Monday, August 25, 2008

Finally, a shipboard update!

Okay … So I have been a bad blogger! Sorry! I know you all want to know about our travels, but it has been busy here on the Magic. So I will try to get you up to date on our adventures.

Here it is day 9. We are traversing the Panama Canal. It is quite the experience, but I am getting ahead of myself. So far we have had 4 sea days and 3 ports, and of course today, the day we have been waiting for, the crossing.

Our first port was Cabo San Lucas. Kirstyn and I went on a 4x4 Jeep Safari. It was very windy and bumpy, but fun. We drove off road, through what I would call a desert like area. We saw iguanas, cacti and the Mexican version of Poison Ivy. Our tour guide, Juan, was nice to point out what we were to avoid, and what flowers to use for different ailments. After our tour of the desert we stopped at a ranch for lunch. We learned how to make tortillas and also how to drink tequila the Mexican way. Overall, this was a fun tour.

Our second port was Puerto Vallarta. Here we had two tours booked. First we went to a restaurant for a Mexican cooking lesson. We made two different types of salsa, guacamole, tortillas and some deep fried chilis stuffed with cheese. Sorry I can’t remember the name, but I have the recipes. The meal was excellent. Our second tour was the Rhythm of the Nights. It included a boat ride, with dinner and a show. It was pouring as we were about to leave, so we were given the option to get our money refunded. Since Kirstyn and I were both full from the first tour, we chose the option to cancel.

Our third port was Acapulco. This was the most disappointing port yet. First off, it was raining, second, they weren’t organized, third, we only got to see two divers, and finally, the shopping left a lot to be desired. You were followed around constantly while in the stores. I was disappointed in Acapulco. I expected something much more elegant, however, what we saw was dirty and poor. Oh well, I’m sure it was quite something in its heyday!

The sea days have been relaxing. We have had some pretty exciting entertainment. Comedian Ron Pearson joined us, as well as ventriloquist Ronn Lucas and hypnotist Ricky Kalmon. All three shows were superb. Our future entertainment includes Disney on Broadway with Sarah Litzsinger and David DeVries. Sarah Litzsinger is the longest running Belle on Broadway. We are also going to see Magician Darren Rome (from Siegfried and Roy) and Aly and A.J (performers on the Disney Channel). Don ‘Ducky’ Williams was also on board as will as artist John Rowe.

The remaining hours of our days have been filled with watching shows, participating in a shipboard mystery, movies and of course eating. Food has been great as usual. I’m hoping the scales will be kind to me when I return. I have been doing a lot of walking, so this may balance things out.

Anyhow, time for me to go back upstairs to watch the traversing of the canal. Talk to you later, hopefully not too much later!

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Farewell to ABD

Here it is our last day and time to leave for the Magic. We had breakfast with the group at Storytellers CafĂ©. We said our goodbyes, then went to our room to rest until we had to leave for the Magic. I’ll save the next for the another post. Time for a quick shower, then off to dinner! Later days.

Disneyland - Day 2

On Saturday, we spent the day at California’s Adventure. We started with breakfast at Goofy’s Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel, Then made our way into California’s Adventure before the rest of the guests. We first got to Soaring from two different angles, on the ride and from behind the screen. I never realized how high up we were. We then made our way over to see Crush’s Turtle talk for a private show, plus got a lesson on how to draw Mickey Mouse. It was now 10:15 and we had time to ourselves. If we wanted to we could see the 12:15 Aladdin show, but had to be at the theatre at 11:45.

Kirstyn and I rushed over to try the new Midway Mania ride. It is like Buzz Lightyear where you get to shoot at targets, but it is in 3D. This ride had the longest line. It took us 45 minutes to get on, but we did and managed to get back in time for the 11:45 presentation of Aladdin. The show was great and it was nice to have reserved seats; no waiting in lines for us! We had the next 4 hours to tour the park until dinner. We went on the California Screaming coaster, which was awesome, plus the ferris wheel ride, which was actually scary (we chose the motion version). We did some shopping, then made our way to find a spot for the Pixar parade. We weren’t aware that you got wet during this parade. It was fun though. Tonight was our farewell dinner. We got to watch a slideshow of our adventure and were greeted by some very special guests, Mickey and Minnie. After dinner we made our way over to Disneyland for the fireworks. We were going to go back to the hotel to pack, but decided to try get on Nemo ride instead. It took an hour to get on, but it was worth it. We were entertained by a band and got to play guess that tune! We were met by Jaime, and were going to go to Space Mountain, but decided to go back to the room instead. We did some last minute shopping then headed to our room to pack. When we got there, there was a surprise waiting for us. Jamie and Diana arranged for a birthday cake to be waiting for us. We had our cake and then I packed while Kirstyn slept.

Disneyland - Day 1

Out first full day at Disneyland was an active one. It started at 7:00 am and finished at midnight. We got to be the first to enter the park and walk down Main Street all on our own. We actually got to see a car on Main Street, and no, it wasn’t Lightening McQueen. We had breakfast with Minnie and her friends and then went to visit behind the scenes at Indiana Jones. We got a demonstration of how the vehicles work. For you Window Geeks out there, it runs on an OS/2 system. After the demonstration, we got to go to the front of the line and enjoy the ride. We also got to go on the Haunted Mansion. It was nice to not have to wait. Next was lunch where we were entertained and escorted to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. It is longer than the one at Walt Disney World. This next part was exciting for us Disney Fans, we got to go see Walt’s actual apartment. It is small, yet cozy. It was neat thinking that I sat in the same chair as Walt himself. We also got to ride in the Lilly Belle train car. If we wanted, we had reserved seats for the parade. We opted to watch the parade. Now we had the day to ourselves. Kirstyn and I decided to go on the Matterhorn,. Next we got a Dole Whip and enjoyed it while we watched the Enchanted Tiki show. We went on a few more rides, then made our way back to the hotel. These early mornings are starting to get to us.

