Some people ARE worth melting for ….. 40 Disney days – the trip of a lifetime updated October 10

[dizneeat]

Welcome back! I have missed you here. I'm excited to start reading about your LOOONG trip, especially your Disneyland leg! It looked on FB like you really enjoyed our "original" happiest place. So many DIS meets makes it extra special, I'm sure.

to my new TR, Tammie!
I have missed the DISboards too, but I guess you know that sometimes life interferes with our desire to share our adventures here.
We had such a great trip and met so many wonderful people and felt like we had known them forever. It made our trip extra special.

Wow! This sounds like an amazing trip. I definitely want to hear all about it.

It was a long planned and very much looked forward to trip. Great to have you here, following along.

Wow, it sounds like it was an AMAZING trip!! Definitely a dream come true

Can't wait to read more!!!

It was a great trip. Not the longest we have ever taken, but so fun as it was a complete Disney trip. Even in LV we headed to a Disney store.

wow! reading this will definitely hold me over until i go back to florida NEXT november! can't wait to hear about it all

I hope you will enjoy reading about our adventures as much as we loved experiencing them. November should be so much fun to go to Disney. Wish we could do that too.

Following along.

Great to have you!

 

[dizneeat]

Day 1, August 03

Here we go again! - Part 2

There was not much that really interested me, so I went with a rerun of season 6 of Downton Abbey.

About 10 minutes into the first episode they were handing out hot-cold towels and soon after lunch was served. We both opted for the same main and were handed our trays.
Both of us ordered white wine to go with lunch. And then it was time to dig in.

We started with a

Seasonal Salad with Cherry Tomato accompanied by

Italian Dressing, which was very nice and refreshing. Main course was a

Roasted Chicken Breast on Cream Sauce served with Leaf Spinach in Garlic Cream and fried Potatoes. It was surprisingly tasty, even though the chicken was rather dry, but if eaten with the creamed spinach it was pretty good. There was a nice warm

roll with butter and young

Camembert and for dessert there was a

Crumbly Apple Cake. Once lunch was over

and after dinner spirits were served there were customs declarations to be filled out and then I went to work on the trip report. And low and behold I was able to write quite a bit before Tom tempted me with watching a bit of Gordon Ramsay.

Hours tricked by

and then it was time for dinner. It is always a good time when on board dinner rolls around as it means we are close to our destination.
Flight attendants started handing out hot and cold cloth towels and then they came through with their carts serving dinner.

We both decided on the same dish,

Grilled Chicken Breast with Barbecue Sauce accompanied by Pumpkin Stew and Corn Mash. It was served with a warm crusty

dinner roll and some butter and for dessert we were served

Fruit Salad with dried Lingonberries. We both had some Coke with it and we were so impressed by the food that I even forgot to take a photo before we started to dig in. Dinner done, there was about an hour and a half of flight time, we had made up on the delay we had had when leaving Frankfurt and we both started to really realize that this vacation had now officially started.


To be continued ....
​

 

[franandaj]

Sounds like a nice calm travel day (with the exception of the missed taxi). Did you get any sleep on the plane?

 

[dizneeat]

Day 1, August 03

Here we go again! - Part 3

Dinner done, there was about an hour and a half of flight time, we had made up on the delay we had had when leaving Frankfurt and we both started to really realize that this vacation had now officially started.
An hour later we touched down at MCO

