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Waitlist: Adventures by Disney & Disney Fantasy Cruise with Chris
583 Plays1 day ago
On This Episode
Trevor is joined by listener Chris to share a unique Disney trip report. Chris kicks off with a London Escape through Adventures by Disney, highlighting the seamless booking process, private tours of the Tower of London and Crown Jewels, and special touches like a James Bond–themed speedboat ride on the River Thames. The group enjoyed immersive experiences including a Sherlock Holmes mystery dinner, afternoon tea, and thoughtful assistance from their Disney guides. After wrapping up in London, Chris and his family boarded the Disney Fantasy for an eight-night cruise across Europe. From a private walking tour in Belgium with an unforgettable guide, to scenic fjords in Norway, to behind-the-scenes moments aboard the ship, Chris details the magic of combining Adventures by Disney with Disney Cruise Line.
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Transcript
Introduction to the Podcast and Hosts
00:00:06
Speaker
This is Skipper Albert A. Wall, the voice of the jungle, broadcasting on the DVC to all voice unknown. If you're within the sound of my voice, you're listening to Welcome Home Podcast on the DVC.
00:00:25
Speaker
Welcome Home Podcast on the DVC.
00:00:30
Speaker
Hello and welcome to the waitlist. I'm Trevor. No Tom this week. He is traveling at the moment.
Chris's Adventures by Disney Trip
00:00:35
Speaker
And ah ah yeah, so I decided that we're going to do a waitlist here. And we have Chris who is going to give us a trip report. So welcome to the show, Chris.
00:00:46
Speaker
Hello. Thanks for having me. right. so So you told us that, so the the reason that I think doing this trip report is very interesting is that you didn't actually do a straight Disney trip. You actually did an Adventures by Disney.
00:01:01
Speaker
Is that correct? Correct. All right. So, um yeah. So I guess why don't you start by telling us about what exactly you did through Adventures by Disney and then, and then yeah, let's hear let's hear how it went for you.
00:01:14
Speaker
Yeah. so there's kind of two parts to this trip. The Adventures by Disney is the first part. The second part is we did an eight night cruise on the Disney fantasy.
00:01:25
Speaker
So had initially booked the cruise on the fantasy and we were trying to figure out what we were going to do before the cruise to fill the time in London.
00:01:37
Speaker
And that's when we ultimately ended up doing the London short escape through Adventures by Disney. Oh, all right. So, sorry, my my first question is, so, so how did you, ah so how do you book adventures by Disney?
Details on Booking and Planning the Disney Trip
00:01:54
Speaker
I guess is the first thing I'd like to understand. So you have two main ways to be able to book it. The first is you can kind of book it directly through adventures by Disney, but it's, I think all through the telephone.
00:02:09
Speaker
So I don't really think you can go online to book it. We had a travel agent for the cruise. So we use the travel agent to basically book the ABD for us.
00:02:21
Speaker
And it's, it's kind of an interesting process. Um, So with this short escape, what happens is you, you get the information, you send it off and then they need your deposit.
00:02:35
Speaker
And then for the short escape, I think they've updated their system since then. But for this, when we booked it, we got this agreement from adventures by Disney and you have to return the agreement within so many days for them to book your trip and hold your trip.
00:02:53
Speaker
But it's not electronic, so you have to print it out, sign it, initial your pages, scan it, and then email it back to this just kind of vague Adventures by Disney email address.
00:03:05
Speaker
so okay So it was very... very archaic needless to say um so kind of sent all of it off and i just copied the travel agent to let her know that hey we did it we sent it and then she kind of followed up with the adventures by disney it's like oh yep con confirm it they got what they needed your set so it's it's very different than anything else you're probably booked booking anything else with travel where it was not very fast to know that things had been booked and confirmed
00:03:39
Speaker
And things were set. So it was, it was a little interesting. Um, so I will say one nice DVC member perk is if you're a DVC member, if you book an adventures by Disney trip after their kind of initial opening period, they give you the opening day rate.
00:04:00
Speaker
So, We did save a little bit of money on it compared to if we had booked it like the day it opened to when we had decided to book the ABD. So let's see, this cruise left August of 2025. We decided to add the ABD on in September of 2024. So, know, the price had gone up some from the opening day price. So it was a nice kind of like DVC member One that we don't use often, but it was still a nice little like, hey, it's going to be a couple hundred dollars cheaper.
00:04:34
Speaker
Great. Yeah, that's good to know that that is, you know, stuff that can happen as you're you're booking these things, right? Yeah. so So that was kind of the booking process for it.
00:04:46
Speaker
ah You know, you can kind of go on the website to see what different things they have and you can kind of see rates and dates of like when they have the different adventures. So like that is out there and is kind of helpful to give you like an idea.
00:04:59
Speaker
But the actual booking process is basically you're picking up a phone and you're talking to somebody or your travel agent is picking up the phone and talking to the people for you. So with um so kind of with the short escape, ah we'd been debating what we were going to do before that trip.
00:05:18
Speaker
So we talked about do we just go to London? Do we go to Paris, go to Disneyland Paris, then take the channel and go do the cruise. And so we kind of, we're looking at kind of all different things.
00:05:30
Speaker
So as we started to look at like Disneyland Paris and different things, that's kind of like when our pre-trip travel expense budget kind of shifted greatly because, you know, we're used to DVC membership going down to Florida using our points and not really having any out of pocket costs.
00:05:48
Speaker
So that was amazing. As we started to look at some of these more expensive options that kind of reset the barometer of like, what are we going to look at in terms of this pre-trip exposure?
00:06:00
Speaker
um We looked at doing like some different hotels in London and then I was looking into tours in London. And then that's kind of when I segued to the ABD. was like, yes, it's going to be a little bit more expensive, but ABD does all the planning, like they handled all the logistics and I'll talk a little bit about kind of like what we did.
00:06:23
Speaker
Um, so for me being our first time to travel in Europe with our kids, uh, my parents were also coming with us. So a group of six, the logistics of traveling became a little bit more complicated.
00:06:38
Speaker
So, I knew with the ABD, Disney would just handle it. And I didn't really have to think about anything else. So that to me was the big benefit was we're going to have some great stuff set up through Disney and I don't have to coordinate anything else.
00:06:56
Speaker
I just have to get our plane tickets to get us there. And then it's, it's off. Like I can enjoy the trip. There's not anything else I've got to think of Right. So, so the the one, or I guess, does it make sense that like AVD still kind of gives you almost that Disney bubble feel like it's not, I know obviously you're not in Disney, but like you said, it's kind of like that front to back vacation planning, right?
00:07:22
Speaker
Yes. Yes. I think, I think it takes the bubble and puts it on like steroids. Okay. Um,
00:07:34
Speaker
So and i wasn't I wasn't sure like what to expect from it. I'd listened to a couple different podcasts where people have gone to do them, and they talk about it, but it still doesn't register until you're in it.
00:07:46
Speaker
So it's still going to sound weird, as I'm telling people, it's on steroids.
Disney Welcome Reception and Family Activities
00:07:51
Speaker
But you're not going to believe me until you actually like experience because it's just it's just very... I think you are like with Disney in general, I think we have a high level of expectation.
00:08:01
Speaker
and So I try to like taper those expectations so that i don't have an unrealistic expectation. Um, so I try to hold it back and check a little bit, but it was, it was really good. Like I can't, there's not anything about it that I could really complain about.
00:08:18
Speaker
I mean, it was, it was just great. Um, OK, so so um yeah, so like you said, you you you were going to London for this particular one. So so how did that or.
00:08:31
Speaker
ah Yeah, walk us through how it played out, I guess. And I guess. Sorry, how many days was it that you were. That this particular adventure was. So, so we had we had some travel issues at the beginning of the trip.
00:08:42
Speaker
So the, the ABD short escape was the cruise was leaving on Sunday. So the short escape was going to cover Friday afternoon, all day Saturday, and then get us from London to the cruise port Sunday morning.
