For the first time ever, the Disney Dream and the Disney Fantasy met at night and each ship watched as the other had its fireworks show. It was a pretty exciting time with most of the decks full of both guests and crew members to see this first of its kind encounter.
Here is the first half of the Disney Dream’s Pirates Fireworks as seen from the Disney fantasy. Disney Cruise Line is the only cruise line authorized to have fireworks shows at sea. Disney goes the extra distance not just for its guests, but it also thinks about all the details. For instance the fireworks shells are not just bio-degradable, they’re actually fish food.
New Itinerary Brings Stories of Southeast Asia to Life in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia
I admit I’ve never been on an Adventures By Disney excursion, but the idea sounds intriguing. Guides, specially trained by Disney, provide a unique experience to various spots around the globe. But so far, no excursions into Southeast Asia. That will all change in 2013 as travelers will get the opportunity to experience some of Asia’s most exotic and culturally-rich cities. Adventures by Disney just announced an all-new destination for 2013 – Southeast Asia. Featuring Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, with an 12-day, 11-night itinerary.
“We are thrilled to invite families to experience new corners of the world with Adventures by Disney, as we expand our portfolio of more than 20 destinations to include Southeast Asia,” said Josh D’Amaro, Vice President, Adventures by Disney. “This exotic new itinerary holds true to Disney’s dedication to storytelling, exceptional customer service and incredible value. With our award-winning itineraries, families are treated to a worry-free experience, perfect for vacationers taking their first international excursion or even the seasoned traveler.”
The leader in privately-guided group excursions, Adventures by Disney specially designs its itineraries to engage guests of all ages, providing authentic, hands-on experiences that leave each participant with memories to share and deeper knowledge of the world around them. In Cambodia, adults will have time to take in the unique architecture of the Temples of Angkor Wat while Junior Adventurers live the history of the ancient structure on a tuk tuk vehicle treasure hunt. Families will work together in Laos at an organic rice farm where they will have a hand in each of the 13 stages of rice production. Meal preparation is a team effort in Vietnam where guests will hand-pick ingredients from a Hoi An market, and then learn to make their own Vietnamese delicacies with the guidance of a local chef.
I’ll admit, when I learned that Once Upon a Time was going to introduce The Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland into the mix, I was both worried and curious. This definitely stretches the definition of a fairy tale character. A series of books I enjoy with a similar idea has included characters from that story in its fairy tale characters. And at the same time, it could be interesting. Fortunately, it turned out to be both entertaining and fit into the framework they’ve created for the show so far.
I was going to break with tradition and start with Storybrooke, but there are a couple of things we learned in Fairy Tale that came up later in Storybrooke, so we’ll keep with convention.
Our first shot of Jefferson (aka the Mad Hatter) in Fairy Tale is of him running through the forest. He’s trying to get away from…his daughter Grace. But she finds him right away. Unfortunately, Hide and Seek time is over and they need to get to the work at hand – finding mushrooms to sell in town the next day.
When they get home, they find Regina waiting for them. Jefferson sends Grace into the woods to hide before finding out what the Queen wants. She wants Jefferson’s help in retrieving something from “there.” He refuses, stating he won’t leave his daughter. “You just don’t leave family.” He’s not even tempted by her offer of making sure Grace never wants again. These two definitely have some kind of history as Regina makes some references to his past, but we have no idea what it is.Read More »Once Upon a Time 1-17: Hat Trick
The Disney Fantasy is the second ship in the Disney Cruise Line fleet to have its own water coaster – the AquaDuck. Here your fearless editor takes a turn on the ride with an on board video camera and some POV video edited in.
As the ship itself can twist and turn the the sea, the coaster has to be constructed in such a way that it can shift by as much as 33 inches. It also has a section that extends out over the side of the side of the ship about 150 feet above the water. Those Imagineers sure are amazing aren’t they.
Here’s a closer view of the way they had the rig set up for the video:
Toward the top of the list of the highlights of my trip on the Disney Fantasy preview cruise, and there were many, were the three close encounters the Fantasy had with its sister ship in the Disney Cruise Line fleet, The Disney Dream. All three… Read More »Disney Fantasy and Disney Dream Ship Horn Battle
In addition to Cars Land, Buena Vista Street and the Carthay Circle Theatre, Disney California Adventure will be premiering another new experience this summer. “Mad T Party” will open, along with the above additions, on June 15th. Inspired by Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland,” guests will be “invited… Read More »Fall down the Rabbit Hole: Disney California Adventure preps “Mad T Party”
I’m onboard the Disney Fantasy have a great time as we’re transported back to the golden era of cruising. The internet is very slow, but I did want to upload a few pictures as a sort of teaser of what’s to come when we get… Read More »Taste of the Disney Fantasy
It’s Sunday Videopolis time. As you’re reading this I’m probably on Castaway Cay somewhere, so I wanted to leave you feeling a little of the tropical relaxation. What says tropical relaxation better than a Ukelele? Okay, that’s a stretch, but I think we should give… Read More »Videopolis – Lets Get Together on Ukelele
