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Showing content with the highest reputation on 03/15/2025 in all areas

  1. The Mecalodon trains have begun to arrive at Wailibi Belgium and they look great! https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1LX6yuinPS/ Mecalodon is here! The brand new Walibi coaster will soon come to life! What do you think of the train design? We are fans!
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  2. After some time at sea we arrived in port at Valetta, Malta, earlier than planned due to an unexpected itinerary change. We had been set to visit Mykonos in Greece but due to significant storms, the conditions were deemed unsafe for the ship to make port there. Valetta had already been on our schedule, but the ship worked hard to make up for the lost port, re-arranging our next planned day at sea, and arriving in Valetta a day early for an evening and overnight stay in port, leading into the originally-planned day there. Our first night in Malta was uneventful, and just consisted of aimless wandering on foot and a Maltese dinner at one of the port-area restaurants. The next day we would wake early to catch our bus for the Traditional Maltese Ftira Demo Making & Wine Tasting port adventure. The drive through Valletta was quite scenic. We stopped first at Diar Il-Bniet, a local Maltese restaurant for a hands-on cooking demo. We were able to sample some dips and spreads commonly found on the Maltese dinner table. Next we were tasked with rolling out our own ftira dough and loading it up with cheese and toppings of our choice. Ftira is in essence Maltese pizza, and as such it is cooked very similarly. Mine had two kinds of cheeses, green olives and eggplant. I opted out of the traditional cooked tuna topping that was available. Next on our tour was a visit to another culinary experience... The Meridiana Wine Estate is built on a former military airfield. We had a chance to walk through the wine-making process during our visit. This included seeing how the wine was stored in the cellars below. And finally we had a chance to sample the goods. Back onboard the Disney Dream we skipped Pirates Night dinner in the rotational dining venue in favor of dinner at Palo. These pillowly, pesto-y clouds of heaven were the restaurant's gnocchi. Butternut squash agnolotti for the win. Dinner featured an incredible view of Valetta as we sailed away from the port. Valetta is a major destination for the filming of movies, and during our visit, production on Gladiator II was underway. Having just watched the movie a few weeks ago, it is neat to think that I saw some of the sets relatively up-close not long before. A massive blue screen had also been constructed nearby, likely for the same film. It isn't a dinner at Palo without their signature Osso Bucco. But my favorite dish out of any meal at Palo is actually the Grilled Portobello Mushroom. Absolute bliss. The chocolate souffle is a must-have when visiting Palo. Even if you're full, you must find room and try it. After dinner we enjoyed the special vibes of Pirates Night. And we spotted a few notable pirates along the way... Due to the nature of our longer cruise, we were treated to some extra variety acts in the Walt Disney Theatre during our sailing. Paul Zerdin, from "America's Got Talent" fame was featured on the main stage for the night. Having watched him as a contestant on the show years ago, this was a really pleasant surprise to see him in person on our sailing. Pirates Night towel animal for the win! Pirates in the Caribbean is one of my favorite character experiences onboard. Mickey and the gang come out in pirate gear and teach the guests about how to be a pirate. And that knowledge is put to the test when a band of pirates under the leadership of Captain Hook and Mr. Smee crash the party. Some new-to-me magic was the chance to experience the show while wearing my DisneyBand+ which lit up and vibrated in sync with the show. The night concluded with a fun, adult-only performance by Chris Cox, a mind reader. Breakfast of champions required for the next morning... For today we would be welcomed to Catania, Italy. The ship docked within a size-able view of Mount Etna, the famous active volcano in Catania. We were greeted with a significant welcome trail! We toured the city by bus and found preserved remains of former city elements of Catania embedded in the modern, rebuilt areas. The architecture of the city center was impressive. We spent some time roaming the area on our walking tour... We visited a few churches along the way. Allow me one artistic shot per update. Next on our tour was a visit to another winery... There we learned about the Italian style of wine-making and sampled some small bites along the way. It wouldn't be a wine tasting without wine to be tasted. A hero's welcome was waiting for us back at the ship after our port adventure. I'll forever love this ship's atrium. Back onboard we could experience a fun dance party with Mickey, Minnie and the gang. Hi Elissa! Riding the AquaDuck with a view of Mount Etna is quite fun! Riding the AquaDuck in general is quite fun! We enjoyed this awesome water slide several times throughout our cruise. A view of the upper deck... The Mickey Slide is fun for the younger kids. Always one of my favorite photos to take while onboard. What else do I do with my free time in the stateroom than to watch obscure cult classics like Tomorrowland. Hiya Donald! Exclusive to the longer itineraries, the cast of the Walt Disney Theatre gets to put on a custom show where the performers can sing notable Disney songs of their choice. This is always one of the highlights of our longer cruises! Mickey looks great in his Greek outfit! The sun set on another amazing day... And as per tradition, we were greeted in our stateroom with another adorable towel animal.