00:08:59
Speaker
So we had added on an extra day to get in on Thursday to adjust a little bit to the time difference to just kind of get settled before we kind of kicked off everything with ABD. So the short answer is we ended up getting delayed by a day.
00:09:17
Speaker
So we got in the day that ABD technically started. So, That's where it was great to have the travel agent because as our flight kept getting delayed, she initially contacted ABD on our behalf to let them know, hey, they're going to be getting in at a different time.
00:09:36
Speaker
and in the midst of being at the airport for several hours and our flights getting bumped later and later and dealing with kids that are getting frustrated, parents that are also there. It was just great to hand that part off.
00:09:50
Speaker
ah right So you have the option that you can do for most of the things. You can do like a pre or postate post night stay at the hotel where they have the ABD. So we were planning to get into London the day ahead of time.
00:10:04
Speaker
We had tickets to go see the Hercules musical um and then just do a little bit of stuff around there. So thankfully didn't impact the ABD part. ah So kind of our abbreviated trip slightly was, you know, we got in that morning.
00:10:21
Speaker
They have a representative at the airport. Once you come out with your luggage that has transportation set up for you. So we kind of meet the person that's holding the ABD sign.
00:10:32
Speaker
They confirm that we were the Brown party. She helps get some of the bags and we kind of head off. And then they've got a spot where they could bring in kind of the, the van for us to get us from the airport to the hotel.
00:10:46
Speaker
So basically what happens with ABD is our group ended up there ended up being four families doing this short escape. So let's see, there was our six, another family of five, a family of three, and then a larger family that I think they might've had nine people, um, maybe eight people.
00:11:05
Speaker
Um, So a good size. um I think they had room to go bigger if people signed up, but it was, it was great for our first experience. But basically ABD meets you each family at wherever they're coming in from. yeah,
00:11:22
Speaker
I know there was an option, like if we were coming in via the train. So we had gone to Paris at the central train station, like an ABD represented, would have reached you at the train station to get you from the train station to the hotel.
00:11:33
Speaker
um So for each family, they coordinate your transportation from however you got to London, as long as you're either coming into Heathrow or the main train station and... They get your luggage loaded up.
00:11:46
Speaker
um We had a pretty decent sized passenger van. I mean, it probably would have held... 20 people easily. And was thinking like a 10 to 12 person one, but okay. Yeah.
00:11:58
Speaker
Yeah. So it was like, yeah, like it had like in the seat where in the back where we sat, like it had like a little like tray table, like not even a tray table. was like a table in the middle between like four seats.
00:12:09
Speaker
So they had water for us and you know, the kids are like, we have a table on this van.
00:12:18
Speaker
So it was, it was, you know, You already kind of like get like the all-star treatment. um The kids were impressed. It had led lighting in the van. So the kids were impressed by the lighting package within the van on our, on our drive from the airport to to London. um So the hotel for the ABD is the Waldorf um London hotel. That's kind of in West end London in the theater district.
00:12:41
Speaker
um I am super glad that I did not have to drive in London. Um, One, they drive on the opposite right side of the road than I'm used to driving on.
00:12:54
Speaker
And then it was just yeah crazy. I mean, the amount of traffic, cyclists were crazy. um ah london London is definitely a different pace if you're – yeah, i've I've been there too. I know exactly what you're talking about. Yeah. So I was like – the kids, at the where they were like, we're really glad we didn't get a rock. I'm like, oh, yeah. like I think at this point I would have turned around and been like – I'm not going to take on any more driving.
00:13:20
Speaker
ah So it was, it was, you know, it was great not to have to handle that. So we get to the hotel. So because that was the official start of the ABD that morning, the guides for our trip were in the lobby.
00:13:37
Speaker
So they had set up a little table. They had a couple of different English candy bars, English candies, a couple of maps and just kind of introduced us, said hello,
00:13:50
Speaker
um and then said, Hey, be back downstairs about four o'clock. We're going to do a little welcome reception in the lobby or not in the lobby, but they had this pretty nice meeting room off of the lobby.
00:14:03
Speaker
So he's like, we're going to do just kind of a quick intro, get to know everybody real quick. And then we'll head out for the evening's activities. So got checked into the hotel, no issue.
00:14:14
Speaker
Um, Again, because it's with the ABD, they work with the bell services there to get your bags for you. ABD handles the gratuities for the bellmen.
00:14:25
Speaker
So... Oh, so it's like, or, okay. So, so that's good to know that like, obviously you're traveling to places that are outside of Disney, but it sounds like they cover all the unexpected
Exploring London with Disney Guides
00:14:38
Speaker
expenses that sometimes come up as part of traveling.
00:14:41
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. So part of the ABD is they kind of cover gratuities for your drivers, your tour guides. Um, so are the meals that are included as part of it. So it's covering the gratuities for the service for your meals.
00:14:55
Speaker
Um, Sorry. So like the, the drivers and stuff, they're not like Disney employees then it's like, they're okay. All right. Good to know. Yeah, no. So when you, so like when we met our two guides, so our two guides were Lewis and Chris.
00:15:08
Speaker
So Lewis and Chris are Disney employees. And from what we've kind of gathered is most of the adventures by Disney guides have had some kind of previous history with the Disney company.
00:15:23
Speaker
So Lewis was a cast member at Disneyland Paris, and then he went to Tokyo and then he was part of the opening team at Shanghai, I believe.
00:15:36
Speaker
Um, so he had been parks based and then wanted to come back. He's from England. So he wanted to kind of come back to England.
00:15:47
Speaker
And so he was able to transition to be an adventures by Disney guide. So this was for both Lewis and Chris, this was their last, um, adventure for this season.
00:16:00
Speaker
But like Chris was from New York city and he does So how you kind of think of the setup is there for this London one, we had, we had kind of two adventure guides. If there had been more people, I think we would have had additional guides as part of the weekend But because we had a relatively small group, we had two guides.
00:16:26
Speaker
Lewis was the kind of local expert. So he was familiar with London. When we would go to different places, he'd be like, now here's where to go to the bathroom. Here's where to go to get if there's free time. And, you know, if you're looking for this or this, here's where I'd suggest.
00:16:40
Speaker
So he had kind of that. local knowledge of London that's helpful for being a tourist that is a little bit easier to follow than just Google Maps or just, you know, the tour map.
00:16:54
Speaker
Right. And then Chris, his background was he works for the the theater where Disney's on Broadway. So he does, he's the New York city version of Lewis where he's ah a New York tour guide and can give the local insight and perspective.
00:17:16
Speaker
But he also does a lot of work. I guess they have a school program where like middle schools and high schools come in and can tour and see backstage and do different stuff at the theater.
00:17:27
Speaker
So he does that like during the year for Disney. So he's kind of, working for Walt Disney theater company in New York, and then has this period of time where he goes off and does ABDs.
00:17:42
Speaker
So they, they, they try to pair you with somebody local to give you that like, Hey, here's, here's things you might want to find that won't be touristy that you might enjoy.
00:17:55
Speaker
So we had the welcome reception. They did a really good job to to kind of mingle through with the different families. So we have an eight-year-old, almost nine-year-old, and a 13-year-old.
00:18:07
Speaker
And then there was another family that they had a six-year-old. So they did a really good job of helping to introduce our daughters to each other.
00:18:18
Speaker
So they kind of quickly became friends for this weekend adventure in London. So I really commend them for helping to facilitate that where, when you show up and it's like you and one other kid close to your age, you may not really want to be away from your parents that much.
