that place and then we will deal with getting rid of stuff once the apartment is under construction. Today would have been the first morning that I would have awakened in the Grand Californian for our annual, “let’s go out there to use up points” trip, but I canceled that when we were not yet out of the old apartment. I’m thinking that it’s not going to happen before our Mississippi trip.  And even thinking that it will be happening before our trip with Naked Jim is being hopeful, at this point I just need to hope that before we go to Alaska the place is under construction!
> 
> But speaking of the Mississippi River trip, it’s now 45 days away, and things are really coming into place.  ADRs have been made!  All that is left to sort out is transportation to and from the airports in Memphis and New Orleans.
> 
> We figured out what we will be doing on some of our stops when we get off the ship, and even booked one of their premium excursions.  Most of the excursions are included in the price of the tour, but just to give you an idea of what this will be like, here are a few photos that I stole from the Internet.
> 
> The Ship:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Our room will be a lot like this:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Because of the steep pricing on this cruise, we went with a bay window instead of an actual verandah.  But here are the deck plans. We are on the Cabin Deck the last cabin in the middle of the ship. If you notice, there is a little patio right next to our stateroom. The agent who booked our cruise let me in on a secret that not many people know about this little patio and while it isn’t exclusively ours, it could be ours for the most part.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here are some shots around the ship, the Ladies Parlor (although it is for use by Ladies or Men)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The Mens Parlor (also open to both sexes)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The formal dining room.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The excursion that we booked is a Cajun Swamp Tour. We take a bus for about 40 minutes to the Swamp, where we get an hour and a half long tour.  I was a little wary about this as Disney does not allow scooters on their excursions. After a phone call to the company, they told me that not only could Fran bring her scooter, but that the bus drives right up to the boat for loading.  This picture I found made me happy to see that the bus literally pulls right up to the boat!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And here’s some pictures that I stole from the website of the Swamp Tour Company.



I got so excited about y'all visiting NOLA that I didn't read ahead!  The Swamp Tour will be a lot of fun!


----------



## dglilbit

PS - I'm enjoying your trip report as well.


----------



## PrincessInOz

Catching up; or rather pretending that I have!

Your food porn is delicious.  My screen has been thoroughly cleaned.  Just as well I'm having dinner soon.
Love the Christmas decorations as well.  
Trader Sam doesn't open till later???  WOW!


Hope life is treating you and Fran well and the clean-out is finished soon.


----------



## Dis_Yoda

Starting to catch up from this weekend! 

The Grand Floridian is always the most holiday feeling of the resorts!  I love their gingerbread house!  I remember when I was a little girl and their gingerbread house was small enough to just be a showcase piece in the area in front of Grand Floridian Café where the DVC Desk is now.  They didn't put it out one year and I remember being super doper upset! 

Finding 13 of the 15 Olafs is awesome! 

Love the Polynesian decorations as well!

Your meal at Morimoto Asia seems like it went decent at least.  Sorry that your server had no idea the difference between a glass/carafe/bottle!  You think they would have been trained better on that!  Your food looks like it was pleasant though for a nice light dinner!


----------



## afwdwfan

franandaj said:


> Well I'm guessing that they have busses that go to Disney Springs, but they don't go to the Resorts once they leave, because I do remember taking one from VGC to DTD to eat a Wolfgang Puck Express.


Ok... this got me thinking and I just had to look.  They serve breakfast starting at 9.  So I guess if you take a bus to WPE and then planned to go back to the resort and hop on a bus to a park, you're screwed.  Which doesn't make much sense.

Then again, if Disney wants to trap you somewhere to do some shopping... 



franandaj said:


> To give you a life update, we have moved out just about all the boxes that were in the attic and we have even begun to shred the old tax papers. The move out it now going strong as Fran is committed to go over there almost every day and do something, which is good. And bad. Some days it takes a lot out of me to do that when we have been working on moving other things and then we have to go move more boxes, but it is good to get that place going so that it is finally finished.


I'm glad things are progressing.



franandaj said:


> We took the monorail over to the Contemporary. They had a Mary Blair inspired Frozen Gingerbread house complete with 15 hidden Olafs. I found 13 of them and gave up.


Cool!  I didn't realize there were hidden Olafs there! 



franandaj said:


> I love the detail of these ornaments and how they are uniquely themed to each resort.


  They do the decorations very well. 



franandaj said:


> Then we headed out in search of Trader Sams. Unfortunately it was only 2PM and they didn't open until 4PM. I had heard of this but completely forgot. I mean what is up with that? The one in California opens a noon which makes much more sense!


This really doesn't make sense.  The way Disney likes to mint money, this place would easily pay for its operating costs for another few hours and then some! 



franandaj said:


> When we got back to the room she sent the scooter company an email notifying them that she intended to protest the charge with the credit card company as she was not receiving the services promised, ie a fully working scooter.


I hope it worked...



franandaj said:


> I ordered a carafe of what turned out to be an INCREDIBLY EXPENSIVE sake. I knew Junmai Gingo was Japanese for better quality sake, but if we'd been talking Tequila I would have ordered not only Anejo but one that had been aged in the most pristine wood and maybe even gold!


So, how was it?  Worth getting it? 



franandaj said:


> This was weird, how often do we strike out at shopping?


That's what I was thinking!  Were you guys ok? 



franandaj said:


> So I took a bath and went to bed. Hey! I’m going to milk this “no drought” situation for all that I can!


----------



## jedijill

Playing massive catch up again!  The GF is always beautiful but Christmas is even better...Love the decor at the Poly too!  I cannot believe that Trader Sams doesn't open until 4 at WDW...it just seems like a lost opportunity to me.  

I can't believe you guys didn't buy anything!  So unlike you!  LOL  Sorry the Morimoto experience was so meh...for those prices you should be blown away.

You guys are making great progress on the move!

Jill in CO


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

franandaj said:


> Some days it takes a lot out of me to do that when we have been working on moving other things and then we have to go move more boxes, but it is good to get that place going so that it is finally finished.



Moving always sucks.  Good to hear you've made progress, though!



franandaj said:


> I took a TON of pictures at the Grand Floridian and somehow they got corrupted or something because I can’t view them at all.



Aw, man.  That stinks.



franandaj said:


> There were a lot of people and I had a very hard time trying to get pictures without a bunch of idiots in them.



But I thought you didn't see us on this particular day!



franandaj said:


> Then we hopped on the Monorail over to the Poly and took more pictures.



Nice!  I might have to steal one.  We were staying there and took photos of everything except the Christmas tree.



franandaj said:


> The place was very pretty inside.



Morimoto looks very fancy!



franandaj said:


> There was a very extensive sake list with prices to match. Prices were listed by the glass, carafe and bottle. I tried to get the gal to tell me how many oz/ml were in a carafe but she either didn't understand the question or was playing dumb.
> 
> I ordered a carafe of what turned out to be an INCREDIBLY EXPENSIVE sake. I knew Junmai Gingo was Japanese for better quality sake, but if we'd been talking Tequila I would have ordered not only Anejo but one that had been aged in the most pristine wood and maybe even gold!
> 
> Or if Champagne is your beverage it was like a split of Dom perignon reserve if they made them. Even the bottle of Madame Pomeroy's Champage that we purchased at Remy was cheaper than this!



Um...

So it's expensive, then? 



franandaj said:


> Then we drove through the Co-op, but didn't find anything we couldn't live without. Next we went through the Christmas store and again didn't find anything we couldn't live without so we went home. This was weird, how often do we strike out at shopping?



Wow!  Take the money you would have spent and get some lottery tickets!



franandaj said:


> Hey! I’m going to milk this “no drought” situation for all that I can!



 I can definitely understand!


----------



## IowaTater

franandaj said:


> Things are going well and hopefully we will get out of there soon!



Yay for progress!  I can imagine how worn out you are though. I bet it feels good to know you're making a little bit of head-way. 



franandaj said:


>



That is gorgeous!  All those little details are just amazing. 



franandaj said:


> I ordered a carafe of what turned out to be an INCREDIBLY EXPENSIVE sake.



Did it at least taste good?


----------



## rentayenta

Fun that you got to see @Pinkocto  and meet her cute mom!

The Poly knocks my socks off.


----------



## Pinkocto

Great pictures of the decorations, bummer the GF ones are giving you trouble.  Cute about the hidden Olafs. I like the pin.

Thanks so much for taking the time to visit.  I'm sorry we didn't schedule more time together, that trip came up on me way too fast.  I'm so glad mom was able to meet you and Fran   Yes, when people say that I'm happy or over the top, or anything along those lines, I always follow that up with, 'you haven't met my mom' 

I am intrigued at this incredibly expensive sake.  I hope it was good!  The restaurant is pretty but I don't think I'll be racing to eat there.


----------



## skier_pete

Hey there - joining back in since returning to the real world. (Booo!)

Did you think Morimoto was worth it? I don't know that it appeals much to me.


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> We even bought a Gingerbread cupcake for later.



I _was_ going to say "That sounds good", but... oh well.



franandaj said:


> I couldn’t convince Fran to get in this photo op with me.



Darn. Would've been fun.



franandaj said:


> I was bummed this wedding party was monopolizing the fireplace and the freaky chairs. But I made the best of it.



And that photog looks less than impressed! 



franandaj said:


> On our way to the Beach Club Fran's battery indicator started to dip dangerously low.



Uh, oh. Is this the same battery that you'd replaced?



franandaj said:


> Here we were finally at Beaches and Cream!



Yes!!! Love it there.



franandaj said:


> This place really is small!



And that's one of the things I love about it.



franandaj said:


> We did good huh?



You sure did! Kay and I didn't do nearly so well.
Then again, we each had our own.



franandaj said:


> They had the coolest display IMHO.



That is the best display ever! Love it!



franandaj said:


> After that we visited the gift shop and I got these spiffy earrings.



Nice.



franandaj said:


> When we got back we thought the maintenance guy had taken our ruined clothes, but instead he put them in the dryer and dried them to further cement the damage so that I could not remove the stains.



 Thanks dude. Thanks a lot.



franandaj said:


> She loves Wiener Schnitzel



Who doesn't???



franandaj said:


> I called Disney Dining to see if they could fix this and it was possible, but the only reservations were for 9PM. We weren't that hungry yet so it was OK.



Phew! Glad it worked out. but...



franandaj said:


> We were half an hour early and they could seat us. There was absolutely no one in the dining room! Why could they not give us an ADR before 9PM?????



What the H is that all about?!?



franandaj said:


> Her Pork schnitzel was huge!



Two of them??? Two?!?!?



franandaj said:


> Tonight I slept through the whole night!



Yay for sleep!



franandaj said:


> I went with coffee and they brought me a French Press full!



Nice!



franandaj said:


>



She's wearing a Santa hat!!



franandaj said:


> The Bloody Mary came with practically an appetizer itself in the garnish! There was a jumbo prawn, crab leg, slice of thick cut bacon, two blue cheese stuffed olives, and celery stick.



Holy cow!



franandaj said:


> Both of us selected the French Onion Soup.



Yummm... Want. Now.



franandaj said:


> For our entrees she selected the Lobster Eggs Benedict which I tasted. The eggs were perfectly cooked and there was just enough Hollandaise. The ham balanced the lobster very nicely.



mmmm.... bennies. With lobster! Must try that.



franandaj said:


>



Fran killed Minnie!!!!



franandaj said:


> This entire sculpture is made of white chocolate.





It's gonna take me a while to eat all that. But I'm willing to give it a shot.



franandaj said:


> we have even begun to shred the old tax papers.



No. Way.



franandaj said:


> Then we headed out in search of Trader Sams. Unfortunately it was only 2PM and they didn't open until 4PM. I had heard of this but completely forgot. I mean what is up with that? The one in California opens a noon which makes much more sense!



So you stormed the doors, tearing them asunder!



franandaj said:


> When we got back to the room she sent the scooter company an email notifying them that she intended to protest the charge with the credit card company as she was not receiving the services promised, ie a fully working scooter.



Fran does not fool around.



franandaj said:


> I ordered a carafe of what turned out to be an INCREDIBLY EXPENSIVE sake. I knew Junmai Gingo was Japanese for better quality sake, but if we'd been talking Tequila I would have ordered not only Anejo but one that had been aged in the most pristine wood and maybe even gold!
> 
> Or if Champagne is your beverage it was like a split of Dom perignon reserve if they made them. Even the bottle of Madame Pomeroy's Champage that we purchased at Remy was cheaper than this!



Holy crap! Was it worth it? Or was it at least _close_ to worth it?



franandaj said:


> While we were waiting for our food, I took some pictures of the open kitchen.



Love open kitchens. Love to watch all the action.



franandaj said:


> This was weird, how often do we strike out at shopping?



I'm going to say.... never?


----------



## franandaj

dizneeat said:


> *I love that they use real flowers at the resorts. And this looks so festive.*



I can't even a gone what the flower budget for the Grand is! They always have such huge and beautiful arrangements there!



dizneeat said:


> *I remember you well, ginger bread house! Left quite a bit of money in the little shop. And I did not even like the gingerbread there. *



I was glad the line was so long that day. I didn't even try.



dizneeat said:


> *What a way to decorate a tree. AWESOME!!!! Thanks for sharing.*



I think these were my favorite decorations, especially as themes go.



dizneeat said:


> *How could this happen????? No shopping???????? Wish it would happen to me.
> 
> We have a reservation at Morimoto's for our next trip too. Thanks for reviewing all the right restaurants for me.  *



It isn't something that happens often!  I liked the restaurant and would probably go back again after a while, but I know better what to expect as far as sake. The food was excellent. Just small portions. We ate everything in sight!



mvf-m11c said:


> I can never get tired of the gingerbread house at the Grand Floridian during the holiday season. Very nice pics from the GF, Contemporary and Poly. The Frozen gingerbread is nice and that is a nice pin that you got.



I was very glad to see the GF Gingerbread house for myself!



mvf-m11c said:


> The food at Morimoto Asia looks very nice and appetizing.



The food was great I just need to know that the sake is rather expensive.



dhorner233 said:


> Is Morimoto Asia in Disney Springs? I don't remember ever hearing of it before.



It is in Disney Springs and just opened last fall.



dhorner233 said:


> Loved the tour of the monorail resorts! Love all the Christmas decorations and gingerbread houses. I didn't see any hidden Olafs at the Contemporary's gingerbread house. Can you point any out?
> 
> Love the pin! I collect pins too.



I thought on of my pictures clearly showed one of the hidden Olafs.  Wait!  I found it! Look at the picture with everyone in it. Elsa is practically pointing at it with her right hand. It's the little white blob in the gingerbread.



dglilbit said:


> I'm so excited for your trip to New Orleans! I live on the other side of the state, about a 3 hour drive from NOLA and have made many trips there!
> Your list of places to visit looks great. I've never done Commander's Palace or Luke, but second the following choices:
> 
> Cafe du Monde - awesome any time of day! We've had them for breakfast and we've also had them as a late-night-soak-up-alcohol snack!
> Brennan's - YUM
> Mother's - yes ma'am!



I'm glad you approve! Luke is a John Besh restaurant and ever since he was on Next Iron Chef, I've always wanted to try his food. His flagship restaurant, August was a bit of a stretch even for me!  And by the way,  to the TR!



dglilbit said:


> It's been 10+ years, but the brunch at the Royal Palace was divine. The jazz brunch at the InterContinental Easter weekend was a great experience as well. I don't know what days you'll be there but here's a link to other brunch locations. We haven't checked it out yet but the Court of Two Sisters has a daily jazz brunch. And I've heard good things about it!



We get there the Monday after Easter. Fran did Brunch at the Court of Two Sisters probably 30 years ago. We thought about there, but will need to come back again over a weekend to experience it.



dglilbit said:


> Other places to check out, among the many:
> 
> Muriel's Jackson Square
> The Ruby Slipper
> Boucherie - DH and I stumbled upon this casual fine dining place on a couple's trip and loved it!
> Chargrilled oysters at Acme Oyster House



I'll keep those in mind. We may have already bitten off more than we can chew, so to speak.



dglilbit said:


> I agree with Audubon Park and the Voodoo museum! Other awesome touristy things to do:
> 
> take a look at the Art in Jackson Square, check out the St. Louis Cathedral
> listen to the street musicians and watch the performers at Jackson Square and around the French Quarter
> take a carriage ride through the French Quarter



The first two are doable, and while I'd love to do a carriage ride, I don't think Fran could get in and out of the carriage.



dglilbit said:


> Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop Bar - Oldest bar in the Quarter (some say the country, post Louisiana Purchase). Interesting mix of tourists and locals. Candle-lit atmosphere with piano sing alongs. Be careful with the 151-saturated cherries.
> 
> ride the St. Charles Streetcar (exact change needed)



I read about Lafitte's and it said that it was pretty touristy and not anything like it was in the past. Fran isn't much into bars, more a restaurant kind of gal.

Again the Streetcar probably doesn't accommodate scooters. But nice thought.



dglilbit said:


> go Tropical Isle, get drinks and watch people on Bourbon St.
> 
> have a hurricane at Pat O'Briens and listen to the dueling pianos



Hurricane at Pat O'Briens I might be able to convince her of!



dglilbit said:


> Marie Leveau Voodoo Tour (great tour!) - also any of the haunted tours are great as you get so much historical information full of flavor
> 
> The National WWII Museum
> 
> Oak Alley Plantation Tour



Oak Alley might be for another time.



dglilbit said:


> I got so excited about y'all visiting NOLA that I didn't read ahead!  The Swamp Tour will be a lot of fun!



I didn't want to take time away from NOLA to do this, so I'm glad it worked out as part of the cruise.



dglilbit said:


> PS - I'm enjoying your trip report as well.



Thanks!



PrincessInOz said:


> Catching up; or rather pretending that I have!
> 
> Your food porn is delicious. My screen has been thoroughly cleaned. Just as well I'm having dinner soon.
> Love the Christmas decorations as well.
> Trader Sam doesn't open till later??? WOW!



Maybe you should get some antibacterial spray for your screen. 

Opening at 4PM doesn't fit with Disney's business model of taking as much of your money as they can!



PrincessInOz said:


> Hope life is treating you and Fran well and the clean-out is finished soon.



Soon. Probably not. But hopefully eventually!


----------



## franandaj

Dis_Yoda said:


> Starting to catch up from this weekend!
> 
> The Grand Floridian is always the most holiday feeling of the resorts! I love their gingerbread house! I remember when I was a little girl and their gingerbread house was small enough to just be a showcase piece in the area in front of Grand Floridian Café where the DVC Desk is now. They didn't put it out one year and I remember being super doper upset!



Wow!  You really have a history with holidays at the WDW resorts!  I didn't start going to Disney regularly until my early 30s and that was only DL.  It's only been the last 10 years that we've really started going to WDW regularly.



Dis_Yoda said:


> Finding 13 of the 15 Olafs is awesome!



I actually looked for quite a while, those last two must have been really hidden.  Some were pretty obvious.



Dis_Yoda said:


> Love the Polynesian decorations as well!



I think those ornaments were my favorites, they were so whimsical and fitting for the resort.



Dis_Yoda said:


> Your meal at Morimoto Asia seems like it went decent at least. Sorry that your server had no idea the difference between a glass/carafe/bottle! You think they would have been trained better on that! Your food looks like it was pleasant though for a nice light dinner!



Yeah, the meal was good.  I wasn't expecting the Chow Mein to be quite so small, but we did leave full.  I was thinking that with the prices of the glasses that they really couldn't mean a sake cup, but looking back that had to be what they meant.  I don't remember which one I ordered, but I know it was one of the $24-30 something priced versions.  In hindsight I should have ordered one of the 300ml (stated on the menu) for $50.  I pay $18-26 at home for 300ml.  Somehow I guess I was hoping that the carafe might have been at least 200ml, but it was more like 125ml, if I had to guess.



afwdwfan said:


> Ok... this got me thinking and I just had to look. They serve breakfast starting at 9. So I guess if you take a bus to WPE and then planned to go back to the resort and hop on a bus to a park, you're screwed. Which doesn't make much sense.
> 
> Then again, if Disney wants to trap you somewhere to do some shopping...



I think that's the plan.  I know one trip we did go over to WPE for breakfast, but we had planned on shopping so it was OK.  Maybe they don't think you will be done before 11AM.  Or you could walk over to Congress Springs at SSR.  It really wasn't all that long of a distance.



afwdwfan said:


> I'm glad things are progressing.



Slowly but surely.  Naked Jim has even offered to help us work either today or tomorrow and in the future.



afwdwfan said:


> Cool! I didn't realize there were hidden Olafs there!



They had a sign posted (one of my pictures that didn't come out) with all the ingredients, and it said that there were 15 hidden Olafs.  If you look at this picture, you can actually see two (if you're not looking from your phone). Elsa is practically pointing at one, and the other is near Anna, on her right and up a little bit.  Now that I blow it up, I can see one to Elsa's right, level with the top of her head.







afwdwfan said:


> They do the decorations very well.







afwdwfan said:


> This really doesn't make sense. The way Disney likes to mint money, this place would easily pay for its operating costs for another few hours and then some!



I know, they sell one of those $50 drinks and BOOM!  If anyone else is in there, that hour of sales is made!



afwdwfan said:


> I hope it worked...







afwdwfan said:


> So, how was it? Worth getting it?



Well, it was tasty, but (and I don't really remember which one I got), but I think (and since I was writing most of the TR as it happened) I got the $24 sake.  That's $.20 a ml, doesn't sound like a lot, but when you consider at home I pay about $.05 a ml (if you want to get really technical).  I think that's way more than I bargained for.  At least if I had ordered the 300ml bottle for $50 it would have only been $.16 ml and I would have got more sake and been more satisfied.

I guess it was the size of the thing for the price and the fact that the server couldn't say, "It's a standard size sake container miss."



afwdwfan said:


> That's what I was thinking! Were you guys ok?



I'm not sure...maybe I was stil in shock from my sake!



jedijill said:


> Playing massive catch up again! The GF is always beautiful but Christmas is even better...Love the decor at the Poly too! I cannot believe that Trader Sams doesn't open until 4 at WDW...it just seems like a lost opportunity to me.



I do love the GF! I hope to stay there in a year. I know the whole Trader Sams not open til 4 thing bows my mind!



jedijill said:


> I can't believe you guys didn't buy anything! So unlike you! LOL Sorry the Morimoto experience was so meh...for those prices you should be blown away.



It was more the server , first not knowing the sizes of drinks and then bringing the sushi not before the other stuff. That's like not bringing bread before your meal. Rookie move!



jedijill said:


> You guys are making great progress on the move!



Well I'm not sure "great" is the appropriate word for the progress, but we are making progress. Another load went to the thrift store Monday.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Moving always sucks. Good to hear you've made progress, though!



Yeah, it sure does suck. I'm not doing this again!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Aw, man. That stinks.



I know. They're just little red x's on the screen. 



Captain_Oblivious said:


> But I thought you didn't see us on this particular day!







Captain_Oblivious said:


> Nice! I might have to steal one. We were staying there and took photos of everything except the Christmas tree.



Steal Away!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Morimoto looks very fancy!



Mostly the chandeliers were fancy. It was actually a fairly laid back place. 



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Um...
> 
> So it's expensive, then?



Not sure if you saw where I did the math above for Andy, but it cost 4x a sake I would get at home in a restaurant maybe it was higher quality. Had I got the larger bottle that was more expensive overall, it would have only been 3x as expensive as what I get at home.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Wow! Take the money you would have spent and get some lottery tickets!



We did, and didn't win the power ball jackpot 



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I can definitely understand!



It was nice to take a shower without a bucket to catch the run off and water while it warms up. Even nicer not to have to take it out and dump it on the plants!



IowaTater said:


> Yay for progress! I can imagine how worn out you are though. I bet it feels good to know you're making a little bit of head-way.



It's a little every time, but I still get overwhelmed every time I go in there.



IowaTater said:


> That is gorgeous! All those little details are just amazing.



Just wait, even better is coming soon.



IowaTater said:


> Did it at least taste good?



It was good. I just think I was miffed in that I wanted a larger serving, but at that price I wasn't going to order a second glass. I would have chosen something more economical. And the fact that I didn't know what I was getting made it even more frustrating. 



rentayenta said:


> Fun that you got to see @Pinkocto  and meet her cute mom!
> 
> The Poly knocks my socks off.



I wish we could have had a proper meet up, but they were traveling with friends. 

I can't wait to stay at the Poly in a little over two months!


----------



## franandaj

Pinkocto said:


> Great pictures of the decorations, bummer the GF ones are giving you trouble. Cute about the hidden Olafs. I like the pin.



Thanks!



Pinkocto said:


> Thanks so much for taking the time to visit. I'm sorry we didn't schedule more time together, that trip came up on me way too fast. I'm so glad mom was able to meet you and Fran  Yes, when people say that I'm happy or over the top, or anything along those lines, I always follow that up with, 'you haven't met my mom'



I'm glad we were able to meet up, I just wish it had been for longer and not just a "Hi!" in the middle of the walkway.



Pinkocto said:


> I am intrigued at this incredibly expensive sake. I hope it was good! The restaurant is pretty but I don't think I'll be racing to eat there.



I'm probably over reacting, but I was miffed that the server couldn't tell me any information about the size that I was purchasing. I might have just gone for the MoriMotini instead of actual sake.  I could have had two for almost the same price!



********** said:


> Hey there - joining back in since returning to the real world. (Booo!)



At least you made it home safe.  I had a very nice time with you and your family!



********** said:


> Did you think Morimoto was worth it? I don't know that it appeals much to me.



I liked it for the fact that it was Morimoto's restaurant.  It was a bummer that he wasn't there, but I wouldn't expect him to be there all the time.  At first I didn't think the menu sounded interesting at all, but after Fran indicated an interest to dine there, I changed my mind.  There are other places that I would rather visit for a first time and others that I would also rather go back to first, but I would place it ahead of Wolfgang Puck's Dining room on the "go back" list.



pkondz said:


> I _was_ going to say "That sounds good", but... oh well.



Yeah, it looked better than it tasted.



pkondz said:


> Darn. Would've been fun.



Yes, it would have, but Fran doesn't like to do that kind of stuff.



pkondz said:


> And that photog looks less than impressed!



He was giving me some pretty potent stinkeye.



pkondz said:


> Uh, oh. Is this the same battery that you'd replaced?



No this was the rental scooter's battery.  I was riding her scooter cause I don't like this rental company's scooters, they are way to big and bulky.  Guess there was another good reason too!



pkondz said:


> Yes!!! Love it there.



I want to go back!  Maybe October.



pkondz said:


> And that's one of the things I love about it.



It's smaller than most of our restaurants at home!



pkondz said:


> You sure did! Kay and I didn't do nearly so well.
> Then again, we each had our own.



It was you guys not being able to finish that helped me to figure out what we would order. I knew I couldn't finish one and Fran _shouldn't _finish one, though she proudly stated she could have.  I barely helped finish that one.



pkondz said:


> That is the best display ever! Love it!



It was my favorite too!  



pkondz said:


> Thanks dude. Thanks a lot.



I know.  I still get mad when I do the laundry on those.  I try not to wear them if I can avoid it.



pkondz said:


> Phew! Glad it worked out. but...
> 
> What the H is that all about?!?



I know!  Do they have a "no ADRs same day between 7 to 9PM" policy to help encourage walk ups, that don't happen because everyone knows you can't walk up at a TS between 5-8PM for dinner as it will be fully booked.  It's a Catch 22!



pkondz said:


> Two of them??? Two?!?!?



No it was one giant "U" shaped schnitzel!



pkondz said:


> Yay for sleep!



I know finally!



pkondz said:


> She's wearing a Santa hat!!



She finally got her Christmas Mojo!



pkondz said:


> Yummm... Want. Now.



Sounds good.  I'm going to make a point of having something like that once I lose my 20+ pounds!



pkondz said:


> mmmm.... bennies. With lobster! Must try that.



It was very tasty!  



pkondz said:


> Fran killed Minnie!!!!



The White Witch from Narnia had already frozen her, so it wasn't Fran who killed Minnie.



pkondz said:


> It's gonna take me a while to eat all that. But I'm willing to give it a shot.



The only problem with those sculptures is you have no idea how long they have been sitting there.  Like the Gingerbread house, how many people touched it waiting in line?



pkondz said:


> No. Way.



Yes way.  In fact you remind me that Fran asked me to give her some of the papers we brought home for shredding when we got home today.  Guess what she is doing instead?  
	

	
	
		
		

		
			
		
		
	


	






pkondz said:


> So you stormed the doors, tearing them asunder!



Hardly.



pkondz said:


> Fran does not fool around.



Well, she's a lot of talk...



pkondz said:


> Holy crap! Was it worth it? Or was it at least _close_ to worth it?



Well I may have over exaggerated a bit.  It was more expensive per oz than the Mdme Pomeroy Champagne, and if you saw the math I did in reply to Andy's post, it was 4x more expensive than anything I would get at home.  I guess is was OK, but I would have rathered have more of something lesser for the same price.



pkondz said:


> Love open kitchens. Love to watch all the action.



They are fun to watch!



pkondz said:


> I'm going to say.... never?



Never say never.  But it is very rare!


----------



## franandaj

Day 9

I woke up just before 5AM this morning, but it was way too early to get up so I rolled back over and fell asleep for about an hour. We had generated another whole load of laundry since Friday. It had been warmer than I had planned and I was again down to my last pair of clean capris.  I decided to run a test load of towels through the washer to make sure that it wouldn't damage any more clothes.

In the meantime I took a Jacuzzi tub. After cooling down from my tub, I put the load of laundry in the washer and got dressed. I started coffee and began the process of making breakfast. Just as breakfast was about ready I convinced Fran to come in the kitchen rather than risk getting syrup in bed. We had French Toast, sausage, V8 and our choice of caffeine. 





Fran laid back down for a few minutes while her pain pill kicked in. I cleaned up the dishes, put away the clean ones from the dishwasher and reloaded it with the dirty dishes. Then I switched the laundry to the dryer. She asked for another 12 minutes so I started the intro for this TR on the computer while I waited. We got her dressed and we're almost ready to go when the maid knocked for T&T service. I told her we were leaving shortly and then she could do it. Her reply was, "All I'm doing is Trash and Towels." With kind of a southern hospitality attitude. I wanted to say, "Well you can do your trash and towels when we're ready!" But I'm too polite.

A few minutes go by and she barges in the door. I hollered, "Fran are you done in the bathroom? Are you decent?"

It wasn't so much I didn't want her in there while we were there, it was that the last thing we do before we leave is use the bathroom! Now that she was all up in our business in the bathroom I couldn't really use it until she was done. I should have just shut the door and made her wait! But I'm weird about that.

Eventually everything was taken care of and we headed out for the bus stop. About 10 minutes went by before we saw an Epcot bus, and he already had one scooter on board, so we said we would wait for the next one. It was about 10 more minutes before the bus came and we were already into the time for our first FP. I'm not sure what took so long but it was 10:30 when they dropped us off and our FP expired at 10:50. We got to bag check and there was a HUGE line, so we just waited. These really rude people started cutting in front of folks trying to say that there really wasn't a line it was just a crowd of people.  I was like   What????? There was clearly a line that I was waiting in. And they were checking everything under the sun. I saw them pull wallets out of purses and open them, so I got everything that had any pocket out and opened it up. When I got to the front, I was like, "wallet, glasses case, gift cards, camera case, lens...." the guy chuckled but he still took my purse and did a full deep cavity search. Finally we were through. They must have had some kind of threat alert because they had bomb sniffing dogs. I've never seen those before. 

Just a note: The bulk of this report was mostly written in “Notepad” on my phone while we were on the trip, and I have edited it slightly before posting. Two days after this day, we flew home and it was within a day or two of arriving home that Disney announced it’s “take no prisoners” policy where they banned costumes and started running people through full body scanners.  So this was just the beginning of the heightened security.

By the way, on my second to last trip to Disneyland, my party was subjected to the “random security check.”  Fran has multiple bionic parts in her body and they had no policy for dealing with her. They couldn’t give her a pat down, so they sort of had me do it.  The whole situation was really weird and I don’t see how it would stop terrorists, but whatever.  OK back to Epcot.

So we hauled butt over to the character spot and we were 2 minutes late for our FP, but they must have a grace period because they let us in. The Mickey head glowed green. We met Mickey, Goofy and Minnie.













































Next we had a FP for Spaceship Earth.  Good thing, the Standby wait was 30 minutes. We had a fun trip to the past and future. 













































































These pictures crack me up!

















And then we came back to earth.


*[Continued in Two Posts]*


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> Yes, it would have, but Fran doesn't like to do that kind of stuff.



party pooper.



franandaj said:


> He was giving me some pretty potent stinkeye.



Tough. It's a public space. Deal with it.
"Excuse me. Would you mind not taking photos here?"
"No. Buzz off."



franandaj said:


> No this was the rental scooter's battery. I was riding her scooter cause I don't like this rental company's scooters, they are way to big and bulky. Guess there was another good reason too!



Ah. And.. yes.



franandaj said:


> It was you guys not being able to finish that helped me to figure out what we would order.



Oh really! Well, glad to be of service.



franandaj said:


> I know. I still get mad when I do the laundry on those. I try not to wear them if I can avoid it.



Ruby's mom always told her to wear clean undies in case you wind up in emerg.



franandaj said:


> I know! Do they have a "no ADRs same day between 7 to 9PM" policy to help encourage walk ups, that don't happen because everyone knows you can't walk up at a TS between 5-8PM for dinner as it will be fully booked. It's a Catch 22!



Bizarre.



franandaj said:


> No it was one giant "U" shaped schnitzel!



Still... Huge!



franandaj said:


> She finally got her Christmas Mojo!



:



franandaj said:


> I'm going to make a point of having something like that once I lose my 20+ pounds!



Good luck!



franandaj said:


> The White Witch from Narnia had already frozen her, so it wasn't Fran who killed Minnie.



She was just in suspended animation (no pun intended... well maybe a little) but now she's really gone.



franandaj said:


> The only problem with those sculptures is you have no idea how long they have been sitting there. Like the Gingerbread house, how many people touched it waiting in line?



ew.
But wasn't that one behind glass?



franandaj said:


> Yes way. In fact you remind me that Fran asked me to give her some of the papers we brought home for shredding when we got home today. Guess what she is doing instead?







franandaj said:


> Hardly.



Dang.


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

I was going to try and ride Mission space, but the posted wait time was 60 minutes for orange. So instead I got some Starbucks. 





We decided to head over to our ADR in Mexico. I was glad that I still had my dark ride lens on the camera because I needed it in here to get even substandard pictures! 









We both ordered the San Angel Inn Margarita





And started off with chips and salsa





As well as an order of queso fundidio. OMG this was sooooooo delicious!









I took some pictures of the room.  Did I mention that it was dark in here?

















We split an order of the green chicken enchiladas and an appetizer of Quesadilla (something with an H). The enchiladas came with black beans and rice. I don't care for Spanish rice and this was no different. I usually don't like black beans either, but these were delicious! I wonder if they prepare them too healthy for my taste in California? 









After lunch we took some pictures of the topiaries and Christmas decorations as we made our way to Mission Space.  

















I couldn’t believe that this was only lizard #2









Now the wait for orange was only 15 minutes.  Much better. Then our FP for Test Track was up. Fran declined to ride, so I made my vehicle all by myself.  





Here was my performance.  It was fun, but I like RSR better. Not as many jolts and stops. 





By this time I was completely hitting a wall. I thought that we would be back at the resort by now (it was 3:30 already), but Fran wanted to go through Mouse Gears, she wanted a shirt, but the line was too long and she gave up. Then we drove through the art store. There was stuff we wanted, but getting it home would be a problem or costly, so we declined.

We took some photos of the topiaries by SE on our way out and then headed for the bus stop. 













We've had pretty good bus MOJO this trip and didn't have to wait all that long. On our last trip we had a 40+ minute wait on one day for a bus to get to AK.

Back at the room, I plugged in the scooters and laid down for a nap. Really a nap, for me! It was 5PM and this was when we wanted to be leaving for DHS, but sleep was more important at this point. 


Next up: All that and there’s no casino?


----------



## jedijill

That was strange about the maid insisting she come in for T&T!  Lots of good character meets...your lunch looks yummy!

Jill in CO


----------



## dhorner233

Thanks for pointing out the Olafs at the Contemporary. They were little white blurs but I get the idea. I will have to go back and look at my pictures from the year before.

The security to get into the park - wow! When you say a full body scan do you mean walking through a metal detector or the full body, they see you naked scan? They still hand search everything. Not through a machine? Random pat downs? Sounds like the airports. Except you do get to keep your shoes on I guess.

And you patting down Fran?! ***? So we can pat each other down? How is that secure? (We can't say W*F?!)

How is DW security compared to Disneyland?

Nice dark ride and dark restaurant pictures! What type of lens did you use?


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> I woke up just before 5AM this morning, but it was way too early to get up so I rolled back over and fell asleep for about an hour.



Nice. Nothing like going back to sleep 'cause you can.



franandaj said:


> We had generated another whole load of laundry since Friday.



Uh, oh.



franandaj said:


> I decided to run a test load of towels through the washer to make sure that it wouldn't damage any more clothes.



And?



franandaj said:


> Just as breakfast was about ready I convinced Fran to come in the kitchen rather than risk getting syrup in bed.



Probably a good call.



franandaj said:


> our choice of caffeine.



Interesting. Up until a couple of years ago, Mountain Dew in Canada didn't have caffeine.
It was actually illegal to add caffeine to it.
Now it's caffeinated. And I wish it wasn't. Means I can't have one late at night anymore.
At least not if I want to sleep.



franandaj said:


> We got her dressed and we're almost ready to go when the maid knocked for T&T service. I told her we were leaving shortly and then she could do it. Her reply was, "All I'm doing is Trash and Towels." With kind of a southern hospitality attitude. I wanted to say, "Well you can do your trash and towels when we're ready!" But I'm too polite.



What the what?
Settle down lady.



franandaj said:


> A few minutes go by and she barges in the door. I hollered, "Fran are you done in the bathroom? Are you decent?"



What?!?!!? Are you kidding?
I'd probably yell at her "Did you not hear me? Get out!"




franandaj said:


> Now that she was all up in our business in the bathroom I couldn't really use it until she was done. I should have just shut the door and made her wait! But I'm weird about that.



Once she's in, I guess it's easier to just let her finish and get out.
Still.... grrrr....



franandaj said:


> These really rude people started cutting in front of folks trying to say that there really wasn't a line it was just a crowd of people. I was like  What?????



You were just not having any luck with normal human courtesies that day.



franandaj said:


> They must have had some kind of threat alert because they had bomb sniffing dogs. I've never seen those before.



Huh.



franandaj said:


> Two days after this day, we flew home and it was within a day or two of arriving home that Disney announced it’s “take no prisoners” policy where they banned costumes



Still bummed about that.



franandaj said:


> They couldn’t give her a pat down, so they sort of had me do it.



What? What does that accomplish?? That's incredibly stupid.

"Okay. I've finished patting her down and I definitely did not find the bomb I put in her chair."

Stupid.



franandaj said:


> So we hauled butt over to the character spot and we were 2 minutes late for our FP, but they must have a grace period because they let us in.



Phew! Close one.



franandaj said:


>



Dad!!!



franandaj said:


> These pictures crack me up!







franandaj said:


> I was going to try and ride Mission space, but the posted wait time was 60 minutes for orange. So instead I got some Starbucks.



Good call.



franandaj said:


>



I think it's a rule that Starbucks are not allowed to spell anyone's name right.



franandaj said:


> I was glad that I still had my dark ride lens on the camera because I needed it in here to get even substandard pictures!



Whoa. That's dark.



franandaj said:


> I took some pictures of the room. Did I mention that it was dark in here?



Nope!



franandaj said:


> I couldn’t believe that this was only lizard #2



Same lizard. He's stalking you.



franandaj said:


> Fran declined to ride, so I made my vehicle all by myself.



Not bad!



franandaj said:


>



Bambi on crack. Cool.



franandaj said:


> On our last trip we had a 40+ minute wait on one day for a bus to get to AK.



Is this even possible???



franandaj said:


> Next up: All that and there’s no casino?



 Love that title.


----------



## afwdwfan

franandaj said:


> Just a note: The bulk of this report was mostly written in “Notepad” on my phone while we were on the trip, and I have edited it slightly before posting. Two days after this day, we flew home and it was within a day or two of arriving home that Disney announced it’s “take no prisoners” policy where they banned costumes and started running people through full body scanners. So this was just the beginning of the heightened security.


Ok, first of all, your skills using your phones notepad are clearly far superior to mine.  

But I remember hearing about security being beefed up and longer lines than normal.  Sorry it caught you a little bit by surprise this morning.



franandaj said:


> By the way, on my second to last trip to Disneyland, my party was subjected to the “random security check.” Fran has multiple bionic parts in her body and they had no policy for dealing with her. They couldn’t give her a pat down, so they sort of had me do it. The whole situation was really weird and I don’t see how it would stop terrorists, but whatever.


Oh wow.  Really?  What's the point?

This whole metal detector system they use serves no purpose other than providing a token layer of security. 

First of all, I don't think Disney necessarily needed them because their security is some of the best in the world anyway.  They have enough plain clothes people around keeping an eye on things that it would be extremely difficult to do anything anyway.

But if you're going to put in metal detectors, you'd better make sure you've got enough to check everybody.  Otherwise you're wasting time and causing frustration for the individuals who happen to get pulled off to the side. 



franandaj said:


> So we hauled butt over to the character spot and we were 2 minutes late for our FP, but they must have a grace period because they let us in.


I think it is 5 minutes before, 15 minutes after...



franandaj said:


> We both ordered the San Angel Inn Margarita


I love those!

It has been a long time since I've had a meal there.  I love the ambience of the place though.  We might need to try to fit this one in next time. 



franandaj said:


> Here was my performance. It was fun, but I like RSR better. Not as many jolts and stops.


RSR is way better for so many reasons...



franandaj said:


> On our last trip we had a 40+ minute wait on one day for a bus to get to AK.


Yikes!  I'm glad this trip the bus service was better. 



franandaj said:


> Back at the room, I plugged in the scooters and laid down for a nap. Really a nap, for me! It was 5PM and this was when we wanted to be leaving for DHS, but sleep was more important at this point.


It sounds like a much needed break.  Hopefully you get up in time to still enjoy your evening plans!


----------



## rentayenta

Love the topiaries. They are just darling.

Cute sundress.

Starbucks spelled your name wrong.


----------



## cruisehopeful

franandaj said:


> Her reply was, "All I'm doing is Trash and Towels." With kind of a southern hospitality attitude. I wanted to say, "Well you can do your trash and towels when we're ready!" But I'm too polite.
> 
> A few minutes go by and she barges in the door.


That's really annoying. I had issues at the DL hotel and at VGC a couple times. It makes me think they are on a schedule with a manager who pushes them too much. That kind of stuff really puts a damper on the fun and relaxing part of being on vacation.


franandaj said:


> They couldn’t give her a pat down, so they sort of had me do it. The whole situation was really weird and I don’t see how it would stop terrorists, but whatever. [/QUOTE]
> That's one the stupidest things I've ever read about. I hope they see this and come up with a different approach in the future.
> 
> Sounds like a lot of fun otherwise. Spaceship Earth looks really cool. It isn't what I imagined from the name and looks like classic old school Disney.  I need to go back to WDW sometime. I hate flying and timezone changes, but I really miss the kind of rides that we had at DL when I was a kid and WDW seems to have more of those.



I can't figure out how I messed up that quote.


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

franandaj said:


> These really rude people started cutting in front of folks trying to say that there really wasn't a line it was just a crowd of people. I was like  What?????



I really, really hate people sometimes.  Scratch that.  Entitled people.



franandaj said:


> Just a note: The bulk of this report was mostly written in “Notepad” on my phone while we were on the trip, and I have edited it slightly before posting. Two days after this day, we flew home and it was within a day or two of arriving home that Disney announced it’s “take no prisoners” policy where they banned costumes and started running people through full body scanners. So this was just the beginning of the heightened security.



We didn't run into that, but I read the reports just after we left--and I was glad we missed it!



franandaj said:


> Fran has multiple bionic parts in her body and they had no policy for dealing with her. They couldn’t give her a pat down, so they sort of had me do it. The whole situation was really weird and I don’t see how it would stop terrorists, but whatever.



Wow, that's...weird.



franandaj said:


> And then we came back to earth.



But why??



franandaj said:


> I took some pictures of the room. Did I mention that it was dark in here?



Maybe just a little.  I like the atmosphere in there, though.



franandaj said:


> I usually don't like black beans either, but these were delicious! I wonder if they prepare them too healthy for my taste in California?



That's why it's so dark.  They were actually jelly beans.



franandaj said:


> Here was my performance. It was fun, but I like RSR better. Not as many jolts and stops.



I like RSR better, too.  Especially since they muddled the storyline on TT.



franandaj said:


> Really a nap, for me!


----------



## mvf-m11c

I was a little surprised to read about the security being stepped up at the Disney parks where they have added the metal detectors, dogs, and more security around Christmas break time. I know what you mean about rude people that are trying to get through the security check point and turnstiles. I didn't experience that when I was at the DLR back in early December but there was more security at that time and I will experience that this coming weekend. I do carry a lot of stuff with me so hopefully it will be fast instead of slower. We have enough slow things to get into DL & DCA from the picture scan at the turnstiles if you are entering the park for the first time with that ticket. It seems like security at the parks are doing the same shakedowns like at any events where it can be annoying and I don't know what they are thinking about selecting certain people of the pat downs. 

Very nice day at Epcot where you got to meet some characters. Glad to see that you are getting better and better with the Sigma lens during the dark rides. I always wanted to eat at the San Angel Inn which is like the BB version at DL where it is dark and a nice dining experience. The Christmas decorations at Epcot are interesting every year especially with the character topiaries.


----------



## franandaj

How is it that you are always sneaking in between my updates???? 



pkondz said:


> party pooper.



She's been called worse!



pkondz said:


> Tough. It's a public space. Deal with it.
> "Excuse me. Would you mind not taking photos here?"
> "No. Buzz off."







pkondz said:


> Oh really! Well, glad to be of service.



I hate wasting food, but I hate overeating more. If neither of you could finish you sundae without ordering dinner, I knew I wouldn't be able to eat one myself after lunch. I wouldn't have even been able to eat an entire lunch myself! And then I couldn't have had dessert.



pkondz said:


> Ruby's mom always told her to wear clean undies in case you wind up in emerg.



Good advice given by many parents. Just not mine.



pkondz said:


> Good luck!



Well I'm working on it!



pkondz said:


> She was just in suspended animation (no pun intended... well maybe a little) but now she's really gone.



Except that they must have cloned her because she was all over the restaurant. Someone must have soared her!



pkondz said:


> ew.
> But wasn't that one behind glass?



Yes that one was behind glass. But you don't know how long it's been sitting there. I'm weird like that. I throw out food for fear of spoilage, either that or we give it to Naked Jim.  He'll eat food that's been in our fridge for a week or longer. 



jedijill said:


> That was strange about the maid insisting she come in for T&T!  Lots of good character meets...your lunch looks yummy!
> 
> Jill in CO



I know. I was like, "You can wait 10 minutes and we'll be gone." But no. If they do that for our stay at VWL, I'm going to bolt the door! Lunch was so good. That's going back on the repeat list. The queso fundidio was awesome! Already I'm craving animal products! 



dhorner233 said:


> Thanks for pointing out the Olafs at the Contemporary. They were little white blurs but I get the idea. I will have to go back and look at my pictures from the year before.



Who knows if they were new for this year or not.



dhorner233 said:


> The security to get into the park - wow! When you say a full body scan do you mean walking through a metal detector or the full body, they see you naked scan? They still hand search everything. Not through a machine? Random pat downs? Sounds like the airports. Except you do get to keep your shoes on I guess.



At DL they have airport style screening machines. They are the older kind, not the ones where you put  your hands up and they see you. I think they're just metal detectors. You don't have to take your shoes off. And yes they hand search all bags and then randomly choose people to go through the metal detectors. 



dhorner233 said:


> And you patting down Fran?! ***? So we can pat each other down? How is that secure? (We can't say W*F?!)



I know it was crazy!



dhorner233 said:


> How is DW security compared to Disneyland?



I wasn't at WDW when the metal detectors were installed, we had already left.



dhorner233 said:


> Nice dark ride and dark restaurant pictures! What type of lens did you use?



It was a Sigma 35mm 1.4 lens.



pkondz said:


> Nice. Nothing like going back to sleep 'cause you can.







pkondz said:


> Uh, oh.
> 
> And?



Everything was fine.



pkondz said:


> Probably a good call.



Syrup in bed is never a good thing. 



pkondz said:


> Interesting. Up until a couple of years ago, Mountain Dew in Canada didn't have caffeine.
> It was actually illegal to add caffeine to it.
> Now it's caffeinated. And I wish it wasn't. Means I can't have one late at night anymore.
> At least not if I want to sleep.



Fran likes it because it has the highest caffeine content of almost all sodas. Jolt is the only one with more of they still make that. She can drink that stuff day and night and she can still barely stay awake.



pkondz said:


> What the what?
> Settle down lady.



I know right?



pkondz said:


> What?!?!!? Are you kidding?
> I'd probably yell at her "Did you not hear me? Get out!"



And they say Canadians are supposed to be polite. I'm going to throw the latch on our door on T&T day next trip!



pkondz said:


> Once she's in, I guess it's easier to just let her finish and get out.
> Still.... grrrr....



The only way to throw her out would have been physically and I didn't want to get involved in that.



pkondz said:


> You were just not having any luck with normal human courtesies that day.



No I wasn't. 



pkondz said:


> Huh.



At least it was before the implementation of metal detectors and the like, but it sure seemed like something was up and I guess it was.



pkondz said:


> Still bummed about that.



I know. I have no reason now really to go back to a Halloween party. 



pkondz said:


> What? What does that accomplish?? That's incredibly stupid.
> 
> "Okay. I've finished patting her down and I definitely did not find the bomb I put in her chair."
> 
> Stupid.



Exactly!



pkondz said:


> Dad!!!



So the one sitting down, is that the one that looks like your dad?



pkondz said:


> I think it's a rule that Starbucks are not allowed to spell anyone's name right.



  The vet either. I just had to change my name there too.



pkondz said:


> Whoa. That's dark.



Half of my shots didn't even come out!



pkondz said:


> Same lizard. He's stalking you.



He must have a transporter to that's how he gets around from resort to park.



pkondz said:


> Bambi on crack. Cool.







pkondz said:


> Is this even possible???



I didn't think so, but we got to the stop at 10 to 9. The bus was scheduled to arrive at 9:03, then the arrival time changed to 9:12. In fact all the buses changed. Then 9:17. A bus for Epcot came, then one for DHS. By this time ours said like 9:25. Then an AK bus came and it was full. They crammed everyone but us on the bus and said another would be right there. Sure enough one came and we had it pretty much to ourselves. But by that time it was 9:30 and I think our FPs for the safari closed at 9:50. We did end up making it though.



pkondz said:


> Love that title.



Thanks!


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> How is it that you are always sneaking in between my updates????



I don't know! 



franandaj said:


> She's been called worse!



Probably by her spouse.







franandaj said:


> I hate wasting food, but I hate overeating more. If neither of you could finish you sundae without ordering dinner, I knew I wouldn't be able to eat one myself after lunch. I wouldn't have even been able to eat an entire lunch myself! And then I couldn't have had dessert.



I try to keep my TRs educational and informative.


Or something.



franandaj said:


> Good advice given by many parents. Just not mine.







franandaj said:


> Well I'm working on it!



I saw that on FB.



franandaj said:


> Except that they must have cloned her because she was all over the restaurant. Someone must have soared her!



Science. Whoa.



franandaj said:


> Everything was fine.



phew.



franandaj said:


> Fran likes it because it has the highest caffeine content of almost all sodas. Jolt is the only one with more of they still make that. She can drink that stuff day and night and she can still barely stay awake.



Wow. One Coke after supper and I'm usually toast



franandaj said:


> And they say Canadians are supposed to be polite.



Just don't rile us.



franandaj said:


> The only way to throw her out would have been physically and I didn't want to get involved in that.



Well... sure.
Be polite. "Excuse me, could you give me your supervisor's name and number? Thanks."



franandaj said:


> I know. I have no reason now really to go back to a Halloween party.



I was thinking the same thing.



franandaj said:


> So the one sitting down, is that the one that looks like your dad?



The Centurion



franandaj said:


> He must have a transporter to that's how he gets around from resort to park.



Nah. He hitched a ride on your back.



franandaj said:


>



Looked to me like his eyes were bugging out.


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Just catching up! Slight distraction with 3 weeks in hospital...

Exciting about your Mississippi River trip. New Orleans is a place we love. The ship looks amazing. A bay window a good choice. Who wants mosquitoes coming in anyway? I love the rooms on the ship. The dining room looks amazing. 

I am delighted to hear about the scooter friendly swamp tour!

Oh my re SSR - OKW I am glad it got eventually sorted out! 

I love the photo on the speeder bike. I wish I had got a supply of those cinamon rolls in hospital. We thought the holiday decs were best at the BW area. BC was amazing. Loving B & Cream. We were shocked how small it was! 

Nice photo of you with Mickey and great dress. Dinner looks good. Enjoyed catching up!


----------



## skier_pete

I second the dress you were wearing for your Mickey/Minnie greet. Very pretty!

Overall looks like a good day at Epcot, but 60 minute wait for M:S, I couldn't imagine that! Of course it's rare that we will wait more than 20 minutes for anything. We are just too spoiled!


----------



## franandaj

afwdwfan said:


> Ok, first of all, your skills using your phones notepad are clearly far superior to mine.



Well at first it started out as cryptic notes while we were on the cruise, just so I could remember what we did. However by the time I got to WDW, I was writing full sentences and completely documenting my day. I would do it waiting in line for rides or while on the bus or waiting for the bus. Or while Fran was looking in stores (which actually ends up being a fair amount of time!)



afwdwfan said:


> But I remember hearing about security being beefed up and longer lines than normal. Sorry it caught you a little bit by surprise this morning.



Yeah, little did any of us know the crud that they would be pulling!



afwdwfan said:


> Oh wow. Really? What's the point?
> 
> This whole metal detector system they use serves no purpose other than providing a token layer of security.
> 
> First of all, I don't think Disney necessarily needed them because their security is some of the best in the world anyway. They have enough plain clothes people around keeping an eye on things that it would be extremely difficult to do anything anyway.
> 
> But if you're going to put in metal detectors, you'd better make sure you've got enough to check everybody. Otherwise you're wasting time and causing frustration for the individuals who happen to get pulled off to the side.



Exactly!



afwdwfan said:


> I think it is 5 minutes before, 15 minutes after...



OK, good to know, normally I wouldn't push it, but stuff just kept happening that morning!



afwdwfan said:


> I love those!
> 
> It has been a long time since I've had a meal there. I love the ambience of the place though. We might need to try to fit this one in next time.



This one is high up there on the repeat list!



afwdwfan said:


> RSR is way better for so many reasons...







afwdwfan said:


> Yikes! I'm glad this trip the bus service was better.



We had pretty bad service on that last trip.  I'm not sure if it was because we were staying at the GF or we just were unlucky.



afwdwfan said:


> It sounds like a much needed break. Hopefully you get up in time to still enjoy your evening plans!



You will see hopefully very soon.



rentayenta said:


> Love the topiaries. They are just darling.



I'm looking forward to the ones that we will see at F&G as well!



rentayenta said:


> Cute sundress.



Thanks. Did you notice anything "special" about it?



rentayenta said:


> Starbucks spelled your name wrong.



Everyone does!



cruisehopeful said:


> That's really annoying. I had issues at the DL hotel and at VGC a couple times. It makes me think they are on a schedule with a manager who pushes them too much. That kind of stuff really puts a damper on the fun and relaxing part of being on vacation.



I think you might have something there. I like DVC because you don't have maids bothering you, so having one do it this day was super annoying!



cruisehopeful said:


> I can't figure out how I messed up that quote.


----------



## dhorner233

What was "special" about your cute sun dress?


----------



## orangecats2

I love your tardis dress!!!


----------



## franandaj

orangecats2 said:


> I love your tardis dress!!!



Bing bing bing! We have a winner! I'm replying out of order but you are the first one to figure out why the dress was "special". Not to mention it also has Van Gogh's starry night, but the tardis part was important.


----------



## orangecats2

franandaj said:


> Bing bing bing! We have a winner! I'm replying out of order but you are the first one to figure out why the dress was "special". Not to mention it also has Van Gogh's starry night, but the tardis part was important.



Of course I knew what the dress was, I'm a Whovian! I did know it was Van Gogh but just wanted to comment on the Tardis.


----------



## franandaj

Captain_Oblivious said:


> I really, really hate people sometimes. Scratch that. Entitled people.



Yeah, and we seem to run into plenty of them at Disney. 



Captain_Oblivious said:


> We didn't run into that, but I read the reports just after we left--and I was glad we missed it!



You guys lucked out. Did you go to any parks on Monday?



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Wow, that's...weird.



I know. As pkondz said, "I didn't find the bomb I hid under her seat!"



Captain_Oblivious said:


> But why??



The ride ended and they made us get off? 



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Maybe just a little. I like the atmosphere in there, though.



It was really nice, and the food was great!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> That's why it's so dark. They were actually jelly beans.







Captain_Oblivious said:


> like RSR better, too. Especially since they muddled the storyline on TT.



I don't like all the stops and starts, and jerky movements.



mvf-m11c said:


> I was a little surprised to read about the security being stepped up at the Disney parks where they have added the metal detectors, dogs, and more security around Christmas break time. I know what you mean about rude people that are trying to get through the security check point and turnstiles. I didn't experience that when I was at the DLR back in early December but there was more security at that time and I will experience that this coming weekend. I do carry a lot of stuff with me so hopefully it will be fast instead of slower. We have enough slow things to get into DL & DCA from the picture scan at the turnstiles if you are entering the park for the first time with that ticket. It seems like security at the parks are doing the same shakedowns like at any events where it can be annoying and I don't know what they are thinking about selecting certain people of the pat downs.



It wasn't nearly as bad when I was there 10 days ago.



mvf-m11c said:


> Very nice day at Epcot where you got to meet some characters. Glad to see that you are getting better and better with the Sigma lens during the dark rides. I always wanted to eat at the San Angel Inn which is like the BB version at DL where it is dark and a nice dining experience. The Christmas decorations at Epcot are interesting every year especially with the character topiaries.



Thanks. Me and the Sigma lens are becoming even better friends, but more on that in a couple posts.



pkondz said:


> I don't know!



Well don't be offended if I wait until _after_ my next update to respond any responses from you generated by this banter!  



pkondz said:


> Probably by her spouse.



Never 



pkondz said:


> I try to keep my TRs educational and informative.
> 
> 
> Or something.



Let's go with something.



pkondz said:


> I saw that on FB.



And it's going rather well so far.  I may post about it before my next update, which should be soon as yesterday was when it should have been posted.  



pkondz said:


> Wow. One Coke after supper and I'm usually toast



I can't drink any carbonated beverages, even Champagne sometimes gives me trouble.



pkondz said:


> Just don't rile us.



Whoa.  Ok then!



pkondz said:


> Well... sure.
> Be polite. "Excuse me, could you give me your supervisor's name and number? Thanks."







pkondz said:


> I was thinking the same thing.



Now I'll have to go on a cruise to find a fun place to dress up.



pkondz said:


> Nah. He hitched a ride on your back.







pkondz said:


> Looked to me like his eyes were bugging out.



Hmmmm...I guess I missed that.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Just catching up! Slight distraction with 3 weeks in hospital...



Ugh.  Well I'm glad you're back home again, and hopefully all healed!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Exciting about your Mississippi River trip. New Orleans is a place we love. The ship looks amazing. A bay window a good choice. Who wants mosquitoes coming in anyway? I love the rooms on the ship. The dining room looks amazing.



I know.  I'm getting so excited that it is coming up so soon!  But so many things to do before we go!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> I am delighted to hear about the scooter friendly swamp tour!



I was very pleased to find that out as well!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Oh my re SSR - OKW I am glad it got eventually sorted out!



I know.  It would have been a PITA going to and from all the dining we had planned at the various resorts if Disney Springs wasn't right nearby.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> I love the photo on the speeder bike. I wish I had got a supply of those cinamon rolls in hospital. We thought the holiday decs were best at the BW area. BC was amazing. Loving B & Cream. We were shocked how small it was!



It was all so much fun!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Nice photo of you with Mickey and great dress. Dinner looks good. Enjoyed catching up!



Did you notice what was special about the dress?


----------



## franandaj

********** said:


> I second the dress you were wearing for your Mickey/Minnie greet. Very pretty!



Well thank you, did notice the subtleties?



********** said:


> Overall looks like a good day at Epcot, but 60 minute wait for M:S, I couldn't imagine that! Of course it's rare that we will wait more than 20 minutes for anything. We are just too spoiled!



Same for me.  I really don't like to wait in long lines, usually because I am by myself.  And because we travel in the off season, I know I can probably come back and the wait will be shorter.



dhorner233 said:


> What was "special" about your cute sun dress?



Orangecats2 got it!  See her post above!



orangecats2 said:


> Of course I knew what the dress was, I'm a Whovian! I did know it was Van Gogh but just wanted to comment on the Tardis.



I really can't say I'm a huge fan because we aren't even watching the new episodes.  I really liked the other Doctor better, and have never seen the older episodes.  Once we get moved out of our old house and our stuff sold off on eBay, we will have time to sit around and watch Netflix and DVDs and then I will binge watch from the beginning.  I saw some of those episodes a while back and the first ones were really trippy!


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> Whoa. Ok then!


----------



## skier_pete

franandaj said:


> Well thank you, did notice the subtleties



I didn't - but looked back now and did! A little bit of Tardis! DW always likes outfits from Disney that have a subtleness to them, I know she would like it too if she knew anything about Dr. Who.


----------



## dolphingirl47

I am all caught up again.



franandaj said:


> To give you a life update, we have moved out just about all the boxes that were in the attic and we have even begun to shred the old tax papers.



It definitely sounds like things are happening.



franandaj said:


> I took a TON of pictures at the Grand Floridian and somehow they got corrupted or something because I can’t view them at all.



What a shame that you lost a lot of photos, bur the one that are left are wonderful.



franandaj said:


> They had a Mary Blair inspired Frozen Gingerbread house complete with 15 hidden Olafs. I found 13 of them and gave up.



I really like this, but the hidden Olafs look tiny.



franandaj said:


>



This is really cute.



franandaj said:


> Then we headed out in search of Trader Sams. Unfortunately it was only 2PM and they didn't open until 4PM.



What a pain. I had not realised that they are not open until quite late in the afternoon.



franandaj said:


> The reason we left so early was that Pam (pinkocto) and her Mom were just finishing dinner at Raglan Road right across the way from our destination. While we had seen Pam on quite a few occasions, we had never met her mom, so it was nice to put a personality to the pictures.



How nice that you got to meet Pam and her mum.



franandaj said:


> The place was very pretty inside.



This looks absolutely gorgeous.



franandaj said:


> I ordered a carafe of what turned out to be an INCREDIBLY EXPENSIVE sake.



That sounds like very expensive sake.



franandaj said:


> A few minutes go by and she barges in the door.



I would have been so mad.



franandaj said:


> These really rude people started cutting in front of folks trying to say that there really wasn't a line it was just a crowd of people.



I really can't understand people sometimes.



franandaj said:


> So we hauled butt over to the character spot and we were 2 minutes late for our FP, but they must have a grace period because they let us in.



Pam taught me in October that there is a grace period of 5 minutes before and 15 minutes after.



franandaj said:


> I was going to try and ride Mission space, but the posted wait time was 60 minutes for orange.



I think that must be the longest I have ever seen.



franandaj said:


> Now the wait for orange was only 15 minutes.



That is more like it. I am glad you got to ride.

Corinna


----------



## franandaj

********** said:


> I didn't - but looked back now and did! A little bit of Tardis! DW always likes outfits from Disney that have a subtleness to them, I know she would like it too if she knew anything about Dr. Who.



We only got into Dr. Who since moving into our new house.  We had a brand new DVR and needed stuff to record to watch so Dr. Who and Big Band Theory came into the mix since we moved in the off season of Network TV.  We also had to purchase some of our old episodes from Network TV off Amazon to get caught up in September when the new season started since we were so behind on watching at the time we moved.

I like dresses and clothes that you have to wonder about a little bit.



dolphingirl47 said:


> I am all caught up again.



Good, you are about to be behind again, but then again I am horribly behind on your TR!



dolphingirl47 said:


> It definitely sounds like things are happening.



Well they were.  



dolphingirl47 said:


> What a shame that you lost a lot of photos, bur the one that are left are wonderful.



I have no idea what happened, they are red x's on my card and when I transferred them.



dolphingirl47 said:


> I really like this, but the hidden Olafs look tiny.



They were.  I think that's why they were "hidden."



dolphingirl47 said:


> This is really cute.



All the pins were cute, I just forgot to take pictures of the other ones we got.



dolphingirl47 said:


> What a pain. I had not realised that they are not open until quite late in the afternoon.



Yeah.  At least we are staying at the Poly next trip, so we better get there!



dolphingirl47 said:


> How nice that you got to meet Pam and her mum.



It was great to meet her mom. She was a bundle of energy, I hope our trips coincide again and we could spend more time together.



dolphingirl47 said:


> This looks absolutely gorgeous.



It was a very pretty restaurant.



dolphingirl47 said:


> That sounds like very expensive sake.



When I did the math in a previous reply, it was about 4x as expensive as sake that I would get at home, so yeah, pretty expensive.



dolphingirl47 said:


> I would have been so mad.



Next time I will flip the latch.



dolphingirl47 said:


> I really can't understand people sometimes.



At least they decided to stop cutting in our line and went over to another.



dolphingirl47 said:


> Pam taught me in October that there is a grace period of 5 minutes before and 15 minutes after.



That's good to know.



dolphingirl47 said:


> I think that must be the longest I have ever seen.



I know I've never seen it that long.  I thought that I could just get in line and ride quickly, but obviously not.



dolphingirl47 said:


> That is more like it. I am glad you got to ride.


----------



## franandaj

So it’s been a week since I’ve given you an update on what’s going on in our lives. At that point things were going good and we were going over to the house almost daily and moving boxes, well it hasn’t gone so well this week.  Between Doctor’s appointments, getting to the gym and another little thing, we haven’t done much in the way of moving.

Tuesday morning I woke up to the scale registering the heaviest weight I have ever been in my entire life.  I decided that drastic measures were in order. Those of you who are friends on FB may have already seen this. Our trip is three weeks (or so) away and I know that I’ll end up putting on a few pounds with all that good food, so if I don’t drop a bunch of pounds before we leave, I am going to be needing an entirely new wardrobe when I get back.  I decided the only way to drop pounds (since I’ve tried cutting carbs, and limiting calories by counting on myfitnesspal) was to go with this whole plant based eating plan.  I’ve had friends who have done such and said the weight just “fell off”. 

So Tuesday I stopped eating anything that wasn’t derived from a plant.  Is this a “lifestyle change”?  Heck no!!!!!  BUT.  I have lost 10 lbs in 6 days, so that’s no laughing matter. I would like to drop another 15 but I doubt that I can hold the same rate.  If I could I would be there in less than 10 days, but we’ll see.  Also we’ll have to see how long I can keep this up.  Already last night, I ate some sashimi for dinner as we had planned to order in Thai/Japanese food after our special rehearsal in LA before I decided on this program.  I suspect that I will be reincorporating meat into my diet sooner than I mean to just because Fran is already having trouble dealing with my choices to do this.  She keeps asking me if I want to put meat into something when I am really trying to just go veggie.  It’s not forever, but with the amount of weight loss, I need to go with it!

Back to the TR….We left off both of us laying down for a nap much later in the afternoon that I had intended.  After 40 minute power nap, I got us up and dressed for the nighttime.  Pretty sunset was going on.





And we were out the door by 6PM. It took a while for a DHS bus to come, plus there was road construction so it may have been close to 7PM when we arrived. We made a beeline for the Osborne Lights along with about 20,000 other people. Crowd control was along the lines of Disneyland before F! Or after the fireworks when they have traffic flowing in only one direction and CMs have those lighted stick things that guys use to guide planes. When we finally got our first glimpse of the lights, Fran said, "This is way too excessive." 



 

I thought it was relatively impressive.  We'll if the "A" in Earth could have been lit up, and maybe if the place we're not wall to wall people. I would like to think that it was due to the fact that the lights are closing thus year, but @afwdwfan reported a similar situation last year with his family nearly being trampled and no one knew the lights would be closing then.

























It didn't take long for me to start feeling claustrophobic and on the verge of a panic attack.  

















People everywhere were not paying attention to what was going on around them, they were so caught up in the moment that they were oblivious to their surroundings.  I couldn't get out of there fast enough! But it was a challenge to weave in and out of the clumps of people, finally I just followed behind an aggressive guy with a scooter who was practically using it like a machete in a forest of people.





























Once we were out to safety, I commented to Fran that it was really a waste since there wasn't even a casino anywhere on there!

We still had half an hour until our reservation and she had wanted to check out one of the shops on the main drag ao we headed over there. After browsing for about 7 minutes she proclaimed that Elias & Company is a far superior store and we went to dinner to check in.

*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

We were 15 minutes early and the place was packed. I doubt they were taking walk ups but it appeared that even folks with reservations were waiting about 15 minutes to be seated. 









We got a table in the back and our waitress was very low key. Even with her other tables she didn't seem big on antics. I did see her try the Choo Choo train on one gal who didn't eat all her green beans, but other than that she mostly cracked jokes at her customers.









Fran had a blast in there. She recognized every TV show, knew all the actor’s names, and for most she even pointed out what series they went on to star in following their roles in these classic 50's sitcoms. Me? Never seen one of them.  So here’s the menu, pretty basic comfort food.













I got an electric lemonade.









We split a Gingerbread milkshake, which was their seasonal offering. It was sooooooo good. Much more Gingerbread flavor than my cupcake.





We got an order of onion rings, they came with a horseradish sauce that was absolutely delicious. We polished off those suckers in no time.





Then we split the fried chicken. It was really good too and we completely cleaned our plates!





Since we cleaned our plates we could have dessert. Fran got the chocolate brownie sundae.





While I got the pineapple upside-down cake a la mode. So good! 





We both cleaned our dessert plates as well!









We had pretty much closed down the place.  I didn’t realize it, but DHS closed at 8PM that night and our reservation was for 7:50PM.  So I took some photos of the empty restaurant. 









The lounge was so packed when we got there, I could barely take any decent pictures.









I remember these Collier’s Encyclopedias from growing up.  There were these pages in there with detailed pictures of moths that just horrified me.  I think that’s part of why I’m so scared of bugs to this day.  I wanted to look at one and see if the pictures still scared me to death, but they are all glued together into one big prop.













Outside the restaurant the park was fairly empty so I tried a long exposure shot using a trash can as my tripod.





We headed for the exit and as we hit Hollywood Blvd a rush of people came pouring out of Sunset Blvd. I guess F! had just finished. 

Fran pointed out that her scooter was about to drop dead again so we switched scooters.  I took this picture of the Christmas Tree in front of the Studios.





When we arrived at the bus stop there were already two scooter/wheelchairs in line so I got out my phone and got to work on catching up on Journaling this trip as well as catching up on the DIS. It wasn't too long before another bus came along and we were boarding.  By this time two more people in (rented) scooters were behind us. They actually had the nerve to get mad at the bus driver for not taking them on the bus. He explained that he could only hold two scooters and that he would radio in and another bus would be coming along for them. "But that could be 20 minutes!" They complained.  Well geez what do you expect when you leave the park over an hour after closing? There's always a taxi I thought. 

It didn't take long for us to get back to the resort, and the rental scooter hobbled back to the room. At one point Fran gave me a tow it was so low on battery.

I loaded my pictures from the day onto the computer and realized that I hadn't looked at any of them since the last day if the cruise. So I started to look at the pictures, but there were some problems with some of the ones I took at the Grand on Sunday. While I could see them on my SD card, when they copied to the hard drive, all I could see was little red X's. I spent way too much time trying to recopy them over to the hard drive and I eventually gave up and went to bed. But before I went to bed Fran asked me to make her a Schnitzel sandwich with some of her leftover Schnitzel, in case she woke up in the middle of the night hungry. So I did.





I’m sure I took a bath before calling it a night.  Pretty soon I was going to be back in the land of water rationing.


Next Up: The last full day of the trip is finally upon us.


----------



## ACDSNY

OK, I made it through page 14 tonight, wow I was so far behind.  I still have a long ways to go to catch up.  I chuckled at your pic of Atlantis on the dreary rainy day since we were there getting wet.  Enjoyed your pics from around the Dream.  Your Mississippi River trip is coming up soon, can't wait to see the pics from that one.


----------



## franandaj

pkondz said:


>



Hope I didn't piss you off!


----------



## franandaj

ACDSNY said:


> OK, I made it through page 14 tonight, wow I was so far behind.  I still have a long ways to go to catch up.  I chuckled at your pic of Atlantis on the dreary rainy day since we were there getting wet.  Enjoyed your pics from around the Dream.  Your Mississippi River trip is coming up soon, can't wait to see the pics from that one.



Wow! You are behind. I'm going to post my last full day within the next week. And yes the Mississippi River trip is coming up soon which is why I'm trying to wrap things up.

What's scary is that I'm going to need to make our FP+ reservations soon. Alberto has not bought his pass so I will only be able to make 3 reservations.  By the time they get his pass all the good rides will be sold out.


----------



## orangecats2

franandaj said:


> Hope I didn't piss you off!



Do Canadians ever really get pissed off?


----------



## PrincessInOz

I'm also behind and slowly catching up.  

YAY for dropping some weight.  I think I need to bite the bullet and go on a plant based diet too.  
I'm so far behind that there's too much for me to comment on.  

I think I've read everything....but my mind is so mush at the moment, I'll have to come back and read everything again.

Suffice to say....loved that you made it to you M&G FP.  I thought you were going to miss it at one stage.
Love the food and yes, Mexico is very dark.
I hope that Disney find a way to put Osborne out somewhere.  It's a shame to see it all packed up, never to see the light again.


----------



## Dis_Yoda

Osborne Lights is an overcrowded madhouse.  I can totally see why you felt like having a panic attack as I'm sure the crowds got worse as the year went on. 

Glad you enjoyed your dinner at Prime Time!  Home cooking southern style is always a nice treat!  Love your long exposure shot! 

Judgment Time from Dis_Yoda, re:scooter bus stupid people - Comments like that make me so annoyed - you can probably tell they aren't normal scooter users if they make comments like that - the buses only allow for 2 scooters - always have! (Except way back when they only allowed 1 in the super old style buses) What did they think when they already saw people in line?


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Oh yes I am British re the dress. I see tardis...

That is good progress on the plant diet. Like you say not a lifestyle choice but a kick start to get you going. 

How we adore Prime Time! We were virgin PTimers until our Christmas trip. Well with meatloaf on the menu that was me. Jo had the same as you loved it. 

With the Osborne lights it's very  sadly too late now but I think they should treat them more like the attraction they are. So have fast pass times so folk can enjoy their time slots without getting mobbed. They were staggering it but not enough. I was knocked in my wheelchair by strollers, scooters and walkers! People were crazy. 

I am always shocked by people's impatience with the buses. In the UK not every public vehicle is accessible so the fact that every disney bus takes 2 well this is wonderful to me. I am on vacation I can wait! 

Enjoyed the update. Yum to the sandwich!


----------



## skier_pete

One of the times we went to see the Osborne Lights we made the mistake of going on a Sunday and it was completely insane.  Last time we went in November (2013?), and also during the week on a Wednesday. We also got to the lights about 30 minutes before they lit them - so when we got there it was relatively empty, and even when they lit them it wasn't too crowded. It does get severely crowded in there - and I imagine the last year makes it all that much worse as people are trying to get that "last chance to see". 

I didn't think I'd like them the first time we went, but they are so over-the-top excessive they move past being gaudy back around the circle to being amazing in my book. I will miss them as they are my favorite part of the holidays, but we'd still rather catch Food and Wine.


----------



## ljcrochet

Did the scooter company ever call you back?  Having a bad battery has to be so annoying.  

I know how crowded it is walking under the lights i can't imagine trying to get through with a scooter.


----------



## afwdwfan

franandaj said:


> Is this a “lifestyle change”? Heck no!!!!! BUT. I have lost 10 lbs in 6 days, so that’s no laughing matter.


Well, impressive results to say the least.  But no way I could completely cut meat out. 



franandaj said:


> I thought it was relatively impressive. We'll if the "A" in Earth could have been lit up, and maybe if the place we're not wall to wall people. I would like to think that it was due to the fact that the lights are closing thus year, but @afwdwfan reported a similar situation last year with his family nearly being trampled and no one knew the lights would be closing then.


I'm sorry it was so crazy.  Obviously, I can relate, but I will say that I think our crazy experience was on a Friday or Saturday night just over a week before Christmas.  So could have just been a crazy night for locals.  Our other late evening in DHS ended up being much more peaceful.  But I can't even imagine how crazy it could have been this year with it being the last year for the lights. 



franandaj said:


> We got a table in the back and our waitress was very low key. Even with her other tables she didn't seem big on antics. I did see her try the Choo Choo train on one gal who didn't eat all her green beans, but other than that she mostly cracked jokes at her customers.


I can understand.  It would be hard to play the role and be completely in character on a night like that when the restaurant is busy and even running a little behind schedule. 



franandaj said:


> We had pretty much closed down the place. I didn’t realize it, but DHS closed at 8PM that night and our reservation was for 7:50PM. So I took some photos of the empty restaurant.


Cool! 



franandaj said:


> When we arrived at the bus stop there were already two scooter/wheelchairs in line so I got out my phone and got to work on catching up on Journaling this trip as well as catching up on the DIS. It wasn't too long before another bus came along and we were boarding. By this time two more people in (rented) scooters were behind us. They actually had the nerve to get mad at the bus driver for not taking them on the bus. He explained that he could only hold two scooters and that he would radio in and another bus would be coming along for them. "But that could be 20 minutes!" They complained. Well geez what do you expect when you leave the park over an hour after closing? There's always a taxi I thought.


  Everybody has the choice to make.  If you choose Disney Transportation, this is part of it.  Get over it. 



franandaj said:


> At one point Fran gave me a tow it was so low on battery.


  Providing your late night resort entertainment...



franandaj said:


> I’m sure I took a bath before calling it a night. Pretty soon I was going to be back in the land of water rationing.


----------



## DnA2010

Your PT pictures were great and good idea sharing- yum!

10lbs in 6 days? whoa! impressive indeed!

So pretty such we are going to be in Edmonton when you are in Vancouver  too bad as I was hoping we could meet for a drink!


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

franandaj said:


> So Tuesday I stopped eating anything that wasn’t derived from a plant. Is this a “lifestyle change”? Heck no!!!!! BUT. I have lost 10 lbs in 6 days, so that’s no laughing matter.



Congratulations!  I wouldn't have lasted nearly this long without meat!



franandaj said:


> I suspect that I will be reincorporating meat into my diet sooner than I mean to just because Fran is already having trouble dealing with my choices to do this. She keeps asking me if I want to put meat into something when I am really trying to just go veggie. It’s not forever, but with the amount of weight loss, I need to go with it!



This is what you need: those closest to you tempting you to break your commitments, right?



franandaj said:


> Pretty sunset was going on.



Gorgeous skies!



franandaj said:


> When we finally got our first glimpse of the lights, Fran said, "This is way too excessive."



Bah, humbug!



franandaj said:


> I would like to think that it was due to the fact that the lights are closing thus year, but @afwdwfan reported a similar situation last year with his family nearly being trampled and no one knew the lights would be closing then.



I heard some CM's remarking they were surprised at the crowds.  That final year announcement really did pack 'em in, I think.



franandaj said:


> People everywhere were not paying attention to what was going on around them, they were so caught up in the moment that they were oblivious to their surroundings.



 It did make me feel rather sardine-ish.



franandaj said:


> I just followed behind an aggressive guy with a scooter who was practically using it like a machete in a forest of people.



I wonder if that guy's related to the person who rammed @afwdwfan there.



franandaj said:


> I commented to Fran that it was really a waste since there wasn't even a casino anywhere on there!







franandaj said:


> Even with her other tables she didn't seem big on antics. I did see her try the Choo Choo train on one gal who didn't eat all her green beans, but other than that she mostly cracked jokes at her customers.



I'm sure the energy flags as the evening progresses.



franandaj said:


> So here’s the menu, pretty basic comfort food.



Isn't it glorious? 



franandaj said:


> We got an order of onion rings, they came with a horseradish sauce that was absolutely delicious. We polished off those suckers in no time.



So good....that gingerbread milkshake looked yummy, too.



franandaj said:


> Then we split the fried chicken. It was really good too and we completely cleaned our plates!



That fried chicken is like crack, if it was deep-fried!



franandaj said:


> Outside the restaurant the park was fairly empty so I tried a long exposure shot using a trash can as my tripod.



Not too shabby.



franandaj said:


> By this time two more people in (rented) scooters were behind us. They actually had the nerve to get mad at the bus driver for not taking them on the bus. He explained that he could only hold two scooters and that he would radio in and another bus would be coming along for them. "But that could be 20 minutes!" They complained.



Yep, and lots of other people will be waiting for it too.



franandaj said:


> At one point Fran gave me a tow it was so low on battery.



Yikes!  



franandaj said:


> I’m sure I took a bath before calling it a night. Pretty soon I was going to be back in the land of water rationing.



Gotta enjoy it while you can!


----------



## jedijill

Congrats on the loss!

I've been at the Osborne Lights and the crowds are insane!  I don't blame you for almost having a panic attack!  

Your dinner looks delicious!  I love the chicken at PTC.

Jill in CO


----------



## dolphingirl47

franandaj said:


> Good, you are about to be behind again



Not for very long this time though.



franandaj said:


> but then again I am horribly behind on your TR!



This is not going anywhere. I am trying to get this wrapped up so that I can then concentrate on the one for the Arabian Gulf cruise. I also still have a mini trip report for Warwick in the pipeline and then there is the matter of the pre-trip report. For some reason real life keeps getting in the way.



franandaj said:


> I have lost 10 lbs in 6 days, so that’s no laughing matter.



Well done. That is an amazing achievement.

What a shame that your experience with the Osbourne lights was less than magical. I went on a weekday in 2013 and although there were people about, it did not feel particularly crowded. Your photos brought back wonderful memories.



franandaj said:


> she had wanted to check out one of the shops on the main drag ao we headed over there. After browsing for about 7 minutes she proclaimed that Elias & Company is a far superior store and we went to dinner to check in.



I am starting to get concerned about Fran's wellbeing. Two days in a row she was not tempted by the shops.

Dinner looked lovely and the photos of the empty restaurant are really neat.

Corinna


----------



## Steppesister

Beautiful update! I am sick that I'll never have the chance to see the Osborne Lights, but ah well.... what can ya do? I think Prime Time would be so fun  for us, but the food just doesn't really sing out to me. We have that fare pretty regularly, and on vacation I like to try to find stuff we don't get to have very often. But I do admit, the place looks like a hoot! 

So glad you're still on track to a healthier you! It'll be great to have more energy and an pep. Let alone not have to buy all  new clothes! That gets spendy!!!

I need to lose about 10 pounds before my trip, and I'm thinking of going plant-based too. I"ve been told by multitudes of people though that during the VERY stressful season of Nursing School is a BAD time to try to add dieting too. We'll see....


----------



## franandaj

PrincessInOz said:


> I'm also behind and slowly catching up.



Good luck!  Like I mentioned about a month ago, I'm going at a breakneck speed so as to have this TR posted by the time I leave on my next trip.  It's all written so it's just a matter of me keeping up with the comments.



PrincessInOz said:


> YAY for dropping some weight. I think I need to bite the bullet and go on a plant based diet too.
> I'm so far behind that there's too much for me to comment on.



It's not something that I'm thrilled about but putting on 25 pounds since last September isn't anything I'm thrilled about either.  Especially since I lost 20 of those pounds between February and May last year, maintained it over the Summer and then between my October Cruise and This trip (I'm writing the TR about) I gained back about 15 pounds, and the last 10 I managed to do from January to February.  



PrincessInOz said:


> I think I've read everything....but my mind is so mush at the moment, I'll have to come back and read everything again.



I know the feeling.



PrincessInOz said:


> Suffice to say....loved that you made it to you M&G FP. I thought you were going to miss it at one stage.
> Love the food and yes, Mexico is very dark.



I was afraid that we were going to miss it to, we cut it pretty close. I'm glad they have the grace period.



PrincessInOz said:


> I hope that Disney find a way to put Osborne out somewhere. It's a shame to see it all packed up, never to see the light again.



It would be nice if they could find a location for them.  I wouldn't mind seeing them again.



Dis_Yoda said:


> Osborne Lights is an overcrowded madhouse. I can totally see why you felt like having a panic attack as I'm sure the crowds got worse as the year went on.



OK well its good to know that was the status quo and it wasn't just me.



Dis_Yoda said:


> Glad you enjoyed your dinner at Prime Time! Home cooking southern style is always a nice treat! Love your long exposure shot!



It hadn't been on my radar, but we were trying new places and after all the fancy food on the ship I thought it would be a nice break. It worked out well.



Dis_Yoda said:


> Judgment Time from Dis_Yoda, re:scooter bus stupid people - Comments like that make me so annoyed - you can probably tell they aren't normal scooter users if they make comments like that - the buses only allow for 2 scooters - always have! (Except way back when they only allowed 1 in the super old style buses) What did they think when they already saw people in line?



I assume most people in rental scooters don't use them often. Heck I only use one when I have multiple days when I will be walking 2 miles or more. If it's one day and I can put my foot up and not do anything for a couple days afterwards, I'll go without. But a lot of folks in rental scooters, I think they just get them so they don't have to walk and not because they have a specific ailment. You can never judge by looking so I don't, but using a scooter doesn't give you the right to act entitled.


----------



## mvf-m11c

The Osborne Family Lights that night from your pics looked crowded. I remember seeing the Osborne Lights in 2011 and it was crowded as well but not like what you have described. It is sad to see it go and didn't get to see it for one last time. The 60's Prime Time Cafe looks like a nice place to eat at DHS. This is one thing why I don't like to ride on the bus and just get a rental car.  

Speaking of scooters, my aunt (DAW) was not smart the other night when we were at the DLR this past weekend. She didn't charge her scooter (which she has her own that we brought down) on Saturday night and it was low. So we did have to find an outlet at the parks and then we decided to get it charge at the Wheelchair/ECV Rental area. The CM's were nice to let her charge her scooter yesterday and she was hurting while walking after leaving her scooter. But this is a good lesson for her to charge her scooter after every night so something like this won't happen again even if it is for part of a day.


----------



## Leshaface

franandaj said:


>





franandaj said:


>



Love that they decorate the island too!



franandaj said:


>



Wow didn't even think about that.  Very cool.



franandaj said:


> Actually the island has quite a past, it’s rumored that Pirates frequented the island in the 1700s, later it was used as farmland by farmers from the mainland. In the 60s the island was purchased by a businessman who put in the runway, but soon in his absence the runway was used by drug smugglers to bring narcotics into Florida. Eventually the island was sold to a private company owned by one of the main drug smugglers. This continued well into the 1980’s until he was arrested and put in prison where he died. Years later Disney purchased the island and created the backstory in the link above. Why go into all this? Because there are all sorts of “things” around the island that are supposedly left over from that backstory. I’m sure these cannons are part of that story. They were across from the tram stop where we waited for the Tran to Serenity Bay.



What a neat story thanks for sharing that!



franandaj said:


> They had a fairly extensive buffet for an island paradise.



I remember after spending the morning and some of the afternoon on the beach, this buffet tasted AMAZING!  I guess that's what sun, water and drinks do to ya.



franandaj said:


> and I decided that I’m not a “beach person”







franandaj said:


>



Gorgeous.



franandaj said:


> it consisted of Grand Marnier, Grey Goose Vodka, black Currant, Champagne and a drop of pineapple.



Oh my, that sounds yummy.



franandaj said:


> @Captain_Oblivious I KNOW this place will not be getting a Homer award from you



 

But seriously, a water menu is crazy!  I want to know how many people really order water from that menu.



franandaj said:


> I was a little afraid of it, it had foie gras, some kind of nuts, Macadamia I think, and heavy cream or something similar.



I'm shocked you were afraid of it, you're pretty open to foods...except Cilantro, I know you hate that!



franandaj said:


> Fran asked me as she took her bite, "why don't they sell pork belly at Ralph's?"



 



franandaj said:


>







franandaj said:


> Heck I’ve been able to create a cheese course from the salad bar at Sizzler!







franandaj said:


>



So I had quoted this to yell at you and ask, "Where's the honeycomb!?!" 



franandaj said:


> I asked for more honeycomb because that is sooooo good



But I see it's on a separate plate   That stuff is just amazing.



franandaj said:


> I noticed how much of our "trashed room" you can see in this picture!



Are you serious?!  You call that trashed??  Never come see our room when we're on vacation...EVER!



franandaj said:


>



I think you look great in that bright teal color, you should wear that color more often



franandaj said:


> Our "main" was Chicken Oscar. I didn't give it much thought. It sounded good enough, but in actuality it was one of the most amazing preparations of chicken that I have ever tasted. It was moist and tender, melt in your mouth like, but yet the skin actually had some crispiness to it. I had to ask the server about the preparation and it turns out that it was seared on the skin side on a very hot grill and then cooked in a sous vide. For those who don’t know about this method of preparation, it like boiling the meat in a bag, but the water is not actually hot enough to boil. It’s a slow cooking method in a vacuum sealed bag. If you watched Iron Chef America, they used it on that a lot.



I've never had something prepared like that but you make it sound exquisite.



franandaj said:


> The story we were told by the Sommelier at the beginning of the meal was that back in the day Madame Pomeroy was a "party girl". She liked to go out to the theater and other events, but she liked to bring her drinks along. So she invented this bottle in her Champagne house to fit in her purse so she could bring her beverages with her. Sounds like my kind of gal!



Me too! 



franandaj said:


>



Love this, very cool!



franandaj said:


>



I haven't had one of these in soooooooo long.  I'm way way overdue for one!



franandaj said:


> Cake Shot which was Frangelico and Absolute Citron. It was pretty good, but then he kicked it up a notch and made it into a Pineapple Upside down Cake shot by adding pineapple juice and amaretto! Woooo boy! That was a really tasty little drink!







franandaj said:


>



You did a great job on your door!


Okay will be back to finish!


----------



## Pinkocto

Love those Osborn Lights, I'm very sad to see them go   I hope they're keeping something from us and will be moving them somewhere.  Unfortunately I found out from mom that after all these years she's not crazy about them...

Dinner at PTC looked quite yummy!  and it's always fun to see an empty park.

Oh my about the scooter's battery.  Did the company ever get back to you?


----------



## Leshaface

franandaj said:


> The first thing I checked was the shower and immediately I realized there was a problem. Evidently there was a language barrier problem as the person I spoke to in the morning thought a regular bathtub shower combination was an appropriate solution since there were bars on the wall. Because I know that even a non handicapped room has a more appropriate shower than this, I picked up the phone immediately and called the front desk. They told me that EVERYTHING was full and there were no other rooms available. I was put on hold several times and before the last time, the gal told me she was going to triple check something.



Oh gosh how annoying!  And i've never heard of someone being completely switched to a different resort before.  



franandaj said:


>





franandaj said:


>



What a cool view thought!



franandaj said:


> All in all, we really enjoyed our meal at Marrakesh. I don’t know why it took me so long to dine here. Maybe since I’ve had such great Moroccan food at home, I didn’t feel the need to try it at WDW. And as you saw there was no problem eating there as a walk up, the place was practically empty when we ate there.



I would love to visit someday (just to knock off some more restaurants on the list!) 



franandaj said:


> A gingerbread cookie and egg nog with Kentucky Bourbon.



That eggnog sounds DELICIOUS!



franandaj said:


>



Yay for a meet!



franandaj said:


> We stopped in Germany for Caramel. Not just a piece for now, but for the week and what ended up lasting until about a month ago.



Such restraint you have.  



franandaj said:


>



@Pinkocto got me hooked on these!  Oh my gosh they are the best thing ever.



franandaj said:


>



Dang this dish could stand up at 50's PTC for sure! 



franandaj said:


> I woke up sometime in the middle of the night to the washer still in it's wash cycle. Definitely a problem. I moved it over to rinse and after a little while to spin. I figured I should put it in the dryer so we had clean dry stuff for the next day, but as I picked up the items I noticed brown splotches all over them. What??????



Geez can't get away from all these issues!  



franandaj said:


> Isn’t this view nice without the bloody hat?



Uh no  The hat was all I knew though 



franandaj said:


>



Such determination!



franandaj said:


> While the rides on each coast are identical, I have to say that the queue in this park is far superior. It’s really fun and whimsical. I understand that they are going with a Boardwalk arcade feeling in DCA, but it’s not nearly as interesting as this one.



Totally agree.  It just looks like they had a deadline and were trying desperately to make that deadline.  Literally all they did was frame posters in the queue 



franandaj said:


> I never had this happen though! Best in Vehicle! Woo hooo.



Woot woot! 



franandaj said:


>



I thought that little boy was in chains!! 



franandaj said:


>



Wow that fireplace is beautiful!  And ew!  Look at that camera guy staring down your camera!



franandaj said:


> We did good huh?



Yeah you did!



franandaj said:


> They had the coolest display IMHO.



It is so impressive, I wish I could do something like that at my house.



franandaj said:


>



This is cute, never noticed the camper before.



franandaj said:


>



Love the small ones!



franandaj said:


> It was a zoo getting to the restaurant. Disney Springs is really crowded on a Saturday night.



You ain't kidding! 




franandaj said:


>



I hate you.  You keep posting all these amazing drinks that sound so delicious and I can't have any of them!  



franandaj said:


>





franandaj said:


>



These both look yummy.  Is the brunch a limited time offering?  



franandaj said:


>



Now that is beyond amazing!



franandaj said:


> And boy does she ever have one larger than life personality!



Totally, she's so adorable!



franandaj said:


> Or if Champagne is your beverage it was like a split of Dom perignon reserve if they made them. Even the bottle of Madame Pomeroy's Champage that we purchased at Remy was cheaper than this!







franandaj said:


>



What a beautiful restaurant!



franandaj said:


> It wasn't so much I didn't want her in there while we were there, it was that the last thing we do before we leave is use the bathroom! Now that she was all up in our business in the bathroom I couldn't really use it until she was done. I should have just shut the door and made her wait! But I'm weird about that.



I'm too nice also 



franandaj said:


> started running people through full body scanners. So this was just the beginning of the heightened security.



Yep this was full on happening during our trip but we never had to go through them.



franandaj said:


> These pictures crack me up!



I love looking at peoples pics on this ride, they are hilarious!



franandaj said:


> I was going to try and ride Mission space, but the posted wait time was 60 minutes for orange. So instead I got some Starbucks



Good decision.



franandaj said:


> We made a beeline for the Osborne Lights along with about 20,000 other people. Crowd control was along the lines of Disneyland before F! Or after the fireworks when they have traffic flowing in only one direction and CMs have those lighted stick things that guys use to guide planes.



This was my third time seeing the Osborne lights and it was by far the WORST I have ever seen them!  As soon as we started our 'tour', I immediately wanted to get the heck out of there!  It was nuts.




franandaj said:


> finally I just followed behind an aggressive guy with a scooter who was practically using it like a machete in a forest of people.



Same but it was a crazy lady with a double stroller and she was pissed about something!  Worked for me!



franandaj said:


>



What's on top?



franandaj said:


>



Never seen it empty like this, very cool!


----------



## dhorner233

Yay! I'm caught up again! 

I rent a scooter when I go to the Disney parks. I don't have a specific ailment but I do not like walking 10 miles a day, day after day. It's a vacation, not a death march!! But, I have had to push a dead scooter around and have learned to make sure I charge the battery every night and bring my charger w/me just incase. And I rent a car when I go to DW. 

I'm sorry the Osborn Lights were SO crowded!  I went in Dec. 2014. It was well attended but certainly not packed. I thought it was very cool and a sorry they are stopping it. Obviously is it a popular attraction. Why are they stopping it? Are they putting in a Carsland where Lights, Camera, Action is?

Prime Time is one of my favorite restaurants. I love the 1950's/60's decor and love watching TV while I eat! I like the food and was drooling over your food porn 

When do you leave for your Mississippi cruise? You don't have a ticker tape for that trip? 

Notice my new ticker tape??


----------



## franandaj

Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Oh yes I am British re the dress. I see tardis...



OK good!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> That is good progress on the plant diet. Like you say not a lifestyle choice but a kick start to get you going.



