We had a character greeting with Donald Duck before dinner. We were secretly hoping for Mickey, but Donald was a lot of fun. He liked my striped shirt.
tags: disney donaldduck disneyfantasy
photo posted by matt in Thursday, September 28, 2023
We had a character greeting with Donald Duck before dinner. We were secretly hoping for Mickey, but Donald was a lot of fun. He liked my striped shirt.
tags: disney donaldduck disneyfantasy
photo posted by matt in Thursday, September 28, 2023
Renee didn't like her first choice, "the blue one." I don't remember what it was, but one sip was enough for her to know she didn't like it. Coincidentally, one sip of my espresso martini was enough for her to know she did like that. Very much, actually. "The blue one" was promptly abandoned and Renee received her own espresso martini minutes later.
photo posted by matt in Thursday, September 28, 2023
Maintenance on a cruise ship never ends. We walked past a painting crew giving some love to the Disney Fantasy signage as we returned to the ship.
tags: disney cruise disneyfantasy
photo posted by matt in Tuesday, September 26, 2023
I just love the lines of this ship. Truly beautiful.
tags: disney fantasy sanjuan puertorico travel cruise ship
photo posted by matt in Wednesday, September 27, 2023
Back to the ship!
tags: disney fantasy sanjuan puertorico
photo posted by matt in Wednesday, September 27, 2023
After leaving Castillo San Cristóbal, we walked the streets of Old San Juan a bit. What a beautiful place. Narrow streets lined with shops and restaurants, bright colors all around, and friendly people everywhere.
tags: travel disney sanjuan puertorico
photo posted by matt in Wednesday, September 27, 2023
Renee and I in Castillo San Cristóbal with the port in the background. We really enjoyed our visit to this incredible place of history.
tags: disney cruise sanjuan puertorico selfie
photo posted by matt in Wednesday, September 27, 2023
The fortress has a narrow opening at one end that provided an interesting frame for our ship — the Disney Fantasy.
tags: disney cruise sanjuan puertorico
photo posted by matt in Wednesday, September 27, 2023
There's a little chapel inside the fortress, in the open central yard. Tiny, bright.
tags: disney cruise sanjuan puertorico
photo posted by matt in Wednesday, September 27, 2023
We had a gorgeous look at Old San Juan as we continued into port. What a beautiful port entrance.
tags: travel disney cruise puertorico sanjuan
photo posted by matt in Wednesday, September 27, 2023
Renee and I had a bourbon tasting tonight. We (mostly) enjoyed a great selection of bourbons, including one that is, to date, a favorite of both of ours — Blanton's. I didn't care for the Wild Turkey Rare Breed, but I pretty much loved everything else. Town Branch was a standout.
photo posted by matt in Monday, September 25, 2023
Renee and I are about to get our Bingo on. No idea how to use this tablet...but here we go!
photo posted by matt in Monday, September 25, 2023
We woke up this morning to an unexpected port call. At first I thought we were just slowly traversing the Turks Island Passage, cutting southward through the islands. I then realized we were sitting still, and then realized we're were docked. The concierge told us there was a medical emergency on board, and the captain later made an announcement that a crew member needed "additional medical attention that can only be received at a hospital." I watched as an ambulance slowly made its way to the dock and presumably carried the crew member away. I sure hope they're ok.
I also watched a Learjet land at Grand Turk International airport, which was cool. Flew in from Tampa, making slightly better time than us. ;-)
Maybe 20-30 minutes later we were underway again. I guess now Renee and I can officially say we've been to Turks and Caicos.
tags: travel disney fantasy cruise turksandcaicos caribbean
photo posted by matt in Monday, September 25, 2023
We ended up having three dessert courses because of the anniversary cake. This course included another cake (presented in the smaller egg pictured here), some chocolates, and apricot rolls. They surprised me a bit, and I think I liked them the best.
We couldn't finish this round. So much food!