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  3. I looked it up. . the character who shows off her panties is named "Upsy Daisy" no. . really and apparently that's her bed that follows her around. . . . Bwaaaa-haaaa-haaaaaa
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  5. Day 8 concluded: we wandered around for a couple of hours, ,getting re-rides on things we wanted while we prepped to meet up for Wicker Man ERT at park close at 5. over in the Nemesis section, more anti government "protesters" were out demanding fair treatment for the creature. and I happened to notice this sign over on the rapids. I really do wish the US parks would enforce something like this. . . would make it such a nicer experience than riding with rowdy teenagers. eventually it was time to meet up in front of Wicker Man. .so we headed over that way as you can see, was an absolutely gorgeous day. remember that donut stand in front of Oblivion? someone (I think Colin?) had gone over and gotten donuts including the Oblivion themed one. so Robb took a picture of it with us, as he hadn't brought enough to share! are we ready for Wicker Man ERT? YES! one more time. . are we ready?? YES!!! as mentioned, I absolutely LOVED this coaster. I think it's one of very few that I rode every single train available during ERT. and because it was at end of day, and the park had been running two trains? we were able to do "zen rides". . here's Kristen all alone in front row of Wicker Man and I believe I have Elissa to thank for this pic of me on my zen ride! wheee!!!! ' they even kept on the fire and smoke effects for us the whole time. easily my favorite coaster at Alton Towers (tho Nemesis is a very close 2nd, followed by 13, and Spinball) Stacy's got some "hair time" nothing better than getting eaten by the Wicker Man. SO good! once ERT was over, we headed over to the back of the park for our evening reservation at the Rollercoaster Restaurant. ok.. so if you've never been to one? the concept is pretty neat, but the food tends to be pretty mediocre (and expensive). That was the case here too, but if you've never been to one? I'd say it's worth it just to experience once. and if you go with a group of friends? you can have a fantastic time, even with so-so food. which again was the case here before they dim the lights, you can see the mess of "tracks" overhead - that they use to serve the main meals to each table station. you order at the kiosk once seated. . . "Nemesis Reborn" was a burger option. so yeah, theme park pricing. . . part of our table station. . once the lights went down. the other half of our table: people watching the tracks as food starts coming out. in the center of this pic (by the pole) you can see one of the food deliveries coming we're all happy as we think our food is coming but nope.. went to the next table over. that's ok tho, as the waiter brought over our drinks (not delivered via coaster track) ok. .here comes our food! I mean. .it's a burger and it was an OK burger too. . . tho I didn't care for how the purple lighting made all the food look. LOL still. .it's an experience to try out if you've never done one of these RollerCoaster restaurants. and with that, we headed back to the resort thru the back entrance of the park (the prior day, we had left from front gate and had to walk around the park to get back to resort, but this time we were able to use the resort exit since next to the Rollercoaster Restaurant). we had to pack, as tomorrow was check out day, and we were headed towards what really was my main "bucket list" park: Blackpool Pleasure Beach! (and Steeplechase). but we were gonna hit a surprise park along the way first, so had to get everything ready to go, and get rested for the adventure to continue. (I'll try to get next update up fairly soon. . but got to update the Oktoberfest report before another update here ). hope you've enjoyed seeing the park thru my eyes.
