From no trip to celebrating 20 years together… planning it all in less than 100 days! LIVE UPDATE 3/10 About This Page:

[SuperDave]

Your dining plans are looking great! Glad you were able to secure all of these ADRs. Everything looks so detailed with your plans as is always the case! I thought I was detailed with my plans but you certainly have me beat! That was a funny story about Winnie the Pooh at AP!

Thanks for the tip at Sea World for dining!

[chezp]

Originally Posted by pamcarey

My first Disney cruise was on the Wonder. I can't wait to see all of the changes!

Ours too actually! We did a three night on her all the way back in 2004.

[chezp]

Originally Posted by SuperDave

Thanks for the tip at Sea World for dining!

No worries - if you try it, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

[Cam22]

I'll enjoy reading your reviews of the new stuff and changes to the Wonder. Our first cruise was on the Wonder, and I was very happy that it got some upgrades.

[cubfancolleen]

I'll be looking forward to hearing about the Wonder updates. Our last time on the Wonder was Alaska in 2015.
Our next cruise finally puts me at Platinum, too! The gold perks are nice, but I can't wait to be Platinum!!

[chezp]

Originally Posted by cubfancolleen

I'll be looking forward to hearing about the Wonder updates. Our last time on the Wonder was Alaska in 2015.

Us too!

Our next cruise finally puts me at Platinum, too! The gold perks are nice, but I can't wait to be Platinum!!

Same here....

[chezp]

Pre-trip report – part fifteen: time to do deliciously little!

Monday 6 – Wednesday 8 March

So what do we have planned for our cruise? Deliciously little actually! Apart from our brunch at Palo, there’s nothing definite on the cards. We’ll play it by ear when we get on board, and see what takes our fancy on the daily Navigator. That’s the beauty of the cruises. They allow you to slow down and take it a bit easier, something we’re always very grateful for after a busy time in the parks.

Because I’m an uber planner, I would like to have a bit more of a clue as to what’s going to be happening during our cruise, but I’ve not been able to find any Personal Navigators online to give me a call. I see there is a Disney Cruise Line app, and while I’m tempted to download it, let’s not go there. Let’s just say my phone is next to useless… It was a great deal, another Samsung, and I was very happy with my previous two from them, but this one comes with very little memory. It is constantly screaming for upgrades, and never has the space for them, so I daren’t download anything more. Ugh!

Eventually, our time on board the Wonder will come to an end, and we’ll be heading back on shore after four delightful nights away at sea. It’s always really sad when cruises finish, but at least we have one final night back on Disney property again.

Thursday 9 March

After we get off the Wonder, we’ll make our way back and check into the Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas at Jambo House. Oddly enough, this was the hardest part of the vacation to plan. Part of me wanted to go to Animal Kingdom, as obviously we’d be staying nearby, but when it came to booking Fastpasses, it was immediately clear where we needed them for – Epcot. I tend to find that I struggle to use up the three Fastpasses at both Animal Kingdom and the Studios. If you think about it, some of the things we love to do at Animal Kingdom are not Fastpass attractions – think the animal trails, and outside of the safari, there’s very little else that wows us there. However, as Epcot has the dreaded tier one system means that was the park I ended up going back to.

I really do not like the tier one system at all. I get completely why Disney do it, but if anything I could understand them doing it at all the parks, that’s the first point, and secondly, I could understand it if the tier one choices made more sense. I completely get Test Track, Soarin’ and Frozen Ever After, but IllumiNations? I just don’t think that’s a tier one, and of course if you go for it, you can’t get any of the others. Anyway…

I ended up going for a Spaceship Earth Fastpass, as we hadn’t got one of those yet, and another for Turtle Talk with Crush, as that’s always good fun. Our final choice was for Test Track, as I hadn’t got a Fastpass for that, so that seemed like a good plan…

If we’re hungry, we can always snack around the Flower and Garden Festival booths again.

We’re then going to head off to Disney Springs, as we’re meeting up with our friend Jenny (Jenny Pooh), who we last saw a couple of years ago at the Merrimack Outlets. We’re going to the Coca Cola Rooftop Beverage Bar, which sounds like a lot of fun. We wanted to get over there on our last trip, but it was just too darned hot. Hopefully that won’t be a problem this time around…

Linda (lindawdw on the boards) got in touch to ask about our dates, and it turned out they overlapped with ours for the final two days when we get back to Disney after the cruise. We chatted and, as at that point, we’d literally only had plans for dinner at Boma, I suggested she join us. I’d already checked to see if they could accommodate a bigger group, and when Linda came back and agreed, I went ahead and cancelled our existing reservation for two, and changed it up to four. Sorted!

I am so pleased we’ll get to enjoy a meal with her, as we’ve met a couple of times before, but as she said, each time we’ve been rushing off to do something else, and have barely been able to spend any time with each other, which is such a shame. This time, we’ll be able to chat away over dinner, and not have that problem, which will be a lovely change.

You’ll discover later in this trip report that there have been some unscheduled changes to this day, but this is how it was planned at the time I wrote this.

Friday 10 March

This is our final day but we’re going to make the best of it, as our flight back is a red eye, as they usually are to the UK. I have booked a Fastpass for Soarin’, just in case we want to go back there again.

We’ll have to head over to Disney Springs, as that’s where our luggage check-in is, from 8:15am – 1:00pm, right outside Cirque du Soleil. It is such a convenient service, and well worth the $10 charge you pay for it. You just drop your luggage, and that’s the last you see of it until you (hopefully!) return to the UK. Then you just go to the airport, with your boarding pass, clear security, and that’s it.