The maǐtre ď brought Renee a rose (fibbing a bit, saying it was from me), and we left after enjoying one of the best meals we've ever had.
tags: disney fantasy remy dining
photo posted by matt in Sunday, September 24, 2023
Our waiter knew we were celebrating our anniversary, and asked if we wanted to celebrate in the restaurant (assuring us it would not involve a group of waiters clapping and singing at our table!). At the end of our meal, he brought our "surprise" - a celebration cake in a mirrored egg. The presentation was a bit odd when compared to the amazing presentation of everything else, but the cake was fantastic. We enjoyed it a bit later, as our second dessert.
tags: disney fantasy travel cruise remy dining
photo posted by matt in Sunday, September 24, 2023
Renee and I enjoyed a wonderful, multi-course dinner at Remy onboard the Disney Fantasy tonight. Our waiter suggested that Renee order the French tasting and that I order the American, and that we then share each course. He essentially gave us permission to do what we were wondering but might have been afraid to ask, which was a really welcoming way to start the meal.
Turns out, pretty much everything from both menus was fantastic. I think we both like the toothfish the best, followed by the Wagyu beef and then, for me, the beet dish. Truly an incredible meal and amazing service.
tags: disney fantasy remy dining
photo posted by matt in Sunday, September 24, 2023
You can't help but relax with this view.
tags: travel cruise disney disneyfantasy
photo posted by matt in Sunday, September 24, 2023
Little touches of that Disney magic are everywhere! Ha!
Our room at the DVC resort at Grand Floridian is really nice, but the message on the tv when we first arrived made me laugh. Not sure how they got it wrong. I guess the real Magic is I know if I said something, they would try to fix it.
tags: disney
photo posted by matt in Friday, September 22, 2023
Renee and I are starting our anniversary vacation with a one night stay at Grand Floridian tonight. We're heading over to Port Canaveral for our cruise tomorrow. Lunch today, celebrating 26 ears.
tags: disney anniversary
photo posted by matt in Friday, September 22, 2023
"Nobody seemed to have paid attention, however, to an important detail: Disney had been simultaneously maneuvering to restrict the governor’s effort. In early February — at a public meeting held by the previous, Disney-controlled oversight board — the company pushed through a development agreement that would limit the new board’s power for decades to come."
Mess with the Mouse, you'll get the horns.
posted by matt in Saturday, April 1, 2023
"Florida law dictates that special districts created by the legislature can only be dissolved with a majority vote of the district’s landowners. For Reedy Creek, that’s the Walt Disney Company."
This is political theatre at its worst. DeSantis isn't just dancing for the camera, he's doing so knowing that the bill is legally dead on arrival in the courts. We haven't heard from Disney yet, so I suppose it's possible they will accept the loss of the district in exchange for something. I seriously doubt that, though, and I doubt Orlando taxpayers are happy about absorbing a billion dollars of debt.
Part of me hopes DeSantis presses forward with his clown show, just so we can watch Disney kick his ass. The lawyers are already on it, I'm sure. Moron.
posted by matt in Friday, April 22, 2022
Disney should grant immediate and automatic licenses for such uses, and tell YouTube to adjust its algorithm accordingly.
posted by matt in Thursday, April 21, 2022
Caught the sunset through the massive window in our room at Disney's Saratoga Springs tonight — incredible light.
tags: sunset silhouette photography disney dvc
photo posted by matt in Saturday, October 16, 2021
Sometimes missed manual focus gives some interesting results. The dots of the cling graphics on the Disney gondola tricked the camera here a bit, but I do like the end result.
tags: disney skyride photography
photo posted by matt in Saturday, October 16, 2021
Our Food and Wine squad
tags: disney epcot foodandwine
photo posted by matt in Thursday, October 14, 2021
Cowboy mac and cheese for dinner.
tags: disney epcot foodandwine
photo posted by matt in Thursday, October 14, 2021
Found a shady spot in the Italian pavilion...so, break time.
tags: disney epcot foodandwine
photo posted by matt in Thursday, October 14, 2021
Food and wine selfie. Have fork, will travel.
tags: disney epcot foodandwine selfie
photo posted by matt in Thursday, October 14, 2021
Lobster roll and carrot cake from the American pavilion. For lunch, I suppose, only because it's about that time.
tags: disney epcot foodandwine
photo posted by matt in Thursday, October 14, 2021
Also got a filet in Canada, but forgot to take a pic until after we tore into it.
tags: disney epcot foodandwine
photo posted by matt in Thursday, October 14, 2021
First stop, poutine in Canada.
tags: disney epcot foodandwine
photo posted by matt in Thursday, October 14, 2021
Ready to get our Food and Wine on!
tags: disney foodandwine epcot
photo posted by matt in Thursday, October 14, 2021