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  6. day 8 - 2nd full day at Alton Towers, checking out CeBeebes land, the gardens, the Alton Towers Dungeon, WickerMan ERT and the rollercoaster restaurant for dinner! after a good night's sleep (and a brilliant 1st day at Alton towers), was up and ready to go at park open the 2nd day. but first stop? the coffee shop in the Hotel. Not quite a Starbucks, but really the closest I found on our UK trip! the big chair photo op had no line this morning (and Andrew had joined me in getting coffee - so there was someone with to snap a pic). I DO love me a good throne! Andrew does too meeting up with Stacy in the lobby we headed to the Monorail station. today, we got to ride on Strawberry! wheee we had hit every coaster yesterday, so today I was determined to do all the silly, stupid stuff (ie: the stuff I really love to do), and first on my list was that elevated railway, over in CeBeebees land. told ya yesterday I was gonna ride it damn it Stacy was willing, since I had waiting in line with her at the kiddie coaster yesterday, so we stood in the 20 minute line for our ride (it's a fairly long ride, and only seemed to have 5-6 cars). Spinball Whizzer hadn't been running yet, but if I recall, the park did open at 9, and most of the rides don't start until 10. but we got a view of it from the Treetop adventures queue I mean. . look at this silly thing! of COURSE I wanted to ride it. yay!! as noted it's a fairly long track, and high enough you get a decent view of most of the land - which is actually quite large. over the fence was a Bluey show that was going on, and we figured if we timed it correctly, we could catch the end of it. (by the way, it was here that I learned that Bluey is a girl. . I had no idea!). it's a LIFT HILL !!! (well, I'm gonna count it as one) seriously. . WTF are these things? and they were among the LEAST F-ed up things in this land. I'm shocked British kids don't end up way more damaged if this is what they are watching instead of Bozo, Captain Kangaroo, Romper Room, or Sesame Street. noted! the land really is quite large. . with tons of stores, shows, and indoor attractions my brain wanted badly to ride this. . .but even I realized that this one is for the little kids, and I likely couldn't get my fat ass into the seat. . . LOL Take the tunnel !!! look at all these bunny hops! it IS a coaster ! ah. .there we go. . .as we were getting off the ride, Spinball Whizzer started testing over the fence next door. we made our way over to the theater, and had just missed the Bluey and friends show. . . but they were out doing a meet and greet (and the ducks were out too) I had no idea who any of these were other than Bluey, but oh I learned .. . . and this weird little guy was driving around (and managing not to run over any of the little kiddos) he was interactive with the guests too. I discovered this nightmare of a ride by looking at a park map and saying to Stacy . . "is that a ride????" it looked like it was part of a store, but it was actually next to the store (exit thru the store), and was the theme of the other resort hotel - the Night Garden, magical adventure ride. again, HOW can kids sleep with this nightmare fuel all over the hotel room?? turned out it was a boat ride, which got us both excited. silly, and on a boat? complete win!!! the operator looked quite amused that we were so excited about it. ok. . starting off a little bit dark. . but into the woods we go. aww. .how cute. . a little "train". . . I guess? and Peter Rabbit themed frog hoppers next door (that you shouldnt' be able to see from the boat ride, but ok, it's still rather decent theming) Um. . . whut? trolls? with cream puff hair??? WHUT the AKTUAL F are these???? Gahhhhh!!!! a starfish infected with measles??? a gay sun? sheesh. . ok, back to reality (or at least other kiddie rides we can see from the boat ride) this SEEMED to be an interactive experience where one can go pet puppies and cats. . but we never made it back over here to be certain. oh no. . . back into the dark forest for. . . um. . I dunno what these are? it's got a bike. i think? this TERRIFIED me. .and I wish I could remember her name, as apparently she's one of the best known characters from the kiddie shows in Britain. she's known for hiking up her skirt. no, really and the animatronic does it!! I was laughing so hard, that I almost didn't get a pic, and I still managed to catch part of it, if not the full pantie reveal tiny fairie guardsmen? cue Whodini: the fever dream was over :(. . . . I loved every moment of it. . . Stacy was done with the kiddie section tho bumped into the Alton Towers bear again tho. .so my day was fantastic thus far. hadn't noticed this yesterday, but the splash battle has sharks circling we headed towards Wicker Man and grabbed a ride, and then we popped into one of the Taverns in this section to try out the drinks. we had planned to do the Dungeon with a bunch of TPR folks as a group, so we headed that way after the beers. we had a great time! and thanks so much for