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Old 28 Dec 17, 07:07 AM  
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Gill H
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Beyond the Sea: Day 7 - Herculaneum and Naples

<<<Day 6

Another new experience for us today – it’s our first ever port day. In contrast to yesterday’s supposedly relaxed pace, today we need to be up and about fairly quickly, so we’re at Cabana’s for a hearty breakfast by 7.30 am. We find a seat with a good view of the sea, and realise that today is going to be a ‘bring your raincoat’ day. There is torrential rain pouring from a grey sky. Oh well, so much for having worried about the heat in the Med…

The plan for today is to visit Herculaneum and possibly have a little time in Naples. Disney wanted $93 each for their ‘Hidden Treasures of Herculaneum’ tour, and although we will be doing a DCL tour later in the trip, we’ve chosen to do this one DIY. It’s only a half day trip as we are mindful that we need to be back before sail away time at all costs, otherwise Mickey will sail off without us!

We had spent a long time deliberating where to go today. The charms of Capri, a hair-raising drive along the beautiful Amalfi coast and a stroll around Sorrento had all been considered and rejected (and looking at today’s weather they probably weren’t the best options). We’d come down to a choice between Pompeii and Herculaneum, and for a while had favoured Pompeii because, well, it’s Pompeii. But we’d also read much on the Dibb and elsewhere recommending Herculaneum instead. Many said it was smaller, more manageable, less touristy, and more shady in the heat (ha ha!) It’s also apparently better preserved than Pompeii, since it was largely covered with ash rather than molten lava when Vesuvius erupted. (I know that GopherLass’s son Poot will be reading this and can correct my knowledge if necessary. It’s nice having a future volcanologist reading my reports!)

By 8.15 we’ve finished breakfast and are making our way off the ship. We’ve got a photocopy of Peter’s passport which we asked Guest Services to do last night, as he will need this to get back on board. I should be OK with my driving licence. (Make a note of this last sentence, it will be important later…)

Getting off the ship is easy, but we’re not sure where to go next. We need to find the port building, which you would have thought was obvious, but apparently not. We walk past all the taxi drivers who are offering loudly to take us to Pompeii, Capri or wherever our wallet will allow. We have a more cost-effective trip in mind. But first we need to find that darn port building!

After walking for about 20 minutes and a few false starts, we admit defeat and walk back to the area where the ship is docked, to find that a free Disney shuttle coach is available to take us to the port building. Expedition Rookie Lesson 1 – ask about free shuttles!

We are glad we got on the coach, because the port building is a bit further than we thought, and wouldn’t have been that easy to walk to from where we are docked. It’s also very busy, and the coach can’t get that near to drop us off, so we are allowed out in the middle of the area where cars, coaches and taxis are driving, and have to negotiate our way through the traffic until we can get somewhere the chain barrier is low enough for us to climb over onto the pavement. I would hate to think of doing this with small children, so hopefully this is not the norm!

Anyway, we eventually find our way to the little marquee with the red and white logo advertising the company Pompei Sightseeing. We had found these guys through a post on Cruisecritic, and having had a look at their website had decided they would be a good option for travel to Herculaneum. Unfortunately due to all our faffing about, we’ve missed the 9am shuttle and the next one isn’t for another 40 minutes, but the lady selling tickets says we are welcome to sit in the shuttle out of the rain. She takes our money – 15 Euros each for a return journey – and shows us to the shuttle. The driver asks us what language we speak, and on hearing we are Brits, puts on a video for us with an English commentary, showing some of the sights of Naples, Pompeii and Herculaneum. Then he goes off for his break and leaves us to it.

After 20 minutes or so we are joined by a couple of other parties, some of whom are going to Herculaneum first and Pompeii afterwards, while others are just going to Pompeii. The ticket lady tells us that we are the only passengers in the shuttle who are going to Herculaneum only, so instead of a shuttle, our return transport will be a taxi, and the driver will pick us up at 12.30 at the same place he drops us off. Soon the driver returns and makes sure we are all safely strapped in and settled, and we head off through a still rainy Naples, to make the journey to Herculaneum.

By now our early morning is catching up with us, and the little of the scenery we can see through the torrential rain is very nice, but not enough to stop us both having a little doze on the way. We arrive at the gates of Herculaneum at about 10.25 and are told our driver will meet us there at 12.30 in the taxi. And with that we head into the reception building to get our entry tickets.



Can't remember the name of this building but it was the only photo we got, during a rare lull in the rain!