00:18:35
Speaker
Um, but they really helped facilitate that. And the girls had a great time. Um, so like they, I've heard about it and then I got to see it firsthand of how they try to help facilitate things and help facilitate conversations. Cause they don't want everybody to just kind of be off and then their little group and feel like it's,
00:18:58
Speaker
four different tours they want it to feel like you are a group going together and experiencing this so they and they don't make it feel forced they made it feel very organic and and fun um so you know the welcome reception they had various different like sodas juices if the kids wanted for adults they could have sodas waters they had beer wine um
00:19:24
Speaker
Beer that they had. i think they had some local London beer that was there that you could get if you wanted. ah And then kind of a little like light tray of snacks. So that was kind of for the mixer. ah Three of the groups that were there, this was all our first ABD experience.
00:19:40
Speaker
Um, the larger group, they were actually from Canada. I'm not going to remember the place, but they were within central Canada. Um, okay. That's, that's a large amount of space. Yeah. It wasn't, it wasn't like one of the larger cities that I would have recognized.
00:19:55
Speaker
Um, so I didn't quite retain it. Um, but I think they had been on like three or four others. Um,
00:20:06
Speaker
Adventure by attendees, like they had done Australia. Um, I think there was another one. He told me that they did. Um, but they, had they had done a few different ABDs. So it was, it was, it was interesting to see, um, you know, within our little group that most of us, this was kind of our first experience.
00:20:28
Speaker
think all of us, were DVC members that were there. So that was an interesting, uh, focus of that group as we were all, um, and we were all also going on the cruise.
00:20:38
Speaker
So we were, we were going to be together for a long time, whether we wanted to be or not. Um, so after the welcome reception, we did 15 minute walk from the hotel, um, out to the river Thames and,
00:20:56
Speaker
So this is another one of those cases where ABD tries to be cognizant and kind of respond to what the group needs. So my dad has some mobility issues that have kind of developed over the last few years. So he kind of realized that he wasn't going to be able to do this walk from the hotel down to the place for the river.
00:21:17
Speaker
So one of the ABD guys like, no problem. We'll get you a cab. And I just figured they'd help get the cab set up. tell the driver where to go and then send my dad on his way.
00:21:29
Speaker
But no, one of the guys just hopped in the cab, went with them for the cab. ABD picked up the cab fare for getting my dad from the hotel to the river. Um, and was, was just great. Um,
00:21:44
Speaker
There was another time over the weekend where my dad needed a cab and then another person in the group decided, hey, if you're going to get a cab, I'm going to ride along too. I'd rather not walk. So it it was it was good because i think you know I think some people might have not, if they were uncomfortable, not have spoke up. But my dad was kind of like, hey, like I know this is going to be longer than I'm going to be comfortable walking walking.
00:22:04
Speaker
So, but I mean, both times one of the ABD guide helped get the cab, got in the cab with them, covered the cab fare. So, so it was, it was great.
00:22:16
Speaker
Was there ever, ah or I guess be that's probably why there was two of them there. I'm guessing is that at any given point, if the group had to split up the, you would have the guides kind of.
00:22:26
Speaker
Like yes, split with the group as as needed. So, okay. Yeah. Yeah. So that's Friday afternoon. Our first activity that we went to the river for is we did a um, speedboat ride on the river Thames.
00:22:40
Speaker
So, um, so we kind of walked through kind of this little part of London to get over to the river, got to the spot. Um, and then they did split us up to two groups for that. Cause we had two boats, um,
00:22:54
Speaker
And so one of the questions that ABD got asked was like, oh, is there anything you're really looking forward to? And I was like, oh, well, I'm really looking forward to this boat ride on the River Thames because i am a big James Bond fan and ah I am beyond excited about it.
00:23:08
Speaker
and Yeah, I can see how that works. Yeah. And so Lewis let the driver of our boat know that, hey, like one of your passengers is a big James Bond fan.
00:23:20
Speaker
So we got the James Bond version of the boat ride. so I apologize to everybody else that was hoping to not get the James Bond version. But that so like the the.
00:23:33
Speaker
one of the boat pilots then kind of went through and talked about different things related to James Bond. And he pointed out like different things related to like what we were passing by of, of of landmarks within London along the river.
00:23:45
Speaker
right But you know, they incorporated and stuff like that. Right. Yeah. But they incorporated, you know, the James Bond theme song. So as we were like blasting, hitting these waves and bouncing, you know, the James Bond theme just blast through the sound speaker on the thing.
00:23:57
Speaker
And then, that's, that's, So that's very interesting that like you kind of said like you you like the James Bond thing and I'm surprised. Like I know and it's a Disney thing, but it sounds like they they kind of lean in to whatever whatever the group is interested in is what I'm hearing.
00:24:17
Speaker
Yes. they kind of tune it to what you're hoping to experience, not necessarily just like giving the canned version of whatever a tour would be.
00:24:28
Speaker
Yeah. and And like the boat company, like they do have like a James Bond version of the boat tour. So it wasn't kind of like totally off the mark, but he still could have just not said anything. And I still wouldn't have cared. I would have still been ecstatic, but it was just, you know, they were willing to be like, Hey, you've got some bond fans on the boat. If you want to do the bond version of this boat ride versus the just full tourists attraction version. So I, I appreciated it.
00:24:57
Speaker
Um, so it was, it was very fun. Um, After the boat ride, we then went to a pub for dinner. So probably two days before the ABD would have started, I got a text from the guides and it said, Hey, can you complete this Google form to do your ordering for the meals? Cause we try to do the ordering ahead. So the restaurants have it. If there's any allergy concerns, we can already get that in.
00:25:24
Speaker
Um, just to help facilitate the process so you're not having to wait to go through menus, order, or do different things. so um So we kind of pre-ordered dinner ahead of time.
00:25:37
Speaker
um So for that first night, you go to the English pub. um They have a Sherlock Holmes actor that comes and does kind of a mystery.
00:25:49
Speaker
So you get kind of mystery theater um during the, during your dinner that first night.
Historical Tours and Expert Guidance
00:25:55
Speaker
um He incorporates the kids into helping him kind of solve the mystery.
00:26:01
Speaker
um So it was fun. um You know, Our older, our 13 year old was a little less impressed with it, but I think it's also because it was a smaller group of kids. I think if there had been more kids and this whole tribe of kids was kind of running around and following him, ah probably the older kid would have got a bit more into it. Our daughter had a fun time with it.
00:26:24
Speaker
um My parents had a fun time with it. So it was, it was, it was fun. Like it added, you know, you have, you have London and Sherlock Holmes kind of, another kind of one of those iconic pairs together. So you kind of got this little fun private experience to do this kind of a dinner theater.
00:26:42
Speaker
Um, so it was entertaining. Um, and then, then we, so for that, they had a bus for us. So we did a bus from the river to the restaurant, uh, to the pub and then from the pub back to the hotel. So that was kind of the first Friday. So by this point we were all pretty exhausted.
00:27:00
Speaker
The kids got in a nap in the morning. Um, My wife and I probably took two really short naps. So jet lag was definitely hitting. So we were ready for bed as soon as we got back to the hotel. ah Next day we started breakfast and I think we left at 7.30 Saturday morning.
00:27:18
Speaker
um The first thing we had up for Saturday was going to the Tower of London. And they set this up to be a private... ah Meeting with one of the yeoman warders, also known as the Beef Eater Guards, and a private viewing of the Crown Jewels.
00:27:38
Speaker
Oh, wow. So I didn't really know what to conjure from private. Yeah, I mean, that that could still be like... A hundred people. Yeah. but But it was...
00:27:52
Speaker
So let me, let me preface on that. So for that second day in London, we had an additional London guide join us. Um, and his name, I believe was Steven. Um, he was great.
00:28:09
Speaker
Um, so he, he met us at the hotel. He was kind of giving us narration about things that we were seeing, um, on the way to tower of London. He was giving us some of the history of tower of London on the way there.
00:28:20
Speaker
Um, And then he kind of helps to facilitate a little bit of it. ah But so we kind of get to the Tower of London, get parked, get off, make our way there.