the photo pass, and sharing this pic with us! we then headed over to 13 for another ride, and saw a bunch of TPR folks on ride just in front of us. hi Colin, Adam, Ryan, Jonathan, Shane, Chris, Barry & Steve (not looking) we debated what to do next and Stacy and I decided to tour the "ruins" in the center of the park. . so we headed over there (I think Andrew joined us too) not sure if this is part of the queue of "Hex" - which was down for refurb - but it certainly looked like these were emergency exit options. or perhaps ride exit. regardless. . it's very cool that these structures, are just in the center of a theme park. they do such a fantastic job "hiding" the rides. . you'd never know there are rollercoasters all around you of course we decided to take the lakeside walk path to get to Haunted Hollow (had to ride Curse of Alton Manor again!). . and so glad we did the pathway is just littered with all kinds of interactive sculpture and atmosphere that trigger when you get close to them. different scare actors out in front of the attraction today, but they too were having a ball. they all really seem to love their jobs. like the Donut shop in the middle of Oblivion, the Curse of Alton Manor has a sweet shop across from the main entrance. with some really delicious looking special treats Stacy got the black ice cream with eyeballs to be continued. .. .
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  7. After our brief but wonderful taste of Europa Park the prior evening, it was hard to sleep knowing that we'd have two full days to enjoy the resort ahead of us. I managed to grab what rest I could, eagerly awaiting the morning's exclusive ride time. We started with Blue Fire, another of the park's coasters that I had long anticipated getting the chance to ride. This is one sleek train! ERT earned many thumbs up! As soon as ERT was over, Robb and I rushed over to The Can-Can Coaster (Eurosat), not for the traditional ride experience, but for the newly-opened The Phantom of the Opera Coastiality VR experience. Replacing the previous Valerian VR experience that debuted with the rebuilt Eurosat, this new experience leans heavily into the fandom surrounding Andrew Lloyd Webber's classic musical. The queue is filled with props from the show... The queue also serves as pre-show experience before the VR elements begin, setting the stage for your visit to L'Opera Populaire in Paris. Fans of Andrew Lloyd Webber can find in-universe nods to some of his other works. I'll be absolutely honest. I'm not a huge fan of VR experiences on coasters. But I am a huge fan of Phantom of the Opera--I've seen the show seven times in my life, the movie countless times and I've listened to the soundtrack far too many times to count. For this reason, I wasn't going to be to visit Europa Park without seeing how such a beloved (albeit likely incompatible) IP could translate to a theme park ride experience. Unlike other VR experiences I've been on, this one had you put on the headset while standing in a room away from the loading platform. From here the pre-show experience begins in Box 5 of the Paris Opera House, the Phantom's preferred booth. Surprisingly, the booth lowers from the theater down into the catacombs below to reveal the Phantom's lair. Standing alongside others who are also wearing the VR headsets (you and others around you are represented as period-appropriate avatars, mine an older woman in a purple dress and Robb's a man with a monocle, a black top hat and a grey mustache) you are guided by another avatar through the catacombs to a convenient train of gondolas. What you don't realize is that from behind the VR helmets, you are walking to the Eurosat trains. And through the VR experience you are actually expected to walk to and get into your seats. If the VR isn't spot on (whether because of the headset placement or how it has sync'd up), then your results on getting in safely may vary... But I absolutely give them credit for such a ballsy approach. Once seated, your gondolas take off and begin on a journey that summarizes the key points of the musical's story in a compressed format. Logic, science and physics cease to matter as, once you ascend Eurosat's lift hill, your point of view shifts from the turning gondolas to a glowing orb that floats and flies through the story's scenes. The ride kicks off strong with the Phantom bringing down the chandelier to the famous tones of the show's main overture, and as the chandelier collides with the stage, you go crashing through it, down and into the catacombs. Flying through the layout of the physical coaster, you inexplicably weave in and out of the Paris Opera as it crumbles and burns, pausing near the end for Raoul and Christine to kiss in front of its burning remains, before returning inside to revisit the Phantom's lair, where he appears briefly and disappears in a gag that mirrors a final moment from the show, All in all, it was an interesting way to translate the show to a ride. The VR graphics aren't quite there yet and the syncing with the coaster's movement