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DLP: day trips 2000, 2003; Cheyenne Sep 2009, Feb 2011, Nov 2018; Sequoia Lodge June 2008, May 2012; Elysee May 2012, Jan 2013, Sep 2013; Disneyland Hotel Mar 2015, Santa Fe Nov 2016; Newport Bay Sep 2017, Ibis Sep 2019, Hotel NY Art of Marvel Nov 2021
WDW: Port Orleans Riverside Dec 10; SSR Nov 14

Edited at 10:12 AM.
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Old 28 Dec 17, 07:11 AM  
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Gill H
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The tickets to get into Herculaneum are 11 Euros each. We had planned to get an audioguide, but as we exit the ticket queue we are approached by a lady who is an official tour guide. She is about to lead a small group of Brits on a guided tour in English, and asks if we would like to join. She explains that this would bring the numbers up to 8, meaning it would cost us 12.50 Euros each for a tour of about an hour. This sounds good value to us, so we pay up and join in.

We notice that several of the other group members are fellow cruisers too – including one family with two small boys who are none too pleased about being enveloped in ponchos and dragged round ruins in the pouring rain. I do have sympathy with them, it is really hammering down at the moment.

Fortunately our guide manages to get us into the site and under cover as soon as possible, and then she starts explaining the history of some of the buildings we are seeing. And it’s at this point that we realise what a bargain we got joining this tour. She is superb. Not only does she bring to life the buildings around us, but she adds humour and warmth. For instance, the dark wood used in many buildings came from Sweden, and she says this shows just how long Swedish wooden furniture has been successful abroad! Even more importantly, she makes a special effort to involve the children. She gets them to find pictures of dogs and dragons on the walls, shows them where the children would have slept, and so on. And fortunately, when we get to a particularly interesting picture, she doesn’t attempt to explain what a phallic symbol is. (Although the little boys would probably have found that hilarious!)

In the space of about an hour we are shown round most of the site and despite the rain, it’s a superb experience. I can imagine spending much more time here under better conditions – but you really do need a guide, or at least an audioguide or good book, to bring to life what you are seeing. I have to say that if we had gone with the audioguide, we would probably only have spent about 20 minutes here before the rain would have put us off. So our tour guide really was invaluable. At the end of the tour she outlines what we can see for ourselves in other areas of the site, but as our time here is limited, we thank her, say goodbye to our fellow tour members and head for the gift shop. Which turns out to be small, but impressively non-tacky. There are of course a few generic souvenirs, but lots of the space is devoted to guide books and activities to help appreciate the site, including some activity books for children. We buy a pen for my sister-in-law’s growing collection, and a postcard for Poot, who we hope will be able to visit some day, preferably in better weather conditions!

Next to the gift shop is the cafe. Well, I say cafe – it actually consists of a couple of vending machines and some seats. Like I said, Herculaneum doesn’t really have the ‘hello tourists, give us your money!’ mentality. Anyway, there is no time to use the machines as we need to go and meet our driver, who should be due any minute. And indeed, when we leave the site, he’s there waiting for us with the taxi.

As we are the only passengers, we ask the driver if he would be willing to drop us somewhere in Naples rather than taking us back to the cruise port. We would like to find a restaurant called Antica Pizzeria Port’Alba which is, not surprisingly, in Via Port’Alba. Our driver is happy to take us into Naples but he explains that this area isn’t accessible by car, so he will drop us nearby and give us directions.

Our journey back to Naples is rather a torturous one. First we go through what is evidently a residential area, with small streets and lots of traffic, which takes ages. Then once we get on the main road we have to go under a bridge where the true extent of the torrential rain becomes obvious. It’s a bit like being on the ship again!



Historically, there was a saying about Naples "See Naples and die" - not because it was the most wonderful place you could wish to see, but because you might end up with a fatal disease after visiting! Well, we decide that our version of the saying will have to be "See Naples and dry" as our raincoats are pretty useless against the ceaseless downpour.

Soon we are dropped off in Naples at Piazza Dante, which is the nearest the taxi can get. Apparently the restaurant we want is only a few minutes’ walk away, but despite the directions from our driver, we get lost a couple of times and have to ask several locals before we find it. The restaurant is tucked away in a small and crowded street, and the pizzas we are seeking are sold outside and made freshly for you. This place is one of several claiming to be the oldest pizza restaurant in the world, and although it may not have the celebrity cachet of the nearby Da Michele (which was featured in the film ‘Eat Pray Love’ apparently), it has come to our attention through a much more reliable source – legendary chef Gennaro Contaldo. In an episode of Paul Hollywood’s ‘City Bakes’ TV series on the Food Network, Gennaro took Paul to this place for authentic Napoli pizza. We follow Gennaro’s recommendation and ask for a pizza margherita – the classic recipe with tomato sauce, mozzarella and basil. This is definitely not the place to ask for loads of toppings (and I’m keeping quiet about the fact that I do actually like pineapple on pizza … sorry …).