00:28:33
Speaker
um We go through kind of the little checkpoint to get in. And then we we go to meet our our beef eater. And it is it is literally just our ABD group.
00:28:46
Speaker
our new guide for the day and then the beef eater so less than 25 people it was beyond fascinating um So the beef eater kind of goes about through the history of, you know, the beef eaters, how you become a current yeoman warder and our actual person who was facilitating our tour when King Charles was crowned as King Charles. He was actually the one that was assigned to the crown jewels when they left the tower of London to go be used for the coronation.
00:29:23
Speaker
So it was, it was just fascinating to hear the history, um, They, the people that are the yeoman warders, they live at the tower of London.
00:29:34
Speaker
So you see some of their family members walking their dogs. Um, so you're, you're kind of going around and see a couple people walking their dogs to where they go to take the dogs to go to the bathroom and then go back.
00:29:46
Speaker
Um, but it was just, it was just really interesting. very Very different than what you get in Epcot for, uh, for like the British pavilion.
00:29:57
Speaker
Yes. Yeah. Yes. And then he he kind of led us through for about 30 minutes. Um, And then he transitioned and handed us off to a different yeoman warder that was the yeoman warder signed to the crown jewels for that period of the day.
00:30:14
Speaker
So then she took us through and did kind of the history of the various different pieces that make up the crown jewels and different things that they use during the coronation ceremonies and different things. So,
00:30:31
Speaker
that was probably another 30 minutes or so that we spent with that yeoman warder and it was really interesting i mean didn't really have a strong sense of the crown jewels one way or another before we went but like it was it was really it became a big highlight um especially because generally if you're not there for one of these private tours, there's a part you can kind of walk through normal. But when you get to the actual spot where they have the actual crowns that they use for the monarchs,
00:31:06
Speaker
It's on like ah a moving walkway. So I don't know what the speed of that moving walkway would normally be, but like while we were there, was just turned off and the government order.
00:31:18
Speaker
Yeah. Like she stopped. You can actually just stop and like look around and yeah. Like she, I think there were three cases in that section that had the moving walkway, maybe four, but she talked about each case and about each of the pieces in the case and which King or queen wore those or who it was made for. And history is about some of the kind of iconic jewels that are embedded on those crowns. And it was, it was, it was fascinating. um
00:31:49
Speaker
And then they showed kind of the, I'll probably offend some British people, but the Royal ice bucket for lack of a better word. Um, and I think, um It was used at, I think, the coronation for Queen Elizabeth. They might have also brought it back out for the jubilation but or the jubilee.
00:32:11
Speaker
But i think she said it held like over 140 bottles of wine in this serving vessel. And they would and like they poured the wine in it. And it had like a ladle that they'd used to scoop the wine out. And I think she said the scoop was like a bottle and a half of wine that would be scooped out of this they could pour to serve.
00:32:32
Speaker
um But I know they had said for one one of the celebrations, like they had put champagne in it And I think for that one, they had put ice with the champagne bottles to keep the champagne on ice until they opened the bottles.
00:32:43
Speaker
um But it was just, yeah, it was very interesting. So we did Tower of London, saw the Crown Jewels. Then we had some time we could kind of walk around and go explore some of the different towers.
00:32:54
Speaker
um So just, you know, interesting history all in that place. And it's just kind of impressive to see these, these things that were built hundreds and hundreds of years ago that are still standing there. And, you know, King Henry lived there and this is you know, this was the spot where Anne Boleyn was beheaded and this person was but like, just, you know, all these significant historical things that you learn about just being able to see it in person was very, very, very cool.
00:33:26
Speaker
um We then transitioned from Lauderdale to St. Paul's Cathedral. So, yeah, that was that was impressive as well. um You know, they they they certainly elude to Mary Poppins and, you know, the the feed the birds from the film um as we're on the way. and they stop as The front steps of St. Paul's. Right.
00:33:46
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. And so they they they they took each group's pictures on the steps there um to get a photo on the steps there. So the the ABD guides had different photo spots where they'd help take pictures of stuff. So like when we were at the the Tower of London, like there's a spot where you can kind of see London Bridge in the background. So they took pictures for all the families there. They did it at St. Paul's Cathedral.
00:34:07
Speaker
um After St. Paul's, we went to Buckingham Palace. um That one, we didn't go inside. We just kind of went and walked the grounds and then did kind of a picture on the outside.
00:34:18
Speaker
But it was just... very interesting. um Cause you I've, I haven't been to Washington, DC in a few years at this point, but you know, you're walking by like Buckingham palace, you pass the residence where Charles and Camilla currently live.
00:34:35
Speaker
They weren't in residence, but it's just like, you can basically walk right up to the front of the palace and you know, there's not this huge police presence.
00:34:46
Speaker
So it was just, So very interesting. Let me ask you this. is it So was that mainly because you were with like a private tour thing or is this something that like, like if you were doing this without adventures by Disney, do you, do you feel that this would have been something difficult to do?
00:35:08
Speaker
yeah No, no. Okay. But and so, so, so they were still like, this is something you could do, but it's more that they're, they know all the ins and outs of, know, of these areas and how to like get you to the, these different.
00:35:22
Speaker
Yeah. So like St. Paul's, like you have to have tickets to get into St. Paul's. So, Oh, okay. Yeah. Like they, you know, they handled all that. They, you know, they knew like, okay, here's where we're going to go to park. This is how we'll walk to get to the path.
00:35:34
Speaker
Um, for my dad, his mobility issues, one the guys broke off and took with him to kind of like their handicap entrance, which is a different spot than you go in through another spot. So again, like one of the guys went to help him get situated through that, then met us back up inside where the rest of us had to kind of go through a different entrance.
00:35:54
Speaker
ah So it just, it just helped. And then, I mean, having, Having the other guide. So this was the interesting piece. And this is why they had the extra guy join us for the day is with kind of the tourism guild in London, they have what they call a blue badge and a green badge.
00:36:15
Speaker
And when you're in certain sites, you're, You have to at least be a blue badge guide to be able to talk and give history of these places.
00:36:28
Speaker
So Lewis, who was our England-based adventure guide, said, oh yeah, like if I started to say anything beyond here's where the bathrooms are,
00:36:40
Speaker
I would get in trouble like as a, a registered tour guide in London and they have kind of this system set up to make sure that if, if you're going to some of these things, you have to If you don't have these certain guides, then your tour guides are not really supposed to like talk about it.
00:37:03
Speaker
They'll get in trouble. oh So that was kind of why Disney brought on. And i think that I think they do this at other ABD sites is they try to find local experts to kind of come and enhance the trip. Because, again, it's going to be hard to find somebody...
00:37:20
Speaker
who has one, a Disney background because they're wanting people with Disney background to facilitate the trips, to kind of have that Disney ethos with it. um That's also going to be an expert in the Tower of London or St. Paul's. So I think in most places they try to have a local expert to come in to address those pieces where you've got your adventure guides that are there to help look after like the guest comfort care enjoyment and not necessarily be kind of like a subject expert on the history of the places.
00:37:55
Speaker
Um, so, So it did help just because then the tour guide knows, you know, he went on to a lot of detail about different things within St. Paul's and some of the different, um, tombs and memorials that are there. So we kind of went through to see some of those. So it, it made it more interesting for me because I don't know if I would have sought some of those details out if the guide hadn't brought it up and said, Oh, you know, you may want to take a look at this, um,
00:38:28
Speaker
Memorial or tomb that's down in the crypt of St. Paul's. Um, you know, we didn't go up into St. Paul's. Um, I think it's like 500 plus steps, depending on which level you're going to go up to, to go look at some of the art that they have higher up in the cathedral.
00:38:48
Speaker
Um, we went down into the crypt instead of up above. Um, but the crypt was interesting. Um, cause you have kind of, Various historical figures from from from British history that are that are buried there, have memorials there.
