If You See It: Eat It! Via Panama to Disneyland - Completed and Link to New Trip Report 2/24

[Flossbolna]

Checking in. I am looking forward to your trip report.

Corinna

Can't wait!

The two of you are the early birds who managed to reply before I posted the first installment!!

 

[Flossbolna]

Count me in!

Great to have you along Karin!

First page! Thanks for the signal flare. I will be back to read and catch up!

great to have you here!

Signing on Magdalene!

Hi Glenn!

I'm in and I can't wait for more!!! Love the pictures! The more the better! I'm excited to read all about your trip!

There will be plenty of pictures! I came back with 2350 pictures. Sorting through them was quite a task!

 

[Flossbolna]

Yay! So excited to see another Panama Canal trip report! We are booked on next year's WBPC, and there just aren't enough reports out there. Looking forward to following along!

I know what you mean, I have been searching for Panama Canal trip reports before my cruise as well, especially a westbound one. Besides the one by Jegsnakkernorsk I did not really find one, so I think I read hers a few times! It seems that this years cruise has more trip reports going though, so you are in a better place than we were this year!

Joining in. I've never vacationed for a whole month before. Can't wait to hear all about it.

I never had a vacation that long either since I started working (had a wonderful 6 week vacation after graduating from high school in 1992, but that does not really count).

I'm here....going back to read!

Jill in CO

Great to see you here!

I am so in!

I saw on your TR that you are going to go on the Mexican Riveria cruise on the Wonder next year, so once I get to Cabo, that should be especially of interest for you! Might take me some time to get there, though...

 

[Flossbolna]

Sunning and thanks for the heads up!!!

Okay went back and am all caught up!!!

Sunning????



That's a classical Rosie!! Great to have you here!!!

Thanks a lot Rosie! You stole the bottom of the page and bumped me to page 2! Last time I saw you, you were really pale, so I'm glad you were Sunning when you joined in here...........

Nice start to the trip Magdalene. You did a great job with the packing. I really did make it through the details about booking your cruise, but I am soooo confused. I guess I need to spend some time looking at cruise details and maybe all the codes will make some sense. I'll work on that if I start thinking about a cruise. In the mean time, I'm looking forward to enjoying another Disney cruise through your eyes.

What an interesting flight you had. So glad you made it safely. And, Welcome to Moe's!

Happy to have you, even if Rosie had to take two spots in the beach chairs!!

I am sorry about all the cruise codes. I tried to not abreviate everything. I guess I should have been more specific! I will try to keep the audience that is not so familiar with the cruise line in mind for the rest of the trip report!!!

 

[Flossbolna]

Finally here!!!!

What a great start !!!! Well in you telling it anyway. The long lines at customs does not sound like any fun at all but all in all after all the way you made it through without any major catastrophes.

Welcome to Moe's!!!!!

Great to have you here!

All in all it was an uneventful travel day. Standing in that line was a nuisance, but I knew that that was likely to happen. Also, Michael got into traffic on his way to the airport, so in the end it worked out well as he got there just before I got out.

Can't wait to read your report

I see that you are going to be on the Wonder in September when she travels in the other direction! While I would miss those three hours that you are going to lose during the cruise, I recently saw that your times in port are much nicer than ours as you arrive later than we did. Sounds like a great itinerary to me!

marking my spot, will have to read tonight!

Katharina, I was getting worried that you had missed my email!! I hope you will enjoy the start of the TR!

I like your ticker!!!

 

[lovealldisney]

Hi Magdalene! Signing up for your TR! Can't wait to read all about it! I'll have to wait until I'm home to see the pictures. I can't see them at work. So glad you enjoyed yourselves. Sounds like a lovely vacation.

 

[nodnol]

For the Panama Canal cruise, the date until which you can cancel without penalty was 120 days before sail date. I was watching the website constantly to see if any deals would come out. And the they finally posted an OGT rate – which was much higher than last years *GT rates! No IGT, nor VGT. We did not like the price at all… And were rather disappointed. However, I noticed something else: The lowest price for an inside stateroom had gone down and I realised that they had opened up the 11C category again. That had been sold out for a long time already and I also noticed that they would not let you choose a stateroom, your stateroom would be assigned by Disney in the category you booked or higher (called GTY, not to be confused with the *GT rates…). So, our thinking was that if you book 11C GTY, which is the lowest category anyway and only has a few staterooms, chances for a better stateroom are quite high! And if we moved our rebooked cruise to that, we would get the 10% rebooking discount as well as 200$ stateroom credit. With that the price started to look quite good. So that’s what we did.

Of course, 5 days later, Disney came out with an IGT rate that was slightly lower. Fortunately not by much! And the one thing that was good about our rate: If a Florida resident rate had come out for our cruise, we would have been able to switch over to that, would not have been possible with the IGT rate. Unfortunately, a Florida resident rate never came out!! But besides the 200$ stateroom credit from the onboard booking, we also got a very nice stateroom credit from our wonderful travel agent, so that helped as well!

To byl velmi zajímavý odstavec, vůbec jsem nerozuměla. Ale alespoň teď vím, na co jsou potřeba cestovní kanceláře....