Only 10 more pounds until meat!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> How we adore Prime Time! We were virgin PTimers until our Christmas trip. Well with meatloaf on the menu that was me. Jo had the same as you loved it.



I'm not sure if you saw, but I made meatloaf in the room two nights before.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> With the Osborne lights it's very sadly too late now but I think they should treat them more like the attraction they are. So have fast pass times so folk can enjoy their time slots without getting mobbed. They were staggering it but not enough. I was knocked in my wheelchair by strollers, scooters and walkers! People were crazy.



Who knows?  If they put them back up maybe the will be in a area that can be properly monitored with FP+ and such.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> I am always shocked by people's impatience with the buses. In the UK not every public vehicle is accessible so the fact that every disney bus takes 2 well this is wonderful to me. I am on vacation I can wait!



I thought that it was rather rude and entitled of them.  Chill out!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Enjoyed the update. Yum to the sandwich!



She loves almost anything between two slices of bread.



********** said:


> One of the times we went to see the Osborne Lights we made the mistake of going on a Sunday and it was completely insane. Last time we went in November (2013?), and also during the week on a Wednesday. We also got to the lights about 30 minutes before they lit them - so when we got there it was relatively empty, and even when they lit them it wasn't too crowded. It does get severely crowded in there - and I imagine the last year makes it all that much worse as people are trying to get that "last chance to see".



In hind sight I should have picked another night, either Monday or Tuesday, but oh well.  It's over now.



********** said:


> I didn't think I'd like them the first time we went, but they are so over-the-top excessive they move past being gaudy back around the circle to being amazing in my book. I will miss them as they are my favorite part of the holidays, but we'd still rather catch Food and Wine.



I would still rather catch Food and Wine as well.  In fact both of us need to get planning on that trip, well I suppose you are already steps ahead of me.  I haven't even really picked out many restaurants.  I guess that's good since we want to graze at the kiosks.



ljcrochet said:


> Did the scooter company ever call you back? Having a bad battery has to be so annoying.



Not as of this point.  It was very annoying!



ljcrochet said:


> I know how crowded it is walking under the lights i can't imagine trying to get through with a scooter.



It was really scary.  No one was paying attention to what was happening on the ground.  Everyone was just looking up at the lights.  I'm sure if someone backed into my wheels, they would have blamed me for running over them.



afwdwfan said:


> Well, impressive results to say the least. But no way I could completely cut meat out.



It's hard. And I just keep looking at the light at the end of the tunnel.  One TR I was reading today talked about corned beef, and I was thinking "what I'd give for a nice thick Reuben Sandwich!" 10 more pounds!  



afwdwfan said:


> I'm sorry it was so crazy. Obviously, I can relate, but I will say that I think our crazy experience was on a Friday or Saturday night just over a week before Christmas. So could have just been a crazy night for locals. Our other late evening in DHS ended up being much more peaceful. But I can't even imagine how crazy it could have been this year with it being the last year for the lights.



Yeah, it was bad.  I couldn't wait to get out of there once we hit the really congested part on the street.



afwdwfan said:


> I can understand. It would be hard to play the role and be completely in character on a night like that when the restaurant is busy and even running a little behind schedule.



She also didn't seem like one of the "crazy antics" type, which was fine by us. We were more there for the Fried Chicken and milkshake, not to be scolded for putting elbows on the table.



afwdwfan said:


> Cool!



I love when you get to close down a place like Disney and see it all empty and quiet.



afwdwfan said:


> Everybody has the choice to make. If you choose Disney Transportation, this is part of it. Get over it.



Exactly



afwdwfan said:


> Providing your late night resort entertainment...



Luckily no one saw us!


----------



## franandaj

DnA2010 said:


> Your PT pictures were great and good idea sharing- yum!



We try to share meals at Disney often since most places have crazy portion sizes. We also get to try more things.



DnA2010 said:


> 10lbs in 6 days? whoa! impressive indee



I hope it won't taper off. I still need to lose another 10-12 lbs before the 20th.



DnA2010 said:


> So pretty such we are going to be in Edmonton when you are in Vancouver  too bad as I was hoping we could meet for a drink!



That would have been fun. Maybe next time you visit Disneyland I won't be on a cruise.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Congratulations! I wouldn't have lasted nearly this long without meat!



Well it appears I will be having some at dinner tonight.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> This is what you need: those closest to you tempting you to break your commitments, right?



It's gone way beyond attempts at tempting. See comment above. 



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Gorgeous skies!







Captain_Oblivious said:


> Bah, humbug!



That's her middle name.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I heard some CM's remarking they were surprised at the crowds. That final year announcement really did pack 'em in, I think.



I heard similar things from the locals.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> It did make me feel rather sardine-ish.



I'll be interested to hear about your experience.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I wonder if that guy's related to the person who rammed @afwdwfan there.



  



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Isn't it glorious?



See I told you there were meals in this report that you would approve of!  



Captain_Oblivious said:


> So good....that gingerbread milkshake looked yummy, too.



It sure was!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> That fried chicken is like crack, if it was deep-fried!



We ate every last bite!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Yep, and lots of other people will be waiting for it too.



Lines are everywhere at WDW.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Gotta enjoy it while you can!



Exactly! Only two more months until I can take a bath again!



jedijill said:


> Congrats on the loss!



Thanks!  I hope that I can finish it.  Halfway there.



jedijill said:


> I've been at the Osborne Lights and the crowds are insane! I don't blame you for almost having a panic attack!



And I guess they were worse with the announcement that they were in their final year.



jedijill said:


> Your dinner looks delicious! I love the chicken at PTC.



It was sooooo good!


----------



## franandaj

dolphingirl47 said:


> Not for very long this time though.



Good for you!  Now I'm trying to keep up.



dolphingirl47 said:


> This is not going anywhere. I am trying to get this wrapped up so that I can then concentrate on the one for the Arabian Gulf cruise. I also still have a mini trip report for Warwick in the pipeline and then there is the matter of the pre-trip report. For some reason real life keeps getting in the way.



I just got through another day, I hope you only have one more for me to catch up on.



dolphingirl47 said:


> Well done. That is an amazing achievement.
> 
> What a shame that your experience with the Osbourne lights was less than magical. I went on a weekday in 2013 and although there were people about, it did not feel particularly crowded. Your photos brought back wonderful memories.



Thanks!  I wish we could have visited years earlier, but it never happened.



dolphingirl47 said:


> I am starting to get concerned about Fran's wellbeing. Two days in a row she was not tempted by the shops.



  



dolphingirl47 said:


> Dinner looked lovely and the photos of the empty restaurant are really neat.



Dinner was lovely, and it was fun to photograph the empty restaurant.



Steppesister said:


> Beautiful update! I am sick that I'll never have the chance to see the Osborne Lights, but ah well.... what can ya do? I think Prime Time would be so fun for us, but the food just doesn't really sing out to me. We have that fare pretty regularly, and on vacation I like to try to find stuff we don't get to have very often. But I do admit, the place looks like a hoot!



It was perfect for us on that night.  I normally like to eat stuff that we can't have at home, but after a week of eating a lot of fancy food that fried chicken totally hit the spot.



Steppesister said:


> So glad you're still on track to a healthier you! It'll be great to have more energy and an pep. Let alone not have to buy all new clothes! That gets spendy!!!



Over the years, I've already outgrown a lot of my clothes.  I'm not sure I'm feeling all that much better since doing this.  People always say how they have more energy, but I haven't noticed that.  I would just like to get smaller so I can fit back into some of my clothes I used to wear.



Steppesister said:


> I need to lose about 10 pounds before my trip, and I'm thinking of going plant-based too. I"ve been told by multitudes of people though that during the VERY stressful season of Nursing School is a BAD time to try to add dieting too. We'll see....



Yeah that sounds about right!    Maybe it would be better to wait until July.



mvf-m11c said:


> The Osborne Family Lights that night from your pics looked crowded. I remember seeing the Osborne Lights in 2011 and it was crowded as well but not like what you have described. It is sad to see it go and didn't get to see it for one last time. The 60's Prime Time Cafe looks like a nice place to eat at DHS. This is one thing why I don't like to ride on the bus and just get a rental car.



Thanks. I'm glad that I saw them once. Dinner was really good. We may go back there someday, but I'm not running back there. Considering a vehicle would run $5-600, I'm happy to wait for the bus.



mvf-m11c said:


> Speaking of scooters, my aunt (DAW) was not smart the other night when we were at the DLR this past weekend. She didn't charge her scooter (which she has her own that we brought down) on Saturday night and it was low. So we did have to find an outlet at the parks and then we decided to get it charge at the Wheelchair/ECV Rental area. The CM's were nice to let her charge her scooter yesterday and she was hurting while walking after leaving her scooter. But this is a good lesson for her to charge her scooter after every night so something like this won't happen again even if it is for part of a day.



We plug in every time we go back to the room, and if we can do it during a meal we'll take advantage of it.



Leshaface said:


> Love that they decorate the island too!



It was so festive.



Leshaface said:


> Wow didn't even think about that. Very cool.



But Paula tells me that they are incredibly hard to push on the sand.



Leshaface said:


> What a neat story thanks for sharing that!



Google is my friend!  



Leshaface said:


> I remember after spending the morning and some of the afternoon on the beach, this buffet tasted AMAZING! I guess that's what sun, water and drinks do to ya.



Pretty much.  Either that or the buffet is amazing!



Leshaface said:


> Gorgeous.



I love Sunrise and Sunsets at sea!



Leshaface said:


> Oh my, that sounds yummy.



It was!  I was kind of like..."Can I have another one of those?"



Leshaface said:


> But seriously, a water menu is crazy! I want to know how many people really order water from that menu.



Good question.  Maybe people who want to feel fancy and throw their money away...



Leshaface said:


> I'm shocked you were afraid of it, you're pretty open to foods...except Cilantro, I know you hate that!



Foie Gras has a weird texture and sometimes I'm not that keen on it.  I'm always afraid of another instance where it gets me like that.



Leshaface said:


> So I had quoted this to yell at you and ask, "Where's the honeycomb!?!"
> 
> But I see it's on a separate plate  That stuff is just amazing.



I wouldn't let you down!  



Leshaface said:


> Are you serious?! You call that trashed?? Never come see our room when we're on vacation...EVER!



I try my best to keep things as tidy as possible.  Our house is a mess, so on vacation I like to be as organized as possible. I even bring a pop up hamper along.



Leshaface said:


> I've never had something prepared like that but you make it sound exquisite.



If you watched Iron Chef America, they used it on there all the time.  Google it, evidently Jenny's husband has done the same thing with a ziploc bag.  I also have one of those vacuum sealers, Food saver.  That would probably do it too.



Leshaface said:


> I haven't had one of these in soooooooo long. I'm way way overdue for one!



And you'll have to wait a while longer too.  Maybe you can get out one night this summer and have a bunch of milk pumped to cover a couple days, so you can have one!



Leshaface said:


> You did a great job on your door!



Thanks!  I wonder if people decorate their doors on the American Queen.  



Pinkocto said:


> Love those Osborn Lights, I'm very sad to see them go  I hope they're keeping something from us and will be moving them somewhere. Unfortunately I found out from mom that after all these years she's not crazy about them...



I'm actually not all that crazy about them now that I've seen them.  Maybe if there weren't so many people around it would be cooler.



Pinkocto said:


> Dinner at PTC looked quite yummy! and it's always fun to see an empty park.



I know.  I see DL empty all the time, but rarely do I see the parks at WDW empty.



Pinkocto said:


> Oh my about the scooter's battery. Did the company ever get back to you?



Not as of yet.


----------



## franandaj

Leshaface said:


> Oh gosh how annoying! And i've never heard of someone being completely switched to a different resort before.



I guess they ran out of Handicapped rooms at SSR, I really wish that they didn't try to switch resorts on us.  It makes me scared about upcoming stays at WDW where we have requested HA rooms.



Leshaface said:


> What a cool view thought!



I enjoyed it!



Leshaface said:


> I would love to visit someday (just to knock off some more restaurants on the list!)



We will definitely go back sometime.  When?  Not sure.  I need to get in gear and start making some decisions for our October trip, but I'm so busy worrying about all the other trips that we have coming up!    First world problems!!!!!!



Leshaface said:


> That eggnog sounds DELICIOUS!



It was!  I polished it off really quickly!



Leshaface said:


> Yay for a meet!



It was great to see them again, even if it was only for 10-15 minutes.



Leshaface said:


> Such restraint you have.



That's probably why I'm having to do this vegan diet.  I bet Karamel Kuche put all those extra pounds on me!



Leshaface said:


> @Pinkocto got me hooked on these! Oh my gosh they are the best thing ever.



I can't decide if those or the chocolate covered salted caramel ones are my favorite.



Leshaface said:


> Dang this dish could stand up at 50's PTC for sure!



Thank you!  I'm putting that on the menu as soon as I start eating meat again.  Although, I'm only supposed to have carbs like that on vacation.  



Leshaface said:


> Geez can't get away from all these issues!



I know it seemed to be one thing after another!



Leshaface said:


> Uh no  The hat was all I knew though



I remember when they were putting it up, and thinking "why would they cover up the Theater?"  I thought it was only going to be up for a year or two for whatever anniversary they put it up for and it stayed close to 20 years!



Leshaface said:


> Such determination!



     Fran said "act like you're concentrating really hard."



Leshaface said:


> Totally agree. It just looks like they had a deadline and were trying desperately to make that deadline. Literally all they did was frame posters in the queue



Pretty much.



Leshaface said:


> I thought that little boy was in chains!!



Too funny!  I see it now!  



Leshaface said:


> Wow that fireplace is beautiful! And ew! Look at that camera guy staring down your camera!



I know, he is really giving me the evil eye!



Leshaface said:


> Yeah you did!







Leshaface said:


> It is so impressive, I wish I could do something like that at my house.



I can't even have a Christmas Tree, until the contractor builds us a pulley system to mount it from the ceiling.  The first thing the cats did when I got it out was chew on the branches.  It might be OK for a real tree, but not a plastic one.



Leshaface said:


> This is cute, never noticed the camper before.



Being my first time seeing it, I tried to notice every detail I could!



Leshaface said:


> I hate you. You keep posting all these amazing drinks that sound so delicious and I can't have any of them!



   Only 3 (or so) more months.



Leshaface said:


> These both look yummy. Is the brunch a limited time offering?



I don't know.  It seemed pretty successful, so I would imagine that they would keep it going as long as it books up.



Leshaface said:


> Now that is beyond amazing!



I looked at it for quite a while.  Insane amount of detail.



Leshaface said:


> Totally, she's so adorable!



Hopefully our paths will cross again on another trip.



Leshaface said:


> What a beautiful restaurant!



It was very nice, and the food was good too.  I hope the service improves.



Leshaface said:


> I'm too nice also



Like I said, next trip I'm locking our door on T&T day.



Leshaface said:


> Yep this was full on happening during our trip but we never had to go through them.



Good thing you lucked out!


Leshaface said:


> I love looking at peoples pics on this ride, they are hilarious!



They always get the worst snapshot of your face too!



Leshaface said:


> This was my third time seeing the Osborne lights and it was by far the WORST I have ever seen them! As soon as we started our 'tour', I immediately wanted to get the heck out of there! It was nuts.



I guess everyone wanted a piece of the action!



Leshaface said:


> Same but it was a crazy lady with a double stroller and she was pissed about something! Worked for me!



Yeah, let someone else be the jerk!



Leshaface said:


> What's on top?



Those are caramel popcorn on top of whipped cream.



Leshaface said:


> Never seen it empty like this, very cool!



I thought of you guys when I was taking these pictures.  Well, more your husband and mother!  And how he drunkenly convinced you to give up the HBD reservation to eat at PT!  



dhorner233 said:


> Yay! I'm caught up again!
> 
> I rent a scooter when I go to the Disney parks. I don't have a specific ailment but I do not like walking 10 miles a day, day after day. It's a vacation, not a death march!! But, I have had to push a dead scooter around and have learned to make sure I charge the battery every night and bring my charger w/me just incase. And I rent a car when I go to DW.



I can understand.



dhorner233 said:


> I'm sorry the Osborn Lights were SO crowded!  I went in Dec. 2014. It was well attended but certainly not packed. I thought it was very cool and a sorry they are stopping it. Obviously is it a popular attraction. Why are they stopping it? Are they putting in a Carsland where Lights, Camera, Action is?



Your favorite.  Star Wars land.



dhorner233 said:


> Prime Time is one of my favorite restaurants. I love the 1950's/60's decor and love watching TV while I eat! I like the food and was drooling over your food porn



It was definitely good, and we will be back one day.  Maybe when we go with a group, so it would be more fun.



dhorner233 said:


> When do you leave for your Mississippi cruise? You don't have a ticker tape for that trip?



No I don't have a ticker for that one.  I figured it's not Disney and I have enough Disney trips to countdown, so those are in my signature.  We leave in 17 days.



dhorner233 said:


> Notice my new ticker tape??



Yes, I do and that is right in the middle of my trip.  I will be in Nottoway on Easter and taking a Cajun Swamp Tour.


----------



## franandaj

Day 10

And so it was upon us. The last full day of the trip. We had an early breakfast and had already discussed wake up times prior to going to sleep. I woke up well in advance of my scheduled "get out of bed" time which meant I could take a bath.

We were on our way later than I wanted, but things went quickly and we were in front of the MK before 9AM. I commented that we had arrived even before the rope drop show. And just as I said that the show began. We decided that since we were already here we might as well catch the show, so we pulled up right before the bag check and just watched. The security guys eyed us suspiciously as if we were going to rush the gates, but I guess they eventually figured out that we came in peace and stopped eyeing us.

























Then we headed off to catch the monorail. We were on the Monorail well before 9AM and our breakfast reservation wasn't until 9:30 and I remembered that Fran said the Poly gift shop got deliveries on M,W,&F, so I suggested we stop there and see about getting her a Trader Sams shirt. They had indeed restocked and she got what she wanted and we amazed the guy at the monorail when we showed back up so quickly.

Once we got to the Grand, I was able to take all the shots that I wanted on Sunday with no one blocking them. 

























I went to join Fran who had just reached the front of the check in for breakfast. We parked and we're seated immediately.  We got drinks, the characters came by and then we got down to eating.

































Alice was commenting to me about the hot air balloon on my shirt. I think she had said that rode in one and was asking me if I had even been on a ride in one.





We had quite a long exchange before finally taking pictures.


























*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

As is my norm, I did a once over of the buffet.  First to take some pictures of what was on offer and to make my plan of attack.  They had cereal, but I’m not going to waste my food space on that!





As well as sausages.





Whole fruit? Nope not for me today.  I was surprised however at the number of folks who were blatantly taking these and putting them in purses, backpacks, and other bags.  One guy put no less than half a dozen oranges and the same number of apples, and even a few bananas in his backpack. At least do it discreetly!





Then there was cut fruit.









Yogurt in various flavors





Some toppings for your yogurt





And mine and Fran’s favorite, the strawberry soup!  Although at first I thought that they had discontinued it, the dispenser is new.





I don’t remember this “Mexican flair” to the buffet, first there was tortillas





Scrambled Eggs





Salsa





Sour Cream, Guacamole, Cheese and Pico de Gallo





Corned Beef Hash





Lox and all the trimmings





Omelet Station









Breakfast Meats





Cheese Blintzes with sweet toppings













Wow!  This buffet is starting to rival the one on the ship!

Cheddar Cheese





Spinach or Cheese stuffed buns





French Toast and Pancakes





Sausage Gravy





Potatoes O’brien





Pastries





Bread Pudding





Pecan Sticky Buns





Bacon & Tater Tots









Cheesy Eggs





Mickey Waffles





Breads for toasting





Croissants, Jams, Marshmallows and Gummy Bears





*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

Chocolate Donut Holes









Bagels and Cream Cheese





When I went past this tray, it was empty, so I had to go back to get this shot, plus I wanted one of these!





Here was my first plate.





This was Fran’s first plate





Here was Fran’s second plate





And my second plate





Fran’s next plate





And her last plate.





And then my last plate.






Next Up: We hit a park.


----------



## pkondz

Catching up!!!!



franandaj said:


> So it’s been a week since I’ve given you an update on what’s going on in our lives.



Doesn't seem that long to me.






franandaj said:


> Between Doctor’s appointments, getting to the gym and another little thing, we haven’t done much in the way of moving.



Life gets in the way, sometimes.



franandaj said:


> Those of you who are friends on FB may have already seen this.







franandaj said:


> I have lost 10 lbs in 6 days, so that’s no laughing matter.



That's pretty amazing actually.



franandaj said:


> I would like to drop another 15 but I doubt that I can hold the same rate. If I could I would be there in less than 10 days, but we’ll see.



That seems... almost dangerous.
But you know yourself much better than I!



franandaj said:


> It’s not forever, but with the amount of weight loss, I need to go with it!



I get that. Continued good luck!



franandaj said:


> Pretty sunset was going on.



Nice!



franandaj said:


> We made a beeline for the Osborne Lights along with about 20,000 other people.



I didn't know you had that many friends with you.



franandaj said:


> When we finally got our first glimpse of the lights, Fran said, "This is way too excessive."



 and also 



franandaj said:


>



Erth? What's an Erth?



franandaj said:


> We'll if the "A" in Earth could have been lit up



Ah. So I'm not the only one.



franandaj said:


> I would like to think that it was due to the fact that the lights are closing thus year, but @afwdwfan reported a similar situation last year with his family nearly being trampled and no one knew the lights would be closing then.



 I remember that.

And, just.... nope.



franandaj said:


> It didn't take long for me to start feeling claustrophobic and on the verge of a panic attack.



Yuck. I can't even imagine.
I don't _want_ to imagine.
No thanks.



franandaj said:


> People everywhere were not paying attention to what was going on around them, they were so caught up in the moment that they were oblivious to their surroundings. I couldn't get out of there fast enough!



Double yuck!
No way, José.



franandaj said:


> finally I just followed behind an aggressive guy with a scooter who was practically using it like a machete in a forest of people.



Usually I would be indignant, but...
Yeah, I'd use him to my advantage, too.



franandaj said:


> Once we were out to safety, I commented to Fran that it was really a waste since there wasn't even a casino anywhere on there!







franandaj said:


> I doubt they were taking walk ups but it appeared that even folks with reservations were waiting about 15 minutes to be seated.



That's not bad. Considering they're not really reservations.



franandaj said:


> Fran had a blast in there.







franandaj said:


> She recognized every TV show, knew all the actor’s names, and for most she even pointed out what series they went on to star in following their roles in these classic 50's sitcoms.



Whoa. Impressive.
I didn't recognize any, I don't think. But then again, they probably weren't playing up here.



franandaj said:


>



That's a great shot of you!



franandaj said:


> We split a Gingerbread milkshake, which was their seasonal offering. It was sooooooo good. Much more Gingerbread flavor than my cupcake.



Yum. I like the little gingerbread man on top.



franandaj said:


> We got an order of onion rings, they came with a horseradish sauce that was absolutely delicious. We polished off those suckers in no time.



<sigh> I've heard of these rings and have had them on my to-do list for _years.
_
Some day.



franandaj said:


> Then we split the fried chicken. It was really good too and we completely cleaned our plates!



Love that fried chicken. Worth it just for that.



franandaj said:


> Since we cleaned our plates we could have dessert. Fran got the chocolate brownie sundae.



I wonder if any one would have the guts to say no to a customer!



franandaj said:


> So I took some photos of the empty restaurant.



Nice.



franandaj said:


>



That's my fave shot. I really like it.



franandaj said:


> I remember these Collier’s Encyclopedias from growing up.







franandaj said:


> but they are all glued together into one big prop.



Too bad. But I suppose if they weren't, they'd be destroyed in a matter of weeks.



franandaj said:


> Outside the restaurant the park was fairly empty so I tried a long exposure shot using a trash can as my tripod.



I did the exact same thing.



franandaj said:


> By this time two more people in (rented) scooters were behind us. They actually had the nerve to get mad at the bus driver for not taking them on the bus.







franandaj said:


> He explained that he could only hold two scooters and that he would radio in and another bus would be coming along for them. "But that could be 20 minutes!" They complained. Well geez what do you expect when you leave the park over an hour after closing? There's always a taxi I thought.



I really despise self-entitled people.
I hope the next bus was 40 minutes.



franandaj said:


> At one point Fran gave me a tow it was so low on battery.



Again? Sheesh.
Still... you guys must've been an interesting sight.



franandaj said:


> Hope I didn't piss you off!



 No! But this kills me.
I _just_ got caught up on my own TR and I deliberately used "annoyed" because I assumed "piss off" would've gotten starred out.



orangecats2 said:


> Do Canadians ever really get pissed off?



I have two teen daughters.
'Nuff said?



franandaj said:


> And so it was upon us. The last full day of the trip.



Boo!!!



franandaj said:


> I woke up well in advance of my scheduled "get out of bed" time which meant I could take a bath.



 You're really milking this, aren't you?

Wait. Did you take a bath in milk?



franandaj said:


> so we pulled up right before the bag check and just watched. The security guys eyed us suspiciously as if we were going to rush the gates, but I guess they eventually figured out that we came in peace and stopped eyeing us.



Because there's nothing more suspicious than you guys.



franandaj said:


> Then we headed off to catch the monorail.



Wait. What?
I thought you were going in the park! 



franandaj said:


> Once we got to the Grand, I was able to take all the shots that I wanted on Sunday with no one blocking them.



nice.



franandaj said:


> the characters came by and then we got down to eating.




This sounds like me. "Yeah. Yeah. Characters... Food!"



franandaj said:


> Alice was commenting to me about the hot air balloon on my shirt. I think she had said that rode in one and was asking me if I had even been on a ride in one.



What did you tell her?



franandaj said:


> First to take some pictures of what was on offer and to make my plan of attack.



 Gotta make sure you're not wasting precious tummy space on stuff you can get anywhere.



franandaj said:


> They had cereal, but I’m not going to waste my food space on that!



Like that, for instance.



franandaj said:


> As well as sausages.



Those look... undercooked.



franandaj said:


> Whole fruit? Nope not for me today.



Ditto.



franandaj said:


> I was surprised however at the number of folks who were blatantly taking these and putting them in purses, backpacks, and other bags. One guy put no less than half a dozen oranges and the same number of apples, and even a few bananas in his backpack.



Really! Wow. I might take... _one._ Maybe. And probably not.



franandaj said:


> Scrambled Eggs



Stop. I could eat that whole chafing dish.
Love scrambled eggs... provided they're done at least semi right.



franandaj said:


> Breakfast Meats



I'm drooling. I'm just going to stop here.
But then I'd be glad I didn't stop because...



franandaj said:


> When I went past this tray, it was empty, so I had to go back to get this shot, plus I wanted one of these!



... yesssssssssssss.



franandaj said:


> This was Fran’s first plate



She sure does love that soup!



franandaj said:


> Next Up: We hit a park.



Ah! Okay. So you _are_ going to one.
Standing by.


----------



## mvf-m11c

At least you made it in time for the rope drop show at the MS station.

Breakfast at the GF looks nice. Very nice pictures of the Disney characters with you and Fran.


----------



## afwdwfan

franandaj said:


> I woke up well in advance of my scheduled "get out of bed" time which meant I could take a bath.


Woohoo!!  Time to abuse the abundance of water!!!!  



franandaj said:


> We decided that since we were already here we might as well catch the show, so we pulled up right before the bag check and just watched. The security guys eyed us suspiciously as if we were going to rush the gates, but I guess they eventually figured out that we came in peace and stopped eyeing us.


Nice!  That actually looks like a great vantage point to watch it from.  But yeah, I can see security maybe giving you a little more than a passing glance given their stepped up efforts that were taking effect during your trip.



franandaj said:


> They had cereal, but I’m not going to waste my food space on that!


That would be a rookie mistake. 



franandaj said:


> Whole fruit? Nope not for me today. I was surprised however at the number of folks who were blatantly taking these and putting them in purses, backpacks, and other bags. One guy put no less than half a dozen oranges and the same number of apples, and even a few bananas in his backpack. At least do it discreetly!


You know if he's blatant about it they can always tell him no.  Better than being sneaky and trying to hide it.  I wouldn't do it, but I can't blame him.  I mean you pay how much for that breakfast and then if you want an orange in the parks it'll cost like 3 bucks. 



franandaj said:


> And mine and Fran’s favorite, the strawberry soup! Although at first I thought that they had discontinued it, the dispenser is new.


I missed it too.  I had no idea it was in something like that.  I was looking for a big bowl or something in the buffet with a ladle or something.  I didn't even see it until my second trip. 



franandaj said:


> This was Fran’s first plate


She could have probably gotten just a little bit more soup in that bowl... 



franandaj said:


> Here was Fran’s second plate






franandaj said:


> Fran’s next plate


  2 in a row with no Strawberry soup???  Was she feeling ok? 



franandaj said:


> And her last plate.


Whew, that's a relief!

It looks like a good breakfast.  Honestly, I think breakfast looks like a much better meal there than dinner.  I'd probably prefer to go there for breakfast, but with DD being a big Cinderella fan, the make up of the characters at breakfast don't really appeal as much to our family.  Looks like you had a good time though!


----------



## jedijill

Yay for getting the Trader Sams shirt!  DL needs to carry the shirts too.  

Love all the GF pics you got.  It is soooo beautiful decorated for the holidays.

I'm not a huge buffet fan but that one looks really good.  I love the variety.

Jill in Co


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

franandaj said:


> And so it was upon us. The last full day of the trip.



NOOO!!!! Say it ain't so!



franandaj said:


> I commented that we had arrived even before the rope drop show. And just as I said that the show began.



Now that's impressive timing.  Admit it, you did it on purpose.



franandaj said:


> Once we got to the Grand, I was able to take all the shots that I wanted on Sunday with no one blocking them.



Always nice when you get the chance to do that.



franandaj said:


> They had cereal, but I’m not going to waste my food space on that!



Seriously!  Get that stuff outta here!



franandaj said:


> Whole fruit? Nope not for me today. I was surprised however at the number of folks who were blatantly taking these and putting them in purses, backpacks, and other bags.



Well, I guess they figure they paid for it...



franandaj said:


> Breakfast Meats



NOW we're talking!


----------



## rndmr2

Nice Update, that really looks like a great buffet! We haven't done any character meals.  (Last one I remember doing was in 1991 for my Senior week trip) I did have a couple ADR's when we did our trip in Sept 14 (CP and 1900) but they got switched when I was able to get dinner ADR's at Ohana and BOG. Oh well, maybe next time, I really would like to try that strawberry soup!


----------



## franandaj

pkondz said:


> Doesn't seem that long to me.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Life gets in the way, sometimes.



As it keeps doing to me.



pkondz said:


> That's pretty amazing actually.



Well, I hit a small plateau a couple days ago.



pkondz said:


> That seems... almost dangerous.
> But you know yourself much better than I!



Well it's not like I'm starving myself.  I'm going through Trail Mix like crazy, so I'm getting plenty of protein from the nuts.  And I don't mean trail mix that is half M&Ms and such.  In fact the one I seem to like best, actually has carob chips in it.  I'm eating a ton of carrots, and tonight we're going to Souplantation so I'll have a giant salad!



pkondz said:


> I get that. Continued good luck!



Thanks, I just need to get back to the weight that I was before we went on the Mexican Riviera cruise.



pkondz said:


> I didn't know you had that many friends with you.



I don't have any friends.  



pkondz said:


> Erth? What's an Erth?
> 
> Ah. So I'm not the only one.



Nope.  And that was the very first thing that caught my eye.



pkondz said:


> Yuck. I can't even imagine.
> I don't _want_ to imagine.
> No thanks.



Usually I try to avoid situations like that!



pkondz said:


> Double yuck!
> No way, José.







pkondz said:


> Usually I would be indignant, but...
> Yeah, I'd use him to my advantage, too.



Well it got us out of there more quickly and then he got all the dirty looks!



pkondz said:


> That's not bad. Considering they're not really reservations.



True.



pkondz said:


> Whoa. Impressive.
> I didn't recognize any, I don't think. But then again, they probably weren't playing up here.



Also, you and I are the same age.  They were all before my time, but Fran is 1 week shy of being 12 years older than me, so they were all on during her childhood. Her parents let her have a TV in bedroom so they didn't have to babysit her.  Kind of like parents use iPads and Tablets today.



pkondz said:


> That's a great shot of you!



Thanks!  



pkondz said:


> Yum. I like the little gingerbread man on top.



He was tasty!  As was the shake itself!



pkondz said:


> Love that fried chicken. Worth it just for that.



What I would give for some fried chicken right now.  I hope we don't get sidetracked for dinner tonight.  Hometown Buffet is right next to the Souplantation. Theirs isn't as good as PT, but I wouldn't be able to resist and fried chicken right now.



pkondz said:


> I wonder if any one would have the guts to say no to a customer!



I think they'd get fired.  The guy who sits next to me in band worked for Disney.  He said there was a 2-day orientation for all new hires and one of the things a CM should never tell a customer is "no".  That's why you always get such a song and dance when the answer is no.



pkondz said:


> That's my fave shot. I really like it.



I love it when everyone is gone from a location, when we came in the bar was packed, almost as bad as the Osborne Lights.



pkondz said:


> Too bad. But I suppose if they weren't, they'd be destroyed in a matter of weeks.



Or the pages would be ripped out.  I wanted to see the ones that freaked me out as a kid.



pkondz said:


> I really despise self-entitled people.
> I hope the next bus was 40 minutes.



I didn't even think of that!  But yeah!  I hope it was a really long wait for them!



pkondz said:


> No! But this kills me.
> I _just_ got caught up on my own TR and I deliberately used "annoyed" because I assumed "piss off" would've gotten starred out.







pkondz said:


> You're really milking this, aren't you?
> 
> Wait. Did you take a bath in milk?



I could bathe in Milk at home, they aren't rationing milk!



pkondz said:


> Because there's nothing more suspicious than you guys.



I know, but them what if I did hide a bomb under her seat?



pkondz said:


> Wait. What?
> I thought you were going in the park!



If we were going in the park, why would we have waited on the other side of the security screeners.  We would have just gone through and watched from there.



pkondz said:


> This sounds like me. "Yeah. Yeah. Characters... Food!"



No. Not at all.  I'm like, "Wait to get food, Tigger and Pooh are almost here!"  



pkondz said:


> What did you tell her?



I don't remember, but I have been up in a Hot Air Balloon. So I most likely went with something along those lines.



pkondz said:


> Gotta make sure you're not wasting precious tummy space on stuff you can get anywhere.



Exactly!



pkondz said:


> Like that, for instance.



Yeah, no cereal for me when I'm paying bank for this buffet!



pkondz said:


> Stop. I could eat that whole chafing dish.
> Love scrambled eggs... provided they're done at least semi right.



Those eggs looked like they were properly cooked, but I only eat my own scrambled eggs any more.  I can't get a restaurant to fix them the way that I like them.



pkondz said:


> I'm drooling. I'm just going to stop here.
> But then I'd be glad I didn't stop because...
> 
> ... yesssssssssssss.



I figured you would like that one.  And it was just about time I wanted more as well.



pkondz said:


> She sure does love that soup!



  And only 61 days until we get it again!  



pkondz said:


> Ah! Okay. So you _are_ going to one.
> Standing by.



And it should be up shortly...well after I respond to all the folks here.



mvf-m11c said:


> At least you made it in time for the rope drop show at the MS station.
> 
> Breakfast at the GF looks nice. Very nice pictures of the Disney characters with you and Fran.



That was completely luck.  I didn't even know what time MK opened that day.  Breakfast was excellent and I love the line up of characters.


----------



## dhorner233

That 1900 breakfast looked soo yummy!!!


----------



## franandaj

afwdwfan said:


> Woohoo!! Time to abuse the abundance of water!!!!



Well totally!  Our house uses so much water without me doing a dang thing, I feel guilty taking showers.  We even have a bucket in our shower to capture water as the shower water heats up and anything else that doesn't hit our bodies. I use those to water the plants in the yard.



afwdwfan said:


> Nice! That actually looks like a great vantage point to watch it from. But yeah, I can see security maybe giving you a little more than a passing glance given their stepped up efforts that were taking effect during your trip.



They seemed really nervous as if we had nefarious plans.  



afwdwfan said:


> That would be a rookie mistake.



Totally!



afwdwfan said:


> You know if he's blatant about it they can always tell him no. Better than being sneaky and trying to hide it. I wouldn't do it, but I can't blame him. I mean you pay how much for that breakfast and then if you want an orange in the parks it'll cost like 3 bucks.



True. Fran often grabs an orange or a banana at a buffet, and I get that the breakfast is expensive, but I just thought that putting a dozen or so pieces of fruit on a plate, bringing it back to the table and standing there while you put it all into your backpack was a little over the top.  I totally get it, but I'm just thinking that so many pieces of fruit is a little over the top.  I couldn't tell how big his family was, but they were grabbing fruit for snacks for a couple days here I think.



afwdwfan said:


> I missed it too. I had no idea it was in something like that. I was looking for a big bowl or something in the buffet with a ladle or something. I didn't even see it until my second trip.



On our last trip it was a bowl, I've seen this dispenser at restaurants at DL, but I wasn't expecting it here.



afwdwfan said:


> She could have probably gotten just a little bit more soup in that bowl...



I didn't even notice that she had filled her bowl to the brim!  



afwdwfan said:


> 2 in a row with no Strawberry soup??? Was she feeling ok?



We really need to question her sanity.  First not finding stuff to buy at the stores and then only going with two bowls of strawberry soup!



afwdwfan said:


> Whew, that's a relief!



At least she finally came through with another bowl!



afwdwfan said:


> It looks like a good breakfast. Honestly, I think breakfast looks like a much better meal there than dinner. I'd probably prefer to go there for breakfast, but with DD being a big Cinderella fan, the make up of the characters at breakfast don't really appeal as much to our family. Looks like you had a good time though!



We've done both breakfast and dinner and we actually thought the dinner service was really good. We would go back but it just has never fit in with out plans.



jedijill said:


> Yay for getting the Trader Sams shirt! DL needs to carry the shirts too.



Yeah, DL totally needs to carry those.  I can't believe that they haven't already jumped on it!



jedijill said:


> Love all the GF pics you got. It is soooo beautiful decorated for the holidays.



It is very pretty and I'm glad that it was so much calmer on this day than when we were there on Sunday.



jedijill said:


> I'm not a huge buffet fan but that one looks really good. I love the variety.



We like buffets only because you can pick out exactly what you want and have as much of it as you can, but I certainly wouldn't want to spend an entire trip eating at buffets. Besides you can't go wrong with the Strawberry Soup, and that's why we come to this one.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> NOOO!!!! Say it ain't so!



I know, it has to happen at some point.  



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Now that's impressive timing. Admit it, you did it on purpose.



No we didn't.  We just looked up and said, "Wow!  The preshow is happening and we aren't late for breakfast!"  



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Always nice when you get the chance to do that.



Yeah, considering on Sunday I sat there for like 10-15 minutes waiting for a stupid family to get out of my picture.  They couldn't even figure it out as I kept raising the camera to my eye and sighing when they stayed right there in the middle of the shot.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Seriously! Get that stuff outta here!



I know really, who eats that stuff at a buffet that costs like $30 per person!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Well, I guess they figure they paid for it...



I get that. Fran will occasionally take an orange or a banana, but she doesn't take a plate up to the buffet, fill it with fruit until it's overflowing and then put the backpack on the table and proceed to stuff it full.  I mean you don't have to totally stealth it, but when we take a few pieces of fruit I casually put them in my purse below the table, not blatantly stuff a whole backpack while standing there in the middle of the restaurant in plain sight.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> NOW we're talking!



And this is why I am on my strict diet.  I want to enjoy this kind of thing in a couple weeks.



rndmr2 said:


> Nice Update, that really looks like a great buffet! We haven't done any character meals.  (Last one I remember doing was in 1991 for my Senior week trip) I did have a couple ADR's when we did our trip in Sept 14 (CP and 1900) but they got switched when I was able to get dinner ADR's at Ohana and BOG. Oh well, maybe next time, I really would like to try that strawberry soup!



We really don't come here specifically for the character interaction, but Tigger is my favorite, so it is a bonus, we really just like the food and the strawberry soup!


----------



## franandaj

dhorner233 said:


> That 1900 breakfast looked soo yummy!!!



It is!  As I said in the last post, we mostly come here for the food and the characters are just bonus on top of the rest!


----------



## franandaj

After we finished breakfast, for whatever reason, I went on ahead of Fran, I think she might have been paying the check, but I waited in line for her at the GF Gingerbread house and got her the pins she wanted. I took these pictures while in line.













They had these sweet treats on offer.









They were even selling Gingerbread houses, but I don’t know how we would have gotten it home.





I love the way they tiled these cookies.





Then we moved on to the Magic Kingdom.





Fran considered getting some more Sorcerer’s of the Magic Kingdom Cards, but the line was huge.





When we entered the park our FP were in play so we went over to Pirates. Ah, the monstrosity sized castle.





We entered Adventureland.





I had heard that Skipper Canteen was doing soft openings. There was no way I could eat anything more at this time, but I did ask if I could go inside and take a few pictures.  They wouldn’t let me past the waiting area, but this was as much as I could see.





The sitting area.





















As Fran approached the ride, she was approached by a British officer who asked to see papers for her conveyance.  She explained that she was taking it to the Harbor master for transport, and at that he let her go.





Once at the ride, she pleaded with the attendant to let her charge her scooter as the battery was getting low again. He let her park it and charge on a plug behind a corded barrier. We scanned our MBs. The queue was totally wet. In the first 10 feet Fran's canes slipped at least three times. She told me that she was not going on the ride, as the rest of the walk was going to be too much. So I decided not to go either. DL's Pirates is much better anyways and I can go on that almost whenever I want so I didn't want her to sit and wait. Instead I got  my scooter (technically hers) for her to ride around the store and check out the merchandise. They had pirates lounging all over outside the ride. I took this picture and after a discussion on @Captain_Oblivious’s TR where @afwdwfan mentioned that he won’t even take a shot if a young kid is in it, I decided to photoshop the little girl next to the pirate out of the picture.  It was a fairly amateurish attempt, but how many of you would have known I did it if I told you?  I know at least one.  





In the meantime I tried to look up the time of our next FP and the app kept giving me an error. I assumed it was the cement buildings blocking my signal. Purchases in hand we headed out and retrieved her scooter to head into Frontierland.  Even there I couldn't get our plans to come up on the app. So I tried the browser version which also was experiencing difficulties. Eventually we went to the FP+ kiosk in Frontierland to find out the times of our next two FPs. 

We headed over to HM as now this FP was open. I loaded my dark ride lens onto the camera in preparation for riding pirates and I snapped a few shots outside the HM using the "no flash auto mode" for some reason they appeared to be rather over exposed. 









As I reached to check the lens it fell completely off the camera and hit the ground. We tried for a good 10 minutes to no avail to attach it to the camera. My brand new much anticipated lens is likely dead.

Real time update:  Three days after we got home we took the lens back to Best Buy since she had purchased their Geek Squad protection plan for me.  They told me they were going to ship it to Connecticut and would have it back to me with eight weeks. On December 30, they called me to say that the part needed to fix the camera would take too long to come in so they were “replacing” the lens.  Technically that wasn’t true.  They gave me a gift card for the full amount of the lens, slapped me on the back and said, “See ya!”.  Well not really, but that’s what it felt like.  That lens took over 3 weeks to arrive from Best Buy, so I started looking around and Amazon had the same lens for the same price and could deliver it within 5 days.  AND the protection plan was half the price for that of Best Buy. So those of you following the “Sharing” TR will probably already have seen the pictures of DL’s Grand Canyon and Primeval World which I was able to shoot with my new replacement lens before it closed for the next year to year and a half. The best news?  I think that other lens was faulty, it always fought me to take those low light pictures, auto focusing and refocusing. This new lens?  I’ve only used it that once, but it worked like a charm!  No fighting, almost every shot came out.  I can’t wait to get back out to DL and take more pictures on some of the Dark rides.  Anyways, back to the current TR.

So I used the 18-250mm 3.5 lens instead (my normal zoom lens) 









































I was astonished to find that MK's HM has no hatbox ghost! It was also refreshing to see the original HM as the last 5-6 times I have been on it at Disneyland, the NBC overlay has been present. As much as I like it, that overlay is becoming somewhat tiresome as it is present at least 1/4 of the year now. I really prefer the original mansion.


*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

After the HM we made my first ever stop at the Tangled Tinkle Spot. It was cute, but I really don't see why such a great movie only gets a bathroom.

























We went on to watch Mickey's Philharmagic which is such a fun attraction! Then our 7DMT FP was up. For the third visit Fran neglected to go on it, so I rode it again twice. While I enjoy the ride, I really would enjoy sharing it with someone.













Front car!  Woohoo!













I heard someone say that these guys were recycled from Snow White’s Scary Adventures.

























This is the first time that I have captured the shadow going up the wall.





















We decided that we wanted a little snack and stopped at Casey's,  but instead our "snack" turned into a full blown lunch with polish sausage, corn dog nuggets and French fries. I really only wanted a snack and therefore only had a couple bites of the sausage and three or four of the corn dog nuggets as well as some fries.





At this point I was pooped, but Fran wanted to check out the Disneyana store. So I got my regular Starbucks iced coffee order to perk me up while she looked in the store. Then we headed over to the Emporium and the Clothiers.  She had pointed out a shirt to me at Mouse Gears the day before and I was tired and cranky at the time and I didn't want it. Then I changed my mind and I couldn't find it anywhere in MK. She told me that she got hers at Disney Springs and we could go to WoD tonight since we would be over there later. A Christmas party was going on in MK that night. Fran said it was sold out and people were starting to enter the park, so it was definitely a good time to leave. We headed to the bus stop and waited and waited.  It seemed like a long time that we waited. But I'm not sure. I just laid my head down on my scooter and nodded off to sleep, I was that tired.

When the bus finally showed up we boarded and then a ton of other folks piled on as well. The bus driver had never asked what stop we wanted, so we had to flag her down to get released.

When we got back to the room Fran went right to sleep. I was slightly alarmed as we did not receive our friendly little DME notice indicating what time we would be picked up. I called them up and they told me our flight number was invalid. I pulled up our reservation on the computer and not only had the flight number completely changed our plane was leaving an hour and a half later! The nice agent updated our information in the system and said that all we needed to do was visit the Concierge desk in the lobby and they could print us out an updated DME voucher for boarding the next day. I texted Naked Jim and asked if he would feed the cats Wednesday night. Our plane was now landing at 9:15 instead of 7:30. Ugh. We would be lucky to get home before midnight. Then after we reacquainted ourselves with our kids, it was going to be a very late night.

Since this was out last full day, I knew we needed to start packing. I began by putting the things I had taken from the owner's locker back inside. We really didn't unpack a lot from here this time. We only cooked two meals in the room, plus we didn't need the extra stuff like BBQ tools and ponchos and stuff. Next time we will utilize the stuff from our locker a lot more. I also started to put some of the clean clothes into suitcases and some of the other stuff I knew we wouldn't need that night or the next morning. Finally I succumbed to tiredness and laid down for about half an hour before we had to get dressed and go out for dinner.


Next up: Our last night.


----------



## Pinkocto

Fun that you caught the MK opening show on the way to breakfast, I have never seen that show.

That was quick thinking of Fran's to check the Poly for the Trader Sam's shirt. 

1900 Park Fare's breakfast has a lot of impressive choices!

The British officers in front of Pirates are cool.

Total bummer about your lens falling, but it sounds like it all worked out in the end.

I agree about the Tangled bathrooms, why not something more?

I'm shocked that your airline didn't notify you of the flight change.


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> Well it's not like I'm starving myself. I'm going through Trail Mix like crazy, so I'm getting plenty of protein from the nuts. And I don't mean trail mix that is half M&Ms and such. In fact the one I seem to like best, actually has carob chips in it. I'm eating a ton of carrots, and tonight we're going to Souplantation so I'll have a giant salad!



I'm really proud of you! Stick to it!



franandaj said:


> I don't have any friends.



Excuse me? What am I? Chopped liver?



franandaj said:


> Well it got us out of there more quickly and then he got all the dirty looks!







franandaj said:


> Also, you and I are the same age. They were all before my time, but Fran is 1 week shy of being 12 years older than me, so they were all on during her childhood.



Ah. (But don't tell her you told me how old she was!)



franandaj said:


> Her parents let her have a TV in bedroom so they didn't have to babysit her.



Progressive.



franandaj said:


> What I would give for some fried chicken right now.



Easy, there.



franandaj said:


> I hope we don't get sidetracked for dinner tonight. Hometown Buffet is right next to the Souplantation. Theirs isn't as good as PT, but I wouldn't be able to resist and fried chicken right now.



Use the Force!
i.e. Force her to not stop there!



franandaj said:


> I love it when everyone is gone from a location, when we came in the bar was packed, almost as bad as the Osborne Lights.



It's been packed the two times I was there.
And there were no Osborne lights then, either.



franandaj said:


> I know, but them what if I did hide a bomb under her seat?



Meh. Doesn't matter, since they get you to search it yourself anyway.



franandaj said:


> If we were going in the park, why would we have waited on the other side of the security screeners. We would have just gone through and watched from there.



Good point.



franandaj said:


> No. Not at all. I'm like, "Wait to get food, Tigger and Pooh are almost here!"



 Okay, so I was only 180 degrees off there.



franandaj said:


> Those eggs looked like they were properly cooked, but I only eat my own scrambled eggs any more. I can't get a restaurant to fix them the way that I like them.



I never, _ever_ order eggs scrambled.
But when I see them in a buffet? I can't resist.

Going back to read the update now.


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> After we finished breakfast, for whatever reason, I went on ahead of Fran



Uh, oh.
Well... Okay, I read ahead, but I thought "Oh no. And then Fran's scooter dies."



franandaj said:


> They had these sweet treats on offer.



I'll gladly accept that offer.



franandaj said:


> They were even selling Gingerbread houses, but I don’t know how we would have gotten it home.



In pieces.

Seriously, though. I like that they have those for sale.



franandaj said:


> I love the way they tiled these cookies.







franandaj said:


> Fran considered getting some more Sorcerer’s of the Magic Kingdom Cards, but the line was huge.



That's just not something I ever got into.



franandaj said:


> Ah, the monstrosity sized castle.







franandaj said:


> They wouldn’t let me past the waiting area, but this was as much as I could see.



It looks bigger than I expected.



franandaj said:


> As Fran approached the ride, she was approached by a British officer who asked to see papers for her conveyance.







franandaj said:


> She explained that she was taking it to the Harbor master for transport, and at that he let her go.



Wow! She's quick!



franandaj said:


> Once at the ride, she pleaded with the attendant to let her charge her scooter as the battery was getting low again.



There it is. I was just a little premature.


Ruby's complaint, usually.



franandaj said:


> In the first 10 feet Fran's canes slipped at least three times.



 Not good!



franandaj said:


> I decided to photoshop the little girl next to the pirate out of the picture. It was a fairly amateurish attempt, but how many of you would have known I did it if I told you? I know at least one.







franandaj said:


> In the meantime I tried to look up the time of our next FP and the app kept giving me an error



Crap.



franandaj said:


> As I reached to check the lens it fell completely off the camera and hit the ground.



No!



franandaj said:


> We tried for a good 10 minutes to no avail to attach it to the camera. My brand new much anticipated lens is likely dead.



Oh, no! That really sucks!



franandaj said:


> Real time update: Three days after we got home we took the lens back to Best Buy since she had purchased their Geek Squad protection plan for me. They told me they were going to ship it to Connecticut and would have it back to me with eight weeks. On December 30, they called me to say that the part needed to fix the camera would take too long to come in so they were “replacing” the lens. Technically that wasn’t true. They gave me a gift card for the full amount of the lens, slapped me on the back and said, “See ya!”. Well not really, but that’s what it felt like. That lens took over 3 weeks to arrive from Best Buy, so I started looking around and Amazon had the same lens for the same price and could deliver it within 5 days. AND the protection plan was half the price for that of Best Buy.



Great service.... not.
Totally unimpressive.



franandaj said:


> The best news? I think that other lens was faulty, it always fought me to take those low light pictures, auto focusing and refocusing. This new lens? I’ve only used it that once, but it worked like a charm! No fighting, almost every shot came out.



Glad it turned out for the best in the end.
Would've been better to not have a faulty lens (and not break it, of course) in the first place.



franandaj said:


> I was astonished to find that MK's HM has no hatbox ghost!



Yep. That is kinda weird, isn't it? It's got such an important part of history (HM history)



franandaj said:


> As much as I like it, that overlay is becoming somewhat tiresome as it is present at least 1/4 of the year now.



Huh. Never thought of that.



franandaj said:


> After the HM we made my first ever stop at the Tangled Tinkle Spot. It was cute, but I really don't see why such a great movie only gets a bathroom.



It's almost like someone said "Well, we did it! Got something for all the new movies!"
"Sir? What about Tangled?"
"Dang it!"



franandaj said:


> We went on to watch Mickey's Philharmagic which is such a fun attraction!



 I love watching it almost as much as watching the littles reach for the baubles.



franandaj said:


> Front car! Woohoo!







franandaj said:


> I heard someone say that these guys were recycled from Snow White’s Scary Adventures.



I'm glad you were paying attention.
And... you're welcome.



franandaj said:


> This is the first time that I have captured the shadow going up the wall.



Nice capture! That's a tough one.



franandaj said:


> At this point I was pooped,



So you made room for Casey's after all.

Oh! A different kind of pooped.



franandaj said:


> It seemed like a long time that we waited. But I'm not sure. I just laid my head down on my scooter and nodded off to sleep, I was that tired.



Aw.... poor l'il Alison. All tuckered out.



franandaj said:


> When the bus finally showed up we boarded and then a ton of other folks piled on as well. The bus driver had never asked what stop we wanted, so we had to flag her down to get released.



Huh. Never realised that was something that you'd need to do.
Of course now, in hindsight, it seems obvious.



franandaj said:


> I was slightly alarmed as we did not receive our friendly little DME notice indicating what time we would be picked up. I called them up and they told me our flight number was invalid.



Wouldn't you think they would've notified you of that?



franandaj said:


> all we needed to do was visit the Concierge desk in the lobby and they could print us out an updated DME voucher for boarding the next day.



Well, not too bad, then.



franandaj said:


> I began by putting the things I had taken from the owner's locker back inside.



I've heard of owner's locker, but don't know anything about it. Details?



franandaj said:


> Next up: Our last night.



standing by... and... boooo!!!!


----------



## dhorner233

I'm exhausted just reading your update! I can see why you fell asleep on your scooter  I know that feeling! I push myself as hard as I can when I get to go to a Disney park! 

That is too bad you dropped your lens but the story had a happy ending!


----------



## Dis_Yoda

You guys always seem to have such a nice breakfast at 1900!  I know Fran loves that Strawberry Soup!  

Thats cool that they had those officers and pirates out around Pirates!  They don't usually do that but I love it when they have those extras instead of cutting back!  

Sorry to hear about you dropping that lens!  Glad the one from Amazon is working so much better!


----------



## mvf-m11c

The GF gingerbread is something I got to check out during the holiday season and the details of it are just amazing. 

I'm sorry to read that you drop your Sigma lens during your trip. Glad that you were able to get a new lens and it is working out well for you.


----------



## cruisehopeful

franandaj said:


> Wow! This buffet is starting to rival the one on the ship!


It sure does. In fact, that looks like the best breakfast buffet I've ever seen anywhere. Do you know if there is anything like this at DL?


franandaj said:


> Fran often grabs an orange or a banana at a buffet, and I get that the breakfast is expensive, but I just thought that putting a dozen or so pieces of fruit on a plate, bringing it back to the table and standing there while you put it all into your backpack was a little over the top. I totally get it, but I'm just thinking that so many pieces of fruit is a little over the top. I couldn't tell how big his family was, but they were grabbing fruit for snacks for a couple days here I think.


Perhaps they were going to sell them in the parks for $1. less than the vendors.  I think some people want to get their money's worth never realizing that by doing stuff like that, they are going to dive the prices up even higher.


----------



## skier_pete

That does look like a pretty good buffet at 1900PF. We always preferred crystal palace, but that one looks good too.

Do you know are the pirate characters in adventureland a permanent thing? They look like fun. Looks like you got around quite a bit that day!


----------



## cj9200

Did some binge reading to catch up.  As always, enjoying your trip and sorry that it is soon coming to an end.


----------



## ACDSNY

Woo hoo I'm caught up.  Enjoyed seeing all the Christmas decorations and gingerbread house in your pics.  So sad to see the Osborne lights go.


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Well that 1900 breakfast buffet I am going to have to partake! It does indeed compete with Cabanas with an extra. French toast! They don't do this on the ship and I love it! 

Great idea to check out the shirts at resorts. We have sourced many items that way! 

That is scary Fran and her crutches slipping. I am through with Pirates can no longer get in the boat plus they were so rude to me.

Looks like you had a great day at MK! I do love those tangled rest rooms but agree. If my movie credit was a john I might be a little upset when Beauty and the beast gets a castle and a restaurant... Frozen gets a new ride and a mention everywhere ...


----------



## afwdwfan

franandaj said:


> When we entered the park our FP were in play so we went over to Pirates. Ah, the monstrosity sized castle.


  I love your perspective about the castle sizes.



franandaj said:


> There was no way I could eat anything more at this time, but I did ask if I could go inside and take a few pictures. They wouldn’t let me past the waiting area, but this was as much as I could see.


Cool!  I'm glad you at least made it that far.



franandaj said:


> As Fran approached the ride, she was approached by a British officer who asked to see papers for her conveyance. She explained that she was taking it to the Harbor master for transport, and at that he let her go.


  I think it would be funny to show them "papers" on a tablet just to see how they react. 



franandaj said:


> The queue was totally wet. In the first 10 feet Fran's canes slipped at least three times. She told me that she was not going on the ride, as the rest of the walk was going to be too much. So I decided not to go either


Oh yuck.  Sorry you couldn't end up riding. 



franandaj said:


> I took this picture and after a discussion on @Captain_Oblivious’s TR where @afwdwfan mentioned that he won’t even take a shot if a young kid is in it, I decided to photoshop the little girl next to the pirate out of the picture. It was a fairly amateurish attempt, but how many of you would have known I did it if I told you? I know at least one.


I just try not to if I can help it.  Obviously it doesn't always work out.  Look at my Transformers video and pictures.  And sometimes I'm not even thinking about it. 



franandaj said:


> As I reached to check the lens it fell completely off the camera and hit the ground. We tried for a good 10 minutes to no avail to attach it to the camera. My brand new much anticipated lens is likely dead.


Oh crap! 



franandaj said:


> Real time update: Three days after we got home we took the lens back to Best Buy since she had purchased their Geek Squad protection plan for me. They told me they were going to ship it to Connecticut and would have it back to me with eight weeks. On December 30, they called me to say that the part needed to fix the camera would take too long to come in so they were “replacing” the lens. Technically that wasn’t true. They gave me a gift card for the full amount of the lens, slapped me on the back and said, “See ya!”. Well not really, but that’s what it felt like. That lens took over 3 weeks to arrive from Best Buy, so I started looking around and Amazon had the same lens for the same price and could deliver it within 5 days. AND the protection plan was half the price for that of Best Buy.


Well, it looks like everything actually worked out for the best anyway.  I honestly couldn't tell you the last time I bought anything from Best Buy, because this seems pretty much on par with my experiences and expectations.  I love Amazon. 



franandaj said:


> After the HM we made my first ever stop at the Tangled Tinkle Spot. It was cute, but I really don't see why such a great movie only gets a bathroom.


I know.  She should at the very minimum have some kind of a meet and greet "in her tower" as part of this area. 



franandaj said:


> We decided that we wanted a little snack and stopped at Casey's, but instead our "snack" turned into a full blown lunch with polish sausage, corn dog nuggets and French fries. I really only wanted a snack and therefore only had a couple bites of the sausage and three or four of the corn dog nuggets as well as some fries.


I love having a snack (or meal) from Casey's!


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

franandaj said:


> I love the way they tiled these cookies.



Don't you just want to lean in and start taking bites?



franandaj said:


> Ah, the monstrosity sized castle.



 Or, you know, castle-sized. 



franandaj said:


> They wouldn’t let me past the waiting area, but this was as much as I could see.



Good job getting in there.  We saw it open for business but didn't bother trying to check it out.



franandaj said:


> As Fran approached the ride, she was approached by a British officer who asked to see papers for her conveyance. She explained that she was taking it to the Harbor master for transport, and at that he let her go.



Interesting.  I've never seen those guys around before.  Good answer, Fran!



franandaj said:


> They had pirates lounging all over outside the ride. I took this picture and after a discussion on @Captain_Oblivious’s TR where @afwdwfan mentioned that he won’t even take a shot if a young kid is in it, I decided to photoshop the little girl next to the pirate out of the picture.



To me there's a difference between capturing a kid harmlessly in the background and deliberately taking a photo of someone else's kid.  As was happening to us.



franandaj said:


> So I tried the browser version which also was experiencing difficulties. Eventually we went to the FP+ kiosk in Frontierland to find out the times of our next two FPs.



I found the app to work intermittently as well.



franandaj said:


> The best news? I think that other lens was faulty, it always fought me to take those low light pictures, auto focusing and refocusing. This new lens? I’ve only used it that once, but it worked like a charm!







franandaj said:


> It was cute, but I really don't see why such a great movie only gets a bathroom.



 Well, there's also a tower you can't visit.



franandaj said:


> For the third visit Fran neglected to go on it, so I rode it again twice. While I enjoy the ride, I really would enjoy sharing it with someone.



That stinks.  It's a pretty gentle ride, too.



franandaj said:


> I just laid my head down on my scooter and nodded off to sleep, I was that tired.



Wow!  That's a new level of exhaustion!



franandaj said:


> I was slightly alarmed as we did not receive our friendly little DME notice indicating what time we would be picked up. I called them up and they told me our flight number was invalid. I pulled up our reservation on the computer and not only had the flight number completely changed our plane was leaving an hour and a half later!



 That would definitely be disconcerting!


----------



## dolphingirl47

franandaj said:


> I just got through another day, I hope you only have one more for me to catch up on.



There are two more days at the moment. I was going to post another update today, but have run out of steam. I think I may just wait until Thursday now.

How neat that you made the opening show. I still have not seen this.

That is great that Fran got her Trader Sam's shirt.

I love the photos from the Grand Floridian.

The buffet looked great, both in terms of the characters and the food.

What a pain about your lens, but I am glad that you managed to get a replacement.

Corinna


----------



## franandaj

Pinkocto said:


> Fun that you caught the MK opening show on the way to breakfast, I have never seen that show.



Somehow this does not surprise me!  



Pinkocto said:


> That was quick thinking of Fran's to check the Poly for the Trader Sam's shirt.



Ahem, it was _MY_ suggestion!  



Pinkocto said:


> 1900 Park Fare's breakfast has a lot of impressive choices!



That's one of the reasons that we keep going back!



Pinkocto said:


> The British officers in front of Pirates are cool.



I wonder if they are still there.  I heard that was some sort of a test period.



Pinkocto said:


> Total bummer about your lens falling, but it sounds like it all worked out in the end.



Yeah, I was without it for about three weeks. But the new one is better.



Pinkocto said:


> I agree about the Tangled bathrooms, why not something more?



I know.  



Pinkocto said:


> I'm shocked that your airline didn't notify you of the flight change.



Well they might have, but Fran gets those emails and she doesn't always check her email as thoroughly as she should.



pkondz said:


> I'm really proud of you! Stick to it!



it's getting harder and harder.  Mainly because I am getting bored of eating no meat.  Maybe I will try pescatarian.



pkondz said:


> Excuse me? What am I? Chopped liver?



OK, I meant friends in 3D.  I have a lot of great friends here on the DIS and when they come to Disneyland I get to see them, but otherwise Fran and I sit at home with our computers doing the same thing.  Me playing on the DIS and she buys stuff.



pkondz said:


> Ah. (But don't tell her you told me how old she was!)



She won't care....



pkondz said:


> Progressive.



Yeah, and her mom gave her phenobarbital as a baby to make her sleep and not scream and cry.



pkondz said:


> Easy, there.



And it just keeps getting stronger!



pkondz said:


> Use the Force!
> i.e. Force her to not stop there!



Well it did work, we did go to the salad place.



pkondz said:


> It's been packed the two times I was there.
> And there were no Osborne lights then, either.



Hmmmm...usually when we've gone there it's like a ghost town.



pkondz said:


> Okay, so I was only 180 degrees off there.



  I love me my characters



pkondz said:


> I never, _ever_ order eggs scrambled.
> But when I see them in a buffet? I can't resist.



I'm always afraid that they're powdered.



pkondz said:


> Going back to read the update now.



OK, I'll wait.

























Oh, you're back already!



pkondz said:


> Uh, oh.
> Well... Okay, I read ahead, but I thought "Oh no. And then Fran's scooter dies."



Not quite yet.



pkondz said:


> I'll gladly accept that offer.



I'm sure you would.



pkondz said:


> In pieces.
> 
> Seriously, though. I like that they have those for sale.



Well folks who drive there, could probably get them home easily as long as they don't hit a pothole.



pkondz said:


> That's just not something I ever got into.



We did it one trip and had a fun time. If there is time, I would enjoy doing it again.



pkondz said:


> It looks bigger than I expected.



I had no idea what to expect, but the food there sounds really good!



pkondz said:


> Wow! She's quick!



She is nothing if not witty.



pkondz said:


> There it is. I was just a little premature.



OK



pkondz said:


> Ruby's complaint, usually.







pkondz said:


> Not good!





pkondz said:


>





pkondz said:


> No!
> 
> Oh, no! That really sucks!
> 
> Great service.... not.
> Totally unimpressive.



I was very very sad.



pkondz said:


> Glad it turned out for the best in the end.
> Would've been better to not have a faulty lens (and not break it, of course) in the first place.



Yeah, that all would have been better, but at least it is somewhat fixed now.  Camera itself not so much, but nothing $225 can cure.



pkondz said:


> Yep. That is kinda weird, isn't it? It's got such an important part of history (HM history)



The hat box ghost is in our mansion.  



pkondz said:


> Huh. Never thought of that.



Yeah, it gets to be tiresome as I seem to go more often in the fall.



pkondz said:


> It's almost like someone said "Well, we did it! Got something for all the new movies!"
> "Sir? What about Tangled?"
> "Dang it!"







pkondz said:


> I love watching it almost as much as watching the littles reach for the baubles.



I've never noticed that.  I'll have to look when we go next month.



pkondz said:


> I'm glad you were paying attention.
> And... you're welcome.



OK, so it was you who gave me that tid bit of information.



pkondz said:


> Nice capture! That's a tough one.



Thanks!  I've been trying for three trips now!



pkondz said:


> So you made room for Casey's after all.
> 
> Oh! A different kind of pooped.







pkondz said:


> Aw.... poor l'il Alison. All tuckered out.



At least I didn't start screaming at the top of my lungs!



pkondz said:


> Huh. Never realised that was something that you'd need to do.
> Of course now, in hindsight, it seems obvious.



You'll see in the final chapter how they "lock us in".  I'm glad I took those pictures and explained it.



pkondz said:


> Wouldn't you think they would've notified you of that?



Well, it's Fran's frequent flyer account that we travel on.  She isn't the best at checking her email, but there have been times when they have changed things without letting us know at all.



pkondz said:


> Well, not too bad, then.



I'm glad it was an easy fix.



pkondz said:


> I've heard of owner's locker, but don't know anything about it. Details?



It's a purple plastic bin that you rent from the Owner's Locker folks for something like $99 per year. You get one visit per year with the locker.  They deliver it to your resort and they pick it up when you leave.  I've heard people from your neck of the woods put tank tops and shorts in theirs (since they can't wear them at home) and then they don't need to bring luggage on the plane.  I use mine more for kitchen type supplies and bathroom stuff.  I leave any extra bath salts I have in it, I've got shampoo and conditioner. For the kitchen I've got Ziploc bags, extra trash sacks, a britta pitcher, a large sized coffee mug, butter dish, knife set. The ones they give you in the villas is always dull. We have ponchos in there, all kinds of random stuff that we have deemed useful over the course of our stays.  If you come more often than once a year, it costs $25 per visit to have the locker delivered to you each time after the first visit.  I find it very handy.  In fact this last trip, we left a jar of peanut butter in there since we would be back only 4 months later.  We also have syrup in there as well as kosher salt & pepper, cider vinegar, worcestershire sauce, I have a list in my account on their website.



pkondz said:


> standing by... and... boooo!!!!



But when I get to the end of this it means I get to go to the Mississippi!


----------



## franandaj

dhorner233 said:


> I'm exhausted just reading your update! I can see why you fell asleep on your scooter  I know that feeling! I push myself as hard as I can when I get to go to a Disney park!



I guess we had been going since 8:30AM and it was getting close to 4PM, but at the time I really didn't know why I was so exhausted.



dhorner233 said:


> That is too bad you dropped your lens but the story had a happy ending!



Actually I didn't drop it, the lens just fell off the camera.  I was actually reaching for it and my hand didn't get there in time.



Dis_Yoda said:


> You guys always seem to have such a nice breakfast at 1900! I know Fran loves that Strawberry Soup!



We really like that place.  It is a must for our trips even though we don't go out for breakfast that much.



Dis_Yoda said:


> Thats cool that they had those officers and pirates out around Pirates! They don't usually do that but I love it when they have those extras instead of cutting back!



Were they there on your last trip?



Dis_Yoda said:


> Sorry to hear about you dropping that lens! Glad the one from Amazon is working so much better!



Now if the camera just will get fixed.



mvf-m11c said:


> The GF gingerbread is something I got to check out during the holiday season and the details of it are just amazing.



It really was a sight to see.  I'm glad I can say that I've seen it.



mvf-m11c said:


> I'm sorry to read that you drop your Sigma lens during your trip. Glad that you were able to get a new lens and it is working out well for you.



Thank you.


----------



## jedijill

I get to see you in 3D on Friday!  

Jill in CO


----------



## franandaj

cruisehopeful said:


> It sure does. In fact, that looks like the best breakfast buffet I've ever seen anywhere. Do you know if there is anything like this at DL?



The only buffets I know at DL that might come close are the Surf's Up buffet or Goofy's Kitchen, but it's been years since we did Goofy's Kitchen.



cruisehopeful said:


> Perhaps they were going to sell them in the parks for $1. less than the vendors.  I think some people want to get their money's worth never realizing that by doing stuff like that, they are going to dive the prices up even higher.



Perhaps they were going to be their meals for the rest of the day?



********** said:


> That does look like a pretty good buffet at 1900PF. We always preferred crystal palace, but that one looks good too.



I like CP too, but I've only been there for lunch.  Fran just wants to keep going back for the strawberry soup.  I could make it at home, but it tastes better there.



********** said:


> Do you know are the pirate characters in adventureland a permanent thing? They look like fun. Looks like you got around quite a bit that day!



I have no idea, I think I heard something that it was a test period.



cj9200 said:


> Did some binge reading to catch up. As always, enjoying your trip and sorry that it is soon coming to an end.



Wow!  That's impressive!  Well yes this trip is coming to an end, but then we get to cruise the Mississippi. That will be the bonus material!



ACDSNY said:


> Woo hoo I'm caught up.  Enjoyed seeing all the Christmas decorations and gingerbread house in your pics.  So sad to see the Osborne lights go.



Congratulations! The decorations were pretty, but I think we're going to stick with October and January.  It was just too crazy and busy at that time.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Well that 1900 breakfast buffet I am going to have to partake! It does indeed compete with Cabanas with an extra. French toast! They don't do this on the ship and I love it!



I didn't realize there was no French Toast on the ship.  I like my own so I don't normally get it at a buffet.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Great idea to check out the shirts at resorts. We have sourced many items that way!



I like the resort specific merchandise.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> That is scary Fran and her crutches slipping. I am through with Pirates can no longer get in the boat plus they were so rude to me.



That's awful.  How not Disney-like.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Looks like you had a great day at MK! I do love those tangled rest rooms but agree. If my movie credit was a john I might be a little upset when Beauty and the beast gets a castle and a restaurant... Frozen gets a new ride and a mention everywhere ...



I know.  Really!



afwdwfan said:


> I love your perspective about the castle sizes.



Well.....I'm used to seeing our quaint little castle.



afwdwfan said:


> Cool! I'm glad you at least made it that far.



Next trip maybe we'll eat there.



afwdwfan said:


> I think it would be funny to show them "papers" on a tablet just to see how they react.



I'm sure they have a retort for just about anything.



afwdwfan said:


> Oh yuck. Sorry you couldn't end up riding.



No biggie, I like DL's better we have three extra rooms.



afwdwfan said:


> I just try not to if I can help it. Obviously it doesn't always work out. Look at my Transformers video and pictures. And sometimes I'm not even thinking about it.



I've never thought about it before, but I was writing that chapter when all that discussion came up so I decided to go with it.



afwdwfan said:


> Oh crap!







afwdwfan said:


> Well, it looks like everything actually worked out for the best anyway. I honestly couldn't tell you the last time I bought anything from Best Buy, because this seems pretty much on par with my experiences and expectations. I love Amazon.



Yeah, I don't really want to buy anything there, but I have a $900+ gift card sitting around so I need to think of something.



afwdwfan said:


> I know. She should at the very minimum have some kind of a meet and greet "in her tower" as part of this area.



I can just see it, you can wait in line for Rapunzel and then get in the line for the restroom!



afwdwfan said:


> I love having a snack (or meal) from Casey's!



It was good, that was my first time from that place at MK.  But had quite a few from the one on the corner in DL.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Don't you just want to lean in and start taking bites?



Ummm  No.    It's been sitting out there for how many weeks!  



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Or, you know, castle-sized.







Captain_Oblivious said:


> Good job getting in there. We saw it open for business but didn't bother trying to check it out.



Leisa was going on about it, and I was curious.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Interesting. I've never seen those guys around before. Good answer, Fran!



She is quick with the wits!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> To me there's a difference between capturing a kid harmlessly in the background and deliberately taking a photo of someone else's kid. As was happening to us.



True.  But it got me thinking that I shouldn't be posting random pictures of other people's kids.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I found the app to work intermittently as well.



I better keep a printout with me next trip in car I forget.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Well, there's also a tower you can't visit.







Captain_Oblivious said:


> That stinks. It's a pretty gentle ride, too.



I know it's a fun little ride. I think she would like it.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Wow! That's a new level of exhaustion!







Captain_Oblivious said:


> That would definitely be disconcerting!



Also because as much fun as we were having, we were missing our kitties.



dolphingirl47 said:


> There are two more days at the moment. I was going to post another update today, but have run out of steam. I think I may just wait until Thursday now.



Oh good. I'm just starting your day at DC.



dolphingirl47 said:


> How neat that you made the opening show. I still have not seen this.



We've seen it nearly every trip for the past three.



dolphingirl47 said:


> That is great that Fran got her Trader Sam's shirt.



She loves to collect shirts.



dolphingirl47 said:


> I love the photos from the Grand Floridian.



Thank you!



dolphingirl47 said:


> The buffet looked great, both in terms of the characters and the food.



We like them both too!



dolphingirl47 said:


> What a pain about your lens, but I am glad that you managed to get a replacement.



And at least I got it quickly this time.


----------



## franandaj

jedijill said:


> I get to see you in 3D on Friday!
> 
> Jill in CO


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> it's getting harder and harder. Mainly because I am getting bored of eating no meat. Maybe I will try pescatarian.



As long as you don't go Franciscan.

Fish = okay.
Fisher of men = not okay.



franandaj said:


> OK, I meant friends in 3D. I have a lot of great friends here on the DIS and when they come to Disneyland I get to see them, but otherwise Fran and I sit at home with our computers doing the same thing. Me playing on the DIS and she buys stuff.



Sounds eerily familiar.
And that buying stuff can get dangerous.



franandaj said:


> She won't care....



Really! That's a rarity.



franandaj said:


> Yeah, and her mom gave her phenobarbital as a baby to make her sleep and not scream and cry.



Effective...



franandaj said:


> Well it did work, we did go to the salad place.



The Force is strong with this one.



franandaj said:


> Hmmmm...usually when we've gone there it's like a ghost town.



Really? I've only seen it full.



franandaj said:


> I'm always afraid that they're powdered.



Ah. But then I just shove 'em to the side, make a mental note and try to never go to that buffet again.



franandaj said:


> Oh, you're back already!



I'm quick!
(That's what she said.)


I really need to stop insulting myself.



franandaj said:


> Well folks who drive there, could probably get them home easily as long as they don't hit a pothole.



That rules me out, then.



franandaj said:


> She is nothing if not witty.



I've noticed that.



franandaj said:


> Yeah, that all would have been better, but at least it is somewhat fixed now. Camera itself not so much, but nothing $225 can cure.



Oh boy. What happened? Just broke? You didn't drop it too, did you!?!?



franandaj said:


> The hat box ghost is in our mansion.



I know. I've  heard a lot about it. Well, the original one anyway.



franandaj said:


> I've never noticed that. I'll have to look when we go next month.



Kay was four when she first saw it and it's one of our favourite memories.
Last time we were there, I noticed other kids doing it.



franandaj said:


> OK, so it was you who gave me that tid bit of information.







franandaj said:


> At least I didn't start screaming at the top of my lungs!



That was an option?!?!?



franandaj said:


> You'll see in the final chapter how they "lock us in". I'm glad I took those pictures and explained it.



Uh, oh.



franandaj said:


> Well, it's Fran's frequent flyer account that we travel on. She isn't the best at checking her email, but there have been times when they have changed things without letting us know at all.



Good customer service... 



franandaj said:


> It's a purple plastic bin that you rent from the Owner's Locker folks for something like $99 per year. You get one visit per year with the locker. They deliver it to your resort and they pick it up when you leave. I've heard people from your neck of the woods put tank tops and shorts in theirs (since they can't wear them at home) and then they don't need to bring luggage on the plane. I use mine more for kitchen type supplies and bathroom stuff. I leave any extra bath salts I have in it, I've got shampoo and conditioner. For the kitchen I've got Ziploc bags, extra trash sacks, a britta pitcher, a large sized coffee mug, butter dish, knife set. The ones they give you in the villas is always dull. We have ponchos in there, all kinds of random stuff that we have deemed useful over the course of our stays. If you come more often than once a year, it costs $25 per visit to have the locker delivered to you each time after the first visit. I find it very handy. In fact this last trip, we left a jar of peanut butter in there since we would be back only 4 months later. We also have syrup in there as well as kosher salt & pepper, cider vinegar, worcestershire sauce, I have a list in my account on their website.



Thanks! Now I know.
Wouldn't work for me, seeing as I don't go down that often (or haven't) but sounds like a pretty good deal.



franandaj said:


> But when I get to the end of this it means I get to go to the Mississippi!



That's right! And I'm really looking forward to hearing about that!


----------



## franandaj

As we near the end of this trip report, here are some updates for the next one.  It is currently 12 days from now.  I still have eight more pounds to lose, but I couldn’t stand the plant based diet any longer.  Sunday I broke down and ate half a footlong Subway sandwich before our concert.  Monday we had Mahi Mahi for dinner.  However when it’s not driving me crazy, I’m still trying to eat mostly plant based foods.  I just don’t want to come back from this trip having gained 10 pounds when I’m already at my heaviest weight.   

I’ve started to set aside my clothes that I plan to bring on this trip, and start to organize everything in my mind that needs to be done before we leave.  Make sure we have enough cat food, that the house is sufficiently clean and all that fun stuff. And no we are not done moving our stuff out of the old house, but we’re closer!  Everything that came down from the attic has been moved out of the house and now we’re just working on all the crud that was in there before we cleaned out the attic.  All the boxes of tax papers have been sorted through and we have two bankers boxes worth of credit card and bank statements that need to be run through the shredder.

Boy this moving is becoming tedious.  We really need to be getting rid of stuff and not bringing home any more!


So back to the last night of the TR!  Dinner tonight was at the Flying Fish Café. There was one thing on the menu that I had been dying to try ever since I saw @podsnel order it on one of her trips. Flying Fish is at the Boardwalk and the easiest way to get to another resort is to take a bus from Disney Springs. At least it is when you are staying at SSR. We left later than I wanted, but that's why I always build in a buffer on my timing. I was pleased that there was a dedicated bus for the Boardwalk and Swolphin, in the past those resorts have also shared with the Y&BC, making for a very long bus loop. We arrived about 20 minutes before our reservation time and I was able to retake the picture I couldn't get on Saturday while Fran picked up the signature pins that she learned about the day after she visited this resort. 





Then we headed down towards dinner. 

























We were given a pager which went off within about five minutes and then we were shown to our table.













The menu here is seasonal and back in June when I booked the reservation there were things on the entree menu which sounded really good. By now it had changed with the season and there wasn't so much that sounded good. We decided to just go with soup, salad, and appetizers which turned out to be more than enough. I started off with my regular martini.





Fran had the Creamy Pernod laced Seafood Bisque, which she enjoyed quite a bit.





I had a Caprese Salad, it was very tasty.





We got a basket full of bread.





As my entrée I had the Yellowfin Tuna Tartare and Crispy Tempura Tuna-Vegetable Sushi Roll.  This was so tasty and so filling I couldn’t even finish the third one.





Fran had the Crispy Togarashi scented Calamari and Florida Rock Shrimp as her entrée.  I didn’t try it as I was having so much trouble eating my own, but she said it was very good.





We declined dessert, especially since we had so much from the caramel store in Germany back at the room. After paying the check we headed back to the bus stop and waited to head back to Disney Springs. 

We went directly to WoD and while I thought I wanted a rainbow tye dye shirt like Fran was wearing at breakfast today, I found an even better shirt in pink which worked for me. I already have a tye dye Disney shirt, and several other tye dye shirts, but I can't have enough pink shirts! She found several more shirts for herself and then we checked out and headed back to the resort. It was probably only 10PM, but I was pretty wiped. I did put a few more things in the suitcase, but opted to take a bath and call it a night. We could get up early in the morning and throw everthing in a suitcase. Checkout was at 11:00AM and we had an 11:30 reservation for lunch so I wanted to be out of the room and checking our bags around 10AM. When I got out of the bath, Fran was sound asleep.


----------



## franandaj

pkondz said:


> Sounds eerily familiar.
> And that buying stuff can get dangerous.



Especially when you have to move.



pkondz said:


> Really! That's a rarity.



She is not powered by the same sorts of emotions that other women have.



pkondz said:


> I'm quick!
> (That's what she said.)
> 
> 
> I really need to stop insulting myself.







pkondz said:


> Oh boy. What happened? Just broke? You didn't drop it too, did you!?!?



No, it started last summer. We started to get an error message, "No card in camera" even when the card was in there.  We took it to a camera shop in Long Beach, but they didn't do repair and would have had to send it out for about 4 weeks.  Well while we were in the store, the problem fixed itself.  It came back occasionally throughout the Fall, but we were able to work around it and it never lasted very long. However, it hasn't gone away for about three weeks now.  Back when I was looking for an alternate place to take the camera (not wanting to be without it's use for 4 weeks), I found a guy about half an hour from us who had great reviews on Yelp.  So yesterday we took it to him, and he just called to say that it's all fixed.  He had to open the camera up and replace or rebuild the card slot as the original one had been corrupted.



pkondz said:


> Kay was four when she first saw it and it's one of our favourite memories.
> Last time we were there, I noticed other kids doing it.



I guess I've been too immersed in the show to notice anyone else.



pkondz said:


> That was an option?!?!?



Well isn't that was little kids do on the buses when they are over tired and their parents are keeping them out past their naptime?  



pkondz said:


> Thanks! Now I know.
> Wouldn't work for me, seeing as I don't go down that often (or haven't) but sounds like a pretty good deal.



It works well for us. Especially since we do a fair amount of cooking in the room and try to go often.



pkondz said:


> That's right! And I'm really looking forward to hearing about that!



I'm getting ancy just waiting for the days to pass!


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> It is currently 12 days from now.



Man! That's coming up fast!



franandaj said:


> I still have eight more pounds to lose, but I couldn’t stand the plant based diet any longer. Sunday I broke down and ate half a footlong Subway sandwich before our concert. Monday we had Mahi Mahi for dinner. However when it’s not driving me crazy, I’m still trying to eat mostly plant based foods.



Keep going Alison. You're doing amazing!



franandaj said:


> We left later than I wanted, but that's why I always build in a buffer on my timing.



Why? In my experience, the bus is never more than 5 minutes away. And usually much less!








franandaj said:


>



Pretty. And I'm going to stop saying that because otherwise I'll quote _all_ your pictures.



franandaj said:


> Fran had the Creamy Pernod laced Seafood Bisque, which she enjoyed quite a bit.



Sounds amazing.



franandaj said:


> I had a Caprese Salad, it was very tasty.



Oh! Did I tell you that I finally had one?



franandaj said:


> As my entrée I had the Yellowfin Tuna Tartare and Crispy Tempura Tuna-Vegetable Sushi Roll. This was so tasty and so filling I couldn’t even finish the third one.



Looks amazing too. I'm surprised that it was so filling though. Doesn't look like it would be.



franandaj said:


> I already have a tye dye Disney shirt, and several other tye dye shirts, but I can't have enough pink shirts!



 Got it!



franandaj said:


> I did put a few more things in the suitcase, but opted to take a bath and call it a night.



One last bath for the road.



franandaj said:


> She is not powered by the same sorts of emotions that other women have.



Now _that_ is an interesting comment.



franandaj said:


> No, it started last summer. We started to get an error message, "No card in camera" even when the card was in there. We took it to a camera shop in Long Beach, but they didn't do repair and would have had to send it out for about 4 weeks. Well while we were in the store, the problem fixed itself. It came back occasionally throughout the Fall, but we were able to work around it and it never lasted very long. However, it hasn't gone away for about three weeks now. Back when I was looking for an alternate place to take the camera (not wanting to be without it's use for 4 weeks), I found a guy about half an hour from us who had great reviews on Yelp. So yesterday we took it to him, and he just called to say that it's all fixed. He had to open the camera up and replace or rebuild the card slot as the original one had been corrupted.



Huh. I'm impressed that you found someone to fix it... and that he could!



franandaj said:


> Well isn't that was little kids do on the buses when they are over tired and their parents are keeping them out past their naptime?



True. But I didn't know that applied to _you!_



franandaj said:


> I'm getting ancy just waiting for the days to pass!



I bet!!


----------



## Pinkocto

Last night of the trip already???? But the Mississippi cruise sounds amazing so it's exciting it's almost go time  

I must be the only adult who reaches for the baubles in the Philharmagic.   No, wait, mom does it too!   

Dinner at Flying Fish looks great.  That's never been on my radar.  Glad you were able to find some yummy things when the menu didn't catch you right away.


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

franandaj said:


> I still have eight more pounds to lose, but I couldn’t stand the plant based diet any longer.



I can't blame you there!



franandaj said:


> And no we are not done moving our stuff out of the old house, but we’re closer!



Hooray!  Progress is always a good thing.



franandaj said:


> Boy this moving is becoming tedious. We really need to be getting rid of stuff and not bringing home any more!



I hear ya.  We had finally re-claimed our basement, and now after cleaning out my father-in-law's house we have lots of crap down there again.



franandaj said:


> The menu here is seasonal and back in June when I booked the reservation there were things on the entree menu which sounded really good. By now it had changed with the season and there wasn't so much that sounded good.



I hate it when that happens.  We have a restaurant near us that does that all the time.  Every time I find something I really love on the menu, it disappears.


----------



## afwdwfan

franandaj said:


> I couldn’t stand the plant based diet any longer.


I'm impressed you lasted as long as you did! 



franandaj said:


> Boy this moving is becoming tedious. We really need to be getting rid of stuff and not bringing home any more!


Yeah, good luck with that... 



franandaj said:


> The menu here is seasonal and back in June when I booked the reservation there were things on the entree menu which sounded really good. By now it had changed with the season and there wasn't so much that sounded good. We decided to just go with soup, salad, and appetizers which turned out to be more than enough.


Yeah, I think that's probably more than adequate in a lot of situations.  The problem is there's usually something from about every course of the menu that I really want. 



franandaj said:


> I started off with my regular martini.


I like the lighting effect with the candle behind it.  Looks like a glow cube or something. 



franandaj said:


> We could get up early in the morning and throw everthing in a suitcase.


After one last bath, right?


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

No way the curtain is closing already? But I am looking forward very much to the river cruise. 

I agree with others comments. You did well to commit and do what you did on the plant based diet. 

Flying fish looks nice. It has a very interesting menu! But I didn't realise it was seasonal. That's neat maybe it goes with what's in season. Your dinner looks really nice. Yum to tuna! 

Oh I love looking around WOD after dinner. Getting a new shirt what a treat. Your pink top sounds nice glad you both got things you liked.


----------



## dolphingirl47

That is a pain about the camera, but I am glad that you managed to get it fixed. Dinner looked really interesting and it was nice that you got another chance to take the photos you wanted.

Corinna


----------



## rentayenta

I'm back and way behind. Catching up now.


----------



## rentayenta

The opening show at MK looks like so much fun!

The Grand sure is Grand. Wjat a gorgeous resort. 

How cute was that Alice at breakfast? 

We take oranges too.  Must check level of discreetness.  

Yay for park time!  

Thank you for the 7DMT pics. I can't wait to ride it.......someday.

8lbs to go? Thats not bad. Moderation lady. It won't stay off otherwise. I am so excited that your trip is coming up. Vacations are so hard when it comes to healhthy choices. Happily I can report I didn't gain a pound in Ecuador. The food was good, not great. Michael's friends aren't huge snackers so I found myself snacking on fruit. On vacation. The horror.


----------



## jedijill

Your dinner looked tasty!  I wonder what they are going to do with FF after the remodel and the chef leaving.  Boo for the last night!

You are doing great on your diet!  It's not easy trying to lose the weight...lord knows I've been trying for 30 years. 

Jill in CO


----------



## rentayenta

jedijill said:


> Your dinner looked tasty!  I wonder what they are going to do with FF after the remodel and the chef leaving.  Boo for the last night!
> 
> You are doing great on your diet!  It's not easy trying to lose the weight...*lord knows I've been trying for 30 years*.
> 
> Jill in CO



Bold, italic is mine and same.


----------



## mvf-m11c

Dinner at the Flying Fish look very nice and the Christmas decorations looked nice as well at the cafe.


----------



## Steppesister

Loved your FF update! Can't wait for my Graduation Celebration Dinner there; but I guess I won't bother to really study the menu since it'll all most likely be different by the time I get there. And that's ok. I have still not read a BAD review of the place yet, no matter what season it is. 

I hope that the moving work is done soon. What a long, hard chore! Especially if you're trying to cull junk at the same time. Yikes. 

Don't give up on the weight loss! You're doing great and your long-term health will thank you. I know you'll be glad you did when you don't come home from that trip even heavier!


----------



## chirurgeon

Allison, I'm very late to the party. I had the chocolate soup at a dessert tasting. I didn't find mine spicy at all. Did your's have more heat? I loved it and I would have also licked the bowl clean if I dared.

Your photos in Space Ship Earth are great. I missed the lens you used, then had to replace, what are the specs on the lens? I might need that.

I'm guessing you're on the riverboat right now, hoping you and Fran are having a great time.


----------



## franandaj

pkondz said:


> Man! That's coming up fast!



I know and now it's a week from tomorrow, but more like a week from today because I'm really not going to be able to go to bed next Saturday, what with having to be at the airport at 3AM and on the by 5AM and all.



pkondz said:


> Keep going Alison. You're doing amazing!



Well, I've hit a plateau.  



pkondz said:


> Why? In my experience, the bus is never more than 5 minutes away. And usually much less!



You are not normal!  



pkondz said:


> Pretty. And I'm going to stop saying that because otherwise I'll quote _all_ your pictures.



Aw shucks!



pkondz said:


> Sounds amazing.



She really liked it.



pkondz said:


> Oh! Did I tell you that I finally had one?



And how did you like it?  How did you get fresh tomatoes in negative 20 degree weather?



pkondz said:


> Looks amazing too. I'm surprised that it was so filling though. Doesn't look like it would be.



Well the bottom part of the sushi was tempura battered and deep fried.  I think that was a cucumber roll and then the raw tuna was neatly piled on the top.



pkondz said:


> One last bath for the road.



Totally!



pkondz said:


> Now _that_ is an interesting comment.



Well she is wired differently and fully admits it herself.  When she was three she didn't play with dolls, she had a tool kit and wanted to help her Dad build things and stuff.  She also ran around in a cowboy outfit with jeans and a flannel shirt and boots.  Much like she dresses today.



pkondz said:


> Huh. I'm impressed that you found someone to fix it... and that he could!



I was thrilled!  And he was only 20-30 minutes away and right next to a pretty good Chinese restaurant.  Yelp is my friend.



pkondz said:


> True. But I didn't know that applied to _you!_



Why should kids have the exclusive on bad behavior?  I've seen plenty of adults do ridiculous things?



Pinkocto said:


> Last night of the trip already???? But the Mississippi cruise sounds amazing so it's exciting it's almost go time



It sure is, when I set my TR goals about two months ago, I said that the last installment should be posted by tomorrow.  I also need to start putting stuff in suitcases.  I have it all set aside for the most part.



Pinkocto said:


> I must be the only adult who reaches for the baubles in the Philharmagic.  No, wait, mom does it too!



  



Pinkocto said:


> Dinner at Flying Fish looks great. That's never been on my radar. Glad you were able to find some yummy things when the menu didn't catch you right away.



I usually can. And I knew I was going to get the Tuna thing from before I walked in there.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I can't blame you there!



I'm still trying, but it was just too dang boring!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Hooray! Progress is always a good thing.



Even if it's slow, it's better than regressing.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I hear ya. We had finally re-claimed our basement, and now after cleaning out my father-in-law's house we have lots of crap down there again.



I know how that goes!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I hate it when that happens. We have a restaurant near us that does that all the time. Every time I find something I really love on the menu, it disappears.



At least it doesn't go out of business.  About a month ago I was driving home from our old neighborhood and our favorite "greasy spoon" type of place had "For Lease" signs in the window. I was so mad!  



afwdwfan said:


> I'm impressed you lasted as long as you did!


'

'Yeah, I actually was too.  But the weight loss was very encouraging.  Now that I'm on a plateau it doesn't feel all that worth it giving up eating meat.  So I'm not.



afwdwfan said:


> Yeah, good luck with that...



I know.  Every time we go over there, she has me bring a box of something back here.  This house is now just a ton of boxes.



afwdwfan said:


> Yeah, I think that's probably more than adequate in a lot of situations. The problem is there's usually something from about every course of the menu that I really want.



That's usually the case for me, which is why sharing is a good idea.  I can't eat as much as I used to but I still want to!



afwdwfan said:


> I like the lighting effect with the candle behind it. Looks like a glow cube or something.



Cool.  I didn't even do that on purpose!



afwdwfan said:


> After one last bath, right?



Actually I'm usually too ancy on the last day being worried about packing and all that kind of stuff.  But I did have to go back to the TR and check whether I did or not.  Boy am I getting old!  I'm suffering from CRAFT.


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> what with having to be at the airport at 3AM and on the by 5AM and all.



Ew.
That is all.



franandaj said:


> Well, I've hit a plateau.



Hang in there.



franandaj said:


> You are not normal!



This I know.



franandaj said:


> And how did you like it? How did you get fresh tomatoes in negative 20 degree weather?



Well, the tomatoes are shipped in from somewhere warm,
but definitely not locally grown!

And yes... I liked it.



franandaj said:


> Well she is wired differently and fully admits it herself.



Heh. I like that.



franandaj said:


> Why should kids have the exclusive on bad behavior? I've seen plenty of adults do ridiculous things?



Unfortunately, this is only too true.


----------



## franandaj

Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> No way the curtain is closing already? But I am looking forward very much to the river cruise.



Yup, and it's coming to an end right on schedule.  Last update either today or tomorrow.  Then packing!!!!!!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> I agree with others comments. You did well to commit and do what you did on the plant based diet.



Yeah, thanks.  Some of it wasn't so bad.  I really like the Lentil soup that I made.  In fact I think I will have a bowl this afternoon.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Flying fish looks nice. It has a very interesting menu! But I didn't realise it was seasonal. That's neat maybe it goes with what's in season. Your dinner looks really nice. Yum to tuna!



A lot of the high end restaurants do have a seasonal menu so that they can serve the freshest ingredients.  I like that.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Oh I love looking around WOD after dinner. Getting a new shirt what a treat. Your pink top sounds nice glad you both got things you liked.