Our pizza is ready in seconds, folded into quarters and wrapped in a paper sleeve, ready to eat on the move. It’s huge, and costs us the princely sum of 1.50 Euros. We retreat to a handy arch nearby to shelter from the rain and enjoy our lunch.

And oh my goodness, it was worth the trip. Everything you have heard about Napoli pizza is true. The local water has a unique concentration of minerals, thanks to its proximity to Vesuvius, and the taste it gives to the dough is something very special indeed. And of course the local tomatoes benefit from the volcanic water and the particular qualities in the soil. It really is superb.

Our second quest is for another place featured on the City Bakes episode – a pasticcheria (bread and pastry shop) called Scaturchio. This is where Paul first tried some delectable-looking pastries called sfogliatelle, which he later challenged the Great British Bake Off contestants to make. Admittedly, later in the same programme he admits that Amalfi has better sfogliatelle, but we have neither the time nor the money to make that comparison today. So Scaturchio it is.

That’s if we ever find it! In the still pouring rain, we follow more directions, ask more locals, and make several more false starts, before finally ending up at our destination. The friendly shop staff look after the two drowned tourists who have appeared in their midst, and are happy to serve us a rum baba and sfogliatella to share. (Rum babas also featured on the programme, from a different shop, but we are sure these will be superb too.)

And again, wow. These are great. They may not have the fancy flourish of elaborate gateaux, but they are light, fresh and absolutely packed with flavour. The shop does have a coffee bar in the back, but we intend to get back to the ship soon and content ourselves with just the two pastries here.

As we pay for our treats, we ask the lady serving us where the best place to get a taxi is, and she kindly offers to phone one for us. However, despite several attempts, the line is engaged each time, and eventually we thank her and say we’ll find our own way. She directs us to a taxi firm a few streets away, and soon we’re sitting in a nice dry taxi, on the way back to the port. It’s a quick journey and would have been easily walkable, but we’ve had enough of schlepping around in the rain and just want to get back on board and dry off.

The taxi only costs us a few Euros. In total today, taking into account transport, entry into Herculaneum, our tour, lunch, and the taxi back to the cruise port, we’ve spent just under 100 Euros. Considering Disney wanted $79 each just for Herculaneum, we think we’ve got good value from the day. And in fact the Herculaneum tour would probably have been cancelled – several of the less popular tours were cancelled before our departure date, and I would have thought Pompeii would be the more popular option.

(Sorry for the lack of photos of Naples - the rain was just too bad! It does feature in the video though, so do check that out.)
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DLP: day trips 2000, 2003; Cheyenne Sep 2009, Feb 2011, Nov 2018; Sequoia Lodge June 2008, May 2012; Elysee May 2012, Jan 2013, Sep 2013; Disneyland Hotel Mar 2015, Santa Fe Nov 2016; Newport Bay Sep 2017, Ibis Sep 2019, Hotel NY Art of Marvel Nov 2021
WDW: Port Orleans Riverside Dec 10; SSR Nov 14

Edited at 11:47 PM.
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Old 28 Dec 17, 07:14 AM  
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Back at the cruise port we jump on a Disney shuttle coach and are soon approaching the ship. Which is where we hit a little snag. To get back in, we need our KTTW cards – check. And Peter’s photocopy of his passport – check. And my driving licence – oops. I am so used to this being in my purse that I hadn’t registered the fact that I took a different purse with me today, and my driving licence is sitting in the safe back in our stateroom. Oh dear. Will I be stranded in Naples forever?

The drama of the scene is heightened when scary-looking officials bring sniffer dogs onto the coach. Has someone been trying to sneak authentic pizza onto the ship? Fortunately it seems to be a routine security precaution, as they soon leave and we can get off the coach. My apologetic ‘help a clueless newbie’ stance, plus the assurance of my properly certified husband, satisfies the security staff and I’m allowed back on the ship. Phew!