and rolled to our gate. We could see the BA and Virgin Atlantic planes and were hoping that they had arrived quite some time earlier so we would not end up in the queue at immigration. Well, at least we could leave the plane right away, and since our seats had been towards the front of the plane we quickly were on our way to immigration.
Not many people in the hallway or ahead of us until ……..
we turned the corner to immigration.
That room was shock full of people.
Oh well, we’ll get through there in some time. Lines snaked back and forth across the room and slowly we were creaping towards the booths. It had taken us 50 minutes until we got to someone who directed us to the self service machines for immigration and once that was done and some horrible pictures had been taken, we were able to get to an officer and finally had immigration behind us. Our luggage was doing rounds on the carroussel and soon we were in line for customs.
It was a breeze and we were on our way to rental cars.
After our less than fun experience with Budget we had decided to go back to Hertz again and this time we were glad we did, because when we got to that floor we could see quite some lines at most companies, but Hertz had an employee at every spot and we were the first people in line.
And as luck would have it, while I was still digging for my paperwork, one family was sent on their way and we were able to walk over to the desk. We had quite some luggage so the employee tried to get us to upgrade, but once we said we were not interested in an upgrade, he didn’t pressure us any more. Papers were signed, a key was handed over and we were ready to head outside. And we were stunned to see that behind us a long line had formed and we had been very lucky to be there when we had been. So with key in hand we headed towards the exit and were slapped in the face by the hot humid Orlando air. Within a few minutes we were riding up the escalator to the Hertz lot and looking for our car. Didn’t take long and our luggage was loaded into it and Tom fixed the GPS and we were on our way. It had become dark in the meantime, but when the first Walt Disney World billboards came into sight, we finally were sure we were no longer dreaming, our vacation of a lifetime had started.
It took us about 30 minutes until we arrived at our destination, Disney’s Bay Lake Tower.
And we were really lucky as we found an empty parking space really close to the main entrance. So in we went to pick up magic bands and being told our room location. The cast members were so super friendly and with that made me forget that we had not been granted a room on another floor than first. Well, we were only there for three nights and once we found out that it was just a few steps from reception all was good again. I made Tom go in first to find his surprise, a

two tier mini cake for his retirement and it was just the sweet surprise I had imagined it to be. And after we had looked around the room

and found out that we could look out at the pool Tom went to fetch the rest of the luggage, while I waited for the Owner’s Locker to arrive. It didn’t take long and everything was in the room and we were ready to head out and over to the Magic Kingdom again. We were already way inside our FP+ for the Jungle cruise and were sure we would not make it, but we had more FP+ to enjoy. About 10 minutes later we arrived at the Magic Kingdom, went through security, which still had quite a line and headed into the park. And stopped right in town square to see the Main Street Electrical Parade,

which was running. What a start to our vacation. We stood way back but it was fun to see the parade, which is always a favourite of ours. When the Parade had passed, we strolled through the shops and finally made it to the hub. Why not start with a ride on the Peoplemover? We walked over, saw the long line and then noticed that the ride was not moving at all. Soon they began to turn away people and instead of going on a ride we decided to head to Cosmic Ray’s for some dinner. The place was pretty packed, but they had two sides of lines open, so we got in line, studied the menu and waited. And waited. And waited some more. Very very slowly the line crawled up to the register and when only two groups were ahead of us the cast member manning the register let everyone know that his orders did not go through and this was what had held up the line. Would we all walk over to another register, where he was going to open up right away. Boy, you should have seen the stampede of people who literally dashed over to that register, which left the lady in front of us and us right at the end of that line again. Well, the lady spoke up and let the cast member at the register know that we had been next in line at the other register and what was he about to do about it. He was going to do nothing. He just let her know that this is the line that he had found there and it would only take a few minutes. 15 minutes later we were still in line. The lady ahead of us was fuming, Tom and I were too tired to actually be angry about it. Finally it was our turn, we placed our order and walked up to the counter, where we waited another 10 minutes until our order was ready. By then we were already inside the time frame for our second FP+, but we would make it there with time to spare. So we loaded a small plate

with lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and chilis and went to find a table. And I did not even forget to take pictures of our food before we dug in. We had decided on getting the

Barbecued Pork Bacon Cheeseburger with french fries and the

Bacon Deluxe Chicken Sandwich with french fries which we shared. They were both quite good and hit the spot, but we were both amazed by the 38$ price tag. We sat for quite a while before we headed out to ride our first FP+ ride, the