At first I really wanted the tyedyed one, but when I saw the pink one, I changed my mind.



dolphingirl47 said:


> That is a pain about the camera, but I am glad that you managed to get it fixed. Dinner looked really interesting and it was nice that you got another chance to take the photos you wanted.
> 
> Corinna



Dinner that night was very good.  I have been finding that after eating such a bland plant based diet, even the littlest thing tastes amazing!  And I'm so glad that he fixed the camera, plus he cleaned the lens.  He asked, "Do you have a cat?"  Evidently the strap was covered in cat hair and I suspect there was some in the machinery too!  



rentayenta said:


> I'm back and way behind. Catching up now.



Welcome back!  I bet it was amazing!



rentayenta said:


> The opening show at MK looks like so much fun!



It's a treat to catch it.  They don't have anything like it at DL.



rentayenta said:


> The Grand sure is Grand. Wjat a gorgeous resort.



I'm hoping we can stay there again after our cruise next year.



rentayenta said:


> How cute was that Alice at breakfast?



I know, wasn't she?



rentayenta said:


> We take oranges too.  Must check level of discreetness.



I have no problem with grabbing and orange or banana for a snack later, it was the grabbing 10 or 12 of them.  Blatantly!



rentayenta said:


> Yay for park time!



I hope we get a little more park time this next trip.  I enjoyed the decorations, but next time we gotta get more bang for our buck.  Ji and alberto should help with that.



rentayenta said:


> Thank you for the 7DMT pics. I can't wait to ride it.......someday.



Patience, grasshopper.



rentayenta said:


> 8lbs to go? Thats not bad. Moderation lady. It won't stay off otherwise. I am so excited that your trip is coming up. Vacations are so hard when it comes to healhthy choices. Happily I can report I didn't gain a pound in Ecuador. The food was good, not great. Michael's friends aren't huge snackers so I found myself snacking on fruit. On vacation. The horror.



Well I'm not really planning on moderation on a river boat cruise, nor in New Orleans.  I will be good in the month in between that trip and WDW.



jedijill said:


> Your dinner looked tasty! I wonder what they are going to do with FF after the remodel and the chef leaving. Boo for the last night!



That's a good question.  I knew that the place was having a remodel, but I didn't know the chef was leaving.



jedijill said:


> You are doing great on your diet! It's not easy trying to lose the weight...lord knows I've been trying for 30 years.



I've only really been working on it since around 2008, but it's been an on and off thing.  Mostly off which is why I need to work on it so much now!



rentayenta said:


> Bold, italic is mine and same.


----------



## franandaj

mvf-m11c said:


> Dinner at the Flying Fish look very nice and the Christmas decorations looked nice as well at the cafe.



Thanks, it was a very pleasant evening.



Steppesister said:


> Loved your FF update! Can't wait for my Graduation Celebration Dinner there; but I guess I won't bother to really study the menu since it'll all most likely be different by the time I get there. And that's ok. I have still not read a BAD review of the place yet, no matter what season it is.



I've always loved my meals there and we've been there at least three times that I can remember.  You're a pretty ambitious eater, I'm sure you'll love it.  But Jill pointed out there is going to be a new chef when it reopens. I hope it doesn't change a lot.



Steppesister said:


> I hope that the moving work is done soon. What a long, hard chore! Especially if you're trying to cull junk at the same time. Yikes.



I see no light at the end of the tunnel, and there is A LOT of furniture left in there that we need to sell/donate, but we're taking a load to the thrift store.



Steppesister said:


> Don't give up on the weight loss! You're doing great and your long-term health will thank you. I know you'll be glad you did when you don't come home from that trip even heavier!



Well, I'm going to keep trying, but this upcoming trip will be a big blip in the process!  



chirurgeon said:


> Allison, I'm very late to the party. I had the chocolate soup at a dessert tasting. I didn't find mine spicy at all. Did your's have more heat? I loved it and I would have also licked the bowl clean if I dared.



   You might eat spicy things on a regular basis. Jalapeno's are on my "do not touch" list, and anything hotter as well.  To me tabasco sauce is hot.



chirurgeon said:


> Your photos in Space Ship Earth are great. I missed the lens you used, then had to replace, what are the specs on the lens? I might need that.



Thanks, for my dark ride photos I'm using a Sigma 1.4 35mm lens.  It's pretty pricey and sort of a one trick pony as it has no zoom features, but it does really good with little light.



chirurgeon said:


> I'm guessing you're on the riverboat right now, hoping you and Fran are having a great time.



Actually not for another 9 days (well technically less than 9 by a few hours).  We'll have just sailed away and I'll be in my room or on the patio with a glass of wine (which I just ordered to be delivered as a stateroom gift).



pkondz said:


> Ew.
> That is all.



I know, kind of like your departure from WDW, but unfortunately it was either leave at an ungodly hour or arrive in Memphis at 11PM.  I don't want to be arriving in a strange town that late.  And probably starving.



pkondz said:


> Hang in there.



I'm trying.



pkondz said:


> This I know.



I didn't think you were going to argue.



pkondz said:


> Well, the tomatoes are shipped in from somewhere warm,
> but definitely not locally grown!
> 
> And yes... I liked it.



Good.  As you can tell they are among my favorite foods.  I think I will make one this week.


----------



## chirurgeon

I am not a spicy person either. Mild Mexican is as far as I go. Which is why I was so surprised about the soup when I had it. My first sip was very tentative. 

I have a 50mm 1.4. I also sprung for a 18-35 1.8. Still trying to get a handle on that. Hoping for some good fireworks shots and dark ride photos next go round.


----------



## dhorner233

I'm sorry there is still not light at the end of the tunnel with your other place. But at least you are taking a load to the thrift store! 

I feel for you with the dieting. I struggle every day. I love to eat. Thank goodness there are no restaurants here where I live. But I'm going to Disneyland 2 weeks from today!!!  I have reservations at Storytellers for Easter dinner (I'm hoping they will have a buffet at 1:40), Ariel's Grotto and Blue Bayou.


----------



## Leshaface

franandaj said:


> We were on the Monorail well before 9AM and our breakfast reservation wasn't until 9:30 and I remembered that Fran said the Poly gift shop got deliveries on M,W,&F, so I suggested we stop there and see about getting her a Trader Sams shirt. They had indeed restocked and she got what she wanted and we amazed the guy at the monorail when we showed back up so quickly



What i'm amazed at is that Fran knows the Poly's delivery schedule! 



franandaj said:


>



I'm always trying to get this shot without people too!  I think i've succeeded once, but the angle is so gorgeous.



franandaj said:


>



Don't you love that they have conversations with us adults as well and not just kids?!



franandaj said:


>



How was this guy, was he fun to talk to??



franandaj said:


> Whole fruit? Nope not for me today. I was surprised however at the number of folks who were blatantly taking these and putting them in purses, backpacks, and other bags. One guy put no less than half a dozen oranges and the same number of apples, and even a few bananas in his backpack. At least do it discreetly!



For reals?!  Cause bananas go bad so quickly in bags/purses anyway, why bother!



franandaj said:


> And mine and Fran’s favorite, the strawberry soup!



There it is!  



franandaj said:


> I don’t remember this “Mexican flair” to the buffet, first there was tortillas





franandaj said:


> Salsa



DH is ALWAYS asking for tortillas!  I had to show him your picture and tell him we need to eat here for breakfast next time just so he can get his tortillas....such a Mexican



franandaj said:


> Ah, the monstrosity sized castle.



Right?!  It's like crazy big compared to DLR's!



franandaj said:


> As Fran approached the ride, she was approached by a British officer who asked to see papers for her conveyance. She explained that she was taking it to the Harbor master for transport, and at that he let her go.



This is awesome!!! 



franandaj said:


> I decided to photoshop the little girl next to the pirate out of the picture. It was a fairly amateurish attempt, but how many of you would have known I did it if I told you? I know at least one.



Heck I wouldn't have known at all.



franandaj said:


>



And oh my his eyes



franandaj said:


> As I reached to check the lens it fell completely off the camera and hit the ground. We tried for a good 10 minutes to no avail to attach it to the camera. My brand new much anticipated lens is likely dead.



That sucks!



franandaj said:


> This new lens? I’ve only used it that once, but it worked like a charm! No fighting, almost every shot came out. I can’t wait to get back out to DL and take more pictures on some of the Dark rides.



However, glad to hear that the replacement lens you found on Amazon is much better.



franandaj said:


> It was cute, but I really don't see why such a great movie only gets a bathroom.



Agree!  Even DH enjoys watching that movie, it really is good.



franandaj said:


> While I enjoy the ride, I really would enjoy sharing it with someone.



This is how DH has felt recently.  He never went on Space at WDW because I couldn't and DM refused to, so he just declined.  He said it's just more fun being able to ride it with someone that enjoys it too.



franandaj said:


> We decided that we wanted a little snack and stopped at Casey's, but instead our "snack" turned into a full blown lunch



This is our problem too.



franandaj said:


> I pulled up our reservation on the computer and not only had the flight number completely changed our plane was leaving an hour and a half later!



Woah good thing you're observant and noticed the absence of the ME tags!



franandaj said:


>



Oh this looks YUMMY!  Technically sushi is on the 'do not eat' list but I ended up eating some at Trader Sams at the Poly   BTW, what item were you looking at originally that was suggested to you by a DIS'er??


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> I know, kind of like your departure from WDW, but unfortunately it was either leave at an ungodly hour or arrive in Memphis at 11PM. I don't want to be arriving in a strange town that late. And probably starving.



Given those two options, I'd do the same.



franandaj said:


> Good. As you can tell they are among my favorite foods. I think I will make one this week.



I'd like to, but I'll wait until my folks give me some of their tomatoes.


----------



## franandaj

chirurgeon said:


> I am not a spicy person either. Mild Mexican is as far as I go. Which is why I was so surprised about the soup when I had it. My first sip was very tentative.



Perhaps the heat level of the soup varies slightly depending on the day.  I thought it was really good though.



chirurgeon said:


> I have a 50mm 1.4. I also sprung for a 18-35 1.8. Still trying to get a handle on that. Hoping for some good fireworks shots and dark ride photos next go round.



I rented a 50mm 1.4 and didn't like it.  The focal area was just too small.  The 18-35 1.8 sounds interesting.  Maybe after a few years with this lens, I can justify another.  My next purchase is going to be a professional model camera.



dhorner233 said:


> I'm sorry there is still not light at the end of the tunnel with your other place. But at least you are taking a load to the thrift store!



Yeah, there is still soooooo much stuff in there.  If we could just get the small stuff, we could start working on the big stuff.  Like putting the furniture on Craigslist.



dhorner233 said:


> I feel for you with the dieting. I struggle every day. I love to eat. Thank goodness there are no restaurants here where I live. But I'm going to Disneyland 2 weeks from today!!!  I have reservations at Storytellers for Easter dinner (I'm hoping they will have a buffet at 1:40), Ariel's Grotto and Blue Bayou.



Yeah, we leave in 6 days and then all bets are off!  I just wish that I could get off of this plateau.  But at least I'm holding solid and not going up.



Leshaface said:


> What i'm amazed at is that Fran knows the Poly's delivery schedule!



When we were there on Saturday she asked when their next delivery would be and that's when she learned the schedule.



Leshaface said:


> I'm always trying to get this shot without people too! I think i've succeeded once, but the angle is so gorgeous.



I bet there's a lot of people who try for this.  On Saturday people just kept going and standing right there.  And they weren't even looking at the Atrium.



Leshaface said:


> Don't you love that they have conversations with us adults as well and not just kids?!



Yes, I don't even feel funny going to character breakfasts without kids.  The characters are totally cool with it.



Leshaface said:


> How was this guy, was he fun to talk to??



As far as Mad Hatters go, he wasn't the funniest, but he was definitely fun.  Lots of others were taking shots of them all sticking out their tongues.



Leshaface said:


> For reals?! Cause bananas go bad so quickly in bags/purses anyway, why bother!



:



Leshaface said:


> There it is!



Of course 



Leshaface said:


> DH is ALWAYS asking for tortillas! I had to show him your picture and tell him we need to eat here for breakfast next time just so he can get his tortillas....such a Mexican



That's funny, why not just order them with your groceries?



Leshaface said:


> Right?! It's like crazy big compared to DLR's!



Finally someone who agrees with me!



Leshaface said:


> This is awesome!!!



She can be quick sometimes.



Leshaface said:


> Heck I wouldn't have known at all.



Well cool!



Leshaface said:


> And oh my his eyes



Hmmm, I didn't notice.



Leshaface said:


> That sucks!
> 
> However, glad to hear that the replacement lens you found on Amazon is much better.



Yes, all in the end, it worked out.



Leshaface said:


> Agree! Even DH enjoys watching that movie, it really is good.



It's one of my favorites!



Leshaface said:


> This is how DH has felt recently. He never went on Space at WDW because I couldn't and DM refused to, so he just declined. He said it's just more fun being able to ride it with someone that enjoys it too.



I'm used to riding by myself, but it would be nice to have a companion.



Leshaface said:


> This is our problem too.



It's hard not to over order.  Especially when it comes to hot dogs!



Leshaface said:


> Woah good thing you're observant and noticed the absence of the ME tags!



I wanted to know what time they were going to give us, and when there wasn't one on the door, I started to panic!



Leshaface said:


> Oh this looks YUMMY! Technically sushi is on the 'do not eat' list but I ended up eating some at Trader Sams at the Poly  BTW, what item were you looking at originally that was suggested to you by a DIS'er??



Good to know that they have sushi at Trader Sams.  We plans a few visits there next trip!  That Tuna dish was the one that I saw on someone else's TR.  It was just as good as I imagined it would be!


----------



## franandaj

So here we are at the last update for this trip and I’m coming in right on schedule.  We leave in six days, and I haven’t even started packing yet!    Well here it is, I’m not sure if I’ll do any updating while we’re on the Riverboat trip so it might be until April before I start posting about the trip.  However you never know.  To all of you out there with Trip Reports, I have been keeping up on my phone, but it’s such a pain to post from there, I have the next five days to catch up and post in between packing and cleaning the house!

I woke up around quarter to 5 and knew that was way too early to get up, so I opened the curtains so that light would come in as the sun rose. We had the TV on to the ABC affiliate station and I slept lightly because I had dreams which incorporated the news stories as well as random folks from the DIS.  I woke up at 7AM which I knew because GMA had just started. This was actually a little longer than I wanted to sleep so I got up and dressed quickly. I had laid out the clothes I wanted to wear today (mostly because I packed the rest of my clean clothes the night before.) I finished up the first suitcase, made coffee and started to pack the second. Somewhere in the process Fran woke up and got dressed, she asked if I wanted help or for her to stay out of my way. I told her she could work on her carry on bag.

Meanwhile I fixed us some breakfast from our leftovers. She had a meatloaf sandwich and I ate what was left of the Mac and cheese as well as a chunk of meatloaf. Once her bag was packed she climbed back into bed and I finished packing. When I was ready to seal up the owner's locker it was only 9:15!!!!!

She asked for 10 more minutes and promised she would call the bellman after that.  I weighed the suitcases and all but one were under 50 lbs and the one was just a hair over. We found out before we left on the trip that bags only need to weigh in under 70 lbs, so we were good.

After placing our call, the bellman was at our door promptly.  He took our five checked bags, owner's locker, and our carry ons that we would be leaving with Bell Services for the afternoon and soon we were off to the airport check in. On our way Fran got a call from the Yellow Scooter company, wow! They did actually know our phone number! They wanted to know if we still wanted to have the scooter picked up at 1:30 today. We told them that our flight had been delayed an hour and a half and could they get it at 2:45 instead? They said sure and we continued on our way.  I guess she didn't feel the need to chew them a new one at this time.  However, she told anyone who would listen NEVER to rent from Yellow Scooter.

Riding our scooters to the lobby building we actually beat the bellman but not by much. And soon our bags were checked through to LAX. Then we visited the concierge to get our DME paperwork and change a $20 bill for some tip money. I took these pictures of the SSR lobby while we took care of that business.













It was only 10:30 so we decided to give Fran's battery a break and we took the bus to Disney Springs. I like to take pictures of how they strap us in on the busses, but it made the bus driver nervous that he wasn’t doing something right!













We had scooted past this cute little sleigh topiary so many times, I finally took a picture of it.





With all the construction for Disney Springs, this bridge was new. I thought I would take a picture of it.  If you aren’t going to World of Disney or Ghiradelli you can cut off a good chunk of walking by using this bridge.





When we got there we still had 15 minutes until our reservation so we stopped in the hat shop. While they had some nice hats, the prices were pretty outrageous so we passed on buying anything and instead just went to lunch.

When we were seated we were some of the only folks in the room as it was pretty early. By the time we left it was fairly full and with some larger parties who were obviously celebrating something.

























I didn't recognize any of the oysters on the menu, but our server made an excellent recommendation and I got an order of three oysters to start. 





Fran really enjoyed these rolls which were absolutely delicious. Our server called them "Hawaiian rolls on crack" which about sums it up. I thought they were good too.





We decided to split a New England Lobster Roll for our entrée and it was a perfect choice. The Lobster meat was so tender and perfectly cooked and there was a lot of it. Our server said that each sandwich had an entire tail and claws from a 1 lb lobster. The French fries were fresh cut thin potatoes and really tasty too. 





Fran was too full for dessert, but I couldn't resist the Caramel Whiskey Corn Cake with berries and whipped cream. 





I had a Irish Coffee to go along with it and that certainly hit the spot. She did help.me out with dessert and I was pleasantly full when I left but not stuffed.





After we left the Boathouse we went to the Ganachery which had opened only the day before. We picked out a few specialty chocolates to take home with us and we're on our way.  





They make the specialty chocolates in the cases in house.





These candies were outsourced.





They are trying to give the place a sort of Apothecary feel.





We got one of these Mickey pops and it was really good.





I think I might like to try these next time.





But these babies were really the main event.  I don’t’ remember which flavors we got, but they were really rich and tasty. Sorry about the blurry picture.













We went all the way to end of the Westside before turning around and going back. Look at how long the line for the Ganachery had become while we went to the other end of Disney Springs!





Fran made one more stop at WoD while I waited at the spitting stitch. We grabbed one last Margarita from the stand before taking the path back to SSR. 













We made a potty stop in the lobby and I came out to find Fran standing there with only one scooter and the scooter she had been using all weekend was "riding off into the sunset" so to speak it was just barely past 2:30. These people didn't return any of her phone calls all weekend, but yet when it came to picking up the scooter they were impatient and hunted her down. I wonder if it had a GPS tracker on it? Kind of reminded me of a certain lyric from David Bowie's Song Suffragette City!

At this point we would have been sitting around the resort for about an hour waiting for our bus. I went to get our carry ons from Bell Services so I could work on my TR while I waited. As I picked up the bags, I noticed a DME bus leaving the resort.  I asked how often they come and the next one would be there at 3PM. On a previous trip we had been able to get on am earlier bus when we were just sitting there, so when the next bus arrived we asked about the possibility.  He said he couldn’t take us because he would have to remove seats and prepare the bus, and we're like  

He thought Fran needed the scooter lift! We explained that she could do the stairs, and all he needed to do was stow the scooter underneath.  So he said "sure!"

And then we were on our way to the airport. We had a lot of beverages left, 2-3 half full bottles of Diet Mtn Dew and a couple bottles of water. But Fran had one unopened bottle of Dew that she found after we sent our suitcases on their way, so she got the brilliant idea of stuffing it deep in her carry on and hope they didn't notice on the TSA screening. On the flight to Orlando she got away with a bottle of hand sanitizer that was well over 3oz in her carry on.

I don't recommend trying this on your next trip. Her bag was taken aside. She had to wait while the lady in front of us had her bag searched because she had two 4oz boxes of juice. When that was done, Fran got the royal treatment. They took EVERY. SINGLE. THING. out of her bag. Swabbed every surface, and this was one of those special air travel bags with like a hundred pockets for each and every little thing. About half an hour later they finally packed her bag back up and let her go. "That was fascinating!" She says to me as she rides up with her bag in tow. We still had over an hour until boarding began otherwise I would have killed her right then!

We took the fake monorail to our satellite terminal, found the gate and got the scooter all checked in. The man said he had at least five other wheelchairs on the flight so be back no later than 5:45. 

We got some new beverages, she ate some potato chips and I had a Quinoa & chocolate bar for a snack. And then we settled in at the gate.

They took her scooter at the gate and had her walk down the gangway, at least we were the first to board the plane. I got us all settled and was happy to see we had the video monitors on this trip as well. I had planned to get this TR started on the plane because I promised Fran no more home cooked extravagant dinners until we get the old house all cleaned out and in the hands of the contractor.  I know I was saying the exact same thing a year ago, but this time I mean it!

The plane was boarded and of course it was a full flight and of course the overhead bins filled up so the poor saps who boarded late with giant suitcases that don't fit under the seat were relegated to gate checking their bags.  When we finally pulled away from the gate, the pilot said we would be first in the take off line. Then something went wrong and "our numbers weren't coming up" or something to that affect, so he said we would be making a U-turn and getting back in line. About 8 minutes later we were finally in the air. Only 20 minutes late.

While waiting for the go ahead to use my computer, I decided to go ahead and watch Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. I had forgotten how many bad sexual innuendo jokes there were in this movie. However since I saw it last, we had "studied up" on James Bond movies for the car club meet event, "The Car who Loved Me". I understood a lot more of the subtleties of the movie having seen the first 7-10 Bond movies in the last three years. Eventually I was able to get out my computer and get a good portion of the first day of the TR written. They served us dinner of (supposedly) filet, and lobster mac and cheese. There was a "wedge" salad and a sort of caprese antipasto kind of salad. 





I had a couple glasses of wine which helped me handle the turbulence although it was not nearly as bad as the flight to Orlando. They brought us some vanilla ice cream which was nice, and once Austin Powers was over I put on Caddyshack. That movie ended as we were preparing for landing, so I just turned on the in flight navigation so I could watch the progress of the plane.

Getting off the plane was no big deal, but one thing that had happened on the flight to Orlando was that when Fran got her scooter back from the attendants, her headlight wasn’t on, we were so tired upon arrival there that we didn’t do anything about it.  So when we were back in LA, she went to the desk and filed a claim for a broken headlight.  Then I finally left her curbside with the bags, I picked up the car and came back to get her and we were on the way home.  The kitties were even happy to see us!  It was well after midnight when we got home, and I don’t think we even got out bed the next day we were so exhausted.


----------



## franandaj

Wrap up

What about the headlight?  Well American Airlines arranged for us to have it looked at by one of the local mobility stores. Since it was easier for us to bring it to them than wait around for someone to come to our house, we took it down there a couple days after we got home. We explained that when we got the scooter back from the airline that the light was no longer lit. The gentleman at the store walked over to the scooter, flipped a switch on the tiller and the light came on. Both of our jaws hit the floor, and we said in unison, “There’s a switch?”

  

Well if you’ve come to this point in the TR, that means that it’s almost time for our river cruise on the Mississippi, but first a few words to wrap up this trip.

There was a lot of “new” on this trip especially the first five nights. So let’s see how things measured up. Staying at MCO the night before the cruise?  Best decision ever! In fact we have already decided to do it for our cruise next February on the Fantasy.

What about the Dream you ask?  The ship itself is nice. However, a four night cruise is not nearly long enough and until the Dream offers longer itineraries or more interesting ports, I’m not in any hurry to go back. Remy was the highlight of the voyage, but since the Fantasy offers an option to dine there as well, I may be more inclined to sail on the Fantasy instead.  I didn’t mind the larger ship so much, but there were quite a bit more children on the ship than I am normally comfortable with. Also the adult areas did not feel as secluded and adult as the ones on the Wonder. We’ll see how I like the Fantasy next February, but I am perfectly content sticking with the classic ships now having experienced one of the newer ships.

As far as the WDW portion of the trip, it was nice to get back to SSR. Last stay was in 2010 and that was the treehouses, before that it was 2008.  It’s not the most exciting resort, but it was relaxing and the location close to Disney Springs couldn’t be beat. We ate a lot of meals there and it was very convenient just to cross the bridge to get there.  It was also great coming home from dinners at other resorts and not having to switch buses at a theme park or DTD.

As far as visiting at Christmastime? As much as I enjoyed seeing the Christmas decorations at WDW, I’m not sure that is a big draw for me in the future.  It may have been the fact that the Osborne lights were in their final year and everyone decided to flock to WDW to see them. But there were way too many people for my taste. Everyone always said that the first two weeks in December the crowds are lower. Really?  If that’s the case, I’m not sure that I really want to go back at that time.  I’ve found that January, May and October are actually much lower crowd times than we experienced on this last trip.  I know that Walt Disney World is magical at Christmastime, but so is Disneyland and it’s much closer.  I can leave if the crowds are too big and come back on another day.  I don’t see us planning a trip to WDW around Christmastime anytime in the near future. There’s just other times of the year that I enjoy visiting more. I don’t need a special season to visit WDW, just a season when not many other people will be there, that’s more important than what’s going on.

What else?  The 75% new?  Well obviously everything on the ship was new, and not new in a way. The venues were different, but the menus were very similar to the Wonder so while the actual location where we dined was different, the menu was very familiar. While all the restaurants and accommodations on the ship were new, we had a fair amount of new restaurants on the WDW portion as well. Marrakesh, Beaches & Cream, The Dining Room at Wolfgang Puck Café, Morimoto Asia, San Angel Inn, 50’s Prime Time, and The Boathouse. A little less than half of those definitely demand a return visit in the near future, in fact one of those has made the list for our next trip! None made the “never going back list”, but the bottom four won’t be making the “return list” in any of our trips over the next year.  However, I think the other two which aren’t on the April/May trip list are definitely going on the October trip list!  If I were running a contest I would give points to anyone who could tell me which one is on for the April/May trip and correct guesses for the October trip!  

Some of you have noticed that we tend to pack quite a bit of stuff. On occasion it has led to joking, and on another TR it was a point of discussion when I saw how a couple other folks conducted their packing.  Now granted in most cases, guys and gals pack very differently, but I realized in reading their packing philosophies how wildly different theirs were to my own and promised to share those here.

This is applicable to most of my trips, but since I am currently in the middle of this process for my Mississippi trip, I can tell you exactly what is going through my mind. Normally for a trip to WDW we aren’t talking about a climate change from home, so I mostly need to just bring the same kind of clothes that I would wear at home. In this case I just turn to my planning spreadsheet where the ADRs, resort plans, and suggested parks are. I add another section where I fill in wardrobe choices.  Usually I need to bring along one or two fancy outfits for some of our dinner choices. Into the spreadsheet I type daily wardrobe options. For a DVC trip, I know I’ll have a washer and dryer so I only pick out clothes for the first half of the trip. Then I plug the same outfits into the second half of the trip to make sure I’m not going to be wearing something inappropriate at a fancy restaurant.

On a cruise trip, there are a few considerations such as, I can not repeat an outfit during the cruise. I wouldn’t want anyone to think that I’m wearing the same clothes several days in a row!   With a week long cruise coming up, I’m going to need to pack quite a bit.  Plus the cruise on the Mississippi is going to take me to places where the climate is similar to where I live, at it’s coldest time of year!  This winter I purchased all new cold weather clothes with the intention of taking them on our trip in a few days, and then again this summer in Alaska.

We did receive our paperwork for the cruise back in the first week of March and we are definitely limited to two checked bags, 50 lbs each, so we’ll see how that one goes.  I’ve got almost everything worked out for what I plan to pack, the next step will be to start putting it together and making sure we have everything we need.  Fran is an entirely different situation.  I’m lucky if I can get her to pick out clothes to pack three days before the trip.  So you’ll have to wait and find out how the packing goes for this trip!  I’ll be back sometime in the next two weeks with a new Trip Report!  Just follow along here!


----------



## Flossbolna

franandaj said:


> To all of you out there with Trip Reports, I have been keeping up on my phone, but it’s such a pain to post from there, I have the next five days to catch up and post in between packing and cleaning the house!



Oh - this!! That's me!!! So, I thought I should at least jump on with some last minute comments on the wrap up! I really enjoyed your trip report! It kind of was similar to our trip last year, but also very different! Especially your Osbourne Lights experience. We were really lucky to see them fairly uncrowded and I am sure that that was one of the reasons why I loved them so much!



franandaj said:


> About half an hour later they finally packed her bag back up and let her go. "That was fascinating!" She says to me as she rides up with her bag in tow.







franandaj said:


> Staying at MCO the night before the cruise? Best decision ever! In fact we have already decided to do it for our cruise next February on the Fantasy.



 I think it is such a great option! Won't work for us for our next cruise, but who knows, maybe some time in the future.



franandaj said:


> Remy was the highlight of the voyage, but since the Fantasy offers an option to dine there as well, I may be more inclined to sail on the Fantasy instead.



I understand! I know that Michael and I will never get on all Disney ships until we can at least do a 5-night cruise on every ship. I would love to see the Dream, but she is not different enough from the Fantasy for me to go on a 4-night cruise. I already feel rushed on 7-night cruises. The Panama Canal truly spoiled me!

And I agree with regard to Remy. For Michael and me this will be an absolute must do when we are on one of the ships that have Remy.



franandaj said:


> We’ll see how I like the Fantasy next February, but I am perfectly content sticking with the classic ships now having experienced one of the newer ships.



The Fantasy shares some of the issues of the Dream especially the adult pool area. If you are on the Fantasy next February, I guess your cruise has turned into a Starwars cruise now as well.



franandaj said:


> It’s not the most exciting resort, but it was relaxing and the location close to Disney Springs couldn’t be beat. We ate a lot of meals there and it was very convenient just to cross the bridge to get there. It was also great coming home from dinners at other resorts and not having to switch buses at a theme park or DTD.



I am glad that you were happy with SSR. I know that I encouraged you to stay there, so I was anxious that my advice might not have worked out. 



franandaj said:


> If I were running a contest I would give points to anyone who could tell me which one is on for the April/May trip and correct guesses for the October trip!



I am still guessing: Boathouse is my guess for April/May.

Have a fantastic trip on the Mississippi! I hope it will be as wonderful as you hope! The ship does look amazing!


----------



## dhorner233

Another great trip report Alison! It amazes me what detail you can remember when you write your reports. 

I will guess Prime Time as the repeat restaurant but, I bet that's not right, but I bet it's not the Moroccan one. Maybe Beaches and Cream? SO many places to eat at DW.


----------



## mvf-m11c

Very nice details on your WDW trip back in December. Going in early to mid December can be quite busy (since I have went during that time) but just as you mentioned that going in October is nice and not as bad except for the weekends during the F&W Festival. You did quite a lot of sit down restaurants during the trip and the Morimoto Asia restaurant is something that I will want to try when I go back. 

Hope you and Fran have a great trip to Mississippi.


----------



## franandaj

pkondz said:


> Given those two options, I'd do the same.



Well I'm glad you would agree.



pkondz said:


> I'd like to, but I'll wait until my folks give me some of their tomatoes.



I have to settle for store bought Heirloom tomatoes from Mexico.  We won't have a garden this year. Hopefully by planting time next year we will be moved out of the old place. Right now is ideal planting season.



Flossbolna said:


> Oh - this!! That's me!!! So, I thought I should at least jump on with some last minute comments on the wrap up! I really enjoyed your trip report! It kind of was similar to our trip last year, but also very different! Especially your Osbourne Lights experience. We were really lucky to see them fairly uncrowded and I am sure that that was one of the reasons why I loved them so much!



I can see how they could be delightful if you weren't in danger of being trampled!



Flossbolna said:


>



I can't believe how oblivious to things she was! Standing there for 30 minutes just because she wanted to see if they would fund the soda and then to come away from the experience thinking it was fabulous. 



Flossbolna said:


> I think it is such a great option! Won't work for us for our next cruise, but who knows, maybe some time in the future.



Well maybe once you both are coming from Germany it will be a great option.  Otherwise I can see why it wouldn't.



Flossbolna said:


> I understand! I know that Michael and I will never get on all Disney ships until we can at least do a 5-night cruise on every ship. I would love to see the Dream, but she is not different enough from the Fantasy for me to go on a 4-night cruise. I already feel rushed on 7-night cruises. The Panama Canal truly spoiled me!



Yeah the only reason we were doing a 4 night on the Dream was because it was an "add-on" to the trip with Jim and Alberto, then it got canceled because she broke her leg. So we did it as an "add on" to the redo trip.  It was definitely too short and I don't want to do another trip that short.



Flossbolna said:


> And I agree with regard to Remy. For Michael and me this will be an absolute must do when we are on one of the ships that have Remy.



I totally agree, it was such a treat we must do it again if it is an option!



Flossbolna said:


> The Fantasy shares some of the issues of the Dream especially the adult pool area. If you are on the Fantasy next February, I guess your cruise has turned into a Starwars cruise now as well.



I heard that it is a Star Wars Cruise and we are thrilled with that!  However, I'm not sure how thrilled I am with the bar area on the Fantasy, but I'm glad to hear that they have Skyline.



Flossbolna said:


> I am glad that you were happy with SSR. I know that I encouraged you to stay there, so I was anxious that my advice might not have worked out.



We very much loved your suggestion.  It worked out so well for us on this trip. Thank you for the suggestion!



Flossbolna said:


> I am still guessing: Boathouse is my guess for April/May.



Did you want to make a guess for which ones made the cut for the October trip?????



Flossbolna said:


> Have a fantastic trip on the Mississippi! I hope it will be as wonderful as you hope! The ship does look amazing!



Thank you!!!! I have no idea how the ship will be, it is so different from a Disney Cruise I have almost no expectations, but then that's hard to do.  I'm trying not to have expectations.  I did order a stateroom gift of a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc for the sail away, so I could have my own sail away party in the room.



dhorner233 said:


> Another great trip report Alison! It amazes me what detail you can remember when you write your reports.



I do have to admit that I actually wrote this TR as I went along on the trip.  I did it in Notepad on my phone and it was incredibly helpful.  I wouldn't have had it done so quick if it wasn't done that way.  I wrote the text on the trip and then emailed it to me and inserted the pictures once I was home.  I added some insights after the fact but I wouldn't have been able to do it if I hadn't written it on the fly. I'm going to do that in the future.



dhorner233 said:


> I will guess Prime Time as the repeat restaurant but, I bet that's not right, but I bet it's not the Moroccan one. Maybe Beaches and Cream? SO many places to eat at DW.



Got it!  But which one do you think will be in April vs. the ones I'll repeat in October?



mvf-m11c said:


> Very nice details on your WDW trip back in December. Going in early to mid December can be quite busy (since I have went during that time) but just as you mentioned that going in October is nice and not as bad except for the weekends during the F&W Festival. You did quite a lot of sit down restaurants during the trip and the Morimoto Asia restaurant is something that I will want to try when I go back.



I think you would really like Morimoto Asia, they have quite a few dishes that are enticing.



mvf-m11c said:


> Hope you and Fran have a great trip to Mississippi.



Thanks!  I'm hoping everything goes smoothly and we enjoy the ship!


----------



## Flossbolna

franandaj said:


> Well maybe once you both are coming from Germany it will be a great option. Otherwise I can see why it wouldn't.



The thing is that when I come from Germany, I want more than one night as a buffer in case something goes wrong. Flights from Europe usually arrive in the afternoon/evening in the US. And there is usually one flight per day. So, if there is an issue and I can only be on the next flight, I will miss the cruise. I had an experience of a plane with a malfunctioning wheel once when departing from Orlando. And we were delayed over 20 hours. Since it was going home and I did not have to go to work that day, it was fine. But the other way, going to a cruise!  No, I was more thinking if we ever combine some other place with a cruise. From a European perspective combining 5 days in New York with a cruise sounds like a reasonable vacation plan! 



franandaj said:


> I heard that it is a Star Wars Cruise and we are thrilled with that! However, I'm not sure how thrilled I am with the bar area on the Fantasy, but I'm glad to hear that they have Skyline.



I really liked the bar area on the Fantasy. We never ventured into The Tube, that just seemed to be an awkward place. But all the other bars are really nice. We loved Skyline and got the passport there, so that is where we spent most of our time. We also really loved the Vista Cafe which is on deck 4 overlooking the atrium. It was light, had the same offerings as the Cove Cafe and you could watch whatever was going on in the atrium.



franandaj said:


> Did you want to make a guess for which ones made the cut for the October trip?????



No, I have no clue about that!!! 



franandaj said:


> Thank you!!!! I have no idea how the ship will be, it is so different from a Disney Cruise I have almost no expectations, but then that's hard to do. I'm trying not to have expectations. I did order a stateroom gift of a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc for the sail away, so I could have my own sail away party in the room.



Sounds like the sail away will be a success at least!!


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Great wrap up. Only 6 days to go wow! River cruise here you come. Having a different climate and needing a different  outfit eaxh night with 50 pounds of bag room I am looking forward to hearing your challenge! Fran can have different waistcoats they are light! 

I will remember that re yellow scooter company. I am appalled they virtually throw Fran off that scooter on the last day. 

I loved that sleigh topiary also but never managed a photo you got a good one! Folks were always in the way! 

Your meal at The Boathouse sounds superb. Very generous lobster roll and I love that caramel whiskey corn cake dessert. Irish coffee yes please come to mamma. 

The line at Ganachey was always twice that whenever we went your timing better than ours! 

Oh too funny re the headlight. We did that with a rental car once complaining it misted up everyday. and on the last day was told about the fresh air from outside button which cleared it right up! 

I bet the kitties were very happy! 

I can't wait to hear about the riverboat cruise. Thank you for this TR I know they are a lot of work and I enjoyed it very much. 

Enjoy your vacation xxx


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

franandaj said:


> We leave in six days, and I haven’t even started packing yet!



Plenty of time!  Have fun storming the Mississippi!



franandaj said:


> She had a meatloaf sandwich and I ate what was left of the Mac and cheese as well as a chunk of meatloaf.



Breakfast of champions! 



franandaj said:


> On our way Fran got a call from the Yellow Scooter company, wow! They did actually know our phone number!



Will wonders never cease?!



franandaj said:


> With all the construction for Disney Springs, this bridge was new. I thought I would take a picture of it. If you aren’t going to World of Disney or Ghiradelli you can cut off a good chunk of walking by using this bridge.



They really needed something like that.  It was so hard to walk around that area.



franandaj said:


> Fran really enjoyed these rolls which were absolutely delicious. Our server called them "Hawaiian rolls on crack" which about sums it up. I thought they were good too.



Those both look and sound amazing!



franandaj said:


> They are trying to give the place a sort of Apothecary feel.



I don't know what that means.



franandaj said:


> These people didn't return any of her phone calls all weekend, but yet when it came to picking up the scooter they were impatient and hunted her down.







franandaj said:


> When that was done, Fran got the royal treatment. They took EVERY. SINGLE. THING. out of her bag.







franandaj said:


> I had planned to get this TR started on the plane because I promised Fran no more home cooked extravagant dinners until we get the old house all cleaned out and in the hands of the contractor. I know I was saying the exact same thing a year ago, but this time I mean it!



 This time it will work!



franandaj said:


> They brought us some vanilla ice cream which was nice, and once Austin Powers was over I put on Caddyshack.



So you had that going for you, which is nice.



franandaj said:


> The gentleman at the store walked over to the scooter, flipped a switch on the tiller and the light came on. Both of our jaws hit the floor, and we said in unison, “There’s a switch?”







franandaj said:


> Everyone always said that the first two weeks in December the crowds are lower. Really? If that’s the case, I’m not sure that I really want to go back at that time. I’ve found that January, May and October are actually much lower crowd times than we experienced on this last trip.



Yeah, it seemed fairly busy to us too.  I think Disney has gotten very good over the years at drawing people in no matter what time of year it is.



franandaj said:


> I don’t need a special season to visit WDW, just a season when not many other people will be there, that’s more important than what’s going on.



I agree.  I'm glad I saw the Christmas stuff once, but I would definitely choose low crowds over special decorations.



franandaj said:


> I add another section where I fill in wardrobe choices. Usually I need to bring along one or two fancy outfits for some of our dinner choices. Into the spreadsheet I type daily wardrobe options. For a DVC trip, I know I’ll have a washer and dryer so I only pick out clothes for the first half of the trip. Then I plug the same outfits into the second half of the trip to make sure I’m not going to be wearing something inappropriate at a fancy restaurant.
> 
> On a cruise trip, there are a few considerations such as, I can not repeat an outfit during the cruise. I wouldn’t want anyone to think that I’m wearing the same clothes several days in a row!



I'm just laughing because for our NY weekend we basically packed one backpack and re-used some clothes on the 2nd day!



franandaj said:


> I’ll be back sometime in the next two weeks with a new Trip Report! Just follow along here!



Looking forward to it!


----------



## IowaTater

Of course, I get back here just as you are wrapping up the TR.  I apologize for that.  It's been a rough couple of weeks. 



franandaj said:


> Once we got to the Grand, I was able to take all the shots that I wanted on Sunday with no one blocking them.



Beautiful shots as always.  I would still love to go during Christmastime...just once. 



franandaj said:


> They had cereal, but I’m not going to waste my food space on that!



 

It doesn't look like they have the lobster eggs Benedict anymore?? I've noticed them missing from a few recent TRs.  So sad. 



franandaj said:


> As I reached to check the lens it fell completely off the camera and hit the ground. We tried for a good 10 minutes to no avail to attach it to the camera. My brand new much anticipated lens is likely dead.



 
It's like the whole thing goes in slow motion and you get a sick feeling in your stomach.  Those stupid lens aren't cheap either!  I'm glad you got a new one without too much hassle. 



franandaj said:


> After the HM we made my first ever stop at the Tangled Tinkle Spot. It was cute, but I really don't see why such a great movie only gets a bathroom



I totally agree!! 



franandaj said:


> While I enjoy the ride, I really would enjoy sharing it with someone.



So very true.  I would totally ride it with you, if I was there!



franandaj said:


> she asked if I wanted help or for her to stay out of my way.



Haha, no joke, this is the type of conversation DH and I have.  And I pretty much give him the same answer you gave Fran. 

I hope you have a fabulous time on the riverboat!  I can't wait to hear how it went.


----------



## Pinkocto

What a fabulous trip, thanks for sharing it with us!

Oh my about Fran trying to hide that Diet Dew bottle... 

Boatwrights looks yummy! 

I'm really impressed how early you were finished packing.  I'm never out of the room before 11.

We just missed the Ganachery opening I think.  I'll have to get there next trip 

Bring on Mississippi, you're going to have so much fun!


----------



## dolphingirl47

franandaj said:


> We leave in six days, and I haven’t even started packing yet!



That has come around quickly. Of course it my case, I would probably say "We are leaving in 6 hours and I have not started packing yet". 



franandaj said:


> ’m not sure if I’ll do any updating while we’re on the Riverboat trip so it might be until April before I start posting about the trip.



I will be here whenever you get this started. I am really looking forward to this.



franandaj said:


> I ate what was left of the Mac and cheese as well as a chunk of meatloaf.



I think you may have just described my perfect breakfast here.



franandaj said:


> When I was ready to seal up the owner's locker it was only 9:15!!!!!



That sounds like a result.



franandaj said:


> I guess she didn't feel the need to chew them a new one at this time.



I admire her restraint. I think I may have had a word or two or ten to say to them at that stage.



franandaj said:


>



I love that Christmas tree.



franandaj said:


> We had scooted past this cute little sleigh topiary so many times, I finally took a picture of it.



This is really cute.

Lunch looked lovely.



franandaj said:


> After we left the Boathouse we went to the Ganachery which had opened only the day before. We picked out a few specialty chocolates to take home with us and we're on our way.



This will be a serious temptation for me on future trips.



franandaj said:


> We went all the way to end of the Westside before turning around and going back. Look at how long the line for the Ganachery had become while we went to the other end of Disney Springs!



Wow, that is an impressive line. The chocolate must be good.



franandaj said:


> We made a potty stop in the lobby and I came out to find Fran standing there with only one scooter and the scooter she had been using all weekend was "riding off into the sunset" so to speak it was just barely past 2:30.



As long as they get their priorities right.  I can't believe that they never returned your calls and then turned up early to collect the scooter.



franandaj said:


> He thought Fran needed the scooter lift! We explained that she could do the stairs, and all he needed to do was stow the scooter underneath. So he said "sure!"



I am glad that this worked out for you.



franandaj said:


> But Fran had one unopened bottle of Dew that she found after we sent our suitcases on their way, so she got the brilliant idea of stuffing it deep in her carry on and hope they didn't notice on the TSA screening. On the flight to Orlando she got away with a bottle of hand sanitizer that was well over 3oz in her carry on.



Considering the line of work I am in, this made me shake my head.



franandaj said:


> About half an hour later they finally packed her bag back up and let her go. "That was fascinating!" She says to me as she rides up with her bag in tow.



That is one way of putting it.



franandaj said:


> The plane was boarded and of course it was a full flight and of course the overhead bins filled up so the poor saps who boarded late with giant suitcases that don't fit under the seat were relegated to gate checking their bags.



I thought they had become better at managing this.



franandaj said:


> They served us dinner of (supposedly) filet, and lobster mac and cheese. There was a "wedge" salad and a sort of caprese antipasto kind of salad.



This actually looks really nice.



franandaj said:


> The gentleman at the store walked over to the scooter, flipped a switch on the tiller and the light came on. Both of our jaws hit the floor, and we said in unison, “There’s a switch?”



This made me smile. I can just see me having the same reaction as I am really not technically minded at all.



franandaj said:


> However, a four night cruise is not nearly long enough and until the Dream offers longer itineraries or more interesting ports, I’m not in any hurry to go back.



I hear you on this. 



franandaj said:


> Everyone always said that the first two weeks in December the crowds are lower.



Whenever we have been during this time frame, they were and definitely lower than in October.



franandaj said:


> I know that Walt Disney World is magical at Christmastime, but so is Disneyland and it’s much closer.



You have a point there.



franandaj said:


> I don’t see us planning a trip to WDW around Christmastime anytime in the near future.



That is a real shame.



franandaj said:


> If I were running a contest I would give points to anyone who could tell me which one is on for the April/May trip and correct guesses for the October trip!



I think I go  with Boathouse for April/ May and Morimoto Asian and Beaches and Cream for October.

Thanks for sharing. I have really enjoyed reading along.

Corinna


----------



## Malia78

Thanks for another excellent trip report. I will be here waiting for the River Cruise details. Have a wonderful time!


----------



## rentayenta

So excited for your riverboat cruise!  

Nice seeing you this weekend if only for a minute.


----------



## Steppesister

franandaj said:


> I've always loved my meals there and we've been there at least three times that I can remember. You're a pretty ambitious eater, I'm sure you'll love it. But Jill pointed out there is going to be a new chef when it reopens. I hope it doesn't change a lot.



Oh dear! I didn't know that. I'll have to do some research on what it's supposed to open again and see if that's enough time to look out for reviews. 



franandaj said:


> I see no light at the end of the tunnel, and there is A LOT of furniture left in there that we need to sell/donate, but we're taking a load to the thrift store.



Load by load, you'll get there. My long-standing motto has been, "Any progress is GREAT progress!"



franandaj said:


> Well, I'm going to keep trying, but this upcoming trip will be a big blip in the process!



Keep at it! Enjoy your vacation, and you can always come back to it when you get back.


----------



## orangecats2

I don't want it to be over! What's your next TR? 

Curious, how many cats do you have? I'm a crazy cat lady.


----------



## franandaj

Flossbolna said:


> The thing is that when I come from Germany, I want more than one night as a buffer in case something goes wrong. Flights from Europe usually arrive in the afternoon/evening in the US. And there is usually one flight per day. So, if there is an issue and I can only be on the next flight, I will miss the cruise. I had an experience of a plane with a malfunctioning wheel once when departing from Orlando. And we were delayed over 20 hours. Since it was going home and I did not have to go to work that day, it was fine. But the other way, going to a cruise!



That makes perfect sense. That's the same reasoning that I use within the states for flying the day before as opposed to trying to fly in the same day as the cruise.



Flossbolna said:


> No, I was more thinking if we ever combine some other place with a cruise. From a European perspective combining 5 days in New York with a cruise sounds like a reasonable vacation plan!



That does sound good. It's been so long since I've been to NYC. Fran keeps talking about going back for a "midweek weekend" to see Aladdin and do some other NY things.



Flossbolna said:


> I really liked the bar area on the Fantasy. We never ventured into The Tube, that just seemed to be an awkward place. But all the other bars are really nice. We loved Skyline and got the passport there, so that is where we spent most of our time.



We really liked Skyline too. I would have liked to try the champagne bar, but Skyline just kept winning out. There was so little time, everything went by so quickly.



Flossbolna said:


> We also really loved the Vista Cafe which is on deck 4 overlooking the atrium. It was light, had the same offerings as the Cove Cafe and you could watch whatever was going on in the atrium.



I noticed the counterpart on the Dream but when I saw it the place was crawling with small kids. I even remember at one point seeing someone spill a drink while we were waiting for a character. 



Flossbolna said:


> No, I have no clue about that!!!



Ha! Well its funny, we had a small change in schedule and now we have two restaurants from this trip on the schedule for the next. I was surprised to get one at six weeks out. In fact I had several choices!



Flossbolna said:


> Sounds like the sail away will be a success at least!!



It will be interesting in the least! I hope that the weather cooperates on this trip!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Great wrap up. Only 6 days to go wow! River cruise here you come. Having a different climate and needing a different outfit eaxh night with 50 pounds of bag room I am looking forward to hearing your challenge! Fran can have different waistcoats they are light!



She doesn't necessarily care about different outfits, but she usually packs more clothes than she even wears.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> I will remember that re yellow scooter company. I am appalled they virtually throw Fran off that scooter on the last day.



Yeah, if we need to rent again, it won't be through them!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> I loved that sleigh topiary also but never managed a photo you got a good one! Folks were always in the way!



Thanks! It pays to be there relatively early! 



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Your meal at The Boathouse sounds superb. Very generous lobster roll and I love that caramel whiskey corn cake dessert. Irish coffee yes please come to mamma.



Definitely was tasty and enjoyed it as our last meal at Disney.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> The line at Ganachey was always twice that whenever we went your timing better than ours!



I couldn't believe how good our timing was. When we went in the first time we didn't wait at all!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Oh too funny re the headlight. We did that with a rental car once complaining it misted up everyday. and on the last day was told about the fresh air from outside button which cleared it right up!



Funny when you don't know how the bells and whistles work!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> bet the kitties were very happy!



My little Tesla really misses me when I'm gone, really I shouldn't call him little he's huge and a total brat, but he loves me more than most of the others. Although Milo loves me too. I realized today that when I get up, I check the DIS on my phone. He knows the sound of the keyboard typing. He sleeps under the bed because Tesla is a brat and whaps him in the face. As soon as I began this reply he jumped up on the bed and cuddled in front of my crossed legs.


----------



## DnA2010

Hi Fran,

At work so can't write a huge reply (well not that I ever do, one of these days I am going to figure out the multi quote thing as I'm sure it's super simple) but I really enjoyed the last few updates, fantastic food pics as always, and I am seriously excited for reading about your upcoming trip- it sounds like such a fun experience!

I'm also looking forward to the Naked Jim trip- let the meat journeying continue! (I'm assuming there will be travelling meat in your suitcases)

Well done as always!


----------



## skier_pete

Not sure if you've left on the river cruise yet, but hope you have/are having a great time.

A few comments of course: I agree with your comment about Christmastime.We went in 2009 mid-December and I thought the crowds were, while not terrible, much higher than any other time we go. Now, I admit mid-October has grown significantly in popularity as well, but I still don't think as much as early-December. What we have found is we like to go in mid-November. You still get all the Christmas decorations, and you would still get Osborne Lights and the Castle lights, but miss out on the Epcot stuff. Still, it's enough. I have no real desire for an early December trip. 

As far as packing - yes it's for sure men and women tend to pack differently. I know my wife does plan out her outfits based on our ADRs, whereas I just go "do I have a decent shirt or two"?  Really though how I pack depends on what I'm doing. When we came out to Cailfornia last month, we knew we were doing lots of dragging our own bags around, so I purposely packed very light.  Going down to WDW with ME and SWA allowing two bags per person, I usually pack a ton of shirts such that I often wear two outfits a day, especially with how much perspiring goes on in Florida! 

Take care - looking forward to hearing about your cruise.


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> So here we are at the last update for this trip and I’m coming in right on schedule.



You did it!



franandaj said:


> We leave in six days, and I haven’t even started packing yet!



You?!? Not packing yet?????







franandaj said:


> To all of you out there with Trip Reports, I have been keeping up on my phone, but it’s such a pain to post from there,



 Posting from a phone is _the worst._
I'll do it occasionally, but only if I have very, _very_ little to post.
And trying to quote? What a pain!



franandaj said:


> I woke up around quarter to 5 and knew that was way too early to get up,



Back to bed, young lady!



franandaj said:


> We had the TV on to the ABC affiliate station and I slept lightly because I had dreams which incorporated the news stories as well as random folks from the DIS.



 You were dreaming of us! What were we doing?



franandaj said:


> Somewhere in the process Fran woke up and got dressed, she asked if I wanted help or for her to stay out of my way. I told her she could work on her carry on bag.



Polite way of saying "Stay out of my way"?



franandaj said:


> We found out before we left on the trip that bags only need to weigh in under 70 lbs, so we were good.



Really? Just for that particular airline? I always thought it was 50.



franandaj said:


> I guess she didn't feel the need to chew them a new one at this time.



Wow. Fran shows great restraint.



franandaj said:


> I like to take pictures of how they strap us in on the busses, but it made the bus driver nervous that he wasn’t doing something right!



 "OMG. They're gonna sue. I just know it. They're gonna sue!"



franandaj said:


> With all the construction for Disney Springs, this bridge was new. I thought I would take a picture of it. If you aren’t going to World of Disney or Ghiradelli you can cut off a good chunk of walking by using this bridge.



Good to know.
It's been a loooooong time since I was there last.
Um.... I think briefly 7 years ago. Just to see (Ruby's request) the Princess Di dress collection.



franandaj said:


> While they had some nice hats, the prices were pretty outrageous so we passed on buying anything and instead just went to lunch.



Outrageous prices? In Disney? How odd!



franandaj said:


> I didn't recognize any of the oysters on the menu, but our server made an excellent recommendation and I got an order of three oysters to start.



How were they?



franandaj said:


> Our server called them "Hawaiian rolls on crack" which about sums it up.







franandaj said:


> Our server said that each sandwich had an entire tail and claws from a 1 lb lobster.



Whoa! You weren't kidding when you said it was a lot!



franandaj said:


> I had a Irish Coffee to go along with it and that certainly hit the spot.



Wow. It's been a long time since I've heard of someone having an Irish Coffee. For a while there, they were all the rage.



franandaj said:


> After we left the Boathouse we went to the Ganachery which had opened only the day before.



Hello! You had me at Ganache...ry.



franandaj said:


> But these babies were really the main event. I don’t’ remember which flavors we got, but they were really rich and tasty. Sorry about the blurry picture.



Oh! Thanks for letting me know the picture was blurry.
I thought it was from all the drool on the screen.



franandaj said:


> Look at how long the line for the Ganachery had become while we went to the other end of Disney Springs!



Good timing.



franandaj said:


> These people didn't return any of her phone calls all weekend, but yet when it came to picking up the scooter they were impatient and hunted her down.



 jerks.



franandaj said:


> He said he couldn’t take us because he would have to remove seats and prepare the bus, and we're like
> 
> He thought Fran needed the scooter lift! We explained that she could do the stairs, and all he needed to do was stow the scooter underneath. So he said "sure!"



Phew!



franandaj said:


> so she got the brilliant idea of stuffing it deep in her carry on and hope they didn't notice on the TSA screening.



Oh.... no...



franandaj said:


> I don't recommend trying this on your next trip. Her bag was taken aside. She had to wait while the lady in front of us had her bag searched because she had two 4oz boxes of juice. When that was done, Fran got the royal treatment. They took EVERY. SINGLE. THING. out of her bag. Swabbed every surface, and this was one of those special air travel bags with like a hundred pockets for each and every little thing. About half an hour later they finally packed her bag back up and let her go.



oy. That'll learn her.... or at least, that's what I thought before reading...



franandaj said:


> "That was fascinating!" She says to me as she rides up with her bag in tow. We still had over an hour until boarding began otherwise I would have killed her right then!







franandaj said:


> I promised Fran no more home cooked extravagant dinners until we get the old house all cleaned out and in the hands of the contractor.



Wow! Quite the threat.



franandaj said:


> The plane was boarded and of course it was a full flight and of course the overhead bins filled up so the poor saps who boarded late with giant suitcases that don't fit under the seat were relegated to gate checking their bags.



 Just discussed this on my TR.



franandaj said:


> About 8 minutes later we were finally in the air. Only 20 minutes late.



Not too bad.



franandaj said:


> I understood a lot more of the subtleties of the movie having seen the first 7-10 Bond movies in the last three years.







franandaj said:


> They served us dinner of (supposedly) filet



Uh, huh. How was it?



franandaj said:


> once Austin Powers was over I put on Caddyshack



Your choices of entertainment are applause worthy.



franandaj said:


> What about the headlight? Well American Airlines arranged for us to have it looked at by one of the local mobility stores. Since it was easier for us to bring it to them than wait around for someone to come to our house, we took it down there a couple days after we got home. We explained that when we got the scooter back from the airline that the light was no longer lit. The gentleman at the store walked over to the scooter, flipped a switch on the tiller and the light came on. Both of our jaws hit the floor, and we said in unison, “There’s a switch?”



 No!! 



franandaj said:


> We’ll see how I like the Fantasy next February, but I am perfectly content sticking with the classic ships now having experienced one of the newer ships.



What about when the two new ones show up?



franandaj said:


> It’s not the most exciting resort, but it was relaxing



That's not a bad thing at all!



franandaj said:


> Some of you have noticed that we tend to pack quite a bit of stuff.







franandaj said:


> Right now is ideal planting season.



Same up here. Well... for snowmen.


----------



## Leshaface

franandaj said:


> I slept lightly because I had dreams which incorporated the news stories as well as random folks from the DIS



OMGosh glad i'm not the only one who has dreamed of DIS peeps before! 



franandaj said:


> Our server called them "Hawaiian rolls on crack" which about sums it up. I thought they were good too.



Ooh i'll take those!



franandaj said:


> Caramel Whiskey Corn Cake with berries and whipped cream.



Good grief this looks amazing!  



franandaj said:


>



Dan has recently started loving these types of drinks! I'll need to give them a try again when i'm able to. 



franandaj said:


>







franandaj said:


> I came out to find Fran standing there with only one scooter and the scooter she had been using all weekend was "riding off into the sunset" so to speak it was just barely past 2:30. These people didn't return any of her phone calls all weekend, but yet when it came to picking up the scooter they were impatient and hunted her down. I wonder if it had a GPS tracker on it? Kind of reminded me of a certain lyric from David Bowie's Song Suffragette City!



I hope you guys will submit a review to TripAdvisor or Yelp and let others know about your experience.  I heavily rely on reviews from TripAdvisor and i'm sure others do as well!


franandaj said:


> I don't recommend trying this on your next trip.







franandaj said:


> "That was fascinating!"



All nonchalant about it  I'm surprised the other woman got some grief about the juice boxes, unless she didn't have a kid with her.  One of the best things about having a kid is getting to pack extra snacks for me-errr-him! 



franandaj said:


> I decided to go ahead and watch Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. I had forgotten how many bad sexual innuendo jokes there were in this movie



Ugh these movies, I just can't!  



franandaj said:


> What about the headlight? Well American Airlines arranged for us to have it looked at by one of the local mobility stores. Since it was easier for us to bring it to them than wait around for someone to come to our house, we took it down there a couple days after we got home. We explained that when we got the scooter back from the airline that the light was no longer lit. The gentleman at the store walked over to the scooter, flipped a switch on the tiller and the light came on. Both of our jaws hit the floor, and we said in unison, “There’s a switch?”





Well now you know for next time!  



franandaj said:


> Staying at MCO the night before the cruise? Best decision ever! In fact we have already decided to do it for our cruise next February on the Fantasy.



 Totally!



franandaj said:


> It’s not the most exciting resort, but it was relaxing and the location close to Disney Springs couldn’t be beat.



Agreed.  I've found that with this trip and in 2013 it made it so much more convenient to get to Disney Springs than when we stayed at the VGF in 2015.  I wouldn't mind starting off every trip at a Disney Springs Resort just so we can make a day/night out of it!



franandaj said:


> I’ve found that January



Our January trip in 2010 was probably the best for crowds, next being December 2012.  These past few January's have been way busier, but i'm wondering if it's due to the implementation of the FP+ system??  October wasn't terrible, but it was kind of warm.  



franandaj said:


> Some of you have noticed that we tend to pack quite a bit of stuff. On occasion it has led to joking, and on another TR it was a point of discussion when I saw how a couple other folks conducted their packing. Now granted in most cases, guys and gals pack very differently, but I realized in reading their packing philosophies how wildly different theirs were to my own and promised to share those here.



I find it's so much harder to pack for cruises than WDW because of the lack of washers/dryers.  I guess I could do laundry on the ship, but I just love the convenience of having all that in my room!


----------



## ACDSNY

Well now you know about the light switch, that's too funny.  I hope you're packed by now.


----------



## rentayenta

We text at 39 hours so you must be near 24 now......packed yet?


----------



## franandaj

Captain_Oblivious said:


> Plenty of time! Have fun storming the Mississippi!



Thanks! I would say three more sleeps, but I don't think that the third one is going to materialize, so at least we will again have an easy transition into Eastern time.    I'm a little too old for these all nighters before a trip.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Breakfast of champions!



That's exactly what I was thinking!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Will wonders never cease?!



I know I guess I was really motivated, or organized.  Nah.  We were on a mission from God.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> They really needed something like that. It was so hard to walk around that are



Says the civil Engineer.  



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Those both look and sound amazing.



They really were. Normally I don't like bread that much but I was eating these like crazy.  We polished off two baskets.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I don't know what that means.



They were going for the old school pharmacy type of thing, like chocolate is medicine.  



Captain_Oblivious said:


> This time it will work!



I sure hope so.  Not before this trip, but I hope that we make a big dent before the WDW trip with Naked Jim.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> So you had that going for you, which is nice.



*+1 *



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Yeah, it seemed fairly busy to us too. I think Disney has gotten very good over the years at drawing people in no matter what time of year it is.



Yup, I'm pretty sure that they have.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I agree. I'm glad I saw the Christmas stuff once, but I would definitely choose low crowds over special decorations.



Obviously me too, for the reasons given above.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I'm just laughing because for our NY weekend we basically packed one backpack and re-used some clothes on the 2nd day!



Even if pictures were't going to be involved, I still can't wear clothes more than once if I wore them for longer than 8-10 hours.  It's not only a vanity thing, but maybe it has to do with getting older.  I used to be able to do it, but now I either spill something or no one wants me in those clothes a second day!  



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Looking forward to it!



Me too!



IowaTater said:


> Of course, I get back here just as you are wrapping up the TR. I apologize for that. It's been a rough couple of weeks.



  Sorry that you've had a rough couple of weeks.  Don't worry, I have plenty of adventures so it's not over yet.



IowaTater said:


> Beautiful shots as always. I would still love to go during Christmastime...just once.



I would say that everyone should experience it at least once!



IowaTater said:


> It doesn't look like they have the lobster eggs Benedict anymore?? I've noticed them missing from a few recent TRs. So sad.



No I definitely didn't see that.  But they have it on the brunch menu now at Narcoosee's so maybe they are trying to make it exclusive to there.



IowaTater said:


> It's like the whole thing goes in slow motion and you get a sick feeling in your stomach. Those stupid lens aren't cheap either! I'm glad you got a new one without too much hassle.



You're right, in fact this one was pretty expensive.



IowaTater said:


> totally agree!!



But I doubt they will get anything more. Very sad.



IowaTater said:


> So very true. I would totally ride it with you, if I was there!



We shall have to see how things work out for October. I haven't hardly given I t any thoughts other than going to V&A's for Jill'd b'day.



IowaTater said:


> Haha, no joke, this is the type of conversation DH and I have. And I pretty much give him the same answer you gave Fran.



Good to hear we are not that much out of the ordinary!



IowaTater said:


> hope you have a fabulous time on the riverboat! I can't wait to hear how it went.



Thanks!  This time tomorrow we will be halfway there.



Pinkocto said:


> Oh my about Fran trying to hide that Diet Dew bottle...



I know. I hope she learned her lesson!



Pinkocto said:


> I'm really impressed how early you were finished packing. I'm never out of the room before 11.



Usually we are calling the bellman at 11AM!



Pinkocto said:


> We just missed the Ganachery opening I think. I'll have to get there next tri



It's definitely worth a trip.



Pinkocto said:


> Bring on Mississippi, you're going to have so much fun!



Thanks. At this point I just want to get there. Today is going to be a PITA trying to get Fran packed.


----------



## ACDSNY

Happy packing!


----------



## dhorner233

Hope you get packed and off safely to your Mississippi trip! Where do you fly to? St. Louis? Then it's a week going down the river? I'm looking forward to your trip report!


----------



## rentayenta

Have fuuuuuuuuun!


----------



## Flossbolna

Have a fantastic trip!!


----------



## dolphingirl47

Have a magical trip.

Corinna


----------



## Leshaface

Have lots of fun!  Can't wait to read all about it


----------



## franandaj

dolphingirl47 said:


> That has come around quickly. Of course it my case, I would probably say "We are leaving in 6 hours and I have not started packing yet".



I don't know how you can deal with that kind of stress. I hate waiting until the last moment. 



dolphingirl47 said:


> I will be here whenever you get this started. I am really looking forward to this.



It's mostly a matter of getting through all the replies. I've already written a good chunk of the 1st update.



dolphingirl47 said:


> I think you may have just described my perfect breakfast here.



The funny thing is that I will often eat that same breakfast at home.



dolphingirl47 said:


> That sounds like a result.



I'm not sure we have ever checked out of a DVC room so early!



dolphingirl47 said:


> I admire her restraint. I think I may have had a word or two or ten to say to them at that stage.



I'm surprised that she was so restrained.



dolphingirl47 said:


> This is really cute.
> 
> Lunch looked lovely.



It was delicious!



dolphingirl47 said:


> This will be a serious temptation for me on future trips.



I definitely want to go back there in April/May.



dolphingirl47 said:


> Wow, that is an impressive line. The chocolate must be good.



It was very unique. Creamy and milky. It wasn't for folks who like a high cacao percentage. 



dolphingirl47 said:


> As long as they get their priorities right.  I can't believe that they never returned your calls and then turned up early to collect the scooter.



Yeah, not going to use them again if we need to rent. 



dolphingirl47 said:


> I am glad that this worked out for you.



Usually I arrange for us to catch the bus an hour earlier in advance. It just gives me peace of mind for the trip home.



dolphingirl47 said:


> Considering the line of work I am in, this made me shake my head.



I don't know what she was thinking.



dolphingirl47 said:


> That is one way of putting it.



Yeah, fascinating was not what I would have called it.



dolphingirl47 said:


> I thought they had become better at managing this.



I think it depends on the flight staff. I couldn't believe how much luggage a kid brought on the plane yesterday. I think he even had three carry ons. 



dolphingirl47 said:


> This actually looks really nice.



Other than the fact that the filet was cooked to the consistency of shoe leather, it was pretty good.



dolphingirl47 said:


> Whenever we have been during this time frame, they were and definitely lower than in October.



Must have been the Osborne Lights. 



dolphingirl47 said:


> I think I go with Boathouse for April/ May and Morimoto Asian and Beaches and Cream for October.
> 
> Thanks for sharing. I have really enjoyed reading along.



You're pretty close. We had a bit of news that changed things again.



Malia78 said:


> Thanks for another excellent trip report. I will be here waiting for the River Cruise details. Have a wonderful time!



Thanks, we can start transferring to the ship in 6 hours, but we have to check in at the lobby. That opened 7 minutes ago, so we're waiting in the room for the crowds to die down a little.



rentayenta said:


> So excited for your riverboat cruise!
> 
> Nice seeing you this weekend if only for a minute.



It was great to see you as well, even if it wasn't the best of circumstances.   Hours now until we're on the ship!



Steppesister said:


> Oh dear! I didn't know that. I'll have to do some research on what it's supposed to open again and see if that's enough time to look out for reviews.



Well hopefully it will open with a chef just as good or better! 



Steppesister said:


> Load by load, you'll get there. My long-standing motto has been, "Any progress is GREAT progress!"



That's what I keep telling myself!



Steppesister said:


> Keep at it! Enjoy your vacation, and you can always come back to it when you get back.



Thanks I can't wait to get it started!


----------



## franandaj

orangecats2 said:


> I don't want it to be over! What's your next TR?



No worries. Just stay put right here and the next one will start up as soon as I am able to get to it. That maybe sooner than later as there seems to be a lot of sitting around and waiting involved with this trip.



> Curious, how many cats do you have? I'm a crazy cat lady.



Enough that I don't like to mention it on a public forum. 



DnA2010 said:


> At work so can't write a huge reply (well not that I ever do, one of these days I am going to figure out the multi quote thing as I'm sure it's super simple) but I really enjoyed the last few updates, fantastic food pics as always, and I am seriously excited for reading about your upcoming trip- it sounds like such a fun experience!



Multi quite is super simple. Just highlight the text you want to quote and then a little "quote" link will appear, and just click on it.  I can't wait for it to get started either. Right now we're just waiting in a huge line to check in and get our port departure time. 



DnA2010 said:


> I'm also looking forward to the Naked Jim trip- let the meat journeying continue! (I'm assuming there will be travelling meat in your suitcases)



Actually now that you mention it, no meat will be traveling with us this trip. We won't be cooking dinner until our first night in the Poly Bungalow.



********** said:


> Not sure if you've left on the river cruise yet, but hope you have/are having a great time.



Well technically I've left as we're in Memphis, but not on the cruise until this afternoon.



********** said:


> A few comments of course: I agree with your comment about Christmastime.We went in 2009 mid-December and I thought the crowds were, while not terrible, much higher than any other time we go. Now, I admit mid-October has grown significantly in popularity as well, but I still don't think as much as early-December. What we have found is we like to go in mid-November. You still get all the Christmas decorations, and you would still get Osborne Lights and the Castle lights, but miss out on the Epcot stuff. Still, it's enough. I have no real desire for an early December trip.



Yeah, for me it's enough to see my quaint little castle bathed in lights.  I'll take F&W and who know maybe even F&G. We'll see after next month's trip.



********** said:


> As far as packing - yes it's for sure men and women tend to pack differently. I know my wife does plan out her outfits based on our ADRs, whereas I just go "do I have a decent shirt or two"? Really though how I pack depends on what I'm doing. When we came out to Cailfornia last month, we knew we were doing lots of dragging our own bags around, so I purposely packed very light. Going down to WDW with ME and SWA allowing two bags per person, I usually pack a ton of shirts such that I often wear two outfits a day, especially with how much perspiring goes on in Florida!



I never seem to take this into account and always have a ton of bags to schlep.


----------



## macraven

_your trippie Wows me !!_


----------



## IowaTater

franandaj said:


> We shall have to see how things work out for October. I haven't hardly given I t any thoughts other than going to V&A's for Jill'd b'day.



Oooohh, nice!  That will be fun.  No worries.  If we get a chance to meet, that's awesome but I promise I won't be all stalker-ish about it. I have to re-do all of my park plans now that the hours have been released so I'm not even sure what our schedules are anymore. 

Hope you guys are having a fantastic voyage on the Mighty Mississippi!


----------



## dolphingirl47

franandaj said:


> I hate waiting until the last moment.



I am the other way round. Once the suitcase is packed, I want to leave.



franandaj said:


> Creamy and milky. It wasn't for folks who like a high cacao percentage.



That sounds right up my street. I like my chocolate creamy and milky.



franandaj said:


> Other than the fact that the filet was cooked to the consistency of shoe leather



Now that fills me with horror.

Corinna


----------



## orangecats2

franandaj said:


> No worries. Just stay put right here and the next one will start up as soon as I am able to get to it. That maybe sooner than later as there seems to be a lot of sitting around and waiting involved with this trip.


Great! I really like your TR's now that I've found you. 



franandaj said:


> Enough that I don't like to mention it on a public forum.


Hey, me too!!! We could compare numbers privately.


----------



## franandaj

pkondz said:


> You did it!



And it was no small feat!  The hardest part was keeping up with the shout outs!



pkondz said:


> You?!? Not packing yet?????



I know, but that will be covered in the first update.  



pkondz said:


> Posting from a phone is _the worst._
> I'll do it occasionally, but only if I have very, _very_ little to post.
> And trying to quote? What a pain!



I know!  With being "homeless" today I tried to quote from the phone.  I did get all the replies in this update selected and saved in the cache of the DIS memory, but now we're waiting in the hotel lobby and I'm using their WiFi on my computer.  Much easier!



pkondz said:


> Back to bed, young lady



I probably should have done the same this morning as well.



pkondz said:


> You were dreaming of us! What were we doing?



I don't even rememeber who it was or what they were doing.  It was odd and surreal though!



pkondz said:


> Polite way of saying "Stay out of my way"?



Well it was her words.  But yeah.    The other way we say it is, "I love you very much, but....."



pkondz said:


> Really? Just for that particular airline? I always thought it was 50.



Well that's for Coach.  It's 70 for us.



pkondz said:


> Wow. Fran shows great restraint.



Sometimes, you have no idea.



pkondz said:


> "OMG. They're gonna sue. I just know it. They're gonna sue!"



I'm pretty sure that's what he was thinking from the nervous tone in his voice.



pkondz said:


> Good to know.
> It's been a loooooong time since I was there last.
> Um.... I think briefly 7 years ago. Just to see (Ruby's request) the Princess Di dress collection.



Huh, that was on display at the Queen Mary in Long Beach for quite a while.



pkondz said:


> Outrageous prices? In Disney? How odd!



No, I'm talking more than Disney outrageous.  I was looking at a knit cap thinking that I need one for the Alaska Cruise, and they were asking like $35.  



pkondz said:


> How were they?



They were really good.  In previous incarnations of my phones, I've kept a list of which oysters I like and this one prompted me to finally begin the oyster list on this phone.



pkondz said:


> Whoa! You weren't kidding when you said it was a lot!



Yeah, I'm glad we asked the server how much it was.  We almost ordered two sandwiches (another different one to also share) and this was plenty for both of us.



pkondz said:


> Wow. It's been a long time since I've heard of someone having an Irish Coffee. For a while there, they were all the rage.



Normally it isn't something that I would order, but I'd had a glass of wine already, I didn't want to fall asleep, so I figured if I got something with caffeine and booze that would even the playing field.



pkondz said:


> Hello! You had me at Ganache...ry.



Really yummy stuff!



pkondz said:


> Oh! Thanks for letting me know the picture was blurry.
> I thought it was from all the drool on the screen.







pkondz said:


> Oh.... no...
> 
> oy. That'll learn her.... or at least, that's what I thought before reading...



I'm not so sure.  I think they have some kind of lie detector contraption, she knew the drink was in there so they took her aside.  On the flight here, she had a box cutter in her carry on, but didn't know about it.  They didn't catch it.



pkondz said:


> Wow! Quite the threat.



It wasn't so much a threat but a compromise on my part.  I don't like to eat pizza, hot dogs, and simple stuff all the time at home.  I would rather spend the time to make something tasty and possibly somewhat healthy too.  She was objecting to the prep time that I put in when we could have spent that extra hour or two working on boxing stuff up and getting rid of it.  Come to think of it, this might be exactly why I was gaining all that weight after the trip.  Normally I cook only whole foods from scratch, but I've been using frozen meals and some prepackaged dinners to cut down on dinner prep time.  I better get that place cleaned up just for my own weight control!  



pkondz said:


> Just discussed this on my TR.



Yeah, and I saw it again yesterday.  They were even asking people in boarding group #4 to just check their bags even before the plane started boarding.



pkondz said:


> Uh, huh. How was it?



The steak was like shoe leather.  Inedible.  However the Mac N Cheese and salad were pretty good.



pkondz said:


> Your choices of entertainment are applause worthy.



I've always enjoyed those intellectual choices that are thought provoking.  



pkondz said:


> What about when the two new ones show up?



I don't know.  I haven't actually read the articles on them, but Fran mentioned that they are going to be even bigger than the others.  I had hoped they would have been in between the two sizes of ships.  Our friend who is going to be an imagineer has been telling us some cool things about them, so I'm sure I will have to try them out.



pkondz said:


> That's not a bad thing at all!



Relaxing is good!



pkondz said:


> Same up here. Well... for snowmen.







Leshaface said:


> OMGosh glad i'm not the only one who has dreamed of DIS peeps before!



Back when we lived in the old house Fran told me I was having some kind of a nightmare where I kept screaming out the screename of one of the gals on the Community Board!  



Leshaface said:


> Ooh i'll take those!



I'm looking forward to having them again!



Leshaface said:


> Good grief this looks amazing!



It's not something I would have pu on my radar but it was amazing!3



Leshaface said:


> Dan has recently started loving these types of drinks! I'll need to give them a try again when i'm able to.



Normally I'm a Bailey's and coffee kind of girl, but for some reason this sounded good.



Leshaface said:


> I hope you guys will submit a review to TripAdvisor or Yelp and let others know about your experience. I heavily rely on reviews from TripAdvisor and i'm sure others do as well!



I should do that. I have the Yelp app on my phone and rely on it a lot.



Leshaface said:


> All nonchalant about it I'm surprised the other woman got some grief about the juice boxes, unless she didn't have a kid with her. One of the best things about having a kid is getting to pack extra snacks for me-errr-him!



No she had a kid. They still didn't cut her any slack. You're too funny with the snacks.



Leshaface said:


> Ugh these movies, I just can't!



Caddyshack is one of my favorite movies ever. So many great lines! Austin Powers, let's just say it's not what I remembered.



Leshaface said:


> Well now you know for next time!



And now we're not running down the battery light all the time.



Leshaface said:


> Totally!



After a long day of travel it's so relaxing.



Leshaface said:


> Agreed. I've found that with this trip and in 2013 it made it so much more convenient to get to Disney Springs than when we stayed at the VGF in 2015. I wouldn't mind starting off every trip at a Disney Springs Resort just so we can make a day/night out of it!



I just wouldn't want to have to move that often. You seem OK with it!



Leshaface said:


> Our January trip in 2010 was probably the best for crowds, next being December 2012. These past few January's have been way busier, but i'm wondering if it's due to the implementation of the FP+ system?? October wasn't terrible, but it was kind of warm.



Jan 2010 was great, as was 2007. We haven't been back in Jan sonce, but Feb 2013 was great too!



Leshaface said:


> I find it's so much harder to pack for cruises than WDW because of the lack of washers/dryers. I guess I could do laundry on the ship, but I just love the convenience of having all that in my room!



I've found laundry on the ship is really easy and inexpensive comparatively.



ACDSNY said:


> Well now you know about the light switch, that's too funny.  I hope you're packed by now.



When you posted this.  No. Not even close!


----------



## franandaj

rentayenta said:


> We text at 39 hours so you must be near 24 now......packed yet?



Ha! When you typed this I was at 20 hours and no where's near ready!



ACDSNY said:


> Happy packing!



Not.



dhorner233 said:


> Hope you get packed and off safely to your Mississippi trip! Where do you fly to? St. Louis? Then it's a week going down the river? I'm looking forward to your trip report!



No its not that long of a trip. Besides its too cold to go that far north. We flew into Memphis where the ship boarded.



rentayenta said:


> Have fuuuuuuuuun!



Thanks!



Flossbolna said:


> Have a fantastic trip!!



Thank you!



dolphingirl47 said:


> Have a magical trip.
> 
> Corinna



Thank you very much!



Leshaface said:


> Have lots of fun!  Can't wait to read all about it



It may be a while before I get the first update. Even though it's written Internet is spotty on the river.



macraven said:


> _your trippie Wows me !!_



  Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying it.



IowaTater said:


> Oooohh, nice! That will be fun. No worries. If we get a chance to meet, that's awesome but I promise I won't be all stalker-ish about it. I have to re-do all of my park plans now that the hours have been released so I'm not even sure what our schedules are anymore.



 I haven't even thought about that trip. I've just barely got the Alaska one figured out!



IowaTater said:


> Hope you guys are having a fantastic voyage on the Mighty Mississippi!



We are! Im sitting and watching them prepare the ship for disembarking at our first stop. 



dolphingirl47 said:


> I am the other way round. Once the suitcase is packed, I want to leave.



I am a basket case until the suitcases are packed. I could sit and relax for a week with them sitting there packed. That way I know I'm all ready for the time when the trip comes along.



dolphingirl47 said:


> That sounds right up my street. I like my chocolate creamy and milky.



Me too.



dolphingirl47 said:


> Now that fills me with horror.



It was pretty nasty.



orangecats2 said:


> Great! I really like your TR's now that I've found you.



Depending how the shipboard Internet goes (and our free time) that update could be coming sooner or maybe later.



orangecats2 said:


> Hey, me too!!! We could compare numbers privately.


----------



## Flossbolna

franandaj said:


> I don't like to eat pizza, hot dogs, and simple stuff all the time at home. I would rather spend the time to make something tasty and possibly somewhat healthy too. She was objecting to the prep time that I put in when we could have spent that extra hour or two working on boxing stuff up and getting rid of it.



Oh, I can relate to this debate... But with Michael and me it is not that he wants me to work on boxing stuff up instead, but that he does not want to see me working so hard for it... Which is nice, but I still prefer to eat the stuff I made myself over some crappy fast food!!



franandaj said:


> Come to think of it, this might be exactly why I was gaining all that weight after the trip. Normally I cook only whole foods from scratch, but I've been using frozen meals and some prepackaged dinners to cut down on dinner prep time. I better get that place cleaned up just for my own weight control!



That sounds like a very likely explanation. And it is double frustrating when you realize that the weight you put on is not because you overindulged in some really delicious stuff, but because you ended up eating crap because you are stressed out. I hope things will get better soon!



franandaj said:


> Back when we lived in the old house Fran told me I was having some kind of a nightmare where I kept screaming out the screename of one of the gals on the Community Board!



That is funny!!


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> I know, but that will be covered in the first update.


 
It will be a *BIG *update.



franandaj said:


> I know! With being "homeless" today I tried to quote from the phone. I did get all the replies in this update selected and saved in the cache of the DIS memory, but now we're waiting in the hotel lobby and I'm using their WiFi on my computer. Much easier!


 
Even selecting is hit or miss.
Good job that you managed it.



franandaj said:


> Well it was her words. But yeah.  The other way we say it is, "I love you very much, but....."


 




franandaj said:


> Well that's for Coach. It's 70 for us.


 
It costs _more?_ You're already paying more... shouldn't they be less... or free?



franandaj said:


> No, I'm talking more than Disney outrageous. I was looking at a knit cap thinking that I need one for the Alaska Cruise, and they were asking like $35.


 
Yikes. Maybe wait until you're at the airport. It'll be ridiculously over priced... and cheaper than that.



franandaj said:


> They were really good. In previous incarnations of my phones, I've kept a list of which oysters I like and this one prompted me to finally begin the oyster list on this phone.


 
Huh. Never eat enough oysters to be able to make a comparison.
They're okay. But just okay.
Although... over 25 years ago... I had Oysters Rockefeller and I remember those as being amazing.



franandaj said:


> On the flight here, she had a box cutter in her carry on, but didn't know about it. They didn't catch it.


 
That's disturbing on many levels.



franandaj said:


> They were even asking people in boarding group #4 to just check their bags even before the plane started boarding.


 
Wow.



franandaj said:


> The steak was like shoe leather. Inedible.


 
Thought it might be, but gave them the benefit of the doubt.



franandaj said:


> I've always enjoyed those intellectual choices that are thought provoking.


----------



## franandaj

Flossbolna said:


> Oh, I can relate to this debate... But with Michael and me it is not that he wants me to work on boxing stuff up instead, but that he does not want to see me working so hard for it... Which is nice, but I still prefer to eat the stuff I made myself over some crappy fast food!!



It took a long time before Fran realized that I enjoy preparing something nice and I don't mind putting in the time as long as the result is good.



Flossbolna said:


> That sounds like a very likely explanation. And it is double frustrating when you realize that the weight you put on is not because you overindulged in some really delicious stuff, but because you ended up eating crap because you are stressed out. I hope things will get better soon!



And I didn't even think about it until I was replying here.  And yes, it would be one thing if I was eating Fettucine Alfredo, huge delicious steaks, Tiramisu, and chocolate souffle, but I was eating crappy food. 



Flossbolna said:


> That is funny!!



It was Kimmar whose name I was calling. I think I was telling her to stop doing something.



pkondz said:


> It will be a *BIG *update.



Well kind of like yours.  Not many pictures.



pkondz said:


> Even selecting is hit or miss.
> Good job that you managed it.



Thank you.



pkondz said:


> It costs _more?_ You're already paying more... shouldn't they be less... or free?



No, no, no.  I must have said something to mislead you. We do not pay for airfare.  We travel on miles, so technically we are only paying the $10 airport fee.   We get three bags for free, and they must weigh under 70 lbs each. 



pkondz said:


> Yikes. Maybe wait until you're at the airport. It'll be ridiculously over priced... and cheaper than that.



I'll just go to the hat store at home. Although that is in a tourist trap as well.  Can't win.  Maybe K-Mart.  Oh Winter is over, they will only have summer hats.  



pkondz said:


> Huh. Never eat enough oysters to be able to make a comparison.
> They're okay. But just okay.
> Although... over 25 years ago... I had Oysters Rockefeller and I remember those as being amazing.



I usually only have half a dozen at most.  But if they are big and fat and require too much chewing, blech!  I plan to try Oysters Rockefeller at the place that invented them in about a week!



pkondz said:


> That's disturbing on many levels.



  When she handed it to me, the thought that went through my mind was, "This is the weapon they used on 9/11"


----------



## franandaj

And now we move into the 100% All New Trip! Not only was every single experience on this trip something brand new, I also got to add three new states to the visited list! So that makes 30 of the 50 United States that I can say I have set foot on Terra firma. At this point we've only just begun our journey, so I can't tell you how it's going to end up, but I can get things started. As usual, I like to give you, the readers a glimpse into how the trip started and this one is no different, except for the crazy idea that we decided to take a 5AM flight. In hindsight we both agree never to do it this way again, and here's why....

So it was Saturday morning T-18 hours until departure time. I knew this day was not going to be fun so I decided to start it off with something pleasant. I wanted to take a shower and since I wasn't going to be impacting California's water supply for the next 11 nights, I decided to get it all in on this particular morning and took a bath. I've become adept at using my walk in tub as a shower since it has a hand held shower head. I figure if I'm going to use that much water, I better make sure I don't need a shower for a few days and wash my hair and everything. So that way I get double the bang for my water bucks.

Fran was still asleep after I fed the cats, but in the middle of the night she had arranged to purchase a Mater alarm clock from someone off Craigslist this morning. Plus we had four things on eBay that sold so we had to take care of those as well before actually packing. One thing I did before waking her was unpack a brand new garment bag that she had purchased a couple months ago. It was still in the box, and she had wanted to use it so that her suit jacket and dress shirts didn't wrinkle as much.  

With all our errands it was probably 3PM before we got home and started to do anything that got clothes packed in the suitcase. I was quickly becoming a basket case. I knew my dream of going to bed at 8PM for six hours of sleep was going up in smoke. 

Around 4:30 she began ironing her dress shirts. This ship doesn't have a handy dandy pressing service to magically make all your clothes unwrinkled like Disney, so she had to do it herself. By this time all my clothes were in the suitcase and I was wanting to load up the car so I could rest. Finally she finished the ironing and checked her bathroom bag for shampoo and conditioner and I could put all the suitcases into the car. It was just about this time that our delivery order for Thai food arrived so we ate and then I loaded up the car. I think it was around 7:00 or 7:30. After dinner I loaded the car and put her scooter on the lift.

Around 10PM I couldn't stay awake any longer so I changed into my clothes for traveling and laid down. I don't remember anything after that. Fran tells me that before we left the house we searched for her glasses to no avail, that I tried putting my computer into her carry on, also to no avail. I'm glad I had my business in order before I fell asleep because my memories start again while I was parking the car. I found a space in Lot C right off (@Leshaface doesnt have that kind of luck and I don't get lost like her DH!) and it was really close to the bus loading depot. I sent myself an email to remind me where I parked since it wasn't in my normal location. 

Back at the airport my memories are still fuzzy but I know we both got TSA PRECHECK on our boarding passes so it was like we had a FP for security! We got beverages after that, water for me and diet dew for Fran, and headed for our gate. We were first to board and soon after take off I started Star Wars: The Force Awakens. I really couldn't stay awake and kept falling in and out of consciousness.  They brought us breakfast and it was surprisingly delicious! At least mine was! It was some kind of cinnamon roll French Toast (no raisins) and we were also given a buttermilk biscuit where that empty plate was located.





Fran had some sort of omelet, she didn't say much about it.





The movie continued and I slept on and off. I woke in time for the Grand Finale of the movie. I hope no one out there hasn't seen it yet, but you know, the part with Han Solo and then the big explosions.  I think I slept through the credits which were rolling just in time for landing at DFW. Boy this airport has improved over the years. The sky train has made this huge airport so much more manageable.  

As usual we were the last to leave the plane and still had to wait for her scooter to be brought up from the belly of the beast. A quick trip on the sky train and we were at our next gate. For whatever reason we were issued new boarding passes and they had me sitting one row behind Fran in the seat that would have been next to her. Luckily they were able to fix that. This time we were on a puddle jumper. 





In our section there were two seats on the left side of the plane and one on the right. I didn't notice what the seat configuration in the back it the plane was like.

Fran slept for most of the trip, I played spider solitaire and kakuro on my phone and wrote a bit on my phone about our penultimate day. The hour and a half passed quickly and soon we had landed in Memphis. Another long wait for the scooter to come up and we were on our way to baggage claim. The nice thing about having to wait for the scooter means you don't have to fight anyone at baggage claim. In fact your bags are left rotating on a lonely belt all by themselves. I was sad to see that the brand new garment bag that I took out of its box yesterday had burst the zipper on the exterior of the bag.  At least her jacket hadn't fallen out of the pocket.





Due to the large amount of baggage we had, the Steamboat company had suggested we hire a private cab rather than take their suggested van transportation.  As we exited the terminal we saw folks boarding the van, and there is no way we would have fit with six other passengers and their luggage. We had no problem finding a van, and easily fit our luggage and the scooter, although I don't think the cab driver would have agreed with me. At home when packing the car Fran always tells me, "seeing out through the rear view mirror is optional," and usually impossible. 

The cabbie told us it would be $35 to downtown and an extra $10 for excessive luggage. Fine. We were there well before I expected. Right around 3PM. The Bell guys were like Ninjas with the baggage and had it out of there and the scooter assembled in no time.  Here we hit what I hope was the worst part of our trip. We checked into the hotel, and they mentioned that the room was not ready. Here is where Disney goes above and beyond. Even if your room isn't ready, you still get your room key and then once it's ready you get a text with the number and boom! You go directly to your room. No, not here, they were going to call me when it was ready and then when it was ready, I could go back and wait in line to get my keys and find out the room number.  


I’m going to stop here because it takes like 5 minutes (maybe 10) per picture to upload we are so far out in the boonies and the WiFi is so weak.  We’ll have to get closer to civilization for me to be able to post updates with photos.  (and believe me, I got a lot of em!)


----------



## dolphingirl47

That sounded like a real ordeal. I am glad that you made it safely. Breakfast looked nice. What a shame about the busted zip. It is so annoying when this happens.

Corinna


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> No, no, no. I must have said something to mislead you. We do not pay for airfare. We travel on miles, so technically we are only paying the $10 airport fee. We get three bags for free, and they must weigh under 70 lbs each.


 
Oh! I knew you traveled on points and was surprised you had to pay extra for bags.
Now I'm on the same page.



franandaj said:


> I plan to try Oysters Rockefeller at the place that invented them in about a week!


 
Cool!



franandaj said:


> When she handed it to me, the thought that went through my mind was, "This is the weapon they used on 9/11"


 
Me too!


----------



## Leshaface

franandaj said:


> I also got to add three new states to the visited list!



  Doesn't it feel great when you're able to knock off another state from your list?  We're hoping to do Baseball Spring Break in Arizona next year 



franandaj said:


> I wanted to take a shower and since I wasn't going to be impacting California's water supply for the next 11 nights, I decided to get it all in on this particular morning and took a bath. I've become adept at using my walk in tub as a shower since it has a hand held shower head. I figure if I'm going to use that much water, I better make sure I don't need a shower for a few days and wash my hair and everything. So that way I get double the bang for my water bucks.



Ha us Californian's think the same way   Well, at least me and you do, hopefully others do as well.  I now have a medical excuse to take a bath  one of my ribs on my left side keeps popping out but I can only get it adjusted once a week so hot baths are helping me.  But I wash my hair every 3 days so my thinking is, i'm saving water there from having to rinse out shampoo and conditioner 



franandaj said:


> I found a space in Lot C right off (@Leshaface doesnt have that kind of luck and I don't get lost like her DH!)



You need to give DH some lessons please  



franandaj said:


> I was sad to see that the brand new garment bag that I took out of its box yesterday had burst the zipper on the exterior of the bag. At least her jacket hadn't fallen out of the pocket.



That sucks!  



franandaj said:


> "seeing out through the rear view mirror is optional,"







franandaj said:


> Here is where Disney goes above and beyond. Even if your room isn't ready, you still get your room key and then once it's ready you get a text with the number and boom! You go directly to your room. No, not here, they were going to call me when it was ready and then when it was ready, I could go back and wait in line to get my keys and find out the room number.



You're right never thought about that!  When we arrive some where, it's well past Check-In time so it never occurred to me to have to return in case your room wasn't ready.  We're spoiled


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> And now we move into the 100% All New Trip!



Yippee!



franandaj said:


> So that makes 30 of the 50 United States that I can say I have set foot on Terra firma.



Not bad!



franandaj said:


> except for the crazy idea that we decided to take a 5AM flight. In hindsight we both agree never to do it this way again



Oh, dear.



franandaj said:


> I was quickly becoming a basket case.



Poor Alison!



franandaj said:


> I'm glad I had my business in order before I fell asleep because my memories start again while I was parking the car.



Whoo, boy. That's what you want to hear when you're driving!



franandaj said:


> Back at the airport my memories are still fuzzy but I know we both got TSA PRECHECK on our boarding passes so it was like we had a FP for security!



Nice! I've never gotten one of those.



franandaj said:


> I really couldn't stay awake and kept falling in and out of consciousness.



I call those "micro-sleeps".



franandaj said:


> They brought us breakfast and it was surprisingly delicious!



Delicious airplane food? What sorcery is this?



franandaj said:


> I hope no one out there hasn't seen it yet, but you know, the part with Han Solo and then the big explosions.



You could probably say that about the first three (well, 4-6) movies.



franandaj said:


> For whatever reason we were issued new boarding passes and they had me sitting one row behind Fran in the seat that would have been next to her



Weird. Glad it got fixed.



franandaj said:


> This time we were on a puddle jumper.



You and I have _very_ different definitions of "puddle jumper".



franandaj said:


> I played spider solitaire



I've been playing that quite a bit of late.
Addictive little sucker.



franandaj said:


> In fact your bags are left rotating on a lonely belt all by themselves.



I hate that. I always think someone's going to steal them.



franandaj said:


> I was sad to see that the brand new garment bag that I took out of its box yesterday had burst the zipper on the exterior of the bag.



 Warranty?



franandaj said:


> At home when packing the car Fran always tells me, "seeing out through the rear view mirror is optional," and usually impossible.



 Was she a race car driver in an earlier life?



franandaj said:


> I’m going to stop here because it takes like 5 minutes (maybe 10) per picture to upload we are so far out in the boonies and the WiFi is so weak. We’ll have to get closer to civilization for me to be able to post updates with photos. (and believe me, I got a lot of em!)



yuck.
Then again. I remember when it would take close to an hour to download a picture.


----------



## chirurgeon

As far as TSA Pre-check goes, I'm applying for the Global Entry. It's $100 and good for five years. I figure if I only use it once a year, the $10 per side of trip makes it worth it to guarantee going thru the pre check lane. Especially in Orlando. And I'm driving to Toronto to see a Chiully exhibit and this lets me drive thru a "fast pass" lane.


----------



## skier_pete

Ugh 5 AM flight - I am doing that to go out to Seattle in July for a reunion of college buddies. Three of us are flying in from Boston, Houston, Buffalo. To get everyone into Seattle at roughly the same time, I took one for the team and have a 5:25 AM flight. Fortunately, flying out of Buffalo is pretty easy, so if I get up at 4 AM I should be good to go. The one guy flying out of Boston has a 7 AM flight but it is direct. He'll probably also have to leave his house at 4 AM. We will be pretty pooped out considering the time change goes in the opposite direction, as we get into Seattle at like 10:45 AM, having already be awake for about 10 hours. 