Final Day of Adventures by Disney and Transition to Cruise
00:39:06
Speaker
And then you kind of get to a position where the transitions where they have kind of a cafe and a gift shop.
00:39:13
Speaker
Of course. Yeah. Oh, but then another thing is you know, and then while we were there, we we saw this is, you know, they had a priest, they do kind of an hourly prayer in the cathedral. So while we were there was one of the hourly prayers where the priest comes up, does the prayer for that hour and then make themselves available to answer questions about either the church or about the history of the building or different things that they could potentially answer.
00:39:40
Speaker
So, it it was a reminder of like, Hey, you're actually in a working place of worship. And we saw they had like a wedding that day. They must have different chapels because we saw people that were at the entrance try to get in that were dressed up very nice for the wedding.
00:39:55
Speaker
But you know, we never saw like the wedding group, um, actually out. So, um, it was just, it was an interesting piece to learn about. And then, um,
00:40:08
Speaker
yeah the The tour guide, as we were going back to the hotel, had pointed out a couple of points where ah you could still see kind of damage from World War II and the bombings from World War II. It was interesting to kind of see that perspective.
00:40:23
Speaker
um we got back to the after we but got back to the hotel for the afternoon. They do an afternoon tea which kind of also split as kind of a late lunch.
00:40:35
Speaker
Um, so that was kind of set up and then we had some free time, um for a couple hours that afternoon. um so you could, you could walk if you wanted to take the underground and go somewhere else within London.
00:40:49
Speaker
Um, we kind of just walked around that area a little bit more, ah And then we came back and then we went and did our farewell dinner that night. um That was at a dinner at a restaurant, conveniently enough, called Brown's that we could walk to.
00:41:04
Speaker
So ah had a good dinner there. No, no, no Sherlock Holmes actor there. um But that one was kind of set up with more of like a a banquet, a banquet style table. And, you know, you kind of just kind of sat and, that you know, they try to...
00:41:18
Speaker
mix you up a little bit. So your, your family group was next to maybe a different family that you hadn't been at earlier, um, to kind of talk and chat and, and, you know, just, just kind of talk about what you enjoyed for the trip.
00:41:31
Speaker
Since all of us were going on the cruise, what we were excited about with the cruise. So that was, that was, that was a fun dinner. Um, And then, so another thing with ABD is, um, there are pins.
00:41:43
Speaker
So typically for each evening, you would get a pin the Saturday morning, as we started off on our venture, they had a pin that they gave us, um, at the farewell dinner, the guides had also got, um,
00:41:59
Speaker
Paddington has had kind of a resurgence in, in London. So they had got little Paddington bears for each of the families and then a, uh, like little plushies and yeah.
00:42:10
Speaker
Yeah. And then, and then, uh, uh, tea, they got, they got some tea for everybody home to take as well. So, um, so, so the guys who got a little, like a little souvenir thing to give out to all the, all the, all the groups to take with them.
00:42:25
Speaker
So, um So that was, that was, that was great. Um, the day three is when we kind of wrapped up, had breakfast and then they kind of handled the transfer from us from London to South Hampton, which was with traffic ended up being about probably about two hours from the hotel to South Hampton.
00:42:45
Speaker
Um, so for this ABD escape, um, how they had things set up were if you were in concierge or one of the basically first three groups that would board the cruise ship, you would kind of keep your boarding number one, two, or three.
00:43:06
Speaker
If you happened to be above that, which I think everybody in the group was above that, um, you got an earlier boarding group of group four. So they just said, you know, once you get to the terminal, they should have it noted that you shouldn't be in, I think we were like group 11, maybe, and that we would now be group four.
00:43:29
Speaker
So you've got to board the cruise ship earlier than you're kind of initially attended boarding time. So I know I covered a lot of different things there.
Disney Fantasy Cruise Introduction
00:43:41
Speaker
Any questions you had or anything you want to know more about?
00:43:43
Speaker
No, I think I kind of got everything or, you know, obviously I was asking questions throughout. So, yeah, no, that's. that is ah That's a great rundown ah of how an AVD adventure goes. because ah or i e I know that's redundant what I just said, but um the um that that's a great... um Yeah, it's it's ah it's a very interesting and different different thing that i think than any any normal Disney ah trip you would get, right? Yeah.
00:44:16
Speaker
Yeah. Well, and then like for the disembarking, like they, they had sent like, so what'll happen is like over the course of the trip, the guys will text, they kind of have your family group as a text group. So like they can kind of text you update. So they're like, Oh, let us know how many bags, um,
00:44:35
Speaker
you would like us to come get and load on to the coach for you tomorrow morning. And then we'll come, you know, a porter from the hotel will come starting at 8am to pick up bags to load those for you. And then you just need to bring down whatever else you might need for the rest of the morning.
00:44:50
Speaker
Um, so, you know, I just texted him said, Hey, we'll have this room. We'll have this many bags. This room will have two bags. This room will have one bag and we'll you know, we just had to get our backpacks. And then I think we had like one carry on bag that we still wanted to have in the room just to finish brushing our teeth and stuff after breakfast.
00:45:08
Speaker
So again, really didn't have to think about, Oh, we've got people plus luggage plus elevator trying to get off, go to the lobby at the same time. Like there wasn't any of that. It was just seamless, smooth.
00:45:25
Speaker
Here's, here's this, we're going to the next thing. Um, And, you know, just, it was just smooth. I mean, that was the nicest part was we got there. We just got to enjoy it um When my dad needed some extra assistance, one of the guys would kind of peel off and kind of help him.
00:45:46
Speaker
So I could kind of still stay with my kids and wife and enjoy that time together. um So for me, it was also nice that they kind of helped look after my dad and mom too. So it wasn't just me needing to be the one to always peel off to help them if they needed something.
00:46:02
Speaker
um So it was just, it was just very good. And, you know, they do a really good job, even though it was like a three day kind of adventure they did a really good job of trying to really get to know families as best they could in a short period of time.
00:46:18
Speaker
ah So I can only imagine over some of those longer trips with ABD guides of, of like the connections you must make um because they're again, like there's reasons that they've been with Disney and then kind of get selected for these roles. And it sounds like they get a pretty good pool of applicants each year when they open up.
00:46:41
Speaker
um, that lots of people are wanting to move to that way. So i think Disney's able to kind of pick some of, some of, some of the like standout people that are really good at facilitating kind of connections more than, we'll say knowledge, if that makes sense.
00:47:02
Speaker
Right.
00:47:04
Speaker
Um, yeah, Yeah, no, that's so you also said that. um So sorry, are you or this finishes or this finished up your AVD portion, right? And you said you had the the cruise now.
00:47:19
Speaker
Yeah. So then we said we had all this and then we still had eight more days of a vacation. Yeah. So, so what did, uh, so how did, uh, the cruise, but it was, it wasn't a, uh, or sorry, I I'm trying to go back and remember now. um was it the, uh, you said it was a Royal Caribbean cruise.
00:47:36
Speaker
This was the Disney fantasy. Oh, sorry. of The Disney fantasy. Okay. Sorry. Yeah. Yeah. So I'll be a little bit more brief for this one. Yeah. Um, fantasy was fantastic. Uh, we were on the fantasy in December, so familiar with the ship.
00:47:52
Speaker
Great crew. Um, so our first stop, we were in Zabrugge. So that kind of made it the eight night is we had to stop in Zabrugge. Um, we had ah great time.
00:48:06
Speaker
Like this was probably our highlight stop. Um, I had booked kind of a private walking tour and it included like a little canal boat ride.
00:48:17
Speaker
Um, So we started with six for the ABD and then my sister and her family, they met us up for the cruise. So then we became a group of 11. So I booked a lot of things just direct with third party providers because we had 11 people and different castaway statuses. And I didn't know if stuff would be available. So,
00:48:38
Speaker
um I kind of did our first ever kind of like third party bookings. Um, and we ended up getting a fantastic tour guide named Eve that is from Belgium and has his own tour company called the beard barion. So he had this massive beard that just was epic that my daughter was entranced with.