never really felt perfectly aligned--both reasons why I was in love with the end result, but as a Phantom fan, I'm grateful that Europa Park was gutsy enough to choose such a property for this experience. Now time for another hotly anticipated experience! Due to our visit taking place near Halloween, the coaster's signature music had been replaced with a special track for the season. "It's Halloween" plays on repeat throughout the queue and inside of the ride itself during this overlay. And I guess it is because I didn't know what I was missing--I thought it worked really well. Euro-Mir was a really fun ride (with a somewhat wild finale) and the randomized rotations made it very re-rideable. You know we had to come back for more Voltron! I love that the Croatia section of the park features three animatronics of Nikola Tesla (one in the queue, one at the start of the coaster and one in an outdoor area in the land). I strongly considered buying this Coaster Dynamix Nanocoaster but I haven't finished assembling several of the ones I already own. Silver Star stands in the foggy distance... Madame Freudenreich Curiosités was a very cute way to repurpose the "Universe of Energy" dinosaurs for a more unique (and less knock-off-ish) experience. The ride has a cute story. Familiar but different. There are lots of dinosaurs to be found in the ride. Not our dino, TPR has a bobsled team! Long had I waited for this moment! And Schweizer Bobbahn did not disappoint! The Swiss section of the park is charming and narrow... But most importantly... It is home to raclette! TPR takeover of the raclette hut! The park has so many beautiful areas to enjoy. I love the faux bateaux mouche so much! Europa Park had already been a delicious and refreshing experience so far! Time for more cute dark rides! Adorable. How does one follow up such cuteness? With coasters, of course! It was nice to just hang out for a bit. Of all of the rides inspired by Disney's Haunted Mansion that we experience on this trip, Castello dei Medici was certainly one of them. There's definitely key differences here. But there are also far more blatantly derivative sections. Familiar but different. There's even a hitchhiking ghost-equivalent finale. Though I have no affinity for the IP, "ARTHUR - In the Minimoys Kingdom" is a pretty neat mini land. The power suspended coaster was fun and unique. I love the architecture in the Iceland section of the park. And Wodan was a solid wooden coaster that has been well maintained. The station fly-through is such a fun element. Whale Adventures – Northern Lights is easily one of the cutest splash battles I've ever seen. Animatronics and flammable buildings out and about to enhance the lands' theming. I LOVE IT. I wish I had more time to spend in the Scandinavian section of the park. Snorri Touren is a gem of an attraction that no amount of research had prepared me for. Snorri is simply the best. This dark ride is not without value for adults. The gist of where the story takes you while onboard... Our carriage awaits! Our journey begins... Some great set design for this attraction. You can't go wrong with singing trolls. Snorri plays the mushroom drums. You can bet I brought a plush Snorri home to my son. Familiar but different. Some neat elements in the queue... Lots of exposition but I couldn't understand what it was. While he isn't Snorri, Jopie is great too. Piraten in Batavia feels similar but different to Pirates of the Caribbean. Some scenes are more recognizable than others. Jopie is helping to escape! Very pretty sets. I spy with my little eye, someone that is Mack. The ride's finale ends with an impressing series of projection mapping effects. Familiar but different. Equally familiar but different. Where have I seen one of these before? It was too cold for my tastes to ride Fjord-Rafting during our visit. Atlantica Supersplash looking good. This place is a theme park fan's dream. So cool to see in person! Such a fun and pictureseque coaster! Our time in Europa Park came to a close for the day... But our adventure was just beginning. As we had an evening set aside to experience Rulantica! Due to our limited time I have virtually no photos from inside, but I can't rave enough about the water park. This is the first indoor water park I've been to, but the bar was set so much higher than I anticipated. Rulantica is packed with themed areas, great water slides and some excellent spaces. Vildstrøm is the star of the show--a wild outdoor body slide that doesn't require you to go one at a time. Hilarity and chaos ensue. Robb has some fantastic video from our experience... The park was kind enough to let us try the Snorri Snorkling VR experience which was unlike anything I'd done before. It followed a similar story to Snorri Touren from in the park, but this time, experiencing it while gliding through the water. Super unique--mildly bizarre. I'm glad I had the chance to do it. After a wonderful evening at Rulantica, it was time to head back to the hotel for some rest. Tomorrow would bring even more adventures.