We’ll aim for the latter part of the luggage drop-off, because that’s when we have lunch booked. I decided to give the new look Planet Hollywood Observatory a go. We haven’t eaten there for probably about 15 years, and I certainly don’t expect a lot from the food, but the new look to it making it into an observatory sounds like fun, and I want to see that. I couldn’t make a booking via the Disney website (sorry to be cynical, but no surprise there then! ) but got one on OpenTable.

Originally, I was going to go to the World Center Marriott for a meal, as I wanted to get some photos of the resort, but honestly, none of the restaurants that were open for lunch there really wowed me. They were also quite pricey, and I just wasn’t convinced it would be worth it. Of course, whether the Planet Hollywood Observatory is worth it also remains to be seen…

I have to say the menu looks a bit different to what I’d expect. The five cheese dip appeals for appetizer, and they have a nice selection of salads, including a Caesar with salmon. Then there’s the shrimp Florentine, six large shrimp with Roma tomato and baby spinach with spaghetti tossed in light citrus butter sauce. The veggie burger they have doesn’t do much for me, but the sesame ginger salmon does, and if I could have the lobster feast fra diavolo without too much of the spicy tomato sauce, then that might work. They have some truly decadent desserts, including their planet meltdown, the brownie sundae martini might work if I’m not too stuffed…

We’ll then head for the airport, ready for our flight homeward bound, and that will be another Disney trip under our belt. That will mean 20 visits for me to Walt Disney World, although I know Mark’s a couple beyond me, due to a solo trip I took a while ago, and the fact I visited once more than him when I was a child. It will also see our first visit to LEGOLAND Florida, our third to Discovery Cove, our fourth or fifth (I’m not entirely sure which ) to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, our sixth or seventh time at SeaWorld, and our 10th cruise with Disney Cruise Line, meaning after this time, we’ll finally be platinum Castaway Club members.

It’s hopefully going to be a very memorable trip, and with any luck, the weather will be a lot more kind to us, and we’ll be able to achieve a lot more than last time. Fingers crossed on that count, as we have a lot to do, so that I can finalise PassPorter’s Everything But The Mouse… I hope you enjoy this research trip, and maybe you’ll even enjoy the final product when it’s available… which should be not too long after we return.

Next: where are our LEGOLAND Florida tickets?

[Poobah7206]

That Disney Cruise Line app is only really good as a countdown before you get on the boat. But once you board, you can access scheduled activities and menus. Nik used that menu part several times to help him decide what he was going to order for dinner. We had less success with the messaging part of the app as it sometimes took a long time for a message to reach it destination, and there was a time when I tried to message my sister from CC and she never got it.

[chezp]

Originally Posted by Poobah7206

That Disney Cruise Line app is only really good as a countdown before you get on the boat.

Well, I'm glad I haven't bothered to get it beforehand then, as it doesn't sound like much help before you board.

But once you board, you can access scheduled activities and menus. Nik used that menu part several times to help him decide what he was going to order for dinner. We had less success with the messaging part of the app as it sometimes took a long time for a message to reach it destination, and there was a time when I tried to message my sister from CC and she never got it.

That's always the problem with messages I find. A friend of mine at work sent me a message, then asked me about it a few days later, as I hadn't replied. We literally sat there and compared phones and you could see she'd sent the message to me, but there was nothing on my phone and this was about a week later.

[disney_duke]

Living on the edge without set plans for the cruise! It's weird for planners like us but sometimes works out for the best.

I agree, those tiers at Epcot stink. Looks like you've made the best of it though!
Haven't heard many good things about planet Hollywood. Good to go in with low expectations.

[SuperDave]

That's funny how you take cruises at a slow pace and just play it by ear. Although, I would like to have a couple of excursions booked as it's good to get off the ship once in a while. I don't like the tier pricing and Illuminations doesn't make sense. The other thing is if you want to book more than three FP+s you won't be able to if you have this one as you have to wait until the third one expires to make additional ones and as this one is at 9 pm.

As far as finding Navigators this might help.

http://disneycruiselineblog.com/personal-navigators/

[pamcarey]

A nice relaxing cruise with few plans sounds great to me!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[chezp]

Originally Posted by disney_duke

Living on the edge without set plans for the cruise! It's weird for planners like us but sometimes works out for the best.

I find it only ever works for the cruise...

I agree, those tiers at Epcot stink. Looks like you've made the best of it though!
Haven't heard many good things about planet Hollywood. Good to go in with low expectations.

That's what I figured. I'm not expecting much, but hopefully we'll be surprised.

[chezp]

Originally Posted by SuperDave

That's funny how you take cruises at a slow pace and just play it by ear. Although, I would like to have a couple of excursions booked as it's good to get off the ship once in a while.

If it's somewhere new, then definitely. I can't imagine staying on board in Alaska either, and if we went back there, I would still get off and try new excursions. However, Nassau just doesn't do much for us and if it's hot at Castaway Cay, then there's just no point, as we'll only have a miserable time.

I don't like the tier pricing and Illuminations doesn't make sense. The other thing is if you want to book more than three FP+s you won't be able to if you have this one as you have to wait until the third one expires to make additional ones and as this one is at 9 pm.

I know - crazy, right?

As far as finding Navigators this might help.

http://disneycruiselineblog.com/personal-navigators/

That's the site I always check out, so when they haven't got anything relevant, you know it's bad.

[DilBrooksmom]

Great trip report! I'm just catching up but super excited to hear about the book! I'm sure it will be great! Your trip is SO close at this point! Have fun!