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. When we walked up to the FP entrance we were stunned to see the standby line starting outside the actual ride area, but once we had scanned our magic bands it was kind of a walk on. Great way to start the trip. Once we got off we had about 5 minutes until our next ride, the wildest ride in the wilderness. We very slowly walked past Peter Pan and It’s a Small World, walked through the Haunted Mansion gift shop and then strolled along the water’s edge over to the ride. It was supposed to close during our WDW stay so we had made it a priority to ride it whenever we were at the Magic Kingdom. So we were happy to see the FP line moving quickly, Tom asked for last row and with his wish granted we rode our favourite runaway train. When we got off it was nearly midnight and there were extra magic hours until 2am but there was no way we would make it. So we decided to call it a day and walk towards the exit, but not without trying to ride the Peoplemover. Unfortunately it was still down and we very slowly made our way towards the exit with a lot of other people. Thankfully we did not have to get in line for a bus or the monorail, we just walked over to Bay Lake Tower and after unpacking a few things we were in bed by 1am.


To be continued ....​

 

[dizneeat]

Sounds like a nice calm travel day (with the exception of the missed taxi). Did you get any sleep on the plane?

It worked out pretty well and EVERYTHING went like clockwork. No sleep though - there was too much excitement in the air of what was ahead of us.

 

[heaven2dc]

I saw yesterday that you had started your TR and thought I had joined in but guess I didn't! So good to see another TR from you and Tom - always a fun time! What a long day you both had

 

[amberdc1987]

I cannot wait to hear all about this trip!! It definitely sounds like the trip of a lifetime for sure! Y'all are off to a great start for sure. Keep it coming.

 

[dizneeat]

I saw yesterday that you had started your TR and thought I had joined in but guess I didn't! So good to see another TR from you and Tom - always a fun time! What a long day you both had

You did post on here yesterday. Right on page 1.
It is a long day, given that this day has 30 hours for us, but so worth it if you consider that we had 40 vacation days ahead of us.

I cannot wait to hear all about this trip!! It definitely sounds like the trip of a lifetime for sure! Y'all are off to a great start for sure. Keep it coming.

Lots more to come, literally. It was such an awesome trip. I looked at all the photos we took during the past few days and I still cannot believe this was our vacation. More coming tomorrow - it's getting late here.

 

[monorailsilver]

What a wait for dinner. I would of been making a stink about the line too.

Love, love the People Mover, hope you got to ride it!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

to my new TR, Tammie!
I have missed the DISboards too, but I guess you know that sometimes life interferes with our desire to share our adventures here

You are right! I only have one day left to finish on my TR from last May, and I just can't seem to do it.

 

[Flossbolna]

Wow, you went through that first day of the vacation quickly. And what a day!!

I loved seeing all the little added on luxuries in Premium Economy on Lufthansa. Unfortunately (well, actually it was fortunately) I found such a great deal for my next flight that I cancelled my flight on miles and now am flying real Economy again. But 550€ return was just too good to pass. Especially with Lufthansa charging nearly 400€ in "fees" anyway when you book a flight on miles...

I am in awe how long you kept going at the park!! You were in bed by 7am your time. Crazy!! I don't think I could do that.

 

[dizneeat]

What a wait for dinner. I would of been making a stink about the line too.

We might have reacted differently would we not have been so tired after that travel day.

Love, love the People Mover, hope you got to ride it!

Our favourite ride. And we got to ride it MANY times!

You are right! I only have one day left to finish on my TR from last May, and I just can't seem to do it.

Tell me about it. I still have not finished the "cruise from hell" trip report.

I loved seeing all the little added on luxuries in Premium Economy on Lufthansa. Unfortunately (well, actually it was fortunately) I found such a great deal for my next flight that I cancelled my flight on miles and now am flying real Economy again. But 550€ return was just too good to pass. Especially with Lufthansa charging nearly 400€ in "fees" anyway when you book a flight on miles...