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  8. day 7, full day at Alton Towers: the next morning, got up in time for breakfast (they had to split us up into groups, so several of us met in the lobby to head over to the park together after eating something) view from where I sat at breakfast: and then headed out to the monorail station, that would bring us around to the front of the park. we were on our own for most of the day today, meeting up later for some ERT on Smiler. ready for a full day at this park that had also always been on my bucket list. at the front gates, we're met by a monument to a Vekoma Corkscrew that I guess used to be at the park. I was just glad we had so many other coaster options (some of which I had heard of for decades, and always wanted to ride). park map. . this place is HUGE. the Map really doesn't give the full size of the place. our hotel is way up there on the left, and park entrance is way over there on the lower right. So the Monorail brought us thru the park and to the front gates. from the main entrance, you get an amazing view of the castle ruins (which can be toured as part of the Gardens. . but also is home to Hex (sadly closed for refurb during our visit) CBeebies land is the WTF kids area, that has some "never in America" characters. . . looking back at the Monorail we had just gotten off of. interactive squirting frog fountain in the main entrance area better view of the castle / ruins/ gardens from the end of the main street. nothing quite opens with the park, but it's so large, we headed in anyways to get to near what we wanted to hit up first. there are a lot of coasters here, but most are very spread out. Mutiny Bay area has a bunch of rides, including teacups, splash battle, the rapids ride, an electric mine train, and is also home to the sealife aquarium here at the park. lots of interactive stuff all over the park too. I believe this button on the scull activated the parrot - who interacted with guests. not open yet, but we'd be back! possibly my most looked forwards to ride here (tying with 13), the Wicker Man wooden coaster. people were already lining up to get on it when it opened. and this was *before* all the smoke and fire effects that are in use during the ride were turned on! spoiler. . it's an amazing coaster. I loved it. no water in the rapids (yet), but they would be up shortly. that track next to it on the right is the Mine Train it's a really long train, and they send it around a couple of times - in our case, we got the "Australian" 3-peat. . so got to go around 3 times, because Nick was riding with us. and they really love saying "choo-choo" as the train passes under the station. another coaster I was very much looking forwards to! this section had a recently re-imagined dark ride that is total WTF, and was my favorite flat at the park. so fantastic effects, and a truly whacko storyline. the "Curse of Alton Manor" not sure what's up with the "Giant chairs". . but sure, I'll sit in this one too! it's haunted mansion, crossed with a ghost train, and a bit of Tower of Terror mixed in. LOVED it. and the castmembers were having a ball. it's kinda "hidden" in the middle of the park, in it's own section. so it never really had a line. I think I rode it at least 10 times, and ended up with a couple of T-shirts and magnets from it. if you continue on the pathway towards the back of the park, you come to the section that Nemesis is located. and is heavily themed, as an area that the Nemesis lifeform has invaded and the Government is trying to keep under control tons of actors in character back over here.. . and this is a separate ride off by itself, but also themed to the Nemesis creature in the area. won't spoil it, but it has live acting, and a pretty "jumpscare" ride that you won't see coming. apparently it doesn't operate too often - I can see why, it takes a lot of cast members - so I'm really glad I got to experience it. Pretty scary for a non-halloween themed ride! rapids now full and ready for riders! and the aquarium was open now too. . so time to go take a look! oooo. . .pretty! cast members out in this area