00:49:02
Speaker
Um, And he was found out later when I looked up his details, cause he was actually booked. I had booked through like the third party group and they booked him.
00:49:14
Speaker
So it was kind of just happenstance that we ended up with him. But when I looked up his details later, like he had been a history major, he was telling us that, um, during the non-tourist season, like he's in a, uh,
00:49:29
Speaker
Scottie Schaafson, Scottish irishish rock band group. So he's just a performer like so he was really good at telling stories about the history of where we were. um So it was just engaging. It was fun. it was it was like it was just great.
00:49:44
Speaker
Like he just did a great job through the tour, made it interesting, made it fun. Um, you know, he'd get animated and you'd see kind of the other tour groups kind of like looking over at him as he kind of be doing voices and doing the story and, you know, uh, but it was, it was great. So it made a good transition from being like with our ABD guides that were very engaged with us. It's like to continue that on.
00:50:07
Speaker
Um, and then he had some really good recommendations on where to get really good Belgium waffles. I mean, it was like, melt in your mouth like they were so soft fluffy and just delicious so not sitting under a heat lamp for period of time or anything no that no they were made on like to order and we had 11 people so we backed up the line to get our we shared some so we didn't order 11 but we still ordered a lot um
00:50:39
Speaker
So that was, that was just really, we had a great time with that. So if you're ever in Belgium and looking for a tour, he does them all across Belgium in different cities. The, the beard barion, that's my big plug. Check out the beard barion.
00:50:50
Speaker
um If you ever need a tour guide in Belgium, the next day we were at sea. So we hit gold this past spring break for us, March with DCL.
00:51:05
Speaker
So on some of their longer sailings, they do this special reception for Pearl, Platinum and Gold Castaway members. So we got this little invitation card in our stateroom. It was just like, hey, come to the Walt Disney Theater at 1015 on the sea day.
00:51:19
Speaker
So we went to the theater. And so normally the captain would be there, but the captain had lost his voice. So the cruise director was there and he kind of facilitated it.
00:51:32
Speaker
Um, But what they did is we did um Aladdin is one of the big stage shows on the fantasy. There's Aladdin and then Frozen and then Believe.
00:51:43
Speaker
So for Aladdin, they did the scene um Whole New World. So we watched kind of a very small, intimate performance of Whole New World. And then they brought out...
00:51:55
Speaker
quite a bit of the stage crew onto the stage and then talked about the stage crew. And then they did it again, but this time they did it with all of the calls that the stage crew is executing while they're doing the song.
00:52:08
Speaker
So you can actually see like how how the the process of making the show was.
Norwegian Excursions and Cultural Experiences
00:52:13
Speaker
Yeah. And so, spoiler alert if you're ever on the fantasy, um when they do Whole New World and they're on the magic carpet, there's a whole lot of smoke that rolls out.
00:52:26
Speaker
So if you're in those first few rows in the fantasy theater, you're going to get this stage smoke like all over you. But when they did the second version, they hold the smoke so you can see the mechanics and then you're hearing them go through the different commands and stages that they're using to make sure the carpet is doing what it's supposed to be doing.
00:52:43
Speaker
Yeah. So it was, it was, it was interesting to see. Um, so that was kind of that little special reception. And then at the end of it, they were like giving out Mickey packaged Mickey bars, uh, like the rice crispy ones or crisped rice.
00:53:01
Speaker
Um, as I think the package says, um, they were giving those out like by the handful. So, up so, so we took a few and then I think, uh,
00:53:12
Speaker
one of the kids ended up going by in one of the shops after. And I think they ended up coming into the shops cause they still had a lot of extras left and we're just giving them people in the shops. Like do you want Rice Krispie?
00:53:24
Speaker
So that was cool. ah but That's good. It's, you know, extra magic, right? You know, share the magic. yeah Yeah. So we weren't really sure what to expect, but that was, that was interesting. Um, The next day we were Hoggansend and for that one, I had booked another, it was a small group tour.
00:53:40
Speaker
And so that one took us through, um, one of the beaches, which was probably like 30 minutes away from the port. Um, And then we went, we were supposed to go by to meet a local fisherman, but I don't think the fisherman was there that day.
00:53:56
Speaker
Um, but we went to see kind of the fishermen's memorial that they had built not too far from it. So that was a nice area to kind of go see. Um, and then we went into this little summer town called, uh, I'm going to butcher the name, but it's, uh, and it's known as the white lady of the empire.
00:54:19
Speaker
Um, And what they did is at some point in the mid nineteen hundred they basically kind of made it like historical village.
00:54:30
Speaker
So all of the houses kind of have to retain the exterior of what those houses historically would have looked like. So... Is it like a lived in historical village or it like a, okay. So it's not like a museum thing. No, it's not a museum. Like I think some people like it's their summer homes. And then I think some people live there all year, but I mean, it's, it's maybe a thousand people.
00:54:53
Speaker
I mean, it's just a small rule little village, but there's like a old hit hotel there that we stopped at. And they had like, uh, a Norwegian Danish that we had, and then you could have coffee or tea with it.
00:55:07
Speaker
Um, and then like went and explored like the cellar, like they've now converted it to like little tables down there, but it used to be like the brewery for the end was down there when they would brew their own ale.
00:55:19
Speaker
Um, so it was just this very quaint old end that, you know, it's kind of run as a bed and breakfast at this point and has, I think three rooms.
00:55:31
Speaker
Um, It originally was like a six room end, but then they converted three of the bedrooms to bathrooms. Um, so we didn't see that part of it, but then, um, in that little village we walked and then they had kind of a grocery store and that one had, um, and Norwegian pancakes with like crumbled up bacon.
00:55:50
Speaker
You could get added into the pancake. Um, and those were very good. That's what we had for lunch. Um, i would say it was almost more of like a, uh, crepe consistency more than like, if you think of like a thicker pancake.
00:56:04
Speaker
Right. Um, but it was just think of like very crispy crumbled up, like bacon bits in the middle of a, crazy Was there anything, i guess, comparable? Because obviously, like, you're you're over in Europe.
00:56:20
Speaker
um Was there anything that you could compare it to that you've had elsewhere? Or was it, like, that unique? I would say...
00:56:34
Speaker
I mean, we've never got them. i would say probably because the pancake was so thin and it was more like a crate. I I'm thinking maybe if you found like a good, like savory crepe, like a deep for her, but then like almost fried it. You said like, cause it was like crispy.
00:56:49
Speaker
Yeah. or Okay. Yeah. Like it was, it was good. Um, like there's not anywhere like, I mean, I'm in North Carolina. There's not anywhere in North Carolina. had anything close to that.
00:57:01
Speaker
i be Yeah. Um, Like we'll make crepes at home, but it it's it wasn't quite the same. Like it was it was different than like a crepe we make at home, but not...
00:57:14
Speaker
kind of what I think most people would think of like as a pancake, but it was, it was quite good. Um, and then the last part of that is we went to, uh, St. Olaf's church. And that is kind of one of the, the big sites from where, um, the Vikings were in the late eight hundreds, early nine hundreds.
00:57:35
Speaker
Um, so we got a little bit of Viking history and heritage there. Um, which, which was interesting. Um, So it was a good tour. Like we enjoyed it.
00:57:47
Speaker
Um, it was fascinating to see. And like the, the St. Olaf church, that's where, um, the The monks that used to live there, um there's the doomsday stone that the the stone is kind of swinging. They said, you know, once the stone hits the church, that's when doomsday will arrive. And the so the monks have tried to chip wedges off the top of it um to kind of – prevent doomsday from arriving. So we could, so the tour guide like had told us that story and then pointed it out. So when we got there to see like, here's, here's where that is. And then, um, like they had discovered some old Viking ruins from when the Vikings were there.