Anyways, the trials of your travels don't sound THAT bad. I am a little surprised that the hotel would make you wait in line a second time for your keys, not just come right to the desk when you are called. Disney's new policy of sending you your room number and allowing you to go right to it is pretty awesome, but it is an exception to the norm, that's for sure.

Enjoy your trip!


----------



## dhorner233

Well you are on your way! That sucks about the zipper on the brand new garment bag! 

I'm looking forward to your pictures! I have seen on Facebook that the ship is gorgeous!


----------



## franandaj

dolphingirl47 said:


> That sounded like a real ordeal. I am glad that you made it safely. Breakfast looked nice. What a shame about the busted zip. It is so annoying when this happens.
> 
> Corinna



I think part of the challenge is needing to manage all of Fran's carry ons and being the one who is mobile so I have to do all the checking in and waiting in line.  That's the part that wears me out.



pkondz said:


> Oh! I knew you traveled on points and was surprised you had to pay extra for bags.
> Now I'm on the same page.







Leshaface said:


> Doesn't it feel great when you're able to knock off another state from your list? We're hoping to do Baseball Spring Break in Arizona next year



Yeah!  The next ones are going to be hard.  Maybe we should do a trip to Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.  We could throw in Boston to visit my birthplace.



Leshaface said:


> Ha us Californian's think the same way  Well, at least me and you do, hopefully others do as well. I now have a medical excuse to take a bath  one of my ribs on my left side keeps popping out but I can only get it adjusted once a week so hot baths are helping me. But I wash my hair every 3 days so my thinking is, i'm saving water there from having to rinse out shampoo and conditioner



I'm not going to say how often that I wash my hair or no one would want to meet up with me any more!    Let's just say I'm doing my part in water conservations!  



Leshaface said:


> You need to give DH some lessons please



Two words.  Pay attention.  



Leshaface said:


> You're right never thought about that! When we arrive some where, it's well past Check-In time so it never occurred to me to have to return in case your room wasn't ready. We're spoiled



We would have arrived well after check in if we had taken a reasonable flight.  Next time, late flight a day earlier!


----------



## franandaj

pkondz said:


> Oh, dear.
> 
> Poor Alison!



Where is your "world's smallest violin?"  



pkondz said:


> Whoo, boy. That's what you want to hear when you're driving!



Well, I was only driving from the Departure Level to the parking lot.  It should be a really quick drive, unless you are @Leshaface's DH and miss the turn 3 times!  :rotfl2



pkondz said:


> Nice! I've never gotten one of those.



I think it's the scooter.  Either that or they have a dossier on my foot odor.



pkondz said:


> I call those "micro-sleeps".



Good description.



pkondz said:


> Delicious airplane food? What sorcery is this?



Tell me about it!  I was incredibly surprised at it's tastiness!



pkondz said:


> You could probably say that about the first three (well, 4-6) movies.



OK, the part where Han Solo gets the worst possible news in life.  Then explosions.



pkondz said:


> Weird. Glad it got fixed.



I don't know why you would split a party up like that!



pkondz said:


> You and I have _very_ different definitions of "puddle jumper".



Yeah, you probably mean the things we are going to be flying on in Alaska.



pkondz said:


> I've been playing that quite a bit of late.
> Addictive little sucker.



It sure is.



pkondz said:


> I hate that. I always think someone's going to steal them.



I know!  Me too, I mean I have so many valuables in there.  Everyone wants Plus sized clothing!



pkondz said:


> Was she a race car driver in an earlier life?



I think a moving van driver!



pkondz said:


> yuck.
> Then again. I remember when it would take close to an hour to download a picture.



Don't remind me about "Dial up!"  



chirurgeon said:


> As far as TSA Pre-check goes, I'm applying for the Global Entry. It's $100 and good for five years. I figure if I only use it once a year, the $10 per side of trip makes it worth it to guarantee going thru the pre check lane. Especially in Orlando. And I'm driving to Toronto to see a Chiully exhibit and this lets me drive thru a "fast pass" lane.



We keep talking about getting registered for that.  We plan to do a lot of traveling in the next couple years and it would pay off in a year or two.



********** said:


> Ugh 5 AM flight - I am doing that to go out to Seattle in July for a reunion of college buddies. Three of us are flying in from Boston, Houston, Buffalo. To get everyone into Seattle at roughly the same time, I took one for the team and have a 5:25 AM flight. Fortunately, flying out of Buffalo is pretty easy, so if I get up at 4 AM I should be good to go. The one guy flying out of Boston has a 7 AM flight but it is direct. He'll probably also have to leave his house at 4 AM. We will be pretty pooped out considering the time change goes in the opposite direction, as we get into Seattle at like 10:45 AM, having already be awake for about 10 hours.



That still sounds icky, but you only have to worry about yourself.  The hardest thing is making sure we are in the right place, having four carry ons that I have monitor through security, two with lap tops.  Thank goodness we didn't have to do the shoe dance this time.



********** said:


> Anyways, the trials of your travels don't sound THAT bad. I am a little surprised that the hotel would make you wait in line a second time for your keys, not just come right to the desk when you are called. Disney's new policy of sending you your room number and allowing you to go right to it is pretty awesome, but it is an exception to the norm, that's for sure.



Not only did you have to wait in line, but for most of the time, there was only one staff member checking folks in, so the line was at least 7-10 people deep, so there was no choice about the second line.



********** said:


> Enjoy your trip!



Thank you!



dhorner233 said:


> Well you are on your way! That sucks about the zipper on the brand new garment bag!
> 
> I'm looking forward to your pictures! I have seen on Facebook that the ship is gorgeous!



While the other folks are off the ship, Fran and I are kicking it in the room and the Internet is a lot faster with less people on it!  So I'm getting a chunk done, but we're a couple updates away from the boat.


----------



## Steppesister

Excellent start and I heartily agree about the 5 AM flights. No fun whatsoever! But glad you got all you needed to get done, done, before heading out. I totally understand the stress of that. 

I wanted to comment more, but Mom and Dad have me out the door again... sigh. Maybe a bit more later tonight.


----------



## rentayenta

Nice update. You are well there by now. HHope you're having a blast! Bummer about the new bag tearing. 

Early morning flights are the total worst!


----------



## franandaj

We had just checked in to find out that our room was not ready, so we found some chairs and I sat down to play on my phone. If I had slept a bit better, I might have pulled out the computer and worked on catching up with other's TRs. But I didn't have the brain capacity for that, so I browsed FB, played a few rounds on the Games forum of the DIS and just tried to kill time. At least we had an outlet to charge our phones. 4PM came and went and still no phone call. At 4:07 I got in line at the front desk to find out what the problem was. Evidently their housekeeping staff are just idiots and can't get things done on time. Maybe they are understaffed. I don't know. But by this point I'm absolutely starved.  Fran (who has been sleeping in her chair the whole time) is so sore that she can't get up to come to the bar/tavern to get food with me. Besides she isn't even hungry. So I head to the bar to find out if I can get something to go and they are happy to oblige. I ordered and had a glass of wine while I waited. While I waited, I got a call from the manager saying that they could give me a room with two double beds that was not HA or I could wait for a king. He had his maids working solely on King rooms and expected 15 to come up soon, so I told him I'd wait.  Then my Turkey Club was ready, so I paid the bill and took it back to where Fran was sitting.  Yes @Flossbolna this is your doing!





I was halfway through the first chunk of sandwich when I got the call that our King HA room was available.  I finished that piece and got in the line once again to get our keys. They really need to fix this situation. 

Finally, keys in hand, I retrieve Fran from her chair in the lobby and we head up to the room. It was nothing special, standard hotel room, but the linens were definitely comfy. 

















And this was our view.









While we waited for our bags, I ate another quarter of the sandwich and started to unwind. Our bellman points out the fridge (which wasn't there) and immediately calls down to have one delivered. We put on the Travel channel and sort of zoned out. Luckily they were quick with the fridge delivery and finally I could remove the clothes I'd been traveling in for the last 17 hours. I put the sandwich in the fridge and Fran fell asleep immediately.  I played around on my phone before succumbing to sleep. I was awakened about an hour later with a call from the vet regarding our visit last week. It was then that I remembered that I still needed to fill out our luggage tags. Baggage will be picked up from the hotel room after 8AM on embarkation day. Most likely while we are at breakfast between 6-9AM. Luggage tags filled out, I sat around working on writing up the days activities on my phone and watching "Mysteries at the Museum".

My booking window for dining, spa treatments and excursions opened at 11PM that night for the Alaskan cruise. Finally, being a gold cruiser at the time of booking I wanted to take advantage of my new status. We have some adventurous choices, well they are all categorized as Mild activity level, but they are still pretty thrilling in our book.

As I was finishing the booking, Fran got her second wind. She woke up and was finally hungry so she ate the rest of my sandwich. Good thing she ate it this soon, the refrigerator wasn't cooling a bit!

Then she started futzing with her carry on. While I had slept the night before we left, she just threw things in her carry on willy nilly and now she wanted it organized. I was ready for bed. By this point I had switched the TV to a CSI: Miami marathon.  I was ready for bed, but she kept going for another 30-40 minutes, as I drifted off to sleep.




The next morning I woke around 5AM. I figured I had enough sleep for the most part, plus I couldn't seem to get back to sleep. I turned on the local news and chuckled about them talking about things warming up. It was supposed to hit 59 degrees during our sail away this afternoon!  I decided that I would enjoy the wine I ordered for sail away from the inside of our cabin instead of outside on the patio.

Sunrise photo from our hotel room.





I got dressed and grabbed the back pack we had in the suitcase. I put the luggage tags on the suitcases and got everything ready to go. By the time I rustled Fran out of bed and got her ready to go it was 7:25 AM. Our bags had been placed just inside the door of the hotel room with tags and all ready to go.

Breakfast was a relatively simple affair. It was served in the lobby of the convention center attached to our hotel. It was across Main Street from the hotel and was connected by a breezeway.





Their signage was always great.  You never had any doubt where you should be going.





We had been given a voucher at check in that covered our breakfast. There were pastries and muffins, fruit, scrambled eggs, potatoes o'brien, biscuits and sausage gravy and bacon. This was my plate.





On another table they had oatmeal, cereal, possibly more. Then there was a coffee area with juices, coffee and tea. It wasn't anything like on the Disney ships, but it did the trick and I couldn't finish everything I took, I was so full.  It wasn’t anything fancy, just your standard Convention Center Lobby.





It was just after 8AM and we went back to the room for a bit. Check in for the cruise opened in the same location at 9AM, had we hung around the Convention Center and waited we could have been on the first bus to the port, but we went down at around 9:10 and there was a big line. We got our room keys and vouchers to board the 4:00PM bus to the ship. It seemed to me that was cutting it a little close if the muster drill starts at 4:30 and we were just leaving the hotel at 4:00PM. I don't think they estimated how slowly Fran moves. On our way back to the room we saw the buses for the Steamboat Company, they would be taking some people on a pre-cruise excursion to Graceland.  We wanted to do something less structured on this day, so we opted not to do this.





We went back to the room again and I wrote up the report on my phone and caught up on the DIS. I reminded Fran that I wanted to check out Beale street if at all possible. She wanted to visit a Walgreens that was half way on the route there so we decided to walk/scoot to the store and see if I could walk the other four blocks to Beale street. Then we could hopefully catch a cab back to the hotel and head off to the ship. 

It was cold outside, but not too bad. The downtown area seemed very quiet for a Monday morning. We came upon this park and stopped for some pictures.













Squirrel!





Walgreens was on the next corner so we headed towards it and Ahhhhhhhh.....splat. it happened so fast but yet in slow motion. Old brick streets have uneven spots and my foot caught on one and next thing I know I'm on the ground.  Good thing the camera was there to break my fall.  Doh!  I took one look at it and my heart sank. There was was a visible crack in the lens. Oh man! Two for two. 

By this time a police officer came to check on me as well as several other bystanders. I explained that the worst was probably a skinned knee and some bruises. I was more worried about the camera and more so my Sigma 18-250 lens! It turns out that I only broke the filter and the lens itself was still intact. Once the concerned folks moved on, I took half of one of Fran's midlevel pain pills and we went into Walgreens. 

Just FYI, the bruise on my knee has really developed nicely.





We got some house brand spray on neosporin and a whole bunch of Mtn Dew. 

We noticed these Trolley buses and stopped to talk with one of the city ambassadors.  It turns out that they are all equipped with Handicapped lifts, so we could take one back to the hotel. I could already tell that my left knee and right hip were gonna be hurting A LOT later, plus I somewhat braced my fall with the right elbow. So ouch, I didn’t want to walk back.





A few blocks later we reached Beale street.









You know you’re in Memphis, when you see Elvis!










I’m going to wrap up this chapter here.  I was lucky with these uploads.  I’ve uploaded them over the space of the past two hours, two at a time.  I’ll work on the pictures for the next update when I wake in the middle of the night or while everyone is on shore excursions and Fran is taking her nap.  It’s much faster than when everyone is back on the boat!

Sorry about the sideways pictures.  I fixed them on my computer before uploading them and PB turned them again.  Next time I will put them back and see if PB shifts them again.


----------



## dhorner233

franandaj said:


> I think part of the challenge is needing to manage all of Fran's carry ons and being the one who is mobile so I have to do all the checking in and waiting in line.  That's the part that wears me out.



I hope she appreciates you enough! She is so lucky to have you!

Sounds like sort of a rough start so far. So sorry you fell. I know exactly what you mean about the uneven streets. Apparently I don't pick my feet up enough when I walk and have the same problem. 

Thank goodness you only cracked the filter on your lens! I would have sat there and cried if I broke my camera before I even got on the boat!


----------



## Dis_Yoda

Sounds like you had a very rough check in day!  That sucks that they didn't have your hotel room ready by the 4PM Check In Time.  

Glad it was just your lens filter that broke and not the lens.  Hopefully you are feeling better later in your trip as you heal up from those bruises!  That looks painful.  

Hope you are having a great time sailing the Mississippi!


----------



## rndmr2

I would say nice start to your trip but then you had your fall, so sorry, hope you started feeling better quick. I know a little bit about falling as I have had my share of them over the years, LOL. 

Glad the actual lens of the camera was ok. 

Crazy that you had to wait so long past check in time for your room to be ready. That bed did look comfy.


----------



## rentayenta

Oh goodness friend, that bruise is a doozy. 

ELVIS!!!!  He was a hunka hunka burnin love.


----------



## Leshaface

franandaj said:


> Well, I was only driving from the Departure Level to the parking lot. It should be a really quick drive, unless you are @Leshaface's DH and miss the turn 3 times! :rotfl2



 I wish DH would get on the DIS so he could see how much we're all beating him up!



franandaj said:


> Our bellman points out the fridge (which wasn't there) and immediately calls down to have one delivered.



What the heck is up with that hotel?  



franandaj said:


> I could remove the clothes I'd been traveling in for the last 17 hours.



Doesn't it just feel gross being in the same clothes for that long? Try almost 30 hours 



franandaj said:


> Finally, being a gold cruiser at the time of booking I wanted to take advantage of my new status.



  Way to go!  



franandaj said:


> Walgreens was on the next corner so we headed towards it and Ahhhhhhhh.....splat. it happened so fast but yet in slow motion. Old brick streets have uneven spots and my foot caught on one and next thing I know I'm on the ground. Good thing the camera was there to break my fall. Doh! I took one look at it and my heart sank. There was was a visible crack in the lens. Oh man! Two for two.



Oh goodness, i'm so sorry!  



franandaj said:


>



Hope it goes away quickly


----------



## bbak30

Is this the cruise that ends in New Orleans?
I work in an ER just outside of Baton Rouge, one of the local stops is in White Castle at Nottoway Plantation. We always get patients off this cruise! Everyone says it's such a great time.
Hope you guys are having fun, can't wait to hear more about it!


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

franandaj said:


> Fran was still asleep after I fed the cats, but in the middle of the night she had arranged to purchase a Mater alarm clock from someone off Craigslist this morning.



Because sometimes you really need a Mater alarm clock.



franandaj said:


> I know we both got TSA PRECHECK on our boarding passes so it was like we had a FP for security



That's the best!!  Like winning the lottery!



franandaj said:


> I was sad to see that the brand new garment bag that I took out of its box yesterday had burst the zipper on the exterior of the bag.



That bites.



franandaj said:


> At home when packing the car Fran always tells me, "seeing out through the rear view mirror is optional," and usually impossible.







franandaj said:


> I was halfway through the first chunk of sandwich when I got the call that our King HA room was available. I finished that piece and got in the line once again to get our keys. They really need to fix this situation.



Man, that was a brutal wait.  It would at least be nice to have good communication.



franandaj said:


> Our bellman points out the fridge (which wasn't there)



That's a neat trick. 



franandaj said:


> I reminded Fran that I wanted to check out Beale street if at all possible. She wanted to visit a Walgreens that was half way on the route there so we decided to walk/scoot to the store and see if I could walk the other four blocks to Beale street.



Beale St. AND Walgreens?  Now that's livin'! 



franandaj said:


> Walgreens was on the next corner so we headed towards it and Ahhhhhhhh.....splat. it happened so fast but yet in slow motion. Old brick streets have uneven spots and my foot caught on one and next thing I know I'm on the ground. Good thing the camera was there to break my fall. Doh! I took one look at it and my heart sank. There was was a visible crack in the lens. Oh man! Two for two.



Oh no!!!  That must have been sickening!



franandaj said:


> It turns out that I only broke the filter and the lens itself was still intact.



Whew.



franandaj said:


> Just FYI, the bruise on my knee has really developed nicely.



Yikes!  That looks pretty nasty.  I can understand not wanting to walk back, for sure.


----------



## IowaTater

franandaj said:


> Just FYI, the bruise on my knee has really developed nicely.



Ouchie!!  That's a doozy.  I'm glad there were some people close by to help you and that your lens wasn't broken as badly as it could have been.  Those brick streets/sidewalks are treacherous.  We have an area close by that we go Christmas shopping at every year and I trip at least once every. single. year. 

Your pictures are great!  Memphis has been on my travel bucket list for a long time so it's nice to see the scenery.


----------



## afwdwfan

franandaj said:


> On our way Fran got a call from the Yellow Scooter company, wow! They did actually know our phone number! They wanted to know if we still wanted to have the scooter picked up at 1:30 today. We told them that our flight had been delayed an hour and a half and could they get it at 2:45 instead?


She should have told them to just look for the abandoned scooter with a dead battery halfway between Disney Springs and Saratoga Springs. 



franandaj said:


> With all the construction for Disney Springs, this bridge was new. I thought I would take a picture of it. If you aren’t going to World of Disney or Ghiradelli you can cut off a good chunk of walking by using this bridge.


  I really like that addition.



franandaj said:


> Fran really enjoyed these rolls which were absolutely delicious. Our server called them "Hawaiian rolls on crack" which about sums it up.


They look good.  I love some good Hawaiian rolls. 



franandaj said:


> I don't recommend trying this on your next trip. Her bag was taken aside. She had to wait while the lady in front of us had her bag searched because she had two 4oz boxes of juice. When that was done, Fran got the royal treatment. They took EVERY. SINGLE. THING. out of her bag. Swabbed every surface, and this was one of those special air travel bags with like a hundred pockets for each and every little thing. About half an hour later they finally packed her bag back up and let her go. "That was fascinating!" She says to me as she rides up with her bag in tow. We still had over an hour until boarding began otherwise I would have killed her right then!


First of all, I'm sorry you had to endure this experience.  I just hope she learned something from it and I hope you look back on it now and find it to be as funny as I do!  



franandaj said:


> The gentleman at the store walked over to the scooter, flipped a switch on the tiller and the light came on. Both of our jaws hit the floor, and we said in unison, “There’s a switch?”


  Well, there's your problem! 



franandaj said:


> As far as visiting at Christmastime? As much as I enjoyed seeing the Christmas decorations at WDW, I’m not sure that is a big draw for me in the future. It may have been the fact that the Osborne lights were in their final year and everyone decided to flock to WDW to see them. But there were way too many people for my taste. Everyone always said that the first two weeks in December the crowds are lower. Really? If that’s the case, I’m not sure that I really want to go back at that time. I’ve found that January, May and October are actually much lower crowd times than we experienced on this last trip. I know that Walt Disney World is magical at Christmastime, but so is Disneyland and it’s much closer. I can leave if the crowds are too big and come back on another day. I don’t see us planning a trip to WDW around Christmastime anytime in the near future. There’s just other times of the year that I enjoy visiting more. I don’t need a special season to visit WDW, just a season when not many other people will be there, that’s more important than what’s going on.


I can see this.  I really like Christmas time at Disney World, but we've never had the crazy crowds you're talking about.  But the fact that you can go to Disneyland anytime and see the Christmas decorations there would definitely make that much more appealing than traveling to Florida to see WDW decked out for the holidays.



franandaj said:


> I found a space in Lot C right off (@Leshaface doesnt have that kind of luck and I don't get lost like her DH!) and it was really close to the bus loading depot.


I hope you at least remembered to lock your doors. 



franandaj said:


> I hope no one out there hasn't seen it yet, but you know, the part with Han Solo and then the big explosions.


Could you be more specific?   



franandaj said:


> I was sad to see that the brand new garment bag that I took out of its box yesterday had burst the zipper on the exterior of the bag. At least her jacket hadn't fallen out of the pocket.


Oh yuck.  They really don't make luggage that holds up well against airline brutality.  I'm glad nothing was lost. 



franandaj said:


> Even if your room isn't ready, you still get your room key and then once it's ready you get a text with the number and boom! You go directly to your room. No, not here, they were going to call me when it was ready and then when it was ready, I could go back and wait in line to get my keys and find out the room number.


Yeah, I had this at a conference I had to attend last fall.  It was at a Westin.  They had a youth volleyball tournament in town and they were all checking out late and conference attendees were arriving.  I waited in a half hour line to get to the front desk to check in at 3:30 pm.  I was one of the lucky ones because I got a room.  Others had to go back and wait in line again after dinner to finish the check in process and get their keys, much like you had to.  Some weren't in their rooms until almost 10pm. 

Needless to say, the conference has promised to never return to that hotel again. 



franandaj said:


> Finally, keys in hand, I retrieve Fran from her chair in the lobby and we head up to the room. It was nothing special, standard hotel room, but the linens were definitely comfy.


After that wait, that room had better be clean!



franandaj said:


> My booking window for dining, spa treatments and excursions opened at 11PM that night for the Alaskan cruise. Finally, being a gold cruiser at the time of booking I wanted to take advantage of my new status. We have some adventurous choices, well they are all categorized as Mild activity level, but they are still pretty thrilling in our book.


Oh, I can't wait to see what you do on the Alaska cruise!



franandaj said:


> Walgreens was on the next corner so we headed towards it and Ahhhhhhhh.....splat. it happened so fast but yet in slow motion. Old brick streets have uneven spots and my foot caught on one and next thing I know I'm on the ground. Good thing the camera was there to break my fall. Doh! I took one look at it and my heart sank. There was was a visible crack in the lens. Oh man! Two for two.


Oh no... I'm so sorry.  I'm glad it wasn't any worse than that for both you and the camera. 



franandaj said:


> We noticed these Trolley buses and stopped to talk with one of the city ambassadors. It turns out that they are all equipped with Handicapped lifts, so we could take one back to the hotel. I could already tell that my left knee and right hip were gonna be hurting A LOT later, plus I somewhat braced my fall with the right elbow. So ouch, I didn’t want to walk back.


I'm glad the trolley saved you some walking.  Sorry it kind of made you miss out on exploring Beale Street, but at least you got to see it in passing.


----------



## dhorner233

bbak30 said:


> Is this the cruise that ends in New Orleans?
> I work in an ER just outside of Baton Rouge, one of the local stops is in White Castle at Nottoway Plantation. We always get patients off this cruise! Everyone says it's such a great time.
> !



How great a time are they having if they end the cruise by going to the ER!


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> Where is your "world's smallest violin?"


 







franandaj said:


> I think it's the scooter. Either that or they have a dossier on my foot odor.


 
 <backs away slowly>



franandaj said:


> Yeah, you probably mean the things we are going to be flying on in Alaska.


 
Nope. Think smaller.



franandaj said:


> I know! Me too, I mean I have so many valuables in there. Everyone wants Plus sized clothing!


 




franandaj said:


> I think a moving van driver!


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> But I didn't have the brain capacity for that


 
Oh, man. Sleep deprivation. It's a wonderful thing.



franandaj said:


> At least we had an outlet to charge our phones.


 
Those outlets can be like gold sometimes.



franandaj said:


> Fran (who has been sleeping in her chair the whole time) is so sore that she can't get up to come to the bar/tavern to get food with me.


 
Oh dear.



franandaj said:


> Our bellman points out the fridge (which wasn't there)


 
 I picture him like a magician with a failed trick.
"Ta dah!!! Oh... crap."



franandaj said:


> We have some adventurous choices, well they are all categorized as Mild activity level, but they are still pretty thrilling in our book.


 
Colour me intrigued.



franandaj said:


> Good thing she ate it this soon, the refrigerator wasn't cooling a bit!


 
Good thing they brought it!



franandaj said:


> Then she started futzing with her carry on.


 
"futzing" Great word.



franandaj said:


> Their signage was always great. You never had any doubt where you should be going.


 
That is pretty darn clear all right.



franandaj said:


> had we hung around the Convention Center and waited we could have been on the first bus to the port, but we went down at around 9:10 and there was a big line.


 
D'oh! Oh, well. Not the end of the world.



franandaj said:


> Squirrel!


 







franandaj said:


> Walgreens was on the next corner so we headed towards it and Ahhhhhhhh.....splat. it happened so fast but yet in slow motion. Old brick streets have uneven spots and my foot caught on one and next thing I know I'm on the ground.


 
Oh, no! That's awful!



franandaj said:


> Good thing the camera was there to break my fall. Doh! I took one look at it and my heart sank. There was was a visible crack in the lens. Oh man! Two for two.


 
Oh, no. Not your new lens! And you haven't even started the trip yet!



franandaj said:


> It turns out that I only broke the filter and the lens itself was still intact.


 
phew!



franandaj said:


> Just FYI, the bruise on my knee has really developed nicely.


 
Very colourful.



franandaj said:


> We got some house brand spray on neosporin and a whole bunch of Mtn Dew.


 
 That sentence is funny. Neosporin and Mtn Dew! That should do the trick!



franandaj said:


> I could already tell that my left knee and right hip were gonna be hurting A LOT later, plus I somewhat braced my fall with the right elbow. So ouch, I didn’t want to walk back.


 
Poor Alison. Hope it didn't get too bad.
Those things always hurt more later on.



franandaj said:


> You know you’re in Memphis, when you see Elvis!


 
Oh, I dunno.
I see him all the time when I go shopping.


----------



## Leshaface

franandaj said:


> I'm not going to say how often that I wash my hair or no one would want to meet up with me any more!  Let's just say I'm doing my part in water conservations!



Me and you can hang out together then and be totally fine!  Trust me, if I could go longer than 3 days I would.  But then DH wouldn't rub my scalp and that has to happen.


----------



## franandaj

dhorner233 said:


> I hope she appreciates you enough! She is so lucky to have you!



I think she does, that's why she takes me on so may wonderful journeys!  



dhorner233 said:


> Sounds like sort of a rough start so far. So sorry you fell. I know exactly what you mean about the uneven streets. Apparently I don't pick my feet up enough when I walk and have the same problem.



I have a feeling that due to the rough travel day on the day before, I was out of sorts for the next couple days.  I have been paying very close attention to brick pathways now!



dhorner233 said:


> Thank goodness you only cracked the filter on your lens! I would have sat there and cried if I broke my camera before I even got on the boat!



I was just sitting on the ground ready to cry having ruined the one lens and then possibly this one.  This is my "jack of all trades" lens so I would have been pissed if it was ruined!



Dis_Yoda said:


> Sounds like you had a very rough check in day! That sucks that they didn't have your hotel room ready by the 4PM Check In Time.



I know.  I was even hoping that the room might be ready early, but no luck.



Dis_Yoda said:


> Glad it was just your lens filter that broke and not the lens. Hopefully you are feeling better later in your trip as you heal up from those bruises! That looks painful.



Yeah thank goodness.  Fran will have a new filter waiting for me at the hotel in New Orleans.  She ordered from Amazon Prime yesterday.



Dis_Yoda said:


> Hope you are having a great time sailing the Mississippi!



It's more of a relaxing time.  They aren't kidding when they say things move slower here.  It's crazy, there's no need to rush things, run around.  We spend a bit of time laying on the bed in the room looking out the window or in the public areas of the ship.  Much more in the public areas than on Disney ships.



rndmr2 said:


> I would say nice start to your trip but then you had your fall, so sorry, hope you started feeling better quick. I know a little bit about falling as I have had my share of them over the years, LOL.



Yeah, everything was kind of a rocky start, but it's all good and even has some twists and turns.



rndmr2 said:


> Glad the actual lens of the camera was ok.



Me too!  That's my favorite lens as it's very flexible.  Great zoom, but perfect up close as well!



rndmr2 said:


> Crazy that you had to wait so long past check in time for your room to be ready. That bed did look comfy.



I know, you think they should have given me some kind of free drink, or appetizer in the bar.



rentayenta said:


> Oh goodness friend, that bruise is a doozy.
> 
> ELVIS!!!!  He was a hunka hunka burnin love.



It sure is, and it just gets more and more colorful.  It doesn't hurt so bad any more and now it just looks horrific.


----------



## franandaj

Leshaface said:


> I wish DH would get on the DIS so he could see how much we're all beating him up!



I know!  He's not here to defend himself!  



Leshaface said:


> What the heck is up with that hotel?



Yeah, doesn't make me want to go back to a Sheraton!



Leshaface said:


> Doesn't it just feel gross being in the same clothes for that long? Try almost 30 hours



Somehow when you're at home in the same clothes all day it's not nearly as bad as when you are traveling.  I'm sorry you had to go through that ordeal!



Leshaface said:


> Way to go!



We got some really cool excursions I think.



Leshaface said:


> Oh goodness, i'm so sorry!



Yeah it was more damaging to my pride than anything else.



Leshaface said:


> Hope it goes away quickly



Not likely.  It's still setting in. And this one isn't going to be Mickey Shaped.



bbak30 said:


> Is this the cruise that ends in New Orleans?
> I work in an ER just outside of Baton Rouge, one of the local stops is in White Castle at Nottoway Plantation. We always get patients off this cruise! Everyone says it's such a great time.




Yes, this cruise ends in New Orleans.  We stop in Baton Rouge tomorrow.  When we stop at Nottoway Plantation, we are going on a Cajun Swamp Cruise!  That sounds like fun.  I'm not sure how they could be saying that they have fun when they wind up in the ER!  



bbak30 said:


> Hope you guys are having fun, can't wait to hear more about it!



It's a relaxing kind of fun, sort of nice.  Different than we have done on Disney Cruises and certainly different than a WDW vacation. It's nice not running around like crazy!  I'm working on getting to more of it, but with good internet (for this ship) each picture is taking about 7-10 minutes to upload!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Because sometimes you really need a Mater alarm clock.



Of Course!  Doesn't everyone?



Captain_Oblivious said:


> That's the best!! Like winning the lottery!



Without the cash.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> That bites.



I was able to get the zippers to go back together the next morning, but we'll see how they fare on the flight home.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Man, that was a brutal wait. It would at least be nice to have good communication.



Yeah, without me having to wait in another 20 minute line to find out, "they're working on it."



Captain_Oblivious said:


> That's a neat trick.



The disappearing refrigerator!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Beale St. AND Walgreens? Now that's livin'!



You know we know how to live large!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Oh no!!! That must have been sickening!
> 
> Whew.



The police officer who came to check on me seemed baffled that I was more concerned with the camera than my own safety.  I kept snapping random shots to make sure that the focus still worked!  



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Yikes! That looks pretty nasty. I can understand not wanting to walk back, for sure.



We were four blocks from Beale Street and with 1/2 of one of Fran's mega pain pills I was OK initially, but as the ache started to set in, I really didn't want to walk the 9 blocks back to the hotel.  I also didn't have enough alcohol to make the pain dulled.



IowaTater said:


> Ouchie!! That's a doozy. I'm glad there were some people close by to help you and that your lens wasn't broken as badly as it could have been. Those brick streets/sidewalks are treacherous. We have an area close by that we go Christmas shopping at every year and I trip at least once every. single. year.



The people close by more just asked if I was OK and were ready to transport me to an ER if I needed it.  Fran was able to give me a paw to get up off the ground.



IowaTater said:


> Your pictures are great! Memphis has been on my travel bucket list for a long time so it's nice to see the scenery.



We didn't see much, but I'm glad we got to Beale street for the afternoon and didn't just sit in the hotel on our computers!


----------



## franandaj

afwdwfan said:


> She should have told them to just look for the abandoned scooter with a dead battery halfway between Disney Springs and Saratoga Springs.



Now this make me totally laugh!  So much that I even showed it to Fran!



afwdwfan said:


> I really like that addition.



It really does streamline the crowds a bit.



afwdwfan said:


> They look good. I love some good Hawaiian rolls.



Key - Good Hawaiian Rolls.  Some are just OK, but these were awesome!



afwdwfan said:


> First of all, I'm sorry you had to endure this experience. I just hope she learned something from it and I hope you look back on it now and find it to be as funny as I do!



I can laugh at it.  But I still don't get it.  A box knife makes it through on our flight to Memphis, but a bottle of Mtn Dew causes us a half an hour delay.  



afwdwfan said:


> Well, there's your problem!



I know.  Who would have thought it was so simple!  



afwdwfan said:


> I can see this. I really like Christmas time at Disney World, but we've never had the crazy crowds you're talking about. But the fact that you can go to Disneyland anytime and see the Christmas decorations there would definitely make that much more appealing than traveling to Florida to see WDW decked out for the holidays.



We didn't make it Christmas at Disneyland much this year, so we'll have to change that for next year!



afwdwfan said:


> I hope you at least remembered to lock your doors.



  This too made me laugh!  I sure hope I did!



afwdwfan said:


> Could you be more specific?



Like how about the worse day of Han Solo's life, where he plummets off the beam....



afwdwfan said:


> Oh yuck. They really don't make luggage that holds up well against airline brutality. I'm glad nothing was lost.



No they don't.  I may have been able to fix it by running the zipper back and forth, but not exactly sure.



afwdwfan said:


> Yeah, I had this at a conference I had to attend last fall. It was at a Westin. They had a youth volleyball tournament in town and they were all checking out late and conference attendees were arriving. I waited in a half hour line to get to the front desk to check in at 3:30 pm. I was one of the lucky ones because I got a room. Others had to go back and wait in line again after dinner to finish the check in process and get their keys, much like you had to. Some weren't in their rooms until almost 10pm.
> 
> Needless to say, the conference has promised to never return to that hotel again.



Yeah, I can completely understand that.  I get that late check out is nice to offer people, but don't jeapordize the folks checking in.  Especially if you know you have a full house!



afwdwfan said:


> After that wait, that room had better be clean!



Yes. At least it was.



afwdwfan said:


> Oh, I can't wait to see what you do on the Alaska cruise!



I think they are pretty cool!



afwdwfan said:


> Oh no... I'm so sorry. I'm glad it wasn't any worse than that for both you and the camera.



Thank goodness it wasn't worse.  I get better, the camera doesn't before our trip starts.



afwdwfan said:


> I'm glad the trolley saved you some walking. Sorry it kind of made you miss out on exploring Beale Street, but at least you got to see it in passing.



Oh, I wasn't going to miss Beale Street. Fran's pain killers can do miracles, until they knock you out. I pushed on for the four blocks to get there and then walked up and down the street.  But after that I was done for a while.



dhorner233 said:


> How great a time are they having if they end the cruise by going to the ER!



That's what I asked!



pkondz said:


> <backs away slowly>







pkondz said:


> Nope. Think smaller.



Personal Jet pack?  You realize we are not flying to Alaska.  We are flying to YVR in a real plane.  Any flying we do in Alaska will not involve luggage.



pkondz said:


> Oh, man. Sleep deprivation. It's a wonderful thing.



Tell me about it.  What were you saying?  



pkondz said:


> Those outlets can be like gold sometimes.



We were guarding ours fiercely!



pkondz said:


> I picture him like a magician with a failed trick.
> "Ta dah!!! Oh... crap."







pkondz said:


> Colour me intrigued.



Larger than a personal jet pack.  Smaller than what I called a puddle jumper.  Doesn't need a runway.



pkondz said:


> Good thing they brought it!



Yeah, just what I was thinking.



pkondz said:


> "futzing" Great word.



She does a lot of that.



pkondz said:


> That is pretty darn clear all right.







pkondz said:


> D'oh! Oh, well. Not the end of the world.



It wasn't that bad, but we know for next time.



pkondz said:


> Oh, no! That's awful!
> 
> Oh, no. Not your new lens! And you haven't even started the trip yet!



No, not the new lens.  I have it with me, but probably won't pull it out.  It's mostly a dark ride lens.  Yes I am that crazy to buy a lens for photos on Disney Dark Rides.



pkondz said:


> Very colourful.



And it's even more so now.



pkondz said:


> That sentence is funny. Neosporin and Mtn Dew! That should do the trick!



We know how to live it up!



pkondz said:


> Poor Alison. Hope it didn't get too bad.
> Those things always hurt more later on.



Yeah, later it was worse.



pkondz said:


> Oh, I dunno.
> I see him all the time when I go shopping.



You shop in more interesting places than I do!



Leshaface said:


> Me and you can hang out together then and be totally fine!  Trust me, if I could go longer than 3 days I would.  But then DH wouldn't rub my scalp and that has to happen.



Cool!  We can be smelly water conserving sisters!    No one rubs my scalp.


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> Personal Jet pack?


 
Well... maybe not _that_ small.



franandaj said:


> Any flying we do in Alaska will not involve luggage.


 
Just put it in a net and drag it behind.



franandaj said:


> Tell me about it. What were you saying?


 
Where.



franandaj said:


> Larger than a personal jet pack. Smaller than what I called a puddle jumper. Doesn't need a runway.


 
Hmmm... so either a float plane (done that) or a helicopter (done that too).



franandaj said:


> She does a lot of that.


 




franandaj said:


> Yes I am that crazy to buy a lens for photos on Disney Dark Rides.


 
Now who would do that???






franandaj said:


> And it's even more so now.


 
Ouch. Sorry to hear that.



franandaj said:


> Yeah, later it was worse.


 
Again... ouch. Sorry Alison.


----------



## PrincessInOz

Slowly catching up.

OUCH!!!  That's a bad looking bruise.  Are you okay now?  
Glad that the filter saved the lens.  Breaking a lens would have been terrible!


----------



## dolphingirl47

What a shame that you had to wait so long for your room. Part of your view is pretty nice. The sandwich looked tasty and I also liked the look of breakfast. I enjoyed the photos around Memphis. I had not realised that there are red squirrels in the USA. Bad luck that you took a tumble. I hope you are not too sore. That bruise looks impressive. I am glad that it was only your filter that was damaged and not the lens.

Corinna


----------



## bbak30

dhorner233 said:


> How great a time are they having if they end the cruise by going to the ER!



Lol that's a good point. The reason they ended up in the ER didn't have anything to do with the cruise. I'm thinking there is a large population of elderly cruisers. 2 of them have been there for pneumonia and 1 was a heart attack. 
I guess they can say they were having a good time until they landed in my ER.


----------



## bbak30

franandaj said:


> Yes, this cruise ends in New Orleans.  We stop in Baton Rouge tomorrow.  When we stop at Nottoway Plantation, we are going on a Cajun Swamp Cruise!
> 
> That sounds like fun.  I'm not sure how they could be saying that they have fun when they wind up in the ER!



Hmmm, I wonder what the Cajun swamp tour is all about. Can't wait to hear about your experience. Nottoway is amazing. 

Well, the people that end up in the ER from that cruise have been pretty sick. It didn't have anything to do with the cruise though. They were pretty elderly and had several medical problems to begin with. lol. I'm just glad our ER was at the end of the cruise and not the beginning.


----------



## franandaj

pkondz said:


> Well... maybe not _that_ small.



Well you said think smaller than what we are flying on in Alaska.  



pkondz said:


> Just put it in a net and drag it behind.



I think I'd rather leave it on the ship.  You know we'll be back in a few hours, why take it along? 



pkondz said:


> Hmmm... so either a float plane (done that) or a helicopter (done that too).



I've done both too.  



pkondz said:


> Now who would do that???



I dunno.  Crazy people who post on these boards.  :rolleyes



pkondz said:


> Ouch. Sorry to hear that.
> 
> Again... ouch. Sorry Alison.



Thank you.  Hip still hurts.



PrincessInOz said:


> Slowly catching up.
> 
> OUCH!!! That's a bad looking bruise. Are you okay now?
> Glad that the filter saved the lens. Breaking a lens would have been terrible!



Other than I have bruises on my hip and knee and can't really sleep on my left side.  The new filter is supposed to arrive at our hotel tomorrow. 



dolphingirl47 said:


> What a shame that you had to wait so long for your room. Part of your view is pretty nice. The sandwich looked tasty and I also liked the look of breakfast. I enjoyed the photos around Memphis. I had not realised that there are red squirrels in the USA. Bad luck that you took a tumble. I hope you are not too sore. That bruise looks impressive. I am glad that it was only your filter that was damaged and not the lens.
> 
> Corinna



After that long day it really sucked.  I just wanted to lay down in a comfy bed.  After reading about Magdalene's Club sandwich, I was really wanting one.  It was good.  Breakfast was actually too good.  I should not have eaten as much as I did.  Stay tuned for more Memphis Photos.



bbak30 said:


> Lol that's a good point. The reason they ended up in the ER didn't have anything to do with the cruise. I'm thinking there is a large population of elderly cruisers. 2 of them have been there for pneumonia and 1 was a heart attack.
> I guess they can say they were having a good time until they landed in my ER.



Yes, I would say that Fran and I were in a group of maybe 10 people under 65, or maybe under 60.  Pretty much everyone on that cruise that we sat with talked about their grandkids and such.



bbak30 said:


> Hmmm, I wonder what the Cajun swamp tour is all about. Can't wait to hear about your experience. Nottoway is amazing.



Look up Cajun Pride Swamp Tours.  It will be a while until I get to that part of the report (considering I haven't even got on the boat yet.) But now that I can upload 16 photos in the time that it took me to do two.  I should be able to make updates more quickly.  However for the next three day, we are going to be enjoying New Orleans.



bbak30 said:


> Well, the people that end up in the ER from that cruise have been pretty sick. It didn't have anything to do with the cruise though. They were pretty elderly and had several medical problems to begin with. lol. I'm just glad our ER was at the end of the cruise and not the beginning.



Well that's only one direction.  In a few hours the boat is going to load up with a whole new set of passengers and take off back up the Mississippi.


----------



## franandaj

When I last left off we had just arrived at Beale Street.  Even though my knee hurt, Fran’s pain pill was doing it’s job and the real pain had not kicked in yet.  So we started down Beale Street.





The first place you come to is the Hard Rock Café.  Why would anyone go to a place you can visit in DisneyWorld and a thousand other places when there are so many unique spots waiting for you ahead?  I did think this sign was cute.









We continued down the street and I found lots of amusing signage.





I can understand the no vehicles, skateboards, etc.  But reptiles?  Did they really need to add that or was it just for the lost crocodile who didn’t realize they weren’t welcome?





I liked this one too, your first drink would be here but you’d have to wait a whole 25 feet for the next opportunity!









Fran really liked these beams supporting this façade.













We found this tribute to WC Handy













We walked most of the way down and decided that it would be a crime to have come all this way and not eat some barbeque. 






*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

We thought this was a sort of iconic intersection





We did a little shopping before we made our final decision





We looked up several places on Yelp, and after some shopping we decided on this place. 





















We got a Big @$$ Beer, local brew, don’t remember the name.





It was a kitchy little place









We got the sampler plate. Normally it would have had chicken instead of the he onion rings, but they were out of chicken that day.  It was fantastic! But with all we had for breakfast we couldn't even finish the plate between the two of us.









After lunch we headed back up Beale street. By this time my body was experiencing aches and pains all over, especially my right hip. I could tell I was going to have some bruises! Tater Red’s had some weeeeeird stuff in it!













We stopped in a music store where we found a T-shirt for Naked Jim and then headed up to the trolley stop. Saw this on the way.





And these.  All day I had been looking for names that I recognized and finally I found a couple!









Taking the trolley bus was quick and painless. Plus it only cost $1.  Here’s Fran waiting for her lift.





They had this nice little area in the back of the bus to tie down the scooter.





Oh, there’s the Walgreen’s we went to!





And there’s where I fell down.





The Park again





The bus was pretty full





And here we are getting off the bus.





When we got back to the hotel, every seat in the lobby but one was full, and that was on the second floor. So Fran sat on her scooter while I took that seat. It was 2:30. We thought the place would start to clear out when the first bus left at 3:00, but it wasn't until about 3:35 that seats downstairs finally started to open up. We made our way downstairs, visited the restroom and by that time, the 4:00 PM bus had arrived and was ready for boarding.





I’m going to wrap it up here for now.  When I’m back we’ll be boarding the boat!  It may very well be sooner as we are now off the boat and I can upload photos 10 times as fast as on the boat.  Ten pictures in 8 minutes instead of just one.


----------



## skier_pete

Cool. Never been to Memphis - but I know were I walking around in Memphis I would be constantly humming that Marc Cohn song "Walking In Memphis".


----------



## dolphingirl47

Beale Street looks rather colourful.



franandaj said:


> I can understand the no vehicles, skateboards, etc. But reptiles? Did they really need to add that or was it just for the lost crocodile who didn’t realize they weren’t welcome?



Graham would take the stance that if they have the need to put it on the sign then somebody has done it.



franandaj said:


> We walked most of the way down and decided that it would be a crime to have come all this way and not eat some barbeque.



I like that way of thinking.



franandaj said:


> It was a kitchy little place



I rather like it.



franandaj said:


> We got the sampler plate. Normally it would have had chicken instead of the he onion rings, but they were out of chicken that day. It was fantastic! But with all we had for breakfast we couldn't even finish the plate between the two of us.



This looks amazing.

Corinna


----------



## afwdwfan

franandaj said:


> Oh, I wasn't going to miss Beale Street. Fran's pain killers can do miracles, until they knock you out. I pushed on for the four blocks to get there and then walked up and down the street. But after that I was done for a while.





franandaj said:


> When I last left off we had just arrived at Beale Street. Even though my knee hurt, Fran’s pain pill was doing it’s job and the real pain had not kicked in yet. So we started down Beale Street.


Ah...  this makes sense now.  I totally misunderstood the last update.  I thought you were riding the bus back to the hotel and just saw Beale Street in passing.  I'm glad to see that wasn't the case and you were still able to do some exploring. 



franandaj said:


> The first place you come to is the Hard Rock Café. Why would anyone go to a place you can visit in DisneyWorld and a thousand other places when there are so many unique spots waiting for you ahead?


Oh, come on... You can't see a Hard Rock in Disney World.  You have to drive all the way to Universal for it! 



franandaj said:


> I can understand the no vehicles, skateboards, etc. But reptiles? Did they really need to add that or was it just for the lost crocodile who didn’t realize they weren’t welcome?


The sad thing is, there's some idiot out there who did something and is the reason for each of the items listed on that sign. 



franandaj said:


> We got the sampler plate. Normally it would have had chicken instead of the he onion rings, but they were out of chicken that day. It was fantastic! But with all we had for breakfast we couldn't even finish the plate between the two of us.


Looks delicious!  I love some good BBQ.


Again, I'm glad you managed to get some time to tour Beale Street despite the fall.  It looks like you had a good time looking around and seeing the sights!


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> Well you said think smaller than what we are flying on in Alaska.


 
Just figured it would be a twin otter or similar.
If you don't know what that is (or don't feel like Googling)... nevermind.



franandaj said:


> I think I'd rather leave it on the ship. You know we'll be back in a few hours, why take it along?


 
You never know when an emergency change of clothes can happen.



franandaj said:


> I dunno. Crazy people who post on these boards. :rolleyes


 




franandaj said:


> Even though my knee hurt, Fran’s pain pill was doing it’s job


 
Well, that's good at least.



franandaj said:


> I did think this sign was cute.


 




franandaj said:


> I can understand the no vehicles, skateboards, etc. But reptiles? Did they really need to add that or was it just for the lost crocodile who didn’t realize they weren’t welcome?


 
And why differentiate between animals and reptiles?
Reptiles aren't animals?
Can I bring a fish?



franandaj said:


> I liked this one too, your first drink would be here but you’d have to wait a whole 25 feet for the next opportunity!


 
For some people, 25 feet is a long way to stagger.



franandaj said:


> Fran really liked these beams supporting this façade.


 
I've seen those here.
We have an entire area that's filled with buildings from the 20s and 30s.



franandaj said:


> We walked most of the way down and decided that it would be a crime to have come all this way and not eat some barbeque.


 




franandaj said:


> We looked up several places on Yelp, and after some shopping we decided on this place.


 
Love the name. I'd go there.



franandaj said:


> It was a kitchy little place


 
I like it.



franandaj said:


> We got the sampler plate. Normally it would have had chicken instead of the he onion rings, but they were out of chicken that day. It was fantastic!


 
Man that looks so good!



franandaj said:


> By this time my body was experiencing aches and pains all over, especially my right hip.


 
Oh, man. So sorry for you!



franandaj said:


> All day I had been looking for names that I recognized and finally I found a couple!


 
Who's that?






 Kidding!



franandaj said:


> And there’s where I fell down.


 
I don't like that place.



franandaj said:


> When I’m back we’ll be boarding the boat!


 
Yay!


----------



## mvf-m11c

Catching up on your latest trip. Hope you are doing okay after that fall. That is good news to read that your filter protected your lens from being damaged.

You took very nice pictures during the Memphis trip. The buildings with the neon signs are nice to look at and I 'll be they look great at night. The restaurant that you ate for lunch looks very interesting.


----------



## Leshaface

franandaj said:


> Cool! We can be smelly water conserving sisters!



Dang it where's the tag fairy!



franandaj said:


>



Haha that's cute!



franandaj said:


>



What the heck?  And now I want to see the situation in which they decided to add this to the sign.



franandaj said:


> And there’s where I fell down.



Worst spot in town right??


----------



## PrincessInOz

franandaj said:


> I did think this sign was cute.



I hope that you and Fran rocked it....just like the sign!!





franandaj said:


> We looked up several places on Yelp, and after some shopping we decided on this place.



Love it!  It's the sort of kitschy place I look for when I'm in the US. 






franandaj said:


> We got the sampler plate.



Wow!  Not a place to take a pesky vegetarian!!!






franandaj said:


> Tater Red’s had some weeeeeird stuff in it!



  It sure does!!








I hope that the pain from the fall didn't last too long.
Glad that you're getting the replacement filter![/QUOTE]


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

franandaj said:


> I can understand the no vehicles, skateboards, etc. But reptiles? Did they really need to add that or was it just for the lost crocodile who didn’t realize they weren’t welcome?



I'm a little worried as to what happened that made the sign necessary!



franandaj said:


> I liked this one too, your first drink would be here but you’d have to wait a whole 25 feet for the next opportunity!



That's just hilarious.



franandaj said:


> We walked most of the way down and decided that it would be a crime to have come all this way and not eat some barbeque.



I would have to agree!



franandaj said:


> We looked up several places on Yelp, and after some shopping we decided on this place.



Sounds promising.



franandaj said:


> We got the sampler plate. Normally it would have had chicken instead of the he onion rings, but they were out of chicken that day. It was fantastic! But with all we had for breakfast we couldn't even finish the plate between the two of us.



That looks fantastic!



franandaj said:


> When I’m back we’ll be boarding the boat!



I'm on a boat.  With my flippy-floppies...


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Just catching up. Plenty of early mornings for you! I agree although coming off the plane you have to wait for your scooter or wheelchair you miss being barged and get yoir luggage! 

I had visions when you eventually got your hotel room key for your handicap king of a big old fashioned heavy key with 'room 13 ' on it lol. So heavy you have to have two hands to hold it. 

Oh I just loved Beale street! Isn't it an interesting street. Great photos sorry about your fall and poor knee. Neat the trolley bus had a lift! 

That PIG restaurant errr yes please yum! 

Looking forward to reading more!


----------



## franandaj

********** said:


> Cool. Never been to Memphis - but I know were I walking around in Memphis I would be constantly humming that Marc Cohn song "Walking In Memphis".



You know, I do actually know the song, but it never even came to mind!  



dolphingirl47 said:


> Beale Street looks rather colourful.
> 
> Graham would take the stance that if they have the need to put it on the sign then somebody has done it.



It was quite colorful.  I'm not sure how comfortable I would be walking it at night especially with Fran in a scooter.  And yeah, kind of like our "Appendix A" to the rental agreement.  Every time a tenant does something stupid (like put a 12 foot pool on the grass of the backyard at our duplex and then fill it with the water we, the landlord, pay for), yeah, it goes on the Appendix of things you can't do.



dolphingirl47 said:


> I like that way of thinking.
> 
> I rather like it.



You got to experience the local cuisine and I think the decor of the place captured the flavor of the locale as well.



dolphingirl47 said:


> This looks amazing.



It was a great plate of food!



afwdwfan said:


> Ah... this makes sense now. I totally misunderstood the last update. I thought you were riding the bus back to the hotel and just saw Beale Street in passing. I'm glad to see that wasn't the case and you were still able to do some exploring.



Naw, the pain pill was going to take care of me for a little while, but I knew that the pain would eventually kick in.  I didn't mind walking to explore new stuff, but the idea of walking the 9 blocks back to the hotel sounded worse and worse the longer I walked.



afwdwfan said:


> Oh, come on... You can't see a Hard Rock in Disney World. You have to drive all the way to Universal for it!



Ooops!  I guess I was thinking about the Planet Hollywood there.



afwdwfan said:


> The sad thing is, there's some idiot out there who did something and is the reason for each of the items listed on that sign.



I know that's the scary thing!



afwdwfan said:


> Looks delicious! I love some good BBQ.
> 
> 
> Again, I'm glad you managed to get some time to tour Beale Street despite the fall. It looks like you had a good time looking around and seeing the sights!



It was definitely tasty and I hope I can get back there and try some other places that were recommended.  We just didn't have a lot of time and after that fall, I wasn't going to go walking around any farther than where we already were.



pkondz said:


> Just figured it would be a twin otter or similar.
> If you don't know what that is (or don't feel like Googling)... nevermind.



I don't know what it is, but I assume that is your definition of a puddle jumper.



pkondz said:


> You never know when an emergency change of clothes can happen.



I'd rather just go back to the ship and change.



pkondz said:


> Well, that's good at least.



Oh yeah, her pain pills are quite the thing.  That is unless you want to stay awake for long periods of time.



pkondz said:


> And why differentiate between animals and reptiles?
> Reptiles aren't animals?
> Can I bring a fish?



No reptiles are not animals, they are cold blooded.  Not to say that they are mean people, their blood just doesn't maintain a steady temperature, it is based on their surroundings.  They did not say anything about fish, nor did they differentiate about amphibians either.  I suppose you could bring a frog.  



pkondz said:


> For some people, 25 feet is a long way to stagger.



I've been there.  



pkondz said:


> I've seen those here.
> We have an entire area that's filled with buildings from the 20s and 30s.



I don't think we do.  Anything gets old in LA, they tear it down. I'm surprised the Mission San Fernando is still standing.



pkondz said:


> Love the name. I'd go there.
> 
> I like it.



That may or may not have influenced our choice.



pkondz said:


> Man that looks so good!



It was.  I wished I had two stomachs.



pkondz said:


> Oh, man. So sorry for you!



It was sort of bad for the next day or two.  I still can't climb up on that one knee.



pkondz said:


> Who's that?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Kidding!



Truthfully, I couldn't tell you any song her ever sang, I just know him from the "Infomercials" they had for records on the TV when I was a kid.  He was always selling records back then.  I never liked country music so I always knew him as "some country singer". When Willie Nelson was big I knew him as "some country singer who smoked dope and evaded taxes." 



pkondz said:


> I don't like that place.



I don't really either.  Thanks for the sentiment.



pkondz said:


> Yay!



Hopefully soon!  A few more shout outs, but for now, gonna go hit the town before it gets dark.  I'm a little scared about after dark!


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> I don't know what it is, but I assume that is your definition of a puddle jumper.


 
This is a twin otter:





And I do _not_ consider it a puddle jumper.
That would be more like this:





Which I haven't been on.
Well... I have, but not on floats.

But I've been on similar to this:





Which may be what you were on?

In my experience, when people say "small plane" they mean something like this:






or maybe (less likely) this:








franandaj said:


> I'd rather just go back to the ship and change.


 
Did you have that option?



franandaj said:


> Oh yeah, her pain pills are quite the thing. That is unless you want to stay awake for long periods of time.


 




franandaj said:


> No reptiles are not animals, they are cold blooded. Not to say that they are mean people, their blood just doesn't maintain a steady temperature, it is based on their surroundings. They did not say anything about fish, nor did they differentiate about amphibians either. I suppose you could bring a frog.


 
Interesting. Your definition of animal and mine differ.
Mine is more like what you'd find when you Google the definition and look at the first definition.
(I'll save you the time: )
_a living organism that feeds on organic matter, typically having specialized sense organs and nervous system and able to respond rapidly to stimuli.
"animals such as spiders"_

But the next one is probably more what you use:
_a mammal, as opposed to a bird, reptile, fish, or insect._

Nevertheless... we can bring tarantulas.



franandaj said:


> I've been there.


 




franandaj said:


> I still can't climb up on that one knee.


 
Oh, sorry to hear that.
Is it getting any better?



franandaj said:


> When Willie Nelson was big I knew him as "some country singer who smoked dope and evaded taxes."


 
 Me too!



franandaj said:


> Hopefully soon! A few more shout outs, but for now, gonna go hit the town before it gets dark. I'm a little scared about after dark!


 
Have fun. Be safe!


----------



## dalmatian7

I have been following g your reports for a while and really enjoy them. I was in Memphis in 1999 for a. Conference and stayed at the hotel you could see from your hotel window. Your pictures brought back a ton of memories. Thanks for sharing your adventures.
Heidi


----------



## rndmr2

Nice update! There were some really neat looking places there. I have been to Memphis but I was about 7 years old. We were also there for the sole purpose of seeing Graceland since my Mom was a HUGE Elvis fan.

Your lunch looked good, I have really developed a liking for BBQ in recent years. there is a place near here (in Rochester, NY) called Sticky Lips that's really good (I also get a kick out of the name! LOL     )

Can't wait for the next update so we can see the ship!


----------



## Flossbolna

I am so sorry for your fall! That sounds horrible! I had a very similar incident when I went for a run one evening in February 2014 and you are lucky that you "only" ended up with a bruise. I had to visit the emergency room for several stitches and had two doctors conferencing about whether I needed emergency surgery to remove my bursa. They decided that it was only a scratch on the outside of the bursa, not a real cut in it. And luckily they were right, bot for a week I was quite in panic of getting bursitis in my knee... But I can appreciate how emberassed you must have felt and then how much pain all those bruises caused. I lived on 800mg of ibuprofen three times a day for a week...



franandaj said:


>



This looks really interesting!! That's the kind of America European tourists imagine to be everywhere. 



franandaj said:


> We did a little shopping before we made our final decision



I am so happy that Fran's shopping mojo is back!! And I really like her outfit! The shop looks interesting, too.



franandaj said:


>



And your outfit is really great, too! Did you coordinate for the boarding picture? Love the little Disney hint on the shirt. 



franandaj said:


>



Oh!! This looks amazing!!!!!



pkondz said:


>



Hey, I have been on plans like that - especially with that decor!!!


----------



## franandaj

mvf-m11c said:


> Catching up on your latest trip. Hope you are doing okay after that fall. That is good news to read that your filter protected your lens from being damaged.



Yeah, that was no fun.  My right hip still is sore so that I can't sleep on it, and the knee is still tender as well.  The bruises are sort of going away.



mvf-m11c said:


> You took very nice pictures during the Memphis trip. The buildings with the neon signs are nice to look at and I 'll be they look great at night. The restaurant that you ate for lunch looks very interesting.



I'm sure it would be quite a sight at night, but we were just too exhausted that night when we arrived.



Leshaface said:


> Dang it where's the tag fairy!







Leshaface said:


> Haha that's cute!



I thought so!



Leshaface said:


> What the heck? And now I want to see the situation in which they decided to add this to the sign.



Yeah!  I'm really wondering.  Did some guy show up with a giant python around his neck?



Leshaface said:


> Worst spot in town right??







PrincessInOz said:


> I hope that you and Fran rocked it....just like the sign!!



Actually we walked right past it.  No Hard Rock Cafe for me, much more interesting places.



PrincessInOz said:


> Love it! It's the sort of kitschy place I look for when I'm in the US.



See like this!



PrincessInOz said:


> Wow! Not a place to take a pesky vegetarian!!!



I'm not sure there was anything there he could have eaten.  Maybe Onion Rings.



PrincessInOz said:


> It sure does!!
> 
> I hope that the pain from the fall didn't last too long.
> Glad that you're getting the replacement filter!



The acute pain subsided by the next evening, but the lingering pain is still lingering.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I'm a little worried as to what happened that made the sign necessary!



I know, really.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> That's just hilarious.



I'm guessing that this is a town you can walk around with alcoholic beverages.  I'm sure folks down one between signs, just to prove a point!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I would have to agree!
> 
> Sounds promising.



You gotta go with the local flavors!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> That looks fantastic!



I was just sad that as hard as we tried we couldn't finish it all.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I'm on a boat. With my flippy-floppies...



I'm going to guess this is some obscure movie quote that I don't recognize....


----------



## franandaj

Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Just catching up. Plenty of early mornings for you! I agree although coming off the plane you have to wait for your scooter or wheelchair you miss being barged and get yoir luggage!



We actually did pretty well with early mornings this trip!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> I had visions when you eventually got your hotel room key for your handicap king of a big old fashioned heavy key with 'room 13 ' on it lol. So heavy you have to have two hands to hold it.



No, just your standard credit card key.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Oh I just loved Beale street! Isn't it an interesting street. Great photos sorry about your fall and poor knee. Neat the trolley bus had a lift!



Beale Street was definitely interesting and a sight I'm glad we saw.  I was so happy the trolley had a lift!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> That PIG restaurant errr yes please yum!
> 
> Looking forward to reading more!



I'd go back there again!  And yes more coming soon!



pkondz said:


> This is a twin otter:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And I do _not_ consider it a puddle jumper.
> That would be more like this:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Which I haven't been on.
> Well... I have, but not on floats.
> 
> But I've been on similar to this:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Which may be what you were on?



I would consider those tiny puddle jumpers.



pkondz said:


> In my experience, when people say "small plane" they mean something like this:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> or maybe (less likely) this:



Those are definitely what I think of as small planes and I would classify them as puddle jumpers.



pkondz said:


> Did you have that option?



Well when you go on a 1-3 hour excursion, no one expects you to bring a full wardrobe change.  Plus I have never experienced a wardrobe malfunction.



pkondz said:


> Nevertheless... we can bring tarantulas.



You can.  I will avoid arachnids!



pkondz said:


> Oh, sorry to hear that.
> Is it getting any better?



Sort of.  Not really.



dalmatian7 said:


> I have been following g your reports for a while and really enjoy them. I was in Memphis in 1999 for a. Conference and stayed at the hotel you could see from your hotel window. Your pictures brought back a ton of memories. Thanks for sharing your adventures.
> Heidi



  I'm glad you could relive some memories through my trip!



rndmr2 said:


> Nice update! There were some really neat looking places there. I have been to Memphis but I was about 7 years old. We were also there for the sole purpose of seeing Graceland since my Mom was a HUGE Elvis fan.



There was a paid excursion to Graceland that was optional but neither of us are really Elvis fans, and we wanted to take it easy and not run around on a bus all day.



rndmr2 said:


> Your lunch looked good, I have really developed a liking for BBQ in recent years. there is a place near here (in Rochester, NY) called Sticky Lips that's really good (I also get a kick out of the name! LOL  )



We have tried Barbeque in many parts of the country, Kansas City, Texas, now Memphis, I have yet to experience Carolina Barbeque.



rndmr2 said:


> Can't wait for the next update so we can see the ship!



I will be coming right up!



Flossbolna said:


> I am so sorry for your fall! That sounds horrible! I had a very similar incident when I went for a run one evening in February 2014 and you are lucky that you "only" ended up with a bruise. I had to visit the emergency room for several stitches and had two doctors conferencing about whether I needed emergency surgery to remove my bursa. They decided that it was only a scratch on the outside of the bursa, not a real cut in it. And luckily they were right, bot for a week I was quite in panic of getting bursitis in my knee... But I can appreciate how emberassed you must have felt and then how much pain all those bruises caused. I lived on 800mg of ibuprofen three times a day for a week...



Yikes!  I'm sorry you had such a bad fall!  I'm glad that it was just superficial wounds and nothing broken!  I take 600mg ibuprofen as my regular dosage when I need "pain pills".  You don't really want to know about Fran's, although she no longer needs morphine.



Flossbolna said:


> This looks really interesting!! That's the kind of America European tourists imagine to be everywhere.



Interesting.  Probably like the PR situation you're discussion on Mark's TR where all Americans think Germany looks like Bavaria.



Flossbolna said:


> I am so happy that Fran's shopping mojo is back!! And I really like her outfit! The shop looks interesting, too.



We had already purchased things in 2-3 other stores before that. I found a shirt that said Beale street with a saxophone on it so I had to have that one!  It was a definitely neat store, she got the hat there.  The rest of the outfit was just chosen for the weather.



Flossbolna said:


> And your outfit is really great, too! Did you coordinate for the boarding picture? Love the little Disney hint on the shirt.



Thanks!  No we didn't coordinate, but we both brought brown "overflannels" (even though both were made of courdoroy).  They were warmer than the ones we normally wear at home.  And of course they have a Disney hint on the shirt.  Most all of mine do!  I'll give you a spoiler alert. There were many things that were not like Disney ships and the first was that there was no boarding photo.



Flossbolna said:


> Oh!! This looks amazing!!!!!



It definitely was!


----------



## franandaj

We had just been picked up by the bus at the hotel, and we made our way to the boat. I took some pictures on the way to the ship. But I didn’t think you needed to see all of them.





Then we arrived at the dock and made our way down to the ship.









I thought that this one was our cabin, but it turns out that ours was on the other side.





I was really pleased with our cabin.





























And the balcony outside was huge!  It wasn’t completely private, but many people came out onto the balcony and would see the sign and assume it applied to the entire balcony.  I thought it was just the immediate area outside the cabin and the farther part away was open to all.  We rarely had visitors on the patio so it was nice and private.





It was so quaint, our stateroom unlocked with a real key!





They also had today’s “River Times” for Memphis, TN on the bed, plus the one for Tomorrow, Greenville, MS

















Once we are back home, I will scan these in so that they are easier to read.

My “gift” bottle of wine never arrived in the stateroom and I called the purser’s office and they said that they would have one in time for sail away.  We did the muster drill and it was painless for us.  Because Fran couldn’t do the stairs, they just let us wait in the foyer outside our stateroom until it was over and then we headed back to the room.

We were underway and I still had no wine, so I decided to rectify that and not knowing the ship, looked at our map and decided the bar on deck 5 was my best option.  It turns out that was the farthest bar from our cabin!

There was an old fashioned steam calliope playing and it was LOUD! As they were pouring my drink, Fran called me to say that my wine had arrived!  Oh well.

I went back to the stateroom and we chilled on our patio.









































Eventually I went back into the room and continued to unpack.  The room was very small with all our luggage in there, but luckily the suitcases fit underneath the bed so once that was taken care of there was room to move around. 


*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

The store was open already and Fran wanted to go there before they were sold out of 3X shirts.  Some of the shelves looked pretty picked over, but we found a couple T-shirts and a few other things.





























While she browsed the shop in detail, I toured the other rooms on the boat.  This is the area just outside the Gift shop, you can see the purser’s office on the right hand side of the picture.  The stairway in the middle descends down to the Main Dining Room.





The Gift shop is behind these display windows.





Here is the Mark Twain Room.  I spent a lot of my computing time in here.





You could find photocopied crosswords and Sudoku on that counter every morning.  I never tried them because they were only Medium and Hard no Easy.









This was my spot where I would compute.





















We have a single chair like this at our house, it is intended for gentlemen wearing swords.





On my explorations, I found this Espresso/Cappucino machine.  I ran into a nice couple who was making some coffee and we chatted a bit.



Directly behind me in this picture was a case that was always full of fresh baked cookies.  Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal and White chocolate chip macadamia nut.









Then I found the ladies parlor.









And the men’s parlor.











 

We killed some time in the room and then headed down to dinner.  I captured these photos as the moon rose and the sun set.


























*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

It turns out the nice couple that I ran into at the coffee machine were our tablemates for dinner.  They were from South Africa and their names were Jenny and Nigel. 





Here is the menu for the first night.





For starters, I hat the Tuna Tartare, which was excellent.





Fran had the Fried Green Tomatoes which she seemed to enjoy.





She had the Split Green Pea Soup with Ham





And I had the Spinach Salad with pecans and dried cramberries





For our main course, I had the beef tenderloin.  This was fantastic and cooked perfectly.





She had the roasted halibut, which she said was equally tasty,





For dessert I had (I think) a spiced cake which was awesome.





She had bread pudding which was equally as awesome!





Wine was included with dinner and they poured it heartily.  Turns out our dinner companions were also big wine collectors.  It sounds like his collection puts mine to shame as he had a room and not just a refrigerated closet.  We drank quite a bit, so much so that Fran wanted to go to bed at least half an hour before we left that night. Back in the room, we crawled into our comfy bed and had a good night’s sleep.


----------



## Flossbolna

franandaj said:


> I took some pictures on the way to the ship. But I didn’t think you needed to see all of them.



Interesting how wide the ship is! I wonder how the dimensions compare to the modern river cruise boats you see here in Europe. I think they are less high as there are so many bridges that are rather low. Those bridges were built well before anyone invented steam boats. 



franandaj said:


> I was really pleased with our cabin.



The cabin looks gorgeous and I really like the "bed protector". I have seen that on other cruise lines as well and miss that at Disney. They only have the blanket, but that is not really sturdy enough in my opinion. Another thing that is different besides the lack of the boarding picture! ;-)



franandaj said:


> And the balcony outside was huge! It wasn’t completely private, but many people came out onto the balcony and would see the sign and assume it applied to the entire balcony. I thought it was just the immediate area outside the cabin and the farther part away was open to all. We rarely had visitors on the patio so it was nice and private.



I think this looks really great and I would really like that! I know that on some cruise ships they have cabins that open up to the promenade deck and I think for me that would be perfect as I prefer being in a public space to being on my own little balcony.



franandaj said:


> They also had today’s “River Times” for Memphis, TN on the bed, plus the one for Tomorrow, Greenville, MS



Interesting to read through! And I like that they tell people that you need to be at your table by the latest 15 minutes past your dining time!



franandaj said:


>



Looks like a great sailaway despite the drink hiccup!



franandaj said:


>



That looks really interesting that they have all those books there!! 



franandaj said:


> This was my spot where I would compute.



Great computing spot! All the public areas look wonderful!



franandaj said:


> On my explorations, I found this Espresso/Cappucino machine. I ran into a nice couple who was making some coffee and we chatted a bit.



A WMF machine! That's German coffee engineering! ;-) Many places here have those and I find that they do make a rather decent coffee. I would prefer a coffee from this to the stuff they made for me at the Cove Cafe...



franandaj said:


>



Those look delicious!!!



franandaj said:


>








franandaj said:


>



Oh, fancy plates!!



franandaj said:


> Wine was included with dinner and they poured it heartily. Turns out our dinner companions were also big wine collectors. It sounds like his collection puts mine to shame as he had a room and not just a refrigerated closet. We drank quite a bit, so much so that Fran wanted to go to bed at least half an hour before we left that night. Back in the room, we crawled into our comfy bed and had a good night’s sleep.



Sounds like dinner was a great success with table mates and food! The food all looked really good, especially that tenderloin!


----------



## Leshaface

franandaj said:


> I was really pleased with our cabin.



Oh my gosh, I love the cabin!  Definitely different from the DCL cabins but very cool.



franandaj said:


> It was so quaint, our stateroom unlocked with a real key!



 

We were given real keys when we went away for my 'relaxing' weekend and I was pretty shocked myself!



franandaj said:


>





franandaj said:


>



I think this is so cool! Do waters get rough on rivers? 



franandaj said:


> This was my spot where I would compute.



Nice spot 



franandaj said:


> Then I found the ladies parlor.




Pretty and dainty!  So not me.



franandaj said:


> And the men’s parlor.



Ah, here we go!



franandaj said:


> Wine was included with dinner and they poured it heartily.



Dinner looked pretty amazing.  I was excited to see the pics of it, wanted to compare to DCL but the serving portions all look about the same.  But wine included?!  



franandaj said:


> Turns out our dinner companions were also big wine collectors. It sounds like his collection puts mine to shame as he had a room and not just a refrigerated closet.



Wowzers!  You're still the only person I know with a huge collection so still number one in my book


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

franandaj said:


> I'm going to guess this is some obscure movie quote that I don't recognize....



Saturday Night Live, actually.



franandaj said:


> I took some pictures on the way to the ship.



The ship looks really cool!



franandaj said:


> We rarely had visitors on the patio so it was nice and private.



Bonus!  That's just perfect.



franandaj said:


> It was so quaint, our stateroom unlocked with a real key!



A what?



franandaj said:


> Here is the Mark Twain Room. I spent a lot of my computing time in here.



Pretty snazzy.  I think I like that room better than the men's or women's lounges.



franandaj said:


> We have a single chair like this at our house, it is intended for gentlemen wearing swords.



Get a lot of visitors like that, do you?

That's pretty interesting, though.



franandaj said:


> Directly behind me in this picture was a case that was always full of fresh baked cookies.



Oh man.  You just sold me on the cruise.  I wouldn't leave the room.  Except to find Sudoku for Dummies.



franandaj said:


> Turns out our dinner companions were also big wine collectors. It sounds like his collection puts mine to shame as he had a room and not just a refrigerated closet.



I would have been able to build a wine room if I didn't have so many kids.


----------



## rndmr2

Beautiful room! Love the balcony area too. Love the pics around the ship, the public seating areas look nice and inviting. Nice that they have the cappuccino machine and yummy looking cookies out for people to enjoy. Sounds like you lucked out with good tablemates. I always enjoyed that part of cfruising but it is always a little scary waiting to see if everyone will get along.


----------



## PrincessInOz

franandaj said:


> we arrived at the dock and made our way down to the ship.



I'd love to do this cruise some day!  I can cope with river cruising.....just not open sea!





franandaj said:


> I was really pleased with our cabin.





franandaj said:


> And the balcony outside was huge!



Wow!  What a great room and balcony.







franandaj said:


> I went back to the stateroom and we chilled on our patio.



Pity that the bottle of wine wasn't available on arrival! 






franandaj said:


> While she browsed the shop in detail, I toured the other rooms on the boat.





franandaj said:


> This was my spot where I would compute.





franandaj said:


> Then I found the ladies parlor.



Love the ladies' parlour.....and that's a great spot for computing.
I think I would have loved to have been able to browse in that shop too!







franandaj said:


> It turns out the nice couple that I ran into at the coffee machine were our tablemates for dinner. They were from South Africa and their names were Jenny and Nigel.





franandaj said:


> Turns out our dinner companions were also big wine collectors.



How cool is that?  That's one heck of a happychance to run into the people you would be sitting with for dinner!


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Love the boat! Nice room and amazing balcony. Was there no disabled wet room/shower type stateroom? 

I love the map on the wall of the missisippi River in one of the photos. I love those chairs for gentlemen with swords! You have one at home? How neat. 

Cool expresso machine and fresh baked cookies. How great. Your table buddies sound nice.

I've always wanted to try fry green tomatoes since watching the movie. One of my favorite movies/books. Your dinner looks wonderful. I love beef and halibut! 

Lovely photos thank you.


----------



## afwdwfan

franandaj said:


> was really pleased with our cabin.


I can see why!  It looks amazing!



franandaj said:


> And the balcony outside was huge! It wasn’t completely private, but many people came out onto the balcony and would see the sign and assume it applied to the entire balcony. I thought it was just the immediate area outside the cabin and the farther part away was open to all. We rarely had visitors on the patio so it was nice and private.


That's nice! 



franandaj said:


> It was so quaint, our stateroom unlocked with a real key!


What?  A key?  How does it work???? 



franandaj said:


> Because Fran couldn’t do the stairs, they just let us wait in the foyer outside our stateroom until it was over and then we headed back to the room.


I'm sorry, but you can't do stairs so in the event of a real fire or hull breach, you're screwed.  Thanks for sailing with us! 



franandaj said:


> We were underway and I still had no wine, so I decided to rectify that and not knowing the ship, looked at our map and decided the bar on deck 5 was my best option. It turns out that was the farthest bar from our cabin!


Well, at least you got out there and did some good exploration of the boat right away!



franandaj said:


> You could find photocopied crosswords and Sudoku on that counter every morning. I never tried them because they were only Medium and Hard no Easy.


  I laugh, but I'm right there with you.  They're only fun if you can beat them without having to erase anything. 



franandaj said:


> Wine was included with dinner and they poured it heartily. Turns out our dinner companions were also big wine collectors. It sounds like his collection puts mine to shame as he had a room and not just a refrigerated closet.


  Sounds like you need to befriend them and take a trip to South Africa.


----------



## EJ4Disney

OH Alison, I am loving this!

Now that Lent is over I have a LOT more time I can play.  Your trip report was the first one I wanted to catch up on.  LOVE IT!!

So sorry you fell.  Dang.  The boat is beautiful.  I know you are home now but I can't wait for the next update.


----------



## IowaTater

franandaj said:


> I can understand the no vehicles, skateboards, etc. But reptiles? Did they really need to add that or was it just for the lost crocodile who didn’t realize they weren’t welcome?





franandaj said:


>



I don't know why but this makes me think of this:
 






franandaj said:


>



Oh, so pretty!  I love that cabinet.  It reminds me of my grandmother's old wardrobe she had growing up. 

That's do nice that you had stuff in common with your tablemates.  I'm always worried about awkwardness when I'm seated with people I don't know.


----------



## dolphingirl47

franandaj said:


> Then we arrived at the dock and made our way down to the ship.



The ship looks rather regal.



franandaj said:


> I was really pleased with our cabin.



That cabin looks absolutely amazing. I love the old-fashioned look.



franandaj said:


> And the balcony outside was huge! It wasn’t completely private, but many people came out onto the balcony and would see the sign and assume it applied to the entire balcony. I thought it was just the immediate area outside the cabin and the farther part away was open to all. We rarely had visitors on the patio so it was nice and private.



How nice that you ended up with an almost private balcony. It does look very nice.



franandaj said:


> My “gift” bottle of wine never arrived in the stateroom and I called the purser’s office and they said that they would have one in time for sail away.



What a pain. I am glad that it turned up shortly afterwards.



franandaj said:


> We did the muster drill and it was painless for us. Because Fran couldn’t do the stairs, they just let us wait in the foyer outside our stateroom until it was over and then we headed back to the room.



That seems a strange way of doing things.



franandaj said:


>



This looks really spectacular.



franandaj said:


>



The public spaces all look really nice and interesting.



franandaj said:


> Directly behind me in this picture was a case that was always full of fresh baked cookies. Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal and White chocolate chip macadamia nut.



That would have been a serious temptation for us and the coffee machine looks great.



franandaj said:


>





franandaj said:


>



I love those photos.



franandaj said:


> It turns out the nice couple that I ran into at the coffee machine were our tablemates for dinner. They were from South Africa and their names were Jenny and Nigel.



It is nice that you had already met them. Dinner looked lovely.



franandaj said:


> Turns out our dinner companions were also big wine collectors.



Nice that you had something in common.

Corinna


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> Those are definitely what I think of as small planes and I would classify them as puddle jumpers.


 
Now I know. 



franandaj said:


> Well when you go on a 1-3 hour excursion, no one expects you to bring a full wardrobe change. Plus I have never experienced a wardrobe malfunction.


 
Wardrobe malfunction coming up on my TR's next update...



franandaj said:


> You can. I will avoid arachnids!


 
As will I! 



franandaj said:


> Sort of. Not really.


 
Oy.

Going back to read now.


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


>


 
Love those stacks.



franandaj said:


>


 
So is the ship called the American Queen? Or is that the company name?



franandaj said:


> I was really pleased with our cabin.


 
Love the furniture!



franandaj said:


> And the balcony outside was huge! It wasn’t completely private, but many people came out onto the balcony and would see the sign and assume it applied to the entire balcony.


 
Of which you did nothing to correct them. 



franandaj said:


> It was so quaint, our stateroom unlocked with a real key!


 
What is this "key" thing you speak of?



franandaj said:


> We did the muster drill and it was painless for us. Because Fran couldn’t do the stairs, they just let us wait in the foyer outside our stateroom until it was over and then we headed back to the room.


 
Not too difficult to manage.



franandaj said:


> We were underway and I still had no wine, so I decided to rectify that and not knowing the ship, looked at our map and decided the bar on deck 5 was my best option. It turns out that was the farthest bar from our cabin!


 
Of course. 



franandaj said:


> There was an old fashioned steam calliope playing and it was LOUD!


 
Cool! I've never heard one IRL.



franandaj said:


> This is the area just outside the Gift shop, you can see the purser’s office on the right hand side of the picture. The stairway in the middle descends down to the Main Dining Room.


 
Did anyone play the piano while you were aboard?



franandaj said:


> Here is the Mark Twain Room.


 
Gorgeous.
But then again, you can apply that to the entire ship, it seems.



franandaj said:


> This was my spot where I would compute.


 
Looks cozy!



franandaj said:


>


 
Hence my earlier question about the ship's name.
Or was this the original that your ship was based on?



franandaj said:


> We have a single chair like this at our house, it is intended for gentlemen wearing swords.


 
You get many gentlemen callers wearing swords?



franandaj said:


> Directly behind me in this picture was a case that was always full of fresh baked cookies.


 
I'd be all over that... all the time.



franandaj said:


>


 
OMG! Is that Yogi with a picnic basket?????



franandaj said:


> It turns out the nice couple that I ran into at the coffee machine were our tablemates for dinner.


 
Huh! What are the odds?



franandaj said:


> For our main course, I had the beef tenderloin. This was fantastic and cooked perfectly.


 
Looks like it. Yum. Want.


----------



## Steppesister

Just settling in after my own trip and the first week of school. I had NO idea they made luxury paddle wheel ships like that! Very nice accommodations and meals looks like! They seemed very accommodating to bring your wine in time. I'll mention this experience to my parents- they may want to give it a try living so close.

@pkondz - ever heard of a Yak 40? The Russian version of a "puddle jumper" that we used to fly ALL the time. Scary as hell. Oh man, do I have stories.....


----------



## rentayenta

Yay for good tablemates! Double yay for good tablemates who imbibe.  

Your first dinner on the ship looks delicious but whats that red thing on the asparagus? Looks like a blanched and skinned tomato. 

The ship looks fabulous as does your cabin. 

Hope you didn't stay too sore the whole trip.


----------



## ACDSNY

********** said:


> Cool. Never been to Memphis - but I know were I walking around in Memphis I would be constantly humming that Marc Cohn song "Walking In Memphis".



The song has been going through my head the whole time I've been reading this.

The boat looks lovely and all your  pics are making me want to take a trip like this someday.


----------



## franandaj

Flossbolna said:


> Interesting how wide the ship is! I wonder how the dimensions compare to the modern river cruise boats you see here in Europe. I think they are less high as there are so many bridges that are rather low. Those bridges were built well before anyone invented steam boats.



I'm not sure if the perspective is off, it wasn't all that wide, but then again European rivers are much smaller than the Mississippi. Maybe the European boats are less wide, at least the newer ones.



Flossbolna said:


> The cabin looks gorgeous and I really like the "bed protector". I have seen that on other cruise lines as well and miss that at Disney. They only have the blanket, but that is not really sturdy enough in my opinion. Another thing that is different besides the lack of the boarding picture! ;-)



We actually didn't see it again until the end of the trip when our cabin steward put it back on the bed with the taunting words, "Bon Voyage" on the other side. 



Flossbolna said:


> I think this looks really great and I would really like that! I know that on some cruise ships they have cabins that open up to the promenade deck and I think for me that would be perfect as I prefer being in a public space to being on my own little balcony.



Most of the outside staterooms did open up to some sort of promenade deck.  I can see where that would be OK, except that I liked to go out early in the morning in my robe and I wouldn't feel comfortable doing that if I knew people would be walking by!



Flossbolna said:


> Interesting to read through! And I like that they tell people that you need to be at your table by the latest 15 minutes past your dining time!



I liked that too.  They did have a pretty set service schedule.  Unfortunately we were always receiving our appetizers when most everyone else was getting their soups/salads or even their mains.  Our orders seemed to be the last to be taken for our section, some of the other tables had their starters before we had even placed our orders, but I got used to it.



Flossbolna said:


> Looks like a great sailaway despite the drink hiccup!



It was nice, Fran usually doesn't join me out on the balcony, so that way nice!



Flossbolna said:


> That looks really interesting that they have all those books there!!



They had a ton of books on the Mississippi, Mark Twain, and all kinds of other things



Flossbolna said:


> Great computing spot! All the public areas look wonderful!



I liked it because there was a plug and table was large enough to hold the computer comfortably.



Flossbolna said:


> A WMF machine! That's German coffee engineering! ;-) Many places here have those and I find that they do make a rather decent coffee. I would prefer a coffee from this to the stuff they made for me at the Cove Cafe...



I thought it made pretty good coffee and easier to use than the other machine upstairs.  I don't think I got a picture of that one.



Flossbolna said:


> Those look delicious!!!



They were! We are quite a few over the course of the week. 



Flossbolna said:


>



Not being on FB, you missed my picture from later in the week. I'll share it here at the right time.



Flossbolna said:


> Oh, fancy plates!!



They were!



Flossbolna said:


> Sounds like dinner was a great success with table mates and food! The food all looked really good, especially that tenderloin!



Yes it worked out quite nicely for the most part.



Leshaface said:


> Oh my gosh, I love the cabin! Definitely different from the DCL cabins but very cool.



Everything about the boat was different from DCL!



Leshaface said:


> We were given real keys when we went away for my 'relaxing' weekend and I was pretty shocked myself!



I mean how many places really still have them?



Leshaface said:


> I think this is so cool! Do waters get rough on rivers?



On some rivers I'm sure they could be rough, but until you see it, you can't even fathom the size of the Mississippi.  It was never rough for us, and I have some pictures from when it was at its most turbulent that I saw.



Leshaface said:


> Nice spot



Thanks! 



Leshaface said:


> Pretty and dainty! So not me.



It wasn't really me either.



Leshaface said:


> Ah, here we go!



The taxidermy sort of freaked me out a bit. I liked the room with the model ships.



Leshaface said:


> Dinner looked pretty amazing. I was excited to see the pics of it, wanted to compare to DCL but the serving portions all look about the same. But wine included?!



At dinner wine and beer were included. It probably saved us a good chunk of cash as they were very generous with their pours and always refilled your glass if you asked!



Leshaface said:


> Wowzers! You're still the only person I know with a huge collection so still number one in my book



Gawrsh, thanks!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Saturday Night Live, actually.



I stopped being able to stay up that late long ago, and then the humor went over my head so I never bothered to DVR it once we had the technology.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> The ship looks really cool!



It was! 



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Bonus! That's just perfect.



I'd rather keep to myself when I can so it worked out great!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> A what?



I know! We don't even use keys to get into our home!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Pretty snazzy. I think I like that room better than the men's or women's lounges.



It was definitely my favorite of the three.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Get a lot of visitors like that, do you?
> 
> That's pretty interesting, though.



Actually it was one of the pieces that we inherited from her parents. I have no idea why they had it other than her mom had really bizarre tastes.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Oh man. You just sold me on the cruise. I wouldn't leave the room. Except to find Sudoku for Dummies.



Yeah there were cookies all day except in the morning I found pastries and cinnamon rolls.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I would have been able to build a wine room if I didn't have so many kids.



 but would you want one? 



rndmr2 said:


> Beautiful room! Love the balcony area too. Love the pics around the ship, the public seating areas look nice and inviting. Nice that they have the cappuccino machine and yummy looking cookies out for people to enjoy. Sounds like you lucked out with good tablemates. I always enjoyed that part of cfruising but it is always a little scary waiting to see if everyone will get along.



Thanks it was a very nice boat and we did luck out with tablemates for the most part.



PrincessInOz said:


> I'd love to do this cruise some day! I can cope with river cruising.....just not open sea!



I'm sure you would like it. The pesky vegetarian might be challenged with some of the food options.



PrincessInOz said:


> Wow! What a great room and balcony.



It was!



PrincessInOz said:


> Pity that the bottle of wine wasn't available on arrival!



I did have to scramble.



PrincessInOz said:


> Love the ladies' parlour.....and that's a great spot for computing.
> I think I would have loved to have been able to browse in that shop too!



It was very quaint,  as was the shop.



PrincessInOz said:


> How cool is that? That's one heck of a happychance to run into the people you would be sitting with for dinner!



And they turned out to be very nice people as well!


----------



## dizneeat

*All caught up again!
I thought with you on vacation I was in the clear not to fall too far behind while on vacation too. Well, seems that you were FAR busier than I was and I was 5 pages behind.

Comments:
Wow! What a long travel day and getting a room at the hotel sounded painful. Loved your breakfast plate on the plane though!

Boy, what a nasty fall. I was glad to hear that you were able to get up and go on with your vacation, but that could have been the end of it. Your knee looks VERY painful and I can imagine what your hip and elbow looked and felt like. 

Your room and the ship look lovely! And how funny that the people you chatted with were your tablemates - small world. (Just needed a Disney touch here).

I am sure there was more to comment on, but I can't remember now. You may NOW go on with your TR. *


----------



## franandaj

Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Love the boat! Nice room and amazing balcony. Was there no disabled wet room/shower type stateroom?



That was a disabled room. I'm not sure they had any "roll in" shower options on the boat. I assume the other rooms did not have quite so many grab bars on the walls.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> I love the map on the wall of the missisippi River in one of the photos. I love those chairs for gentlemen with swords! You have one at home? How neat.



They had a lot of neat touches like that map through out the boat.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Cool expresso machine and fresh baked cookies. How great. Your table buddies sound nice.



It was great!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> I've always wanted to try fry green tomatoes since watching the movie. One of my favorite movies/books. Your dinner looks wonderful. I love beef and halibut.



I've had fried green tomatoes and they weren't my favorite, but the meat and fish were fantastic! 



afwdwfan said:


> I can see why! It looks amazing!



Very quaint and the bed was very comfy!



afwdwfan said:


> What? A key? How does it work????



I know pretty soon no one is going to know how to use them!



afwdwfan said:


> I'm sorry, but you can't do stairs so in the event of a real fire or hull beach, you're screwed. Thanks for sailing with us!



Actually they said that in the event of a real emergency crew members would come for her and help her down the stairs and get her to safety. They just didn't feel the need to reenact carrying her down the stairs.



afwdwfan said:


> Well, at least you got out there and did some good exploration of the boat right away!



Yeah it just turns out that what became my favorite bar was just down the hall on the same level as our room. 



afwdwfan said:


> I laugh, but I'm right there with you. They're only fun if you can beat them without having to erase anything.



I like a challenge and all, but there's a fine line between a challenge and frustration. 



afwdwfan said:


> Sounds like you need to befriend them and take a trip to South Africa.



Well Nigel did give us his business card. I owe them an email.



EJ4Disney said:


> OH Alison, I am loving this!
> 
> Now that Lent is over I have a LOT more time I can play. Your trip report was the first one I wanted to catch up on. LOVE IT!!



Well I'm honored that I was the first one you caught up on!



EJ4Disney said:


> So sorry you fell. Dang. The boat is beautiful. I know you are home now but I can't wait for the next update.



I'm glad I recovered from the fall. Actually when I read this for the first time I wasn't quite home but in the airport waiting to board the flight.


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

I might stay with the romantic view I have then of fried green tomotoes! 

One other thing I meant to say was I was wondering ( please forgive my ignorance I have never done river cruise ) what position in the river does your boat sail? Are you close to one river bank or more in the middle? if more on one side like a road system are you far from the bank of the river? I've been thinking about that! Is there a river boat etiquette with other boats! Like you sail down the left or the right. Sorry if that's a stupid question.


----------



## franandaj

IowaTater said:


> I don't know why but this makes me think of this:



It was a much more mild mannered pig.



IowaTater said:


> Oh, so pretty! I love that cabinet. It reminds me of my grandmother's old wardrobe she had growing up.



This was just a dresser though, the top compartment was just a small one foot by 18 inch compartment behind glass and the rest were all drawers, but it worked well for all our clothes.



IowaTater said:


> That's do nice that you had stuff in common with your tablemates. I'm always worried about awkwardness when I'm seated with people I don't know.



We can usually find something to talk about with tablemates, but these were particularly friendly ones.  At least the two from this last night.



dolphingirl47 said:


> The ship looks rather regal.



It sure was!



dolphingirl47 said:


> That cabin looks absolutely amazing. I love the old-fashioned look.



It was very homey and easy to relax in.



dolphingirl47 said:


> How nice that you ended up with an almost private balcony. It does look very nice.



I'm not one who necessarily enjoys striking up a conversation with everyone who walks by, so for me it was perfect.



dolphingirl47 said:


> What a pain. I am glad that it turned up shortly afterwards.



Yeah, after I ran up three fights of steps and to the back of the boat!



dolphingirl47 said:


> That seems a strange way of doing things.



Well everyone on our deck went to the front of the boat and descended the staircase to the main deck.  If Fran had gone there, by the time she started to descend the staircase, the rest of the people would have been coming back up and just trampled her.  In the event of an emergency, someone would have helped her down the steps.



dolphingirl47 said:


> This looks really spectacular.



Everything about the ship was very special, made me feel like royalty.



dolphingirl47 said:


> The public spaces all look really nice and interesting.



They were all very elegant, but not so much so that they were uncomfortable.



dolphingirl47 said:


> That would have been a serious temptation for us and the coffee machine looks great.



I probably got a coffee, almost every day, and we probably hit the cookies as much.  I stopped taking pictures every time I grabbed some!



dolphingirl47 said:


> I love those photos.



Thank you.



dolphingirl47 said:


> It is nice that you had already met them. Dinner looked lovely.



I didn't recognize them at first until Jenny asked me if I had ever located whatever it was that I mentioned to them I was looking for.



dolphingirl47 said:


> Nice that you had something in common.



Yes, we actually had quite a bit in common.



pkondz said:


> Wardrobe malfunction coming up on my TR's next update...



Uh-oh  



pkondz said:


> Love those stacks.



They're even retractable.



pkondz said:


> So is the ship called the American Queen? Or is that the company name?



The ship is the American Queen and the company is the American Queen Steamboat Company. They have another smaller ship out in Washington and Oregon called the American Empress.



pkondz said:


> Love the furniture!



It was very quaint.



pkondz said:


> Of which you did nothing to correct them.



Well, I might not have said, "Yes it's all private" but that's what they seemed to take away because most of the time they left.



pkondz said:


> What is this "key" thing you speak of?



Oh come on!  You're as old as I am, you can't have forgotten...wait? what were we talking about?



pkondz said:


> Not too difficult to manage.



It was nice and we didn't even get trampled like at the Disney ones.



pkondz said:


> Cool! I've never heard one IRL.



It was L - O - U - D ! ! ! ! !



pkondz said:


> Did anyone play the piano while you were aboard?



Not that piano, but they had plenty of entertainers on board who played in the different lounges.



pkondz said:


> Gorgeous.
> But then again, you can apply that to the entire ship, it seems.



Yes, and a more in depth tour coming in the next update.



pkondz said:


> Hence my earlier question about the ship's name.
> Or was this the original that your ship was based on?



The ship is based on the Delta Queen, who is in dry dock awaiting a special dispensation from Congress to allow a ship with a wooden frame to travel on the rivers.



pkondz said:


> You get many gentlemen callers wearing swords?



No but I bet my in laws who we inherited it from did!



pkondz said:


> I'd be all over that... all the time.



We were all over it more than we should have been.



pkondz said:


> OMG! Is that Yogi with a picnic basket?????



  



pkondz said:


> Huh! What are the odds?



Well there were 350 people on board, if you figure roughly half are couples (pairs traveling together), I'd say 2 in 174 or 1 in 87.



pkondz said:


> Looks like it. Yum. Want.



It was very good!



Steppesister said:


> Just settling in after my own trip and the first week of school. I had NO idea they made luxury paddle wheel ships like that! Very nice accommodations and meals looks like! They seemed very accommodating to bring your wine in time. I'll mention this experience to my parents- they may want to give it a try living so close.