Obviously our first task is to get back to our stateroom and change out of our soaking wet clothes, and then open our latest fish extender gifts, which include some Mickey-influenced cushion covers and a pair of Inside Out flip flops (er, that would be flip flops with the characters from Inside Out on them, rather than flip flops which are inside out…)





This done, we go round to the laundry room to dry our clothes – but alas, we find a trio of workmen, one up a ladder, working on something in the roof. We’re advised to use the laundry room on Deck 6 instead. (Does this mean not every deck has laundry rooms?) So while the clothes are drying we pop up to Deck 9 to grab ourselves a coffee. Once they’re dry we go back to our stateroom and relax/snooze over the end of ‘Wreck-It Ralph’ and the whole of ‘Dumbo’ (you forget how short that film is! Only an hour. Wouldn’t happen today.)

Emerging refreshed, we head for dinner, and on the way we spot Cinderella, on her own, just walking somewhere. Whether she had just finished or was about to start a meet, I don’t know, but usually I would expect to see CMs with characters, so this was a little unexpected. We say hello to her and she chats with us for a while – she’s very interested when I tell her my prince can dance! She stops for a photo too. Lovely moment.

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DLP: day trips 2000, 2003; Cheyenne Sep 2009, Feb 2011, Nov 2018; Sequoia Lodge June 2008, May 2012; Elysee May 2012, Jan 2013, Sep 2013; Disneyland Hotel Mar 2015, Santa Fe Nov 2016; Newport Bay Sep 2017, Ibis Sep 2019, Hotel NY Art of Marvel Nov 2021
WDW: Port Orleans Riverside Dec 10; SSR Nov 14
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Old 28 Dec 17, 07:18 AM  
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Gill H
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Tonight’s dinner is at Animator’s Palate, which is the restaurant we have been looking forward to most. Not necessarily for the food, although I’m sure it will be fine, but for the restaurant itself. As we approach, we take a minute to appreciate all the pencil character sketches on the walls – many of them early versions of characters which changed a lot before the final film. If you’re the sort of person who watches all the DVD extras of Disney films, these will be very familiar.

Inside the restaurant, all is black and white – for the moment at least. Continuing the theme, there are more pencil sketches on the walls, and these are echoed in the servers’ uniforms. There are also screens round the wall, on which we can see various well-loved characters being drawn.

We are shown to our usual table 11, and our server Nikola explains that our tablemates Frank and Doreen have decided to move to the later seating, as they told us they would. It’s no reflection on us (we hope!) but simply that, like many American guests, they want to do long excursions to see as much as possible, and won’t be back in time for the early seating.

This leaves us with a table to ourselves, which is not a problem, so we start to study the menu and give Nikola and Amphie our food and drink orders. Knowing that Amphie is expecting me to order my usual Shirley Temple, I mix things up a bit and ask for a ginger ale instead. I’m finding the Shirley Temple too sweet and syrupy, and figure that if the ginger ale is having any positive effect on me, it can manage it on its own. However, I have to say I’ve not felt any ill effects from the sea at all so far, though both of us did find ourselves a bit unsteady today on a few occasions while walking round Herculaneum. Anyway, Amphie soon brings Peter’s Coke and my ginger ale, and we settle down to await our food.

However, at this point something seems to go wrong. Suddenly all the lights go out, the music and the animations stop, and the emergency lighting comes on. Now, we know that certain things are going to happen tonight as part of the meal, but we’re pretty sure that this isn’t one of them! Our head server Simone dashes over and reassures everyone that this is just a temporary power outage and it will soon be fixed.

Meanwhile, a lady at the next table leans over and kindly asks if we would like to join their party. We readily agree, and soon find ourselves at table 12, along with three other couples, who remain our tablemates for the rest of the trip. They are all American and very friendly. So friendly, in fact, that those who are staying on the Magic for the transatlantic cruise next week have already arranged to sit together then. (It says much about how we’re enjoying our cruise that we really wish we could stay on board next week!) Meanwhile the lights and music come back on, and the animations on the screens start up again. Either they’ve got some very quick engineers, or someone just put some money in the meter!

The menu at Animator’s Palate is fronted with a lenticular drawing of Sorcerer Mickey, and the food seems to be ‘all-purpose European’. The bread is an Italian classic - garlic and herb focaccia with a roasted garlic dip (double garlic, just the thing for getting to know new tablemates…).

Then for an appetiser, I choose a taste of Spain - the sliced Serrano ham with manchego cheese and olive tapenade.