Yes, I should introduce my lovely sister Katharina (nodnol here on the DIS).

Oh, and finally I should mention that Michael is not fond of his picture being posted publically, so you will only see me appearing in pictures. However, in order to keep the tradition of last year’s trip report, here is an “introductory“ picture of both of us:

Same feet AND same shoes?

The flight to Paris was uneventful. We got a drink and a snack. And I started to read one of the many books that I had put on my kindle especially for this vacation.

No water

Here is a picture of my food tray:

it gets worse, now your drinking alcohol
I gues you also didn't do the onboard calisthenics...
I would get scolded by my bis sister!

I'm very hungry now!

It seems we will be on the ship soon - all the beach days in one installment?

 

[nodnol]

Katharina, I was getting worried that you had missed my email!! I hope you will enjoy the start of the TR!

I like your ticker!!!

I didn't see your email on time, spent over half an hour yesterday evening in the queue at the ice cream parlour...

Isn't it a really nice ticker! I jsut whish I had one that doesn't end in 2015.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Magdalene (that’s me) and my boyfriend Michael. I live in Germany and Michael lives in Florida.

DVC owner AND Florida resident discounts. I see what you did there.

Because I really really needed a proper vacation!!

That's a good enough reason for me!

You might also find references to the cruise Katharina and I have planned for next year: 7 nights on the Disney Magic from Copenhagen to the Norwegian Fjords!

Sounds wonderful!

Oh, and finally I should mention that Michael is not fond of his picture being posted publically

I bet it's because he's actually famous. Is it Michael Fassbender from the X-Men movies?

Of course, stupid me starts with the really long, long, long book: Games of Thrones (the first volume). And hence I did not get to read any of the other books I brought for the trip… At least I did not add any volume and weight to my luggage thanks to the kindle. The good thing about this though was that I immediately really liked this book and therefore had great entertainment for the long flight!

I'm glad you liked the book! My wife started reading that series and thought the first one was the best...her interest waned after that.

And there were all kind of fancy things displayed about our flight at the gate:

9.5 hours of flying time...

Most of them are really nice and chat with you while the computer is doing the checking of the data. This one begged me to take him on the ship with me. Even when I said that my boyfriend would not appreciate that, he insisted that he would be of great use and go and fetch us breakfast in the mornings. It was really quite funny!

Did it work? Because I can fetch breakfast on future trips.

After the brief stop to hand in my customs declaration, I made it into the arrival hall to meet Michael! It was wonderful to see him again!!

Michael and I had already decided where we wanted to go before I arrived. Michael regularly has lunch at Moe’s: This is a restaurant that sells burritos. They have a special on Mondays for their burritos. Since Mondays at Moe’s are kind of a tradition for Michael, and I have heard so much about them, I really wanted to go to Moe’s. And my arrival day was on Monday. So Moe’s it was.

I just hope it's not followed by Tuesdays at Taco Bell.

They wanted to give us a “wonderful room” which is their standard, but we had actually booked a “spectacular room”, however their system did not show that.

What's the difference between wonderful and spectacular? Most of the places I stay give me the "generic crappy" room.

 

[Steppesister]

Yay! Another TR that I'll never ever be able to give full justice to. I'm here nonetheless- thanks for the invitation!

 

[jillbur]

I'm here! Can't wait to hear all about your trip!

 

[Flossbolna]

Hi Magdalene! Signing up for your TR! Can't wait to read all about it! I'll have to wait until I'm home to see the pictures. I can't see them at work. So glad you enjoyed yourselves. Sounds like a lovely vacation.

Wendy!!

I was going to email you tonight - with a link to the trip report (did not want to send just a short note, I know I owe you a proper email), but now you have found it on your own!! Will try to get that email to you soon though!! I hope all is well with all the events back home!

To byl velmi zajímavý odstavec, vůbec jsem nerozuměla. Ale alespoň teď vím, na co jsou potřeba cestovní kanceláře....

Well, I have the advantage of Google translator that helped me understand your Czech - otherwise it would have been all Bohemian villages to me!!

Third most important person for this trip report!!

Same feet AND same shoes?

No, my shoes are the same model, but different decor. Also: different nail polish!!

No water

I am pretty sure I had filled up my water bottle at the airport in Nuremberg, I had plenty of water!

it gets worse, now your drinking alcohol
I gues you also didn't do the onboard calisthenics...
I would get scolded by my bis sister!

I did do regular exercise during the flight!!!

I'm very hungry now!

Sorry! But you and your DH would love that place! It was really delicious!

It seems we will be on the ship soon - all the beach days in one installment?

We will see how it goes, but there was not a lot happening in Fort Lauderdale...

I didn't see your email on time, spent over half an hour yesterday evening in the queue at the ice cream parlour...

Isn't it a really nice ticker! I jsut whish I had one that doesn't end in 2015.

I just realised that I have a typo in that ticker!!!

And I agree, it would be nice if it were not for 11 months and change...

 

[Flossbolna]

DVC owner AND Florida resident discounts. I see what you did there.

Yes, nice combination! I loved the DVC discount in Disneyland. I got 10% off on all merchandise and all food (not alcohol though).