This boat was built in 1995, but the original company who it was built for went out of business.  I believe it began running again in 2008 under the AQSC.  They have departures out of all sorts of cities along the river.  They could even to Tennessee to Chattanooga or vice versa. We looked at booking one of those for October 2017.  One is a Civil War Cruise and stops at lots of famous battle fields.



rentayenta said:


> Yay for good tablemates! Double yay for good tablemates who imbibe.



It did make for a fun table!



rentayenta said:


> Your first dinner on the ship looks delicious but whats that red thing on the asparagus? Looks like a blanched and skinned tomato.



It was a blanched and unskinned tomato.  I had to look at the picture again and it still has the skin on it.



rentayenta said:


> The ship looks fabulous as does your cabin.
> 
> Hope you didn't stay too sore the whole trip.



I tried to work that out starting the next day.



ACDSNY said:


> The song has been going through my head the whole time I've been reading this.
> 
> The boat looks lovely and all your pics are making me want to take a trip like this someday.



You guys would probably like it, just skip 3-4 Disney cruises to fit it into your budget.  



dizneeat said:


> All caught up again!
> I thought with you on vacation I was in the clear not to fall too far behind while on vacation too. Well, seems that you were FAR busier than I was and I was 5 pages behind.



I'm glad you're back and caught up.  I just don't want to get too far behind with the WDW trip only weeks away now!



dizneeat said:


> Comments:
> Wow! What a long travel day and getting a room at the hotel sounded painful. Loved your breakfast plate on the plane though!



It was long and painful.  We learned a valuable lesson about travel time.



dizneeat said:


> Boy, what a nasty fall. I was glad to hear that you were able to get up and go on with your vacation, but that could have been the end of it. Your knee looks VERY painful and I can imagine what your hip and elbow looked and felt like.



I know.  I was thinking for a few seconds, ugh, I haven't even got on the boat and here I am screwing it up already!



dizneeat said:


> Your room and the ship look lovely! And how funny that the people you chatted with were your tablemates - small world. (Just needed a Disney touch here).



Thanks for the Disney touch!



dizneeat said:


> I am sure there was more to comment on, but I can't remember now. You may NOW go on with your TR.



I'm glad that I have your blessing to move on.  I need to scan some more Navigators first.


----------



## ACDSNY

Yikes, I have to skip 3 or 4 DCL cruises.


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> They're even retractable.



Cool! But I suppose that makes sense.



franandaj said:


> The ship is the American Queen and the company is the American Queen Steamboat Company. They have another smaller ship out in Washington and Oregon called the American Empress.



Check.



franandaj said:


> Oh come on! You're as old as I am, you can't have forgotten...wait? what were we talking about?




Actually, whenever I'm at a hotel and the stupid card stops working,
I usually say (out loud) "I miss keys."



franandaj said:


> It was L - O - U - D ! ! ! ! !



OKAY!



franandaj said:


> Not that piano, but they had plenty of entertainers on board who played in the different lounges.



Playing period appropriate music, I hope?



franandaj said:


> Yes, and a more in depth tour coming in the next update.



Great!



franandaj said:


> The ship is based on the Delta Queen, who is in dry dock awaiting a special dispensation from Congress to allow a ship with a wooden frame to travel on the rivers.



Oh? Because of contamination?



franandaj said:


> No but I bet my in laws who we inherited it from did!







franandaj said:


> We were all over it more than we should have been.



Calories don't count on vacation.



franandaj said:


> Well there were 350 people on board, if you figure roughly half are couples (pairs traveling together), I'd say 2 in 174 or 1 in 87.



You actually did the math!


----------



## DVCjj

I really love your trip reports and this was no exception.  Your pictures are always wonderful, give so much insight and your writing is honest and fun.

Thank you for letting us come along on the journey.


----------



## franandaj

Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> I might stay with the romantic view I have then of fried green tomotoes!



Who knows?  You might like them.  They have a crispy outside and a sort of tougher inside as the tomatoes are still not ripe.  That's why they're still green.  Some people love them!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> One other thing I meant to say was I was wondering ( please forgive my ignorance I have never done river cruise ) what position in the river does your boat sail? Are you close to one river bank or more in the middle? if more on one side like a road system are you far from the bank of the river? I've been thinking about that! Is there a river boat etiquette with other boats! Like you sail down the left or the right. Sorry if that's a stupid question.



That is not a dumb question and I will be addressing some of that in the next update.  If it's not clear after that update, ask me what you would like to know that I didn't already cover.



ACDSNY said:


> Yikes, I have to skip 3 or 4 DCL cruises.



You don't have to do anything, but as far as pricing goes, this cruise cost what 4 DCL Dream 4-night cruises would have cost (or pretty close).  On the other hand, our DCL Alaskan cruise costs about 80% of what this one cost.  The thing is the ship's registry is not Bahamas. I got talking to a bartender on the boat and she is not on any contract like the DCL employees.  She is a regular employee who gets her paycheck deposited in her bank every other week, gets benefits and earns a living American wage, which is more than you can say for the folks who work on DCL.


----------



## franandaj

Greenville, MS

Let’s start off this day with some show and tell. Here is the layout of the boat.





Here is the map of where we’re going.





Here is our River Times for the Day


















At every stop there was a Hop On/Hop Off Bus and they always gave you a map of the route and a page with a paragraph highlighting the stops.













So now that you have all the information that we had to plan our day, let’s get started!

I woke up somewhat early the next morning.  Because of our placement on the boat, I didn’t think we were going to be seeing any sunrises, however, I didn’t take into account how the river meanders and the boat is turned in many which ways at any given time.  So I lucked out with catching the sunrise, just as it crested over the trees.









Throughout the cruise debris like this would float by the ship randomly.





After my sunrise photos, I got dressed (no funny ideas there, they let you use a complimentary bath robe while you’re staying), and decided to get some cappuccino.





We headed down to breakfast around 7:30AM, and we were seated with a nice couple from Houston Texas.  What was neat about this voyage was that they sat you with other folks at breakfast and lunch and you got to meet a bunch of different people on the trip.  If you wanted to sit alone they did have tables for two on the side of the room.





Instead of a served breakfast, we opted for the buffet.  There were two parts to the buffet, the cold items… 

















Under these domes you could find, scrambled eggs, eggs that were scrambled with something extra (varied daily) bacon, sausage, potatoes, biscuits & gravy and oatmeal.





We could have really pigged out if we wanted.  But all day yesterday we felt really bloated, so we didn’t want to repeat that and ate a very light breakfast. Fran’s plate





My plate, well the bagel and cream cheese was for Fran.





At 8:30AM there was a talk by the Riverlorian in the Grand Saloon.  This was a fascinating talk about the history of Steamships on the Mississippi.  













He told us about the barges and how important they are to commerce on the river.  They transport raw cargo.  You’ll never find TVs on a barge, nor will you find a “Walmart” barge. What you will find is grain, coal, seed, gravel, things that require processing.  And many of the plants that process the cargo can be found along the banks of the Mississippi.

He also explained about how the Military Corps of engineers structures the river and has done so since the early 1800s.  Like in the 1800s before the Civil War, there was so much silt build up in St. Louis that ships were not able to dock there any longer.  An Engineer named Robert E Lee, came up with a plan of dumping rocks and dirt at a key location to create a berm which would the route the water in a particular direction.  It ended up changing the current, washing away all the silt deposits in St. Louis and the port reopened. I thought of some engineers out there who might have enjoyed this part of the discussion.

We also learned that we are on a boat, not a ship. If the boat can be placed on a larger vessel, the larger vessel is the ship and the smaller is a boat.

He told us about right of way on the river.  Boats going down stream have the right of way and when they pass barges or other vessels on the river, the downstream boat will signal to the barge captain on which side he intends to pass.  Because we didn’t encounter a whole lot of river traffic until we neared the end of our journey, the boat was mainly able to ride right down the middle of the river most of the time.

Another thing that they also talked about was the river level.  It varies all the time, Spring is heavier than Fall.  Right now we are experiencing unusually high river levels.  You may have heard of the flooding in other parts of the Mississippi Valley.  The tributaries are really filling the river and raising the level far above normal, which you will see in photos to come.

After the talk, we went back to the room.  Fran laid down to rest.  We wouldn’t reach our destination until around noon, so I took off to explore the boat.

*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

First I walked forward on our Deck (Deck 2) through the Mark Twain Room and past the Men’s and Women’s parlors and out the French doors.  I was surprised to find only staircases, a grand one down and one on either side going up.  So I decided to go up.  





Deck 3 Forward is called the Front Porch.  It was windy that day, but I can see the appeal of this area on a nice day.





I’m not sure if you can tell how windy it is from the flag here.





The QS Restaurant here is also called the Front Porch.  They were cleaning up breakfast when I arrived, but that was OK, I wasn’t hungry.









And a Soft Serve Machine!





Ice cream cones and toppings!









This is where I found the dinner menus for the main restaurant and the Front Porch restaurant.  I guess you can compare and see if there is anything you like on the menu for the evening and if not, you can opt out for the QS.  Either that or if you don’t like eating at 8PM, this place wraps up service at 8PM.  We prefer late dining, so we never ended up having dinner here.









This hallway goes down the center of the third floor to the elevators.  One nice thing that I haven’t mentioned about the boat is that it was small enough that Fran only needed her scooter when we planned to leave the boat.  She was able to walk to the dining room, the Grand Saloon, and the Front Porch Café.





I climbed to the fourth floor. The only thig up here besides staterooms is the Chart Room.  But first I checked the front of the ship.






















The Riverlorian talked about these green markers in the river signaling the flow of traffic and right of way.  I was thrilled that I got this one in the picture.






Then went back inside the Chart Room.  

















And then I headed up to the 5th Deck.  You can see the Calliope on the top of the deck.









I looked down on the Paddle Wheel.





Then I went up to the top deck where they have a pool, gym and sun deck.  





















*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

While up on Deck 6 I noticed this little “park”, keep this in mind it is important later.









Here’s one of those barges that the Riverlorian mentioned in his talk.









I headed back down to Deck 4.

While I was on my tour of the ship I took many pictures of various things, the unloading of this barge seemed fascinating to me. A gentleman from the crew was standing near me and explained that they unloaded it from front to back and then when it was pretty much empty, they ran a little Bobcat around inside to get the rest of the material. He guessed that this barge had fertilizer of some sort. 













All throughout the boat was artwork depicting Riverboats.





Here’s the Elevators, while I took the stairs on this day, traveling with Fran I used the elevators mostly.





On my way back to our room, I remembered that in the talk that morning, the guide told us that from the Engine Room Bar you could access the Engine room and he suggested that you go down there while the ship was in motion so that you could see things at work.













Here is the paddle wheel from the second floor.





And more barges





I really don’t anything about what was going on down here, other than the hydraulics that caused the wheel to spin.  It’s mostly for show, the ship is powered by 20th century technology (it was built in 1995)

























When I got back to the room we were approaching our landing point.  But I thought I would show you our lived in room.






I’ll wrap up this chapter here and be back as soon as I can!


----------



## jedijill

Catching up!  

So glad I got to meet up with your before your Riverboat trip!  I've got to get my trip report started soon.   I have several visitors at my house this week and a new resident so I've been busy!.

The boat really looks nice.  I'm excited to hear more about the trip...a very unique adventure!

Jill in CO


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> Let’s start off this day with some show and tell. Here is the layout of the boat.



I didn't realize there were that many decks.



franandaj said:


> Here is the map of where we’re going.



One word... want.



franandaj said:


> At every stop there was a Hop On/Hop Off Bus



Love those. We used them a lot in Paris.



franandaj said:


> So now that you have all the information that we had to plan our day, let’s get started!



Okay!



franandaj said:


> Throughout the cruise debris like this would float by the ship randomly.



Good thing, too. If you see debris moving purposefully, watch out.



franandaj said:


> After my sunrise photos, I got dressed (no funny ideas there, they let you use a complimentary bath robe while you’re staying),



There goes that train of thought.



franandaj said:


> Instead of a served breakfast, we opted for the buffet.



I would too.



franandaj said:


> Under these domes you could find, scrambled eggs, eggs that were scrambled with something extra (varied daily) bacon, sausage, potatoes, biscuits & gravy and oatmeal.



Yum...
Except for the biscuits and gravy.
We don't do that up here and... well... the "gravy" I've seen turned me right off.



franandaj said:


> At 8:30AM there was a talk by the Riverlorian in the Grand Saloon.



"Riverlorian"?
Interesting term.



franandaj said:


> This was a fascinating talk about the history of Steamships on the Mississippi.



I'd love to have heard that.



franandaj said:


> Like in the 1800s before the Civil War, there was so much silt build up in St. Louis that ships were not able to dock there any longer. An Engineer named Robert E Lee, came up with a plan of dumping rocks and dirt at a key location to create a berm which would the route the water in a particular direction. It ended up changing the current, washing away all the silt deposits in St. Louis and the port reopened. I thought of some engineers out there who might have enjoyed this part of the discussion.



I'm not an engineer, but I do find it interesting.



franandaj said:


> We also learned that we are on a boat, not a ship.



What??



franandaj said:


> If the boat can be placed on a larger vessel, the larger vessel is the ship and the smaller is a boat.



Wait... so what's the ship that the American Queen sits on?



franandaj said:


> He told us about right of way on the river. Boats going down stream have the right of way and when they pass barges or other vessels on the river



Didn't know that either.



franandaj said:


> Another thing that they also talked about was the river level. It varies all the time, Spring is heavier than Fall.



Makes sense. Winter melt.



franandaj said:


> Deck 3 Forward is called the Front Porch. It was windy that day, but I can see the appeal of this area on a nice day.







franandaj said:


> I’m not sure if you can tell how windy it is from the flag here.



Now that you pointed it out.
Also the waves.



franandaj said:


> Ice cream cones and toppings!



Yep!



franandaj said:


> One nice thing that I haven’t mentioned about the boat is that it was small enough that Fran only needed her scooter when we planned to leave the boat. She was able to walk to the dining room, the Grand Saloon, and the Front Porch Café.



She must've liked that.



franandaj said:


>



Love the bell.



franandaj said:


> You can see the Calliope on the top of the deck.



I didn't picture it like that at all.



franandaj said:


>



Small (of course). Did anyone ever use it?



franandaj said:


> While up on Deck 6 I noticed this little “park”, keep this in mind it is important later.



okey dokey.



franandaj said:


> Here’s one of those barges that the Riverlorian mentioned in his talk.



Bigger than I thought it would be.



franandaj said:


> they unloaded it from front to back and then when it was pretty much empty, they ran a little Bobcat around inside to get the rest of the material.



huh.



franandaj said:


> On my way back to our room, I remembered that in the talk that morning, the guide told us that from the Engine Room Bar you could access the Engine room and he suggested that you go down there while the ship was in motion so that you could see things at work.



No way! Cool!



franandaj said:


>



"Why are you pointing that camera at me?"



franandaj said:


> I’ll wrap up this chapter here and be back as soon as I can!



Can't wait!


----------



## franandaj

pkondz said:


> Cool! But I suppose that makes sense.



There will be slightly more on that in a later chapter.



pkondz said:


> Actually, whenever I'm at a hotel and the stupid card stops working,
> I usually say (out loud) "I miss keys."



At this point the only thing that I use keys for is to start the car and open the door to the cat food room.  Everything else is keyless entry or remote.  I was a little thrown off by the whole key thing.



pkondz said:


> Playing period appropriate music, I hope?



Well there was one night they had Dixieland Music playing in the Captain's Lounge (outside the main dining room).  Other than that they played 30's-50's Jazz, and in the Engine Room Bar they guy was playing piano, and he was playing stuff like Copacabana, Fleetwood Mac from their album Rumours, and other songs from the mid 70s.



pkondz said:


> Oh? Because of contamination?



No something to do with the Safety at Sea act requiring all vessels to have a non wooden frame. I think for fire safety. For years Congress made a special dispensation for her to run but in 2008 that stopped. Something was pushed through Congress in 2013 and in 2015 she went into refurbishment. It has something to do with not allowing more than 50 passengers per night stay on board. Hopefully when she is refurbished they will grant another dispensation to run on the Mississippi. 



pkondz said:


> Calories don't count on vacation.



Only if you walk enough to counteract them!



pkondz said:


> You actually did the math!



Well of course I did! I'm a math geek!



DVCjj said:


> I really love your trip reports and this was no exception.  Your pictures are always wonderful, give so much insight and your writing is honest and fun.
> 
> Thank you for letting us come along on the journey.



Thank you very much! There's plenty more to go on the bonus material! 



jedijill said:


> Catching up!
> 
> So glad I got to meet up with your before your Riverboat trip!  I've got to get my trip report started soon.   I have several visitors at my house this week and a new resident so I've been busy!.
> 
> The boat really looks nice.  I'm excited to hear more about the trip...a very unique adventure!
> 
> Jill in CO



We had a great time that day even though it rained!  I can't wait to read your TR!   Definitely more unique stuff coming up, not so adventuresome, but educational.


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> At this point the only thing that I use keys for is to start the car



Not for much longer...



franandaj said:


> Well there was one night they had Dixieland Music playing in the Captain's Lounge (outside the main dining room). Other than that they played 30's-50's Jazz,



I'm okay with all of that.



franandaj said:


> and in the Engine Room Bar they guy was playing piano, and he was playing stuff like Copacabana, Fleetwood Mac from their album Rumours, and other songs from the mid 70s.



And I'm not okay with that.
Talk about ruining the mood.



franandaj said:


> No something to do with the Safety at Sea act requiring all vessels to have a non wooden frame. I think for fire safety.



Ah.



franandaj said:


> Well of course I did! I'm a math geek!



 I should never have doubted you'd do it.


----------



## dizneeat

*Thanks for the tour of the ship and the map at the beginning. Looks different to the cruise ships we have been on.  Living close to a big river here in Europe we are used to seeing ships and barges, but it never really came to mind so much than now when I was reading about it in your report. 

Love all the photos (guess I said that before) and especially the one of your "lived in" room. *


----------



## Dis_Yoda

The set up for the boat is really fun!   Thank you for the tour.  That's great Fran was able to get around without her scooter!


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Great update. I love the idea of hop on hop off tours they work so well. Lots of useful talks on the navigator. The cocktail of the day is not a bad cost at $6.75 I felt.

Good shore excursions I noticed there was 'premium' ones. Are the standard included? 

Greenville looks an interesting place. 3rd one named so in the county wow. The seats in your talk look very nice! I notice a lady can't resist playing with her phone. 

Thank you for the info on downstream right of way and that you were mostly able to use the middle. Great photo of the green makers! 

I like how wide the hallways are. One photo has a staff member with a cart and plenty of room to pass. On The Dream in my wheelchair or scooter if I see a cart forget it! No way I am passing. One time in my wheelchair the CM insisted I had room. I removed quite a chunk of skin from my knuckles.

Soft serve machine. Nice dinning options. Something for everyone. I made the mistake on NCL Pride of America calling it a boat to the Captain and he was really offended! It is a ship madam! Then gave me the distinction...

Look forward to hearing more. Interesting about the cargo that the barges transport. Similar to our old canal system. It is used for lesiure only now. But that is the kind of cargo they transported. 

Oh my isn't the river long from your map! So many states also. Interesting to know the distance you cover. Also the speed the 'boat' makes. Although one never did understand knots!


----------



## ljcrochet

the river boat cruise looks amazing!


----------



## rentayenta

Catching up too.

LOVE the porch swing. How fun! The ship is really quite lovely. 

Happy you got to experience a sunrise. 

Really enjoyed the photo tour. As much as I adore Disney, I am enjoying reading about something new.


----------



## afwdwfan

franandaj said:


> Because of our placement on the boat, I didn’t think we were going to be seeing any sunrises, however, I didn’t take into account how the river meanders and the boat is turned in many which ways at any given time. So I lucked out with catching the sunrise, just as it crested over the trees.


Cool!  I'm glad it worked out.  You got some good pictures!



franandaj said:


> We headed down to breakfast around 7:30AM, and we were seated with a nice couple from Houston Texas. What was neat about this voyage was that they sat you with other folks at breakfast and lunch and you got to meet a bunch of different people on the trip.


That's a nice change of pace. 



franandaj said:


> This was a fascinating talk about the history of Steamships on the Mississippi.


 I think that would be really fascinating to hear. 



franandaj said:


> What you will find is grain, coal, seed, gravel, things that require processing. And many of the plants that process the cargo can be found along the banks of the Mississippi.


  Even 100 miles from the nearest tributary (the Ohio), we are affected by the river having too much water, not enough water, barge availability or lack thereof.  Even today the Mississippi River is a hugely vital key to the ag economy. 



franandaj said:


> We also learned that we are on a boat, not a ship. If the boat can be placed on a larger vessel, the larger vessel is the ship and the smaller is a boat.


Hmmm... interesting.  So did they have any information on the larger vessel that this one can be placed on?



franandaj said:


> He told us about right of way on the river. Boats going down stream have the right of way and when they pass barges or other vessels on the river, the downstream boat will signal to the barge captain on which side he intends to pass. Because we didn’t encounter a whole lot of river traffic until we neared the end of our journey, the boat was mainly able to ride right down the middle of the river most of the time.


I thought it was he who has the biggest rudder has the right of way. 



franandaj said:


> And a Soft Serve Machine!


That's all you need right there!



franandaj said:


> This is where I found the dinner menus for the main restaurant and the Front Porch restaurant. I guess you can compare and see if there is anything you like on the menu for the evening and if not, you can opt out for the QS. Either that or if you don’t like eating at 8PM, this place wraps up service at 8PM. We prefer late dining, so we never ended up having dinner here.


Ok, so for this river cruise, is food handled the same way as a Disney cruise would be?  Is it part of the cost of the package no matter where you eat?  All meals provided or just dinner and breakfast? 

Not that a river cruise is on the immediate horizon for us, but it definitely looks like something I'd enjoy sometime and I'm kind of curious now.



franandaj said:


> While I was on my tour of the ship I took many pictures of various things, the unloading of this barge seemed fascinating to me. A gentleman from the crew was standing near me and explained that they unloaded it from front to back and then when it was pretty much empty, they ran a little Bobcat around inside to get the rest of the material. He guessed that this barge had fertilizer of some sort.


  It is fascinating to watch.  I've seen more of them loaded than unloaded though.  I'm kind of surprised that they'd completely empty It from front to back though.  I know of a corn barge that took on water recently because somebody screwed up and loaded it unevenly and they ended up with one end under water and the other end out of the water. 



franandaj said:


> On my way back to our room, I remembered that in the talk that morning, the guide told us that from the Engine Room Bar you could access the Engine room and he suggested that you go down there while the ship was in motion so that you could see things at work.


Cool! 



franandaj said:


> I really don’t anything about what was going on down here, other than the hydraulics that caused the wheel to spin. It’s mostly for show, the ship is powered by 20th century technology (it was built in 1995)


What?  1995?  I assumed this was an older boat that was refurbished and repurposed.  Either way, it is an interesting boat.


----------



## Leshaface

franandaj said:


>



This is so cool and such a neat way to see different places (and States!) without having to drive!



franandaj said:


>



And love that they give some history on the places you're stopping at.  



franandaj said:


> I got dressed (no funny ideas there, they let you use a complimentary bath robe while you’re staying)







franandaj said:


> What was neat about this voyage was that they sat you with other folks at breakfast and lunch and you got to meet a bunch of different people on the trip. If you wanted to sit alone they did have tables for two on the side of the room.



This is something I would definitely like as well.  



franandaj said:


>





franandaj said:


>



I am QUITE disappointed with your plates.  Totally unlike you guys.



franandaj said:


> We also learned that we are on a boat, not a ship. If the boat can be placed on a larger vessel, the larger vessel is the ship and the smaller is a boat.



Ah that makes sense!



franandaj said:


>



Oh man, i'd be here all day if I could with a book or my computer! 



franandaj said:


> This hallway goes down the center of the third floor to the elevators. One nice thing that I haven’t mentioned about the boat is that it was small enough that Fran only needed her scooter when we planned to leave the boat. She was able to walk to the dining room, the Grand Saloon, and the Front Porch Café.



That is perfect! 

Also, not sure if you mentioned this or not, but did you find this was more geared to mid age, older groups?  Any kids?


----------



## dhorner233

Yay!!!  finally caught up again!! Love your pictures, as usual! It's a beautiful boat. Steam boat? What's the difference between a ship and a boat? Did I miss that? Mark Twain would be impressed I'm sure! 

How many passengers? Was it a full cruise? One fancy restaurant, one casual? 

Thanks for taking us along!


----------



## franandaj

pkondz said:


> I didn't realize there were that many decks.



Yup! There were six all together.  The American Empress only has four decks.  That one goes out by @Steppesister's way.



pkondz said:


> One word... want.



They were even selling tickets for a trip all the way from Minneapolis/St. Paul all the way down to New Orleans.  23 nights.



pkondz said:


> Love those. We used them a lot in Paris.



What was even nicer about these was that they were scooter friendly too!



pkondz said:


> Good thing, too. If you see debris moving purposefully, watch out.



Good point.



pkondz said:


> There goes that train of thought.



See, I had to nip that one in the bud.



pkondz said:


> Yum...
> Except for the biscuits and gravy.
> We don't do that up here and... well... the "gravy" I've seen turned me right off.



Yeah, but you put gravy on french fries.  It's kinda similar in a roundabout way.



pkondz said:


> "Riverlorian"?
> Interesting term.



I think they made it up.



pkondz said:


> I'd love to have heard that.



It was great.  I would have loved to hear his other talks, but we were always somewhere else off the boat.



pkondz said:


> I'm not an engineer, but I do find it interesting.



There was much more interesting stuff, but I just can't remember it all, however the next day, I get a little more into it.



pkondz said:


> Wait... so what's the ship that the American Queen sits on?



I'm going to cover that in the next update since so many people asked, but I think it was an aircraft carrier was the example they used.



pkondz said:


> Now that you pointed it out.
> Also the waves.



Yeah, we had an interesting combination of weather.



pkondz said:


> She must've liked that.



The best part was not having to worry about where to park the scooter.  Most of the walkways were so small it would have been a real pain to get around with it.  On the Disney ships it's hard enough to navigate with one and they are huge in comparison!



pkondz said:


> Small (of course). Did anyone ever use it?



I doubt it, there was only one day it really warmed up to marginal pool weather.



pkondz said:


> "Why are you pointing that camera at me?"



Yeah, pretty much.  But then often that's her normal look.



pkondz said:


> Not for much longer...



I know.  I remember the first time we were given a rental car with keyless ignition we were stumped.  The car was running when we got it and we stopped for dinner after leaving the airport.  We had to call the rental car company to find out "where to put the key to start it?" When we got back in the car from dinner.



pkondz said:


> And I'm not okay with that.
> Talk about ruining the mood.



What made it worse for me was that I knew we were on an Old Fogies cruise. Then he starts playing those songs.  I would have been fine if they played Elvis, or Fats Domino songs, or stuff from the 50s, but when he is playing songs from my childhood and I realized that I had now reached the target demographic on an Old Fogie Cruise.  Well that just made me sad.



dizneeat said:


> Thanks for the tour of the ship and the map at the beginning. Looks different to the cruise ships we have been on.



Having been on many of the cruise ships that you have been on, I was a little concerned with what I was going think about this one.  Luckily it was a lot of fun!



dizneeat said:


> Living close to a big river here in Europe we are used to seeing ships and barges, but it never really came to mind so much than now when I was reading about it in your report.



I had never seen river barges before.  I was glad that I at least went to that one talk and learned a few things, so I would know what I was seeing out there.



dizneeat said:


> Love all the photos (guess I said that before) and especially the one of your "lived in" room.



Thanks!  It really does look different from the nice untouched room photos!  We know to move into a room!


----------



## franandaj

Dis_Yoda said:


> The set up for the boat is really fun!   Thank you for the tour.  That's great Fran was able to get around without her scooter!



It was really nice for her, although she still did spend a good amount of time napping.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Great update. I love the idea of hop on hop off tours they work so well. Lots of useful talks on the navigator. The cocktail of the day is not a bad cost at $6.75 I felt.



The cocktail of the day price was usually good, but I never really liked any of them, they were all too traditional cocktails for me.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Good shore excursions I noticed there was 'premium' ones. Are the standard included?



Everything on the Hop On/Hop Off bus was included.  Every day there was at least one Premium Excursion, sometimes two and those were usually $59pp but there was one that was an all day long trip for $119.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Greenville looks an interesting place. 3rd one named so in the county wow. The seats in your talk look very nice! I notice a lady can't resist playing with her phone.



I wouldn't know about Greenville.    As you will soon find out.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Thank you for the info on downstream right of way and that you were mostly able to use the middle. Great photo of the green makers!



I wish I remembered more of what he said, it was all very interesting.  I didn't take notes and photos like at D23.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> I like how wide the hallways are. One photo has a staff member with a cart and plenty of room to pass. On The Dream in my wheelchair or scooter if I see a cart forget it! No way I am passing. One time in my wheelchair the CM insisted I had room. I removed quite a chunk of skin from my knuckles.



Actually these hallways might have been a little smaller than DCL, but I think so were the carts.  Sorry about your scraped hand.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Soft serve machine. Nice dinning options. Something for everyone. I made the mistake on NCL Pride of America calling it a boat to the Captain and he was really offended! It is a ship madam! Then gave me the distinction...



Ooops!  You never want to offend the Captain!  



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Look forward to hearing more. Interesting about the cargo that the barges transport. Similar to our old canal system. It is used for lesiure only now. But that is the kind of cargo they transported.
> 
> Oh my isn't the river long from your map! So many states also. Interesting to know the distance you cover. Also the speed the 'boat' makes. Although one never did understand knots!



Interesting your cargo system is no longer in use.  The river is much longer, we only traversed the lower third or quarter.



ljcrochet said:


> the river boat cruise looks amazing!



Thanks!  I'm glad you're enjoying the tour!



rentayenta said:


> Catching up too.
> 
> LOVE the porch swing. How fun! The ship is really quite lovely.



I can see the appeal of doing a late spring or early summer cruise now.



rentayenta said:


> Happy you got to experience a sunrise.
> 
> Really enjoyed the photo tour. As much as I adore Disney, I am enjoying reading about something new.



The sunrise was an added bonus!  I know, I love my Disney trips, but there is something exciting to going out and experiencing history and other neat stuff.



afwdwfan said:


> Cool! I'm glad it worked out. You got some good pictures!



At least I got one Sunrise in!



afwdwfan said:


> That's a nice change of pace.



It was fun meeting people from all over the country, at least for breakfast and lunch.  Dinner was Britain and colonies!



afwdwfan said:


> I think that would be really fascinating to hear.



It was, I would have liked to attended more of them if we had been on the boat.



afwdwfan said:


> Even 100 miles from the nearest tributary (the Ohio), we are affected by the river having too much water, not enough water, barge availability or lack thereof. Even today the Mississippi River is a hugely vital key to the ag economy.



That's really interesting to note.  I always enjoyed your "farming lessons" in your TR.  Interesting how far the reach of the river goes.



afwdwfan said:


> Hmmm... interesting. So did they have any information on the larger vessel that this one can be placed on?



I think it was an aircraft carrier, but more on that in the next chapter.



afwdwfan said:


> I thought it was he who has the biggest rudder has the right of way.



  Good one!



afwdwfan said:


> That's all you need right there!



Well, unless you're somewhat lactose intolerant.  



afwdwfan said:


> Ok, so for this river cruise, is food handled the same way as a Disney cruise would be? Is it part of the cost of the package no matter where you eat? All meals provided or just dinner and breakfast?
> 
> Not that a river cruise is on the immediate horizon for us, but it definitely looks like something I'd enjoy sometime and I'm kind of curious now.



All meals are included.  And what I didn't realize (until the last night when our tablemates told us) was that they also had room service.  I should have known because we've ordered before on Disney ships.  There were a few meals we had in the QS place where I would have gladly taken room service instead.



afwdwfan said:


> It is fascinating to watch. I've seen more of them loaded than unloaded though. I'm kind of surprised that they'd completely empty It from front to back though. I know of a corn barge that took on water recently because somebody screwed up and loaded it unevenly and they ended up with one end under water and the other end out of the water.



Interesting.  It sure looked like that's how they were unloading this one.  In fact the front end was high out of the water since it was empty.  I wonder how that works so that the back doesn't submerge.



afwdwfan said:


> What? 1995? I assumed this was an older boat that was refurbished and repurposed. Either way, it is an interesting boat.



The boat it was based on is an older boat that is being refurbished and hopefully can go back into service, but this one was built specifically for the leisure cruise market.



Leshaface said:


> This is so cool and such a neat way to see different places (and States!) without having to drive!



It was.  Some of the places we stopped were really depressed little towns, but others had some really rich history to explore if you were into that.



Leshaface said:


> And love that they give some history on the places you're stopping at.



Especially since some of them were a little obscure.



Leshaface said:


> This is something I would definitely like as well.



We met quite a few different people throughout the week.  I'm glad I wrote it down while it was fresh in my mind because I would never remember otherwise.



Leshaface said:


> I am QUITE disappointed with your plates. Totally unlike you guys.



Don't worry, we will more than make up for it!



Leshaface said:


> Ah that makes sense!



A few more facts on this in the next update.



Leshaface said:


> Oh man, i'd be here all day if I could with a book or my computer!



Except it was really cold and windy that day.



Leshaface said:


> That is perfect!
> 
> Also, not sure if you mentioned this or not, but did you find this was more geared to mid age, older groups? Any kids?



It is definitely an Old Fogie type cruise.  There is absolutely nothing for kids to do on the ship and there wasn't one on our voyage.  Also the pricing is aimed at a mature, established clientele, unless you can get in on a 2 for 1 fare prices are pretty high.  It puts Disney pricing in a whole new light.



dhorner233 said:


> Yay!!!  finally caught up again!! Love your pictures, as usual! It's a beautiful boat. Steam boat? What's the difference between a ship and a boat? Did I miss that? Mark Twain would be impressed I'm sure!



I gave a brief description in the last update, but in the next one I covered it more in detail since so many people asked.



dhorner233 said:


> How many passengers? Was it a full cruise? One fancy restaurant, one casual?
> 
> Thanks for taking us along!



I also covered the passenger information, it was not a full cruise, maybe about 75-80% full.  Not bad at all.

There was the Main Dining Room (somewhat fancy, but not formal) and the Front Porch Cafe (totally casual, self service).


----------



## franandaj

I don’t mean to be updating too fast for people to keep up, but if you’ve noticed my ticker, three weeks from today I’m going to be on a plane to Orlando. I’ve come to terms with the fact that I will not have completed this report, but I’m hoping that at least I have a good portion of it finished, so bear with me!

So I’m going to cover this here in the update since a couple people have asked.  The idea that we are on a boat and not a ship, some people have wondered what sort of ship could carry the boat?  Well they example that they used in the talk with the Riverlorian was an aircraft carrier.  However, I did some more research on the Internet (so it must be true) and other factors determining a ship vs boat is that boats normally travel on inland and protected waters while ships are usually out at sea. Something else that our stateroom host mentioned also was that they had 13-15 cabin stewards on the whole boat.  She said she worked on a cruise line once and there would be 13-15 cabin stewards just for one floor.

The boat had a capacity of about 420 passengers, but one of our bus drivers told us on one of the excursions that there were probably 350 or so on our voyage.  And to answer the question about the average age demographic. I counted approximately 10 people on our voyage who were either our age or younger.  There were no kids (well kids under 18), there were obviously families traveling together the but the kids were closer to our age or older.  I’m not a great judge of age, but most of the folks we sat with talked about their grandchildren, and some even proudly told us that they were approaching 80 years old. Fran was the only one with her own scooter, but there was at least one woman in a wheelchair, and she was a pushy old broad!

We learned at the talk this morning that with a river boat you have the option of docking, but if there is no dock, then the boat just pretty much grounds itself and puts down a gangway. I learned something about the process of this ship. They offer a hop on/hop off bus which follows the ship from town to town (by land of course). To board the bus, you need to get a ticket printed from a monitor outside the purses office. For the first busses of the day there are a limited number for each departure time, obviously as many as the bus can hold. When those tickets have been dispensed, that's it for that time slot. Pick another time slot. By the time I learned about this, 2PM was the earliest available bus departure. Around 11:00 it was apparent that we were going to arrive early. As we approached we thought this was the casino off to the side.





Here is where we are going to land.





Here we are grounding our boat at the landing.









I watched these guys do tie up the boat here so it didn't float away.













I thought this whirlpool created by the engines was pretty cool.









All tied up.





Our plan was to go to the casino. It looked pretty walkable/scootable to me, so really no bus ticket needed.





We let the first crowd get off the boat and board the bus and we headed out. They scanned your KTTW (or whatever they called it) and had tubs of cold water bottles ripe for the taking.  Most people went across Deck 2 and down the stairs to exit the boat, but with the scooter we needed to use the elevator, so we got to traverse the main deck obstacles.





Fran headed off over the pavement which was grooved and very bumpy, plus it was at a slant.





I stayed back and took some pictures of the boat.  They had this golf cart to shuttle people to the bus, if they couldn’t walk that far.





There was a guy from the Casino there offering free shuttles, and he approached me, but he had a car like a Ford Edge which I didn’t want to deal with taking the scooter apart.  He asked if we were going to the casino, and I said, “Yes, but I don’t think we can fit in your car.”

He said, “Well at least I’d like to give you these cards for $10 in Free Play.”

Well that was cool!

Here is a close up of our room and balcony





And one more of the boat.





On our way to the casino, we noticed more evidence of the high river level.  Notice the parking garage is completely flooded on at least one level.





Here is a better look.





We got our player’s club cards and looked at the Black Jack table.  Full.  OK, we’ll go play our $10 free (only good on slots anyways).  Of course we eventually blew through the $10 quickly and put some of our own money in the machine.  Their slots were really poor and I tried 4-5 different machines and kept just losing and losing.  I took my ticket and decided if I couldn’t play black jack I would keep my money.  So I went over and stood near the black jack table, after about 5 minutes, it was obvious that all the folks playing were regulars and all knew each other.  The pit boss asked me if I wanted to play, and I told her, “Yeah, but it’s all full.  Do you have another table opening up?”  They told me one would open at 2PM. It was 1:09.  I told this information to Fran and we decided if they didn’t want to take our money, we would take it back to the boat with us.  I cashed out my ticket and we rolled back over to the boat.

We arrived back just at the time when lunch was closing down and the Front Porch Café was on snack mode.  I do have to say for snacks, they do a pretty good job.  A fruit plate





(Not shown Cauliflower Salad), Rice Pilaf and Rotisserie Chicken.





Various Chocolate cakes, plus they had whole fruit and chips.





I had some Chicken, Rice and cake as well as some fruit.









Fran had some of the same





We finished our meal with some soft serve sundaes, with toppings.













I decided to get my computer and go work in the Mark Twain room since there wasn’t really a comfortable desk in the room, plus there was no outlet near my side of the bed and I wanted the computer to charge.  I could see the dining room below from my seat.









I uploaded three pictures in about 40-45 minutes and was able to post the first update.  I think it was really slow because most everyone was back on the ship and trying to access the internet.  It was much easier the next morning at 5AM when no one was up yet.

*[Continued Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

I went back to the room at 4:15 to get changed for the Captain’s Champagne reception.  Fran said that she would rather sleep, so I went by myself.





It was pretty much just a musical show.  I got there late and stood in the back rather than take a seat somewhere.  Some guy sang some hit from Josh Groban, and then the band (a piano and sax player) closed it out with I Get a Kick Out of You.  If you don’t get it the first lyric is, “I don’t get a Kick from Champagne”

Right about this time, we were leaving Greenville, MS. I could hear the sounds of the Calliope ringing out from my balcony as we left the town.





I decided that this was as good as any a time to head over to the Engine Room Bar for a real drink.













After that I came back to the room to enjoy some of the wine I still had from the night before.  As I watched the scenery go by I could have sworn that we were backtracking.  













Remember that park I told you to notice?













The river looked very turbulent tonight.





I took some more shots of the moon.





It was time to get ready for dinner. I think Fran wanted to get a shower in before we left. Then we got dressed and headed off to dinner. On this evening our entire table was present. Not only was the couple from South Africa present again, but we were also joined by a couple from the UK. They were equally delightful and we had a nice time at dinner.  Margaret  & Colin.  Well the husband was at least.  We came to notice over the course of the next couple days that there something not right with the woman. We never figured it out, but she ignored us completely at every occasion and never made eye contact during dinner.  Whatever.  Her problem, not mine.

The menu was a little different than I had seen earlier at the Cafe.





I went with the Beef Carpaccio, it was delicious but a small portion.





Fran had the shrimp. She gave me one and it was crispy and moist.





We decided to split the soup and salad. I started with the soup, white bean and andoille sausage.





She started the salad. I thought it was almost like a Caprese salad with goat cheese instead of mozzarella.





The Captain came by and I asked if he would pose for a picture with us. While I was enjoying the trip, I did miss the photo opportunities they have on the Disney ships.





Fran went with the Cobia Oscar. She liked it, but not nearly as much as the halibut the night before.





I had the prime rib of pork and that was quite tasty. I thought it was very moist.





For dessert nothing really sounded good to me so I had mint chocolate chip ice cream.





Fran had Pecan Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream.





The conversation continued on, but out of respect for Fran, I excused us from the table, saying we needed to get to sleep. I even left a half glass of red wine and a full glass of white that Fran had gifted me. We went back to the room and went to bed. As far as I know I slept soundly through the night.  But before going to bed we took a few minutes to peruse these that were left on our bed.


----------



## Steppesister

franandaj said:


> Yup! There were six all together. The American Empress only has four decks. That one goes out by @Steppesister's way.



I had NO idea this even existed. Now, I think I may have to research this a bit and see what's what. An Alaskan jobbie might be kinda fun! Haven't done that since I was 4.

Funny story on that:

My parents had taken my twin sisters and me on an Alaskan cruise and one day, one of them sorta disappeared. My parents frantically searched in vain for the then (very precocious) 2 year old. In a panic they told the stewards who called out an all-ship search. Fearing the worst, they were SURE that she'd fallen overboard. About an hour later, she was found.... safe and sound eating cookies and milk on the Bridge with the Captain.


----------



## franandaj

Steppesister said:


> I had NO idea this even existed. Now, I think I may have to research this a bit and see what's what. An Alaskan jobbie might be kinda fun! Haven't done that since I was 4.



Actually it's not an Alaskan Cruise, it goes from Portland OR (Vancouver, WA) to Clarkston WA.



Steppesister said:


> Funny story on that:
> 
> My parents had taken my twin sisters and me on an Alaskan cruise and one day, one of them sorta disappeared. My parents frantically searched in vain for the then (very precocious) 2 year old. In a panic they told the stewards who called out an all-ship search. Fearing the worst, they were SURE that she'd fallen overboard. About an hour later, she was found.... safe and sound eating cookies and milk on the Bridge eating cookies and milk with the Captain.



That's pretty funny!  I bet she was one of the Captain's favorite visitors of the day.


----------



## Steppesister

franandaj said:


> Actually it's not an Alaskan Cruise, it goes from Portland OR (Vancouver, WA) to Clarkston WA.



Ok, I was on Wiki, and it maybe went up there before it was re-christened? It says that it has actually run aground 5 TIMES!! 5!!!!! Once in Alaska and another on the Snake. Anyway, it's a beautiful ship for sure. 



franandaj said:


> That's pretty funny! I bet she was one of the Captain's favorite visitors of the day.[/QUOTE
> 
> Oh, no doubt! LOL!


----------



## mvf-m11c

Catching up on your latest updates from your trip after getting back from the DCA F&W Festival. 

Very nice details pictures of the boat and that was neat by seeing the engine room. 

The place where your boat was located, you can launch boats on trailers from there. Your meal looks very appetizing.


----------



## orangecats2

I love that you're updating a lot! Gives me something to read so I'm not thinking about my stolen kitty. 

I'm loving the river cruise TR. Years ago I told DH that I'd like to take a steam boat on the Mississippi so this is really interesting to me.


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Shame you missed out on Greenville and the bus. No Black Jack tables at the casino what! Turning money away I can't get over this. What a shame both you and the casino. I love Black Jack and roulette. 

Yes here the canals you can take a vacation on by renting a narrow boat. It has a kitchen, living quarters and bedroom. Some folks live on them. You can stear your narrow boat through the canals of England stopping at pubs, points of interest. From Bath to up North! They go slow though but beside the canal is a path where you can walk and get out any time.

Your champagne reception sounds nice as does lunch and dinner. 

I was dissapointed about the new new passed recently in Missisippi about free religion right to refuse same sex couples a back ward step right? 

It is so interesting to learn about the river cruise and the difference between an ocean cruise. Boats and ships. I look forward to your final conclusion about which you prefer or if they are not mutual exclusive.


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

orangecats2 said:


> I love that you're updating a lot! Gives me something to read so I'm not thinking about my stolen kitty.
> 
> I'm loving the river cruise TR. Years ago I told DH that I'd like to take a steam boat on the Mississippi so this is really interesting to me.



Sorry I missed this stolen Kitty what! I am so sorry to hear this. Outrageous. My thoughts are with you. X


----------



## afwdwfan

franandaj said:


> other factors determining a ship vs boat is that boats normally travel on inland and protected waters while ships are usually out at sea.


That's the criteria that I'd heard of before. 



franandaj said:


> I counted approximately 10 people on our voyage who were either our age or younger. There were no kids (well kids under 18), there were obviously families traveling together the but the kids were closer to our age or older.


Oh wow.. well, yeah, I guess maybe I should wait a few years.  



franandaj said:


> but there was at least one woman in a wheelchair, and she was a pushy old broad!






franandaj said:


> For the first busses of the day there are a limited number for each departure time, obviously as many as the bus can hold. When those tickets have been dispensed, that's it for that time slot. Pick another time slot. By the time I learned about this, 2PM was the earliest available bus departure.


Oh no.  That stinks.  Sorry you missed out. 



franandaj said:


> There was a guy from the Casino there offering free shuttles, and he approached me, but he had a car like a Ford Edge which I didn’t want to deal with taking the scooter apart. He asked if we were going to the casino, and I said, “Yes, but I don’t think we can fit in your car.”
> 
> He said, “Well at least I’d like to give you these cards for $10 in Free Play.”


Woohoo!



franandaj said:


> On our way to the casino, we noticed more evidence of the high river level. Notice the parking garage is completely flooded on at least one level.


Wow.  Wouldn't want to park there!



franandaj said:


> I told this information to Fran and we decided if they didn’t want to take our money, we would take it back to the boat with us. I cashed out my ticket and we rolled back over to the boat.


Yikes.  Sorry the casino trip was a bust.



franandaj said:


> After that I came back to the room to enjoy some of the wine I still had from the night before. As I watched the scenery go by I could have sworn that we were backtracking.


----------



## cruisehopeful

Would love to hear about the water/boat movement. I've heard that the water is smooth as silk, but I know I've had a pretty rocky ride on a river before.

Also, money aside, would you prefer this over a Disney cruise in the future?


----------



## Pinkocto

I'm sorry I was totally behind, I don't think I checked in here for two weeks.  All caught up now and totally enjoying reading about your river cruise 

Sorry about your travel day and the hotel lateness, and then your fall  Glad that your lens wasn't broken though! 

Loving all the pictures, the boat is beautiful.  Bummer about the casino not wanting your money though.  Not fun. 

How did the food compare to Disney?  I'm thinking this is better?


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Slighty off topic so I apoligise but I wondered if you and Fran got to be one of the lucky 999 that managed to obtain  the HM Ghost Post subscriptions? If so were you pleased with what arrived? I saw the box and contents on line and it looked great! I am well jealous. US resisdence only and limiting it to only 999 was a neat twist. You would have to get up in the 'dead' off night to have grabbed that!


----------



## franandaj

Steppesister said:


> Ok, I was on Wiki, and it maybe went up there before it was re-christened? It says that it has actually run aground 5 TIMES!! 5!!!!! Once in Alaska and another on the Snake. Anyway, it's a beautiful ship for sure.



Well that was under it's previous name. And they said it was most likely due to an inexperienced Captain.  Hopefully we will try it someday.



mvf-m11c said:


> Catching up on your latest updates from your trip after getting back from the DCA F&W Festival.
> 
> Very nice details pictures of the boat and that was neat by seeing the engine room.
> 
> The place where your boat was located, you can launch boats on trailers from there. Your meal looks very appetizing.



I hope you had a good time at the festival!  Most of the places we landed were pretty much boat launches, except at most places they were flooded over.



orangecats2 said:


> I love that you're updating a lot! Gives me something to read so I'm not thinking about my stolen kitty.



I'm so sorry about your kitty.  I'll try to keep you entertained in the meantime.



orangecats2 said:


> I'm loving the river cruise TR. Years ago I told DH that I'd like to take a steam boat on the Mississippi so this is really interesting to me.



It's pretty fun, and they go all up and down the Mississippi so you do a trip in the North or the South.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Shame you missed out on Greenville and the bus. No Black Jack tables at the casino what! Turning money away I can't get over this. What a shame both you and the casino. I love Black Jack and roulette.



The town didn't sound all that interesting to us anyways.  However you would think that they know the boat is coming to town, there were enough people from the boat there that we could have had an entire table.  Their loss.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Yes here the canals you can take a vacation on by renting a narrow boat. It has a kitchen, living quarters and bedroom. Some folks live on them. You can stear your narrow boat through the canals of England stopping at pubs, points of interest. From Bath to up North! They go slow though but beside the canal is a path where you can walk and get out any time.



Interesting.  Sounds like houseboats here that they have on some of the lakes.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Your champagne reception sounds nice as does lunch and dinner.



The champagne reception wasn't all that, except that we got a free glass of champagne.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> I was dissapointed about the new new passed recently in Missisippi about free religion right to refuse same sex couples a back ward step right?



Yes totally a step backwards.  There were two places coming up that we wanted to revisit as we couldn't do all we wanted in one day. Now we won't be going back unless they repeal that legislation. 



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> It is so interesting to learn about the river cruise and the difference between an ocean cruise. Boats and ships. I look forward to your final conclusion about which you prefer or if they are not mutual exclusive.



I don't think they are mutually exclusive.  It's like different cuisines, you don't need to exclude one just because you like another.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Sorry I missed this stolen Kitty what! I am so sorry to hear this. Outrageous. My thoughts are with you. X



The stolen kitty drama was unveiled on pkondz's TR.


----------



## dhorner233

I was shocked to see that in this day and age, states could refuse to serve people! This would never fly if it was based on race or religion, how can they do this? Sometimes it's not even obvious. How do they know what is in people's hearts??


----------



## Mywishes3

Awesomeness 

I just love your in depth trip reports, with pictures!  Thank you!

And I love reading questions and your answers!  Can I ask about motion sickness?  I've read the larger cruises like Disney, you don't feel the motion too much, but how is it on a river cruise, especially if you're getting on and off each day?


----------



## ACDSNY

franandaj said:


> You don't have to do anything, but as far as pricing goes, this cruise cost what 4 DCL Dream 4-night cruises would have cost (or pretty close).  On the other hand, our DCL Alaskan cruise costs about 80% of what this one cost.  The thing is the ship's registry is not Bahamas. I got talking to a bartender on the boat and she is not on any contract like the DCL employees.  She is a regular employee who gets her paycheck deposited in her bank every other week, gets benefits and earns a living American wage, which is more than you can say for the folks who work on DCL.



I kind of figured they'd be pricey being in the US.  I'd be on the deck with the rocking chairs with an ice cream or chocolate chip cookie.


----------



## Steppesister

Heard you're feeling under the weather, Alison. Hope you get to feeling better quickly and your energy comes back soon.


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> Yup! There were six all together. The American Empress only has four decks. That one goes out by @Steppesister's way.


 
Interesting.



franandaj said:


> They were even selling tickets for a trip all the way from Minneapolis/St. Paul all the way down to New Orleans. 23 nights.


 
I saw that!
I looked (briefly) at their web site and saw that.
Intriguing, but I just don't have that amount of time right now.



franandaj said:


> What was even nicer about these was that they were scooter friendly too!


 




franandaj said:


> See, I had to nip that one in the bud.


 
Yep. You know me too well!





franandaj said:


> Yeah, but you put gravy on french fries. It's kinda similar in a roundabout way.


 
But that's gravy.
What I saw down south looked more like lumpy oatmeal.



franandaj said:


> I think they made it up.


 
It's their boat. I guess they can make up words if they want to.



franandaj said:


> I'm going to cover that in the next update since so many people asked, but I think it was an aircraft carrier was the example they used.


 
An _aircraft carrier!?!?!?_



franandaj said:


> Yeah, pretty much. But then often that's her normal look.


 
I've noticed that! 



franandaj said:


> I know. I remember the first time we were given a rental car with keyless ignition we were stumped. The car was running when we got it and we stopped for dinner after leaving the airport. We had to call the rental car company to find out "where to put the key to start it?" When we got back in the car from dinner.


 

I had a similar experience in Germany.
I tried and tried to start the car... no luck.
Finally an attendant came by and started it for me.
You had to put your foot on the brake.
D'uh! 



franandaj said:


> What made it worse for me was that I knew we were on an Old Fogies cruise. Then he starts playing those songs. I would have been fine if they played Elvis, or Fats Domino songs, or stuff from the 50s, but when he is playing songs from my childhood and I realized that I had now reached the target demographic on an Old Fogie Cruise. Well that just made me sad.


 
That sucks.
I'd be okay with 50s music too.


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> I’m hoping that at least I have a good portion of it finished, so bear with me!


 
Lions and tigers and now bears, oh my!



franandaj said:


> boats normally travel on inland and protected waters while ships are usually out at sea.


 
Oh! Okay. I get that.



franandaj said:


> Fran was the only one with her own scooter, but there was at least one woman in a wheelchair, and she was a pushy old broad!


 
So two pushy broads with their butts in chairs?





franandaj said:


> We learned at the talk this morning that with a river boat you have the option of docking, but if there is no dock, then the boat just pretty much grounds itself and puts down a gangway.


 
Really! Huh!



franandaj said:


> They offer a hop on/hop off bus which follows the ship from town to town (by land of course).


 
Ohhhh... I assumed they just had small fleets in each town.
Or more likely, that they contracted out in each town.



franandaj said:


> Here we are grounding our boat at the landing.


 
Of course.
Paddlewheel... shallow draft. Makes sense now.



franandaj said:


> I watched these guys do tie up the boat here so it didn't float away.


 
"Hey Fred. Didn't we leave the boat here?"

Seems big to misplace, doesn't it? 



franandaj said:


> I thought this whirlpool created by the engines was pretty cool.


 




franandaj said:


> They scanned your KTTW (or whatever they called it)


 
 Once a DISer...



franandaj said:


>


 
I see what you mean about narrow.



franandaj said:


> Fran headed off over the pavement which was grooved and very bumpy, plus it was at a slant.


 
Whoa! Don't tip over Fran!



franandaj said:


> He said, “Well at least I’d like to give you these cards for $10 in Free Play.”


 
Score.



franandaj said:


>


 
Such a beautiful boat.



franandaj said:


> On our way to the casino, we noticed more evidence of the high river level. Notice the parking garage is completely flooded on at least one level.


 
That's really quite high!
Seems odd they'd build so close to the river.



franandaj said:


> Their slots were really poor and I tried 4-5 different machines and kept just losing and losing.


 
Well, that just sucks.



franandaj said:


> we decided if they didn’t want to take our money, we would take it back to the boat with us.


 
Sucks even more that you didn't get to really play.



franandaj said:


> It was pretty much just a musical show. I got there late and stood in the back rather than take a seat somewhere. Some guy sang some hit from Josh Groban, and then the band (a piano and sax player) closed it out with I Get a Kick Out of You. If you don’t get it the first lyric is, “I don’t get a Kick from Champagne”


 
Was it an okay show?



franandaj said:


> Remember that park I told you to notice?


 
 It does look the same (without going back to look.)



franandaj said:


> We never figured it out, but she ignored us completely at every occasion and never made eye contact during dinner


 
Wonder what crawled up her butt.
Maybe she's just an extreme introvert.
But you did say you could eat by yourself at a small table, didn't you?



franandaj said:


> The Captain came by and I asked if he would pose for a picture with us


 
Like that picture of the three of you.



franandaj said:


> I even left a half glass of red wine and a full glass of white that Fran had gifted me.


 




franandaj said:


> As far as I know I slept soundly through the night.


 
Then you probably did!


----------



## franandaj

afwdwfan said:


> That's the criteria that I'd heard of before.



I tried to look up online what kind of ship could hold that boat, because the guy giving the talk had a graphic, but that's what I kept finding on most websites.



afwdwfan said:


> Oh wow.. well, yeah, I guess maybe I should wait a few years.



Yeah, that might not be a bad idea. It's also not cheap, so you may want to make sure you have some college funds secure



afwdwfan said:


> Oh no. That stinks.



Actually going to the casino was our main plan anyways. Most of the people who visited the town were not impressed.



afwdwfan said:


> Woohoo!



10 bucks is 10 bucks! Even if you lose it less than 10 minutes!



afwdwfan said:


> Wow. Wouldn't want to park there!



Yeah, no long term parking in that structure!



afwdwfan said:


> Yikes. Sorry the casino trip was a bust.



Yeah, it was a bummer, but they didn't want our money. 



cruisehopeful said:


> Would love to hear about the water/boat movement. I've heard that the water is smooth as silk, but I know I've had a pretty rocky ride on a river before.



We never experienced turbulence like we have on an ocean ship. You could tell the boat was moving, but there was never any kind of adjustment that you need to do on a ship. I didn't feel the need to get my "sea legs."



cruisehopeful said:


> Also, money aside, would you prefer this over a Disney cruise in the future



I'll probably cover that in a wrap up post but I don't think that either one is mutually exclusive. They're different but I can say I've enjoyed both.



Pinkocto said:


> I'm sorry I was totally behind, I don't think I checked in here for two weeks. All caught up now and totally enjoying reading about your river cruise



And two weeks ago I was already off the boat!



Pinkocto said:


> Sorry about your travel day and the hotel lateness, and then your fall  Glad that your lens wasn't broken though!



Yeah. None of that was a great start to the trip, but I survived.



Pinkocto said:


> Loving all the pictures, the boat is beautiful. Bummer about the casino not wanting your money though. Not fun.



The boat was very nice and I enjoyed the compact nature so it was easy to get around. I didn't miss all the extra amenities of the DCL ships too much, just a few.



Pinkocto said:


> How did the food compare to Disney? I'm thinking this is better?



Each one had their strong points. I certainly enjoyed the complimentary wine at dinner.  That saved us a bit, since that's where I had most of my drinks. I'd have to give Disney the breakfast medal, but I'll do a wrap up.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Slighty off topic so I apoligise but I wondered if you and Fran got to be one of the lucky 999 that managed to obtain  the HM Ghost Post subscriptions? If so were you pleased with what arrived? I saw the box and contents on line and it looked great! I am well jealous. US resisdence only and limiting it to only 999 was a neat twist. You would have to get up in the 'dead' off night to have grabbed that!



I did not hear about this. Fran might have. Then again I haven't even started to open our packages that came while we were gone. Perhaps there is one in there. She rarely sleeps during the night.


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

Ok, I THINK I'm all caught up.  I couldn't think of a whole lot of witty repartee, but it looks like you were enjoying both the cruise and the casino.  I would have been fascinated by the engine room!


----------



## franandaj

dhorner233 said:


> I was shocked to see that in this day and age, states could refuse to serve people! This would never fly if it was based on race or religion, how can they do this? Sometimes it's not even obvious. How do they know what is in people's hearts??



I don't get it either.  But then again that could have something to do with why they are the lowest state based on financial revenue.  



Mywishes3 said:


> Awesomeness
> 
> I just love your in depth trip reports, with pictures!  Thank you!
> 
> And I love reading questions and your answers!  Can I ask about motion sickness?  I've read the larger cruises like Disney, you don't feel the motion too much, but how is it on a river cruise, especially if you're getting on and off each day?



Thank you very much!  You know I was on the Dream in December and it was pretty rough.  One of our table mates didn't make dinner the first night she was feeling so ill.  I don't think getting on and off makes much difference for the motion of the boat.  This one was very smooth.  In fact one couple who we sat with at breakfast were on the River Cruise because they were afraid of the motion at sea, and afraid to be out on the open ocean where they couldn't see land.



ACDSNY said:


> I kind of figured they'd be pricey being in the US.  I'd be on the deck with the rocking chairs with an ice cream or chocolate chip cookie.



On the one hand it was definitely pricey, but they also made up for it somewhat by not nickel and dimeing you for things like specialty coffees, bottled water, beer and wine at dinner, etc.



Steppesister said:


> Heard you're feeling under the weather, Alison. Hope you get to feeling better quickly and your energy comes back soon.



Oh, and you will hear more about it too!  The energy is slowly coming back.



pkondz said:


> I saw that!
> I looked (briefly) at their web site and saw that.
> Intriguing, but I just don't have that amount of time right now.



Yeah, I can't imagine taking a trip that long.  At some point while we were still on the cruise I started having dreams about my little Tesla which made me realize that I obviously was starting to miss my kitties.



pkondz said:


> Yep. You know me too well!







pkondz said:


> But that's gravy.
> What I saw down south looked more like lumpy oatmeal.



Those lumps were probably chunks of sausage!



pkondz said:


> It's their boat. I guess they can make up words if they want to.



Fair enough.



pkondz said:


> I've noticed that!



Often I have to double check with her and make sure she's not mad or grumpy because she often has quite a sour look on her face, and it's usually for no reason.



pkondz said:


> I had a similar experience in Germany.
> I tried and tried to start the car... no luck.
> Finally an attendant came by and started it for me.
> You had to put your foot on the brake.
> D'uh!



I'm glad that I'm not the normal driver.  Too many things to worry about!



pkondz said:


> That sucks.
> I'd be okay with 50s music too.



I didn't mind it too much because he actually played quietly, so if I had someone in the bar to talk with, we could have had a conversation.  Not like clubs today and in my day where you had to yell to be heard over the music.



pkondz said:


> Lions and tigers and now bears, oh my!



Where?



pkondz said:


> So two pushy broads with their butts in chairs?



Actually this woman was way more pushy than Fran ever is.  I started to realize on this cruise that old people don't really notice that they aren't the only people around.



pkondz said:


> Ohhhh... I assumed they just had small fleets in each town.
> Or more likely, that they contracted out in each town.



No, we had the same bus drivers the whole time.  And they were also "full time" employees of the company.  I was talking to one of them (later in the week) and he said that the longest they have to drive to the next city is two hours.  Most of the time it's only one hour.  Then they get a hotel room and some dinner.  They had at least four buses, and I'm guessing that there were extra drivers because the buses were going just about 8 hours every day.



pkondz said:


> Of course.
> Paddlewheel... shallow draft. Makes sense now.



That was part of the whole Riverboat scene in the late 1800s.  They could land just about anywhere (except if there was a huge silt build up) and haul all kinds of cargo.  Passengers were really an afterthought on the original steamboats.



pkondz said:


> "Hey Fred. Didn't we leave the boat here?"
> 
> Seems big to misplace, doesn't it?



Maybe not misplace, but it might be floating around somewhere in the middle of the river!  



pkondz said:


> I see what you mean about narrow.



Sometimes they had giant hoses that we'd have to get her scooter over.  (I assumed that day they were flushing out the sewage because it was hooked up to a big pipe in the ground.)  Other days I think they were replenishing the water supply.



pkondz said:


> Whoa! Don't tip over Fran!



I know I was worried about that too!  



pkondz said:


> Such a beautiful boat.



It sure is!



pkondz said:


> That's really quite high!
> Seems odd they'd build so close to the river.



I think this year was one of the anomalies for flooding.



pkondz said:


> Well, that just sucks.
> 
> Sucks even more that you didn't get to really play.



I know.  I was definitely bummed, but I do know when to quit.



pkondz said:


> Was it an okay show?



I'm not sure.  I only caught the last song.  I mainly wanted the free champagne!  



pkondz said:


> It does look the same (without going back to look.)



And later I found out that I was right.  I even commented to the bartender and she didn't know we had actually veered off the river itself.



pkondz said:


> Wonder what crawled up her butt.
> Maybe she's just an extreme introvert.
> But you did say you could eat by yourself at a small table, didn't you?



We would have had to arrange for that prior to the cruise or the first night.  We thought that she was homophobic, because she had no problem talking to Jenny or Nigel the other tablemates.  Her husband was fine, he was always saying "Hello" when we would see them on the buses or around the boat.  We just ignored her, and it wasn't hard because she was very mouselike.  (And not like Mickey or Minnie)



pkondz said:


> Like that picture of the three of you.



Thanks!  I had to make my own photo opportunities since they didn't have the photographers like Disney cruises.



pkondz said:


>



I think I had plenty of wine that leaving some was OK.  They never let your glass get empty unless you told them to stop pouring.



pkondz said:


> Then you probably did!



Yes you are probably right!  But we'll find out soon.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Ok, I THINK I'm all caught up.  I couldn't think of a whole lot of witty repartee, but it looks like you were enjoying both the cruise and the casino.  I would have been fascinated by the engine room!



Cruise, yes.  Casino, not so much.  I thought about you down in the Engine Room.  There were guys there that you could ask questions of, but I didn't even know enough to think of a question to ask.  I could see you down there chatting with them for quite some time.  It would have probably been even more fascinating if I had a clue what was going on!


----------



## jedijill

Hope you are feeling better!

Jill in CO


----------



## franandaj

Vicksburg.  I slept soundly through the night, at least until about 5:30AM. I woke up to find us completely stopped in amazingly calm water. 





I was a little concerned, but figured that they have this stuff down. I don't need to worry. So I got the computer out and was able to upload a few photos one at a time. I may or may not have replied to some TRs, or maybe just my own, but around 6:45-7:00 I put it away, woke Fran, and she suggested I go get a Cappuccino and explore what was up. Speaking of things that don't get old in other TRs, this being able to make your own specialty coffee for free doesn't get old!





To my surprise, we were already landed and the gentleman there said we were free to leave and explore at our leisure.  I told him I needed to get breakfast and we'd be on our way. @pkondz See the giant hose I was talking about in the replies, it's in the lower right hand corner of the picture below.








Little did I know that later today I would be walking down that steep road you see in this picture!









Did I mention the river was high?





We headed down to breakfast. This time we were seated with a nice couple from Michigan who may have even been younger than us.  We had plans to just get something light from the buffet again, but when I saw Eggs Benedict on the menu and Fran spied the Blueberry Pancakes we decided to go with the menu.





Here is some shots of the dining room, and look over there!  In the middle of the picture, I just happened to catch Nigel and Jenny in the picture.













V8 for me.





Coffee as well.





Eggs Benedict, it was good.  I’ve had better though.





Blueberry Pancakes for Fran, she liked them a lot.





She did have me get her some sausage from the buffet, and I added some strawberries to the plate which we both enjoyed. 





We headed out to the bus stop.





Some of these ramps were quite a challenge for Fran and her scooter.





Looking back at the boat.





We stopped to admire this representation of the various floods that hit the Mississippi River. You'll see two levels there for 1927, the lower one indicates where it breached the levees and flooding began. The second shows where the water level would have been, had the levees been as high as they are today. There will be more on this later.





Today we were going on the hop on hop off bus. We learned a valuable lesson. If your ticket says 8:45, be there at 8:30. The time printed on the ticket is when your bus leaves. So if you show up at 8:45, they put you on the 9AM bus, which is really what we wanted in the first place! This was the first stop called Lower Bluff Art park.













There were several stops on the tour, we were thinking about going to the Coca Cola museum, as Vicksburg was the first place where it was bottled, even if it wasn't invented there. And our other place of interest was the Museum of the Lower Mississippi.  The first stop was a shopping center.  It didn't open until 10 and it was just after 9AM so that was a bust! 

Here’s just a few shots of the town.









This street was still paved with bricks, and the bricks were laid at an angle so that the work animals (horses, donkeys, etc) could walk up the street.





Our next stop was the Church of the Holy Trinity, and then the Anchuca Mansion. Next we went to the Old Courthouse Museum, we considered it, but we didn't get off.  





We got to the stop with the Coca-Cola museum and decided it looked at lot smaller than we thought, so we passed. 

Canon on the corner, boat in the background.





This building would have been interesting to explore if we had the energy.





The final stop was the Lower Mississippi valley museum.  





These are the little signs that they had out at all the stops so you knew where to wait for a bus.





Here we spent a bit of time. In the lobby they had a map of the US and showed the various rivers and how they dissected the country. 





We started with a 7 minute film on the region. The first displays showed the history of various water craft that have traversed the Mississippi, from Indian canoes, log rafts that were disassembled and sold for timber after they transported their cargo, all the way to the steamboats of the 1800s.

There was a timeline for the Mississippi valley on one wall indicating all the major events of the region as well as other major US and world events. Reading this timeline it became clear that the US Army Corps of Engineers had a tremendous role in shaping the Mississippi, literally and figuratively. The next wall explained the development of the USACE from their roots in George Washington's times (crossing the Delaware), the Civil War (Burnside’s crossing the Rappahannock with pontoon bridges at Fredricksburg), to their official formation in the 1870s and beyond. These folks have done some amazing feats.

But let's go back to 1927. The flood of 1927 was devastating to the entire region.  Tens of thousands of people were displaced as millions of acres of land were flooded. They had this little set up to depict the kinds of tent cities that folks lived in while the Red Cross tended to them. (Without the TV monitors, of course)










*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

The waters began rising in January and it wasn't until September that people could return to their land, but many had nothing left to come back to. President Hoover ordered the USACE to find a solution so that this never happened again. Without going too much into it, for those familiar with how a stream meanders, you'll know it forms snake like bends until the two ends of the snake meet (due to erosion on the banks) and then the flow of water bypasses that part of the river and creates a new bank.  The new bank created by the USACE was made of cement so that erosion would not continue and the bank would guide the river in a straight line. When the flood waters rose they could flow into the old bends to create run off locations instead of flooding the cities. They also increased the heights of the levees.

This is however having an effect on the land mass in Southeast Louisiana. A football field-sized area of land is being washed away every hour.

Remember I could have sworn yesterday that we back tracked on our way leaving Greenville? We did! I confirmed it with a Crew Member. Greenville, MS is technically not on the Mississippi any longer, but on an Estuary created by the USACE! It's just upstream from the Mississippi River. 

I found out later too that Vicksburg is also on a tributary river, the Yazoo, but I digress.  After learning all about the USACE, we visited a small aquarium with fish native to the river. 

















Then we played a "habitat game" where they had four animals and two local habitats, you had to slide the animal in front of what you thought was correct and then lift up the card to find out if you were right. I played two rounds and when I found there were two more I gave up.

We browsed the rest of the exhibits and I spied this cool model outside. In the early days before computers, the engineers had to build huge models in dirt to test their theories, much like the one shown here.





Lastly they had a tug boat you could tour, I didn't get a picture of the outside, but I did steal this from the internet.  





They had it staged for the crew’s quarters.

















And other work spaces





And I went up to the Pilot Room

















It seems that now they use the main spaces here as community meeting areas.













The kitchen was all dressed up





















We considered visiting this place after lunch, but gave it up as we were too tired.





We could have waited for a bus to pick us up, but we could see the boat, so we just walked / scooted back on our own. 





This was a coffee shop, I thought the decorations were unique













Fran wanted me to take a picture of the brick streets to illustrate how the bricks are laid so that horses and other animals could climb them easily.





This was an “Art Park” listed as one of the stops on the map.  We found ourselves a little bit trapped in here.





Fran had to take the long way.













We had to squeeze the scooter through this little opening to get out of the park!





And then we were back boarding the boat. That was our exciting morning!  And we had made it back to the boat before lunch service was cut off.  Next up, our afternoon and evening.


----------



## franandaj

jedijill said:


> Hope you are feeling better!
> 
> Jill in CO



Thanks Jill!  Starting to get there!


----------



## dizneeat

*really hoping you are feeling better soon!

Love the update! Thank you for all the detailed photos - it feels as if we were on vacation with you! *


----------



## jedijill

I did not know that Vicksburg was the first place Coke was bottled...learn something new everyday!  Interesting looking town...I like the brick streets.

Jill in CO


----------



## afwdwfan

franandaj said:


> Little did I know that later today I would be walking down that steep road you see in this picture!


As long as this walk didn't turn out like the one in Memphis...



franandaj said:


> Some of these ramps were quite a challenge for Fran and her scooter.


I can only imagine.  I'm sure that depending where the boat stops it is probably at different and sometimes awkward angles each time. 



franandaj said:


> We stopped to admire this representation of the various floods that hit the Mississippi River.


Cool!  And you said the river was high while you were there! 



franandaj said:


> Canon on the corner, boat in the background.


The boat is under attack!!!!!   



franandaj said:


> But let's go back to 1927. The flood of 1927 was devastating to the entire region. Tens of thousands of people were displaced as millions of acres of land were flooded. They had this little set up to depict the kinds of tent cities that folks lived in while the Red Cross tended to them. (Without the TV monitors, of course)


What???  They didn't have flat screens back in 1927?????  



franandaj said:


> Remember I could have sworn yesterday that we back tracked on our way leaving Greenville? We did! I confirmed it with a Crew Member. Greenville, MS is technically not on the Mississippi any longer, but on an Estuary created by the USACE! It's just upstream from the Mississippi River.


Hmm... interesting!



franandaj said:


> We had to squeeze the scooter through this little opening to get out of the park!


Yikes!  That had to be a tight fit!


----------



## dhorner233

Interesting tour of Vicksburg! Thanks!


----------



## Pinkocto

I enjoyed the history lesson, thank you!  I'm learning all sorts of new things from your and Corinna's TRs.  Too funny the maze getting out of that art park. 

I'm confused though, currently there is a football stadium being washed away every hour?  Even with the changes they made? 

Mom would love that coffee machine.


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> Those lumps were probably chunks of sausage!



Don't think so. Just lumps.
Looked horrible.
But people were greedily scooping it up, so... 



franandaj said:


> Often I have to double check with her and make sure she's not mad or grumpy because she often has quite a sour look on her face, and it's usually for no reason.







franandaj said:


> I didn't mind it too much because he actually played quietly, so if I had someone in the bar to talk with, we could have had a conversation. Not like clubs today and in my day where you had to yell to be heard over the music.



That's not so bad then.
Otherwise it'd drive me nuts and probably ruin the whole vibe of the trip.



franandaj said:


> Actually this woman was way more pushy than Fran ever is. I started to realize on this cruise that old people don't really notice that they aren't the only people around.



I don't want to get like that.
Really.



franandaj said:


> No, we had the same bus drivers the whole time.



Oh, okay.



franandaj said:


> he said that the longest they have to drive to the next city is two hours.



That's nothing!



franandaj said:


> They had at least four buses, and I'm guessing that there were extra drivers because the buses were going just about 8 hours every day.



Not a bad gig.
At least it sounds like it.



franandaj said:


> Passengers were really an afterthought on the original steamboats.



Now that's... weird.
I never thought about that.
You always see on TV and movies these steamboats loaded with people.
But you're absolutely right!



franandaj said:


> I think this year was one of the anomalies for flooding.



Ah.



franandaj said:


> I'm not sure. I only caught the last song. I mainly wanted the free champagne!



 of course!



franandaj said:


> And later I found out that I was right. I even commented to the bartender and she didn't know we had actually veered off the river itself.



Huh!



franandaj said:


> We would have had to arrange for that prior to the cruise or the first night.



Oh, okay. That makes sense.



franandaj said:


> We thought that she was homophobic, because she had no problem talking to Jenny or Nigel the other tablemates.



 See, that's the last thing I think of.
I always give people the benefit of the doubt and assume they've joined the 20th (now 21st!) century.



franandaj said:


> Thanks! I had to make my own photo opportunities since they didn't have the photographers like Disney cruises.



Oh, geez. I'm such a doofus.
I never even thought of that.

I really need to get out on a cruise some day.
Any cruise.

Actually we have paddlewheel tours here.
But they only last a few hours.
And the boat's nothing like that one.
Umm... I think two decks? Maybe three?
It's been a while.



franandaj said:


> I think I had plenty of wine that leaving some was OK. They never let your glass get empty unless you told them to stop pouring.



Nice!


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> I woke up to find us completely stopped in amazingly calm water.



That was... nice? Or disconcerting?



franandaj said:


> Speaking of things that don't get old in other TRs, this being able to make your own specialty coffee for free doesn't get old!



Not a coffee drinker myself, but I certainly get how that'd be a good thing.



franandaj said:


> @pkondz See the giant hose I was talking about in the replies, it's in the lower right hand corner of the picture below.



That ramp doesn't look much easier to navigate than the hose it's for.



franandaj said:


> Little did I know that later today I would be walking down that steep road you see in this picture!



Better down than up.
Unless..... "Brakes! Fran! Use your braaaaaaakes!!!"



franandaj said:


> Did I mention the river was high?



Nope. Not at all.



franandaj said:


> when I saw Eggs Benedict on the menu and Fran spied the Blueberry Pancakes we decided to go with the menu.



You had me at the bennies.



franandaj said:


> In the middle of the picture, I just happened to catch Nigel and Jenny in the picture.



Is she the one in yellow or pink?



franandaj said:


> Eggs Benedict, it was good. I’ve had better though.



Oddly enough, that's how they look, too.



franandaj said:


>



Nice that you only need to be back 30 minutes prior.



franandaj said:


> Some of these ramps were quite a challenge for Fran and her scooter.



Why? Too steep at times?



franandaj said:


> We stopped to admire this representation of the various floods that hit the Mississippi River. You'll see two levels there for 1927, the lower one indicates where it breached the levees and flooding began. The second shows where the water level would have been, had the levees been as high as they are today.



Interesting. We have one of those as well.
Pretty much the entire city was underwater in 1950.



franandaj said:


> we were thinking about going to the Coca Cola museum,



That would've been interesting. I think I would've done that one.



franandaj said:


> Here’s just a few shots of the town.



What was your overall impression of the town?



franandaj said:


> This street was still paved with bricks, and the bricks were laid at an angle so that the work animals (horses, donkeys, etc) could walk up the street.



Interesting.



franandaj said:


> We got to the stop with the Coca-Cola museum and decided it looked at lot smaller than we thought, so we passed.



Darn.



franandaj said:


> These are the little signs that they had out at all the stops so you knew where to wait for a bus.



Ah. I was wondering about that.



franandaj said:


> Here we spent a bit of time. In the lobby they had a map of the US and showed the various rivers and how they dissected the country.



Cool.



franandaj said:


> They had this little set up to depict the kinds of tent cities that folks lived in while the Red Cross tended to them. (Without the TV monitors, of course)



 Thank goodness you mentioned the TVs!



franandaj said:


> The waters began rising in January and it wasn't until September that people could return to their land



Holy crap!



franandaj said:


> you'll know it forms snake like bends until the two ends of the snake meet (due to erosion on the banks) and then the flow of water bypasses that part of the river and creates a new bank.



And the other part is called an oxbow.



franandaj said:


> When the flood waters rose they could flow into the old bends to create run off locations instead of flooding the cities.



clever.



franandaj said:


> A football field-sized area of land is being washed away every hour.



Holy crap! Seriously?



franandaj said:


> In the early days before computers, the engineers had to build huge models in dirt to test their theories, much like the one shown here.



That's cool!



franandaj said:


> We considered visiting this place after lunch, but gave it up as we were too tired.



You guys have had a busy day.



franandaj said:


> This was a coffee shop, I thought the decorations were unique



Different. That's for sure.



franandaj said:


> Fran had to take the long way.



See you tomorrow when you get to a point 10 feet away!


----------



## Leshaface

franandaj said:


> The boat had a capacity of about 420 passengers, but one of our bus drivers told us on one of the excursions that there were probably 350 or so on our voyage. And to answer the question about the average age demographic. I counted approximately 10 people on our voyage who were either our age or younger. There were no kids (well kids under 18), there were obviously families traveling together the but the kids were closer to our age or older. I’m not a great judge of age, but most of the folks we sat with talked about their grandchildren, and some even proudly told us that they were approaching 80 years old.



Thanks for this, so definitely something that we'd do as a couple only then no kids.  Fine with me! 

I actually saw an advertisement in DS's doctors waiting room last week with the boat you were on and made me think of you guys! 



franandaj said:


> Fran was the only one with her own scooter, but there was at least one woman in a wheelchair, and she was a pushy old broad!








franandaj said:


>



Yikes no thanks! 



franandaj said:


> We got our player’s club cards and looked at the Black Jack table. Full. OK, we’ll go play our $10 free (only good on slots anyways). Of course we eventually blew through the $10 quickly and put some of our own money in the machine. Their slots were really poor and I tried 4-5 different machines and kept just losing and losing. I took my ticket and decided if I couldn’t play black jack I would keep my money. So I went over and stood near the black jack table, after about 5 minutes, it was obvious that all the folks playing were regulars and all knew each other. The pit boss asked me if I wanted to play, and I told her, “Yeah, but it’s all full. Do you have another table opening up?” They told me one would open at 2PM. It was 1:09. I told this information to Fran and we decided if they didn’t want to take our money, we would take it back to the boat with us. I cashed out my ticket and we rolled back over to the boat.



This would have put DH in a real bad mood.  You know, you really need to talk to him and tell him that one doesn't win every time they gamble.  He has been BUGGING me, especially lately  (like I can do anything right now for him at 36 ish weeks pregnant ) about going to Vegas so he can gamble.  



franandaj said:


> Well the husband was at least. We came to notice over the course of the next couple days that there something not right with the woman. We never figured it out, but she ignored us completely at every occasion and never made eye contact during dinner. Whatever. Her problem, not mine.



 What a sourpuss.


franandaj said:


>



I love that you're getting your nails done before every trip now!  



franandaj said:


> I even left a half glass of red wine and a full glass of white that Fran had gifted me.







franandaj said:


> this being able to make your own specialty coffee for free doesn't get old!



OH heck yes!  



franandaj said:


>



This is really scary. 



franandaj said:


>



Oh my gosh how pretty the streets are!  That would be cool to see.


----------



## ACDSNY

Vicksburg looks like a quaint little town.


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

franandaj said:


> Did I mention the river was high?



On what?



franandaj said:


> We stopped to admire this representation of the various floods that hit the Mississippi River. You'll see two levels there for 1927, the lower one indicates where it breached the levees and flooding began. The second shows where the water level would have been, had the levees been as high as they are today.



Wow.  That's crazy high.  I can't even imagine what that would be like.



franandaj said:


> This street was still paved with bricks, and the bricks were laid at an angle so that the work animals (horses, donkeys, etc) could walk up the street.



I'm sure that's not easy to make ADA-compliant.



franandaj said:


> Here we spent a bit of time. In the lobby they had a map of the US and showed the various rivers and how they dissected the country.



Looks pretty interesting.



franandaj said:


> The waters began rising in January and it wasn't until September that people could return to their land, but many had nothing left to come back to.



Wow, that's awful!  



franandaj said:


> This is however having an effect on the land mass in Southeast Louisiana. A football field-sized area of land is being washed away every hour.



I guess because the river is flowing faster without all the meandering?  Faster flow would lead to more erosion.



franandaj said:


> In the early days before computers, the engineers had to build huge models in dirt to test their theories, much like the one shown here.



Cool!



franandaj said:


> We had to squeeze the scooter through this little opening to get out of the park!



 Hold your breath!


----------



## dolphingirl47

I got behind again as for some reason I no longer got notifications for this thread. Fortunately I am all caught up again. 

The sunrise was very pretty.

The breakfast menu looked delicious.

The part of redirecting the flow of water to get rid of the silt problem was really interesting.

I love the look of that swing and the rocking chairs on the front porch. Shame that it was so windy.

How nice that you were actually able to check out the engine room. I would find this utterly fascinating.

That is really neat that the boat does not need a dock.

It's a shame that only the later buses were still available when you found out about the ticket system. I am sorry that the casino did not really work out for you. Lunch looked very nice.

How strange that one of your table mates would not talk to you, but as you said, that was her loss.

I love the early morning photo from Vicksburg. I also enjoyed the photos you took from the bus.

Corinna


----------



## mvf-m11c

The history of Vicksburg was very interesting where you were able to do quite a lot. Learning a lot from your trip report.


----------



## franandaj

So it's been a few crazy weeks since returning from this last trip and less than two more before we are off yet again! I'm getting in this brief PTR update before I get to replies because frankly I'm not sure when I'm going to have time to get to them! Hopefully before I leave on the next trip!

In the last two days the beginning of this trip has turned upside down. Without getting too much into the details of Jim and Alberto's personal lives I'll tell you in a nutshell. A little over a week ago Jim let me know that an important meeting for the two of them was scheduled for April 27 at 10 AM. On the complete other side of LA County, just about as far as you could get (we live near the border of LA County which is next to Orange County).  By that time, Fran and I will already be on the airplane en route to Orlando.  So he talked about taking the red eye that night and we would hit Universal that morning and they could sleep in the afternoon.

Well come Tuesday night and still Jim had not made any airline reservations by this point its two weeks away from departure time!  So finally on Wednesday afternoon, he sent me a confirmation for flights.  As their flights were completely price driven (meaning the cheapest flight was more important than any other factor, such as timing, etc) their flight leaves on April 28 at 5:15PM arriving in Orlando at 5:33AM on April 29.  For those of you who aren’t completely obsessed with our travel plans, this means that they are going to miss out on the US/IOA portion of the trip completely.

Now those of you who know me, are aware that if I don’t have almost everything for a trip sewn up three months in advance, I start fretting.  And this one was no different.  With the exception of a couple shuttles, mine and Fran’s portion of the trip has been good to go.  I booked the flights and Universal part back in early January.  We had agreed to pay for Jim and Alberto’s rooms there because they really don’t have that kind of cash laying around. Here I was with two rooms booked. So the first thing I did was get on the phone to Universal. Thank goodness the deposit I paid back in January was fully refundable. I also tried to make sure that the room Fran and I were staying in was handicapped accessible, that took longer than the cancelation part of the call!

The other thing that I noticed about their flight was that it will be departing at 9PM the day AFTER we check out of the Poly Bungalows!  While on the phone with Universal I had sent Jim an email asking what he planned to do that night for lodging but he's not so great at quickly responding to correspondence. I checked dvcmember.com and there was one studio available at Kidani, Standard View. It was only 15 points and Fran said it was OK to offer it to them. So I called him up. He had no idea what they were going to do for that night, so I mentioned the studio and they were happy to take it.

Once I had their accommodations worked out I realized that I had never set up Magical Express for us and now I needed to do it for them as well. It was a little confusing but the nice gentleman on the phone got all of our information correctly and even called me back when we got disconnected!

I guess none of this was that big of a deal,  but it took up over two hours of my day yesterday,  that I had planned for other things!

The worst part is that I was really looking forward to seeing Universal with Jim and Alberto. Jim is a huge Harry Potter fan and I know that he would love to see it.  I guess we’re going to have just settle for seeing the new one that opened last week in Studio City (they call it Hollywood).

Other than the hiccup in Jim and Alberto's plans, things are proceeding nicely with our preparation.  Yesterday the "fill in" cat feeder got her briefing. There's quite a bit to it all considering there are codes to unlock the doors, codes for the security system, dry food is served in two places in the house for a total of eight bowls and four flavors. Then there is the whole wet food ritual, and we can't forget the litter boxes.

I have arranged for our owner’s locker to be delivered to the Villas at the Wilderness Lodge and be picked up once we leave the Bungalows. 

I've arranged for our Mears shuttles to the Royal Pacific Hotel and then to Disney.  Our Behind the Seeds Tour is confirmed, and I've even begun to think about which clothes I'll be bringing along.

Our Magic Bands have arrived. Fran opted out of receiving any new ones this time. 





I only need a blue one and then I have bands to match any outfit!





I got super motivated this week and I even cleaned out my travel cooking kit. I replaced all the packets, spices, and condiments in here with newer ones and even made new labels. The last time I updated it was probably around 2008 or 09 when we started staying in DVC units. 





Boy there is a lot stuff you need to tend to as a regular visitor to WDW!

But once I sort out my clothes I think I will be good to go.  The challenge is to get Fran on board so that we don’t have a repeat of the last departure.  I’ll keep you posted.  Hopefully she will pick out her clothes far enough in advance that I can sleep the night before we leave!


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> We had agreed to pay for Jim and Alberto’s rooms there because they really don’t have that kind of cash laying around. Here I was with two rooms booked.



whoops.



franandaj said:


> I also tried to make sure that the room Fran and I were staying in was handicapped accessible, that took longer than the cancelation part of the call!



That's just... weird.
Opposite of what you'd expect.



franandaj said:


> The other thing that I noticed about their flight was that it will be departing at 9PM the day AFTER we check out of the Poly Bungalows!



And they didn't notice????



franandaj said:


> It was a little confusing but the nice gentleman on the phone got all of our information correctly and even called me back when we got disconnected!



Okay, that impresses me.
In this day and age the attitude is almost always "Oh, well. Too bad for them."



franandaj said:


> I guess none of this was that big of a deal, but it took up over two hours of my day yesterday



That's a big deal. I mean it took two hours!



franandaj said:


> Then there is the whole wet food ritual, and we can't forget the litter boxes.



Please. Please don't forget the litter boxes.

Ew.



franandaj said:


> Boy there is a lot stuff you need to tend to as a regular visitor to WDW!







franandaj said:


> The challenge is to get Fran on board so that we don’t have a repeat of the last departure.



For your sake, I hope not!


----------



## dolphingirl47

franandaj said:


> For those of you who aren’t completely obsessed with our travel plans, this means that they are going to miss out on the US/IOA portion of the trip completely.



What a shame that they are going to miss that.



franandaj said:


> Thank goodness the deposit I paid back in January was fully refundable.



That was a bit of luck.



franandaj said:


> I checked dvcmember.com and there was one studio available at Kidani, Standard View.



I always surprises me that usually sometimes turns up fairly last minute at Kidani or Jambo House. We benefitted from this a few times.



franandaj said:


> It was only 15 points and Fran said it was OK to offer it to them.



That is very kind of the two of you to take care of this.



franandaj said:


> I've arranged for our Mears shuttles to the Royal Pacific Hotel and then to Disney. Our Behind the Seeds Tour is confirmed, and I've even begun to think about which clothes I'll be bringing along.



Sounds like you are on a roll. I wish I could do the same thing for our trip and two weeks from now I am officially on leave.



franandaj said:


> I only need a blue one and then I have bands to match any outfit!



I have a similar collection, but mine includes a blue one. Of course, now they have also added a purple one.

Corinna


----------



## afwdwfan

franandaj said:


> Here I was with two rooms booked. So the first thing I did was get on the phone to Universal. Thank goodness the deposit I paid back in January was fully refundable. I also tried to make sure that the room Fran and I were staying in was handicapped accessible, that took longer than the cancelation part of the call!


Oh boy... I can only imagine the frustration and stress you felt when you had to deal with all the last minute changes.  I'm glad that Universal was good about working with you and able to get you a refund.



franandaj said:


> Jim is a huge Harry Potter fan and I know that he would love to see it. I guess we’re going to have just settle for seeing the new one that opened last week in Studio City (they call it Hollywood).


That stinks...  I'm sure the Hollywood version is just as good (maybe even a little better from what I hear?).  Does it have Diagon Alley though?  I'm sure he'll be really bummed if he can't see Diagon Alley.  It is really pretty amazing. 



franandaj said:


> dry food is served in two places in the house for a total of eight bowls and four flavors. Then there is the whole wet food ritual


Holy crap!  Your cats eat better than I do! 



franandaj said:


> I only need a blue one and then I have bands to match any outfit!


And now you can add purple to the collection too...


----------



## franandaj

dizneeat said:


> *really hoping you are feeling better soon!
> 
> Love the update! Thank you for all the detailed photos - it feels as if we were on vacation with you! *



Thanks! I'm definitely feeling better. Not quite 100% but not as bad as I was a week or two ago!



jedijill said:


> I did not know that Vicksburg was the first place Coke was bottled...learn something new everyday!  Interesting looking town...I like the brick streets.
> 
> Jill in CO



That's one thing that I loved about this trip! I learned so many new things. I had a small amount of Civil War knowledge, but after the trip I understood a whole lot more about this region and just how important the river is to everyone's lives.



afwdwfan said:


> As long as this walk didn't turn out like the one in Memphis...



I can give you a spoiler that there were no more falls!



afwdwfan said:


> I can only imagine. I'm sure that depending where the boat stops it is probably at different and sometimes awkward angles each time.



Yeah each time it was different. There were quite a few times that I had to walk her scooter over the top of the ramp.



afwdwfan said:


> Cool! And you said the river was high while you were there.



Those times on that wall were times when lives and property were lost. The river was just higher than average. It also affected several of our landing stops.



afwdwfan said:


> The boat is under attack!!!!!



This totally cracked me up!



afwdwfan said:


> What??? They didn't have flat screens back in 1927?????



Who knew? 



afwdwfan said:


> Yikes! That had to be a tight fit!



I was ready to take it apart if necessary, but the chassis just fit through.



dhorner233 said:


> Interesting tour of Vicksburg! Thanks!



You're welcome. There was certainly more to it. A premium excursion went to the battlefield that afternoon but Fran wanted to save that for a later trip when we went on our own. Now we can't go there until the state gets it's head out of it's you know what!


----------



## skier_pete

Enjoying the heck out of your TR so far. Looks like a cool trip. Doesn't surprise me it's mostly seniors - they are typically the ones with the time and money for these types of trips. Vicksburg doesn't look all that exciting, but it IS interesting seeing the history of the Mississippi and the riverboats. 

Too bad about Jim and Alberto being delayed, but at least it seems like you won't have that bungalow all to yourselves! We are strongly considering a Universal trip early next year. (Not the whole week at Universal, but a "no Disney" trip.)


----------



## Pinkocto

Oh my goodness, that was stressful just reading about the last minute changes, let alone having to do all that work to fix them! Awesome that your Universal hotel was refundable. Sad that they're going to miss the Universal plans though. 

What dates are you going to be there? I thought I asked this but can't find where I did or that you responded.  I'm taking mom on an impromptu Mother's Day trip May 4-9, will we overlap at all?


----------



## Flossbolna

Wow! I think you are dealing quite well with your friend's last minute attitude!! I would slowly pull all my hair out of my head in a similar situation! What a relieve that the room deposit was refundable...

I have also been meaning to comment on your last update about the Mississippi history. I am currently reading a book about the year 1927, it is non-fiction. And a big topic in there is the flood of 1927 and what it caused, not only with regard to water damage, but also giving Hoover the push to raise to where he got to. Besides the flood it is also about Charles Lindbergh's first transatlantic flight and a lot of other things. I find it quite fascinating and it does exist as an audio book: http://www.amazon.com/One-Summer-Am...swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1460747608&sr=1-1


----------



## dhorner233

Wow! I'm impressed with your ability to handle last minute adjustments to your plans! I'm like you, I want everything planned out 3 months in advance! I savor the anticipation. Sometimes the anticipation is better than the actual act.  Ever read the Tao of Pooh? One of my favorite books!!


----------



## rentayenta

Ugh on the flight/room headache.  Glad it's going to work out but I feel ya, I try to have everything set as well ahead of time.


----------



## franandaj

Pinkocto said:


> I enjoyed the history lesson, thank you! I'm learning all sorts of new things from your and Corinna's TRs. Too funny the maze getting out of that art park.



Well there are more lessons coming...this was a rather educational trip!



Pinkocto said:


> I'm confused though, currently there is a football stadium being washed away every hour? Even with the changes they made?



The changes help the cities up stream, but Captain Oblivious got it right, the river is more streamlined so that the water moves faster and at the mouth of the river it is eroding the banks.



Pinkocto said:


> Mom would love that coffee machine.



I really liked it!



pkondz said:


> Don't think so. Just lumps.
> Looked horrible.
> But people were greedily scooping it up, so...



There are lots of variations on Biscuits and Gravy, some are better than others.  I would encourage you to try it at some point.  If you have it from a place that serves good ones, Biscuits and Gravy are quite good.



pkondz said:


> That's not so bad then.
> Otherwise it'd drive me nuts and probably ruin the whole vibe of the trip.



You could have just gone to a different bar that had better music. Besides he only did 45 minute sets from 5:30-6:15 and then another later one after the first dinner seating. I don't think I went there every night. Maybe every other. 



pkondz said:


> I don't want to get like that.
> Really.



I would hope that none of us wants to get like that.  However, I found so many folks who were just pushy and not willing to wait.  Not that everyone was like that, but there were enough



pkondz said:


> That's nothing!



I used to drive longer than that for my daily commute, when I had a job.



pkondz said:


> Not a bad gig.
> At least it sounds like it.