Peter stays with the Italian theme, choosing black truffle pasta purseittes (is that a word, in either Italian or English? I would have thought sachettini or ‘little sacks’ would have been more accurate, though I quite understand why they didn’t go for the name meaning ‘little bundles’ – an American restaurant would have a hard time serving ‘fagottini’...) Anyway, whatever they’re called, they are apparently very tasty indeed.



Tonight we both decide to throw caution to the winds and have the soup as well. This is because it’s an intriguing one – baked potato and cheddar cheese soup with bacon bits and chives (and no, I have no idea which country this represents, except maybe the UK for the cheddar?) We’re hoping it will make up for the disappointment that was the famous cheddar cheese soup in Epcot during the Food & Wine Festival in 2014. We’d heard so much about it, but it had the consistency of wallpaper paste and tasted – well, pretty much the same (er, not that I have ever eaten wallpaper paste…). It certainly didn’t taste of cheese.

By contrast, the soup here has a nice punchy cheesy flavour, and not only that, but somehow the buttery, flaky taste of baked potato is in there too. Unfortunately it’s not particularly hot, and we have to send them back and get fresh ones. Of course, this might have been a consequence of the power outage earlier – but it’s not the first time we’ve had food that wasn’t hot on this trip. Anyway, Nikola is full of apologies and soon sorts us out with fresh, hot and delicious soup.

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WDW: Port Orleans Riverside Dec 10; SSR Nov 14
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Old 28 Dec 17, 07:22 AM  
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Gill H
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Before we move on, I should take a moment to mention how lovely the tableware is here. The plates all echo the ‘painter’ theme, and even your butter knife is in the shape of a little artist’s brush. We’ve seen these for sale in the shop, but I’m sure a lot of them mysteriously go missing from dinner!

While we’re eating, the animations appearing on the screens around the restaurant are becoming more and more elaborate, as favourite characters appear one after another. It’s very cleverly done – and we know the best effect is yet to come.



Soon our entrees arrive. I have chosen the grilled tuna steak with fingerling potato confit, caponata, sun-dried tomato pesto and aioli.



Peter meanwhile has gone for the herb crusted pork chop brushed with Dijon mustard with sun-dried tomato risotto and a Barolo wine sauce.



Very definitely back on Italian ground with both these, and none the worse for that. Both very good.

For dessert, I choose the apple crumble rice pudding with vanilla bean ice cream. Don’t ask me where in Europe this is supposed to come from, except perhaps a very confused mix of different puddings from the UK. Nevertheless, it is rather nice. You can’t go wrong with crumble topping on anything, really.



Peter plays it safe with a chocolate fudge and vanilla cheesecake, which again could come from anywhere, though perhaps it owes more to American cheesecakes than European ones.



After our servers clear our plates and pour us coffee, we’re chatting with our tablemates when a change comes over the restaurant. Sorcerer Mickey comes into the room and casts a magic spell – and suddenly the black and white drawings on the screens change to colour! It’s as if everything has come vividly to life. The change of theme is reinforced when the servers come back in, having quickly changed their black and white waistcoats to colour ones. The effect is quite remarkable and definitely a talking point. It’s a simple effect, but one which nicely highlights the role of colour and the difference it makes to our favourite animations. This restaurant definitely has the wow factor – and we know that on our second visit here, this will go to the next level in terms of spectacle. But all that is still to come.
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DLP: day trips 2000, 2003; Cheyenne Sep 2009, Feb 2011, Nov 2018; Sequoia Lodge June 2008, May 2012; Elysee May 2012, Jan 2013, Sep 2013; Disneyland Hotel Mar 2015, Santa Fe Nov 2016; Newport Bay Sep 2017, Ibis Sep 2019, Hotel NY Art of Marvel Nov 2021
WDW: Port Orleans Riverside Dec 10; SSR Nov 14
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Old 28 Dec 17, 07:28 AM  
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Meanwhile we say goodnight to our friendly tablemates and go over to guest services, as we want to pay off our bill so far. We’ve agreed to do this a couple of times, so that we can keep track of our budget and not have any nasty surprises at the end. So far there is very little to pay – laundry, bingo, lattes, the mixology class and what we’ve bought in the shops.

This done, we head to the Walt Disney Theatre to watch tonight’s show, which is called “Walt Disney: The Dream Goes On”.



It’s a fictionalised whistle-stop tour through Walt’s life and career, narrated by an employee and using a mixture of film clips and live character appearances. There’s one section featuring some dancing couples in the colours of various princesses, set to a sugary song which tries to cram in references to every Disney princess film you can imagine. It’s an odd beast, this show, and perhaps not enthralling for the very little ones, but it’s great fun for Disney nuts. I think my favourite section is the one which features songs from classic park attractions such as the Tiki Room and the Haunted Mansion.

