Living the dream and remembering the Bagman LIVE UPDATE 10/2 About This Page:

[DMA]

Great update! What a good feeling to have all the hotels booked!

[disney_duke]

Fairmont! I think it's more the experience than the value you're looking for when staying there. You'll be happy to have been there at least for one night. Is it worth the value? Well, is Cinderella's Royal Table worth the value in food quality? Ummm, probably not. But it's the experience. And it's totally worth the experience!

Good thing Wimbledon was going on so you could get so much done. And meeting up with Heather too!

[chezp]

Originally Posted by DrDolphin

WOW some great updates! Glad you got all your hotels book. Hampton Inns usually start breakfast at 600am. I've never seen one earlier.

that's the info I needed. That won't be early enough for us, so we'll have to grab something at the airport.

I'm glad that you are getting to see Princess Sharon and Heather as well. I hope that I get to see both of them too.

Hopefully you should be able to see Heather, but Sharon won't be meeting us (as far as I know) on the WDW section of our trip. We have some plans with her (sort of) for other parts...

[chezp]

Originally Posted by NanaTink

I think that's my issue as well. Dave works at the Pentagon but luckily was in Jacksonville, FL that day on a business trip. My metro goes through the Pentagon. I actually catch it at the Pentagon station. Although it didn't stop that day or for months afterwards, you could smell the jet fuel and the charred debris.

Oh my goodness. I had no idea it was like that, although now you say it, it makes sense. How terrible.

[chezp]

Originally Posted by Tara O'Hara

Oh my gosh!! You will the Fairmont!! We stayed there the last time we were in Quebec in 2015. It is fabulous!! . You are getting to see some nice parts of the northeast as well. You'll really enjoy it!!

Oh thanks - that is so good to know! It was a lot of money and I am just hoping it's worth it, but it sounds as if it is.

[chezp]

Originally Posted by DMA

Great update! What a good feeling to have all the hotels booked!

It was a huge relief.

[chezp]

Originally Posted by disney_duke

Fairmont! I think it's more the experience than the value you're looking for when staying there. You'll be happy to have been there at least for one night. Is it worth the value? Well, is Cinderella's Royal Table worth the value in food quality? Ummm, probably not. But it's the experience. And it's totally worth the experience!

That's a good way of putting it...

Good thing Wimbledon was going on so you could get so much done. And meeting up with Heather too!

Love Wimbledon for so many reasons!

[Cam22]

Lots of progress on the plans in this update! Congrats on getting all your hotels booked.

[SuperDave]

Quite a nice update and although there are some special ticketed events for the F&W Fest they are just way to expensive and especially PFTW! How did Disney come up with that top tier price of $329?

Glad you got some more hotels booked for your Canada trip!

[Colexis Mom]

Great job getting all the hotels booked!

[chezp]

Originally Posted by SuperDave

Quite a nice update and although there are some special ticketed events for the F&W Fest they are just way to expensive and especially PFTW! How did Disney come up with that top tier price of $329?

Sadly, I suspect that won't be the last top price they come up with - I would imagine that will rise over the years to come...

Glad you got some more hotels booked for your Canada trip!

[chezp]

Pre-trip report – part twenty eight: can we get into the DVC Member Safari Spectacular?

Tuesday 5 July

I have today forwarded the details of DVC Member Services to my email account at work, as booking opens tomorrow for the DVC Safari Spectacular at Animal Kingdom, and I want to try and get tickets for that. We can call free of charge from the UK, so if I get a chance at work, I will try then, although I have no idea how long the wait times might be. I would say it would be easier to book online, but heck, this is Disney, and goodness me, that would be a thoroughly stupid idea to open bookings online with their history, wouldn’t it?

We have our final hotel booked now for Ottawa. I went for the one I wanted, the Fairmont Chateau Laurier. Yes, like Quebec, we could get somewhere cheaper, but heck, you only live once, and we may never get back to either city in our lifetime, so why not make the most of our stay there?