According to the bus driver we talked to, they did this 10 1/2 months a year, then got six weeks off while the boat goes in drydock. I would imagine they get days off, which is why I suspect there are a couple more drivers than total buses.



pkondz said:


> Now that's... weird.
> I never thought about that.
> You always see on TV and movies these steamboats loaded with people.
> But you're absolutely right!



They said in the early days they would fill the boat's with cotton on the decks and anywhere else they could stuff it. Passengers would just sleep out on the decks as it was until the later boats of the Victorian era that they became fashionable methods of transportation. 



pkondz said:


> Oh, okay. That makes sense.



When we checked in for the voyage Monday morning at the hotel, that was your last chance to make any changes to your dining arrangements. 



pkondz said:


> See, that's the last thing I think of.
> I always give people the benefit of the doubt and assume they've joined the 20th (now 21st!) century.



I never used to think about it until I met Fran, in the beginning she went there a lot. Now neither of us think about it much, but after a couple nights of the cold shoulder and only to us, I couldn't think of anything else that differentiated from anyone else.



pkondz said:


> Oh, geez. I'm such a doofus.
> I never even thought of that.
> 
> I really need to get out on a cruise some day.
> Any cruise.
> 
> Actually we have paddlewheel tours here.
> But they only last a few hours.
> And the boat's nothing like that one.
> Umm... I think two decks? Maybe three?
> It's been a while.



I love that Disney Cruises have so many photo opportunities, with and without  characters. Evidently many of the other sea going cruise lines do as well. I realize it's a money maker, but I like to come back from vacation with some group photos!

Multiple night cruises are the best, especially when you have a while to settle in and get a groove. I've found that 7 nights is good, but I've never been on a longer cruise.



pkondz said:


> That was... nice? Or disconcerting?



For that first morning I was a little disconcerted.  I didn't realize we were going to hit our destinations in the middle of the night. But I got used to it.



pkondz said:


> Not a coffee drinker myself, but I certainly get how that'd be a good thing.



On Disney Cruises they charge you $3-4 for one of those!



pkondz said:


> That ramp doesn't look much easier to navigate than the hose it's for.



Yeah she got up and walked over the hose and I picked up her scooter and maneuvered it over the hose manually. 



pkondz said:


> Better down than up.
> Unless..... "Brakes! Fran! Use your braaaaaaakes!!!"



The scooter has no breaks!   



pkondz said:


> You had me at the bennies.



They always win for me!



pkondz said:


> Is she the one in yellow or pink?



In pink and her husband is the guy in the salmon colored Polo shirt and sporting the shiny dome cut.



pkondz said:


> Oddly enough, that's how they look, too.



The eggs looked a little funny. Like they used an odd shaped mold to poach them.



pkondz said:


> Nice that you only need to be back 30 minutes prior.



We were always back well in advance of sail time except once.



pkondz said:


> Why? Too steep at times?



Mostly the problem was a very severe angle at the crest of the ramp. She was afraid that she would "bottom out" if she rode over the top of the ramp. So she would get off and let me walk it over the top.



pkondz said:


> Interesting. We have one of those as well.
> Pretty much the entire city was underwater in 1950.



That's crazy! What river is near Winnipeg?



pkondz said:


> That would've been interesting. I think I would've done that one.



It was probably small and wouldn't have taken very long, but unless I have a strong desire to do something, I usually let Fran decide. She says she does that for me, but I'm not sure she realizes how much of her stuff we really do. She wasn't interested once she saw the store front, so I went along with it. Besides we did a lot of standing and reading at the River Museum.



pkondz said:


> What was your overall impression of the town?



It seemed quaint and stuck in the 50's from what I saw. I imagine farther from the river you would find all the 21st century plagues like fast food, chain megastores and the like.



pkondz said:


> Ah. I was wondering about that.



They really had this touring thing down. It was very efficient! 



pkondz said:


> Thank goodness you mentioned the TVs!



I figured with the number of smart alecks I have reading along I'd stop that one right there. 



pkondz said:


> Holy crap!



Yeah it was really bad. On those screens they had "stories" as told by 4-5 family members. There was the perspective of the husband who stayed behind to rebuild, the young girl who left with nothing but her dolly, the wife who tried to keep her kids safe in the Red Cross camp.  I think the last one was from a Red Cross Worker. It was really sad and fascinating. 



pkondz said:


> And the other part is called an oxbow.



Thank you. I'm sure I learned that somewhere along the way.



pkondz said:


> Holy crap! Seriously?



This wasn't the last museum where this fact was mentioned.



pkondz said:


> You guys have had a busy day.



For me and my normal activity level, I did quite a bit of walking and standing!



pkondz said:


> See you tomorrow when you get to a point 10 feet away!



It was funny we went through the park so we weren't in the middle of the street. The road wasn't busy, but when cars drove by they were going fast. I didn't realize we were going to practically get trapped inside the park! 



Leshaface said:


> Thanks for this, so definitely something that we'd do as a couple only then no kids. Fine with me!
> 
> I actually saw an advertisement in DS's doctors waiting room last week with the boat you were on and made me think of you guys!



They have really been advertising a lot lately. It's a nice boat, but there is absolutely nothing for kids to do. Plus at the prices they charge, you wouldn't want to pay for a kid to be along whining about how bored they are.  There were lots of times that we didn't have service, so if your DH needs that to play his games that might be a problem. Also there isn't a lot of room to hook up his Game station in the room. These rooms make Disney rooms seem like a mansion!



Leshaface said:


> Yikes no thanks!



I know! At least they had a decent sized parking lot on the land. It wasn't even 1/10th full.



Leshaface said:


> This would have put DH in a real bad mood. You know, you really need to talk to him and tell him that one doesn't win every time they gamble. He has been BUGGING me, especially lately (like I can do anything right now for him at 36 ish weeks pregnant ) about going to Vegas so he can gamble.



That's the problem having good luck your first time. It wasn't until I'd been gambling for 20 years or so that Fran and I started to do fairly well. Sure I hit a small jackpot on the slots every once in a while, but mostly my money is for "entertainment" and I have no expectations of winning. When that's gone it's gone. I don't know if I can help him realize that first trip was a fluke!



Leshaface said:


> What a sourpuss.



Yeah I think it was this day, maybe another. We were sitting on the bus and they were getting off. The husband said "Hello" called us by name and she just walked right on past.



Leshaface said:


> I love that you're getting your nails done before every trip now!



Actually I'm just getting then done every two or three weeks. It keeps me from biting them and sticking my hands in my mouth when I'm talking on the phone. I have an appointment Friday for a mani pedi so I'm ready for the Disney trip.



Leshaface said:


> OH heck yes!



I had one of those coffees almost every day. I've felt so crappy lately that I've only had one coffee in the last few weeks.



Leshaface said:


> This is really scary.



I know it makes me think that I prefer our earthquakes!



Leshaface said:


> Oh my gosh how pretty the streets are! That would be cool to see.



These small towns were all very quaint and pretty.



ACDSNY said:


> Vicksburg looks like a quaint little town.



I think that describes it perfectly.


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> There are lots of variations on Biscuits and Gravy, some are better than others. I would encourage you to try it at some point. If you have it from a place that serves good ones, Biscuits and Gravy are quite good.


 
I'll give it a shot.
I've always tried to not let the way something sounds or looks keep me from trying it.
"tried" being the operative word there.



franandaj said:


> You could have just gone to a different bar that had better music.


 
Ah.



franandaj said:


> Besides he only did 45 minute sets from 5:30-6:15 and then another later one after the first dinner seating. I don't think I went there every night. Maybe every other.


 
Not bad then.



franandaj said:


> I would hope that none of us wants to get like that. However, I found so many folks who were just pushy and not willing to wait. Not that everyone was like that, but there were enough


 




franandaj said:


> According to the bus driver we talked to, they did this 10 1/2 months a year, then got six weeks off while the boat goes in drydock. I would imagine they get days off, which is why I suspect there are a couple more drivers than total buses.


 
I wonder what they get paid?
Sounds pretty nice.



franandaj said:


> They said in the early days they would fill the boat's with cotton on the decks and anywhere else they could stuff it. Passengers would just sleep out on the decks as it was until the later boats of the Victorian era that they became fashionable methods of transportation.


 
Interesting.



franandaj said:


> I never used to think about it until I met Fran, in the beginning she went there a lot. Now neither of us think about it much, but after a couple nights of the cold shoulder and only to us, I couldn't think of anything else that differentiated from anyone else.


 




franandaj said:


> On Disney Cruises they charge you $3-4 for one of those!


 
Oh! Didn't know that. Now I see why it made such a big impression on you.



franandaj said:


> Yeah she got up and walked over the hose and I picked up her scooter and maneuvered it over the hose manually.


 
And no one helped you?!?!?



franandaj said:


> The scooter has no breaks!






franandaj said:


> They always win for me!


 
Just made some this morning! 



franandaj said:


> In pink and her husband is the guy in the salmon colored Polo shirt and sporting the shiny dome cut.


 
Got it.



franandaj said:


> We were always back well in advance of sail time except once


 
Uh, oh...



franandaj said:


> Mostly the problem was a very severe angle at the crest of the ramp. She was afraid that she would "bottom out" if she rode over the top of the ramp. So she would get off and let me walk it over the top.


 
Oh. Well... that sucks.



franandaj said:


> That's crazy! What river is near Winnipeg?


 
We have three rivers and a few creeks that go through the city.
But there are only two that can cause flooding, the Assiniboine and the Red. And the Red is the one that can cause widespread damage.
The point where the two main rivers joined is called The Forks and has been a meeting place for centuries.
Now it's the location of our most popular tourist destination.

Here's a couple of pictures from that flood in 1950 (thanks Google!)












Since then, the then Premier of our Province, Duff Roblin, spent an enormous amount of money to build a "Floodway" to divert the excess water around the city. It cost $63 million in 1965-68 (about $500 million now.) It's save the city numerous times. However, in 1997 we had a very close call and the floodway was expanded in 2005 at an additional cost of $665 million. It's been calculated that the Floodway (or as it's fondly called "Duff's ditch") has saved the roughly $32 _billion_ (yes... billion) in damages.



franandaj said:


> It seemed quaint and stuck in the 50's from what I saw.


 
I like that.



franandaj said:


> I imagine farther from the river you would find all the 21st century plagues like fast food, chain megastores and the like.


 
Probably.



franandaj said:


> I figured with the number of smart alecks I have reading along I'd stop that one right there.


 
Good idea! Not everyone is as forgiving of these things as I am.







franandaj said:


> Yeah it was really bad. On those screens they had "stories" as told by 4-5 family members. There was the perspective of the husband who stayed behind to rebuild, the young girl who left with nothing but her dolly, the wife who tried to keep her kids safe in the Red Cross camp. I think the last one was from a Red Cross Worker. It was really sad and fascinating.


 
That'd be something that I would've been interested in reading too.


----------



## franandaj

Captain_Oblivious said:


> On what?



    OK this made me totally LOL!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Wow. That's crazy high. I can't even imagine what that would be like.



This is the area that was completely flooded. Note we traveled to three of these cities over the course of five different days.







Captain_Oblivious said:


> I'm sure that's not easy to make ADA-compliant.



I think they're grandfathered in.  But if an earthquake ever rips that road up, it's gonna cost them a lot of money to fix it!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Looks pretty interesting.



The whole museum was pretty well done.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Wow, that's awful!



Yeah, not something that I would have liked to say that I lived through!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> I guess because the river is flowing faster without all the meandering? Faster flow would lead to more erosion.



Bing! Bing! Bing!  We have a winner!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Hold your breath!



Actually it was a perfect fit.  No disassembly required, just some good steady driving.



dolphingirl47 said:


> I got behind again as for some reason I no longer got notifications for this thread. Fortunately I am all caught up again.
> 
> The sunrise was very pretty.
> 
> The breakfast menu looked delicious.



I'm glad you're caught up.  I need to get over to your thread, as I'm sure there have been a couple of updates since I was last there.



dolphingirl47 said:


> The part of redirecting the flow of water to get rid of the silt problem was really interesting.
> 
> I love the look of that swing and the rocking chairs on the front porch. Shame that it was so windy.



I figured that they had to do some serious work to make sure the river did what they wanted but I had no idea how extensive it really was!



dolphingirl47 said:


> How nice that you were actually able to check out the engine room. I would find this utterly fascinating.



If I knew enough to ask questions about what was going on I'm sure I would have loved to hear about it, but I didn't even know where to start.  I didn't want to say, "So what the heck is going on down here?" Which would have sounded really dumb.



dolphingirl47 said:


> That is really neat that the boat does not need a dock.



I guess that is why the Riverboats became so common on the river.  It is so unpredictable with it's banks overflowing and such that they needed something that could just pull up anywhere and start unloading.



dolphingirl47 said:


> It's a shame that only the later buses were still available when you found out about the ticket system. I am sorry that the casino did not really work out for you. Lunch looked very nice.



We had discussed this city even before leaving home and decided that there really wasn't anything that interested us in this town anyways.  I mainly got the ticket so that I could understand how the system worked for future days.



dolphingirl47 said:


> How strange that one of your table mates would not talk to you, but as you said, that was her loss.



Yeah, I didn't let it get to me, we had plenty of fun with the rest of them!



dolphingirl47 said:


> I love the early morning photo from Vicksburg. I also enjoyed the photos you took from the bus.



Thanks!  There's lots of bus photos to come.  Normally we got that front seat since Fran couldn't walk very far into the back of the bus.



mvf-m11c said:


> The history of Vicksburg was very interesting where you were able to do quite a lot. Learning a lot from your trip report.



Thanks!  There is a lot more interesting history to come.  I didn't realize how much I would be learning when we originally booked this trip!



pkondz said:


> whoops.
> 
> That's just... weird.
> Opposite of what you'd expect.



I know, she would put me on hold, come back, "What kind of accessible features do you need?",  hold again, "OK Ma'm if you could just be patient."  Hold again, this happened for like three or four more times.  I never did find out what features they got, I didn't request a roll in shower, but we'll see if we get one.  The cancellation part?  "OK, I will cancel the room and the balance will go back on your credit card.  Is there anything else I can help you with?"



pkondz said:


> And they didn't notice????



I think he was so focused on getting the cheapest flight that he didn't think about the fact that a hotel room for an additional night could cost $200 or getting to a cheaper room might still run $200 with taxi fees.  I decided to be nice since they have been through a bunch in the last year.



pkondz said:


> Okay, that impresses me.
> In this day and age the attitude is almost always "Oh, well. Too bad for them."



I had already called back the 800 number and was waiting in the queue when my phone rang with a 407 area code, I was so glad that he got back to me!



pkondz said:


> That's a big deal. I mean it took two hours!



Thank you for validating that!



pkondz said:


> Please. Please don't forget the litter boxes.
> 
> Ew.



Yeah, they can get a little ripe when not done every day.



pkondz said:


> For your sake, I hope not!



Yeah, me too!  Once I get my clothes together, I'm going to start really pushing her.



dolphingirl47 said:


> What a shame that they are going to miss that.



I know.  And I was looking forward to doing it as a group.  Fran and I have fun, but it's even better with more people.



dolphingirl47 said:


> That was a bit of luck.



Yeah, the last room I had reserved at US/IAO I kept pushing the reservation forward for almost two years as the first night was not refundable, so I was definitely pleased!



dolphingirl47 said:


> I always surprises me that usually sometimes turns up fairly last minute at Kidani or Jambo House. We benefitted from this a few times.



Yeah, I've noticed you've had that luck.



dolphingirl47 said:


> That is very kind of the two of you to take care of this.



Like I said earlier, they have had a bit of a rough year.



dolphingirl47 said:


> Sounds like you are on a roll. I wish I could do the same thing for our trip and two weeks from now I am officially on leave.



Sort of.  I have finally compiled my list of what to bring.  Now I have to start assembling it.



dolphingirl47 said:


> I have a similar collection, but mine includes a blue one. Of course, now they have also added a purple one.



Yeah, I just learned that.  Blue on the October trip and Purple on the March trip.  Then I will have them all!



afwdwfan said:


> Oh boy... I can only imagine the frustration and stress you felt when you had to deal with all the last minute changes. I'm glad that Universal was good about working with you and able to get you a refund.



I was sort of freaking out that we would be out $300+!  Once that was solved the rest was just sort of a PITA.



afwdwfan said:


> That stinks... I'm sure the Hollywood version is just as good (maybe even a little better from what I hear?). Does it have Diagon Alley though? I'm sure he'll be really bummed if he can't see Diagon Alley. It is really pretty amazing.



I don't think the Hollywood version will be as extensive.  I think they only have Hogsmeade there.  They have a problem of being landlocked in the middle of a very expensive area with a high demand for land.



afwdwfan said:


> Holy crap! Your cats eat better than I do!



  



afwdwfan said:


> And now you can add purple to the collection too...



Yeah, that will have to be on the March trip.


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> The cancellation part? "OK, I will cancel the room and the balance will go back on your credit card. Is there anything else I can help you with?"


 
 Well. That was easy.



franandaj said:


> Yeah, they can get a little ripe when not done every day.


----------



## PrincessInOz

Catching up!
So much to take in on this tour.  Loving all the details of the towns on the Mississippi.  



WOW!  That's leaving things late for planning a trip to WDW.


----------



## franandaj

********** said:


> Enjoying the heck out of your TR so far. Looks like a cool trip. Doesn't surprise me it's mostly seniors - they are typically the ones with the time and money for these types of trips. Vicksburg doesn't look all that exciting, but it IS interesting seeing the history of the Mississippi and the riverboats.



Another reason it's big with seniors is that it's not an adrenaline based trip. They even boast that it's a relaxed, laid back style of vacationing. They did offer bikes at every stop if you wanted to go for a ride through any of the towns. I'm sure the battlefield tour would have been the highlight of Vicksburg. 



********** said:


> Too bad about Jim and Alberto being delayed, but at least it seems like you won't have that bungalow all to yourselves! We are strongly considering a Universal trip early next year. (Not the whole week at Universal, but a "no Disney" trip.)



A no Disney trip! 

I am really bummed they can't make the first part, but glad that the meeting didn't fall right in the middle of the trip. At least they will make the part where I used so many DVC points.



Pinkocto said:


> Oh my goodness, that was stressful just reading about the last minute changes, let alone having to do all that work to fix them! Awesome that your Universal hotel was refundable. Sad that they're going to miss the Universal plans though.



Yeah. It is what it is. At least we were able to salvage enough of the trip.

I hope that nothing else changes between now and then, it's enough just for me to get the two of us packed!



Pinkocto said:


> What dates are you going to be there? I thought I asked this but can't find where I did or that you responded. I'm taking mom on an impromptu Mother's Day trip May 4-9, will we overlap at all?



No you never asked.  I just noticed your ticker about a week ago, but I figured you two were on a cruise.

We are there until the 7th, so we overlap quite a bit. I'm not sure if you have plans for the night you arrive, but we are having an early dinner at O'Hana and then going back to our room to watch Wishes from the patio of our Bungalow. If you ladies wanted to stop by we would love to share our lovely Bungalow with friends!

The 5th we're at MK most of the day (although we'll probably take a midday break). The 6th we split up from Jim & Alberto and we're going to DHS in the day and dinner is at the Boathouse in DTD. We leave at 2PM on Saturday so not sure what we plan to do for that day.



Flossbolna said:


> Wow! I think you are dealing quite well with your friend's last minute attitude!! I would slowly pull all my hair out of my head in a similar situation! What a relieve that the room deposit was refundable...



You're so funny! I'm finding that very few people that I travel with plan to the extent that I do. My parents are also rather casual about their planning for our cruise this summer, although they are more on top of it than Jim!



Flossbolna said:


> I have also been meaning to comment on your last update about the Mississippi history. I am currently reading a book about the year 1927, it is non-fiction. And a big topic in there is the flood of 1927 and what it caused, not only with regard to water damage, but also giving Hoover the push to raise to where he got to. Besides the flood it is also about Charles Lindbergh's first transatlantic flight and a lot of other things. I find it quite fascinating and it does exist as an audio book: http://www.amazon.com/One-Summer-Am...swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1460747608&sr=1-1



Sounds like an interesting book. I will have to look into it. Right now we are listening to something much less admirable, it's a series of books where a caterer solves murder mysteries.


----------



## franandaj

dhorner233 said:


> Wow! I'm impressed with your ability to handle last minute adjustments to your plans! I'm like you, I want everything planned out 3 months in advance! I savor the anticipation. Sometimes the anticipation is better than the actual act.  Ever read the Tao of Pooh? One of my favorite books!!



I'm laughing at myself with all the planning I'm having to do. Last minute with the upcoming WDW trip, minor details for Alaska, and in a couple days, ADRs for my October trip.



rentayenta said:


> Ugh on the flight/room headache.  Glad it's going to work out but I feel ya, I try to have everything set as well ahead of time.



Yeah last minute things stress me out. I like having everthing in place and a nice folder with everything in sheet protectors and all in order.


----------



## franandaj

pkondz said:


> I'll give it a shot.
> I've always tried to not let the way something sounds or looks keep me from trying it.
> "tried" being the operative word there.



You really should try it sometime.  I would have them more often but there are sooooooo many calories.  Maybe once I hit my goal and hold it for a month or so, I'll make some at home.  I put lots of sausage in my gravy!  



pkondz said:


> I wonder what they get paid?
> Sounds pretty nice.



It sounded like some of them had been driving for quite a few years, so I would imagine that they pay them pretty well.



pkondz said:


> Oh! Didn't know that. Now I see why it made such a big impression on you.



Yeah, the Cove Cafe on any Disney ship charges for their specialty coffees like any Starbuck's, Pete's, or Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.



pkondz said:


> And no one helped you?!?!?



Oh, there was always three or four guys who would run over and try to help, but I usually had it taken care of by the time they would get there.  You've got to remember I lift these things in and out of the car all the time at home.  Granted I tear it down into the four pieces, but it's not that heavy, mostly bulky.



pkondz said:


> Just made some this morning!



Oooh!  I probably won't have any again until we get to WDW.



pkondz said:


> Uh, oh...



No, the one time we came back late, we were on an excursion sponsored by the Company, so they held the boat for our bus.



pkondz said:


> Here's a couple of pictures from that flood in 1950 (thanks Google!)



Thanks for sharing those!  That's a crazy amount of water there!



pkondz said:


> It's been calculated that the Floodway (or as it's fondly called "Duff's ditch") has saved the roughly $32 _billion_ (yes... billion) in damages.



That's great!



pkondz said:


> Good idea! Not everyone is as forgiving of these things as I am.



  



pkondz said:


> That'd be something that I would've been interested in reading too.



Actually those stories were on the video monitor.  You would touch the photo of the "character" and then their story was read by an actor (or actress) while pictures from the period showed on the screen.



pkondz said:


> Well. That was easy.



I know!  I was totally surprised after all that time I spent trying to get the accessible room.



PrincessInOz said:


> Catching up!
> So much to take in on this tour.  Loving all the details of the towns on the Mississippi.
> 
> 
> 
> WOW!  That's leaving things late for planning a trip to WDW.



Been missing you on the DIS lately!

Good thing that I planned most of the trip.  All that they had to do was buy admission tickets and book airfare and all of that happened in the last month.


----------



## franandaj

Hi everyone!  I'm going to post a "mega update" today since I'm not sure if I'll get in another one before we leave for WDW.  Over the next 10 days, I'm going to try and catch up on everyone else's reports so that I'm not behind when I leave!

Once back on the boat, we wanted to have a sit down lunch on the boat, especially since we missed it the day before. We brought our stuff back to the room and headed down to the dining room.  Here is the Captain’s Lounge just outside the dining room.













Looking back up the staircase









Looking into the dining room





Lunch was also available as a buffet or ordered from the menu. They were carving some type of meat.













Here was the menu.





We were seated with an older woman from Nixon, MO and a couple from Visalia, CA. Both of us got the gumbo.





Then we both ordered a Swiss and mushroom burger.  I don't know what we were thinking, we should have just split one between the two of us.  We each ate half.





I got us a couple desserts off the buffet.









At this point we both had the tired and crankies and needed a rest. In her form it was falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. She had put American Pickers on the TV so I just let it go in the background. They just kept playing more and more episodes. With that in the background I was futzing around on the DIS and working on an update. I was great online between 2:30 and 4:30. I got a bunch of photos uploaded and just as I was posting the update was "All aboard" time. I could literally feel the slow of the WiFi as everyone picked up their tablets after coming home from their shore excursions. So I packed up the computer and decided to go watch us sail away from somewhere besides my balcony. I wasn't facing the dockside and it would be more fun to watch the action.

I went to the opposite balcony on the boat and there was a couple sitting there.  I asked them if this was their stateroom, and got a blank look.  The woman muttered something which I thought might have been German so I asked if they spoke German and they said yes.

In my best broken German I told them that I had the room on the other side of the boat and just wanted to look at the shore for a bit.  They seemed OK with that and went on to ignore me.













For those who complain about the dumpster view at the VWL, this cracked me up.





I ended up going to Deck 3 and taking a seat there. As we pulled out of Vicksburg you could hear the music of the Calliope rickosheting off the hillside.









This bridge was off in the distance and I heard a group of guys all excited to see the stacks retract to go under the bridge.  The boat could make itself as low as 55ft tall for low bridges.





Here we are heading for the bridge





Another Casino on the river





I heard a guy say to his wife, "Why don't they just come in and make this river go straight?"

And I couldn't help but chime in with, "Actually, after the great flood of 1927, the USACE did that in parts of the river just north of us and a little farther south." I talked about how we went to the museum today and I learned all about that part of the river. It was something I had wondered ever since I looked at the map a couple months ago. It boggled my mind how it took so much time to go from stop to stop. Evidently I made the correct choice of selecting a downstream voyage. 

It takes less energy going downstream and therefore we get more time for each stop. Going upstream the time in each city all depends on the force of the river and how much time they can make up in between each stop. The couple invited me to sit down, and it turns out they were from Napa. She had a friend who just bought a house about 7 houses away from our 1st St rental property. 

Those who followed the house Saga remember that there were some nasty neighbors who wouldn't approve our building plans (it's a historic district). Well her friend painted their house, but they shunned the historic committee and painted it the color they initially wanted and not the one that was approved.  The commission said they would let it go if no one complained. One. Person. Complained. They had to repaint. I laughed because I know just who it was. Our next door neighbor.  Isn't it funny what a small world we live in?

By this point I was ready to go back to the room, get showered and change for dinner. I did take a few Sunset photos though.









All our table mates showed up again tonight. Here was the menu.





I don't think anyone fancied having Prince Naveen for a starter and everyone went for the Shrimp and avocado tower. There was a small problem though. It appears they misjudged their clientele. Hardly anyone fancied Prince Naveen for a starter. They had run out of avocado and had to come up with a new dish on the spot. Because of this we got our soup/salad next. I ordered the wedge salad. It was OK. I'm a huge fan of wedge salads and this was not really a wedge, but more of a slice. It worked for what it was.





Fran got the Corn and Crab Bisque It was good.





Then we got our shrimp dish. I think they fried it with some kind of marinade on it. I was happy with it as I'm not a huge avocado fan. I'll eat it, but don't necessarily miss it when it's not there. So this worked as a substitute for me.  However Jenny and Nigel were very upset about not having any “Avo”.





For our main we had Roasted Prime Rib of beef. This was absolutely perfect. Cooked to exactly how I like it and they gave me real horseradish to go with it!





Again the wine was flowing, but Fran kept a better handle on it. At one point they ran out of the red wine and had to break into a more expensive bottle. Nigel got a glass of it and I said that I wanted one. The waiter said, "She told me you were done!"

"I meant the Chardonnay!" Fran quickly piped in to save herself. In the end I got another glass of the new wine and it was much better than the included complimentary wine, but was still free. We ordered dessert.  I had the white chocolate bread pudding, it was just awesome!





Fran had the Red Velvet Cake. she liked it, but said mine was far superior. I think she might have finished what I couldn't of mine.





We excused ourselves and headed back to the room. Now here I’m going to gripe about our stateroom host a little bit.  Perhaps we weren’t the model cruisers.  We didn’t go to the show.  So our room was not vacant until we went to dinner.  Now really what the hostess should have done is just waited until we went to dinner and taken care of our room.  Instead, she sort of tacked this little guilt trip on us that “we were her last cabin, and she just waited up for us to go to dinner, so that she could go to bed.” Yadda yadda yadda.  As a result, instead of turning down our room at night and giving us candies, she would just hand me the Navigators (or whatever you call them) and any candy or gifts while I was outside on the balcony with a beverage.  I have been putting the paperwork in at the end of the night as if it was there when we came back from dinner, but in reality, I usually had it before we went to dinner because our hostess couldn’t stay up that late.  I'll post tomorrow’s stuff in the next update.


----------



## franandaj

Natchez. 






























Again we arrived well before sun up and were docked before I got up. I had been feeling a tickle in my throat. "I can't be getting sick." I thought. But my head was congested and my nose was slightly plugged up. I took some generic Zicam and hoped for the best.  We went down to breakfast and we were again seated with the nice couple from Texas. we both tried to keep it light again but couldn't resist what looked like Beignets on the buffet.





We couldn't have been more wrong. They were not light fluffy little pillows of goodness, they were doughy little boulders of evil. Well, something to look forward to in New Orleans. Fran’s Plate.





When I mentioned that I felt like I was getting sick, the woman said that just about everyone on the ship was experiencing a similar sensation and that it was more than likely an allergic reaction to the pollen in the air and our lack of tolerance to the river fauna. I hoped she was right. So after breakfast Fran really surprised me here. All of a sudden she decides that she wants to add the "Backroads of the Plantations" tour tomorrow afternoon. Back when we were discussing excursions about a month ago, I was sure she would want to do this, but she declined. I guess this is what happens to her when she gets wrapped up in the spirit of things. She sent me to the pursers office, but they said we should ask the gals who are loading the busses as they handle all the excursions. 

We headed out (in plenty of time) to our Hop On/Hop off bus.





We had tickets for the 9:30 HO/HO bus, and this time we arrived promptly at 9:15 and boarded the bus, but not before inquiring about the tour. 

















Once we were seated and comfy, the tour coordinator came on board to tell us we were confirmed for the tour. Just as soon as we were on the bus it started to sprinkle. Then it started to pour. As we climbed the hill, our guide explained that back in the day (1800s) for someone on the bluff, it would be scandalous to have traveled down to the river's edge, as that was a den of sin, with gambling, drinking and women of ill repute. So just another day in the life!

We had told the bus driver that we wanted to get off at the first stop, but immediately changed our minds. 





I looked up the weather on the weather kitty app, and the storm front was right over us. The second stop was the visitor's center and we decided to get off here and weather the storm. 

















Our guide thought it would blow over in about 20 minutes.





There was a movie on the history of the city, plus they had a nice wall that depicted the timeline of Natchez. It has quite an interesting past. I'll try to make it brief.





The Indians were here first. The French came around 1716 and everything was hunky dory until a Frenchman took a fancy to an Indian woman. The Indians retaliated in 1729 and killed all the men and kidnapped the women and children. Two years later the French came back and mostly annihilated the Natchez Indians. Those who survived relocated to Oklahoma and Southern Louisiana. Throughout the next 70 years the Spanish held the territory, followed by the British, but eventually with the Louisiana Purchase, Americans came to populate the region and began to grow the crop that put the south on the map, cotton.

Huge mansions exemplified the southern landscape starting in the early 1800's. Cotton became the crop of the day and people got very rich. However, when the talk of succession came around, Natchez was having nothing of it. They knew that an agricultural based economy could not beat an industrial economy, but when MS voted to secede, Natchez joined in. We all know how the "War for Southern Independence" worked out. When Vicksburg fell on July 4, 1863, Natchez was quick to surrender.  That is why they still have over 500 Ante-bellum homes that are still intact. The Union took over the home which was the first stop on our HO/HO tour and used it as a headquarters. 

Once the war ended the US government came in gathering taxes. Many citizens had traded in their cash for confederate dollars which were obviously worthless. Most people were flat broke. However, because two years went by without the South being able export cotton, and they burned everything that was saved up when the city surrendered, local merchants knew the next crop would command a hefty price. 

It was then that the economy turned to merchant based instead of grower based. The merchants gave the growers whatever they needed, seed, tools, fertilizer, whatever. All on credit, and gave them a year to pay it back. After the harvest. Those who were able to replant had to hire the slaves as workers, and actually made more money than when they were slaves! Those who weren't able to replant lived in poverty or relocated. Those who could replant, may or may not have been successful, but in 1907 the entire cotton industry was wiped out due to the boll weevil. It never recovered in the area after that because once the boll weevil was wiped out, they had overfarmed the land and leached out all the nutrients in the soil.  Rotate your crops people.

The rest of the story is fairly similar to the rest of the country, with African-Americans fighting for their freedom, and the city moving forward in the 20th century. I tell you this because it is relevant to our upcoming tours.


Back to the day. So with myself feeling all edumacated (Fran already knew all this) we strove out into the wild. The rain had passed and now there was just a slight drizzle. 





Here’s me taking another shot at the original fort.





It was 11:17 now. Our plan was to have lunch at the Carriage House at Stanton Hall. It was one of the largest Plantations in Natchez and is now a museum and operates a restaurant.  I had read on Yelp that they strictly enforce their 11-2 open hours, like they won't seat people who arrive at 1:45. We both decided that we were getting hungry and would rather skip the next two stops and head directly to lunch as Stanton Hall was higher on our list than the other two. Here’s one of the Antebellum homes not on our stop list.





This poor mansion had a huge fire, and the guy who owned it wouldn’t even take care of the place, yet he wouldn’t sell it either.





This one was called the key house.





This street was known for it’s trees along the sides of the road. Our guide said that it had been used in several movies.





Magnolia Hall was on our list, but I couldn't see the ramp and when I asked the guide about it, she thought it had been removed several years earlier, so I was glad we had decided to skip it. 





This water tower was visible as we approached our next destination.





Stanton Hall is a beautiful example of the Plantation manors in Natchez in the Ante-bellum south. 

















But before the tour we decided to have lunch.  


*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

The restaurant is not fancy and I was surprised there were not more people having lunch, but it was a Thursday and not the weekend.





















They started you off with these mini biscuits and Jam.

























I went with a classic southern cocktail, the Mint Julep. It certainly wasn't my favorite, it was really strong, but I'm glad I tried it.





I had the fried chicken. It had an awesome crispy skin and was really tasty. The mashed potatoes were real potatoes, the black Eyed Peas could have used a tad more flavoring. 





Fran got the Chicken fried steak. She let me have some and it was really good too!





For dessert I had Creme Brule. It wasn't burnt enough on top and custard was way too eggy. I just ate the top layer.  However that brownie you see there next to it!  That was the best!!!! I would have gladly had a plate of those for dessert!





Fran had pecan cobbler and really liked it.





Then we went and took the 1PM tour of the house. These are my pictures from the tour. 









Sorry. 

I can tell you about the house. They spent 9 years building the house and Frederick Stanton lived in the house 9 months before he passed. It was just months before the Civil war began. His wife was left to run the house and plantation three children. He left her $200,000 which she converted to confederate dollars. When the war ended she had to sell off much of their property just to cover the taxes on the house owed to the US government. She lived until she was 86 in 1893. And when she died the children tried to live in the house, but it was such an impractical home, it was sold and became a girl’s school. The classes were held downstairs in the living room and the girls lived in the bedrooms upstairs. When the house was going to be torn down two women of the garden club (who were schooled in the house) convinced their husbands to pool their resources and purchase the house. It was run as a B&B, but they had to add bathrooms out on the patio.  Then it was purchased and turned into a museum.

I was able to find these few photos of the interior online.  The living room:





The Main Hallway:



 





The Dining room:





Something else to note here, classic southern home design dictates that there be a main hallway down the center of the home and rooms off to the sides.  This allows for cooling in the summertime and the breeze can flow throughout the house.  There is always a small window near the top of the house to allow the warm air to escape.

Another fun fact!  This house served as the inspiration for Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion!  Take another look.





I’ll be back with how we finished up the rest of our day!


----------



## ACDSNY

Love the Disneyland connection on the Stanton Hall.


----------



## rentayenta

Great mega update!  So excited your trip is in 10 days!

The ship staircase looks like a mini model of the Titanic's. 

Dumpster view.  I have yet to have a crappy Disney dumpster view. Knock on wood. 

Love the sunset pics. Those are sunrise pics are my favorite. 

I had to double check to see if the frog leg's were really called the Prince Naveen. LOL!]

Carriage House looks quite pretty. Those little biscuits look like scones.

I have yet to have a good Mint Julep.


----------



## Steppesister

Southern charm was definitely an elegant way of life. Very beautiful homes and nicely restored! Looks like a marvelous tour! LOVE me some chicken fried steak! 

The last mint julep I had was a Mt. Vernon on the way to WDW in 2010; it too was VERY strong, and unless you like bourbon may not be the best choice. I don't love it; a little goes a long way. 

I"m not sure why they don't allow photography in those homes. Maybe the flashes bother people? or maybe it can harm the antiques? I dunno, I was frustrated at Mt. Vernon too.


----------



## Malia78

Getting caught up on the bonus trip--finding the river boat cruise very interesting. Definitely inspires me to look into the Empress sailing since its right in my backyard.


----------



## dhorner233

I loved the history lesson and the Staunton House! I'm so glad it had a happy ending, it's such a beautiful house, even if it is impractical. So cool that it was used as the model for the Disneyland Haunted Mansion! Very interesting update! Thanks as always for taking us with you!


----------



## Pinkocto

franandaj said:


> No you never asked.  I just noticed your ticker about a week ago, but I figured you two were on a cruise.
> 
> We are there until the 7th, so we overlap quite a bit. I'm not sure if you have plans for the night you arrive, but we are having an early dinner at O'Hana and then going back to our room to watch Wishes from the patio of our Bungalow. If you ladies wanted to stop by we would love to share our lovely Bungalow with friends!
> 
> The 5th we're at MK most of the day (although we'll probably take a midday break). The 6th we split up from Jim & Alberto and we're going to DHS in the day and dinner is at the Boathouse in DTD. We leave at 2PM on Saturday so not sure what we plan to do for that day.


 
I'm glad I asked again. I could have sworn I asked but then went back pages and pages on all your threads and couldn't find any response 

We fly in at 7:30pm the night of the 4th, fireworks would be fabulous if we can get the car quickly and get there. We're meeting up with the same friends we went with in December, they also leave Saturday.  Flights were super cheap, they were already going, and it's Mothers Day, win win.  And to meet up with you and Fran for a proper visit will be fabulous!  We'll also be at MK on the 5th, but have no evening plans. We're separating from our friends because they're going to eat at Crystal Palace and we couldn't get a reservation last minute.


----------



## Pinkocto

Oh my about Prince Naveen!  I couldn't eat frog legs, the thought just turns my stomach.  Glad the substitute salad was something you liked, it looked tasty. 

Loving all this history, and the houses are so gorgeous!  The burned one reminds me of the one in Forest Gump. 

Great that Fran got in the spirit and wanted to do the tour the next day  that sounds fascinating. 

I hope it was just allergies and you didn't get sick.


----------



## dolphingirl47

I loved all the photos again, especially of the mansions.



franandaj said:


> Here is the Captain’s Lounge just outside the dining room.



This looks lovely.



franandaj said:


> This bridge was off in the distance and I heard a group of guys all excited to see the stacks retract to go under the bridge. The boat could make itself as low as 55ft tall for low bridges.



That is really near. I would have been fascinated by this, too.



franandaj said:


> The couple invited me to sit down, and it turns out they were from Napa. She had a friend who just bought a house about 7 houses away from our 1st St rental property.



We really live in a small world. Had to laugh about the cranky neighbour that you knew.



franandaj said:


>



I absolutely adore this photo.



franandaj said:


> But my head was congested and my nose was slightly plugged up.



Oh dear, that does not sound good.



franandaj said:


> I looked up the weather on the weather kitty app, and the storm front was right over us.



What a shame about the weather.



franandaj said:


> Another fun fact! This house served as the inspiration for Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion! Take another look.



Now that you have pointed it out, it is obvious. That is really cool.

Corinna


----------



## pkondz

Just gonna take care of these before I hit the update...



franandaj said:


> I put lots of sausage in my gravy!


 
That sounds good.



franandaj said:


> Oh, there was always three or four guys who would run over and try to help, but I usually had it taken care of by the time they would get there


 
Ah. I was actually a little miffed on your behalf! 



franandaj said:


> You've got to remember I lift these things in and out of the car all the time at home. Granted I tear it down into the four pieces, but it's not that heavy, mostly bulky.


 
I didn't mean to imply that you couldn't do it, but that someone should be there to help.
Heck, even a guest. I would.



franandaj said:


> Oooh! I probably won't have any again until we get to WDW.


 
I'll trade your upcoming WDW trip for some bennys.



franandaj said:


> No, the one time we came back late, we were on an excursion sponsored by the Company, so they held the boat for our bus.


 
Ah.



franandaj said:


> Actually those stories were on the video monitor. You would touch the photo of the "character" and then their story was read by an actor (or actress) while pictures from the period showed on the screen.


 
Even better. I'd like to have seen some photos.


----------



## franandaj

ACDSNY said:


> Love the Disneyland connection on the Stanton Hall.



And they didn't even tell us that on the tour (unless we missed it, they let us join in the tour that had just started as Fran couldn't really climb the steps in front.) I found that gem on Wikipedia. 



rentayenta said:


> Great mega update!  So excited your trip is in 10 days!



Now eight! 



rentayenta said:


> The ship staircase looks like a mini model of the Titanic's.



Except I think the Titanic's has another floor on the outside of the staircase.  This boat was modeled after the JM something from the late 1800s and the Delta Queen.



rentayenta said:


> Dumpster view.  I have yet to have a crappy Disney dumpster view. Knock on wood.



Yeah let's hope I didn't just jinx us for next week! 



rentayenta said:


> Love the sunset pics. Those are sunrise pics are my favorite.



Thanks 



rentayenta said:


> I had to double check to see if the frog leg's were really called the Prince Naveen. LOL!]



I think they would have had to pay royalties for that.



rentayenta said:


> Carriage House looks quite pretty. Those little biscuits look like scones.



They were definitely biscuits. 



rentayenta said:


> I have yet to have a good Mint Julep.



I'm guessing I probably wouldn't like another.



Steppesister said:


> Southern charm was definitely an elegant way of life. Very beautiful homes and nicely restored! Looks like a marvelous tour! LOVE me some chicken fried steak!



The house's we saw were all very nice. And I do love me good chicken  fried steak!



Steppesister said:


> The last mint julep I had was a Mt. Vernon on the way to WDW in 2010; it too was VERY strong, and unless you like bourbon may not be the best choice. I don't love it; a little goes a long way.



Yeah. I'm guessing it is not the drink for me.



Steppesister said:


> I"m not sure why they don't allow photography in those homes. Maybe the flashes bother people? or maybe it can harm the antiques? I dunno, I was frustrated at Mt. Vernon too.



They want you to buy the book in the gift store with all the pictures in it.



Malia78 said:


> Getting caught up on the bonus trip--finding the river boat cruise very interesting. Definitely inspires me to look into the Empress sailing since its right in my backyard.



I would definitely suggest you look into it. That one is even pricier than the Mississippi but it was a very nice trip. And they took very good care of us!


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> Hi everyone! I'm going to post a "mega update" today


 
Okay.... go!



franandaj said:


> Here is the Captain’s Lounge just outside the dining room.


 
Beautiful.



franandaj said:


> Both of us got the gumbo.


 
As would I.



franandaj said:


> Then we both ordered a Swiss and mushroom burger.


 
Ditto.



franandaj said:


> I could literally feel the slow of the WiFi as everyone picked up their tablets after coming home from their shore excursions.


 




franandaj said:


> The woman muttered something which I thought might have been German so I asked if they spoke German and they said yes.
> 
> In my best broken German I told them that I had the room on the other side of the boat and just wanted to look at the shore for a bit. They seemed OK with that and went on to ignore me.


 
Odd. In my experience, when in a foreign land, if you find someone who speaks your language, you perk up and like to chat.
Not so much with these two.
What's up with the surly passengers??



franandaj said:


> For those who complain about the dumpster view at the VWL, this cracked me up.


 
Beautiful!





franandaj said:


> I ended up going to Deck 3 and taking a seat there.


 
Why'd you change? Too uncomfortable sitting with the Germans?



franandaj said:


> This bridge was off in the distance and I heard a group of guys all excited to see the stacks retract to go under the bridge.


 
I don't think I'd be "excited", but I would be interested.



franandaj said:


> It boggled my mind how it took so much time to go from stop to stop. Evidently I made the correct choice of selecting a downstream voyage.


 

When we were in Europe, we were going to take a Rhine cruise (until I got voted down by the other three.) It was strongly recommended to take the train a distance upstream and travel back by boat... downstream.



franandaj said:


> One. Person. Complained. They had to repaint. I laughed because I know just who it was. Our next door neighbor. Isn't it funny what a small world we live in?


 
 Funny "ha ha" or funny "I want to strangle them"?



franandaj said:


> I don't think anyone fancied having Prince Naveen for a starter


 
 I would have!



franandaj said:


> At one point they ran out of the red wine and had to break into a more expensive bottle. Nigel got a glass of it and I said that I wanted one. The waiter said, "She told me you were done!"
> 
> "I meant the Chardonnay!" Fran quickly piped in to save herself.


 
Nice save Fran.



franandaj said:


> “we were her last cabin, and she just waited up for us to go to dinner, so that she could go to bed.”


 
Oh brother.
Was she young? So many people now just don't want to have to actually work.



franandaj said:


> I had been feeling a tickle in my throat. "I can't be getting sick." I thought. But my head was congested and my nose was slightly plugged up


 
Oh, no...



franandaj said:


> They were not light fluffy little pillows of goodness, they were doughy little boulders of evil.


 
Counterfeit beignets, taking over the world!!



franandaj said:


> When I mentioned that I felt like I was getting sick, the woman said that just about everyone on the ship was experiencing a similar sensation and that it was more than likely an allergic reaction to the pollen in the air and our lack of tolerance to the river fauna.


 
Huh. Never would've thought that.



franandaj said:


> Just as soon as we were on the bus it started to sprinkle. Then it started to pour.


 
Crap.



franandaj said:


> As we climbed the hill, our guide explained that back in the day (1800s) for someone on the bluff, it would be scandalous to have traveled down to the river's edge, as that was a den of sin, with gambling, drinking and women of ill repute. So just another day in the life!


 
So, since you were _coming_ from the river's edge... you are women of ill repute!



franandaj said:


>


 
Cool diorama.



franandaj said:


> The French came around 1716 and everything was hunky dory until a Frenchman took a fancy to an Indian woman. The Indians retaliated in 1729 and killed all the men and kidnapped the women and children.


 
It always comes down to sex.



franandaj said:


> Two years later the French came back and mostly annihilated the Natchez Indians.


 
I don't know why, but the song "Why can't we be friends" is in my head right now.



franandaj said:


> The rest of the story is fairly similar to the rest of the country, with African-Americans fighting for their freedom, and the city moving forward in the 20th century. I tell you this because it is relevant to our upcoming tours.


 
Thanks for the history lesson.
It's funny... When I was in school I _hated_ history with a passion. Now I love it.



franandaj said:


> Here’s one of the Antebellum homes not on our stop list.


 
Breathtaking.



franandaj said:


> This poor mansion had a huge fire, and the guy who owned it wouldn’t even take care of the place, yet he wouldn’t sell it either.


 
Odd. Maybe he's holding out for the right price?
Possibly an exorbitant price?



franandaj said:


> This one was called the key house.


 
I can see why. Makes sense.



franandaj said:


> Magnolia Hall was on our list, but I couldn't see the ramp and when I asked the guide about it, she thought it had been removed several years earlier


 
Why would you remove a ramp?
Maybe it was in disrepair.



franandaj said:


>


 
Gorgeous.



franandaj said:


> They spent 9 years building the house


 
Whoa.



franandaj said:


> and Frederick Stanton lived in the house 9 months before he passed.


 
I've heard that same story so many times.
We had a guy at work who built his dream home and finally retired.
He spent one night in his home and died that night.



franandaj said:


> He left her $200,000 which she converted to confederate dollars.


 
oops.



franandaj said:


> Something else to note here, classic southern home design dictates that there be a main hallway down the center of the home and rooms off to the sides. This allows for cooling in the summertime and the breeze can flow throughout the house.


 
Interesting.



franandaj said:


> Another fun fact! This house served as the inspiration for Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion!


 
No way!


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

franandaj said:


> I'm going to post a "mega update" today since I'm not sure if I'll get in another one before we leave for WDW.



Uh oh.  I've got my work cut out for me.



franandaj said:


> They were carving some type of meat.



Mmmm...mystery meat...



franandaj said:


> I could literally feel the slow of the WiFi as everyone picked up their tablets after coming home from their shore excursions.



It's like going back in time to dial-up!



franandaj said:


> For those who complain about the dumpster view at the VWL, this cracked me up.



 Welcome to Vicksburg!



franandaj said:


> This bridge was off in the distance and I heard a group of guys all excited to see the stacks retract to go under the bridge. The boat could make itself as low as 55ft tall for low bridges.



Cool!  I would have been geeking out, too.



franandaj said:


> I heard a guy say to his wife, "Why don't they just come in and make this river go straight?"
> 
> And I couldn't help but chime in with, "Actually, after the great flood of 1927, the USACE did that in parts of the river just north of us and a little farther south." I talked about how we went to the museum today and I learned all about that part of the river.



Look at you, dropping the engineering knowledge.  Nice work.



franandaj said:


> It takes less energy going downstream and therefore we get more time for each stop. Going upstream the time in each city all depends on the force of the river and how much time they can make up in between each stop.



The power of water is truly amazing.



franandaj said:


> Those who followed the house Saga remember that there were some nasty neighbors who wouldn't approve our building plans (it's a historic district). Well her friend painted their house, but they shunned the historic committee and painted it the color they initially wanted and not the one that was approved. The commission said they would let it go if no one complained. One. Person. Complained. They had to repaint. I laughed because I know just who it was. Our next door neighbor. Isn't it funny what a small world we live in?



 There's always that one person who is resolved to making things miserable for everyone else.



franandaj said:


> I don't think anyone fancied having Prince Naveen for a starter and everyone went for the Shrimp and avocado tower. There was a small problem though. It appears they misjudged their clientele. Hardly anyone fancied Prince Naveen for a starter.



Man, I could have called that one.



franandaj said:


> Now really what the hostess should have done is just waited until we went to dinner and taken care of our room. Instead, she sort of tacked this little guilt trip on us that “we were her last cabin, and she just waited up for us to go to dinner, so that she could go to bed.”



Pretty sure you're there to serve the guests, not the other way around.



franandaj said:


> We couldn't have been more wrong. They were not light fluffy little pillows of goodness, they were doughy little boulders of evil.



But did they taste good, at least?



franandaj said:


> As we climbed the hill, our guide explained that back in the day (1800s) for someone on the bluff, it would be scandalous to have traveled down to the river's edge, as that was a den of sin, with gambling, drinking and women of ill repute.



So @pkondz would have been right at home?



franandaj said:


> Rotate your crops people.



 I'd totally fail at the farming thing.



franandaj said:


> I had read on Yelp that they strictly enforce their 11-2 open hours, like they won't seat people who arrive at 1:45.



So they're really open until 1:30.



franandaj said:


> This poor mansion had a huge fire, and the guy who owned it wouldn’t even take care of the place, yet he wouldn’t sell it either.



Sure, that makes total and complete sense.



franandaj said:


> Stanton Hall is a beautiful example of the Plantation manors in Natchez in the Ante-bellum south.



Looks like it would hold 999 ghosts pretty well, too!



franandaj said:


> I had the fried chicken. It had an awesome crispy skin and was really tasty.



Mmm...that looks really good.



franandaj said:


> These are my pictures from the tour.





franandaj said:


> Sorry.



 Must be some top-secret home decorations in there.



franandaj said:


> Another fun fact! This house served as the inspiration for Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion! Take another look.



Hey, cool!  I was completely guessing on my previous response.


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Just catching up! For some reason Disboards has stopped alerting me you have posted which is annoying. 

Vicksburg looked interesting. Starting with breakfast. Got to have pancakes and eggs benedict. If it's on the menu rude not too.

The boat looks so pretty with it's ornate balconies. Like the houses in New Orleans. 

Oh my re the flood of 1927. Glad Hoover sorted it out but there are always impacts with new designs. 

I love learning about the brick road and animals. You missed nothing in that coca cola museem...

Lovely Captains lounge! Your dinner sounded nice prime rib yes please. No takers on frogs legs? Really this is a shocker lol. 

Natchez looked good sorry you were sick. Well done for sorted out the vacation plans. I like things planned millenium in advance. Me and last minute Anna's as we call them here do not mix well! 

Hope you are feeling better.


----------



## mvf-m11c

Excited for you for your upcoming trip and have a great time.

You did quite a lot on those days from the boat, meals and going around Natchez. 

That is neat that Disney got the inspiration of the Stanton Hall for the HM.


----------



## pkondz

Captain_Oblivious said:


> So @pkondz would have been right at home?



Well, d'uh! We _lived_ there!
Or maybe it was some other den of iniquity...


----------



## franandaj

dhorner233 said:


> I loved the history lesson and the Staunton House! I'm so glad it had a happy ending, it's such a beautiful house, even if it is impractical. So cool that it was used as the model for the Disneyland Haunted Mansion! Very interesting update! Thanks as always for taking us with you!



You're very welcome!



Pinkocto said:


> I'm glad I asked again. I could have sworn I asked but then went back pages and pages on all your threads and couldn't find any response



If you hadn't asked I would have got round to asking you!



Pinkocto said:


> We fly in at 7:30pm the night of the 4th, fireworks would be fabulous if we can get the car quickly and get there. We're meeting up with the same friends we went with in December, they also leave Saturday. Flights were super cheap, they were already going, and it's Mothers Day, win win. And to meet up with you and Fran for a proper visit will be fabulous! We'll also be at MK on the 5th, but have no evening plans. We're separating from our friends because they're going to eat at Crystal Palace and we couldn't get a reservation last minute.



We're at BoG for dinner on the 5th and then have MSEP viewing that night.  I was just informed by Fran that we are going to DHS the morning of the 4th to get the "May the Fourth Be with You" merchandise.



Pinkocto said:


> Oh my about Prince Naveen!  I couldn't eat frog legs, the thought just turns my stomach. Glad the substitute salad was something you liked, it looked tasty.



Yeah, I saw that and was like, "no way!"



Pinkocto said:


> Loving all this history, and the houses are so gorgeous! The burned one reminds me of the one in Forest Gump.



There's even more to come!



Pinkocto said:


> Great that Fran got in the spirit and wanted to do the tour the next day  that sounds fascinating.



It was.  That will be the second update, maybe it will post while we're at WDW taking a break.



Pinkocto said:


> I hope it was just allergies and you didn't get sick.



Thanks for the hopes.  



dolphingirl47 said:


> I loved all the photos again, especially of the mansions.



Still more to come!



dolphingirl47 said:


> That is really near. I would have been fascinated by this, too.



My tiredness and lack of desire to move from where I was eventually won out.  Plus I wasn't feeling so hot.



dolphingirl47 said:


> Oh dear, that does not sound good.



No it doesn't.



dolphingirl47 said:


> Now that you have pointed it out, it is obvious. That is really cool.



It is, isn't it!  I'm glad I could bring a Disney reference!


----------



## jedijill

Get there early for the May 4th merchandise.  I went a couple of years ago and it sold out FAST!

Jill in CO


----------



## franandaj

pkondz said:


> Ah. I was actually a little miffed on your behalf!



Oh no. The folks on this cruise were all so helpful. They were offering to help with just about anything. The passengers too. One thing I didn't remark about here, but said to Fran numerous times was I was amazed at how friendly everyone was everywhere we went. In LA you don't even make eye contact with people on the street (that is if you even walk anywhere) much less exchange pleasantries!



pkondz said:


> I didn't mean to imply that you couldn't do it, but that someone should be there to help.
> Heck, even a guest. I would.



As I said, everyone tried to be more than helpful.



pkondz said:


> I'll trade your upcoming WDW trip for some bennys.







No.



pkondz said:


> Even better. I'd like to have seen some photos.



The photos they showed were pretty interesting, really hard times.



pkondz said:


> Okay.... go!



I already did!  



pkondz said:


> Odd. In my experience, when in a foreign land, if you find someone who speaks your language, you perk up and like to chat.
> Not so much with these two.
> What's up with the surly passengers??



Well I wouldn't really say that I "spoke" their language.  My "German" sounded kind of like this:

I (points at self) having the other cabin (points to other side of boat), do mind, if I stay a little?  





pkondz said:


> Why'd you change? Too uncomfortable sitting with the Germans?



They weren't serving drinkie-poos!  



pkondz said:


> I don't think I'd be "excited", but I would be interested.



After all the walking/standing that I did that I did that day, I wasn't getting very excited about anything.



pkondz said:


> When we were in Europe, we were going to take a Rhine cruise (until I got voted down by the other three.) It was strongly recommended to take the train a distance upstream and travel back by boat... downstream.



It's too bad you got voted down.  We did a Rhine cruise (only a couple hours) when I backpacked through Europe in College.  It was really nice.



pkondz said:


> Funny "ha ha" or funny "I want to strangle them"?



Well now, it's funny "ha ha", since we've moved on from that Drama and we have a nicer house than we would have had with the crappy neighbors.



pkondz said:


> I would have!



Hmmmmm...I'm afraid to try them.



pkondz said:


> Oh brother.
> Was she young? So many people now just don't want to have to actually work.



No she was my age or older.  I understand that she was up early every morning, but still.



pkondz said:


> Huh. Never would've thought that.



I was really hoping.



pkondz said:


> So, since you were _coming_ from the river's edge... you are women of ill repute!



But we weren't coming from the 18th Century.



pkondz said:


> It always comes down to sex.



Pretty much.



pkondz said:


> I don't know why, but the song "Why can't we be friends" is in my head right now.



It could be my early adult life in LA, but I keep hearing Rodney King saying, "Can't we all just get along?"



pkondz said:


> Thanks for the history lesson.
> It's funny... When I was in school I _hated_ history with a passion. Now I love it.



I hated reading the textbooks and sitting through classes, but my parents took us to lots of historical sights in Revolutionary America and I loved those.



pkondz said:


> Odd. Maybe he's holding out for the right price?
> Possibly an exorbitant price?



I think he was just crazy.



pkondz said:


> Why would you remove a ramp?
> Maybe it was in disrepair.







pkondz said:


> I've heard that same story so many times.
> We had a guy at work who built his dream home and finally retired.
> He spent one night in his home and died that night.



Seemed to happen to a lot of folks in the 19th Century.



pkondz said:


> Interesting.



They even pointed out houses on our drive that were built by people from Ohio and had the door on one side.


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> Oh no. The folks on this cruise were all so helpful. They were offering to help with just about anything. The passengers too. One thing I didn't remark about here, but said to Fran numerous times was I was amazed at how friendly everyone was everywhere we went.



Oh! well, that's good.



franandaj said:


> In LA you don't even make eye contact with people on the street (that is if you even walk anywhere) much less exchange pleasantries!



But that's where they make movies! It's not the happiest place in the world??



franandaj said:


> No.



Darn. Worth a shot.



franandaj said:


> Well I wouldn't really say that I "spoke" their language. My "German" sounded kind of like this:
> 
> I (points at self) having the other cabin (points to other side of boat), do mind, if I stay a little?



You did better than I would have!
Mine would've been "I (waves wildly at the chair I want to sit in) is good?"



franandaj said:


> They weren't serving drinkie-poos!



Oh! Well, that just won't do.



franandaj said:


> After all the walking/standing that I did that I did that day, I wasn't getting very excited about anything.







franandaj said:


> It's too bad you got voted down. We did a Rhine cruise (only a couple hours) when I backpacked through Europe in College. It was really nice.



I wanted to, but I wasn't going to force it.



franandaj said:


> Well now, it's funny "ha ha", since we've moved on from that Drama and we have a nicer house than we would have had with the crappy neighbors.



Worked out okay, then.



franandaj said:


> But we weren't coming from the 18th Century.



So... you need a time machine.



franandaj said:


> It could be my early adult life in LA, but I keep hearing Rodney King saying, "Can't we all just get along?"



Yeah, I can see that.



franandaj said:


> I hated reading the textbooks and sitting through classes, but my parents took us to lots of historical sights in Revolutionary America and I loved those.



I think even going to places (when I was school age) would've not gone over well.


----------



## orangecats2

Have a great trip! I'm of course super jealous! Ride TOT for me, it's my favorite! Eat a bunch of really good food. And then come back and tell us everything!


----------



## franandaj

Captain_Oblivious said:


> Uh oh. I've got my work cut out for me.



Not necessarily! My pace of updating may slow severely with the upcoming trip.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> It's like going back in time to dial-up!



The Horror!  



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Welcome to Vicksburg!



That picture was at the end of the day.  I found one from the beginning when the dumpster was empty!  



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Cool! I would have been geeking out, too.



I thought it was interesting, but I was too tired from walking and standing to do anything about it!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Look at you, dropping the engineering knowledge. Nice work.



  It's amazing how a little liquid courage will allow me to barge in on people's conversations!  



Captain_Oblivious said:


> The power of water is truly amazing.



It really is!  I would stand out there on my balcony and just look at the river.  We were traveling with the flow most of the time, but I could see how vast and powerful that the river was.  It was quite incredible!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> There's always that one person who is resolved to making things miserable for everyone else.



I know.  I'm so glad that we have good tenants in that place and it is completely rennovated.  We used to have to go over there all the time during rennovations and we learned just how annoying those people could be.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Man, I could have called that one.



I certainly wasn't having Frog's legs!  And I'm usually the one that is having the stuff you wouldn't eat!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Pretty sure you're there to serve the guests, not the other way around.



Yeah.  What's up with that?



Captain_Oblivious said:


> But did they taste good, at least?



No, because they took so much effort to chew even the powdered sugar didn't help!



Captain_Oblivious said:


> So @pkondz would have been right at home?







Captain_Oblivious said:


> I'd totally fail at the farming thing.



Since we've only farmed in pots, I don't know how I'd fare with a real yard!  We did great a few years ago, but ever since then we've been too busy to have a garden.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> So they're really open until 1:30.



According to Yelp....



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Sure, that makes total and complete sense.



I'm guessing he was crazy.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Looks like it would hold 999 ghosts pretty well, too!



You just read ahead....



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Mmm...that looks really good.



It was.  I want some good fried chicken, but KFC won't cut it.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Must be some top-secret home decorations in there.



No they want you to buy the book with all the pictures.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Hey, cool! I was completely guessing on my previous response.



Uhuh.....



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Just catching up! For some reason Disboards has stopped alerting me you have posted which is annoying.
> 
> Vicksburg looked interesting. Starting with breakfast. Got to have pancakes and eggs benedict. If it's on the menu rude not too.



Sorry you weren't getting notifications.  I just use the Unread Watched threads.  I agree it would be rude not to order such tasty delights.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> The boat looks so pretty with it's ornate balconies. Like the houses in New Orleans.



It was a very beautiful boat!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Oh my re the flood of 1927. Glad Hoover sorted it out but there are always impacts with new designs.



Yep.  Every act has a consequence.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> I love learning about the brick road and animals. You missed nothing in that coca cola museem...



Have you been there?  



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Lovely Captains lounge! Your dinner sounded nice prime rib yes please. No takers on frogs legs? Really this is a shocker lol.



The prime rib was lovely, but the frogs legs.  



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Natchez looked good sorry you were sick. Well done for sorted out the vacation plans. I like things planned millenium in advance. Me and last minute Anna's as we call them here do not mix well!
> 
> Hope you are feeling better.



At this point, I can't wait to get going.  And yes we are finally getting better! Consider that foreshadowing!



mvf-m11c said:


> Excited for you for your upcoming trip and have a great time.
> 
> You did quite a lot on those days from the boat, meals and going around Natchez.
> 
> That is neat that Disney got the inspiration of the Stanton Hall for the HM.



Thanks!  Only a few days left!

I did quite a bit of walking (for me) and ended up coming back to the boat very tired each afternoon.  We still have one more stop in Natchez!

I can't believe I didn't notice the resemblence, especially since I spend all my time (while at my computer) facing three art pieces which feature the DL Haunted Mansion!  It looks exactly like Stanton Hall in the pictures and not the actual DL Mansion (unless I am missing something).  The DL Mansion has the entrance on the Right side and not underneath the pillars.



pkondz said:


> Well, d'uh! We _lived_ there!
> Or maybe it was some other den of iniquity...



This is not the den of iniquity you are looking for.



jedijill said:


> Get there early for the May 4th merchandise.  I went a couple of years ago and it sold out FAST!
> 
> Jill in CO



Thanks!  I was thinking of getting there half an hour before opening and Fran said an hour before, we'll see if she actually wants to do it come the day.  We have a reservation at 1900 Park Fare at 10:40AM so it would have to be an "In-N-Out" kind of thing.  Our FP+ are at MK later that day as I had planned for Rope Drop at MK and then breakfast.  We'll see what happens.


----------



## franandaj

After the Stanton Hall tour, the next stop was Kings Tavern, the oldest structure in Natchez. Right next door is a distillery operated by the Tavern's owner, Jean-Luc Charboneau, whose mother is the boat's culinary advisor. Instead of us waiting for what Fran now refers to as "the bunny bus" (Easier than saying "hop on hop off" she says), we decided to walk the 2 1/2 blocks to this next stop. It turns out I may have been getting enough exercise on this trip to counterbalance all the rich foods we were eating!

We walked we went past the site of the old Stables for Stanton Hall. Back in its heyday the plantation owned all the land for many of today’s city blocks.





I believe this house’s sign states that it is from 1810.





After several treacherous curb crossings (definitely not ADA compliant!) we made it to the King’s Tavern.





They were growing their own vegetables out in the yard.





And then we headed down the Distillery which was at the end of the block.





We got an almost private tour (halfway through another person joined in). As soon as you entered the room, the intoxicating smell was evident. He started off telling us that he gets cane sugar and molasses from one of the fine purveyors down in Louisiana.  He mixed the two together and added water to form this mixture.





See the Molasses and Sugar here





I think he said that he let it boil for several days until it formed a viscous liquid. Then he transferred the mixture to this hopper. 





With high heat, all sorts of complex things went on inside of here relating to the copper tubing, steam and pressure. Eventually he would drain off the liquid. The first part of the batch was essentially poison and only good for cleaning tools and other abrasive tasks. He then got several barrels full of raw alcohol which he would cap up and forget about for 3-6 months. I neglected to take pictures of the barrels, but they were standard oak barrels.

Once the aging process was complete he needed to add water to make it just the right proof. 80 proof with only a .5 variance in either direction. Less than 80 and it would be considered a "rum liqueur" more than 80 and it's considered over proof.

Once the proper proofing was reached then came bottling. This machine makes it easy and clean. 





This machine corks the bottle and this seals the cap on the top of the bottle. 









The bottle shows the Mississippi River on its label.





Then we were given a taste, maybe 1/5 of a shot, and the distillery tour was over. 





We could complete the tour by heading up to the tavern gift shop (where you could purchase a bottle, we got two) and get a complimentary rum punch. 





























We didn't actually go to the gift shop ourselves. As we were entering the tavern we ran into one of the gals who ran the shore excursions. She was "doing research" into the stops along the route. She really was working because she declined the offer from the bartender for a drink.  But she was kind enough to climb the stairs and purchase the rum for us. Then the Tavern would take all the purchases for the day from passengers and send them back to the boat on the last bus, all we had to do was pick them up at the gift shop onboard. 

After this stop we were "done", literally. We caught the bunny bus back to the ship and went directly back to the room. It was about 3PM by this point and I really needed a nap! For me to need a nap is really saying something!

























Around 6PM I woke up and took some pictures of the sunset.















*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

Then I decided to go find a drink. I went up to the 3rd floor QS to check the menu and see if it was worth going to the Main dining room or if we should just eat at the QS. Both the dining room and QS were serving a similar menu, but the Main dining room was advertising a Caprese salad, and you all know how I like that!









So I got my beverage and relaxed until dinner. 



 

We weren't leaving this stop until 9PM so it would be in the middle of dinner when the boat would get underway. We arrived at dinner and were handed our menus. I was sad to see that the Caprese salad I had hoped for was now a strawberry and mozzarella salad. Not what I really wanted.





They always gave us bread of some sort, but I rarely took pictures of it.





For the starter, I had a Crawfish and Country Grits. I didn’t really care for the crawfish.





Fran had the Melon & Country Ham





Remember that they ran out of the Avocado last night?  Well they gave our two tablemates from South Africa (Nigel and Jenny) a “make up” course of the shrimp and Avocado.





I went with the oxtail soup. It was very good, but on this meal I started to cut down a bit and was only eating about half of each portion. It really helped because I actually woke up hungry in the morning instead of full of indigestion.





Fran did have the salad and said that it was pretty good.





For my Main I had the lamb medallions. I really wouldn't call them medallions, more like sliced leg of lamb. It was good. Not monumentally so, but I didn't spit it out or anything.





Fran had the salmon with a Maple Bacon Glaze and succotash.





Fran got the Chocolate Layer Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream





I got the pound cake with mixed berries and ice cream.  I really liked this one!





I'm sure we came home and crashed.  I didn’t pay much attention to the Navigators because we were not planning on doing the bunny bus the next day. We had an excursion in the afternoon and wanted to save our strength for that.


St. Francisville. 


Obviously my suspicions about travel time, that I had before this trip were real. Going downstream, there really wasn't much distance between our stops. We again arrived in the middle of the night and when the sun came up, I had this lovely view. I did mention that the river level was high?





I went to get some Cappucino and found this little beauty in the case where the cookies could be found in the afternoon, so we split that while I drank my coffee.





We also pitied the poor sod who had to tie the boat up today.





The buses were already waiting for us.





Again I woke up feeling like there was a giant cotton ball in my nose. However, now I also had one of those coughs that was gurgling in my chest.  Fran was also feeling the stuff in her nose and was starting to cough as well. Yesterday we debated whether we wanted to take the bunny bus in the morning. Our plantation tour was at 12:30 and we sort of wanted to save our energy. In the end skipping the bunny bus was our best decision. We headed down to breakfast around 8AM. This time we were seated at a table for four, but no one ended up joining us. Now every other day at breakfast they alternated between an omelet bar and a waffle bar. The Eggs Benedict trumped the waffle bar two days ago and eggs Florentine almost won today, but the artichoke component sounded a little weird. We split a waffle and got some meats and fruits from the buffet. Can you tell whose plates are whose?













After breakfast we went back to the room. My plan today was to do laundry and at 9AM I went up to check the machines. One had 53 minutes and the other had 35 minutes, so I set a timer on my phone and went back to the room. I worked on my journal on the phone until the alarm was about to go off and so I dragged my laundry hamper up to the 4th floor. The washer that was supposed to be all done now had 20 minutes on it still!  Well now I didn't have time to do the laundry before our excursion. The busses leave at 12:30 which means we need to be out there well in advance to get the handicapped seating in front. So I estimated we should leave the boat at noon. We wanted to grab some sandwiches to take along, so that means 11:30AM at the QS to be on time.  I can't be starting laundry at 10AM!

Instead I took my computer to the Mark Twain room and plugged it in. There weren't many outlets in our room. In fact, there was only one in the room and one in the bathroom. I caught up a little on the DIS and even uploaded enough pictures for a quick update. Then it was back to the room to wake Fran and get some lunch. When we got to the 3rd floor QS they were not making sandwiches to order, but salads instead. That would be and little messy on the bus. So we got plates of beer cheese soup and some corned beef, I also had some rice pilaf.

Then we got a brilliant idea to make mini sandwiches out of the rolls and corned beef on the buffet.









We also grabbed some cookies to round out lunch. And then we headed off to the bus.  Remember I said some of these ramps were treacherous?  I think this was one of the ones where I walked her scooter over the hump and let her get back on once it was settled.





We got our coveted seats on the bus and soon we were on our way. 


Up next More Southern Plantation homes!


----------



## Dis_Yoda

Thats awesome you pretty much had a private tour at the Rum Distillery and the guide from the boat was able to get you the bottle of rums without you having to do the stairs!  

That sucks they changed the menu on you - its similar to when you look at Disney and expect a certain dish and then its gone!  

Following along on this river cruise has been interesting.  I'm not sure its something I'll ever do myself (growing up in the south - I've had my share of Southern-ness for a lifetime) It does seem like a nice relaxing way to cruise though with a much smaller group!  Its interesting that the docks in these towns don't seem to be better cared for especially if there are a few different cruises that go around there!


----------



## PrincessInOz

Catching up!  Love the Old Plantation Houses.  Shame about not being able to take pictures...but you still did great!

What a shame you started to feel unwell.

Awesome distillery!  And I'm hungry after seeing your food.

And yes.  I was chuckling at your "Small World" story and that evil old neighbour.  What are the odds, right?


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> This is not the den of iniquity you are looking for.



This is not the den of iniquity I'm looking for...



franandaj said:


> operated by the Tavern's owner, Jean-Luc Charboneau,



You can't get more French than that!



franandaj said:


> Instead of us waiting for what Fran now refers to as "the bunny bus" (Easier than saying "hop on hop off" she says),



I like it.



franandaj said:


> I believe this house’s sign states that it is from 1810.



1857



franandaj said:


> They were growing their own vegetables out in the yard.



That's a good sign. Means they care at least a little.



franandaj said:


> We got an almost private tour (halfway through another person joined in).



The nerve of that person, horning in on your private tour!






franandaj said:


> The first part of the batch was essentially poison and only good for cleaning tools and other abrasive tasks.



Gotta wonder what happened to the dude who tried it on that first batch.



franandaj said:


> Once the aging process was complete he needed to add water to make it just the right proof. 80 proof with only a .5 variance in either direction. Less than 80 and it would be considered a "rum liqueur" more than 80 and it's considered over proof.



Pretty precise.



franandaj said:


> This machine corks the bottle and this seals the cap on the top of the bottle.



So it's all done by hand. Nice.



franandaj said:


> The bottle shows the Mississippi River on its label.



Like that too. Nice design.



franandaj said:


> Then we were given a taste, maybe 1/5 of a shot, and the distillery tour was over.



Reminds me of our Beer tour. Neither Ruby or I drink it, so that glass lasted quite a while.
I'd pass on the rum probably. Maybe since it's such a small amount I'd try it... dunno.



franandaj said:


> We could complete the tour by heading up to the tavern gift shop (where you could purchase a bottle, we got two)



Guess you liked it, then.



franandaj said:


> We didn't actually go to the gift shop ourselves. As we were entering the tavern we ran into one of the gals who ran the shore excursions. She was "doing research" into the stops along the route. She really was working because she declined the offer from the bartender for a drink. But she was kind enough to climb the stairs and purchase the rum for us.



That was nice of her.



franandaj said:


> Then the Tavern would take all the purchases for the day from passengers and send them back to the boat on the last bus, all we had to do was pick them up at the gift shop onboard.



Convenient.



franandaj said:


> It was about 3PM by this point and I really needed a nap! For me to need a nap is really saying something!



You've been busy girls.



franandaj said:


>



Beautiful shot.



franandaj said:


> the Main dining room was advertising a Caprese salad, and you all know how I like that!







franandaj said:


> I was sad to see that the Caprese salad I had hoped for was now a strawberry and mozzarella salad. Not what I really wanted.



Throw the cutlery! Smash the dishes!



franandaj said:


> For the starter, I had a Crawfish and Country Grits. I didn’t really care for the crawfish.



Too bad. I've always wanted to try them.
My cousin and I used to catch them.
Then we'd just dump them back in since we didn't know what to do with them.



franandaj said:


> It was very good, but on this meal I started to cut down a bit and was only eating about half of each portion. It really helped because I actually woke up hungry in the morning instead of full of indigestion.



Smart thinking.



franandaj said:


> For my Main I had the lamb medallions. I really wouldn't call them medallions, more like sliced leg of lamb.



Those are definitely not medallions.



franandaj said:


> It was good. Not monumentally so, but I didn't spit it out or anything.



 Such high praise? "I didn't spit it out."



franandaj said:


> I didn’t pay much attention to the Navigators because we were not planning on doing the bunny bus the next day. We had an excursion in the afternoon and wanted to save our strength for that.



Sounds intriguing.



franandaj said:


> when the sun came up, I had this lovely view. I did mention that the river level was high?



Did you find that a little disconcerting?



franandaj said:


> We also pitied the poor sod who had to tie the boat up today.



"Short straw ties up the boat."

...

"But... the water's _cold!"_



franandaj said:


> Again I woke up feeling like there was a giant cotton ball in my nose. However, now I also had one of those coughs that was gurgling in my chest. Fran was also feeling the stuff in her nose and was starting to cough as well.



Uh, oh... again.



franandaj said:


> Can you tell whose plates are whose?



I will graciously refrain from answering.



franandaj said:


> The washer that was supposed to be all done now had 20 minutes on it still!



I wonder if someone stopped it to take out/put in more?



franandaj said:


> There weren't many outlets in our room. In fact, there was only one in the room and one in the bathroom.



I get it. But in this day where everyone's got a phone (or whatever) that makes it a bit tough.



franandaj said:


> Then we got a brilliant idea to make mini sandwiches out of the rolls and corned beef on the buffet.







franandaj said:


> I think this was one of the ones where I walked her scooter over the hump and let her get back on once it was settled.



I get it this time. It really does look a little insurmountable for a scooter.


----------



## dolphingirl47

The distillery tour sounded interesting and the complimentary rum punch was a nice touch. The sunset photos were stunning. What a shame that the menu had changed and you did not get your Cabrese Salad. The strawberry and mozzarella salad looked delicious.

What a shame that your laundry plans did not work out. Breakfast and lunch looked nice.

Corinna


----------



## franandaj

pkondz said:


> But that's where they make movies! It's not the happiest place in the world??



They make movies in Canada.  Disneyland is the happiest place on Earth!



pkondz said:


> You did better than I would have!
> Mine would've been "I (waves wildly at the chair I want to sit in) is good?"



Except there weren't any chairs except the two that they were sitting in.



pkondz said:


> Oh! Well, that just won't do.



No chairs, no drinks = not staying long



pkondz said:


> I wanted to, but I wasn't going to force it.



Well you can put it on your bucket list.



pkondz said:


> Worked out okay, then.



Actually better than OK.



pkondz said:


> So... you need a time machine.



I'm good with staying in the 21st century.



pkondz said:


> I think even going to places (when I was school age) would've not gone over well.



Hmmmmm, so you were an ornery little kid?  Eh?



orangecats2 said:


> Have a great trip! I'm of course super jealous! Ride TOT for me, it's my favorite! Eat a bunch of really good food. And then come back and tell us everything!



Thanks!  I will do my best!



Dis_Yoda said:


> Thats awesome you pretty much had a private tour at the Rum Distillery and the guide from the boat was able to get you the bottle of rums without you having to do the stairs!



It was pretty cool.  Just as we were leaving a party of about 10 people from the boat walked in for the next one.



Dis_Yoda said:


> That sucks they changed the menu on you - its similar to when you look at Disney and expect a certain dish and then its gone!



I know.  When I go on a Disney vacation I almost always have my entire dining situation planned out before I leave.



Dis_Yoda said:


> Following along on this river cruise has been interesting. I'm not sure its something I'll ever do myself (growing up in the south - I've had my share of Southern-ness for a lifetime) It does seem like a nice relaxing way to cruise though with a much smaller group! Its interesting that the docks in these towns don't seem to be better cared for especially if there are a few different cruises that go around there!



Well this is actually the only sleeper ship that travels the Mississippi. A lot of the boats only dock in the bigger cities and do day cruises.  I can understand that this is not the kind of trip for everyone.


----------



## ACDSNY

Beautiful sunset shots of the bridge.  Looking forward to the next installment.


----------



## franandaj

PrincessInOz said:


> Catching up! Love the Old Plantation Houses. Shame about not being able to take pictures...but you still did great!



But wait there's more!



PrincessInOz said:


> What a shame you started to feel unwell.



Just wait.



PrincessInOz said:


> Awesome distillery! And I'm hungry after seeing your food.



It was pretty cool to see the process.



PrincessInOz said:


> And yes. I was chuckling at your "Small World" story and that evil old neighbour. What are the odds, right?



I know!  Too funny.



pkondz said:


> This is not the den of iniquity I'm looking for...







pkondz said:


> 1857



Ooops!  Well it's still pre civil war.



pkondz said:


> That's a good sign. Means they care at least a little.



The place was supposedly serving sustainable and natural food, but not vegetarian stuff, the menu looked pretty good.



pkondz said:


> The nerve of that person, horning in on your private tour!



I know!



pkondz said:


> Gotta wonder what happened to the dude who tried it on that first batch.



Yeah really!  How DID they find out the first batch was poison?  



pkondz said:


> So it's all done by hand. Nice.



I think there was only one other guy in on the whole process.



pkondz said:


> Reminds me of our Beer tour. Neither Ruby or I drink it, so that glass lasted quite a while.
> I'd pass on the rum probably. Maybe since it's such a small amount I'd try it... dunno.



It was really a tiny amount.



pkondz said:


> Guess you liked it, then.



Yes, it was very smooth.  I've mostly had Bacardi Rum and this tasted nothing like that, it was very easy to drink and no harsh aftertaste.



pkondz said:


> That was nice of her.



It was.  I wonder if they get a commission!



pkondz said:


> You've been busy girls.



We were and I did a good deal of walking and standing.



pkondz said:


> Beautiful shot.



Well Thank you!



pkondz said:


> Throw the cutlery! Smash the dishes!



Burn down the Kitchen!



pkondz said:


> Too bad. I've always wanted to try them.
> My cousin and I used to catch them.
> Then we'd just dump them back in since we didn't know what to do with them.



They just kind of freak me out and all that talk of sucking their heads out has made me not so keen on trying them.



pkondz said:


> Those are definitely not medallions.
> 
> Such high praise? "I didn't spit it out."



Well?      It was OK, but I've made better lamb.



pkondz said:


> Sounds intriguing.



And you'll probably find out sooner rather than later.  I seem to have more time on my hands than I anticipated.



pkondz said:


> Did you find that a little disconcerting?



No, I was getting used to the trees near the boat.



pkondz said:


> Uh, oh... again.



Oh, yeah.



pkondz said:


> I will graciously refrain from answering.



That's mostly for Jenny.  She always laughs at me for having plates where none of the food is touching.



pkondz said:


> I wonder if someone stopped it to take out/put in more?



Whatever they did, it messed me up for the morning.



pkondz said:


> I get it. But in this day where everyone's got a phone (or whatever) that makes it a bit tough.



I know.  Fran used her outlet to charge the scooter, and her 6 port hub for the phone and tablet.  I used the bathroom one to charge my phone and camera batteries.  Thank goodness for the 4-6 port hubs!



pkondz said:


> I get it this time. It really does look a little insurmountable for a scooter.



At least the worst one was behind us now.



dolphingirl47 said:


> The distillery tour sounded interesting and the complimentary rum punch was a nice touch. The sunset photos were stunning. What a shame that the menu had changed and you did not get your Cabrese Salad. The strawberry and mozzarella salad looked delicious.



I wish I knew where the recipe for the Rum punch went!  It was very good and I would love to make some!



dolphingirl47 said:


> What a shame that your laundry plans did not work out. Breakfast and lunch looked nice.



The day is not over yet!


----------



## franandaj

ACDSNY said:


> Beautiful sunset shots of the bridge.  Looking forward to the next installment.



Thank you!  You're in luck.  It's a lazy Sunday and I've caught up on my other stuff so it's time for another giant update!


----------



## franandaj

When we last left off, we had spent the morning relaxing on the boat, I wasn’t able to do laundry and we were on our way to tour two Southern Plantation homes…

St. Francisville is one of the only cities left on the river that doesn't have a levee, so when the water rises, there is nothing to keep the water out of the small creeks in the area. You can see how far inland the water extends.













I found it interesting that all these houses were built on stilts.









When I saw the town I was really glad we didn't waste the energy to go in. It was really small. It may have been quaint and a nice stop if we had a car, but being at the mercy of the buses really doesn't make it fun.









There were two buses and we each went to one of the spots on the trip separately.  We went to what was listed as the second spot first.  It was Catalpa. 

















Now it would have made more sense to visit Rosedown Plantation first as far as the genealogy is concerned, but I’m glad we did it the way we did because the second house was much more impressive.

This was a house that at one time was a plantation manor, but the original house burned down in the Civil War. In the 1890s, it was rebuilt in the Victorian style. The homeowner still lives there and leads the tours herself. She only gives them for passengers on the American Queen. She is a descendant of the original owner and explained the bloodline, but it's really confusing. I’ll try to give it a shot.

Rosedown Plantation was built by Martha & Daniel Turnbull.  They had three children (two boys and a girl). One boy died at the age of 7 and the other son died at 27 leaving behind a widow and two children. The last surviving child was Sarah Turnbull who married a local plantation son. The two moved into Rosedown Plantation and had 10 children. One of the eight daughters, Sallie Bowman, married William J. Fort Sr., who built the original Catalpa Plantation.  The two of them had a son William J. Fort Jr. who married one of his mother’s sisters from Rosedown Plantation. Fort Jr's first wife died after 18 years of marriage, and so he married another one of the sisters.  They were married 18 years before his death.  William J. Fort is the man who built the house that we toured today. His second wife died in 1954 at the age of 87.

From both of William Jr's, marriages he ended up with four children.  One of those children, Mamie Fort Thompson, lived in this house until her death in 2002. She started the tradition of leading tours of the house, and following the tour she offered her guests a glass of sherry on the porch. Her daughter Mary has taken over her mother’s legacy, but as I mentioned earlier, she now only gives tours to guests of the American Queen.

Clear as mud?

Mary greeted us from her Porch.





Originally the home had lots of gardens, but the soldiers of the Civil War destroyed a lot of that when they destroyed the original house.













As we stood outside, she talked about this pair of dog statuettes which were outside the home when the Union soldiers came.  With the butt of his rifle, he put that hole in the neck of the dog as he walked on to loot and destroy the house.





I always stay behind on these tours so that I can capture the spaces without a ton of people inside. Here is the porch once everyone went inside to see the rest of the house.









It was a typical Southern house with the one hallway down the middle. Bedrooms were off to the right when you entered the house.  Mary explained to us that much of the furniture in this house came to them from Rosedown when the place was sold in the 1950s.





I believe that this picture was of the original lady of the home, Sallie Bowman Fort.  And I could also be completely mistaken.





This vanity was an original from Rosedown Plantation





These pictures were very unique, you can’t tell by the photos, but they are made with real fabric for the women’s outfits.





This trunk was authentic for the 1800s, pretty much a suitcase for the time. This was the middle bedroom on the right side of the house.





This was the third bedroom on the right side of the house, I gathered that this is the one that she used for her own bedroom.









This was the living room/sitting room at the front of the house on the left side.


















*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

All the pieces in the rooms that she showed us were authentic to the Civil War Antebellum period.









She was a dog lover and had something like 8 or 9 dogs.  One of the guys on the tour got bored with the inside of the house.  I heard him say he was going outside, and all of a sudden the dogs all went crazy, barking and stuff!





This was in the dining room which was adjacent to the sitting room.  









All of these pieces of china we from the period.  Many of them were buried in the yard to hide them when the Union Soldiers came.  She showed us a chip on one of them where it had been chipped during the digging up process.









Fran has quite an extensive cane collection, and she particularly admired this one and had me take a picture.  She even has a couple of these vintage canes.





Mary talked about this pot during the tour and how she would have loved to use it as a “cooler” to serve beverages at for parties, but she was afraid it would get broken so instead it became a plant holder.





After the extensive tour she then served everyone a glass of sherry on the porch, which is evidently a southern tradition.





Now it is interesting to note that she does live in the house.  There was a small room just behind the main hallway which was her living room/family room.  There was a flat screen, and I saw a DirecTV remote.  She had a couch with cuddly blankets and such.  Sometime in the 20th century the back porch was converted to a kitchen. We didn’t go in there because that’s where the dogs were being kept for the tour.  You see in Antebellum houses, the kitchen was never attached to the house due to the risk of fires.  Besides in that prosperous time the residents of the houses never cooked their own meals. That was the job of the slaves.  It was interesting to think that she lived in a museum.

After our Sherry, we all got back on the bus and headed back to the next destination. Rosedown Plantation.  But let’s take one last look at Catalpa.









Here we are approaching Rosedown.





This was a very successful plantation in the Ante-bellum south. Owner, Daniel Turnbull was a great business manager and the property was completely paid off when he passed just after the war started. At least when the US government came knocking after the war all the finances were in order. His Widow Martha Turnbull was able to part out the plantation to their former slaves who worked as sharecroppers. Her Daughter Sarah Turnbull and her husband James Bowman took over the plantation, but elderly Martha was still tending her garden up until about three weeks before her death in 1896.

In 1907 the boll weevil came along and wiped out all the cotton crops, and the family was left penniless.  Our guide is dressed in green here and she took us through the entire tour.





As we walked from the Parking Lot to the main house, we passed the old stables.





The yard was full of beautiful Azaleas.









And there were quite a few statues in the garden as well.









Can you imagine riding up this impressive drive in your horse and carriage?





And finally the house itself.





Now I will say that I heard the Europeans on the tour saying that they thought these houses would be more impressive.  I know that there are far more impressive castles in most of Europe, but you have to remember the South is a bloody swamp!  Many people lived in shacks, the fact that these people have giant houses with all the amenities is no small feat for the 1800s in the middle of a swamp in the middle of nowhere!

I believe that this was the groundskeeper’s house.





Pretty fountain.





*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

This is the entry way to the home. Notice the wallpaper. This is not the original as it was painted over so many times that it was ruined.  However, they were able to find the manufacturer (someone in France) and they still had some of this left in their archives, so it is “original” just redone in the 20th century.













This flooring was quite remarkable for the time.  It was painted canvas, it was common in the fancier houses, but the less grand homes were lucky if their floors were anything besides dirt.









Not all the furniture is original to the house, most of that is at the place we just came from. However the pieces are correct for the period.









Now before we go on, lets finish the history of this house.  We left off with the daughter of the original owner taking possession of the house with her husband.  Keep in mind, they had the house set up as a combination as if the original inhabitants Martha and Daniel Turnbull were living there, but also a little bit of if Sarah Turnbull Bowman and James Bowman were living there with their 10 kids.

You’ll recall from our discussion at the last house that Sallie, one of the Bowman daughters moved to Catalpa and became the first matron of that house.  Then her son married one of Sallie’s sisters (who died 18 years later) and then he married a second sister, and she outlived him by almost 40 years. 

It’s not clear to me exactly what happened with four of the other children from Sarah and James, but by the turn of the 20th century, three of the (eight) sisters were left living in the house as spinsters. With the boll weevil wiping out the cotton crop, they had to find new income.  They realized that there was a market in charging for tours of their grand house. Between the cost of admission and a merchandising plan, which included selling postcards featuring their father sitting on the porch waving to the guests, they were able to squeak out a living until they died in the 1950s.

Around that time the wife of a wealthy Texas oil tycoon happened upon the house and learned it was for sale. She needed a hobby and loved beautiful gardens, so she purchased the home and eventually put 10 million dollars into the place restoring it for eight years. It opened for tours in 1964. Even though Mrs. Underwood passed away in 1970, the house remained in the hands of the family until 1994, when it was purchased by a Georgia businessman.  He eventually sold it to the state of Louisiana in 2000. 


Then we moved to the Dining room, the flapper in the ceiling would have been operated by a slave boy.









The table is set for a typical supper which would have been the main meal of the day served around 2-3PM.









The built in cabinets are not typical for houses of this era. 





Most of my pictures were taken on the “auto” setting so the shutter of the camera adjusted for ambient light.  The room was not nearly as bright as it appears.  I took this picture of the fireplace on “manual” setting so you could see how dark the room actually was.





This is part of the set of china that we saw at Catalpa.





Looking back at the Dining Room with no tour guests.





Next is the butler's pantry where meals would have been placed in their serving dishes.









You can see the slave staircase hidden here. It extends from the top floor to the basement. 





The next room was probably the lady of the house's office. She kept a journal of mundane items such as harvest figures, sunrise, sunset, and other very dry figures. No personal matters or juicy gossip. (I missed some of the discussion regarding this room trying to get pictures of the last two rooms)









This was the music room.









This room was added on, the ceilings in this wing were 17 feet instead of 14. The grass cloth flooring was for summer months. When the family was away summering in Saratoga Springs NY, the furniture would have been covered and the rugs stored in the attic so as not to become dusty while the windows were open in summer. Once the war approached, southerners found that the hospitality of the north was waning and soon they were forced to spend year round in the south either by Northern intolerance or lack of monetary resources. 





















Your “sink” for tidying up before bed.





This room had an innovative shower mechanism, but it could only dispense cold water so it really wasn't practical.





*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

Husband's office. Door to outside so managers and other trades people could enter without "calling" on the household.













This was the family sitting room, where guests would be greeted. 





















Martha Washington cross stitched this for the couple as her sister’s great granddaughter married the Turnbull’s son who was killed crossing the Mississippi at age 27.





Men’s parlor was off this sitting room.









Then we went upstairs. People who didn’t want to climb the stairs waited out on the porch where the man who drove people back and forth from the parking area on a golf cart sat with them and told stories.  Fran had quite a nice time listening to him talk.

This was the landing at the top of the stairs.









Master bedroom. 





Throughout the entire tour, our guide continued to point out the unique and “ahead of their time” features that were incorporated into building the house.  Most of the bedroom had closets, which at that time were not incorporated into building design.  Most people had a “wardrobe” for their clothing. However this master bedroom had two built in closets.

















There was a nursery off the master bedroom. 





Another look at the slave staircase.









This was just a part of the hallway.





And looking back out in the upper staircase landing from the hall.





This was another daughters room. I missed a lot of the commentary because I kept staying behind to get pictures of the rooms without people in them. I heard the docent say that they knew they were (Sarah's) things because she wrote her name on all her toys.













And another children’s bedroom or perhaps a few children slept here.













*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

Then they let us out on the upper balcony. All these Azaleas were supposedly grafted from one original plant.













They mentioned that the greenhouse was only for winter and that in summer they take the plants out so it doesn't kill them.









That was the end of the tour, and I headed back downstairs to meet Fran.













We headed back to the bus via the gift shop but didn't find anything. While we waited for the rest of the people on the tour to board the bus, we ate our mini corned beef sandwiches and cookies. 





It was while we were having our snack that I sat and talked with the bus driver and got all the information that I’ve been telling you over the past few chapters of the report.  We probably sat for a good 20 minutes waiting for the other passengers.  I’m not sure what they were doing because there wasn’t much else to do!

This is the route back to the boat.  I was amazed at how far inland the water was.










Look at how the boat just literally pulled up to the end of the road.





When we got back to the boat, we went back to the room and she took a nap. I found out how the boat got tied up that morning.  I pity that poor sap!





And here we are pulling away from the stop.

















I liked the look of this bridge.





















I decided to try and do laundry again. There was loads running in the washer but they only had about 10 more minutes so I ran down to the room (not really, my legs were too tired to do that) and got my hamper full of dirty clothes. When I came upstairs the person using the machines was just finishing up, so I got both machines and started my whites in one machine and the rest of the load in the other. I set the timer in my phone to sync with the washer and went back to the room.


----------



## franandaj

Oh and for those of you who have been reading along for the River Times.  Here are the ones from today.


----------



## ACDSNY

Beautiful Southern Plantation homes.  I grew up in a home built in the late eighteen hundreds so enjoyed seeing familiar items in your pics.


----------



## jedijill

Another great day!  Natchez looks like a really cool town.  Loved your sunrise pictures with the bridge.  I loved the almost private rum distillery tour!  

All the food looks really tasty.

Jill in CO


----------



## dhorner233

Very interesting as always! The plantation houses were very interesting!! Thank you as always for doing such a detailed report with so many wonderful pictures! Love the azaleas!


----------



## mvf-m11c

That was neat that you got a private distillery tour during your visit. Your pictures are very nice especially the sunset with the bridge.

The tour of the plantation houses looked very interesting and you got a lot of pictures. Very nice updates.


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Wow so much information and eye candy thank you. Yes to reply in answer about the coca cola museem we have been and it was a yawn fest. Not at all what I hoped. The jelly belly factory was amazing in Fairfield Ca and free! This was very dissapointing.

I love the term bunny bus! The Kings Tavern looks an interesting stop. 

I love distillery tours I find them fascinating. How nice the tour person to fetch the rum. How I love rum. It's adorable in cooking in addition to a drink.  There is a reason they use oak barrels but I forget I must look it up.