00:58:30
Speaker
Um, so they've got some pictures and stuff from there. And she said, you know, in the future they might try to historically rebuild some of those to have. Um, but she's not sure. Cause there's ah like another place you can go.
00:58:42
Speaker
We didn't go do it, but you could take a boat, from the port and it takes you to kind of give you a viking experience it's like a viking camp so you kind of go through like a whole series of challenges to see if you're you're you're you meet the medal to be a viking um so she kind of showed us the like general we couldn't see that camp from where we were so um but it was interesting it was it was a good tour so we and we enjoyed that um We were then supposed to be in Njordfjordid, but we ended up having to change ports and we ended up going to Olden.
00:59:19
Speaker
um So at 7 the captain comes on, says due to potential winds that afternoon, he was concerned about the port in Njordfjord because apparently it was a floating dock.
00:59:33
Speaker
And with the winds that they were expecting to have that afternoon coming from through the fjords, he was kind of worried about the floating dock and getting passengers back on the ship.
00:59:46
Speaker
Um, so we ended up kind of going further into the fjord and went to olden, um, our third party excursion. So it sounded like they ended up moving pretty much most of the excursions people had booked, um, from North shorted to olden, um,
01:00:04
Speaker
I didn't really get great communication that our tour had been moved. We happened to get off the ship and then I saw the sign for the company. I was like, oh is this supposed to be for this one? And they're like, Oh yeah.
01:00:15
Speaker
And so then like we hopped on the bus to go do our, our, our, uh, we did a sightseeing boat on, uh, the gear and fjord.
01:00:27
Speaker
Um, so it had some impressive waterfalls and things we could go see. So, We weren't really expecting that to happen that day, but then we ended up getting to do it. ah I think people that had booked with Disney, I think initially Disney thought that they were not going to be having any of the tours. And then I think the operators contacted them and said, oh no, we've, cause I think,
01:00:50
Speaker
I think like driving wise, it was maybe like an hour and a half difference from where we were supposed to be to where we ended up. So I think most of the people like the tour operators just drove all of their people from town to town to get over there. Um,
01:01:06
Speaker
I think some of the people said at like 5 a.m. is when the ports found out that the ship was going to come. And then they started to call people and say like, hey we've got a cruise ship that's going to be here.
01:01:17
Speaker
Open up at 7 a.m.
01:01:20
Speaker
um So it it was it was a fun day. um It was, let's see, to get to where we took the boat to go out further into that ship.
01:01:33
Speaker
Garen Fjord was about an hour and a half. So we had about three hours on the bus, an hour on the boat um for the tour. So, I mean, it took up most of our day. um So it may not be the excursion everybody would want to do, but it was it was fun to kind of go through and see a little bit more like deeper within the fjord.
01:01:49
Speaker
um And then the really cool thing about Olden is they have this tradition where they play music as ships leave their port.
01:02:02
Speaker
so So you had like a send off. Yeah. Okay. That's kind of cool. so the most of the ports we like old and was by far the smallest, like port authority that we were at.
01:02:17
Speaker
um Okay. It's basically like you, you pull up, we dock, they have like a small little office. And then like, once you are clear of like, I don't know, 50 feet, maybe.
01:02:30
Speaker
Um, there's a pub and then the gift shop's just right across the road. And then there's like houses where people live like right across the road. So, I mean, you're like in town.
01:02:42
Speaker
Um, so yeah, they just set up these massive speakers at the pub. And then one of the guys that I, I assume he was with the port authority might've been with the pub.
01:02:55
Speaker
I don't know which, um, just started playing music and it was like alternating different songs and then like they were picking up different flags because they had different flags from different countries kind of along the patio of the of the pub and they were waving the flags in the air to do the send off and then they would do a song and then the fantasy would play ah some of the songs from the ship horns um And then they would do another song and then the fantasy would do some more so horn songs. so So it was like a back and forth. Yeah. It was this back. It was very, it was, yeah, it was very cool.
01:03:32
Speaker
Um, and then the other interesting thing is, so since this was the fantasy's first time at these ports, whenever a new ship comes, like the local authorities like present it with a plaque.
01:03:44
Speaker
So at each of our different stops, um, we had, and they had in like near the guest services disc on the atrium level, they had them on display where you could kind of see the plaques that they had received.
01:03:56
Speaker
Um, And then in Olden, like at the pub, they gave them a DCL flag. So when we were leaving, they had a DCL flag hoisted up on the flagpole waving. Um, and then I think there's somebody in Olden that he like collects like cruise ships. And so I guess he has like models of all these different cruise ships.
01:04:14
Speaker
Um, so somebody from the fantasy found him and gave him cause somebody posted about it in the Facebook group for the sailing. Um, about this guy and how he has all these different cruise ship models from the ships that have ported in. So it was just, it was cool.
01:04:27
Speaker
Like it was just, it was unexpected, but it was, it was neat to learn kind of a little bit about that. And, you know, the send off was fun. So everybody enjoyed it. Um, So then we then left Olden and then we went to Stavanger for Stavanger. We booked a tour with, uh, through the cruise line. And that was the Stavanger Olden new tour. Um, the new port was the petroleum museum that is very close to the port. So if you're ever in Stavanger, um,
01:04:56
Speaker
if you wanted to learn about the history of petroleum in Norway, it's an easy walk. Um, I feel like that resonates very similar to what Maelstrom kind of showed off at the end. Like there was, I don't know if you remember the final scene in Maelstrom before they changed it. There was a big like offshore oil tanker or not oil tanker, but, uh, um, right yeah.
01:05:19
Speaker
Like, so it's, so it's that kind of like, like, like showing that kind of, uh, yeah um i guess I don't know if it's history or what or like something relevant to Norway.
01:05:30
Speaker
Yeah. No. So both my parents were geologists. And so my my dad had worked for Phillips Petroleum, which was the company that initially did a lot of oil exploration in Norway. And so he knew different people in the oil industry in Norway because my dad did international exploration.
01:05:48
Speaker
So it was interesting for him to kind of see, cause they had Norwegian press and different things within the museum talking about like when the fields were discovered and then it was talking about Phillips. And so for my family, it was interesting to see this connection because that's what I grew up with was my dad dealing with these different oil, oil fields in different parts of the world. So, so it was, it was interesting for us to see that. And then,
01:06:16
Speaker
to go tour and then But I mean, again, Norway, they they talk about this quite a bit. you know In the 90s, they established kind of this oil fund to help sustain Norway into the future. and then they talk about...
01:06:28
Speaker
yeah things that Norway is trying to do to also not be totally reliant on oil and gas exports for their sustaining future going forward. So it it is interesting. And oh, and I'll add this piece. is like most We did this museum and there's one other museum we did.
01:06:46
Speaker
Both museums had scavenger hunts for the kids that were included in your admission. So it was just like, here's this map. Here's some stickers. Here's what you're supposed to find. Once you find the things, bring it back and they get a prize.
01:06:58
Speaker
So for our eight year old, it was great because it was kind of, Hey, here's this activity we can go around to do to see some stuff. Um, so I think, well, I think she ended up getting rocks at both.
01:07:14
Speaker
But she was excited because they were like geodes. They were like shiny rocks. Like those like um like adventure things they do in Disney. like Same kind of thing where like you go around and get stickers or something at yeah the end. yeah Yeah. so So just if you're ever at a museum in Norway. See if, see if they've got a scavenger hunt.
01:07:35
Speaker
I think adults could do it too, if they wanted, but they, yeah they were, they're trying to make a point to let the kids know that if they wanted to do these scavenger hunts for a prize, they could. Yeah. Ideally they are usually targeted towards the kids. Yeah.
01:07:47
Speaker
So, so that was, that was fun. The old part was it's, it's part of the university that was there and Stavanger. um But there was this area where they had old ruins from kind of the Viking era and above. so what's interesting is they didn't excavate the ruins.