I’ve also taken the opportunity to book dinners at both Fairmont hotels. They’re not cheap, but both Le Sam at the Fairmont Chateau Le Frontenac and Wilfrid’s Restaurant at the Chateau Laurier are both very well rated on TripAdvisor, and apparently offer great food, and views, so what could be better? I had to book Le Sam when I discovered one of the appetisers there is piglet pie – seriously! Given Mark’s dubious history with Piglet (if you don’t know the story, shout, and I’ll explain it! ) I had to book that, although when I told him, he did say to me “you do realise I probably won’t have it?” Such a disappointment…

I also booked an early dinner at the Skylon Tower at their revolving dining room overlooking Niagara Falls. I was very pleased and a bit surprised to get an early dinner time, given there are only two – 4:30pm and 5:00pm, both of which were available for our day. It gives you dinner at a cheaper price and, given we need to cross the border and get to Buffalo Airport that night, that works out really well for us.

Wednesday 6 July

Today was All Ears newsletter day, and I was intrigued by the following:

The Coca-Cola Store Orlando opened​ at Disney Springs Town Center on July 2. The store, which is modeled after a 1920s Coca Cola bottling plant, is one of only three retail locations operated by The Coca Cola Company in the United States. It features a broad assortment of Coca-Cola branded merchandise and has a rooftop beverage bar. For the ultimate Coke experience, guests can choose from a variety of Coca Cola brands from around the world, such as Beverly from Italy and Thums Up from India, frozen beverages and more than 100 drink choices via Coca Cola Freestyle machines. A selection of specialty adult beverages is available in the evenings. Beginning in August, guests can share a moment with the famous Coca Cola Polar Bear.

Disney Springs announced recently that a Levi's Store will be opening in Town Center later this summer. The Levi's Store will offer denim for the entire family. In addition, the store will offer a Tailor Shop at the front of the store to allow shoppers to get their favorite shorts, T-shirts, truckers and accessories personalized by a team of craftsmen.

Mark is probably going to be more interested in the Levi’s Store than I am, as I wear Lee jeans, but the Coca Cola Store Orlando sounds like a lot of fun. I like the fact that finally they’re getting some unique stores into Disney Springs. Having been to Disneyland in California, I did not like the way they seemed to be acquiring the same stores as they have there. I don’t like it when parks start cloning each other. I go to different parks for a different experience, and hopefully that’s what we’re going to find in Disney Springs.

Today, as you already know from my comments yesterday, was the big day to see if we could get into the DVC Member Safari Spectacular on the Thursday we’re there. I was on the phone at 1:30pm our time (8:30am Eastern Standard Time) only to discover Member Services didn’t open until 9:00am. I tried after that time… and I tried… and I tried again…

I constantly got an engaged tone every time I tried at work, which was a real pain. In the end, after an hour or so, I gave up. I wasn’t feeling great (still fighting a sinus infection from a couple of weeks ago ) so I headed home early and, as soon as I got home, I tried again, and got a ringing tone. Well, that’s an improvement… :roleyes2:

I also discovered that it wasn’t just the number for DVC events, as I first thought. I think it was the standard WDW travel booking number, as that seemed to be the message I got. All I can say is thank goodness we have free international calls through Member Services, as I was on hold for about 10 minutes before I finally spoke to someone. I asked her about the date, and she said she’d check. I held my breath – surely it couldn’t be full already?

Thankfully, it wasn’t, and she quickly gave me my confirmation number. I was so glad we’d got in! She went through her spiel and part of it was that the event started at 9:30pm, and we should be there 15 minutes before the start time. I’m sorry?

I stopped her there and explained we’d be watching IllumiNations with a large group of friends, as we’d be commemorating our friend, who’d been killed in the line of duty a year earlier, and she immediately went off to make some enquiries. Thankfully, she came back and told us that we could indeed turn up at any time. Phew!