Lunch looks great. How I adore oxtail soup. Lamb and salmon. Do they give you an option to have a little of each if you wanted? 

The homes on stilts are something else aren't they. We have a few of those on The Thames. 

I adore those Antebellum houses. I actually prefer the look of the Catalpa to the Rosedown from your photos. It seems lighter and more inviting I prefer the china and decoration. But the wallpaper in Rosedown is something else! Isn't that flooring in Rosedown odd. Like you would not place in that era at all. More like 1970's! 

Thank you for sharing. We saw a few Antebellum houses on our tour of the south. One had a dome on the top I recall that. It was charming. Europeans can be snobby. Ignore them. We found them quite eye taking and interesting. We were lucky enough to also catch a reinactment of thr civil war. Folks dressed up. Well they don't do that here that I know of we were delighted to see the old costumes etc. What an amazing thing to do!


----------



## dolphingirl47

Wow, that water level is high. I loved all the photos of the houses. The furniture and the china were amazing. I can't believe that people were turning up their noses at this. Sure, we have much older buildings, but that does not make this part of history any less impressive. I for one would love to visit those houses.

Corinna


----------



## franandaj

ACDSNY said:


> Beautiful Southern Plantation homes.  I grew up in a home built in the late eighteen hundreds so enjoyed seeing familiar items in your pics.



That's interesting. I grew up in a brand new land development and they were constantly building new tracts while I was in Elementary School.  We used to play in the construction sites after hours!  However, my Grandparents had a house that was built in the 1850s.  I always used to marvel at that.



jedijill said:


> Another great day!  Natchez looks like a really cool town.  Loved your sunrise pictures with the bridge.  I loved the almost private rum distillery tour!
> 
> All the food looks really tasty.
> 
> Jill in CO



Natchez is a place we would like to go back to when we have a car, all we need them to do is repeal their silly laws so we can spend our money there again.



dhorner233 said:


> Very interesting as always! The plantation houses were very interesting!! Thank you as always for doing such a detailed report with so many wonderful pictures! Love the azaleas!



I was glad that decided she wanted to do that tour afterall.  I was sure that she would have liked it.



mvf-m11c said:


> That was neat that you got a private distillery tour during your visit. Your pictures are very nice especially the sunset with the bridge.
> 
> The tour of the plantation houses looked very interesting and you got a lot of pictures. Very nice updates.



Thanks.  It was fun learning how they made rum.  I can't believe how many pictures I took, but I can't say that I kept that up!


----------



## Mywishes3

Thank you for taking the time to post so many pictures and detailed information. I really enjoyed going thru the homes thru your eyes, and getting a history lesson!  Just wonderful!

I can't imagine trying rum straight up (now put some in a straw in a lapu lapu and I'm there!). So thank you for your taste result!

Glad you got your laundry in!


----------



## dizneeat

*Somehow I never got any more notifications for this thread and now I was 6 pages behind!!!!!!!! Took me quite some time to catch up. 

Far too much to comment on, but let me tell you that I loved all the photos. The area looks so pretty and all those excursions seemed so interesting. I even went ahead and checked out the American Queen website. Definitely gives me something to think about. 
Thanks for sharing and thanks for the history you include. SO interesting for a non American. So many things I didn't know.*


----------



## afwdwfan

franandaj said:


> I was great online between 2:30 and 4:30. I got a bunch of photos uploaded and just as I was posting the update was "All aboard" time. I could literally feel the slow of the WiFi as everyone picked up their tablets after coming home from their shore excursions






franandaj said:


> In my best broken German I told them that I had the room on the other side of the boat and just wanted to look at the shore for a bit. They seemed OK with that and went on to ignore me.


Um... well, at least you tried to be friendly. 



franandaj said:


> This bridge was off in the distance and I heard a group of guys all excited to see the stacks retract to go under the bridge. The boat could make itself as low as 55ft tall for low bridges.


Wow!  That would be cool to see!



franandaj said:


> Those who followed the house Saga remember that there were some nasty neighbors who wouldn't approve our building plans (it's a historic district). Well her friend painted their house, but they shunned the historic committee and painted it the color they initially wanted and not the one that was approved. The commission said they would let it go if no one complained. One. Person. Complained. They had to repaint. I laughed because I know just who it was. Our next door neighbor. Isn't it funny what a small world we live in?


Definitely a small world!  



franandaj said:


> don't think anyone fancied having Prince Naveen for a starter and everyone went for the Shrimp and avocado tower. There was a small problem though. It appears they misjudged their clientele. Hardly anyone fancied Prince Naveen for a starter.


So what do you do with a literal boat load of frog legs that nobody wants to eat?    



franandaj said:


> Again the wine was flowing, but Fran kept a better handle on it. At one point they ran out of the red wine and had to break into a more expensive bottle. Nigel got a glass of it and I said that I wanted one. The waiter said, "She told me you were done!"






franandaj said:


> we both tried to keep it light again but couldn't resist what looked like Beignets on the buffet.


I was going to say something about how you did keep it light by going with beignets...



franandaj said:


> We couldn't have been more wrong. They were not light fluffy little pillows of goodness, they were doughy little boulders of evil. Well, something to look forward to in New Orleans. Fran’s Plate.


But then I read this.  Sorry they were disappointing. 



franandaj said:


> As we climbed the hill, our guide explained that back in the day (1800s) for someone on the bluff, it would be scandalous to have traveled down to the river's edge, as that was a den of sin, with gambling, drinking and women of ill repute. So just another day in the life!


Sounds like my kind of place!  



franandaj said:


> The Indians were here first.


This could be the first line in the history of literally every city in the US.  



franandaj said:


> It never recovered in the area after that because once the boll weevil was wiped out, they had overfarmed the land and leached out all the nutrients in the soil. Rotate your crops people.


And that is why you apply fertilizer.  Although I'm sure soil sampling for fertility and gridding out the fertility of a field was probably some science that came along after the boll weevil.  I'm guessing the plantations also didn't have sufficient livestock to help with fertility either. 



franandaj said:


>


Hey!  I stayed there when I went to Disney World.  

It really shows you how well detailed the Disney resorts are though.  That definitely looks like something straight out of Port Orleans.



franandaj said:


>


Really?  No pictures?  What secrets are they hiding?



franandaj said:


> They spent 9 years building the house and Frederick Stanton lived in the house 9 months before he passed.


Seems like that's how the story goes for a lot of these large mansions. 



franandaj said:


> His wife was left to run the house and plantation three children. He left her $200,000 which she converted to confederate dollars. When the war ended she had to sell off much of their property just to cover the taxes on the house owed to the US government. She lived until she was 86 in 1893. And when she died the children tried to live in the house, but it was such an impractical home, it was sold and became a girl’s school. The classes were held downstairs in the living room and the girls lived in the bedrooms upstairs. When the house was going to be torn down two women of the garden club (who were schooled in the house) convinced their husbands to pool their resources and purchase the house. It was run as a B&B, but they had to add bathrooms out on the patio. Then it was purchased and turned into a museum.


Interesting story.  I'm glad they managed to save it.  So much history there. 



franandaj said:


> Another fun fact! This house served as the inspiration for Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion! Take another look.


Yep... Disney does their homework and makes things authentic!



franandaj said:


> We also pitied the poor sod who had to tie the boat up today.


Hope he brought his hip waders. 



franandaj said:


> Then we got a brilliant idea to make mini sandwiches out of the rolls and corned beef on the buffet.


Good idea!



franandaj said:


> I found it interesting that all these houses were built on stilts.


I guess you learn after the first few floods. 



franandaj said:


> This was a house that at one time was a plantation manor, but the original house burned down in the Civil War. In the 1890s, it was rebuilt in the Victorian style. The homeowner still lives there and leads the tours herself. She only gives them for passengers on the American Queen. She is a descendant of the original owner


Wow!  That's cool!



franandaj said:


> Can you imagine riding up this impressive drive in your horse and carriage?


Amazing.  Wouldn't it be something to see these places back in their prime?  



franandaj said:


> With the boll weevil wiping out the cotton crop, they had to find new income. They realized that there was a market in charging for tours of their grand house. Between the cost of admission and a merchandising plan, which included selling postcards featuring their father sitting on the porch waving to the guests, they were able to squeak out a living until they died in the 1950s.


Hmm... smart move!



franandaj said:


> When the family was away summering in Saratoga Springs NY


Wow... going all the way from the deep south to NY in the mid-1800's.  To think of the time and money it would have taken just to make that trip back then. 



franandaj said:


> Martha Washington cross stitched this for the couple as her sister’s great granddaughter married the Turnbull’s son who was killed crossing the Mississippi at age 27.


Wow! 



franandaj said:


> Another look at the slave staircase.


Tight squeeze.  Hope you're not claustrophobic. 



franandaj said:


> I decided to try and do laundry again. There was loads running in the washer but they only had about 10 more minutes so I ran down to the room (not really, my legs were too tired to do that) and got my hamper full of dirty clothes. When I came upstairs the person using the machines was just finishing up, so I got both machines and started my whites in one machine and the rest of the load in the other. I set the timer in my phone to sync with the washer and went back to the room.


I'm glad you were finally able to do your laundry.  I was afraid you were going to say that you got back up there and someone else had taken them.


----------



## franandaj

Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Wow so much information and eye candy thank you. Yes to reply in answer about the coca cola museem we have been and it was a yawn fest. Not at all what I hoped. The jelly belly factory was amazing in Fairfield Ca and free! This was very dissapointing.



Well that's good to know. I was willing to see it for her, but I'm glad it wasn't much.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> I love the term bunny bus! The Kings Tavern looks an interesting stop.



Fran liked that term and I was happy to go with it.  Hey, if there is a free drink, I'll take it!  She actually let me finish hers too!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> I love distillery tours I find them fascinating. How nice the tour person to fetch the rum. How I love rum. It's adorable in cooking in addition to a drink. There is a reason they use oak barrels but I forget I must look it up.



Same reason they use it for wine, give flavor to the beverage.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Lunch looks great. How I adore oxtail soup. Lamb and salmon. Do they give you an option to have a little of each if you wanted?



No they weren't like the DCL staff.  I think they paid them a living wage, so they weren't completely dependent on their tips.  They were willing to please, but only to a point as you will see in the next couple days.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> The homes on stilts are something else aren't they. We have a few of those on The Thames.





Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> I adore those Antebellum houses. I actually prefer the look of the Catalpa to the Rosedown from your photos. It seems lighter and more inviting I prefer the china and decoration. But the wallpaper in Rosedown is something else! Isn't that flooring in Rosedown odd. Like you would not place in that era at all. More like 1970's!



The floor did seem pretty out of place!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Thank you for sharing. We saw a few Antebellum houses on our tour of the south. One had a dome on the top I recall that. It was charming. Europeans can be snobby. Ignore them. We found them quite eye taking and interesting. We were lucky enough to also catch a reinactment of thr civil war. Folks dressed up. Well they don't do that here that I know of we were delighted to see the old costumes etc. What an amazing thing to do!



We used to do reinactments.  I did a dual impression.  I was a woman in the mornings, but when the band played Fran would make me dress like a man since they didn't allow women in the military back then.









We had to do everything as close as we could to period.  Even lunch.







dolphingirl47 said:


> Wow, that water level is high. I loved all the photos of the houses. The furniture and the china were amazing. I can't believe that people were turning up their noses at this. Sure, we have much older buildings, but that does not make this part of history any less impressive. I for one would love to visit those houses.
> 
> Corinna



I thought it was pretty nice too.  Some people just can't be pleased.



Mywishes3 said:


> Thank you for taking the time to post so many pictures and detailed information. I really enjoyed going thru the homes thru your eyes, and getting a history lesson!  Just wonderful!
> 
> I can't imagine trying rum straight up (now put some in a straw in a lapu lapu and I'm there!). So thank you for your taste result!
> 
> Glad you got your laundry in!



Thanks!  I'm glad you are enjoying it.  It was really good rum, very smooth and nothing like most other rums I've had.  I made a comment about it not tasting a thing like Baccardi, and the gentleman commented that they have ruined most people on drinking rum as theirs is so harsh.


----------



## franandaj

Here it is Disney Eve. My bags are packed and in the car and it's just past midnight. The bags have been in the car since before 3PM 

My carry on is packed except for my computer, which I plan to shut down after this post.  It looks like my next TR may not begin with a sleepless night. But you may be asking yourself, "Alison but why are still awake at 12AM when you have an early flight and your bags have been packed for 8 hours?" 

Well it's Tuesday so we have band rehearsal.  It's not my ideal choice to leave on a Wednesday, but we when we decided to include the Universal part of our trip going on a Wednesday after band rehearsal just made sense. And then conductor Justin decided to end the rehearsal with Danzas Cubanas.  A Latin Number that ended up raising my adrenaline level so I wasn't ready to go to bed when I got home.  I normally can't go to sleep after band rehearsal and usually stay up to 1 or 2 AM.  

For any band geeks, this is the piece.





I'm going to bed with both of our suitcases all loaded and when we wake up at 4AM we will load the carryons.  I'm going to bed now!


----------



## dolphingirl47

I hope you are having a magical trip. Safe travels.

Corinna


----------



## dizneeat

*Have a great and magical trip! Safe travels*!


----------



## PrincessInOz

Wow! Wow!  Wow!  You weren't kidding when you said "but wait...there's more".  What a stunningly interesting day!




franandaj said:


> Here is the porch once everyone went inside to see the rest of the house.





franandaj said:


> she then served everyone a glass of sherry on the porch



When it comes to sherry or port, I could easily sit on that porch every afternoon!







franandaj said:


> Can you imagine riding up this impressive drive in your horse and carriage?



Only if the 'horse' is a mustang!  







franandaj said:


> 'm going to bed with both of our suitcases all loaded and when we wake up at 4AM we will load the carryons. I'm going to bed now!



Have a great trip!








franandaj said:


> For any band geeks, this is the piece.



Love it!


----------



## jedijill

Bon Voyage!  Have a fantastic trip!

Jill in CO


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Safe travels Alison and Fran! I loved the reinactment photos. Why not anymore not enough time? Too cool that even lunch was in the period. I like that.

Looking forward to hearing about your next trip. Did I miss that link?


----------



## dhorner233

Thanks for throwing in the Civil War reenactment! Was that on this Mississippi trip or from another time? I guess the saxophone had not made it over from Europe yet but no clarinets? I didn't know Fran could play brass instruments too. Very versatile!  

Love the Danza Cubanans! Reminds me of a piece, "Hot Latin" that we are playing at our Mother's Day concert. I can't get to sleep after band practice either. Always a late night for me.

Hope you guys have a safe and fun trip!!!!


----------



## Dis_Yoda

Have a great trip!


----------



## Flossbolna

Have a safe trip and a great time in Orlando!


----------



## rentayenta

Love this update! The last home was just gorgeous. I was reading along and showing my friends at work. 

Happy traveling to you and Fran. Hope you got a little sleep.


----------



## franandaj

dizneeat said:


> *Somehow I never got any more notifications for this thread and now I was 6 pages behind!!!!!!!! Took me quite some time to catch up.
> 
> Far too much to comment on, but let me tell you that I loved all the photos. The area looks so pretty and all those excursions seemed so interesting. I even went ahead and checked out the American Queen website. Definitely gives me something to think about.
> Thanks for sharing and thanks for the history you include. SO interesting for a non American. So many things I didn't know.*



A lot of people have been saying that they aren't getting the notifications.  I just check the recently updated threads so I can keep up!



afwdwfan said:


> Um... well, at least you tried to be friendly.



I know!  It also made me realize how "unconversational" my German is!



afwdwfan said:


> Wow! That would be cool to see!



In hindsight I kind of wish that I had gone up to see it.  I guess next steamboat trip.



afwdwfan said:


> So what do you do with a literal boat load of frog legs that nobody wants to eat?



Well if they mixed them in the eggs the next day, I'm glad I didn't eat them!



afwdwfan said:


> I was going to say something about how you did keep it light by going with beignets...



Well we were trying to go light....until we saw them.



afwdwfan said:


> But then I read this. Sorry they were disappointing.



But we did keep it light, since we didn't eat them!



afwdwfan said:


> Sounds like my kind of place!







afwdwfan said:


> This could be the first line in the history of literally every city in the US.



Yeah, really!



afwdwfan said:


> And that is why you apply fertilizer. Although I'm sure soil sampling for fertility and gridding out the fertility of a field was probably some science that came along after the boll weevil. I'm guessing the plantations also didn't have sufficient livestock to help with fertility either.



I figured that one would get a response out of you!



afwdwfan said:


> Hey! I stayed there when I went to Disney World.
> 
> It really shows you how well detailed the Disney resorts are though. That definitely looks like something straight out of Port Orleans.



Yes, they definitely do their homework!



afwdwfan said:


> Really? No pictures? What secrets are they hiding?



They want you to buy the book that they produced that is full of pictures.



afwdwfan said:


> Seems like that's how the story goes for a lot of these large mansions.



They seem to put everything into building it and once they finish, they have nothing left to live for!



afwdwfan said:


> Interesting story. I'm glad they managed to save it. So much history there.



It's nice that they could keep something like that and not just tear it down, like so many things in Los Angeles.



afwdwfan said:


> Yep... Disney does their homework and makes things authentic!







afwdwfan said:


> Hope he brought his hip waders.



He did!



afwdwfan said:


> Good idea!



Saved our butts from starvation!



afwdwfan said:


> I guess you learn after the first few floods.



I would hope only one.



afwdwfan said:


> Amazing. Wouldn't it be something to see these places back in their prime?



Totally would be cool.



afwdwfan said:


> Wow... going all the way from the deep south to NY in the mid-1800's. To think of the time and money it would have taken just to make that trip back then.



That's probably one of the reasons they all went broke after the Civil War, they were used to squandering and wasting their money.



afwdwfan said:


> Tight squeeze. Hope you're not claustrophobic.



I don't think slaves had that luxury.



afwdwfan said:


> I'm glad you were finally able to do your laundry. I was afraid you were going to say that you got back up there and someone else had taken them.



Well if nothing else I would have done it in the wee hours of the night, we didn't have much other opportunity!


----------



## franandaj

dolphingirl47 said:


> I hope you are having a magical trip. Safe travels.
> 
> Corinna



Thanks!  And you too!



dizneeat said:


> *Have a great and magical trip! Safe travels*!



Thank you very much!



PrincessInOz said:


> Wow! Wow! Wow! You weren't kidding when you said "but wait...there's more". What a stunningly interesting day!
> 
> 
> When it comes to sherry or port, I could easily sit on that porch every afternoon!



And there is still even more!



PrincessInOz said:


> Only if the 'horse' is a mustang!



Mustangs are known to be one of the fiestiest of horses.  



PrincessInOz said:


> Have a great trip!



Thank you!



PrincessInOz said:


> Love it!



It's a great piece!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Safe travels Alison and Fran! I loved the reinactment photos. Why not anymore not enough time? Too cool that even lunch was in the period. I like that.
> 
> Looking forward to hearing about your next trip. Did I miss that link?



A lot of factors. Probably time and health most.  It takes a lot to prepare for one of these (when you do it Fran's way) and it's not just putting on some clothes and picking up an instrument.  There's tents to be erected, your cooler is stored in a big wooden box, so is all your food.  Sometimes it involves overnighting at a hotel....It just got to be too much with everything else going on in our lives.

I'm still on it!!!! I haven't even finished this TR, so I haven't even started that one!  



dhorner233 said:


> Thanks for throwing in the Civil War reenactment! Was that on this Mississippi trip or from another time? I guess the saxophone had not made it over from Europe yet but no clarinets? I didn't know Fran could play brass instruments too. Very versatile!



Oh god no!  This was probably five or more years ago.  I don't remember why we had to stop, but most likely it was health related.



dhorner233 said:


> Love the Danza Cubanans! Reminds me of a piece, "Hot Latin" that we are playing at our Mother's Day concert. I can't get to sleep after band practice either. Always a late night for me.



Sounds like a fun piece!



dhorner233 said:


> Hope you guys have a safe and fun trip!!!!



Thank you!



Dis_Yoda said:


> Have a great trip!



Thanks!



Flossbolna said:


> Have a safe trip and a great time in Orlando!



Thank you very much!


----------



## Malia78

Enjoying the facebook teasers of your Florida trip--looks like you're having a blast!


----------



## franandaj

After I started my laundry, I came back to the room to take some shots of the sun setting. 













I returned to change them over just in time. I finished the laundry at around 6:15PM and decided to go have a drink before dinner. I came back to the room around 7PM to wake Fran and get her ready for dinner. All the staff were talking about how we were going to arrive in Baton Rouge at 8PM that night. Evidently there are casinos there and the crew was excited about a night on the town. I hate it that we get to the stops so quickly. Half the fun is cruising on the river.

Dinner menu





For starters I had the mushroom crepe. Delicious!





She had the Marinated Blue Crab Meat with Asparagus Dill Sauce



 

On the “available anytime” menu at the bottom they had a Caesar salad, so that’s what I went for.





Fran went with the Crawfish Tomato Bisque





For the main courses, Fran went with the Captain’s Braised Beef Short Rib.  I don’t remember what she said about it.  I guess it was OK.





I went with the Pan Seared Sea Scallops.  They were good, but I had started my “not eat everything in sight plan” and I think I only ate the two nicely caramelized ones.  I would order them again if I had the chance.





For Desserts they had an Amaretto Bread Pudding and there was no way I could resist that!





Peach Cobbler for Fran





I didn’t write any notes about what we did once we had our desserts, but I’m guessing that since we were feeling a little under the weather we took off without sitting and sipping wine.  We also arrived in Baton Rouge while we were having dinner so the evening staff was happy to get things wrapped up quickly.  I’m pretty sure a lot of them planned for a night on the town!

*[Continued Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

Baton Rouge 


We had arrived the night before, so we could leave the boat at any time. Both of us were really feeling the congestion and coughing.  I was glad I happened to have my generic Zicam because I was popping several of those a day now. I didn't feel like I had a cold, I really thought it was just all the pollen in the air on the river.





























We went down to breakfast and this time we sat with a nice couple from Seattle. They had even been on a Disney cruise.  They had a Modern Family kind of family (but without the patriarch having a trophy wife) and had taken the whole extended family on the trip. It was nice the way she nonchalantly talked about her son bringing his husband along. I was afraid prior to the trip how people in this age range were going to treat us. Mostly everyone was either very kind or indifferent. Fran and I were a good 10-20 years younger than 90% of the folks on this boat.

Finally, I was hungry enough to take advantage of the omelet bar.  Two nights before, I started eating only half of my food. I just got full and stopped forcing it. I was glad to feel hunger in the morning instead of indigestion. 









Fran helped me with the omelet.





I had and couple bites of her croque Madame. 





This was our first real port where we docked instead of landed. 









This ship, the US Kidd was included in our tours but Fran would have had a hard time navigating the ship so we skipped it.





Today we planned on riding the bunny bus again. There were a number of good stops here, but being the Saturday before Easter many of the stops were closed.

We decided to ride it one time around the loop before choosing where to get off. But first we had to figure out how to get to the bus. We had to wait for a VERY long train to go by. 









I took pictures while we waited for the train to go by.





The Red Stick or Le Baton Rouge





You can see our bus there!





We had tickets for the 9:30AM bus, however when we tried to board the handicapped seats in the front of the bus were filled. We opted to wait for the next bus, where we got the front seats.





This statue is of Christopher Columbus and was erected by the Italian community of Baton Rouge before they found out his Portuguese heritage. Oh well.





The Governor's Mansion built by Huey Long was closed today. That's one we would have liked to see, oh well, next trip. This became a common phrase this trip. 





Way back when this was the original post office for Baton Rouge, it has been used since then as a meeting hall and all sorts of other purposes.





The next stop was a cathedral (also closed today), Farmer's market, and there was a grocery store a block away from this stop, but we didn’t get off here.  You can see the Louisiana state building towering over the city.





The next stop was the Louisiana history museum, this is where we exited the bus. I’ll have more on the rest of this day in a few days.


----------



## dizneeat

*I can't believe you are updating your TR while on vacation!!! *



franandaj said:


>



*Wow! That's what I call a beautiful sunset!*



franandaj said:


>



*Yummy! Good choice!*



franandaj said:


>



*And another yummy choice! Exactly what I would have ordered! *



franandaj said:


> For Desserts they had an Amaretto Bread Pudding and there was no way I could resist that!



*Okay, you are killing me with your food choices! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


*



franandaj said:


> We also arrived in Baton Rouge while we were having dinner so the evening staff was happy to get things wrapped up quickly. I’m pretty sure a lot of them planned for a night on the town!



*Can you blame them?*



franandaj said:


> Both of us were really feeling the congestion and coughing. I was glad I happened to have my generic Zicam because I was popping several of those a day now. I didn't feel like I had a cold, I really thought it was just all the pollen in the air on the river.



*Nevertheless, being sick or even feeling sick on vacation is NO fun! Hope it got better soon.* 



franandaj said:


> This ship, the US Kidd was included in our tours but Fran would have had a hard time navigating the ship so we skipped it.



*You were perfectly right to skip it. It looks a lot like the HMS Belfast in London and you really need to climb a lot of stairs and duck under low entryways.*



franandaj said:


> This statue is of Christopher Columbus and was erected by the Italian community of Baton Rouge before they found out his Portuguese heritage. Oh well.


----------



## franandaj

Malia78 said:


> Enjoying the facebook teasers of your Florida trip--looks like you're having a blast!



Thanks!  Trying not to give away too much!  Got to save some for the TR!



dizneeat said:


> I can't believe you are updating your TR while on vacation!!!



That part was written before I left as well as one more update, so it was easy.  However without giving away too much, I am here in the Villa virtually alone with my computer.  Yesterday wiped everyone out and they're all fast asleep.  It's good I had nothing planned for this day other than breakfast and dinner.  Saturday in the parks is too busy for my taste.  I figured why not catch up. Besides I'm waiting to meet a DIS friend who lives locally, and she and her BF overslept this morning.  



dizneeat said:


> Wow! That's what I call a beautiful sunset!



Thank you very much!



dizneeat said:


> Yummy! Good choice!



It was!



dizneeat said:


> And another yummy choice! Exactly what I would have ordered!



:thumbup2


dizneeat said:


> *Okay, you are killing me with your food choices!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *



You and I would get along well if we had to eat the same meals.



dizneeat said:


> *Can you blame them?*



No, they worked equally as hard as DCL CMs, if not harder.



dizneeat said:


> *Nevertheless, being sick or even feeling sick on vacation is NO fun! Hope it got better soon.*



No it isn't, and I'm not sure I can tell you there is a happy ending to the story.



dizneeat said:


> *You were perfectly right to skip it. It looks a lot like the HMS Belfast in London and you really need to climb a lot of stairs and duck under low entryways.*



We have a ship like that in San Pedro and my friends who have toured that one said it was a lot of small staircases and tight corridors.  I think we made a good choice.


----------



## rentayenta

Sweet update and while on vacation no less.  Sounds like last night was fun if everyone is still asleep.  Sorry to read yesterday was so busy. Michael was at Disneyland yesterday and he said it was a zoo.  At a few minutes to midnight, the posted wait time for Space was still 70 minutes.  Even if the CMs fudged a bit, I am thinking it was still about 30.


----------



## Flossbolna

Great update again! I love it that they have bikes available for use on land! That is a nice feature. I would love to make use of that. But considering the age of most of the cruisers, I wonder if they were even in use that much.

I had no idea that Baton Rouge was the state capitol of Louisiana. It is fascinating that so many states don't have the best known city as capitol, but rather a smaller, lesser known one.

And the Capitol itself looks very interesting!! For the European here a high rise building looks far more "American" than those classical domes that seem to be so popular otherwise.


----------



## rndmr2

franandaj said:


>



Beautiful Sunset picture! 



franandaj said:


>



This looks Yummy!! 



franandaj said:


>



So does this, I love all the crumbly stuff with the ice cream.  

Too bad so many things were closed for you this day, that Governor's mansion would have been nice to see inside. 
-------

Sorry you are all wiped out, but sounds like you are having fun.  Looking forward to that report too.


----------



## bbak30

Welcome to Baton Rouge! Can't wait to hear about the rest of your day. I live right over the bridge, less than 10 miles from where you were. 

St. Francisville is a nice little town. I have never toured any of the plantations there, we may have to fix that!


----------



## PrincessInOz

you're updating and you're on vacay????  

Go and enjoy!!!!




(Nice update.  Shame so many things were closed.  Baton Rouge looks interesting!)


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> They make movies in Canada. Disneyland is the happiest place on Earth!



That's true.



franandaj said:


> Except there weren't any chairs except the two that they were sitting in.



Oh.



franandaj said:


> No chairs, no drinks = not staying long



I can see that.



franandaj said:


> I'm good with staying in the 21st century.



Too bad not everyone has joined us here.



franandaj said:


> Hmmmmm, so you were an ornery little kid? Eh?



That and everything in between.



franandaj said:


> Yes, it was very smooth. I've mostly had Bacardi Rum and this tasted nothing like that, it was very easy to drink and no harsh aftertaste.



Interesting. Maybe I would've liked it.

Probably not, though.



franandaj said:


> You can see how far inland the water extends.



Looks very familiar with the water right up to the road.
Was there water on the other side of the road as well?



franandaj said:


> I found it interesting that all these houses were built on stilts.



Smart.



franandaj said:


> Now it would have made more sense to visit Rosedown Plantation first as far as the genealogy is concerned, but I’m glad we did it the way we did because the second house was much more impressive.



Save dessert for last.



franandaj said:


> The homeowner still lives there and leads the tours herself.



No way! That's so cool!



franandaj said:


> The two of them had a son William J. Fort Jr. who married one of his mother’s sisters from Rosedown Plantation.



He married his _aunt?!?!?_



franandaj said:


> Fort Jr's first wife died after 18 years of marriage, and so he married another one of the sisters.



Another one!!!



franandaj said:


> Clear as mud?



Mississippi mud.



franandaj said:


> Mary greeted us from her Porch.



The way she's standing there. She looks like such a proper southern lady.



franandaj said:


> With the butt of his rifle, he put that hole in the neck of the dog as he walked on to loot and destroy the house.



Cool. Love little details like that.



franandaj said:


> These pictures were very unique, you can’t tell by the photos, but they are made with real fabric for the women’s outfits.



I've seen that before. Not that exact one, but similar.
But I can't for the life of me remember _where_ I've seen it.



franandaj said:


> This trunk was authentic for the 1800s, pretty much a suitcase for the time.



Want?



franandaj said:


> She was a dog lover and had something like 8 or 9 dogs. One of the guys on the tour got bored with the inside of the house. I heard him say he was going outside, and all of a sudden the dogs all went crazy, barking and stuff!



 Basically scolding him to get back with the tour.



franandaj said:


> All of these pieces of china we from the period. Many of them were buried in the yard to hide them when the Union Soldiers came. She showed us a chip on one of them where it had been chipped during the digging up process.



Another nice little detail.



franandaj said:


> Mary talked about this pot during the tour and how she would have loved to use it as a “cooler” to serve beverages at for parties, but she was afraid it would get broken so instead it became a plant holder.



I wonder how the former owner of the pot would've felt about that.

But, yeah. Would've been a terrible thing to break it.



franandaj said:


> It was interesting to think that she lived in a museum.



I was thinking that too.



franandaj said:


> Can you imagine riding up this impressive drive in your horse and carriage?



Rather breathtaking, no?



franandaj said:


> Now I will say that I heard the Europeans on the tour saying that they thought these houses would be more impressive. I know that there are far more impressive castles in most of Europe, but you have to remember the South is a bloody swamp! Many people lived in shacks, the fact that these people have giant houses with all the amenities is no small feat for the 1800s in the middle of a swamp in the middle of nowhere!



I get that. But I also get the entirely different circumstances.



franandaj said:


> Notice the wallpaper. This is not the original as it was painted over so many times that it was ruined. However, they were able to find the manufacturer (someone in France) and they still had some of this left in their archives, so it is “original” just redone in the 20th century.



I find that really incredible that they found archived wall paper.



franandaj said:


> This flooring was quite remarkable for the time. It was painted canvas,



Really!



franandaj said:


>



That's fascinating. Truly from another era.



franandaj said:


> You can see the slave staircase hidden here. It extends from the top floor to the basement.



Look how steep it is.



franandaj said:


> This room was added on, the ceilings in this wing were 17 feet instead of 14.



Whoa. There's definitely money there.



franandaj said:


> Your “sink” for tidying up before bed.



Been there, done that.



franandaj said:


> Martha Washington cross stitched this for the couple as her sister’s great granddaughter married the Turnbull’s son who was killed crossing the Mississippi at age 27.



No way! Cool!



franandaj said:


> All these Azaleas were supposedly grafted from one original plant.



Huh. Impressive.



franandaj said:


> I found out how the boat got tied up that morning. I pity that poor sap!



Someone drew the short straw.



franandaj said:


> I liked the look of this bridge.



Me too.



franandaj said:


> I decided to try and do laundry again. There was loads running in the washer but they only had about 10 more minutes so I ran down to the room (not really, my legs were too tired to do that) and got my hamper full of dirty clothes. When I came upstairs the person using the machines was just finishing up, so I got both machines and started my whites in one machine and the rest of the load in the other.



So you did manage to get the laundry done. And both machines were free, too!



franandaj said:


> Evidently there are casinos there and the crew was excited about a night on the town.



Did a lot vanish as soon as you docked?



franandaj said:


> We also arrived in Baton Rouge while we were having dinner so the evening staff was happy to get things wrapped up quickly.



"Here you go enjoy your meal do you need a refill would you like dessert no okay then goodnight."



franandaj said:


> Both of us were really feeling the congestion and coughing.



That's too bad.



franandaj said:


> They had a Modern Family kind of family (but without the patriarch having a trophy wife)



But that's the best part!



franandaj said:


> I had and couple bites of her croque Madame.



Is that a custard on top? Or melted cheese?



franandaj said:


> This was our first real port where we docked instead of landed.



You're in the big city now.



franandaj said:


> This ship, the US Kidd was included in our tours but Fran would have had a hard time navigating the ship so we skipped it.



Too bad. I can't fathom such a ship on the river.



franandaj said:


> The Red Stick or Le Baton Rouge



 There's an actual baton rouge???? I had no idea!
As soon as I post this, I'm off to Google.



franandaj said:


> This statue is of Christopher Columbus and was erected by the Italian community of Baton Rouge before they found out his Portuguese heritage. Oh well.







franandaj said:


> The Governor's Mansion built by Huey Long was closed today. That's one we would have liked to see, oh well, next trip. This became a common phrase this trip.



Crap.

I may not have posted a lot of comments about the plantations, but I read every word and enjoyed every photo. Thanks for that!


----------



## franandaj

rentayenta said:


> Sweet update and while on vacation no less.  Sounds like last night was fun if everyone is still asleep.  Sorry to read yesterday was so busy. Michael was at Disneyland yesterday and he said it was a zoo.  At a few minutes to midnight, the posted wait time for Space was still 70 minutes.  Even if the CMs fudged a bit, I am thinking it was still about 30.



Yesterday was a day of rest and catch up. Jim and Alberto were still tired from their red eye, and Fran is always tired.  That sounds crazy.  We're off to a park in a few minutes once everyone is dressed and breakfasted.



Flossbolna said:


> Great update again! I love it that they have bikes available for use on land! That is a nice feature. I would love to make use of that. But considering the age of most of the cruisers, I wonder if they were even in use that much.



I did see some people using the bikes, but they were the few young folks on the cruise.



Flossbolna said:


> I had no idea that Baton Rouge was the state capitol of Louisiana. It is fascinating that so many states don't have the best known city as capitol, but rather a smaller, lesser known one.



In a lot of states the Capital is not the most well known city.  It's kind of interesting.



Flossbolna said:


> And the Capitol itself looks very interesting!! For the European here a high rise building looks far more "American" than those classical domes that seem to be so popular otherwise.



Interesting.  But then as has been discussed on other TRs, most Americans think Germany looks like Bavaria and don't know about the modern side of German Architecture.



rndmr2 said:


> Beautiful Sunset picture!



Thank you!



rndmr2 said:


> This looks Yummy!!



I'm debating between having something similar to this tonight or Bison!



rndmr2 said:


> So does this, I love all the crumbly stuff with the ice cream.



She said that it wasn't as good as it looked, but it sure looked good!



rndmr2 said:


> Too bad so many things were closed for you this day, that Governor's mansion would have been nice to see inside.



It definitely would have been nice to see!



rndmr2 said:


> Sorry you are all wiped out, but sounds like you are having fun. Looking forward to that report too.



Well, I wasn't wiped out, but everyone else sure was.  It was really quiet for a few hours!


----------



## Pinkocto

Beautiful pictures, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the plantations. I just could not stop thinking that he married two of his aunts... I know it was a different time back then but it wasn't that long ago and there had to be other girls... 

That's unreal the water level was that high, wow. 

Your meals have looke mighty delicious! 

I wonder if the company who made the wallpaper was keeping it on purpose or did it get forgotten. Amazing they still had some. 




Glad you had a down day, sounds like everyone needed the rest


----------



## jedijill

Shame so much was closed in Baton Rouge.  We stopped there on a family trip 30 years ago and stopped at a Cajun buffet.  I had the spiciest shrimp I've ever eaten there...that's the only thing I remember about Baton Rouge. 

Have a great time at the parks today!

Jill in CO


----------



## rentayenta

Hppy Birthday girl!!!!!


----------



## skier_pete

This is the first time on your trip you've gone somewhere that I've been to...one of our chemical plants is in Baton Rouge (was on the phone with them earlier today). In fact, the plant is within spitting distance of the state building there (that big tall building in your picture). I haven't been down in nearly 20 years though. I can't say much nice about Baton Rouge except there's some damn fine cuisine there. That and the Riverboat Casino there is where I learned to play Cra-ps. (I'm spacing that out in case I get *bleeped* for a bad word.) I won $250 on an initial $10 bet. It paid for my Star Wars Trilogy Laserdisc set. Yes it was a long time ago. On the rare occasions that I gamble, it's the only game I like to play. 

There's nothing that makes you feel more like a real gambler than Gambling on a riverboat on the Mississippi. At the time, they had only had riverboat gambling for a few years. The story goes that to make gambling legal, they had to agree that they would leave the dock to gamble. However, there was a caveat that if River conditions were not appropriate to leave the dock, they could stay docked and still run the casino. At the time I went, it had been nearly two years since they had found river conditions OK to leave the dock. I wonder if they've left since.


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Baton Rouge looks like a great stop. It is a strange feeling I think when the boat comes in to dock whilst having dinner. You are left with this feeling of hang on I'm eating my dinner I'd like to see this... They did this a lot on our Hawaaiin cruise. I am too nosey and prefer the choice taken away! Do it in the dark whilst i sleep or at non dinner time!

The dinner  menu looks nice. I love that they always have standard items on there in case you don't want tonights offering. Bread and butter pudding? Oh yes! 

I love a good made to order omlette station. What a bonus. It is amazing how many chefs/cooks cannot get simple eggs right! Eggs benedict, omlettes etc. When they are good they are good!

I see that as part of the day tour they visit the Governors Mansion but you mention it is closed on a Sunday. An oversight?
I love that bunny bus option! So much flexibility. Those day tours are very long. Intetesting re the history of Baton Rouge and the name meaning. How nice they give you this information. 

Lots of activites available to do on the boat. Crochet, quizes very impressive. I'm sorry you were both feeling under the weather still.


----------



## afwdwfan

franandaj said:


> I hate it that we get to the stops so quickly. Half the fun is cruising on the river.


 I'd actually be disappointed about going down the river during the night hours though.  For me, a big part of the fascination of the trip would be sitting and watching the scenery pass by. 



franandaj said:


> They had even been on a Disney cruise. They had a Modern Family kind of family (but without the patriarch having a trophy wife)


 

I'm glad that you weren't made to feel uncomfortable on the cruise.



franandaj said:


> This ship, the US Kidd was included in our tours but Fran would have had a hard time navigating the ship so we skipped it.


That would have been really cool to see, but definitely not scooter friendly!



franandaj said:


> The next stop was the Louisiana history museum, this is where we exited the bus. I’ll have more on the rest of this day in a few days.


Baton Rouge looks like a really neat town.  I look forward to seeing which parts of it were actually open so you could check them out!


----------



## Steppesister

franandaj said:


>



Love, love, love this one! 

Just gorgeous! 

I know you're having a dreamy, wonderful time already! Enjoy every minute.


----------



## franandaj

bbak30 said:


> Welcome to Baton Rouge! Can't wait to hear about the rest of your day. I live right over the bridge, less than 10 miles from where you were.



Thanks! You might be disappointed. Since it was the daybefore Easter, only about half the things on the map were open.



bbak30 said:


> St. Francisville is a nice little town. I have never toured any of the plantations there, we may have to fix that!



Like I said, if we had a car, it probably would have been a cool little place to visit. Have lunch in a quaint cafe, stop where we wanted. But being at the mercy of the bus we didn't have a lot of choices for stops.



PrincessInOz said:


> you're updating and you're on vacay????
> 
> Go and enjoy!!



Only during the times when we are kickin' it in the room. Saturday I was the only one awake and I was waiting for Dana to stop by. I was just too darned tired to be out running around taking pictures, so catching up on updates was a fun choice. And now waiting for the luggage, I can't beat my view! Just waiting for the adult beverages to arrive!



PrincessInOz said:


> (Nice update. Shame so many things were closed. Baton Rouge looks interesting!)



It was a shame, but so far Louisiana isn't on the "no visit" list! So we can go back.


----------



## ACDSNY

Beautiful sunset pics.  Baton Rouge looks lovely.

Enjoy that beautiful view.


----------



## franandaj

pkondz said:


> Too bad not everyone has joined us here.



Yeah, I know what you mean.



pkondz said:


> That and everything in between.



Makes total sense.



pkondz said:


> Interesting. Maybe I would've liked it.
> 
> Probably not, though.



You never know. It was very smooth.



pkondz said:


> Looks very familiar with the water right up to the road.
> Was there water on the other side of the road as well?



Yup.  Just about the same amount on the other side too.



pkondz said:


> Save dessert for last.



Of course, that's my motto, Fran's is "Life is uncertain, eat dessert first."



pkondz said:


> He married his _aunt?!?!?_



I remember all the jokes about Southern folks when I was a kid.  I guess there was some truth to the jokes.



pkondz said:


> Another one!!!



I guess with eight daughters, it was easy pickins.



pkondz said:


> Mississippi mud.



Wasn't there a pie by that name?



pkondz said:


> The way she's standing there. She looks like such a proper southern lady.



I'm sure she is.



pkondz said:


> I've seen that before. Not that exact one, but similar.
> But I can't for the life of me remember _where_ I've seen it.



Hmmmm.....no clue.



pkondz said:


> Basically scolding him to get back with the tour.



That's about right.



pkondz said:


> I wonder how the former owner of the pot would've felt about that.
> 
> But, yeah. Would've been a terrible thing to break it.



Probably the same they would think about people trapsing through the house.



pkondz said:


> Rather breathtaking, no?



Yes very much so!



pkondz said:


> I find that really incredible that they found archived wall paper.



I'm sure there are stranger things hanging around French warehouses.



pkondz said:


> That's fascinating. Truly from another era.



A whole different way of life.



pkondz said:


> Look how steep it is.



Yeah, slaves didn't have a lot of choice about their surroundings.  Sorry if they had claustrophobia.



pkondz said:


> Been there, done that.



Really?  Did the room have a chamber pot too?  Wait don't answer that.  I don't want to know.



pkondz said:


> Someone drew the short straw.



Either that or the new guy.



pkondz said:


> So you did manage to get the laundry done. And both machines were free, too!



Yes, I was on a mission.  It had to get done that day.



pkondz said:


> Did a lot vanish as soon as you docked?



I'm not sure since we were still at dinner.



pkondz said:


> "Here you go enjoy your meal do you need a refill would you like dessert no okay then goodnight."



But yeah, that's about how it went.



pkondz said:


> Is that a custard on top? Or melted cheese?



Bechamel.



pkondz said:


> You're in the big city now.



Yup.  And it's all closed up.



pkondz said:


> There's an actual baton rouge???? I had no idea!
> As soon as I post this, I'm off to Google.



So what did you find.  



pkondz said:


> Crap.
> 
> I may not have posted a lot of comments about the plantations, but I read every word and enjoyed every photo. Thanks for that!



I'm glad you enjoyed it!


----------



## franandaj

Pinkocto said:


> Beautiful pictures, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the plantations. I just could not stop thinking that he married two of his aunts... I know it was a different time back then but it wasn't that long ago and there had to be other girls...



I think it was a combination of things, they wanted to keep the bloodlines in tact and the land in the family. Plus they didn't know about the science related to inbreeding. I don't know if it was still a big joke when you were growing up, but I remember all kinds of jokes about Southerners marrying their cousins, brothers and sisters.  You don't hear that kind of thing so much any more these days.



Pinkocto said:


> That's unreal the water level was that high, wow.



It really seemed unusual to me, no one seemed bothered by it, but they did say it was higher than normal.



Pinkocto said:


> Your meals have looke mighty delicious!



Thank you!



Pinkocto said:


> I wonder if the company who made the wallpaper was keeping it on purpose or did it get forgotten. Amazing they still had some.



Good question.  Who keeps things around for 100 years these days?  



Pinkocto said:


> Glad you had a down day, sounds like everyone needed the rest



The rest of them sure did!  We've been taking it pretty easy.  None of us are spring chickens any more!



jedijill said:


> Shame so much was closed in Baton Rouge. We stopped there on a family trip 30 years ago and stopped at a Cajun buffet. I had the spiciest shrimp I've ever eaten there...that's the only thing I remember about Baton Rouge.



Funny!  We'll have to go back there to experience any of their cuisine.



jedijill said:


> Have a great time at the parks today!



We did.  I think. 



rentayenta said:


> Hppy Birthday girl!!!!!



Thank you!  It was a fun and exhausting day!



********** said:


> This is the first time on your trip you've gone somewhere that I've been to...one of our chemical plants is in Baton Rouge (was on the phone with them earlier today). In fact, the plant is within spitting distance of the state building there (that big tall building in your picture). I haven't been down in nearly 20 years though. I can't say much nice about Baton Rouge except there's some damn fine cuisine there. That and the Riverboat Casino there is where I learned to play Cra-ps. (I'm spacing that out in case I get *bleeped* for a bad word.) I won $250 on an initial $10 bet. It paid for my Star Wars Trilogy Laserdisc set. Yes it was a long time ago. On the rare occasions that I gamble, it's the only game I like to play.



Oh, no they let you say "Crap" on the boards.  

That's interesting, I've always been afraid to try craps, it just seems so confusing. Glad you were able to make some money and get something you wanted.



********** said:


> There's nothing that makes you feel more like a real gambler than Gambling on a riverboat on the Mississippi. At the time, they had only had riverboat gambling for a few years. The story goes that to make gambling legal, they had to agree that they would leave the dock to gamble. However, there was a caveat that if River conditions were not appropriate to leave the dock, they could stay docked and still run the casino. At the time I went, it had been nearly two years since they had found river conditions OK to leave the dock. I wonder if they've left since.



I don't know.  I always felt like gambling in Vegas made me feel like a real gambler!  I don't think those boats could leave the docks anymore.  They looked fairly permanently attached.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Baton Rouge looks like a great stop. It is a strange feeling I think when the boat comes in to dock whilst having dinner. You are left with this feeling of hang on I'm eating my dinner I'd like to see this... They did this a lot on our Hawaaiin cruise. I am too nosey and prefer the choice taken away! Do it in the dark whilst i sleep or at non dinner time!



It was so dark that there wasn't much too see, but I would rather they do it in the light so I can see!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> The dinner menu looks nice. I love that they always have standard items on there in case you don't want tonights offering. Bread and butter pudding? Oh yes!



I liked that they had the "fall back" offerings as well.  There were some nights I really wasn't too sure about what I was ordering.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> I love a good made to order omlette station. What a bonus. It is amazing how many chefs/cooks cannot get simple eggs right! Eggs benedict, omlettes etc. When they are good they are good!



Normally I don't take advantage of the omelette stations, so I'm glad I got to do this one.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> I see that as part of the day tour they visit the Governors Mansion but you mention it is closed on a Sunday. An oversight?



No, it was the Saturday before Easter and they couldn't find any volunteers who would come in and work that day.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> I love that bunny bus option! So much flexibility. Those day tours are very long. Intetesting re the history of Baton Rouge and the name meaning. How nice they give you this information.



I was glad we had something to do that was as long or short as we wanted.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Lots of activites available to do on the boat. Crochet, quizes very impressive. I'm sorry you were both feeling under the weather still.



We didn't end up doing many of the activities on the boat.  Maybe if we had felt better.


----------



## skier_pete

franandaj said:


> Oh, no they let you say "Crap" on the boards.
> 
> That's interesting, I've always been afraid to try craps, it just seems so confusing. Glad you were able to make some money and get something you wanted.



It's only confusing compared to a slot machine or roulette. It's actually fairly simple, but it DOES have a bit of a learning curve. What I like about it is (a) the odds are essentially even - meaning it just BARELY favors the house and (b) unlike the other game with close odds - blackjack - how you play doesn't affect the other players. I've tried blackjack, but if you aren't playing by the "rules" the other players get mad at you. Craps is also the most fun game. If the shooter goes on a roll, it is by far the funnest place in a casino to be. That said, I gamble about once every 2-3 years, so I'm not really the guy to talk to about what's "best"!


----------



## franandaj

afwdwfan said:


> I'd actually be disappointed about going down the river during the night hours though. For me, a big part of the fascination of the trip would be sitting and watching the scenery pass by.



I know.  That's what I wanted to do as well!



afwdwfan said:


> I'm glad that you weren't made to feel uncomfortable on the cruise.



It was very nice to feel welcome, but more so, "normal" and not a couple of pariahs.



afwdwfan said:


> That would have been really cool to see, but definitely not scooter friendly!



Even if she parked it before getting on the ship, crawling around the small compartments would be tough.  She can walk short distances, but she's not so good on stairs and bending her knees.



afwdwfan said:


> Baton Rouge looks like a really neat town. I look forward to seeing which parts of it were actually open so you could check them out!



You may be disappointed.  We didn't actually see much of the town.



Steppesister said:


> Love, love, love this one!
> 
> Just gorgeous!
> 
> I know you're having a dreamy, wonderful time already! Enjoy every minute.



Thanks, we have been having a good time, but it sure is tiring!  



ACDSNY said:


> Beautiful sunset pics.  Baton Rouge looks lovely.
> 
> Enjoy that beautiful view.



Thank you very much.  Oh we have been enjoying the view!


----------



## franandaj

********** said:


> It's only confusing compared to a slot machine or roulette. It's actually fairly simple, but it DOES have a bit of a learning curve. What I like about it is (a) the odds are essentially even - meaning it just BARELY favors the house and (b) unlike the other game with close odds - blackjack - how you play doesn't affect the other players. I've tried blackjack, but if you aren't playing by the "rules" the other players get mad at you. Craps is also the most fun game. If the shooter goes on a roll, it is by far the funnest place in a casino to be. That said, I gamble about once every 2-3 years, so I'm not really the guy to talk to about what's "best"!



I have heard that about Craps that it is the game with the most likely odds that you will win.  It's always the one in the movies when people need to win back a fortune to "save the day" that they play.  That being said, we like Blackjack because it is mellow and we play the rules.  We have this little card, about the size of a credit card that tells you what to do in every possible move.  Since it isn't cheating, no dealer has ever said that we can't put it on the table.  We don't always win and often we lose, but at least sometimes we do pretty good.


----------



## franandaj

So we left off with the bunny bus in Baton Rouge. We had just exited at the Louisiana State Museum.  The first floor was full of Louisiana history, there was a lot more detail about the state which was very similar to the history of Natchez that I related earlier. 





Basically the reason Napoleon was willing to give up Louisiana was that his empire in the west indies had been taken. His plan was to use the fruitful fields of Louisiana as a bread basket for his empire. With that gone he had no reason to keep the territory.  So Andrew Jackson acquired it for a mere 15 million dollars. About $.04 per acre. 

The museum talked about the port of New Orleans in the War of 1812. I was aware of the battles off the coast of New York City and Washington DC, but I did not know that in 1814, the final component of the British invasion was to seize the port of New Orleans and take control of the Mississippi River.  The long and short of it was that Andrew Jackson was a brilliant leader and by recruiting the French, Indians and freed slaves to unite against their sworn enemy, the British, he was able to supplement his Northern army and defeat the British.

Obviously Louisiana took part in the Civil War and they covered that here. There was even this odd submarine which had been excavated out of the river bed, I believe when the army Corps of engineers were doing their work after the flood of 1927. 





The next exhibit was quite disturbing considering what is going on in the US today. I'm not sure if you folks know who Huey Long is, but he was governor of Louisiana from 1928-1932. He was elected to the US Senate in 1932 and assassinated at the state capital building in Louisiana, (which he built), in 1935. That was the building picture I posted just before we entered the museum. Fran was always told by her relatives that he was a distant cousin. On the one hand he did some great things for the state highway wise, and he was the first to provide free textbooks free to all students. However, he had his own private slush fund where folks donated their hard earned money. He was flamboyant, constituents either loved him or hated him. He used certain races as scapegoats, and watching the old news reels of him gave me a weird sense of deja vu. Sound familiar to any of today’s candidates?  He never fulfilled his dream of making it to the white house.





When we finished this exhibit we checked the time and we had spent almost two hours and only been through about 4 exhibits.  We decided to pick up the pace and do our best to get through the remaining exhibits quickly.

The guide on the bus told us to go directly to the 3rd floor and skip the first, but we like history so we did the first and then hit the 3rd floor. I would not have wanted to miss the material on the first floor, the 3rd was mostly pop culture and while there was a lot of fun stuff, but there wasn't a lot of substance to it.









We really don't quite understand the whole Mardi Gras scene. 





I can barely wear a Halloween costume much less an outfit like these.









After we left the museum, we debated going to the top of the of the state capital building, but we were both tired and we had an early morning the next day. Plus it was time to begin packing. And most of all we were hungry. We took the bunny bus back to the ship and then Fran got this idea to walk over to the casino. 





I was hungry, until I smelled the smoke in the casino and then I wasn't. Fran got a hot dog and I ate some chips. Then we went to look at the tables.

When we got there, the minimums were pretty high but I insisted we play. We both bought in with a large bill and within 15-20 minutes we were walking out without our money. Fran got a little peeved, we don't normally play tables like that, usually half that minimum, but I think I was anxious since we didn't get to play in Greenville. So we walked back to the boat.





Looking back at the Casino





As we came back to the boat, we were checking out all the debris that was caught in the dock.









Today we went on and off the boat through the gentleman’s parlor.  All week I had wanted to get this shot!





When we got back to the boat Fran wanted some hot chocolate so we went up to the Front Porch Cafe. We ended up having a snack. She had some chicken and chocolate cake with Strawberry frosting. 





I had some potatoes and tiramisu. 





We both liked the cakes so much we had a second piece. 









She had some ice cream with chocolate sauce as they were out of Caramel. 





We went back to the room and I started to load up one of the suitcases with everything that we weren't going to need for the rest of the trip. Fran was asleep so I couldn't ask her about any of the clothes even though I had a clue as to what she wasn't going to wear at all.

Once I finished packing I went out to have a drink and came back just in time to wake Fran and get her to dinner. This was probably a mistake as she wasn't feeling so good.





I didn’t fancy any of the starters.  She had the Smoked Salmon





From the “anytime menu” I went with Chicken broth as my soup which they brought with the starters.





She had a Manhattan seafood chowder





I had the lobster tail and she got the Veal marsala. We sort of split them but she gave me back a large chunk or lobster. 









Here we are with our main server.  The drink server never would take a picture with us.





She opted for no dessert while Jenny and I asked if we could get a cheese course. It wasn't really what either of us were hoping for, but it was OK. We both would have preferred more than one cheese and maybe not so much.





We went right to bed because of an early wake up.

*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## jedijill

The museum looks great.  There are some disturbing flashes of history playing out right now.  Sorry you didn't have better luck at the casino.  Your snack and dinner looked mighty tasty!

Jill in CO


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

Nottoway Plantation

This morning we had an early wake up time. We had to be on the landing at 7:45 for our swamp tour. Both of us felt like we had a bale of cotton up our noses and again we took the decongestant I just happened to have packed. 

















Instead of heading down to the Main dining room (which opened at 7:00AM), we decided to get breakfast from The Front Porch since it should have been faster. 

I made Fran a cup of hot chocolate first and I noticed that there were no empty tables. So I bided my time stirring carefully until I saw an older gentleman stand up.  Then his wife stood up, so I went and put the hot chocolate and my purse on the table. One of the workers (who was always bending over backwards to help whenever we were there), came over to clear the table. Fran was still serving herself up a plate at the buffet. Just as soon as the gal grabbed the napkins and leftover silverware, the old woman came back saying, "That's MY table! I was going to finish my coffee! What did you do with my napkin?"

Eventually she chilled out enough to graciously offer to share the table with Fran and I. Since I hadn't even started serving my breakfast, I told her to wait, but she jumped up and grabbed a third chair and pulled it to the table. Fran came back and started eating her breakfast before I could take a picture.





I went to get my breakfast and couldn't resist an egg fried over easy. I got some bacon and and English muffin. For a quick and easy breakfast, it was pretty good!





Then I went and got what I meant to have before the over easy egg tempted me.





I poured myself a to go cup of coffee and we headed back to the room to get our last minute things. Did I mention it was raining, quite a bit? 





We had already decided to leave her scooter in the room. When we brought it on the Plantation Tour it never came out from under the bus, so we decided with the rain and what I knew about this excursion, I didn't think she would need it.

When we got to the "meeting point", no one wanted to leave the safety of the boat to go stand in the muddy rain. So there was a huge crowd filling the entry area of the boat. They called for passengers on Bus #1. We started walking to the bus, but at Fran's speed most people passed us quickly. The rain was pouring down. I had an umbrella but she wanted to just use her hat for shelter. Once she exited the gangway, she said that she could make across the rocks and as long as she avoided the mud, she should be OK. I went ahead to make sure that the handicapped seats were still available. I climbed on the bus to see that two people were in the front seat and one person was in each of the second row seats.

Me being the fatalist ran off the bus and approached the tour coordinator saying, "We're not going to be able to ride on this bus!" When she asked why, I told her that all the handicapped seats were full and there wasn't any room for Fran. The guide told me she would ask people to move. She did ask if I needed the handicapped seats and I told her, that I didn't. But you'll remember the day before we also mentioned that no one wants to sit next to either of our fat @$$es. 

The couple in the front seat moved and Fran sat in that seat and I went to the back of the bus.

It was (as I suspected) a 45 minute drive to the tour location in the rain.





I amused myself writing up the TR, but I didn't want to wear down the battery on my phone, plus the tour guide was fairly interesting to listen to. He talked about a lot of things, but the major "takeaway" I got from his talk, and mind you he was a local born and bred in the Bayou, was that the refineries are poisoning the countryside. 


I don't remember a lot of details about what he said, but there are periods of time when the water is not safe to drink in certain Parrishes. I assume Parrish in Louisiana is synonymous with County in California.

Also he talked about cancer rates and infertility in many of the towns where refineries have replaced sugar plantations. If that is really true, that is awful.









So after that cheery talk we arrived at the swamp.

Of course all the ladies made a beeline for the restroom.  It was still pouring rain. And while there were additional restrooms around the corner, no one wanted to go out in the rain to find them.

After everyone finally got onto the boat we took off.









Still Raining





This is what our boat looked like.  Each one had an individual name.





No Gators yet.





There’s one!





My picture is blurry, but you can tell this is a big one.





And another…





Our guide (who by the way sounded EXACTLY like Ray the Cajun Firefly in Princess and the Frog) explained that this was where the gators would go in and out of the bayou.  Anytime you can see where the plants aren’t growing it’s because the gators are sliding in and out of the bayou at that location.









This cabin was already there when they bought the property, they “just fixed it up a bit.”









Sometimes your yard would be a little “smaller” than other days, they said this was common with “waterfront” property.





They had this little guy available for photo ops.





Even if we weren’t seeing many gators, the scenery was pretty.





Another gator





Then our guide brought around a crawfish.  We didn’t get to hold him for a photo op.





I know they talked about this graveyard also being here when they bought the land and there was significance, but it was so hard to understand the guy speaking Cajun on the tour I couldn’t understand what he said.





This was one of the funniest moments of the tour. It stopped raining and the gators started to come out.  Now some of you know we have a cat named Tesla, he’s the youngest of the lot and in addition to being my cutie-sweetie-boy, he is also a big bully.  For no reason he will jump on top of another cat and wrassle them for his jollies. It has got to the point with some of the cats that they just run when they see him coming. Enter our two subjects.

Aligator number one is enjoying his new sunny spot on the log.





As soon as Aligator number 2 neared the log, the first one dived into the water.





And then it was his log.









When we docked back at the landing all the women made a beeline for the restroom. Since it wasn't raining we were able to use the extra three around back and things went a lot faster. 

The bus was a fair distance away from the main area. Fran was the last one left to board and the driver sent the guide to let her know that he would be bringing the bus to her. 

Also she told me that no one sat with her on the trip there so rather than go to the back of the bus, I squished into the front seat with her.

On the way back to the boat it rained on and off. The guide pointed out a Cajun houseboat, and a little later was a Cajun condo, but I couldn't get a picture of that.





The bus made a stop at Nottoway Plantation for those who wanted to get off and enjoy it.  We were starving and tired so we passed on that one.


----------



## cruisehopeful

franandaj said:


> There’s one!


How cute! The alligator is smiling for the picture.

I'm planning on going to NOLA later this year. I am undecided about a Bayou tour. Do you recommend it?


----------



## jedijill

Too bad about the rain but the tour looked really interesting.  You did see a lot of gators!

Jill in CO


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

Enjoyed your updates complete with History of the areas. Fighting that common enemy the British lol. That must have given you ambivalent feelings with Frans relative. 

I wonder if I am related to Burke from Burke and Hare they are famous here in the 19th century for body snatching! 

Sorry that it rained but the tour of the swamp looked great with those gators you could handle so cool! 

The menus at all meals again I am very impressed.


----------



## franandaj

jedijill said:


> The museum looks great.  There are some disturbing flashes of history playing out right now.  Sorry you didn't have better luck at the casino.  Your snack and dinner looked mighty tasty!
> 
> Jill in CO



We enjoyed the museum, and time will only tell how this chapter in our history will play out.  Lets hope it goes well!

We just need a trip to Las Vegas where we seem to do better.



jedijill said:


> Too bad about the rain but the tour looked really interesting.  You did see a lot of gators!
> 
> Jill in CO



It was a fun tour, but I think it was the final straw in the sickness equation.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Enjoyed your updates complete with History of the areas. Fighting that common enemy the British lol. That must have given you ambivalent feelings with Frans relative.



I'm glad we are at peace with you Brits now!    Well it's still undetermined as to the blood line and if he really is related, but evidently it always made for a fun joke in her family.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> I wonder if I am related to Burke from Burke and Hare they are famous here in the 19th century for body snatching!



  That's a good question.  (Slowly backs up....)



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Sorry that it rained but the tour of the swamp looked great with those gators you could handle so cool!



I think we would have seen even more if the weather was clear!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> The menus at all meals again I am very impressed.



They did feed us very well, and I didn't even gain a ton of weight on the trip!


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

I meant to say I was very relieved that you said you did not get the madi gras thing because neither do I! What is up with that! Masks and frightful outfits it seems very strange to me.. I find those folks in masks creepy like I do not like clowns or poirot type characters.


----------



## dizneeat

*Yikes, all that rain, but thankfully it didn't dampen your spririt! 
I would have freaked out on that boat. That is far too close to all those gators in the water. You are one brave lady!

Love all the photo evidence of your excursion. *


----------



## skier_pete

A swamp tour of Louisiana - also known as 'a tour'.  Haha. Basically everything south and east of Baton Rouge is swamp, except New Orleans, which is only not swamp because of the levees. 

Yes - Parish is the same as County everywhere else. 

The chemical/refinery industry is very big in Louisiana. And while companies have to abide by EPA rules, I wouldn't put it past that some don't, especially with the level of graft in Louisiana.  

(And yes, Huey Long was definitely the "Donald" of his time.)


----------



## afwdwfan

franandaj said:


> Obviously Louisiana took part in the Civil War and they covered that here. There was even this odd submarine which had been excavated out of the river bed, I believe when the army Corps of engineers were doing their work after the flood of 1927.


Cool!

It is fascinating that they were able to build something like that with the limited technology they had back in those days.  But anyone who got inside one of those had to be extremely brave, extremely stupid, or a combination of the 2.



franandaj said:


> He was flamboyant, constituents either loved him or hated him. He used certain races as scapegoats, and watching the old news reels of him gave me a weird sense of deja vu. Sound familiar to any of today’s candidates?


Based on the flamboyant comment, I know where you're going with this.

That said, the first presidential election I was able to vote in was 2000.

I'm still waiting to see a ballot with a quality candidate on it. 



franandaj said:


> When we finished this exhibit we checked the time and we had spent almost two hours and only been through about 4 exhibits.


I could see myself getting caught up in it like that too.  If I find something interesting in a museum I can spend a lot of time just reading and looking at things and just lose track of time.



franandaj said:


> The guide on the bus told us to go directly to the 3rd floor and skip the first, but we like history so we did the first and then hit the 3rd floor. I would not have wanted to miss the material on the first floor, the 3rd was mostly pop culture and while there was a lot of fun stuff, but there wasn't a lot of substance to it.


Oh wow... yeah, I'd hate to miss out on some of the good historical displays!



franandaj said:


> When we got there, the minimums were pretty high but I insisted we play. We both bought in with a large bill and within 15-20 minutes we were walking out without our money. Fran got a little peeved, we don't normally play tables like that, usually half that minimum, but I think I was anxious since we didn't get to play in Greenville.


Well, at least this one wanted to take your money.  



franandaj said:


> Just as soon as the gal grabbed the napkins and leftover silverware, the old woman came back saying, "That's MY table! I was going to finish my coffee! What did you do with my napkin?"






franandaj said:


> He talked about a lot of things, but the major "takeaway" I got from his talk, and mind you he was a local born and bred in the Bayou, was that the refineries are poisoning the countryside.


I hate to hear that.  I'm sure especially after the situation with the BP rig in the Gulf a few years ago that there is no love lost between the locals and the oil industry. 



franandaj said:


> Our guide (who by the way sounded EXACTLY like Ray the Cajun Firefly in Princess and the Frog)






franandaj said:


> As soon as Aligator number 2 neared the log, the first one dived into the water.


That is probably because gator number 1 realized he was going to be lunch.  

It looks like an interesting bayou tour.  That would be cool to get out in the swamp and check it all out.  Too bad the rain didn't clear out sooner so you could enjoy it a little more.


----------



## Steppesister

Cool!!!! A Swamp Tour! I've always wanted to do something like that! You got some good pictures of the gators too. 

My favorite is that cabin though. It's almost too perfect and SOOO reminds me of the cabin in the first scene of the DLR PoTC. Enchanting!


----------



## mvf-m11c

It was a shame that it was raining like crazy during the swamp tour. The tour was very interesting and you got great shots when it was raining. But getting pictures when it is raining is great as well which you don't see that often. I enjoy taking rain shots especially during long exposures with a tripod. That is a very nice picture of you with the gator. I have been up close to gators especially in Florida when I have golf at the WDW golf courses which the gators. 

Hope you are having a good trip.


----------



## ACDSNY

Gator tour looks fun as long as you keep all body parts in the boat and out of the water.  The history lesson was interesting too.


----------



## Flossbolna

Wow, I guess all that rain was pretty authentic, since the water to make the swamp needs to come from somewhere... But it certainly did not make for a very pleasant touring experience!

I have to agree with Liesa about that cabin: Looks like it is straight out of PotC! Or would that be the other way around???

And I just think that if you had trouble understanding the guy, I would not have stood a chance to understand a single word! But it really looks like a very interesting tour despite all those issues.


----------



## franandaj

Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> I meant to say I was very relieved that you said you did not get the madi gras thing because neither do I! What is up with that! Masks and frightful outfits it seems very strange to me.. I find those folks in masks creepy like I do not like clowns or poirot type characters.



I like the idea of Mardi Gras, and clowns and the like don't bother me.  I just don't like the crowds and ME having to wear all those masks and clothes!



dizneeat said:


> *Yikes, all that rain, but thankfully it didn't dampen your spririt!
> I would have freaked out on that boat. That is far too close to all those gators in the water. You are one brave lady!
> 
> Love all the photo evidence of your excursion. *



I figure they can't bite through the metal of the boat. They don't lunge so we were perfectly safe, even more so than on the shore!



********** said:


> A swamp tour of Louisiana - also known as 'a tour'. Haha. Basically everything south and east of Baton Rouge is swamp, except New Orleans, which is only not swamp because of the levees.



Yes, you are definitely right on that one!



********** said:


> Yes - Parish is the same as County everywhere else.



Thank you for clarifying.



********** said:


> The chemical/refinery industry is very big in Louisiana. And while companies have to abide by EPA rules, I wouldn't put it past that some don't, especially with the level of graft in Louisiana.



I couldn't believe that right after he was talking about ground water pollution we saw that sign saying that the water was OK to drink now.  Totally brought it home.



********** said:


> (And yes, Huey Long was definitely the "Donald" of his time.)



I'm glad I'm not the only one seeing it that way.



afwdwfan said:


> Cool!
> 
> It is fascinating that they were able to build something like that with the limited technology they had back in those days. But anyone who got inside one of those had to be extremely brave, extremely stupid, or a combination of the 2.



I'd say a combination of the two.



afwdwfan said:


> Based on the flamboyant comment, I know where you're going with this.
> 
> That said, the first presidential election I was able to vote in was 2000.
> 
> I'm still waiting to see a ballot with a quality candidate on it.



See there you go making me feel old and all again. My first election was Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale. 



afwdwfan said:


> I could see myself getting caught up in it like that too. If I find something interesting in a museum I can spend a lot of time just reading and looking at things and just lose track of time.



We didn't want to get so caught up in it that we missed the boat leaving!



afwdwfan said:


> Oh wow... yeah, I'd hate to miss out on some of the good historical displays!



This was such an educational trip, and I didn't even expect that going in.



afwdwfan said:


> Well, at least this one wanted to take your money.



Well, we had that going for us then.



afwdwfan said:


> I hate to hear that. I'm sure especially after the situation with the BP rig in the Gulf a few years ago that there is no love lost between the locals and the oil industry.



I'm sure that whole situation didn't help either.  Such a sad situation.



afwdwfan said:


> That is probably because gator number 1 realized he was going to be lunch.
> 
> It looks like an interesting bayou tour. That would be cool to get out in the swamp and check it all out. Too bad the rain didn't clear out sooner so you could enjoy it a little more.



I would really like to do another tour that isn't in the rain, the gators seemed much more active just in that little time after the rain let up.


----------



## franandaj

Steppesister said:


> Cool!!!! A Swamp Tour! I've always wanted to do something like that! You got some good pictures of the gators too.
> 
> My favorite is that cabin though. It's almost too perfect and SOOO reminds me of the cabin in the first scene of the DLR PoTC. Enchanting!



I'm so glad we got to do it.  I had wanted to from the beginning, but you would have to go far outside the city to do it, and we didn't want to rent a car to get there so this worked out perfectly.



mvf-m11c said:


> It was a shame that it was raining like crazy during the swamp tour. The tour was very interesting and you got great shots when it was raining. But getting pictures when it is raining is great as well which you don't see that often. I enjoy taking rain shots especially during long exposures with a tripod. That is a very nice picture of you with the gator. I have been up close to gators especially in Florida when I have golf at the WDW golf courses which the gators.
> 
> Hope you are having a good trip.



On the one hand it was a shame it was raining, but on the other it added to the mood!  I would rather see gators from a boat than on a gold course!



ACDSNY said:


> Gator tour looks fun as long as you keep all body parts in the boat and out of the water.  The history lesson was interesting too.



Yeah, tell me about it.  Brings a whole new meaning to "keep your arms inside the ride vehicle at all times."



Flossbolna said:


> Wow, I guess all that rain was pretty authentic, since the water to make the swamp needs to come from somewhere... But it certainly did not make for a very pleasant touring experience!



Well it didn't become a swamp with LA Desert like conditions!  



Flossbolna said:


> I have to agree with Liesa about that cabin: Looks like it is straight out of PotC! Or would that be the other way around???



Yeah, life imitating Disney or the other way around....I'll have some similar comments coming up in later updates.



Flossbolna said:


> And I just think that if you had trouble understanding the guy, I would not have stood a chance to understand a single word! But it really looks like a very interesting tour despite all those issues.



Heck!  WE couldn't hardly understand a word of what he said!


----------



## franandaj

OK, I know that I'm updating like crazy, but tomorrow night we fly home from WDW and I can't wait to start that TR!  I'm sitting here looking out the windows of our Bungalow waiting for the Bellman to pick up our bags to transfer to a studio for tonight.  We are splitting up with Naked Jim and Alberto which is sad.  After a whole week we are still friends and speaking to each other!    It has been a fantastic trip so far and I cant wait to start the TR so this one will wrap up pretty quickly and we'll get started on the next.  I'll post a link here and on the other TR, plus those of you who have requested a bat signal (and some others who have been MIA) will get notification!

When we got back to the boat it was a treacherous muddy walk back to the gangway. We headed toward the main dining room and they were serving an Easter Brunch buffet. We went directly to lunch without stopping by the room and that was a good choice because they started wrapping up the buffet shortly after we got our food. 

We were seated with four folks who were from outside of DC. I started off with the leek and potato soup as did Fran. 





One of our tablemates came back to the table with a plate of fresh pasta, when I asked where he found that, he said that the omelet bar location was making pasta to order. I knew exactly what my lunch was going to be!





Fran chose an assortment from the buffet. 





It was with this meal that I could tell the cruise was coming to an end. No one asked if we needed a refill on our drinks and before I was done with my pasta I jumped up to grab desserts. I could tell they were getting ready to shut down the buffet. Lucky we made it in before they went into full shut down mode!  Sorry we dug into it before I realized I hadn’t taken a picture.





Another of our tablemates rushed off to catch the bus for the 1:45 tour of the Plantation and we thought about whether or not we needed to do that. We would need to go by the room and with how slowly Fran walks it would be 2:30 at the earliest before we were on a bus. Then the tour would take an hour which would put us coming back very close to the 4:30 all aboard. Plus the weather apps were predicting more rain. So we decided against it.  Fran said that when we did our driving plantation tour, we could stay at the hotel there.

We already had some loose plans coming together (before we went on this trip) to fly in and out of New Orleans, get a car and drive up to visit the Plantations at our leisure. We had already put Vicksburg on the list to see the battlefield.  Natchez for pilgrimage, Oak Alley (which we missed entirely on this trip) and now Nottoway, where we would stay for a night or two. However until the state of Mississippi gets their act together, Vicksburg and Natchez are off the list.

Instead we went back to the room and I packed up our suitcases leaving out those things that we planned on wearing that night and the next day.

As we were leaving there was eerie fog on the river, it was kind of cool.









Once I had most of our stuff packed up I went down to the Engine Room bar and had a drink. I had been in there a couple times during the week and the bartender and I had developed a nice rapport.





When I got back to the room, Fran asked if I would be upset at her if she skipped dinner. She wasn't feeling good at all and had no desire to eat. So I went to dinner by myself and everyone was sad that she wasn't feeling well. 





I had the Fettucine Alla Carbonara for my starter





I also had the Minnesota Wild Rice Soup





I didn't really fancy any of the choices for the main entrées so I chose off the available every day menu and got the petit steak. It sure didn't look petit to me!





For dessert I went with the raspberry sorbet.  Nigel and Jenny had ordered to wine program, which means that they prepurchased 5 bottles of wine for a certain fee. Then they got 20% off any additional bottles.





I guess they had extra bottles to use up and shared on of them with me during the main. It was a 2006 Zinfandel and was so much tastier than the complimentary wine! And with that we said goodnight. I came back to the room, removed my dinner clothes and stuffed them in the suitcase. Then I put the robe on and placed all four suitcases outside the door.



New Orleans.  


When we woke up in the morning the suitcases were gone. We had set the alarm fairly early as the disembarking process was fairly early.  Breakfast was served from 6:00-8:00AM, we had to vacate the room by 8:00AM and be completely off the boat by 8:45AM. 

We were all packed up and down to breakfast by 7:00AM and if you thought the last breakfast on a Disney ship was bad, this one took the cake. There was no menu service, strictly buffet. As they ran out of things, the plates disappeared and never returned.  I had hoped for some strawberries but it was empty when I got there.  The blueberries, raspberries and blackberries were refilled and I realized that they were only refilling things that didn't require prep. So I grabbed some cantaloupe before that plate disappeared. 





It was like pulling teeth to get coffee and juice, but we finally managed. At least on Disney they know their job is to get you out of there as quick as possible so they bring what you ask for right away.









Eventually we went back to the room to gather our carry ons and the scooter. And then we disembarked. 

Our luggage was waiting on the dock as promised. There was a guy there whom I had seen on occasion throughout the week. I think he worked in sanitation of some sort, and he asked us if we needed help to get out bags to a taxi. I was glad for the help, especially since it was quite aways to the Hilton Riverside where one would catch the taxi. There was a full on mall in between the dock and the Hilton. I never would have found our way without him. He admitted to us that he liked to help guests with their bags because any excuse to get him off the ship was a bonus. Otherwise they might ask him to clean toilets or something!  

It took a little bit to get a cab because the vehicle that would have been perfect for us, a Chevy Suburban, was taken by our lunch tablemates of the day before. They each had one suitcase and it seemed like such a waste. That vehicle would have fit us easily as its the Chevy version of the Ford expedition. Next up was a prius, uh no.

Finally a Toyota Van showed up and that worked for us. 

When we got off the boat my phone started exploding with sounds indicating text messages, emails, all sorts of other alerts that I couldn't get due to poor WiFi on the boat. Most were inconsequential, except for one from Naked Jim. It was rather long, but the gist was that one of our cats, Samantha, had gone out Sunday morning and didn't come home. Also Olga, who had been somewhat lethargic before we left had deteriorated to listless and no longer wanting to eat. We had anticipated this day and left all the pertinent vet information in case it came down to it. It was still only 6:30 in California so we just waited on any action. 

We had called ahead to the hotel before we left our stateroom and the room was ready, so check in was easy and soon we were in our new home for the next three nights. I didn't realize how cozy it was going to become.

























Neither of us felt very good, but I knew I needed to get us some mucinex as that stuff is like a shop vac for your sinuses. There was a CVS about two blocks away, so I went there as soon as Fran was settled in the room. They didn't have the 12 hour version, so I got one that you take every four hours. I dosed us both when I got back to the room and then we both laid down for a nap. It was barely 9AM and we both slept for about three hours.


----------



## Paula Sedley-Burke

I am sorry that Fran was really starting to feel poorly and that you were not feeling well on the last day. The Easter buffer looks nice good job you managed to score that in time! 

Dinner looked nice shame Fran had to sit that out. How kind of your table mates to share their wine package. 

Good idea to skip the plantation tour and nice plans to come back exploring places at your pace. Agree avoiding places that introduce predujice laws!

That really drives me crazy the way they race you off the cruise on the last morning! Guests will remember the last thing on the cruise they would do better to give you a positive experience. We akways go early to Cabanas now they do not advertise it is open but it is. Only one side but land on it early about 7 am and they have a good selection. 

Your hotel looks very nice but I am sorry to hear the voicemail about your cats. I don't know if I am glad to not know on vacation or not? If I can't do anything about it I would rather find out after. But if a decision to be made then I guess best to know. 

Looking forward to the new TR!


----------



## jedijill

I'm glad you had a great trip with Naked Jim and Alberto!  Can't wait to hear about it.

Sorry you guys were feeling so bad.  Boo to the last day!  

Jill in CO


----------



## dizneeat

*Getting of the ship is no fun, and I always complain about that last DCL breakfast, but it seems yours was not better at all. 

Nice of the guy to help you with your luggage and even better to have your room ready. I hope you felt a little refreshed after your nap.

Can't wait for the new TR! *


----------



## dhorner233

Interesting as always! That swamp boat tour was so cool. I think you are braver than I would have been. Sure a lot of rain/water down there compared to California. 

That cabin in the swamp reminded me of Pirates of the Caribbean too. Wish I could have heard the guide talking like the firefly 

I hope your cats were/are okay!

Sorry you guys weren't feeling well by the end of the cruise. And that they rush you off the boat like that and so early!


----------



## ACDSNY

Disembarkation day is always a sad and crazy day.  Sorry you two weren't feeling well and on top of that kitty troubles.


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> Yup. Just about the same amount on the other side too.



Thought so. That's the way it is up here, too.



franandaj said:


> Of course, that's my motto, Fran's is "Life is uncertain, eat dessert first."



 I like Fran more and more everyday.



franandaj said:


> Wasn't there a pie by that name?



mmmm... mud pie. I love that. Made it a few times, too.



franandaj said:


> Probably the same they would think about people trapsing through the house.



Good point!



franandaj said:


> Really? Did the room have a chamber pot too? Wait don't answer that. I don't want to know.



Would it help if I told you I didn't use it?



franandaj said:


> So what did you find.



That the stick is a fake.
But there was one, so it's all good.



franandaj said:


> His plan was to use the fruitful fields of Louisiana as a bread basket for his empire. With that gone he had no reason to keep the territory.



Did not know that. Interesting.



franandaj said:


> but I did not know that in 1814, the final component of the British invasion was to seize the port of New Orleans and take control of the Mississippi River.



Did know that, though.



franandaj said:


> There was even this odd submarine



aka: Deathtrap.



franandaj said:


> I'm not sure if you folks know who Huey Long is, but he was governor of Louisiana from 1928-1932.



I've actually heard of him.
Don't know a lot about him, but heard of him.

Not bad for a foreigner, huh?



franandaj said:


> When we finished this exhibit we checked the time and we had spent almost two hours and only been through about 4 exhibits.



That's a sure sign that you were having a good time!



franandaj said:


> I can barely wear a Halloween costume much less an outfit like these.



I bet I could rock those outfits.

Yep. Definitely.



franandaj said:


> I was hungry, until I smelled the smoke in the casino and then I wasn't.



ew.
So glad you can't smoke in the casinos here. Gross.



franandaj said:


> When we got there, the minimums were pretty high but I insisted we play.



Of course they were. They have an entire boatload of people who just showed up.



franandaj said:


> We both bought in with a large bill and within 15-20 minutes we were walking out without our money.



Well, that just sucks.
I've got an idea... don't go back there!



franandaj said:


> As we came back to the boat, we were checking out all the debris that was caught in the dock.



Any bodies?



franandaj said:


> Today we went on and off the boat through the gentleman’s parlor. All week I had wanted to get this shot!



 Well, you _had_ to get that!



franandaj said:


> We both liked the cakes so much we had a second piece.



It does look good.
Even before I read that you had seconds, I was thinking that.



franandaj said:


> She had a Manhattan seafood chowder



I've never had that.
I've always had the cream based chowders.
Always wanted to try that, though.



franandaj said:


> The drink server never would take a picture with us.



"Wanted in 13 States..."



franandaj said:


> Just as soon as the gal grabbed the napkins and leftover silverware, the old woman came back saying, "That's MY table! I was going to finish my coffee! What did you do with my napkin?"



Whoops!



franandaj said:


> Eventually she chilled out enough to graciously offer to share the table with Fran and I.



Well, that was nice of her.



franandaj said:


> Did I mention it was raining, quite a bit?



Nope.



franandaj said:


> When we got to the "meeting point", no one wanted to leave the safety of the boat to go stand in the muddy rain.



No surprise there.



franandaj said:


> But you'll remember the day before we also mentioned that no one wants to sit next to either of our fat @$$es.





Absolutely. No. Comment.



franandaj said:


> He talked about a lot of things, but the major "takeaway" I got from his talk, and mind you he was a local born and bred in the Bayou, was that the refineries are poisoning the countryside.



Sad. Really.



franandaj said:


> I assume Parrish in Louisiana is synonymous with County in California.





And then I checked just to make sure.
Apparently LA and AK are the only two that don't have counties.



franandaj said:


> Also he talked about cancer rates and infertility in many of the towns where refineries have replaced sugar plantations. If that is really true, that is awful.



Ugh. That's horrible... and not overly surprising.



franandaj said:


>



And that sign sure confirms what the guide was saying.



franandaj said:


>



Even with the rain, you guys look like you're having fun!



franandaj said:


> My picture is blurry, but you can tell this is a big one.







franandaj said:


> Our guide (who by the way sounded EXACTLY like Ray the Cajun Firefly in Princess and the Frog)



I finally saw that movie!
So I know exactly what you're talking about now!



franandaj said:


> Anytime you can see where the plants aren’t growing it’s because the gators are sliding in and out of the bayou at that location.



Really! That's cool!



franandaj said:


> This cabin was already there when they bought the property, they “just fixed it up a bit.”



You can tell.
It has that "newly renovated" look to it.



franandaj said:


>



I wonder how much it would hurt if he bit a finger?



franandaj said:


> As soon as Aligator number 2 neared the log, the first one dived into the water.
> 
> And then it was his log.



Ah ha! So it's true! Size _does_ matter!



franandaj said:


> When we docked back at the landing all the women made a beeline for the restroom.



Again?

Oh. All that water.... got it.



franandaj said:


> Fran was the last one left to board and the driver sent the guide to let her know that he would be bringing the bus to her.



Nice of them.



franandaj said:


> The bus made a stop at Nottoway Plantation for those who wanted to get off and enjoy it. We were starving and tired so we passed on that one.



So disappointed. It looks like a great place to see.



franandaj said:


> After a whole week we are still friends and speaking to each other!



 Then I'd consider that a success.



franandaj said:


> It has been a fantastic trip so far



Good!



franandaj said:


> When we got back to the boat it was a treacherous muddy walk back to the gangway.



How did Fran manage.
Heck, how did _you_ manage?



franandaj said:


> It was with this meal that I could tell the cruise was coming to an end. No one asked if we needed a refill on our drinks and before I was done with my pasta I jumped up to grab desserts.



This is a thing? I had no idea.
I would've thought it might be the opposite, to ensure a good tip.



franandaj said:


> Nottoway, where we would stay for a night or two.



Ah! Well, if you're going to _stay_ there, then you're forgiven for skipping it.



franandaj said:


> However until the state of Mississippi gets their act together, Vicksburg and Natchez are off the list.



At first I had no idea what you could mean.
And then a lightbulb went off.
I'd heard of the new laws, but hadn't clicked that MS was the State.
Is there another State as well?



franandaj said:


> As we were leaving there was eerie fog on the river, it was kind of cool.







franandaj said:


> When I got back to the room, Fran asked if I would be upset at her if she skipped dinner. She wasn't feeling good at all and had no desire to eat.



Aw, poor Fran. Hope she started feeling better once you got away from the river.



franandaj said:


> I chose off the available every day menu and got the petit steak. It sure didn't look petit to me!



This was the "grand" petit steak. If you wanted small you should've ordered the petit, petit steak.



franandaj said:


> For dessert I went with the raspberry sorbet.



mmmmm.... want.



franandaj said:


> Breakfast was served from 6:00-8:00AM, we had to vacate the room by 8:00AM and be completely off the boat by 8:45AM.



Doesn't leave a whole lot of time if you happen to come down close to 8.
But then again, judging from what you then wrote, there wouldn't be any food either.



franandaj said:


> if you thought the last breakfast on a Disney ship was bad, this one took the cake. There was no menu service, strictly buffet. As they ran out of things, the plates disappeared and never returned.



Again... did not know this.



franandaj said:


> He admitted to us that he liked to help guests with their bags because any excuse to get him off the ship was a bonus. Otherwise they might ask him to clean toilets or something!



 Smart man.



franandaj said:


> When we got off the boat my phone started exploding with sounds indicating text messages, emails, all sorts of other alerts that I couldn't get due to poor WiFi on the boat. Most were inconsequential, except for one from Naked Jim. It was rather long, but the gist was that one of our cats, Samantha, had gone out Sunday morning and didn't come home. Also Olga, who had been somewhat lethargic before we left had deteriorated to listless and no longer wanting to eat. We had anticipated this day and left all the pertinent vet information in case it came down to it.



Sorry to hear about that. I presume you'll update us?



franandaj said:


> Neither of us felt very good, but I knew I needed to get us some mucinex as that stuff is like a shop vac for your sinuses.



I'll have to remember that. It's not available in Canada.



franandaj said:


> It was barely 9AM and we both slept for about three hours.



You guys were really not feeling that great, were you.


----------



## rentayenta

How did I get so behind?! 

Great updates! The food looks delicious.  Too bad about the crabby lady and her table. 

The rain looks beautiful. I really enjoy a good rainy day.

How cute is that tiny gator.


----------



## franandaj

Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> I am sorry that Fran was really starting to feel poorly and that you were not feeling well on the last day. The Easter buffer looks nice go



You ain't seen nothin' yet!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Dinner looked nice shame Fran had to sit that out. How kind of your table mates to share their wine package.



There is a trend developing here...



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Good idea to skip the plantation tour and nice plans to come back exploring places at your pace. Agree avoiding places that introduce predujice laws!



Yes we do much better when we can go at Fran's pace and not someone else's!



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> That really drives me crazy the way they race you off the cruise on the last morning! Guests will remember the last thing on the cruise they would do better to give you a positive experience. We akways go early to Cabanas now they do not advertise it is open but it is. Only one side but land on it early about 7 am



We've gone early to BBB once, but I much prefer dining at the sit down breakfast and stretching out the end of the cruise, even if they are somewhat rushing you off the ship.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Your hotel looks very nice but I am sorry to hear the voicemail about your cats. I don't know if I am glad to not know on vacation or not? If I can't do anything about it I would rather find out after. But if a decision to be made then I guess best to know.



We definitely wanted to know.  There will be more in the next post.



Paula Sedley-Burke said:


> Looking forward to the new TR!



I'm trying to wrap this one up ASAP!



jedijill said:


> I'm glad you had a great trip with Naked Jim and Alberto!  Can't wait to hear about it.
> 
> Sorry you guys were feeling so bad.  Boo to the last day!
> 
> Jill in CO



Well last day of the cruise, but we have a few more in NOLA. However, I can't wait to post about this last trip!



dizneeat said:


> Getting of the ship is no fun, and I always complain about that last DCL breakfast, but it seems yours was not better at all.



No it wasn't better. And since they had so much to do to get ready for the next batch they pretty much ignored us all. It's like the tips were already in their bank accounts!



dizneeat said:


> Nice of the guy to help you with your luggage and even better to have your room ready. I hope you felt a little refreshed after your nap.



The room being ready was a godsend. I don't know what we would've done if it wasn't ready!



dhorner233 said:


> Interesting as always! That swamp boat tour was so cool. I think you are braver than I would have been. Sure a lot of rain/water down there compared to California.



Yeah, we kept saying that we should send some home!



dhorner233 said:


> That cabin in the swamp reminded me of Pirates of the Caribbean too. Wish I could have heard the guide talking like the firefly



Funny, it's so obvious, but I didn't even think about the cabin on PotC. I guess since it wasn't dark and there were no fireflies it didn't dawn on me!



dhorner233 said:


> I hope your cats were/are okay!



Yes and no. Next update. 



dhorner233 said:


> Sorry you guys weren't feeling well by the end of the cruise. And that they rush you off the boat like that and so early!



It is a little annoying g, but I understand it takes time to get it ready for the next bunch.


----------



## Leshaface

Please feel free to not comment on everything, I was super duper behind!



franandaj said:


> We were seated with an older woman from Nixon, MO and a couple from *Visalia, CA*. Both of us got the gumbo.


 
Wow that is really crazy, what a small world!



franandaj said:


> In my best broken German I told them that I had the room on the other side of the boat and just wanted to look at the shore for a bit. They seemed OK with that and went on to ignore me.



I totally forgot that you speak a little German.



franandaj said:


> For those who complain about the dumpster view at the VWL, this cracked me up.



OT: Are most Standard views at VWL like this?  We'd like to stay there next time for a few days but if SV's are like this, may as well upgrade.



franandaj said:


> Those who followed the house Saga remember that there were some nasty neighbors who wouldn't approve our building plans (it's a historic district). Well her friend painted their house, but they shunned the historic committee and painted it the color they initially wanted and not the one that was approved. The commission said they would let it go if no one complained. One. Person. Complained. They had to repaint. I laughed because I know just who it was. Our next door neighbor. Isn't it funny what a small world we live in?



Woah, what the heck?!  



franandaj said:


> I don't think anyone fancied having Prince Naveen for a starter



Aw why not, i'd love to try those someday!



franandaj said:


>



Aww that looks heavenly.  



franandaj said:


> When I mentioned that I felt like I was getting sick, the woman said that just about everyone on the ship was experiencing a similar sensation and that it was more than likely an allergic reaction to the pollen in the air and our lack of tolerance to the river fauna.



Very interesting.  



franandaj said:


>





franandaj said:


>



These photos are amazing and exactly what I think of when I think of the South.



franandaj said:


> Something else to note here, classic southern home design dictates that there be a main hallway down the center of the home and rooms off to the sides. This allows for cooling in the summertime and the breeze can flow throughout the house. There is always a small window near the top of the house to allow the warm air to escape.



Totally makes sense.



franandaj said:


> Another fun fact! This house served as the inspiration for Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion! Take another look.



Now that is very cool!




franandaj said:


>



So gorgeous!



franandaj said:


> Can you tell whose plates are whose?





franandaj said:


>





franandaj said:


>



Yep, yours! 



franandaj said:


> You can see how far inland the water extends.



 I could not live there.  It freaks me out even seeing how high it is to the road.  No thank you.



franandaj said:


>





franandaj said:


>



What a gorgeous porch.



franandaj said:


>



Oh my gosh, so beautiful!



franandaj said:


> Now I will say that I heard the Europeans on the tour saying that they thought these houses would be more impressive.



Are you serious?!  I don't know, I think these homes are pretty darn amazing!



franandaj said:


>



Wow that is cool!



franandaj said:


> But you'll remember the day before we also mentioned that no one wants to sit next to either of our fat @$$es.







franandaj said:


> Also he talked about cancer rates and infertility in many of the towns where refineries have replaced sugar plantations. If that is really true, that is awful.



No way!  That really is terrible!



franandaj said:


> So after that cheery talk we arrived at the swamp







franandaj said:


>





franandaj said:


>



Yep never living over there!



franandaj said:


> OK, I know that I'm updating like crazy, but tomorrow night we fly home from WDW and I can't wait to start that TR! I'm sitting here looking out the windows of our Bungalow waiting for the Bellman to pick up our bags to transfer to a studio for tonight. We are splitting up with Naked Jim and Alberto which is sad. After a whole week we are still friends and speaking to each other!  It has been a fantastic trip so far and I cant wait to start the TR so this one will wrap up pretty quickly and we'll get started on the next. I'll post a link here and on the other TR, plus those of you who have requested a bat signal (and some others who have been MIA) will get notification!



Oh my gosh, I cannot wait to hear how you liked the Poly!



franandaj said:


> Also Olga, who had been somewhat lethargic before we left had deteriorated to listless and no longer wanting to eat. We had anticipated this day and left all the pertinent vet information in case it came down to it.


----------



## franandaj

ACDSNY said:


> Disembarkation day is always a sad and crazy day.  Sorry you two weren't feeling well and on top of that kitty troubles.



I'm just glad that our hotel room was ready. It could have been a potential disaster for us if not!



pkondz said:


> I like Fran more and more everyday.



Someday we must meet up. I bet it would be fun!



pkondz said:


> mmmm... mud pie. I love that. Made it a few times, too.



Never made it. Only had it in restaurants.



pkondz said:


> Would it help if I told you I didn't use it?



La la la la la la la



pkondz said:


> That the stick is a fake.
> But there was one, so it's all good.



Well I knew that one was a token stick.



pkondz said:


> Did not know that. Interesting.



Yeah it was his Caribbean islands that he wanted to support, but he lost them around the turn of the 1800s.



pkondz said:


> I've actually heard of him.
> Don't know a lot about him, but heard of him.
> 
> Not bad for a foreigner, huh?



I'm surprised!  Most Americans haven't heard of him, but given Fran's surname and her father was raised in Oklahoma the family evidently speculated a bit.



pkondz said:


> That's a sure sign that you were having a good time!



We tend to like to read almost everything at museums. Drove my parents crazy at the Star Wars exhibit. They were done well before we were!



pkondz said:


> I bet I could rock those outfits.
> 
> Yep. Definitely.



 I would love to see you do it! 



pkondz said:


> ew.
> So glad you can't smoke in the casinos here. Gross.