too. . . love how well they had this park staffed! I even got to meet the Alton Towers mascot bear. . tho never caught his name some of the folks I was hanging around with today wanted to ride EVERY coaster. . and that included the kiddie one over in CBeebies land). . .so we headed over there next I STILL have no idea what the hell these things are. yellow boogers? ahh.. a daisy I recognize! ok.. I'm absolutely coming back to ride this tomorrow (and I did) here's the kiddie. . I believe it was basically a roller skater? tho the theming was adorable. several TPR folks on this train whoops. .I've been seen! lol. . I already saw you, can't hide from me, Doug! Stacy wanted to ride too. I stood in line, but actually didn't ride (just wasn't feeling it). . . but I'm glad she had fun. right next door was Spinball Wizzer tho.. and that I really wanted to ride. it's an extreme spinner, with some great theming. . . very good ride. to be continued. . .
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  9. The next morning we docked early in Athens and disembarked for our tour of the Acropolis. There's something about this massive archeological site that amazes differently than other ancient sights I've visited. The preservation and scale of these landmarks is unlike anything I've seen. Our early morning ascent was a fortuitous one, as we managed to beat the bulk of the crowds. Simply magnificent. An active site both for preservation and restoration. The Odeon of Herodes Atticus is also part of the tour of the Acropolis and it was very neat to see up close. I grabbed a fresh kataifi from a coffee shop in Athens and it was one of the best desserts I had across the entire trip. Following our tour of the Acropolis and time in the city, we were brought to a local rooftop restaurant for a Greek cooking class. Here we were able to create our own marinade for a chicken gyro dish that would be prepared in front of us to enjoy for lunch. While waiting for the chicken to cook we were also able to prepare our own tzatziki, spicy feta dip and dough for fresh pita. The end result was a delicious, full meal for which we had prepared almost every component. Back to the ship after a day of fun in the sun. Escargot for dinner is always a treat! Lobster and tarragon pasta is another favorite of mine onboard. Grand Marnier Souffle for the win! Hiya Mickey! Always nice to hang out! One of my favorite pieces of enchanted artwork onboard the Disney Dream. The Fly Boys were a variety act brought onboard for our sailing; an acapella group singing modern songs in the style of Frank Sinatra. Another cute towel animal to cap off a great day! The next morning we woke up off the coast of Santorini! Beneath the surface of the floating ring seen here are the remains of the MS Sea Diamond, a cruise ship that sank here in 2007. Such a beauty. Time to explore Santorini! First up was some time to walk around the town of Fira. While incredibly beautiful and unique, it is also very narrow, difficult to navigate when crowded and in a sense, exceptionally touristy. But the view is unrivaled. Next up was a relaxing beer and wine tasting with a panoramic view of Santorini. Not a drop of drink nor food remained when we were done. The views were fantastic. After our tasting, we walked about Oia to take in more sights. We had researched a spot in Oia to grab some authentic Greek bites before returning to the ship... And it was well worth the visit! I wasn't going to leave Greece without trying Ouzo or Raki. Of all of the alcohols I've had, these were certainly among them. When returning to the ship, you have a choice of taking the walking trail or waiting for the cable car. We opted for the cable car, only waiting about 45 minutes to load. This was the right choice. Santorini is a tendering port, which is not my favorite, but it makes for a great set of photo ops as you return to the ship. Curry shrimp for dinner! And cupcake ice cream for dessert at Vanellope's Sweets & Treats! Hi Elissa! Hanging out once again with the Captain! And the best towel animal yet to close out the night!
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