I had some more disturbing news when an email turned up, saying that our existing American cell phone would cease to work from 31 August. Just what I need! Apparently, it’s because their supplier is changing terms. However, at least we can get a SIM card for just $9 and then you pay as you go, which gives you a US phone number, which is the most important thing for us. I just need to try and find out how much shipping is, as I suspect that will cost a lot more than the initial cost.

Thursday 7 July

Well, it now looks as if there could be quite a big group of us going to the Safari Spectacular. I did mention this a couple of months ago on the Facebook group, and no-one seemed interested, so I figured it would just be us and a couple of other people going, but as of today the list has got exceptionally long. Sue (rescuesk) posted that she’d got entry for a number of guests, and those were all snapped up within minutes, then Barb (Grammy Grumpy) posted she’d got some as well, so hopefully everyone who wants to go can now be accommodated. I’m really pleased more people are going to be going, as to me, this is a good group event. I figured it would be a shame if we were about the only ones there, but now there’ll be a fair few of us.

I found this on the boards this evening:

"Self-Serve" PhotoPass? Disney is testing a new PhotoPass option in the Magic Kingdom. Stationary Cameras are in place and focused - all the guest needs to do is activate the camera using their MagicBand. The photos can then be viewed on the PhotoPass site. Currently a camera is set up near the Tangled restroom area and Cast Members are available to help guests with the system. Rumor has it the camera will be moved to the Sword in the Stone set-up behind Cinderella Castle.

Now I have to confess I did double check to see whether or not it was April Fool’s Day, as it does sound a bit surreal, but I guess it’s true. Hmmm…. Maybe worth checking out in September?

Friday 8 July

We woke up this morning to the horrendous news about the shootings in Dallas, and when I left for work, four police officers were dead. Sadly, that total rose to five later on. I think, probably like everyone else, we were just shocked and in complete disbelief. My thoughts immediately went to Bill naturally, and it brought back all the memories of exactly what it was like when we learnt of his tragic death. I still remember clearly where we were, and I don’t think that moment will ever leave me.

I don’t remember if I’ve mentioned this before, and forgive me if I have, but over here, any police officer who is killed in the line (as opposed to dies from a heart attack, cancer etc.) is the top story often for days on end, as it’s just so rare. I believe the last one was a police officer mown down by a car. I was going to going to say sometime late last year, then I checked it on Wikipedia and that’s about right – October 2015. According to them, 12 police officers have been killed in the line of duty in the last decade. Of those, three died in car crashes while they were working, two collapsed either while pursuing or after pursuing suspects, while the other seven were either shot (four), stabbed (one), or run over (two). Therefore, the thought of losing five officers in one incident through shootings is just completely alien to me. My thoughts are with all their families and friends.

On a much happier note, I saw one of my friends had posted photos from Quebec Old City, and I was able to post and say we’d be there in just over two months’ time! Oh my goodness, that is going to be here before we know it!

I also asked on the boards about Frozen Ever After Fastpasses, as given how popular the ride is, I didn’t know whether I’d have to be online as soon as they became available, or whether I could afford to wait a while. With the time difference, they’re available midway through the day, which means trying to deal with it while at work, which isn’t exactly easy. Fortunately, the general consensus is that you can wait until later in the day. Phew!

Next: what’s a popover?

[Poobah7206]

I look forward to reading about all these dining adventures and the Safari Spectacular.

[disney_duke]

We stopped inside the Fairmont in Ottawa to use the facilities. It's another gorgeous hotel in a perfect location! Good choice.

That's great that more people will be on the safari too. The more the merrier!

Glad you enjoyed the few Quebec photos! Can't wait to see yours soon!

[Tara O'Hara]

Cheryl, we've also been to the Skylon Tower for a fabulous meal!!! And the views!!!!! Oh my goodness what a great choice!

The Safari Spectacular looks wonderful!! It's so nice that lots of people are attending now!! I can't wait to hear all about it!!