That's a good enough reason for me!

Oh, I think any reason for a vacation is a good one!

Sounds wonderful!

Yes, as long as it does not turn out to be as wet as that camping trip to Denmark that we once tried to do...

I bet it's because he's actually famous. Is it Michael Fassbender from the X-Men movies?

Hush!! You were not supposed to make that public!! :asst:

No, I think it is because his and my opinion about what is a good picture of him are not always in synch (I might have very rose tinted glasses in that matter... ). And it took me years of being on the DIS before I got into the posting of pictures of myself thing...

I'm glad you liked the book! My wife started reading that series and thought the first one was the best...her interest waned after that.

Oh! Don't want to hear that!! Did she read them quickly after one another? I do think with series of books it makes sense to take long breaks between the books as for it to not become too repetitive. I really liked that I was forced to take breaks between the Harry Potter books as I read them when they came out.

9.5 hours of flying time...

There are longer flights than that. It is surprising how quickly the time passes. And the thing that amazes me the most is that it seems that kids often seem to deal with the long flights much better than many adults.

Did it work? Because I can fetch breakfast on future trips.

Thank you very much for the offer! But Disney does provide 24 hour room service included in your cruise fare. So no need for taking a breakfast-fetcher!

I just hope it's not followed by Tuesdays at Taco Bell.

No, I think there is no specific restaurant for any other day of the week.

What's the difference between wonderful and spectacular? Most of the places I stay give me the "generic crappy" room.

Everything at the W had strange names. In this case spectacular meant large balcony with a sideways beach view, wonderful was small balcony, no view.

 

[Flossbolna]

Yay! Another TR that I'll never ever be able to give full justice to. I'm here nonetheless- thanks for the invitation!

:Welcome: Liesa!! So happy to have you with what little time you have to spare! And who knows, by the time I finish this, you might have graduated from your nursing degree! I hope the wedding planning goes well, when is the big day?

I'm here! Can't wait to hear all about your trip!

Great to have you here!

 

[dolphingirl47]

Looks like your travel day went very smoothly. I was reading about your flight with great interest as at the moment it looks like we may be flying Air France to LA in November. What a shame about the mix up at the hotel, but I am glad that you got it sorted. Your dinner looked lovely.

Corinna

 

[ShellB8585]

Looking forward to following this TR. Thanks for taking the time to share with us

 

[annichan]

Yay Magdalene, you have started your report!
Makes me feel bad again about not having written one about my WBPC last year ... I just never haver seemed to get around to it.

But now I'm happy to follow your report instead. I thought of you a couple of times during the cruise and looked up what port you were currently at - I really want to do this trip again sometime!

 

[Flossbolna]

Looks like your travel day went very smoothly. I was reading about your flight with great interest as at the moment it looks like we may be flying Air France to LA in November. What a shame about the mix up at the hotel, but I am glad that you got it sorted. Your dinner looked lovely.

Corinna

Yes, it was a good travel day! That was the third time using Air France across the Atlantic and while my experience in 2008 was just ok, I really enjoyed it last year and this year. If you want to read about my experience last year, I wrote about it here: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=48504412#post48504412

They really have improved how you connect at at CDG, but I am not sure whether things might not be different from you coming from a non-Schengen country? But I do think that they treat all EU flights the same for connections. In 2008 it was still a hassle to get through multiple checkpoints it seemed.

Going to LA you would be on the A380, so no issue with old 777s. I know we talked about the A380 and I did not think the plane was that amazing. But I did enjoy that AF has economy class on the upper deck with a 2-4-2 configuration. I had a nice storage compartment between me and the window which came in very handy!

I have flown AF quite a few times to Paris recently as well and I have to say that I have had mainly great experiences with crew as well.

Looking forward to following this TR. Thanks for taking the time to share with us

Great to have you here! I see that you are from Somerset. I really love that area of England! My family has spent many vacations in South West England and I have recently been thinking about how I really need to return there! My sister, my father and I actually hiked all of the South West Coast Path over several years (a week at a time). Such a beautiful coastline!

Yay Magdalene, you have started your report!
Makes me feel bad again about not having written one about my WBPC last year ... I just never haver seemed to get around to it.

But now I'm happy to follow your report instead. I thought of you a couple of times during the cruise and looked up what port you were currently at - I really want to do this trip again sometime!

Annika! Don't worry about not writing a trip report! I totally understand! If I had not people in real life like Katharina and Michael (who reads, but doesn't post) who "expect" me to write the report, I am not sure I would have started it. It is actually quite daunting to think about having to write about a 4 week vacation! I don't want to think about how long it is going to take me to finish it!!

But please feel welcome to add anything from your experience on your cruise last year! It will be fun to be able to compare notes!

And I totally understand how you feel about repeating this itinerary! I would love to do it again as well. Not immediately, but in a few years... Maybe when one of the new ship goes through the new locks... (But I don't want to think about the prices they are going to ask for a Fantasy cruise through the Panama Canal...).

 

[pjlla]

I'm here and ready for the next installment!.............P

 

[mimmi]

Yeah, another WBPC trip report, ich bin dabei.