Orlando/Disneyworld Thread (Part 3)

maemaesmummy

KarenG wrote: »

Very excited for you :j :j :T :T

thanks Karen....yay more dibb meets!! :beer:

jackieblack

KarenG wrote: »

May I ask who you booked with? I'm waiting for return flights to be released, and they aren't quite there yet :A

BA flights, LGW-TPA (direct), booked as part of a fly-drive package through Trailfinders, who we've used several times before
Priced it up separately, but couldn't make a saving, so went with the added security and pay deposit now, balance end of October.
Saved about £900 (4 adults) flying in/out TPA vs MCO :T

We also wanted to be sure of getting the exact dates we needed (school hols), VHols couldn't offer those and VA return flights not out yet, (plus BA cabin baggage allowance is far superior)

:j 332 sleeps! :j:D

vivatifosi

KarenG wrote: »

Viv, your cruise sounds wonderful. How did you find the Dream compared with the originals?

I thought the Dream is lovely, but my heart still belongs to the Magic.

In terms of what's great on the dream, technologically they've taken it to the next level. The Aquaduck is amazing, DH went on it three times in a row on Castaway Cay day as there were no queues. We loved the Crush interactivity in the Animators Palate, though to be fair it does lead to a two class dining room, with people sitting near to Crush and talking to him and those who don't being left out. This was a particular issue for a couple of families who shared a table near us with young daughters who didn't understand why they didn't get a look in. I do prefer the buffet option (Cabanas) on the dream to the one on the Magic.

A small thing, but the lifts were amazing. Except the last day scramble to get off the ship, we never had to wait. The way they have programmed them, it is almost as though they sense where the traffic patterns are going to be and react accordingly.

The night club zone I think was also better.

In general, I would have preferred a longer cruise, but I don't think that has coloured my judgement. Apparently the customer load on the Dream is higher than on all of the other Disney ships (incl Fantasy) as it only does short cruises and therefore more children sailing (ie more 4 person occupancy in staterooms). This shows, though it is apparently at its busiest Christmas/New Year/Easter/4th July/Thanksgiving... Exactly the same as the theme parks. Impressed with how Castaway Cay coped with the load: there were still plenty of bikes for rental, still plenty of loungers on the beaches and strangely, still cabanas for rental.

I prefer the Magic because the longer cruises mean you get to know the castmembers better, for example, your dining room staff really get to know your likes and dislikes. Having said that, our waiter, Pogi on the Dream was amazing! Also, the castmember to guest ratio is higher on the Magic and Wonder. The staterooms are lovely on the Dream, but we did experience some vibration at the back of the ship. We're waiting to see whether the Magic post-refit repo cruise is going to come up. We will jump at that if we get a chance to sail.

Unrelated to that, but wanted to let you know that we got to go to the lounge at BLT. It has been opened up to members staying at other DVC resorts. Very nice! I thought both the drinks and food were extremely reasonable and it is a nice place to hang out. I was really surprised when I saw where the fireworks actually come from though. No wonder the view from WalMart on Turkey Lake Road is so good!

Forgot to mention, the captain goes a bit mad with the horn and you get to hear all of the tunes. DH has got this clip with one of the new Disney ships against one of the 'floating milk carton' ships as Disney calls them. In response to the Disney tunes, the other captain made his horn sound like it was saying 'f*** off'...

KarenG

jackieblack wrote: »

BA flights, LGW-TPA (direct), booked as part of a fly-drive package through Trailfinders, who we've used several times before
Priced it up separately, but couldn't make a saving, so went with the added security and pay deposit now, balance end of October.
Saved about £900 (4 adults) flying in/out TPA vs MCO :T

We also wanted to be sure of getting the exact dates we needed (school hols), VHols couldn't offer those and VA return flights not out yet, (plus BA cabin baggage allowance is far superior)

:j 332 sleeps! :j:D

Yay!! I sincerely doubt my budget will stretch to direct. My target is £550 each and we're pretty restricted in terms of dates :eek: Have flown with BA before and enjoyed the flight (though it was MCO not TPA)

maemaesmummy wrote: »

thanks Karen....yay more dibb meets!! :beer:

vivatifosi wrote: »

I thought the Dream is lovely, but my heart still belongs to the Magic.

In terms of what's great on the dream, technologically they've taken it to the next level. The Aquaduck is amazing, DH went on it three times in a row on Castaway Cay day as there were no queues. We loved the Crush interactivity in the Animators Palate, though to be fair it does lead to a two class dining room, with people sitting near to Crush and talking to him and those who don't being left out. This was a particular issue for a couple of families who shared a table near us with young daughters who didn't understand why they didn't get a look in. I do prefer the buffet option (Cabanas) on the dream to the one on the Magic.

A small thing, but the lifts were amazing. Except the last day scramble to get off the ship, we never had to wait. The way they have programmed them, it is almost as though they sense where the traffic patterns are going to be and react accordingly.

The night club zone I think was also better.

In general, I would have preferred a longer cruise, but I don't think that has coloured my judgement. Apparently the customer load on the Dream is higher than on all of the other Disney ships (incl Fantasy) as it only does short cruises and therefore more children sailing (ie more 4 person occupancy in staterooms). This shows, though it is apparently at its busiest Christmas/New Year/Easter/4th July/Thanksgiving... Exactly the same as the theme parks. Impressed with how Castaway Cay coped with the load: there were still plenty of bikes for rental, still plenty of loungers on the beaches and strangely, still cabanas for rental.