It is very nice to have that extra space and the "little extras", but it does come with a price tag for sure. And I would have taken that 550€ flight as well. What a bargain.

I am in awe how long you kept going at the park!! You were in bed by 7am your time. Crazy!! I don't think I could do that.

The adrenalin kept pumping and we actually wanted to stay for EMHs, which was just not in the cards, but we were pretty happy with our first day.

 

[dizneeat]

Day 2, August 04

An early morning and an early night - Part 1

Even though we had only gone to bed past midnight, our inner clock woke us up early.
So by 6.30 we were wide awake.
We stayed in bed for a little longer watching a little TV, before Tom got up and got some coffee on. We still had the cake,

which we had not cut the day before and it made for a perfect breakfast treat.

We then got ready to head out, trying to make rope drop at the Magic Kingdom, but failed, we only made it to the entrance by 9.15.

No problem in being late, but I did have a problem.
A few days before we had left on the trip I had purchased 2 pairs of new shoes, sandals being one pair and a pair of sneakers being the other. I had a similar pair at home and they were like walking on clouds, soft and you never felt anything. These sneakers had the same feeling when I tried them on in the shop. Now that I had walked the short walk from Bay Lake Tower to the Magic Kingdom I could feel that I had blisters on both heels. So, what to do? Well, I remembered that there was a first aid station right past Casey’s, so that was where we were headed. In we went and within a few seconds a very nice cast member handed me several bandaids and we sat down on the sofa and I put on the bandaids. Carefully back into the shoes, tried a step or two, no problem and off we went.
Outside we enjoyed the view of the castle with the clear blue sky beneath it and I reached into my small camera pocket for my camera.
Yikes, I had had it in my hand when we had gone into the first aid station.
Now Tom was heading back, hoping it would still be there. And it was, still sitting on the sofa where I had put on the bandaids. Camera in hand we walked over to the Jungle Cruise,

thinking that we might be able to get on with just a short wait, since we had missed it the day before. The park was still “empty” and indeed we walked up to the ride and there were just a few people in line and we walked onto the ride.

The skipper was a hoot

and even though we had heard the spiel quite often he had us all in stitches.

Being such a short time after the horrible incident with the little boy at the Grand Floridian, the skipper very well maneuvered around the crocodiles by pulling everyone’s attention to the other side. Soon it was time to get off again

and we headed over to Pirates of the Caribbean.

Just a five minute wait, so got in line and again just walked onto the ride, or right up to the gates. There we stood for quite a while while boats went through without people in it. And after a few minutes of waiting quite the line had formed and we were finally allowed to get into a boat and get on our way.

Once we got off the ride we took a restroom break and then slowly strolled over to the Haunted Mansion.

Again we got in line and even though there was a short walk we were inside the first room within a few minutes. Surprise, surprise once we left the stretching room there was quite the line, as they sent off every other doom buggy empty. But finally they started filling them all and we were swept forward and boarded our ride. Once we got off we were greeted by a Florida grey sky and decided that since we only had had a small slice of cake for breakfast it would be the perfect time to have some lunch.
So we started walking over to Columbia Harbour House, were handed a menu at the entrance and got in line. And soon we had our tray in hand and were heading upstairs to find a window table.

There were several available and when we sat down we were surprised to see that it had started to rain.


To be continued ....​

 

[NoOrdinaryPrincess]

Following along!

 

[dizneeat]

Following along!

 

[DLo]

Wow 40 days. What a trip. Can't wait to read all about your adventures

 

[mekay1012]

Your trip sounds amazing! Can't wait to read more.

 

[jenseib]

Joining in. I love how you plunged right in the first day.

 

[rteetz]

Welcome back! Saw you started the TR, I can't wait to hear about this trip of a life time!

Awesome cake!

 

[DaisyDuck001]

That dinner on the plane looked especially good!