01:08:07
Speaker
They built above the ruins and they built replicas of three different buildings that would have been this little village that back in the 800s.
01:08:18
Speaker
And so they kind of go through and tell you a little bit of like how things were set up and they're like, okay, well, they when the winter would come, this is where they put the animals. So the animals would be in here. And then they designed the building to try to capture the heat from the animals to move through to help heat the house. But you just hopefully don't get too many animals. Coming the wrong way. ah So that was that was cool.
01:08:41
Speaker
um And then since it was a Disney excursion, And I don't know if they do this for all of them, but we ended up seeing this twice. so when we were in, uh, the Bruges, we happened to run into a Disney cruise line photographer and she was like, Oh, are you on the Disney ship? i was like, yes. And she's like, Oh, well, we'll take your picture.
01:08:59
Speaker
Yeah. And then when we were doing this old and new tour, there was a photographer that was on the bus. so when we were at the village, like she had set up at one of the spots because they had like some swords, like some play swords.
01:09:12
Speaker
And so then they were doing like pictures with the kids could take holding the swords and, you know, doing, uh, poses with their swords there in the, in the hillside. So, yeah. So, I mean, they kind of had photographers from the ship kind of come out with some of these tour groups that could take photos for you while you were there. And then it just be linked back ah to your cabin when you got back on the ship.
01:09:33
Speaker
So that was, that was cool. Like we haven't really, like when we've done the Caribbean sailings, we haven't really done a lot of tours. So I don't know if on those, if they have a photographer that comes out or not, but in In Norway, they did have photographers out in some of the ports. Yeah, that's I mean, yeah, I guess I've never heard of that on or I guess, you know, to be fair, I've not actually done any cruises, so I don't have a point of reference. But I've, you know, I feel like that's, you know, Disney's trying to do something a little extra, right? Like it it feels like, you know, you know, an add on thing that they're kind of doing. Yeah.
01:10:15
Speaker
Yeah. And then our, our last port day was Saturday and we went to Christian send. Um, and so for that one, we had two excursions. We booked another, ah speed sightseeing boat.
01:10:30
Speaker
That was third party that we did that morning. And that was really fun. Um, yeah. It kind of took us around and we kind of saw some of the little smaller islands and the the driver was kind of telling us, you know, basically these are kind of like summer houses and you you have to have a boat because it's, you know, this little island and you take your boat from this dock to get over here and then...
01:10:53
Speaker
you You bring you know your provisions you need for why you're there with you. um But it was just beautiful scenery. And like all that all the houses were like really well maintained.
01:11:05
Speaker
um So that was just enjoyable to just kind of go and see. And then he kind of took us in. We came back in, kind of brought us in pretty close to see our ship. um So that was that was fun.
01:11:16
Speaker
And then the afternoon we had booked through Disney. There was a mineral park. um So we went and did the mineral park. it was okay. I think, I think, I think of it, I think if we had skipped that one, everybody had been okay.
01:11:29
Speaker
Um, my parents enjoyed seeing the different rocks and different things, but it was, it was a relatively like, not for everybody. It's not for everybody. Um, it did have a really nice like play area outside. So I think if you had like some younger kids and wanted a spot where they could just like run around and like play and like, it seemed to be like a nice park, um, to get away from the ship. But it, I would say it was not like the highlight and it'd be okay if you passed on the mineral park, they had, they had some impressive looking gems and stuff there, but, um, it also had a pretty decent like bus ride to get in and out from where the mine was.
01:12:11
Speaker
Um, but again, my parents are geologists. So, I kind of booked it with their interest in mind of like, my dad likes to see rocks and different things.
Return to London and Reflections on the Trip
01:12:21
Speaker
So this will be a highlight for him probably.
01:12:26
Speaker
um So yeah, so that was that was the cruise. We had another sea day. um For getting back to London, we had booked. I booked through a group called International Friends. We went to the Cotswolds and to Oxford and did kind of a tour through that area. The the Monday we got off the ship. So that was that was good.
01:12:49
Speaker
um We booked a hotel room London. Heathrow just to be close because I'm glad I did because I learned on our drive from the airport to get to the original hotel for London.
01:13:03
Speaker
Like the kids were like, how much longer? And I'd look on the map and be like, oh, it says we're like two miles away, but it's going to still be like 25 minutes. Yeah. yeah getting Getting around London is not quick.
01:13:14
Speaker
Yeah. So and our flight was like scheduled to leave like 10 Tuesday morning. So I was like, okay, like we didn't have to factor in like you weren't like trying to get across London to get to Heathrow. You were, you were close enough.
01:13:25
Speaker
Makes sense. Yeah. Wow. That's ah so, okay. So that, that was your entire like adventures by Disney and then the cruise. Yep.
01:13:36
Speaker
That that's quite the trip that you had. um And then you like, ah or like we said, you, you said you had another, um cruise with Royal Caribbean.
01:13:50
Speaker
but No Royal. so Sorry? No Royal. Oh, no. Sorry. Who was it with? No, no. So we did the ABD and then there was the eight night with Disney on the fantasy. Oh, sorry. I thought you said there was another cruise in there as well.
01:14:04
Speaker
No, no. We we um managed two extra boat rides like on things as excursions. Got it. Okay. now Yeah, got it. Sorry, I thought I misunderstood that. But yeah, that's that is an amazing um trip. And yeah, definitely you know understand that you know Adventures by Disney is not... or It sounds like it's not...
01:14:24
Speaker
um Or don't don't treat it like, you know, going to a Disney park. It's definitely um much more than that. It sounds like theyre that they do try and put a lot into it from um the sounds of it. And ah yeah, that's that's a that's a pretty fantastic way to to get to go and explore some historical cities, you know, you know all that kind of stuff, right? it sound It sounded like you had a really great time.
01:14:52
Speaker
Yeah. Like we had, we had just a great time and like, it's like at first with like the ABD, you kind of start out and you're kind of like, okay, what what is this going to be? Like, should I really, should I really have spent the money?
01:15:07
Speaker
And then you get into it and you're like, oh, okay. Like i I, definitely got the value from this experience. Like, because they packed so much into it in such a short amount of time.
01:15:22
Speaker
that i don't I don't think I could have done all that on my own. like I would have probably scaled back and then i still would have had to have been also figuring out other logistics. So...
01:15:34
Speaker
It's, it's a different type of way to travel that it takes a little bit of adjustment to. And then like doing the cruise after i was kind of like, there's aspects of the ABD I was kind of missing. I was like, ah, I just wish this was just taken care of.
01:15:49
Speaker
Like I had, cause like I was still, because like I had booked stuff third party, like I was like still just making sure like, okay, like now Are going to show up? Like, is this going to still happen? Yeah. its It's that whole, um, yeah, you know, we always talk about, uh, you know, the difference between like, you know, planning everything out yourself and being like, okay, know, I've got this day figured out versus like, you know, paying, paying somebody and saying like, you know, Hey, this is all taken care of, right? Like, you know, all the, all the details of it are taken care of. So you can really just enjoy the moment and the experience.
Closing Remarks and Sign-off
01:16:23
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, no, I appreciate that. and like I said, you know, that's that's a great trip report. And um do you have any other closing thoughts or comments here before we ah we close this off?
01:16:37
Speaker
i don't think I think I've covered a lot. So I think i' yeah think i've said i think I've said a lot and more. so yeah Yeah, like I said, really really appreciate you coming on the show, Chris. And yeah, thank you again for for're sharing your AVD experience with us. And we'll close it off here. And thank you, everyone, for listening to The Waitlist.
01:16:57
Speaker
This is Skipper Albert A. Wall, the voice of the jungle, signing off from Welcome Home Podcast on the DVC. I looked around from pole to pole, found her in a sugar bowl.
01:17:09
Speaker
Look out, here comes my ball and chain.