I prefer the Magic because the longer cruises mean you get to know the castmembers better, for example, your dining room staff really get to know your likes and dislikes. Having said that, our waiter, Pogi on the Dream was amazing! Also, the castmember to guest ratio is higher on the Magic and Wonder. The staterooms are lovely on the Dream, but we did experience some vibration at the back of the ship. We're waiting to see whether the Magic post-refit repo cruise is going to come up. We will jump at that if we get a chance to sail.

Unrelated to that, but wanted to let you know that we got to go to the lounge at BLT. It has been opened up to members staying at other DVC resorts. Very nice! I thought both the drinks and food were extremely reasonable and it is a nice place to hang out. I was really surprised when I saw where the fireworks actually come from though. No wonder the view from WalMart on Turkey Lake Road is so good!

Forgot to mention, the captain goes a bit mad with the horn and you get to hear all of the tunes. DH has got this clip with one of the new Disney ships against one of the 'floating milk carton' ships as Disney calls them. In response to the Disney tunes, the other captain made his horn sound like it was saying 'f*** off'...

Fantastic review Viv!

Glad you enjoyed the BLT lounge. It's really one of our favourite spots now.

LOL to the non Disney captain's response!!!

jackieblack

KarenG wrote: »

Yay!! I sincerely doubt my budget will stretch to direct. My target is £550 each and we're pretty restricted in terms of dates :eek: Have flown with BA before and enjoyed the flight (though it was MCO not TPA)

Unfortunately DD & DH get really bad pain in their ears on descent, even with all the 'remedies' such as ear-planes, ibuprofen etc, so indirect flights are not an option for us.
Also, we're limited to school hols and I won't go transatlantic for less than 14 nights (not worth it IMO) so we just have to judge the flight prices against how much we want to go and 'suck it up' if we want to go badly enough . We'll just have to eat beans-on-toast for the rest of the year to save enough :rotfl:
We've flown BA to various destinations in the US before, not to Florida though, and flights have always been good but it's the superior cabin baggage allowance that swings it for us really

I hope you manage to find the flights you're looking for

KarenG

jackieblack wrote: »

Unfortunately DD & DH get really bad pain in their ears on descent, even with all the 'remedies' such as ear-planes, ibuprofen etc, so indirect flights are not an option for us.
Also, we're limited to school hols and I won't go transatlantic for less than 14 nights (not worth it IMO) so we just have to judge the flight prices against how much we want to go and 'suck it up' if we want to go badly enough . We'll just have to eat beans-on-toast for the rest of the year to save enough :rotfl:
We've flown BA to various destinations in the US before, not to Florida though, and flights have always been good but it's the superior cabin baggage allowance that swings it for us really

I hope you manage to find the flights you're looking for

Oh, poor DH and DD. They have my sympathy! We spent years coping with quite extreme travel sickness for my DD, but thankfully managed to find a remedy so travelling is less awful now.

We've been to FL for a week a few times so not in your 14 day camp at all there. Like you, we're pretty stuck with school holidays but we've always managed to find flights below £550 before.

Also eating beans on toast here

Kido

KarenG wrote: »

Oh, poor DH and DD. They have my sympathy! We spent years coping with quite extreme travel sickness for my DD, but thankfully managed to find a remedy so travelling is less awful now.

We've been to FL for a week a few times so not in your 14 day camp at all there. Like you, we're pretty stuck with school holidays but we've always managed to find flights below £550 before.

Also eating beans on toast here

Completely off topic here, but you mention you've found a remedy for extreme travel sickness. My brother's wife suffers from it ridiculously badly (she can't even go 2 miles down the road in a car without feeling ill). If you wouldn't mind sharing it. I think we've exhausted most of the over the counter travel pills. Should mention she's Vietnamese so prescription drugs are out.

KarenG

Kido wrote: »

Completely off topic here, but you mention you've found a remedy for extreme travel sickness. My brother's wife suffers from it ridiculously badly (she can't even go 2 miles down the road in a car without feeling ill). If you wouldn't mind sharing it. I think we've exhausted most of the over the counter travel pills. Should mention she's Vietnamese so prescription drugs are out.

We buy Dramamine in the US. There should be an equivalent in the UK but it maybe needs prescription....? It Works for my DD fully. I must be honest and say that I think it's at least partly psychological with my DD. either way, it works.

HTH

Kido

KarenG wrote: »

We buy Dramamine in the US. There should be an equivalent in the UK but it maybe needs prescription....? It Works for my DD fully. I must be honest and say that I think it's at least partly psychological with my DD. either way, it works.

HTH

Thanks, might try and get some whilst over there and bring them back for her. I find Buccastem (apologies if I've spelt it incorrectly) works well for me. It's prescription but the doctor gave me it when I had Labyrinthitus in August and as I still get occasional episodes of vertigo I was given this and find it helps whilst travelling - especially by the Virgin tilting trains. Always feel ill on those, but it's the best way from Manchester to London. Not sure how I'll be on a plane - especially during take off and landing so I'll make sure I take them before I go. Looking forward to the holiday but not the flights.

Kido

Another OT post I'm afraid. My friend is meeting me at Tampa Airport, but we seem to be having language barriers. She is insisting she'll meet me in the baggage hall (surely this is before passport control and customs though) whereas I think it should be International Arrivals. Can anyone advise on what the meet and greet area is called?