We usually go for the non smoking sections when in Vegas. And then I couldn't wear those clothes anymore until we got home and washed them.



pkondz said:


> Of course they were. They have an entire boatload of people who just showed up.



Plus it was a Saturday.  Everyone knows they jack up the limits on weekends.



pkondz said:


> Well, that just sucks.
> I've got an idea... don't go back there!



Good plan! Now we just need to plan a trip to Vegas when the weather cools off.



pkondz said:


> Any bodies?



They must have been wearing cement shies cause they weren't floating in the river.



pkondz said:


> Well, you _had_ to get that!



Couldn't resist a photo op like that!



pkondz said:


> It does look good.
> Even before I read that you had seconds, I was thinking that.



I love Tiramisu, and that was really pretty good!



pkondz said:


> I've never had that.
> I've always had the cream based chowders.
> Always wanted to try that, though.



I'm happy sticking with the cream based, which is why I got broth instead.



pkondz said:


> And then I checked just to make sure.
> Apparently LA and AK are the only two that don't have counties.



Interesting.  Thank you for that fun fact.



pkondz said:


> Ugh. That's horrible... and not overly surprising.



Very sad to hear. I despise unscrupulous companies.



pkondz said:


> And that sign sure confirms what the guide was saying.



I couldn't believe we drove past it after he had talked about it. I guess it is rather common.



pkondz said:


> Even with the rain, you guys look like you're having fun!



I think we were. It was certainly something we could never do at home!



pkondz said:


> I finally saw that movie!
> So I know exactly what you're talking about now!



It took me a while to make that association, but once we got well into the tour, that was all I could think of.



pkondz said:


> You can tell.
> It has that "newly renovated" look to it.



And it was even more waterfront than possibly a couple days before!



pkondz said:


> I wonder how much it would hurt if he bit a finger?



I'll let you test that one out.



pkondz said:


> Again?
> 
> Oh. All that water.... got it.



Plus it was an hour and a half long tour.



pkondz said:


> Ah ha! So it's true! Size _does_ matter!



Either that or it's all in the eyes.  This is Tesla giving his relative "the look".  We know they are not littermates because she is older than him, but since they were rescues we don't exactly know how they are related, they both have those same eyes, so they're somehow related.







pkondz said:


> So disappointed. It looks like a great place to see.



I would have loved to see it, but we were starving since breakfast was six hours prior.  Plus there is only so much Fran can do in one day.  Although this last trip has given me faith that perhaps I could let her go back to the room and I could continue on solo, or possibly with DIS friends.



pkondz said:


> Then I'd consider that a success.



Which is why I'm looking forward to posting the TR!



pkondz said:


> How did Fran manage.
> Heck, how did _you_ manage?



Very slowly and carefully!



pkondz said:


> This is a thing? I had no idea.
> I would've thought it might be the opposite, to ensure a good tip.



There is a standard gratuity that they charge to your room for each person that you are involved with (ie Stateroom host, Server, backup server, head server) and you can't lower it.  You can only increase it and by this point, most people have either added their tips or left them at the standard. 



pkondz said:


> Ah! Well, if you're going to _stay_ there, then you're forgiven for skipping it.



I just hope we can get that trip planned for the near future and not wait as long as we have talked about doing this cruise!



pkondz said:


> Aw, poor Fran. Hope she started feeling better once you got away from the river.



Hope again, call this foreshadowing....



pkondz said:


> This was the "grand" petit steak. If you wanted small you should've ordered the petit, petit steak.



OK, thanks for explaining that one.  It was still good.



pkondz said:


> Doesn't leave a whole lot of time if you happen to come down close to 8.
> But then again, judging from what you then wrote, there wouldn't be any food either.



Yeah pretty much.  I did notice that they were really good at packing up the buffet, so probably even better on this last day.  We didn't stick around to find out.



pkondz said:


> Again... did not know this.



Yeah, the big difference between this and a Disney cruise is that in the morning you got the luck of the draw with servers.  Chances are the morning shift is different than the evening shift so your "regular" servers may not even be there.  On a Disney Cruise you have the same serving team from dinner on departure breakfast.  They know they have to get you off the ship as quickly as possible so at least they bring you what you want quickly to wrap things up and get you out of there.  On the AQ, they just tried to avoid us so that things that were not self serve they didn't have to deal with.  As I said getting coffee was like pulling teeth!



pkondz said:


> Sorry to hear about that. I presume you'll update us?



So you're not left hanging, it was Olga's time. That was expected, but everything else worked out OK.  



pkondz said:


> I'll have to remember that. It's not available in Canada.



That's too bad.  I rely on that stuff when I feel icky!


----------



## franandaj

pkondz said:


> At first I had no idea what you could mean.
> And then a lightbulb went off.
> I'd heard of the new laws, but hadn't clicked that MS was the State.
> Is there another State as well?



I realized that this one didn't show up in the quote.  There are two states currently, but others are considering similar laws.  North Carolina is one, they have made a law that people must use the bathroom of the gender they are born with, not the gender that they identify themselves as.  

The other state is Mississippi who has passed laws stating that folks do not need to offer customer service to folks that take them outside their religious comfort zone, so they can deny services based on their religious beliefs.

Evidently there are other states that have similar laws pending.  But we're not supposed to discuss politics here.


----------



## franandaj

rentayenta said:


> How did I get so behind?!
> 
> Great updates! The food looks delicious.  Too bad about the crabby lady and her table.



I have been updating like crazy!  All the updates that I had posted while on vacation were ones that were already ready to go before we left.  As you will find out in the TR, we had a mix of uptime and downtime on the last trip, so the River Cruise trip is all done.  I just don't want to post three days in one update.  I like to give people a chance to comment before moving on.  However, not too much since I can't wait to get started on the next one.  But I won't have three TRs going at once!  I still have April at F&W to cover on the "Sharing" one!

The lady wasn't that big of a deal, I just thought it was really weird how she thought the table was "hers", even though she didn't leave anything there to save it!



rentayenta said:


> The rain looks beautiful. I really enjoy a good rainy day.
> 
> How cute is that tiny gator.



I don't mind the rain either, but in the end, I think that was our downfall.



Leshaface said:


> Please feel free to not comment on everything, I was super duper behind!



No problem, you had more important things going on!



Leshaface said:


> Wow that is really crazy, what a small world!



And even smaller in few!



Leshaface said:


> I totally forgot that you speak a little German.



Yeah this interaction made me realize that I speak even less German than I thought I did!  



Leshaface said:


> OT: Are most Standard views at VWL like this? We'd like to stay there next time for a few days but if SV's are like this, may as well upgrade.



Oh no.  I think there is only one set of rooms (on floors 1-5) that have the view of the dumpster.  As you will see (or maybe not) we had a nice woodsy view.  I hope I took pictures of it!    If not, I hope Jim did!

OK, I just went and checked and NONE of us took pictures of our view.  But I have never had a dumpster view so far in two stays.



Leshaface said:


> Woah, what the heck?!



Yeah, this one made me realize what a small world it is!



Leshaface said:


> Aw why not, i'd love to try those someday!



I had pet frogs as a kid.  I just couldn't bring myself to do it.



Leshaface said:


> Aww that looks heavenly.



You have reminded me.  I need to put Prime Rib on my menu rotation. This morning I planned out all my dinners for the next two weeks and wrote up shopping lists for today and later this week. I need to put a Prime Rib in there (I'll wait a couple weeks until I can drop some of the weight I gained on this last trip!  )



Leshaface said:


> Very interesting.



Well you got to figure, we develop a tolerance to the plants in our native area, but these were totally foreign to Californians.



Leshaface said:


> These photos are amazing and exactly what I think of when I think of the South.



Aren't they?



Leshaface said:


> Now that is very cool!



As I sit here in my chair at home, my computer faces three HM pictures which feature the DL HM.  Nice I can think about two locations when I see it!



Leshaface said:


> So gorgeous!



Thank you!



Leshaface said:


> Yep, yours!



I knew it was obvious!



Leshaface said:


> I could not live there. It freaks me out even seeing how high it is to the road. No thank you.



There are other things like the humidity that would make me not want to live there, but imminent flooding is also a pretty good reason to rule a place out!



Leshaface said:


> What a gorgeous porch.



It definitely was quite picturesque.



Leshaface said:


> Oh my gosh, so beautiful!



You gotta have a lot of money for a driveway like that!



Leshaface said:


> Are you serious?! I don't know, I think these homes are pretty darn amazing!



I thought they were too, I guess there is no pleasing some folks.



Leshaface said:


> Wow that is cool!



Another era altogether.



Leshaface said:


> No way! That really is terrible!



It's sad what some companies are doing to our environment.



Leshaface said:


> Yep never living over there!



  



Leshaface said:


> Oh my gosh, I cannot wait to hear how you liked the Poly!



Well, I will say we loved it, but how we loved it, you'll have to wait for the TR to find out.


----------



## franandaj

We left off with us leaving the boat and checking into our hotel that would be home for the next few nights. After about 3 hours of sleep, I started to feel a bit more human. I got up and started to unpack the suitcases that we were meant to use for this part of the trip. I had packed one of them for "don't open until we get home". That had a lot of souvenirs and some of the warmer clothes we needed in Memphis. I also got out the computer and was thrilled to find I could upload 10 pictures in the time it took for one on the boat! I posted an update on the TR and then decided to go look around and see about some lunch. It turns out that we were attached to a building with a food court. These pictures are from the next day but you get the idea. It turns out that pictures are not allowed in any of the buildings in the CBD (Central Business District), and a security guard reprimanded me for it. Well someone should tell the tourists that! 






































I ended up bringing us back a brisket Po-Boy from this place. It was much better than I expected and way more filling. 









It was about this time when Jim called for guidance.  For those of you who have cats, you'll know that the sure sign they are ready to go is when they lose their desire to eat. Up until the day we left, she hollered at us when she wanted another "special" can of food, so she went downhill in less than a week. He took her in, the vet called to verify this is what we wanted and shortly thereafter she went to the Rainbow Bridge. We will miss her but she is now in a much better place. 

Fran seemed to be feeling OK, sickness wise, after her nap so we decided to visit Meyer the Hatter. It's the oldest and largest hat store in the South.  She got a straw Fedora. I got a new hat that will most likely make its appearance in the WDW trip this month.  You can see the store off on the right with the Green awning.





We were a block away from the French Quarter and I couldn't resist at least making a quick trip in to check it out.  So we went down Royal street for two blocks and turned to go back via Bourbon street. Fran was thrilled to find the Harley Shop and we both got shirts with Bourbon street logos on them. I was amazed to see how well they got the detail right modeling this part of the city after that land in Disneyland, you know where the Haunted Mansion is located?





Next door I found foot long daquiris, we got hurricane flavor. The whole area was a lot more seedy that I had expected, but maybe that's because we were on the street where the Hustler club was located!













This was one of the places that was high up on the list, but didn’t end up making the cut.  But it’s on the list for next time.





Then my legs were getting tired, so we just headed back to the hotel. Bourbon street turned into the street where our hotel was located so we just went back there. We saw the Google mobile on our way back to the hotel.





Home Sweet Home.





Fran was coughing pretty heavily so she called her rheumatologist and left a message on the machine requesting that they call in a prescription for these cough suppressant pearls that we have at home. I had half a dozen in my "pharmacy" in my purse but she was running out of them quickly. 

I hopped in the shower and washed my hair and self. What a luxury to leave the water running for the whole shower and not have to turn it off when you aren't actively rinsing some kind of soap out of your hair or off your body! After I finished my luxurious shower, I sat down on the bed. This is when she told me that she really had no desire to eat and food didn't sound at all good to her. We decided to cancel our reservation at the John Besh restaurant, Luke, which really bummed me out. I was looking forward to trying their bread pudding but I could understand that she felt that bad. This is about when I thought the entire time in New Orleans was shot to heck. I'll give you a spoiler as some of you have heard a few tidbits by now, but it wasn't entirely ruined, it just didn't turn out how I planned. But in the next few hours it seemed all was lost.

So I decided to go out in search of some dinner. It hit me that staying in the CBD that none of the restaurants were open for dinner.  I walked towards Canal street and the first thing I saw was McDonald's.

No.

I was not going to eat there while in New Orleans. 

I saw an IHOP, and a Chinese restaurant and a Vietnamese place. Asian food didn't sound good either. By now the sun had set completely and I didn’t want to get too far away from the hotel. I turned around to go back the other direction. A pack of young local girls walked past me and I heard,

"Stitch, why you walkin' so damn slow girl?"

A girl at the back of the pack said, "She wasn't tawkin' to you."

And front of the pack girl says, "Oh yes I was!"

I could almost hear the “snap” in her voice.

By the way, she didn't refer to me as a loveable mischief making Alien, but instead a word that rhymes with his name.

At that point I decided I better just take what I could get and not dawdle. There was a Domino's a block from the hotel and I decided that getting food quickly and safely was more important than something palate worthy of NOLA. 

So I ordered a small pepperoni, mushroom and onion pizza and waited about 15 minutes for my dinner. I went back to the room. As I approached the stoplight at the corner I glimpsed a rat running into the sewer, nice.

When I got back to the room I ate my dinner, watched TV, don't remember what, but probably some syndicated NCIS or Castle or some other crime drama sort of thing.  By 10:30 or so I was having trouble keeping my eyes open and laid down to sleep. Fran didn't even wake up once while I was having my dinner.


----------



## franandaj

New Orleans Day 2


I woke up this morning around 7AM, but didn't feel like doing much or even going down to breakfast anytime soon, so I just kind of rolled over and went back to sleep. Fran had agreed to go to our lunch reservation today even though she said she wasn't hungry at all. Around 9AM, I went down to breakfast. I just got some coffee, cereal, a little pastry, and some potatoes. I didn't want to spoil my appetite for lunch. No pictures. Sorry.

I think it was actually this day that I took the pictures in the food court in the CBD. I also went to the little convenience store and got us some new sinus medications, as we had taken the whole pack I bought the day before.  They had the super strength 12 hour version.





I messed around on the computer a bit and even put up a "lost cat" post on this Neighborhood based group I'm a part of. It's similar to Facebook, but instead of your friends, your neighbors are logged on. Besides lost animals and free stuff available, you can find out about why police sirens were blaring in the middle of the night, and crazies and transients who you might want to look out for in the neighborhood. 

We got dressed for lunch and just as we were headed down to the lobby to catch a taxi, we got a call from Fran's Rheumatologist office. They had called in the prescription to the CVS on the corner, plus they called in a Z-pack just for good measure. I decided I would pick it up when we got back from lunch.

Lunch today was at Commander's Palace, a long time New Orleans favorite. Emeril Lagasse got his start here, but the place was on the map long before that. 









The restaurant is in the Garden District.  I would have loved it if we could have strolled through this area and check out all the mansions and their Gardens, but that's something for another time.

We were seated immediately and I was amazed by the long line of waitstaff that were lined up on the way to the dining room. Each and every one of them greeted us and welcomed us.

I had heard about their 25 cent Martinis, and definitely was up for that. They had three flavors and of course I can't resist a blue drink.





I tried to take pictures of the room discreetly.













And then the menu

















Fran decided to go with the soup sampler. I was a little hungrier so I got a whole bowl of the gumbo.









I switched to a classic vodka martini and had the halibut for my main course. It was really well cooked and very good, but I only ate about 3/4 of it because I wanted to save room for dessert!









The Creole Bread Pudding was just fabulous!  It came with a whiskey sauce that had quite a kick! The top was almost like a meringue while the bottom was a full on bread pudding. I ate every last little piece I could scrape out of there. 









As we were finishing up, I noticed that our shipmates whom we had sat with for Easter Brunch buffet had been seated across the room from us. On our way out I said “hello” to them and we got a cab to take us back to our hotel. 









On our way back, Fran told me that this one excursion was too much for her today and she wouldn't be able to keep our dinner reservation for this evening.  I was sad, this night’s reservation was at Brennan's which is known for having invented tableside Bananas Foster. However, this gave me an idea. When I had been out on my photo reconnaissance mission I noticed that the Hilton (where restaurant Luke was located) was a whole lot closer than I realized. In fact the night before, if I'd turned right out of the building instead of left when looking for dinner the night before. I would have found many more options and even stumbled upon Luke! I asked if she minded if I checked with them about going as a party of one, and she said that would be a great solution. Just as we reentered the hotel I got a call from Brennan's to confirm and I told them we'd have to cancel due to illness.

Fran wanted to go back to bed. So I went over to CVS and got her prescriptions.  I decided that I was going to see about hiring one of those bicycle guys with a back seat to take me on a tour of the French Quarter. On my way to do that, I walked over to the Hilton and on the way there I got a call from Naked Jim. It seemed Samantha finally saw fit to come home.  Phew! I would have hated to lose two cats in one day. We talked while I sat in the lobby of the hotel until I finally had to tell him that I needed to get going or daylight was going to run out on me!

I went to Luke and they were happy to make me a reservation for a party of one and then I went back up to the room to tell Fran the good news about Sam.

So then I was off to get my whirlwind tour of the Quarter. I really wasn't quite sure how you did this, two different guys passed me by before I got the hang of looking for them. I'm glad it worked out the way it did because my guy Kevin was awesome! Even though I took his picture at the end of the tour, I'm going to post it first so you know who is telling me all this great stuff!






*[Continued in Next Post]*


----------



## franandaj

*[Continued from Previous Post]*


I was a couple feet up from Bourbon street so he wheeled the cart back so we could start there.  He pointed out Gallatoire's as one of the quarter's finest restaurants. I told him that it was on the list, but Antoine's actually won out. He was really excited for me having a visit to Antoine's planned and told me all about their two kitchens. One for the Oysters Rockefeller and one for everything else.





We zig zagged throughout the streets and I learned that Bourbon and Royal streets were probably the most seedy. Many of the streets closer to the river and near Esplanade street (the other end of the quarter) had galleries and nice restaurants without quite so many bars and people over indulging. We went past the Louisiana Supreme Court building which was located inside the heart of the quarter.





There was the Napoleon House. The Major of New Orleans from 1812 to 1815 had offered his home to Napoleon during his exile from France. Though Napoleon never made it to New Orleans the name stuck.





I was just snapping pictures as he rode all over the place.













The Cabildo, is an old Spanish Court on the edge of Jackson Square.  It was where the Louisiana Purchase documents were signed.  Now it is a museum. This was one of the places we thought about going, but not with Fran being so sick.





He did show me where Pat O'Briens was





And Preservation Hall





St. Ann is the gay district









and I noticed Café du Monde on our drive. 

In the French Market Catherine the Great greets you with her horse.





We went past the Old Mint which is now a museum













On the East side of the French Quarter was a section where Kevin told me you could experience “trad jazz”.  First time I had ever heard that term.





and rode up this tree lined street before turning on Royal street. 









We went down the other end of Royal street. This end was much more calm and sedate.





This end of the quarter was so beautiful.  









This is a swanky hotel where all kinds of celebrities have stayed.  I don’t remember who any of them are, but evidently it’s a very discreet hotel where their privacy is ensured (well at least after they arrive).





The Court of the Two Sisters is a restaurant that Fran ate at many years ago with her mother.  It’s one of the more well-known fine establishments in the city.





Brennan’s, where we had canceled our dinner reservation only hours before.





Eventually he dropped me off at the CVS because Fran had sent me a text asking if I could pick her up something to numb her throat. I got some Cepacol and also got some vitamin C and a microwaveable bowl of chicken soup.

I just chilled in the room until it was time for my reservation and then headed over to the place. This is why I was here.









I was seated fairly quickly.

























I wanted to try the oysters, but was a little dubious about the local variety. My waiter convinced me to get them but I told him I don't like large oysters. When he brought me the plate, I was shocked at how large they were. He told me the guy even traded out some bigger ones.





They also brought me some bread.





I wasn't even halfway through the oysters when the hot appetizer I had ordered as my main arrived, I told the gal who brought it that I wanted to finish my oysters before I ate that. And that must have been where the lines got crossed. I couldn't finish all the oysters because they were just too darned big, and they were starting to gross me out having to chew them so many times.

I sat there with my half carafe of wine, wondering if they planned to bring my next course. The waiter finally took away my unfinished tray of oysters, giving me a hard time about not finishing.  It was about this time that I started to wonder if I was experiencing single female diner syndrome. My waiter just leaned up against the wall directly across the room from me talking to the oyster guy, and wasn’t even paying attention to his tables. I decided that the oysters were enough protein to fill me up. If the appetizer didn't come before I finished my wine, I was just going to pay the bill and go.

I had struck up a conversation with the couple on the banquette next to me and they agreed the waiter was lousy. Sure enough. Wine finished, no crab dip. So I signaled the waiter, told him to cancel the rest of my food and just bring me the check. Of course this generated all kinds of hubub, first the waiter tried to make it right, but certainly he couldn't do anything.  Then the manager came over, gave me his card and told me to talk to him personally when I came back tomorrow and he would take care of me. Maybe, but not if I'm going to Antoine's! 

When I got back to the room it was only 8:30PM. I think we caught the last two episodes of the Castle Fall season before calling it a night. I prayed that tomorrow would be a better day for Fran.


----------



## ACDSNY

The other end of Royal street is more how I pictured New Orleans.  Sorry you had such poor service at dinner.


----------



## rentayenta

Fantastic update! Love how you took a tut tut around the city. The oysters do look huge. Sorry Fran was;t feeling better.


----------



## PrincessInOz

WOW!  That's a lot of rain!




franandaj said:


> About $.04 per acre.



I'd like to buy at that price too!!





franandaj said:


> All week I had wanted to get this shot!



Love it!





franandaj said:


> We both liked the cakes so much we had a second piece.



I'm hungry and those cakes look delish!






franandaj said:


> the old woman came back



Awkward situation!  Glad she relented to share the table.





franandaj said:


> I assume Parrish in Louisiana is synonymous with County in California.



We have parish's here as well.  Over here, it's about the size of where the church congregation reside.  A lot of our suburbs were later formed on the basis of those original church parish's.






franandaj said:


> Even if we weren’t seeing many gators, the scenery was pretty.



It seems you got a few gators in your shots.  Yes, very pretty scenery.






franandaj said:


> some others who have been MIA



Guilty as charged!






franandaj said:


> She wasn't feeling good at all and had no desire to eat.



Aww, that's a shame.






franandaj said:


> Neither of us felt very good, but I knew I needed to get us some mucinex as that stuff is like a shop vac for your sinuses.



That's even worse!  Both of you!






franandaj said:


> she went to the Rainbow Bridge



Olga was a grand cat.  I'll miss her too.  







franandaj said:


> I could almost hear the “snap” in her voice.



She was a right royal "Stitch".






franandaj said:


> As I approached the stoplight at the corner I glimpsed a rat running into the sewer, nice.



*shudder*
I would have run the other way!







franandaj said:


> 25 cent Martinis



O.M.G.  






franandaj said:


> if I'd turned right out of the building instead of left when looking for dinner the night before. I would have found many more options and even stumbled upon Luke!



What a shame you didn't take the right fork last night.






franandaj said:


> Bourbon and Royal streets were probably the most seedy.



That's a shame.  






franandaj said:


> they agreed the waiter was lousy.



Sorry you got him.





All caught up!  I'm going to need a ping for your Naked Jim TR, please.


----------



## rentayenta

I forgot to mention that bread pudding looks incredible!


----------



## afwdwfan

franandaj said:


> It was with this meal that I could tell the cruise was coming to an end. No one asked if we needed a refill on our drinks and before I was done with my pasta I jumped up to grab desserts. I could tell they were getting ready to shut down the buffet. Lucky we made it in before they went into full shut down mode! Sorry we dug into it before I realized I hadn’t taken a picture.


Good thing you decided to go straight to the Easter brunch.  Nothing like the feeling of being rushed at a buffet when they're clearing dishes up right behind you. 



franandaj said:


> We were all packed up and down to breakfast by 7:00AM and if you thought the last breakfast on a Disney ship was bad, this one took the cake. There was no menu service, strictly buffet. As they ran out of things, the plates disappeared and never returned. I had hoped for some strawberries but it was empty when I got there. The blueberries, raspberries and blackberries were refilled and I realized that they were only refilling things that didn't require prep. So I grabbed some cantaloupe before that plate disappeared.


See what I mean?  Yikes!  That really is frustrating. 



franandaj said:


> Our luggage was waiting on the dock as promised. There was a guy there whom I had seen on occasion throughout the week. I think he worked in sanitation of some sort, and he asked us if we needed help to get out bags to a taxi. I was glad for the help, especially since it was quite aways to the Hilton Riverside where one would catch the taxi. There was a full on mall in between the dock and the Hilton. I never would have found our way without him. He admitted to us that he liked to help guests with their bags because any excuse to get him off the ship was a bonus. Otherwise they might ask him to clean toilets or something!


Wow!  That's pretty inconvenient.  You'd think there'd be some easier access to transportation.  I'm glad you at least had someone there to help you. 



franandaj said:


> When we got off the boat my phone started exploding with sounds indicating text messages, emails, all sorts of other alerts that I couldn't get due to poor WiFi on the boat. Most were inconsequential, except for one from Naked Jim. It was rather long, but the gist was that one of our cats, Samantha, had gone out Sunday morning and didn't come home. Also Olga, who had been somewhat lethargic before we left had deteriorated to listless and no longer wanting to eat. We had anticipated this day and left all the pertinent vet information in case it came down to it. It was still only 6:30 in California so we just waited on any action.


Oh no... sorry to hear, but at least you had someone you trust to take care of things and do what was right. 



franandaj said:


> These pictures are from the next day but you get the idea. It turns out that pictures are not allowed in any of the buildings in the CBD (Central Business District), and a security guard reprimanded me for it.


What??  That just seems kind of odd. 



franandaj said:


> Then my legs were getting tired, so we just headed back to the hotel. Bourbon street turned into the street where our hotel was located so we just went back there. We saw the Google mobile on our way back to the hotel.


Cool!  So when we look on street view in New Orleans, we'll now see Alison taking a picture of us! 



franandaj said:


> I hopped in the shower and washed my hair and self. What a luxury to leave the water running for the whole shower and not have to turn it off when you aren't actively rinsing some kind of soap out of your hair or off your body!


What a different world you live in from most of us.  I realize the drought out there is a serious matter, but I just can't even imagine it. 



franandaj said:


> "Stitch, why you walkin' so damn slow girl?"
> 
> A girl at the back of the pack said, "She wasn't tawkin' to you."
> 
> And front of the pack girl says, "Oh yes I was!"
> 
> I could almost hear the “snap” in her voice.
> 
> By the way, she didn't refer to me as a loveable mischief making Alien, but instead a word that rhymes with his name.
> 
> At that point I decided I better just take what I could get and not dawdle. There was a Domino's a block from the hotel and I decided that getting food quickly and safely was more important than something palate worthy of NOLA.


Oh wow... You never like to hear about things like this, but it can happen anywhere.  Sorry you had to resort to just going to Domino's instead of taking a little more time to explore and find something better. 



franandaj said:


> Lunch today was at Commander's Palace, a long time New Orleans favorite. Emeril Lagasse got his start here, but the place was on the map long before that.


I'm glad she was feeling up to it... well, at least for lunch. 



franandaj said:


> On our way back, Fran told me that this one excursion was too much for her today and she wouldn't be able to keep our dinner reservation for this evening. I was sad, this night’s reservation was at Brennan's which is known for having invented tableside Bananas Foster. However, this gave me an idea. When I had been out on my photo reconnaissance mission I noticed that the Hilton (where restaurant Luke was located) was a whole lot closer than I realized. In fact the night before, if I'd turned right out of the building instead of left when looking for dinner the night before. I would have found many more options and even stumbled upon Luke! I asked if she minded if I checked with them about going as a party of one, and she said that would be a great solution. Just as we reentered the hotel I got a call from Brennan's to confirm and I told them we'd have to cancel due to illness.


I'm sorry that she wasn't up for more, but this seemed like a great idea!



franandaj said:


> He did show me where Pat O'Briens was


I'll have all the hurricanes he can haul on this bike, please!



franandaj said:


> I had struck up a conversation with the couple on the banquette next to me and they agreed the waiter was lousy. Sure enough. Wine finished, no crab dip. So I signaled the waiter, told him to cancel the rest of my food and just bring me the check. Of course this generated all kinds of hubub, first the waiter tried to make it right, but certainly he couldn't do anything. Then the manager came over, gave me his card and told me to talk to him personally when I came back tomorrow and he would take care of me. Maybe, but not if I'm going to Antoine's!


Oh wow... I'm glad you were able to get out and try Luke, even if by yourself, but I'm sorry to hear the experience was a bit of a disappointment.


----------



## franandaj

ACDSNY said:


> The other end of Royal street is more how I pictured New Orleans.  Sorry you had such poor service at dinner.



I'm guessing you mean the pretty side, not the one that smells like bodily fuids, stale beer an who knows what else.



rentayenta said:


> Fantastic update! Love how you took a tut tut around the city. The oysters do look huge. Sorry Fran was;t feeling better.



And my guide totally made the trip. He was really sweet and had a lot of neat information.  I didn't remember the half of it to relate here.



PrincessInOz said:


> WOW! That's a lot of rain!



I guess that's how they have a river like that flowing through the area.



PrincessInOz said:


> I'd like to buy at that price too!!



Yeah, even with inflation, it was still a pretty darned good deal!



PrincessInOz said:


> Love it!



How often do you get to pose with a taxidermy bear and boar!



PrincessInOz said:


> I'm hungry and those cakes look delish!



They do.  I would love to make a cake or something right now, but I have 8-10 pounds to take back off.  It was 10 yesterday, 8 today, and I don't want to blow it by eating cake.



PrincessInOz said:


> Awkward situation! Glad she relented to share the table.



I know.  I found that many of these older folks were incredibly entitled and didn't care about anyone else on the boat.



PrincessInOz said:


> We have parish's here as well. Over here, it's about the size of where the church congregation reside. A lot of our suburbs were later formed on the basis of those original church parish's.



Interesting to note.  I'm glad that California did not end up basing it's jurisdictions on the Missions!



PrincessInOz said:


> It seems you got a few gators in your shots. Yes, very pretty scenery.



I didn't feel like I saw a lot that day, but when I was going back through the pictures, I was pleasantly surprised.



PrincessInOz said:


> Guilty as charged!



Actually you were not on the top of my list, but I will keep you in mind.



PrincessInOz said:


> Aww, that's a shame.



I'll tell you now, think about a song by the Carpenters, "We've only just begun!"



PrincessInOz said:


> That's even worse! Both of you!



Oh, and it gets even better!  



PrincessInOz said:


> Olga was a grand cat. I'll miss her too.



She was lovely, but in the weeks before we left, she had really deteriorated. So much so that we invested in many disposable puppy pads. Her liver had gotten so bad that it was no longer processing the food that she ate. She would eat and it would go right through her. Since her passing I am feeding the cats one less can of food at the morning and evening feedings and they are fine with it. Plus Fran would give her at least three extra cans of Fancy Feast every day.



PrincessInOz said:


> She was a right royal "Stitch".







PrincessInOz said:


> *shudder*
> I would have run the other way!



Yeah, except that was away from my hotel.  I couldn't wait to get back inside there!



PrincessInOz said:


> O.M.G.



It seems that many of the restaurants there employ that practice.  Lowers the inhibitions, you're more likely to order the most expensive thing on the menu!



PrincessInOz said:


> What a shame you didn't take the right fork last night.



Well I guess it just delayed the disappoitment. That is if I had the same waiter.



PrincessInOz said:


> That's a shame.



Well at least there were some nicer parts.



PrincessInOz said:


> Sorry you got him.



Me too!



PrincessInOz said:


> All caught up! I'm going to need a ping for your Naked Jim TR, please.



I will definitely do so!  Hopefully I'll have it started by the end of the week.  I'm debating whether to do one more big update or drag it out into two small ones.



rentayenta said:


> I forgot to mention that bread pudding looks incredible!



It was incredible!  Other than the fact that I need to drop the weight I gained in WDW, I sure woud like some Bread Pudding again!


----------



## ACDSNY

franandaj said:


> I'm guessing you mean the pretty side, not the one that smells like bodily fuids, stale beer an who knows what else.



Yes the pretty side...I get enough of the other side every day around my office.


----------



## Captain_Oblivious

Hi Alison!

I think I actually made it through all of the updates since I last checked in!

In rapid-fire fashion:

I had no idea there was an actual "rouge baton" in Baton Rouge.

I don't "get" Mardi Gras, either.



franandaj said:


>



That just made me incredibly sad to see.

I'm so sorry about your cat, and sorry you and Fran were not feeling up to snuff over the last couple of days of the cruise.  Good for you for seeing as much as you could.  This is an area of the country I haven't really explored yet, so I've been fascinated to read about it!


----------



## mvf-m11c

Very nice update from your first two days in New Orleans even though the dining experience wasn't great that time.


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> Someday we must meet up. I bet it would be fun!







franandaj said:


> Never made it. Only had it in restaurants.



It's easy to make. No baking involved even.



franandaj said:


> La la la la la la la







franandaj said:


> I'm surprised! Most Americans haven't heard of him, but given Fran's surname and her father was raised in Oklahoma the family evidently speculated a bit.



Did she research it by any chance?



franandaj said:


> I would love to see you do it!



 I would, too. For the right reason.



franandaj said:


> Plus it was a Saturday. Everyone knows they jack up the limits on weekends.



Yup.



franandaj said:


> They must have been wearing cement shies cause they weren't floating in the river.



Wait... Was this a Chicago river cruise?



franandaj said:


> I'm happy sticking with the cream based, which is why I got broth instead.



What? Do you mean you decided to step outside your comfort zone?



franandaj said:


> I'll let you test that one out.



I watched a video of a guy who purposefully let a gator bite his arm.
He was bigger than the guy in your photo, though.
But not so big you couldn't hold him.
It took a loooooong time before the guy could get his arm out of its mouth.
Got some good punctures too.

I concluded that the guy was an idiot.



franandaj said:


> Plus it was an hour and a half long tour.



As long as it's not a three hour tour.

(a three hour tour)



franandaj said:


> This is Tesla giving his relative "the look".



I know that look.
Usually it was followed by my hand being bloody.



franandaj said:


> There is a standard gratuity that they charge to your room for each person that you are involved with (ie Stateroom host, Server, backup server, head server) and you can't lower it.



I absolutely, categorically despise that.

Tips should be for good service.
Not poor. Not adequate. Good.
You want a tip? Earn it!

And I tip well (at least I think so)



franandaj said:


> You can only increase it and by this point, most people have either added their tips or left them at the standard.







franandaj said:


> Hope again, call this foreshadowing....



Oy.



franandaj said:


> Yeah, the big difference between this and a Disney cruise is that in the morning you got the luck of the draw with servers. Chances are the morning shift is different than the evening shift so your "regular" servers may not even be there.



Ah. Gotcha.



franandaj said:


> On the AQ, they just tried to avoid us so that things that were not self serve they didn't have to deal with. As I said getting coffee was like pulling teeth!



Well, that just sucks.
I would be sooooo tempted to seek out a supervisor and demand a refund on my forced tips!



franandaj said:


> So you're not left hanging, it was Olga's time.



Sorry to hear that.



franandaj said:


> That was expected, but everything else worked out OK.



Well, that's good at least.



franandaj said:


> There are two states currently, but others are considering similar laws. North Carolina is one, they have made a law that people must use the bathroom of the gender they are born with, not the gender that they identify themselves as.



Ah! It was NC that I'd heard about. That's why MS didn't ring a bell.



franandaj said:


> The other state is Mississippi who has passed laws stating that folks do not need to offer customer service to folks that take them outside their religious comfort zone, so they can deny services based on their religious beliefs.



Which means they can not only bar LGBT but other religions too, then.

Wow.



franandaj said:


> Evidently there are other states that have similar laws pending. But we're not supposed to discuss politics here.



I know. So I'll drop it.
But I will say that I'm shocked.


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> It turns out that pictures are not allowed in any of the buildings in the CBD (Central Business District), and a security guard reprimanded me for it.



Putting the camera away and agreeing with the guard is the easiest and generally the better way to go, but...
He was dead wrong.
From looking at your pictures, and a bit of Googling, it looks like the CBD is a neighborhood and you were in some kind of mall? While malls are private property, they are open to the public so that makes them public spaces where you have every right to take photos. Sure you could push back and tell him you have the right, but it's probably not worth the hassle.
You can take pictures of practically everything in public (including celebrities and children, actually, unless there's an expectation of privacy) unless it's a matter of national security (an example I found was military bases.) They can't take your camera from you, that would constitute theft.



franandaj said:


>



mmmm.... looks yummy.



franandaj said:


> It was about this time when Jim called for guidance. For those of you who have cats, you'll know that the sure sign they are ready to go is when they lose their desire to eat. Up until the day we left, she hollered at us when she wanted another "special" can of food, so she went downhill in less than a week. He took her in, the vet called to verify this is what we wanted and shortly thereafter she went to the Rainbow Bridge. We will miss her but she is now in a much better place.



Said it already, but I'll say it again.
Sorry to hear about your loss, Alison.



franandaj said:


> we decided to visit Meyer the Hatter. It's the oldest and largest hat store in the South.



Cool!



franandaj said:


> She got a straw Fedora.



Believe it or not, by grandmother's first name was Fedora.



franandaj said:


> I was amazed to see how well they got the detail right modeling this part of the city after that land in Disneyland, you know where the Haunted Mansion is located?



 Oh, you...



franandaj said:


> The whole area was a lot more seedy that I had expected, but maybe that's because we were on the street where the Hustler club was located!



1. I never knew there was such a thing.
2. You should've gone in! (unless there was cover charge... then probably not worth it.)



franandaj said:


> We saw the Google mobile on our way back to the hotel.



I went to Google street view to see if I could find you, but no luck.



franandaj said:


> I walked towards Canal street and the first thing I saw was McDonald's.
> 
> No.



I should hope not!!



franandaj said:


> "Stitch, why you walkin' so damn slow girl?"
> 
> A girl at the back of the pack said, "She wasn't tawkin' to you."
> 
> And front of the pack girl says, "Oh yes I was!"
> 
> I could almost hear the “snap” in her voice.
> 
> By the way, she didn't refer to me as a loveable mischief making Alien, but instead a word that rhymes with his name.



Was she angry? Or just kidding? Or?...



franandaj said:


> We got dressed for lunch and just as we were headed down to the lobby to catch a taxi, we got a call from Fran's Rheumatologist office. They had called in the prescription to the CVS on the corner, plus they called in a Z-pack just for good measure.



Good service.



franandaj said:


> Lunch today was at Commander's Palace, a long time New Orleans favorite. Emeril Lagasse got his start here, but the place was on the map long before that.



Cool!



franandaj said:


> We were seated immediately and I was amazed by the long line of waitstaff that were lined up on the way to the dining room. Each and every one of them greeted us and welcomed us.



Dining in the Grand Manner indeed!



franandaj said:


> They had three flavors and of course I can't resist a blue drink.



Of course. Few can.



franandaj said:


> I was a little hungrier so I got a whole bowl of the gumbo.



mmm.... gumbo.



franandaj said:


> On our way back, Fran told me that this one excursion was too much for her today and she wouldn't be able to keep our dinner reservation for this evening.



Poor Fran. This sucks for her.



franandaj said:


> I was sad, this night’s reservation was at Brennan's which is known for having invented tableside Bananas Foster.



<whimper> so want.



franandaj said:


> I decided that I was going to see about hiring one of those bicycle guys with a back seat to take me on a tour of the French Quarter.



What a great idea! Never would've thought of that.



franandaj said:


> It seemed Samantha finally saw fit to come home. Phew!



Oh, good!



franandaj said:


> I'm glad it worked out the way it did because my guy Kevin was awesome! Even though I took his picture at the end of the tour, I'm going to post it first so you know who is telling me all this great stuff!



He looks like a fun and friendly dude.



franandaj said:


> He was really excited for me having a visit to Antoine's planned



Me too!



franandaj said:


> told me all about their two kitchens. One for the Oysters Rockefeller and one for everything else.



Really!



franandaj said:


> The Major of New Orleans from 1812 to 1815 had offered his home to Napoleon during his exile from France. Though Napoleon never made it to New Orleans the name stuck.



Huh. Interesting. (Knew he never made it, but still...)



franandaj said:


> The Cabildo, is an old Spanish Court on the edge of Jackson Square. It was where the Louisiana Purchase documents were signed.



Cool.



franandaj said:


> And Preservation Hall



Had to Google that one.
Sounds (no pun intended... well maybe a little) interesting.



franandaj said:


> On the East side of the French Quarter was a section where Kevin told me you could experience “trad jazz”. First time I had ever heard that term.



First time for me too. I presume that's short for traditional?



franandaj said:


>



Enjoyed all the photos, but that one stuck out.



franandaj said:


> This is a swanky hotel where all kinds of celebrities have stayed. I don’t remember who any of them are, but evidently it’s a very discreet hotel where their privacy is ensured (well at least after they arrive).



I took a look and while the hotel website doesn't have prices, I did see that average prices were around  $215 - $376.



franandaj said:


> I just chilled in the room until it was time for my reservation and then headed over to the place. This is why I was here.



Well, that certainly explains it.



franandaj said:


> When he brought me the plate, I was shocked at how large they were. He told me the guy even traded out some bigger ones.



Those puppies are big!



franandaj said:


> I couldn't finish all the oysters because they were just too darned big, and they were starting to gross me out having to chew them so many times.



I think I'd be the same. One or two, sure. But that'd be about my limit... if I'd order them at all.



franandaj said:


> I decided that the oysters were enough protein to fill me up. If the appetizer didn't come before I finished my wine, I was just going to pay the bill and go.



 I despise poor service.



franandaj said:


> Of course this generated all kinds of hubub, first the waiter tried to make it right,



Sure. When suddenly his tip is on the line. Please.



franandaj said:


> Then the manager came over, gave me his card and told me to talk to him personally when I came back tomorrow and he would take care of me.



Wonder what he would have done.


----------



## IowaTater

I'm finally catching up on all of my watched threads so a mega reply is coming your way. 



franandaj said:


> I got super motivated this week and I even cleaned out my travel cooking kit. I replaced all the packets, spices, and condiments in here with newer ones and even made new labels. The last time I updated it was probably around 2008 or 09 when we started staying in DVC units.



I love this.  I have something similar in our camping box and I'm planning on packing a smaller version for WDW.  



franandaj said:


> Those who followed the house Saga remember that there were some nasty neighbors who wouldn't approve our building plans (it's a historic district). Well her friend painted their house, but they shunned the historic committee and painted it the color they initially wanted and not the one that was approved. The commission said they would let it go if no one complained. One. Person. Complained. They had to repaint. I laughed because I know just who it was. Our next door neighbor. Isn't it funny what a small world we live in?



Geez Louise.  Almost makes you wonder if they just sit at their front window waiting for someone to do something so they can immediately complain.  



franandaj said:


> For our main we had Roasted Prime Rib of beef. This was absolutely perfect. Cooked to exactly how I like it and they gave me real horseradish to go with it!



Oh Mylanta, this looks fabulous!  I love it when they serve it with horseradish too.  Yummmmm!



franandaj said:


> Now really what the hostess should have done is just waited until we went to dinner and taken care of our room.



What she really should have done is just kept quiet to you about it and complained to her co-workers later on.  LOL  I would have been tempted to take longer every night just to irk her off. 



franandaj said:


> I had been feeling a tickle in my throat.



Ut-oh....no bueno.  I am familiar with that tickle and it's never a good sign. 



franandaj said:


> They were not light fluffy little pillows of goodness, they were doughy little boulders of evil.



This made me laugh out loud.  Sorry they were so evil. 



franandaj said:


>



That is a cool bottle.  That distillery tour sounds really interesting.  And free rum punch?? Where do I sign up??



franandaj said:


> I found it interesting that all these houses were built on stilts.



We have a lot of houses like that here in St. Louis and where I grew up in Iowa.  It provides some protection from the floods but sometimes Mother Nature is a real you-know-what and even being on stilts doesn't save your house. 



franandaj said:


> Can you imagine riding up this impressive drive in your horse and carriage?



Absolutely gorgeous!



franandaj said:


> Another look at the slave staircase.



I would totally break a leg walking down this!



franandaj said:


> All week I had wanted to get this shot!



Proof of your animal magnetism



franandaj said:


> Our guide (who by the way sounded EXACTLY like Ray the Cajun Firefly in Princess and the Frog)



Great.  Now I've got that sound stuck in my head lol



franandaj said:


> He admitted to us that he liked to help guests with their bags because any excuse to get him off the ship was a bonus. Otherwise they might ask him to clean toilets or something!



Smart man but also very sweet of him. 



franandaj said:


> When we got off the boat my phone started exploding with sounds indicating text messages, emails, all sorts of other alerts that I couldn't get due to poor WiFi on the boat. Most were inconsequential, except for one from Naked Jim. It was rather long, but the gist was that one of our cats, Samantha, had gone out Sunday morning and didn't come home. Also Olga, who had been somewhat lethargic before we left had deteriorated to listless and no longer wanting to eat. We had anticipated this day and left all the pertinent vet information in case it came down to it. It was still only 6:30 in California so we just waited on any action.





franandaj said:


> It was about this time when Jim called for guidance. For those of you who have cats, you'll know that the sure sign they are ready to go is when they lose their desire to eat. Up until the day we left, she hollered at us when she wanted another "special" can of food, so she went downhill in less than a week. He took her in, the vet called to verify this is what we wanted and shortly thereafter she went to the Rainbow Bridge. We will miss her but she is now in a much better place.



Aww, I'm so sorry to hear about Olga.  I know how special she was to you guys.  

Sorry your NOLA portion has gotten off to such a rocky start.  I've heard that Bourbon Street has gotten pretty undesirable.  That's one of the reasons I kind of crossed it off my bucket list.  Sounds like you had a really knowledgeable tour guide though!


----------



## franandaj

ACDSNY said:


> Yes the pretty side...I get enough of the other side every day around my office.



Is that because you work at the Poop plant or because its in a seedy part of town?



Captain_Oblivious said:


> Hi Alison!
> 
> I think I actually made it through all of the updates since I last checked in!
> 
> In rapid-fire fashion:
> 
> I had no idea there was an actual "rouge baton" in Baton Rouge.
> 
> I don't "get" Mardi Gras, either.



That's OK, you have a good reason to be MIA, besides I've been trying to wrap this one up quickly. If I can swing it I hope to have the new TR today or tomorrow. 

And yes evidently there was a red stick somewhere in the history.  I don't mind the food and drink of Mardi Gras,  that I get, just not all the funny outfits.



Captain_Oblivious said:


> That just made me incredibly sad to see.
> 
> I'm so sorry about your cat, and sorry you and Fran were not feeling up to snuff over the last couple of days of the cruise. Good for you for seeing as much as you could. This is an area of the country I haven't really explored yet, so I've been fascinated to read about it!



I had no idea that so many places in the US don't have safe drinking water. The south is summer of 2017 for you guys?

Thanks for the sympathy for Olga. We were surprised she made it as long as she did. Liver tumor/cancer isn't a very good diagnosis.



mvf-m11c said:


> Very nice update from your first two days in New Orleans even though the dining experience wasn't great that time.



Thanks Bret!  The next night was better!



pkondz said:


> It's easy to make. No baking involved even.



Maybe once we get the old place cleaned out I'll find a recipe and make one to celebrate. 



pkondz said:


> Did she research it by any chance?



No just things other family members told her.



pkondz said:


> I would, too. For the right reason.



That I'd want to see!



pkondz said:


> Wait... Was this a Chicago river cruise?







pkondz said:


> What? Do you mean you decided to step outside your comfort zone?



No. I didn't order the soup on the menu because it was outside of my comfort zone!



pkondz said:


> I watched a video of a guy who purposefully let a gator bite his arm.
> He was bigger than the guy in your photo, though.
> But not so big you couldn't hold him.
> It took a loooooong time before the guy could get his arm out of its mouth.
> Got some good punctures too.
> 
> I concluded that the guy was an idiot.



I would come to the same conclusion. 



pkondz said:


> As long as it's not a three hour tour.
> 
> (a three hour tour)







pkondz said:


> I know that look.
> Usually it was followed by my hand being bloody.



Usually it my forearm. He bites the hand, but uses his back legs to kick my arm. He doesn't mess around!



pkondz said:


> I absolutely, categorically despise that.
> 
> Tips should be for good service.
> Not poor. Not adequate. Good.
> You want a tip? Earn it!
> 
> And I tip well (at least I think so)



Yeah, but then there's that contract you signed which let's you on the boat that says you'll allow them to deduct the tip from your CC on file. 

On Disney cruises, we always give them more. They work really hard and most of their pay is tips.



pkondz said:


> Well, that just sucks.
> I would be sooooo tempted to seek out a supervisor and demand a refund on my forced tips!



Contract. Fine print.



pkondz said:


> Ah! It was NC that I'd heard about. That's why MS didn't ring a bell.



That one was first. 



pkondz said:


> Which means they can not only bar LGBT but other religions too, then.
> 
> Wow.



Yeah, that's even more far reaching. It can extend to all kinds of discrimination. 



pkondz said:


> I know. So I'll drop it.
> But I will say that I'm shocked.



I can't believe that in 2016 this stuff is still going on.


----------



## franandaj

pkondz said:


> Putting the camera away and agreeing with the guard is the easiest and generally the better way to go, but...
> He was dead wrong.
> From looking at your pictures, and a bit of Googling, it looks like the CBD is a neighborhood and you were in some kind of mall? While malls are private property, they are open to the public so that makes them public spaces where you have every right to take photos. Sure you could push back and tell him you have the right, but it's probably not worth the hassle.
> You can take pictures of practically everything in public (including celebrities and children, actually, unless there's an expectation of privacy) unless it's a matter of national security (an example I found was military bases.) They can't take your camera from you, that would constitute theft.



Actually the guard was a she, and she seemed to have a chip on her shoulder. There was an office building attached that was at least 14 stories, but the first two floors were Mall/Food Court.  I didn't see any harm in taking pictures of restaurants.   But I'm the kind of person who usually says, "Yes M'am" and does what I'm told.



pkondz said:


> mmmm.... looks yummy.



It was really good!  The brisket was slow cooked and tender with a ton of flavor.  I didn't expect that on my first bite.



pkondz said:


> Said it already, but I'll say it again.
> Sorry to hear about your loss, Alison.



It was sad, but it was better for everyone involved.  There are consequences when pets/humans get that old and such.



pkondz said:


> Believe it or not, by grandmother's first name was Fedora.



That's kind of a cool name!



pkondz said:


> Oh, you...



Lrotfl2:



pkondz said:


> 1. I never knew there was such a thing.
> 2. You should've gone in! (unless there was cover charge... then probably not worth it.)



No thanks.  I'm sure there was a cover, and I wouldn't have wanted to deal with the kind of folks that were probably in there.



pkondz said:


> I went to Google street view to see if I could find you, but no luck.



I think it was on it's was back to the Mothership and not taping.



pkondz said:


> I should hope not!!



   I hate having to stoop that low at home, certainly not in New Orleans!



pkondz said:


> Was she angry? Or just kidding? Or?...



I have no idea.  Luckily they were walking really fast and passed me by quickly, but I was just sort of taking my time strolling.  But I realized that being out on the street in the dark by myself probably wasn't a great idea.



pkondz said:


> Dining in the Grand Manner indeed!



It was!



pkondz said:


> Of course. Few can.



I just love Blue Curacao.  One of my favorite drinks in college was a shooter called, "Windex"  I can't even remember what was in it.  Probably Vodka, Blue Curacao, triple sec....who knows what else.



pkondz said:


> mmm.... gumbo.



It was good, Duck and Venison sausage.



pkondz said:


> <whimper> so want.



  So did I



pkondz said:


> What a great idea! Never would've thought of that.



They were all over so it wasn't hard to come up with the idea.  However when I started to look for them I had a hard time finding them.



pkondz said:


> Oh, good!



Yeah, she likes to wander away from the house.  And with the Coyotes wandering the neighborhood it's not good for her to be out at night.



pkondz said:


> He looks like a fun and friendly dude.



I had fun with him (good clean fun) and you'll see he makes a repeat appearance.



pkondz said:


> Me too!
> 
> Really!



I saw on a TV show before we left that the owner (descendent) of Antoine's got married and the husband thought finally he would get the recipe for the dish, but no.  



pkondz said:


> Huh. Interesting. (Knew he never made it, but still...)



Cool that the name stuck.



pkondz said:


> Had to Google that one.
> Sounds (no pun intended... well maybe a little) interesting.



As a music scholar and having done a thesis on the saxophone, that was just something that has always been in my knowledge base, but I can see where other folks wouldn't have inherent knowledge.



pkondz said:


> First time for me too. I presume that's short for traditional?



I guess.  Just wondering what "non traditional jazz" would be.



pkondz said:


> Enjoyed all the photos, but that one stuck out.



This end of the quarter was very picturesque.



pkondz said:


> I took a look and while the hotel website doesn't have prices, I did see that average prices were around $215 - $376.



I seem to remember him saying that Brangelina stayed there before they bought a house, and maybe the Clintons.



pkondz said:


> Well, that certainly explains it.



His reputation and cooking ability are what sold me on him.  Not his boyish good looks.  When he was on The Next Iron Chef, he was my candidate that I was rooting for.  His dishes always sounded so tasty.  Then when Katrina hit and all the wonderful things that he did for the people who were left without a home. That was the reason I wanted to try one his restaurants.



pkondz said:


> Those puppies are big!
> 
> I think I'd be the same. One or two, sure. But that'd be about my limit... if I'd order them at all.



If I go back, I'll be skipping the oysters.



pkondz said:


> I despise poor service.



Me too.  There are so many places where I get excellent service, I hate when I get bad service.



pkondz said:


> Sure. When suddenly his tip is on the line. Please.
> 
> Wonder what he would have done.



Yeah, I'm sure that was all that was on his mind!  I bet the Manager would have taken good care of me.



IowaTater said:


> I'm finally catching up on all of my watched threads so a mega reply is coming your way.



I'm ready!



IowaTater said:


> I love this. I have something similar in our camping box and I'm planning on packing a smaller version for WDW.



That sounds great, if we could go camping I would bring this on trips too!



IowaTater said:


> Geez Louise. Almost makes you wonder if they just sit at their front window waiting for someone to do something so they can immediately complain.



No they sit out on their front porch and walk and drive the neighborhood looking for stuff.  These people are militant about their historic district.



IowaTater said:


> Oh Mylanta, this looks fabulous! I love it when they serve it with horseradish too. Yummmmm!



I asked for the horseradish, but it was so good!  I've already put Prime Rib on our dinner list sometime in the next few weeks!



IowaTater said:


> What she really should have done is just kept quiet to you about it and complained to her co-workers later on. LOL I would have been tempted to take longer every night just to irk her off.



Yeah, that's true.  I'm too nice, I just took the candy, papers and whatever and let her off with a pass on the second cleaning.



IowaTater said:


> Ut-oh....no bueno. I am familiar with that tickle and it's never a good sign.



Yeah, it became really no bueno.



IowaTater said:


> This made me laugh out loud. Sorry they were so evil.



They really were, they were like lumps of dough.  I have had beignets and even though it was Disneyland they were way better than what they had on the boat.



IowaTater said:


> That is a cool bottle. That distillery tour sounds really interesting. And free rum punch?? Where do I sign up??



I think you have to be on the boat, the price is not worth just a drink, but I bet if you went there, you could work out a deal!



IowaTater said:


> We have a lot of houses like that here in St. Louis and where I grew up in Iowa. It provides some protection from the floods but sometimes Mother Nature is a real you-know-what and even being on stilts doesn't save your house.



Thats so crazy.  Especially for us in a drought, I can't imagine getting flooded like that but I don't even want to!



IowaTater said:


> I would totally break a leg walking down this!



The sad thing is that no one would have cared except for your family.  It's awful how the slaves were treated!



IowaTater said:


> Proof of your animal magnetism



Either that or they were trapped in that shot!



IowaTater said:


> Great. Now I've got that sound stuck in my head lol



Not that I remember it that well, but we couldn't understand a word that he said!



IowaTater said:


> Smart man but also very sweet of him.



We were so thrilled that he led us out of there, because we had no idea where we were going!



IowaTater said:


> Aww, I'm so sorry to hear about Olga. I know how special she was to you guys.



Yes she was special, but by the end, she became quite the handful.  I'm glad that it all worked out.  I'm not sure I could have returned home to what we had to do before we left. Especially being that sick.



IowaTater said:


> Sorry your NOLA portion has gotten off to such a rocky start. I've heard that Bourbon Street has gotten pretty undesirable. That's one of the reasons I kind of crossed it off my bucket list. Sounds like you had a really knowledgeable tour guide though!



I wouldn't say cross it off, just avoid the part within a couple blocks of Canal Street otherwise it was much better.  See my next update.


----------



## Malia78

I'm sorry I didn't comment very much but I found your river cruise experiences very interesting--thanks for the great report. Of course, looking forward to your newest Orlando report that's waiting just around the river bend--so to speak. 

--Karilynn


----------



## franandaj

New Orleans Day 3


I woke up feeling pretty good on this day. I even went down to breakfast at about 8AM and had one of the Hampton's famous Waffles. They had bacon too so it was a good day for free breakfast! Fran actually wanted me to bring her back a bagel and Cream cheese as well as hot chocolate so that was a good sign. She actually could taste the bagel and said it was good! Another sign!

She asked me what the plan for the day was and I told her that it was all up to her. "Make a suggestion." She says. 

"Dinner at Antoine's?"

"Can I see the menu?"

I pulled it up on her tablet, she perused, and I guess it was OK because she said "Sure, but I think I better take it easy all day to rest up." I agreed and decided to work on the computer for a bit while she slept. I wasn't feeling all that great myself and had been pumping myself full of cough drops, taking the extra strength mucinex twice a day, vitamin C, and her coughing pearls. After I posted another update, and read some of your updates I decided to get some sightseeing in, or more like sight tasting.

From my bike tour with Kevin the day before I knew that the streets closer to the river were a little more "family friendly". So once I crossed Canal Street, I turned right down to Decatur. As I approached Decatur I got a text saying that the Family Room door was left ajar. I pictured all my little kitties scampering on the back lawn, scared to death by the busy traffic noises on the busy street on the other side of the 14ft high walls.

I called Jim and he was actually sitting at the bistro table that is right outside the door.  He hadn't closed the door all the way so the sensor registered it as open. Phew! Easy fix!

As conversations with Jim go, it was somewhat long and I finally sat down on some steps to finish our chat. It also gave my legs a nice little break.

I had wanted to travel light so I didn't bring my purse. Just my phone, the P&S camera, some cash and my Disney wallet. It's a small wallet with two pockets, enough for my pass, ID, credit card and a gift card. We had one of those laminated maps of the city and I took a picture of the region where I was headed so that I could consult it on the way without having to carry the big fold out map.

On my way to my first destination I found a shop advertising cooking classes and I took a brochure so I could be sure and schedule one of those for our makeup visit. And just a little farther up the same block was my first stop, Pat O'Briens.  I didn't need no fancy souvenir glass, I just wanted a Hurricane from the place from whence the came.













Boy this bad boy had some alkeyhaul in there! I was only about one third through the drink when I could feel it hit me! Just about the time when I was finishing my drink it started to drizzle so I headed out and onwards to my next destination. 





I was in search of the fried pillowy goodness that is Beignets. Fran had told me that if I wanted I was welcome to bring her back some. There were two lines and at first I got in the wrong one. I didn't want to be seated at a table.









I wanted ToGo. So I found that line and called up my buddy Kevin to see if he was available to take me back to the hotel. He was all too eager and said he'd meet me there. The line was about 20 minutes long.





Finally I was getting my Beignets. They come in bags of three and I don't know what I was as thinking I got four bags or a dozen total. 





As I walked towards the street.  I grabbed one out of the the bag and ate it right away. Kevin was waiting for me, and completely understood my lack of patience. It was a quick trip back to the hotel and when I reached to room the Beignets were still warm.

Fran ate her sack of three. I'm not sure if I ate three or not, but I think that was not the best choice for lunch.  

Since this was our last full day, I started to pack up some of the clothes I was sure we wouldn't need. I made Fran pick out her outfit for dinner and the next day and much of the remaining clothes went in the suitcases. I decided to take a power nap for about 45 minutes, but I didn’t get any sleep and got up to work on the TR on the computer. Now that I was back on the land of WiFi I wanted to get as much prewritten as possible. “We'll see if this post comes close to going up before I leave for WDW!”  FYI I'm writing this on the plane home and a month from the day this was written I'll already be on my 3rd day at Disney!

Eventually we got all gussied up and headed down to catch a cab. Antoine's was not nearly as far as Commander's Palace, but still far enough that Fran wouldn't want to walk it.

We were seated promptly and the dining room wasn't busy at all. We probably didn't need a reservation, but I always feel better when I have one. The Menu































 





Evidently wrapping the bread in a napkin is a thing here.





The Oysters Rockefeller were a must do! These were a little bit spicy but were definitely excellent. 





I loved how they gave you this little card to tell you which serving number of this dish you were eating. 





We also got the onion soup. It was divine.





We got a crabmeat gratin. At least I finally got one.





This is where I was wondering if the Beignets for lunch was such a good idea. I was feeling a tad bit queasy, but after two nights in the hotel room, Fran had a second wind. She ordered these puffed up French fries which were really good even with the queasy tummy. 





And then she ordered a spider AKA the deep fried soft shell crab.  I took a small bite, but it was too much for me. She ate hers and half of mine!





The table next to us ordered cherries jubilee which is flambeed tableside. He made quite a presentation flaming up the table in addition to the dessert itself.













It's funny how things work out. While I couldn't eat any more dinner, when it came to dessert I seemed to have my appetite back! We split the Peach Melba, but somehow I think I ate more than she did. 





We paid the check, but I wanted to get a picture of us. Our waiter was a much older gentleman who even had a hard time hearing our orders and the restaurant was rather quiet. I knew he wouldn't do, but there was a young millenial girl who was doing back up serving and bussing tables. I asked her to take the picture and I think she did a pretty good job. 





We caught a cab back to the hotel. Fran suggested we do a little packing up and I flatly refused. I was too dang tired. Instead I crawled right into bed. I may have woken up a few times in the night for a bio break, but I slept soundly.


New Orleans Day 4


At some point in the morning Fran told me that she thought it was best we just hang around the hotel until time to leave for the airport. I thought this was a good idea because I was fully in sick mode now.  It was probably around 7AM when we had this chat and I didn't want to get out of bed at all. Finally at 9AM I figured I better get the suitcases finished packing so we could check out on time.

We remembered the filter for the big camera and picked that up from the front desk. It barely came out of its case on this part of the trip! Everything was packed by 10:30AM and I just laid on the bed for 20 minutes wallowing in my sickness. My tummy was all torn up from the sinus and cough medicine and I decided while I waited for the plane I would go up to the Vietnamese noodle shop in the food court for some chicken noodle soup.

The bellman promptly took our bags and stored them for the next hour and a half.  Fran wanted to go to the business center and see if she could use their toner to print some stuff she had received via email while we were gone. She had already had me try this on the boat and I knew it wasn't going to work, but I let her try anyways. She always tells me "You're so negative." So I've adopted the philosophy, don't tell her something won't work, just let her figure it out for herself.

I went and got my Pho, it was great, they kept the noodles and veggies separate from the broth so I could add them when I planned to eat it. Plus I didn't have to put in the cilantro and jalapeños which were included. It hit the spot.





I mean Chicken Soup is Chicken Soup no matter what ethnicity!





It also came with a spring roll and I gave that to Fran so she was happy.





Finally it was nearing time for our cab so we went down to the lobby and loaded it up. The trip to the airport was quick and our cab driver got us express baggage service from one of the porters curbside. We completely bypassed the line!

Once inside the terminal they had a special security line for Wheelchairs and there was no line. Of course it takes us forever to get through security as we have two laptops, overshirts, hats, and one carryon and personal item each. They took Fran aside again, but not her bag. I think they wanted to wand her bionic parts.

All put back together again we headed to the gate. We wanted to make sure the scooter was gate checked to LAX and verify our third seat. The porter had only given us two boarding passes. The gate agent gave us the 3rd seat paperwork and even added our Rapid Rewards numbers to our flights! And yes the scooter was covered as far as gate checking.

Next was food. The flight was 4+ hours and as you know Southwest has no meal service. We got a Subway foot long to eat on the plane, some chips and then a hot dog to eat right away.

Boarding was no problem other than we had to remove stuff from Fran's carryon to get it to fit in the bin. And then it was a long relatively boring trip. I typed the last few days of this TR while on the plane.  Fran mostly slept. They gave us some nonperishable snacks and between that and the cough medicine, I wasn't hungry for the sandwich.

We were about 20 minutes late landing. Picking up the car took forever.  We have since vowed to look for a new parking service and while we weren’t thinking enough in advance to do it for the WDW trip, we have made arrangements for the Vancouver trip in July.

The kitties were happy to see us.  In fact the potty cats were so happy when I went into my bathroom, they ran ahead of me with such a fervor, I knew that I was still loved.


Recap


So when we first came home from this trip folks asked me, “Did you enjoy your trip?” and my answer was, “uhhhhhh, grumble, I don’t know.” But as I have recounted this TR I realized that there were lots of great moments.  It was incredibly educational and I had so much fun learning about the river and it’s communities. I would definitely take another trip on this boat, and we are for sure planning a redo of New Orleans and Louisiana!  All in all it was great fun and I consider this trip a sampler so that I can plan a much better trip in the future!


----------



## franandaj

So I started the new TR!!!!!!

Here is the link!

http://www.disboards.com/threads/we-took-the-kids-to-wdw.3510327/

I'm too tired tonight to send out bat signals, so those will happen tomorrow.  If you didn't get one don't be discouraged, it will take me a while to get through them all.


----------



## Malia78

franandaj said:


> But as I have recounted this TR I realized that there were lots of great moments. It was incredibly educational and I had so much fun learning about the river and it’s communities. I would definitely take another trip on this boat, and we are for sure planning a redo of New Orleans and Louisiana! All in all it was great fun and I consider this trip a sampler so that I can plan a much better trip in the future!



Glad that the trip was a success in retrospect--sorry that it had to include fighting sickness towards the end. If you decide to look into sailing the Empress sometime in the future, I'd love to know. Now I'm headed off to mark the new trip report


----------



## ACDSNY

franandaj said:


> Is that because you work at the Poop plant or because its in a seedy part of town?



I haven't been at the Poop plant for over a year, I took a promotion to another department.  Now I'm in a seedy part of town.


----------



## franandaj

Malia78 said:


> Glad that the trip was a success in retrospect--sorry that it had to include fighting sickness towards the end. If you decide to look into sailing the Empress sometime in the future, I'd love to know. Now I'm headed off to mark the new trip report



I'll keep you in mind when we start to consider the Empress, we really enjoyed the boat, and hope to do a similar thing again, but I think we will avoid high spring!



ACDSNY said:


> I haven't been at the Poop plant for over a year, I took a promotion to another department.  Now I'm in a seedy part of town.



I didn't know if the new job took you away from the poop plant or not.  Sorry you are in a seedy part of town now.


----------



## IowaTater

franandaj said:


> And just a little farther up the same block was my first stop, Pat O'Briens. I didn't need no fancy souvenir glass, I just wanted a Hurricane from the place from whence the came.



Oh yeah.  I've heard they are fantastic but pack quite a punch.  



franandaj said:


> The Oysters Rockefeller were a must do! These were a little bit spicy but were definitely excellent.



Those look...interesting....



franandaj said:


> Recap
> 
> 
> So when we first came home from this trip folks asked me, “Did you enjoy your trip?” and my answer was, “uhhhhhh, grumble, I don’t know.” But as I have recounted this TR I realized that there were lots of great moments. It was incredibly educational and I had so much fun learning about the river and it’s communities. I would definitely take another trip on this boat, and we are for sure planning a redo of New Orleans and Louisiana! All in all it was great fun and I consider this trip a sampler so that I can plan a much better trip in the future!



I'm sure your sickness didn't help your initial review of the trip but I'm glad you've had time to review it again. It certainly seems like a lovely trip full of wonderful memories.


----------



## ljcrochet

Glad you had a good time even if it wasn't the trip you had planned.


----------



## dhorner233

Finally! Caught up again!!!!    

So sorry about Olga, I know she was very special 

You did not sell me on New Orleans. I'd rather have the sterilized version in Disneyland. The rat. The smells. The rude girls on the street. I'll stick to Disneyland.

I'm glad overall you enjoyed the trip. Sorry you both ended up getting sick at the end. 

Looking forward to your next trip!!!


----------



## cruisehopeful

Sorry to hear you got so sick. That takes the fun out of a vacation, but it does seem that looking back, you did enjoy some stuff. I'll be spending a few days in NOLA later this year. I'm used to New Orleans Square in DL, so it should be interesting to see the real thing. 

I'll move over to your new trip report. I've been reading your reports since I joined the forum. You seem to always have one going on.


----------



## Leshaface

franandaj said:


> t turns out that pictures are not allowed in any of the buildings in the CBD (Central Business District), and a security guard reprimanded me for it. Well someone should tell the tourists that!



Uh yeah that doesn't make sense



franandaj said:


> It was about this time when Jim called for guidance. For those of you who have cats, you'll know that the sure sign they are ready to go is when they lose their desire to eat. Up until the day we left, she hollered at us when she wanted another "special" can of food, so she went downhill in less than a week. He took her in, the vet called to verify this is what we wanted and shortly thereafter she went to the Rainbow Bridge. We will miss her but she is now in a much better place.



Another 



franandaj said:


>



They did it spot on!



franandaj said:


>



I finally had my first one at Vegas last year.  Actually, two in a row, but the second one with 2 extra shots  The sugar killed me!



franandaj said:


> We saw the Google mobile on our way back to the hotel.



Check Google maps, maybe you'll show up!



franandaj said:


> What a luxury to leave the water running for the whole shower and not have to turn it off when you aren't actively rinsing some kind of soap out of your hair or off your body!



You are awesome at conserving! 



franandaj said:


> "Stitch, why you walkin' so damn slow girl?"
> 
> A girl at the back of the pack said, "She wasn't tawkin' to you."
> 
> And front of the pack girl says, "Oh yes I was!"
> 
> I could almost hear the “snap” in her voice.
> 
> By the way, she didn't refer to me as a loveable mischief making Alien, but instead a word that rhymes with his name.



No way   I'm sorry this happened to you.  



franandaj said:


> I messed around on the computer a bit and even put up a "lost cat" post on this Neighborhood based group I'm a part of. It's similar to Facebook, but instead of your friends, your neighbors are logged on. Besides lost animals and free stuff available, you can find out about why police sirens were blaring in the middle of the night, and crazies and transients who you might want to look out for in the neighborhood.



This is really cool!  How did you find out about this when you moved in?  I think all neighborhoods should have this.  Both my neighbors are cops so if anything is going on on our street, we're one of the first to know which is great



franandaj said:


> I had heard about their 25 cent Martinis







franandaj said:


>



Very pretty and what a cool way to see New Orleans.  Was it a one seater or two?



franandaj said:


> I had struck up a conversation with the couple on the banquette next to me and they agreed the waiter was lousy. Sure enough. Wine finished, no crab dip. So I signaled the waiter, told him to cancel the rest of my food and just bring me the check. Of course this generated all kinds of hubub, first the waiter tried to make it right, but certainly he couldn't do anything. Then the manager came over, gave me his card and told me to talk to him personally when I came back tomorrow and he would take care of me. Maybe, but not if I'm going to Antoine's!



That sucks, you were excited about trying dinner here and it ended up being a total bust!  



franandaj said:


> As I approached Decatur I got a text saying that the Family Room door was left ajar.



Your security system texts you?!  What company do you have??  



franandaj said:


> Boy this bad boy had some alkeyhaul in there!



 Love the way you spelled that!




franandaj said:


> They come in bags of three and I don't know what I was as thinking I got four bags or a dozen total.



Uh, you were totally right in your thinking to get four bags!



franandaj said:


> This is where I was wondering if the Beignets for lunch was such a good idea.



Oh...okay maybe that wasn't smart after all..



franandaj said:


> While I couldn't eat any more dinner, when it came to dessert I seemed to have my appetite back!



Always happens to me too! 



franandaj said:


> I went and got my Pho, it was great, they kept the noodles and veggies separate from the broth so I could add them when I planned to eat it. Plus I didn't have to put in the cilantro and jalapeños which were included. It hit the spot.



There's a great Pho place in Visalia that packages it like this too, so I can add as much or as little of the add ins as I want!



franandaj said:


> So when we first came home from this trip folks asked me, “Did you enjoy your trip?” and my answer was, “uhhhhhh, grumble, I don’t know.” But as I have recounted this TR I realized that there were lots of great moments. It was incredibly educational and I had so much fun learning about the river and it’s communities. I would definitely take another trip on this boat, and we are for sure planning a redo of New Orleans and Louisiana! All in all it was great fun and I consider this trip a sampler so that I can plan a much better trip in the future!



Being sick can totally cast a black cloud over your memories for sure.  That's all I think about on my one trip to DLR when I was supposed to hear your band play and DH and I got terribly sick.  Ugh it was awful but the first day or two was a lot of fun.  But I know there's always redo's for DLR, so I really do hope you get a redo for New Orleans!


----------



## franandaj

IowaTater said:


> Oh yeah. I've heard they are fantastic but pack quite a punch.



Definitely had a punch!



IowaTater said:


> Those look...interesting....



I had already seen the presentation on some Travel Channel food show, so I knew what to expect. All the ingredients are pureed and then put in a piping bag for serving.



IowaTater said:


> I'm sure your sickness didn't help your initial review of the trip but I'm glad you've had time to review it again. It certainly seems like a lovely trip full of wonderful memories.



As I went back and posted the installments from the trip, many put a smile on my face. I was able to fight off the actual sickness until that final day so I really did enjoy quite a bit of it.



ljcrochet said:


> Glad you had a good time even if it wasn't the trip you had planned.



Thanks, all in all it was a good trip!



dhorner233 said:


> Finally! Caught up again!!!!
> 
> So sorry about Olga, I know she was very special



She had it rough for a while now, even before we moved to the new house. Fran had practically put her on a pedastal once she was diagnosed so she didn't want for anything, other than better health.



dhorner233 said:


> You did not sell me on New Orleans. I'd rather have the sterilized version in Disneyland. The rat. The smells. The rude girls on the street. I'll stick to Disneyland.



  You're probably right!  I do have to say that I came back from our WDW trip feeling far more relaxed and rejuvenated than I did from this one!



dhorner233 said:


> I'm glad overall you enjoyed the trip. Sorry you both ended up getting sick at the end.
> 
> Looking forward to your next one!



And I see that you have already signed on over there!



cruisehopeful said:


> Sorry to hear you got so sick. That takes the fun out of a vacation, but it does seem that looking back, you did enjoy some stuff. I'll be spending a few days in NOLA later this year. I'm used to New Orleans Square in DL, so it should be interesting to see the real thing.



Being sick is no fun! Just keep an open mind, New Orleans is not sanitized like New Orleans Square!



cruisehopeful said:


> I'll move over to your new trip report. I've been reading your reports since I joined the forum. You seem to always have one going on.



I'm glad you made it over to the new one. I try to keep one going. It keeps my sanity!



Leshaface said:


> ah that doesn't make sense



I know.  



Leshaface said:


> Another



Thank you 



Leshaface said:


> They did it spot on!



 



Leshaface said:


> I finally had my first one at Vegas last year. Actually, two in a row, but the second one with 2 extra shots The sugar killed me!



Yeah, I'm glad we split it because it was very sweet.



Leshaface said:


> Check Google maps, maybe you'll show up!







Leshaface said:


> You are awesome at conserving!



I try. I mean our landscaping uses up so much water and I just keep hoping we don't have to convert it to desert plants like so many other people are doing.



Leshaface said:


> No way  I'm sorry this happened to you.



Well at least all they did was say stuff and not try to kick my butt or anything!



Leshaface said:


> This is really cool! How did you find out about this when you moved in? I think all neighborhoods should have this. Both my neighbors are cops so if anything is going on on our street, we're one of the first to know which is great



Google "nextdoor tulare". I did and they said there were either 9 or 11 sub neighborhoods, it asked for your address and obviously I don't know it. The homepage said 99,000 cities in the US use it. We're in the Park Estates section, but sometimes we get notices for Los Altos (the area where Target, Big Lots, etc are, near Bellflower and Stearns. Remember where you found us on the side of the road broken down? 



Leshaface said:


> Very pretty and what a cool way to see New Orleans. Was it a one seater or two?



It was a two seater. All of them I saw were.



Leshaface said:


> That sucks, you were excited about trying dinner here and it ended up being a total bust!



I know. After seeing all those pictures of the bread pudding and I never got to try it. 



Leshaface said:


> Your security system texts you?! What company do you have??



Front Point. Yeah it texts and emails me when certain codes disarm it (so I know when the cat sitters arrive). It also warns me when any door is left open longer than 10 minutes. They let you set it all up on the computer online. I had to install all the little devices, but it turned out not to be as big of a deal as I thought it would be when I was looking at the box full of sensors.



Leshaface said:


> Love the way you spelled that!



At least one person appreciated it!



Leshaface said:


> Uh, you were totally right in your thinking to get four bags!



It sounded like a good idea at the time!



Leshaface said:


> Oh...okay maybe that wasn't smart after all..



Yeah I've found sugar without protein is not my friend.



Leshaface said:


> Always happens to me too!



I guess my tummy just needed a small rest.



Leshaface said:


> There's a great Pho place in Visalia that packages it like this too, so I can add as much or as little of the add ins as I want!



This was my first time with "take out" Pho, so I was pleased. I think I might need some more of that! I've been limiting my carbs and sugar for the past week since we got home. I've dropped five of the 10 pounds I gained, but some noodles sure sound good!



Leshaface said:


> Being sick can totally cast a black cloud over your memories for sure. That's all I think about on my one trip to DLR when I was supposed to hear your band play and DH and I got terribly sick. Ugh it was awful but the first day or two was a lot of fun. But I know there's always redo's for DLR, so I really do hope you get a redo for New Orleans!



Ugh. I remember that trip.


----------



## rndmr2

Getting myself caught up on your last few updates. 

So sorry to hear about your Kitty  

Glad you were able to  at least get out some to see some of New Orleans, luckily you ended up with a good tour guide. Glad Fran was finally feeling good enough by the end of the trip to get to dinner, so sorry you ended the trip sick, hope it didn't last too long. 

Thanks for the link to the new TR, heading there next!


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> Usually it my forearm. He bites the hand, but uses his back legs to kick my arm. He doesn't mess around!



He doesn't mess around!



franandaj said:


> Yeah, but then there's that contract you signed which let's you on the boat that says you'll allow them to deduct the tip from your CC on file.



I know, I know...



franandaj said:


> Contract. Fine print.



Yeah, yeah. Still.... <grumble> <grumble>



franandaj said:


> I didn't see any harm in taking pictures of restaurants.  But I'm the kind of person who usually says, "Yes M'am" and does what I'm told.



Usually the best way to go. Unless you really want to argue with someone for the next few minutes.



franandaj said:


> There are consequences when pets/humans get that old and such.



<sigh> yeah.



franandaj said:


> No thanks. I'm sure there was a cover, and I wouldn't have wanted to deal with the kind of folks that were probably in there.



Yes, I suppose there's that, too.
Come to think of it, I probably would've walked in.... and walked right back out. (or run)



franandaj said:


> I think it was on it's was back to the Mothership and not taping.



Darn.



franandaj said:


> One of my favorite drinks in college was a shooter called, "Windex" I can't even remember what was in it. Probably Vodka, Blue Curacao, triple sec....who knows what else.



Possibly real Windex.



franandaj said:


> Yeah, she likes to wander away from the house. And with the Coyotes wandering the neighborhood it's not good for her to be out at night.







franandaj said:


> I had fun with him (good clean fun) and you'll see he makes a repeat appearance.



Cool!



franandaj said:


> I saw on a TV show before we left that the owner (descendent) of Antoine's got married and the husband thought finally he would get the recipe for the dish, but no.







franandaj said:


> I guess. Just wondering what "non traditional jazz" would be.



Rock? 



franandaj said:


> His reputation and cooking ability are what sold me on him. Not his boyish good looks. When he was on The Next Iron Chef, he was my candidate that I was rooting for. His dishes always sounded so tasty. Then when Katrina hit and all the wonderful things that he did for the people who were left without a home. That was the reason I wanted to try one his restaurants.



I figured it was for the food. Interesting about the rest.

Going back to read the update now.


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> I woke up feeling pretty good on this day.



Yay! But... short lived.



franandaj said:


> "Make a suggestion." She says.
> 
> "Dinner at Antoine's?"
> 
> "Can I see the menu?"



Can I see the menu?!?!? 

The proper and only response to that suggestion is "YES!"



franandaj said:


> and her coughing pearls.



Cool! Do you make much money when she coughs up pearls?
And how often does she cough them up?
Like, do you have to carry a bucket around with you?



franandaj said:


> I decided to get some sightseeing in, or more like sight tasting.



That's the best kind.



franandaj said:


> As I approached Decatur I got a text saying that the Family Room door was left ajar. I pictured all my little kitties scampering on the back lawn, scared to death by the busy traffic noises on the busy street on the other side of the 14ft high walls.
> 
> I called Jim and he was actually sitting at the bistro table that is right outside the door. He hadn't closed the door all the way so the sensor registered it as open. Phew! Easy fix!



Glad that's all it was.
Enough cat drama for one trip!



franandaj said:


> We had one of those laminated maps of the city and I took a picture of the region where I was headed so that I could consult it on the way without having to carry the big fold out map.



Good idea.



franandaj said:


> And just a little farther up the same block was my first stop, Pat O'Briens. I didn't need no fancy souvenir glass, I just wanted a Hurricane from the place from whence the came.



 I always say no to those glasses.
They wind up sitting in the cupboard until I finally get fed up and toss them out.



franandaj said:


> Boy this bad boy had some alkeyhaul in there!







franandaj said:


> So I found that line and called up my buddy Kevin to see if he was available to take me back to the hotel. He was all too eager and said he'd meet me there.



Oh! I never would've thought to get his number in the first place.
Smooth move, Alison.



franandaj said:


> Finally I was getting my Beignets. They come in bags of three and I don't know what I was as thinking I got four bags or a dozen total.



 You'll certainly get your fill!



franandaj said:


> I'm not sure if I ate three or not, but I think that was not the best choice for lunch.



Well... I've read the rest, so I know the answer.
But otherwise I'd have said "Of course it was the best choice."



franandaj said:


> We were seated promptly and the dining room wasn't busy at all. We probably didn't need a reservation, but I always feel better when I have one.







franandaj said:


> Evidently wrapping the bread in a napkin is a thing here.



They're shy. It's to keep them happy.


Until you tear them open and devour them, of course.



franandaj said:


> The Oysters Rockefeller were a must do! These were a little bit spicy but were definitely excellent.



Good! I was worried there for a second.
I've only had them once... and that was over 25 years ago.
Never found them since.

But I do remember thoroughly enjoying them. 



franandaj said:


> We also got the onion soup. It was divine.



Wow. That looks amazing.



franandaj said:


> This is where I was wondering if the Beignets for lunch was such a good idea. I was feeling a tad bit queasy,



That totally sucks. You finally get to Antoine's and you feel queasy.
So not fair.



franandaj said:


> And then she ordered a spider AKA the deep fried soft shell crab.



What the heck is that?!?
I mean... okay. Deep fried crab... but...
They take all the meat out and deep fry it? How does it stay together?
They don't deep fry the exoskeleton do they? What would be the point?



franandaj said:


> The table next to us ordered cherries jubilee which is flambeed tableside. He made quite a presentation flaming up the table in addition to the dessert itself.



 Whoops!



franandaj said:


> I asked her to take the picture and I think she did a pretty good job.







franandaj said:


> At some point in the morning Fran told me that she thought it was best we just hang around the hotel until time to leave for the airport. I thought this was a good idea because I was fully in sick mode now.



Oh, no. Sorry to hear that.



franandaj said:


> I just laid on the bed for 20 minutes wallowing in my sickness.



Aw. Poor Alison.



franandaj said:


> She always tells me "You're so negative." So I've adopted the philosophy, don't tell her something won't work, just let her figure it out for herself.







franandaj said:


> I mean Chicken Soup is Chicken Soup no matter what ethnicity!



Yep. Same base recipe. Otherwise it's not Chicken Soup.



franandaj said:


> our cab driver got us express baggage service from one of the porters curbside. We completely bypassed the line!



Nice!



franandaj said:


> The flight was 4+ hours and as you know Southwest has no meal service.



Does any airline do that anymore?



franandaj said:


> The kitties were happy to see us. In fact the potty cats were so happy when I went into my bathroom, they ran ahead of me with such a fervor, I knew that I was still loved.







franandaj said:


> So when we first came home from this trip folks asked me, “Did you enjoy your trip?” and my answer was, “uhhhhhh, grumble, I don’t know.” But as I have recounted this TR I realized that there were lots of great moments. It was incredibly educational and I had so much fun learning about the river and it’s communities. I would definitely take another trip on this boat, and we are for sure planning a redo of New Orleans and Louisiana! All in all it was great fun and I consider this trip a sampler so that I can plan a much better trip in the future!



Sorry for all the ailments, but I for one really enjoyed this TR.
I saw some things I'd never seen and learned things I never knew.
Thanks, Alison!


----------



## PrincessInOz

Beignets!!! YUM.  I wish I could get some here.  

And yes, chicken soup is always welcomed when I feel sick....irrespective of what ethnicity it comes from.


I think the reason why I love writing TRs is that I get to finally sit and think over the trip.  I always find that reliving the pictures and activities puts things in perspective and I can rationally work it if it was a good trip or not.  Glad you figured that this was a good trip in the end.  It certainly was very enjoyable from where I was sitting.


Thanks for sharing.


----------



## jedijill

Ugh, getting sick on vacation stinks.  Sorry it put a damper on the end of your trip.  You really do need a make up trip to NO!  I need to go back there now that I appreciate the food.  That hurricane looks mighty tasty!  I need to compare it to the one in the Club. 

Jill in CO


----------



## franandaj

rndmr2 said:


> Getting myself caught up on your last few updates.
> 
> So sorry to hear about your Kitty



Thank you for your condolences.



rndmr2 said:


> Glad you were able to at least get out some to see some of New Orleans, luckily you ended up with a good tour guide. Glad Fran was finally feeling good enough by the end of the trip to get to dinner, so sorry you ended the trip sick, hope it didn't last too long.



Unfortunately it lasted for almost two weeks after we got home.



rndmr2 said:


> Thanks for the link to the new TR, heading there next!



See ya there!



pkondz said:


> Usually the best way to go. Unless you really want to argue with someone for the next few minutes.



I really don't like arguing period.



pkondz said:


> Yes, I suppose there's that, too.
> Come to think of it, I probably would've walked in.... and walked right back out. (or run)



I couldn't even consider it if I was even curious.  Fran would kill me!!!!!!!



pkondz said:


> Possibly real Windex.



Nope.  I'm pretty sure that it tasted better than Windex.



pkondz said:


> I figured it was for the food. Interesting about the rest.



He has like seven restaurants, some even in other parts of the country, so I haven't given up hope yet.


----------



## franandaj

pkondz said:


> Yay! But... short lived.



Yeah, cause the actual cold lingered for at least two weeks.



pkondz said:


> Can I see the menu?!?!?
> 
> The proper and only response to that suggestion is "YES!"



Well, yeah, but she forgot that she already liked the idea of eating here.



pkondz said:


> Cool! Do you make much money when she coughs up pearls?
> And how often does she cough them up?
> Like, do you have to carry a bucket around with you?



Somehow, I don't think these would be all that valuable, nor could they be easily strung into a necklace.







pkondz said:


> Glad that's all it was.
> Enough cat drama for one trip!



Totally!  At least no one was locked in the garage for the week!



pkondz said:


> I always say no to those glasses.
> They wind up sitting in the cupboard until I finally get fed up and toss them out.



We never get them either.  Unless they are Tiki glasses, then we put them in our Tiki glass collection.



pkondz said:


> Oh! I never would've thought to get his number in the first place.
> Smooth move, Alison.



Actually after our tour, he gave me his card in case I needed a ride later in the trip.  He was a good marketer!



pkondz said:


> Well... I've read the rest, so I know the answer.
> But otherwise I'd have said "Of course it was the best choice."



Yeah, well this should have been my first inkling that sugar+caffiene=bad combination for Alison.



pkondz said:


> They're shy. It's to keep them happy.
> 
> 
> Until you tear them open and devour them, of course.



Oh, that's it huh?



pkondz said:


> Good! I was worried there for a second.
> I've only had them once... and that was over 25 years ago.
> Never found them since.
> 
> But I do remember thoroughly enjoying them.



I had some in Texas almost 20 years ago, and they were completely different.  Since then I generally eat my oysters raw.



pkondz said:


> Wow. That looks amazing.
> 
> That totally sucks. You finally get to Antoine's and you feel queasy.
> So not fair.



Yeah, that whole sugar+caffeine thing.  Comes up (literally) in the next TR.



pkondz said:


> What the heck is that?!?
> I mean... okay. Deep fried crab... but...
> They take all the meat out and deep fry it? How does it stay together?
> They don't deep fry the exoskeleton do they? What would be the point?



According to Wikipedia...

*Soft-shell crab* is a culinary term for crabs which have recently molted their old exoskeleton and are still soft.[1] Soft-shells are removed from the water as soon as they molt to prevent any hardening of their shell. [2]This means that almost the entire animal can be eaten, rather than having to shell the animal to reach the meat.[3] The exceptions are the mouthparts, the gills and the abdomen, which must be discarded.[4] The remaining, edible part of the crab is typically deep fried or sautéed.[3]

We normally order them as a spider roll at a Japanese restaurant.  It's one of the kinds of sushi Fran can eat since it's cooked.







pkondz said:


> Oh, no. Sorry to hear that.
> 
> Aw. Poor Alison.



Sniff. Sniff.  A--CHOOOOOOO



pkondz said:


> Yep. Same base recipe. Otherwise it's not Chicken Soup.



Hits the spot though!



pkondz said:


> Does any airline do that anymore?



Well when we fly American, we fly first class on miles and they feed us.  I heard that you can buy food in the main cabin for like $10 for a sandwich.



pkondz said:


> Sorry for all the ailments, but I for one really enjoyed this TR.
> I saw some things I'd never seen and learned things I never knew.
> Thanks, Alison!



Well I'm glad you enjoyed it!  I like reliving it through the TR because then I realize that the trip was usually better than I thought it was.



PrincessInOz said:


> Beignets!!! YUM. I wish I could get some here.



You don't have anywhere down under that sells them?  At least I know of two locations about 25 minutes away where I can get them.    And there aren't any rats, or rude girls!



PrincessInOz said:


> And yes, chicken soup is always welcomed when I feel sick....irrespective of what ethnicity it comes from.



I hope that I don't "need" any for a while.



PrincessInOz said:


> I think the reason why I love writing TRs is that I get to finally sit and think over the trip. I always find that reliving the pictures and activities puts things in perspective and I can rationally work it if it was a good trip or not. Glad you figured that this was a good trip in the end. It certainly was very enjoyable from where I was sitting.



I think I said the exact same thing above.  Works out well that way!



jedijill said:


> Ugh, getting sick on vacation stinks.  Sorry it put a damper on the end of your trip.  You really do need a make up trip to NO!  I need to go back there now that I appreciate the food.  That hurricane looks mighty tasty!  I need to compare it to the one in the Club.
> 
> Jill in CO



I was thinking the same thing about the Hurricane.  Definitely need a trip back there.  But first we need to get #1 all cleared out.


----------



## pkondz

franandaj said:


> I really don't like arguing period.


 
Oh, yes you do!



franandaj said:


> I couldn't even consider it if I was even curious. Fran would kill me!!!!!!!


 




franandaj said:


> Nope. I'm pretty sure that it tasted better than Windex.


 
How can you be sure? Hmmmmm?



franandaj said:


> Somehow, I don't think these would be all that valuable, nor could they be easily strung into a necklace.


 
Darn.



franandaj said:


> I had some in Texas almost 20 years ago, and they were completely different. Since then I generally eat my oysters raw.


 
I rarely eat them. I don't mind one or two, but that's about it.



franandaj said:


> Yeah, that whole sugar+caffeine thing. Comes up (literally) in the next TR.


 
Oh dear.



franandaj said:


> According to Wikipedia...
> 
> *Soft-shell crab* is a culinary term for crabs which have recently molted their old exoskeleton and are still soft.[1] Soft-shells are removed from the water as soon as they molt to prevent any hardening of their shell. [2]This means that almost the entire animal can be eaten, rather than having to shell the animal to reach the meat.[3] The exceptions are the mouthparts, the gills and the abdomen, which must be discarded.[4] The remaining, edible part of the crab is typically deep fried or sautéed.[3]
> 
> We normally order them as a spider roll at a Japanese restaurant. It's one of the kinds of sushi Fran can eat since it's cooked.


 
Huh. I'll be darned.



franandaj said:


> Well when we fly American, we fly first class on miles and they feed us. I heard that you can buy food in the main cabin for like $10 for a sandwich.


 
Oh, sure. That I get.


----------



## Pinkocto

I'm so sorry about Olga, she was such a sweet kitty. 

What a fabulous trip otherwise, thank you for sharing. Such a bummer you both didn't feel well towards the end though. 

I'm sorry you encountered those nasty rude girls. 

Boo on that bad server and you having to cut dinner short with not so tasty oysters. 

Glad that Fran felt up to that last dinner, that looked amazing! 

Thanks again for sharing


----------



## dolphingirl47

franandaj said:


> After I started my laundry, I came back to the room to take some shots of the sun setting.



What a lovely sunset.



franandaj said:


> I hate it that we get to the stops so quickly. Half the fun is cruising on the river.



I feel much the same way on ocean going cruises.



franandaj said:


> For starters I had the mushroom crepe. Delicious!



That looks delicious.



franandaj said:


> For Desserts they had an Amaretto Bread Pudding and there was no way I could resist that!



I could not have resisted this either.



franandaj said:


> It was nice the way she nonchalantly talked about her son bringing his husband along. I was afraid prior to the trip how people in this age range were going to treat us. Mostly everyone was either very kind or indifferent.



I am glad that people were easy-going and did not give you any grief. 



franandaj said:


> I had and couple bites of her croque Madame.



That looks very nice.

What a shame that so much was closed. The museum looks fascinating.



franandaj said:


> We both bought in with a large bill and within 15-20 minutes we were walking out without our money.



Bad luck.



franandaj said:


> Did I mention it was raining, quite a bit?



What a shame.



franandaj said:


> One of our tablemates came back to the table with a plate of fresh pasta, when I asked where he found that, he said that the omelet bar location was making pasta to order. I knew exactly what my lunch was going to be!



Made to order pasta is a real treat. I indulged quite a bit on our recent cruise.



franandaj said:


> As we were leaving there was eerie fog on the river, it was kind of cool.



I love those photos.



franandaj said:


> When I got back to the room, Fran asked if I would be upset at her if she skipped dinner. She wasn't feeling good at all and had no desire to eat.



What a shame that Fran was poorly and that you both ended up being sick.



franandaj said:


> Breakfast was served from 6:00-8:00AM, we had to vacate the room by 8:00AM and be completely off the boat by 8:45AM.



That seems so early.



franandaj said:


> It was rather long, but the gist was that one of our cats, Samantha, had gone out Sunday morning and didn't come home.



Oh no.



franandaj said:


> We had called ahead to the hotel before we left our stateroom and the room was ready, so check in was easy and soon we were in our new home for the next three nights.



I am glad that the process was smooth.



franandaj said:


> It turns out that pictures are not allowed in any of the buildings in the CBD (Central Business District), and a security guard reprimanded me for it.



How very strange.



franandaj said:


> Up until the day we left, she hollered at us when she wanted another "special" can of food, so she went downhill in less than a week. He took her in, the vet called to verify this is what we wanted and shortly thereafter she went to the Rainbow Bridge. We will miss her but she is now in a much better place.



I am so sorry about Olga.



franandaj said:


>



That does look rather familiar.



franandaj said:


> This is about when I thought the entire time in New Orleans was shot to heck. I'll give you a spoiler as some of you have heard a few tidbits by now, but it wasn't entirely ruined, it just didn't turn out how I planned. But in the next few hours it seemed all was lost.



I am glad that you managed to salvage some of the stay. What a shame that Luke's turned out to be a disappointment.



franandaj said:


> I had heard about their 25 cent Martinis, and definitely was up for that.



I would have been all over this.



franandaj said:


> It seemed Samantha finally saw fit to come home.



I am glad that she is OK. I kind of bonded with her when I visited last year.

Thanks for sharing.

Corinna


----------