Thursday - Hollywood to Disneyland

First, let me apologize for not updating my blog sooner, but we have been busy.

We started the day at 7:00 am for breakfast. Another busy day planned. Today is dedicated to Disney. Our first visit was to Disney Imagineering, where they design and build the rides. We got to meet Lucky the dinosaur, plus got to see some of the plans for the new attractions at Disney's California Adventure. After the tour, we had time to shop at Mickey's at Glendale, where the Disney staff shop. We next headed over to the Disney Studios to see where they film the movies. This was exciting, but I should have blogged this sooner, as the details are getting foggy. We got to see the different sound stages and the statue of Walt and Mickey, Roy and Minnie and the Seven Dwarves. It was time to go and now we are off to Disneyland!!!

We arrived at Disneyland in the afternoon and were given our keys. We had some time to freshen up, then met for dinner. Dinner was at Hook’s Point. We first had some appetizers and wine, then dinner. After dinner, we got to watch Fantasmic, then had time to ourselves. Kirstyn and I made our way over to Space Mountain. We stopped at the Matterhorn first. The fireworks had started at this point, so we got to see some of them from the ride. This was a cool experience. We then made our way over to Space Mountain which was much better at Disneyland than at Disneyworld. We also went on the Buzz Lightyear ride, as the line was short. At this point we were exhausted, so we called it a night. I was in bed sleeping by 9:30.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Day 2 of our Adventure (on day 2 even)

Now for the actual Wednesday blog entry. I didn't want to put this off, or who knows when I would have gotten to it. Today was a crazy day. It started at 8 am and finished at 4.

We started off with a private breakfast at the Disney Soda Fountain. We had the restaurant to ourselves, along with some shopping time. The choices for breakfast was a Mickey Waffle, or scrambled eggs.


Disney Soda Fountain

After Breakfast we had a tour of the El Capitan Theatre. We learned about the history of the Theatre. We got a demonstration of the pipe organ. We got to go on backstage and to the lower level party room.


Wall-E at the El Capitan

After the theatre tour, we went next door to see the Jimmy Kimmel Live studio. We got to meet Uncle Frank, who is a staple on the show. He is actually Jimmy's uncle. He is a really nice guy. We couldn't take any pictures on this tour so I will have to count on the ones the guides took! We got to see the sound room, the makeup room, and the green room. I actually got to sit in the same chair that George Clooney sat in!

We next boarded a bus and went on a guided tour of Hollywood. We drove along Sunset Boulevard while our bus driver pointed out all the sites. Our final destination was the Jim Hensen Studios, once the home of the Charlie Chaplin studios. This was really a treat for Kirstyn and I. Although we didn't see him personally, one of the other guests saw Justin Timberlake there. He was going to the recording studio. We had lunch at the studio, then had a surprise visit with Sweetheart. She is quite the lady!


The entry to the Jim Hensen Studios.


Kirstyn and I relaxing.


Kirstyn and I and Sweetheart, with her friend Michael!

After the studio tour, we headed back on the bus for a special treat. We headed out to Griffith Park for a special tour of Carolwood, the home of Walt's favourite hobby, his trains. We got to tour the barn, and the memorabilia, as well as a ride on the train. It was special. It is not guarenteed on all tours, so we were very lucky!


Inside Walt's Barn


Mary Jane engineering the train!

The day ended with Kirstyn and I getting dinner and ice cream. We have an early day tomorrow, so until then, good night!!!

Tuesday's blog on Wednesday! Day 1 of the tour.

Hi all ... First let me apologize for not posting yesterday!! It was a hectic day and I was tired when I got back to our room. I don't know if I mentioned it or not yesterday, but I woke up Monday with a sore throat. When I still had the sore throat on Tuesday, I thought about going to a clinic. On our way down to the lobby, I met Diana, one of our ABD tour guides. She recommended not going to a clinic, but suggested either going to the hospital, or waiting until I get to Disneyland and checking it out at their health centre. I chose the latter. She did direct me to a drugstore, so off we went.

We found the drugstore and also discovered Walt's star, along with a few others. We stopped for lunch at the Disney Soda Fountain, then went to see Wall-E at the El Capitain theatre. It was cool, as they included live pipe organ music and a live show before the movie. Both were great. After the movie we made our way back to the hotel to get ready for our welcome reception.



At the reception, we started with a meet and greet ice breaker. There are 26 in our group, which includes a mother and daughter from Guelph of all things. At least I won't be the only one being teased for saying eh! We rounded off our group with our other tour guide Jaime, from Honolulu and Julie, who is in training to be a guide. After the Ice Breaker, we headed over to the La Trastevere restaurant for dinner. Before dinner, they played a Disney trivia game, which I won, thank you very much. Dinner was chicken and salad. There were three birthday's on this trip, and we sang Happy Birthday to all three, including Kirstyn. The three birthday girls each got a special Birthday pin. Kirstyn and I each got a special gift for it being our second ABD. This was a nice surprise!

After dinner, we strolled down Hollywood Boulevard, then called it an early night, as we had to get up early in the morning.


A picture of the Kodak Theatre ... Home of the Academy Awards!