Once the show is over, we pop into the nearby shop and Peter buys himself a very nice backpack, with black and white classic Mickey cartoons. He had been hoping to buy the plain one with the DCL logo which we saw the young guys in DLP with, but it seems this is a gift for Castaway Club members only (ie people who have been on more than one DCL cruise). However, the black and white one is very smart and he’s happy with it.

We are thinking of buying a few photos if we have enough dollars left by the end of the cruise, so we nip into Shutters to have a look at our photos. You can do this electronically at one of the booths there, or have a look at the folder allocated to you in their bookcases. We’re pleased with our pictures so far, but we notice that some of another family’s photos seem to have got mixed in with ours, so we let a CM know and she says she will sort it.

As we leave Shutters we see Sorcerer Mickey walking through, evidently on his way to the second sitting at Animators’ Palate to work his magic again. We’re going in the other direction though, as tonight we are not going to Fathoms (just for a change) but to the D-Lounge, to try out the ‘Who Wants To Be A Mouseketeer’ quiz.





Unfortunately neither of us get picked to do the quiz, which is a shame, because the contestants seem to struggle with questions that any Dibber could probably answer pretty easily! As the D-Lounge hosts family shows, perhaps the questions were all designed to be child-friendly, but strangely all the contestants picked are adults. It’s an OK experience, but would have been better with a larger and more responsive audience.

Once the quiz finishes we stay in the D-Lounge for the ‘Saludos Amigos Fiesta’ Latin dance party. As Peter is a former competitive ballroom dancer and Latin is his forte, this had to be a must for us. And it seems to be drawing a larger crowd than the quiz did, particularly of children.

I wish I had made a note of the name of the CM leading the dance party, because he is fantastic. He does a wonderful job encouraging audience members of all ages to hit the dance floor, and takes us all through some basic moves. He immediately clocks that Peter’s got the moves, and has great fun with it. Once we have all got our routine sorted, the dance party is (of course) interrupted by a special guest – Donald in his Mexican costume!







Much fun is had with Donald and his CM friend before our host hands over proceedings to the ‘club DJ’. We decide to move on at this point, having a few words with the host CM on the way out. He thanks Peter for helping to liven up the proceedings. Hmm, perhaps Peter has missed his career as a CM!

The day ends with a brief visit to Deck 9 for some hot chocolate from the machine, and a relaxing walk on deck.











We bump into the Flyboys, who we had seen perform on previous nights, and have a little chat with them. It’s their last night on the Magic before they leave for another cruise line, and they are full of praise for DCL, which is good to hear. Then it’s back to our cosy stateroom to open some more fish extender gifts (yay!) and settle down in our lovely big bed for another blissful night’s sleep.



Join us tomorrow when we don’t go to Rome!

>>>Day 8

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DLP: day trips 2000, 2003; Cheyenne Sep 2009, Feb 2011, Nov 2018; Sequoia Lodge June 2008, May 2012; Elysee May 2012, Jan 2013, Sep 2013; Disneyland Hotel Mar 2015, Santa Fe Nov 2016; Newport Bay Sep 2017, Ibis Sep 2019, Hotel NY Art of Marvel Nov 2021
WDW: Port Orleans Riverside Dec 10; SSR Nov 14

Edited at 10:17 AM.
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Old 28 Dec 17, 07:55 AM  
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Fabulous day. Shame about the weather.
By the way the servers don't change their waistcoats Gill - they merely turn them inside out . Our server on the Magic showed us the trick when I asked if they had two waiscoats.
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Old 31 Dec 17, 07:29 PM  
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Another great day well apart from the rain

Joan
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Old 3 Jan 18, 01:39 PM  
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That pizza sounds lush!
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Old 14 Jan 18, 01:13 PM  
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I hadn't checked for new days for a while - but now I'm glad I didn't as there are three glorious days (to gobble up like plantain chips).

$93! EACH! Yowza! I had HEARD that shore excursions were expensive - that's why in the end we only booked one (the one we sort of HAD TO book). With few exceptions, if a place uses the Latin alphabet - I'm always willing to have a go, too.

Dr. Poot replies: Plinian eruptions (the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A.D. was a Plinian eruption - named after Pliny the Younger) do not produce significant lava flows. Rather, they produce ash (which buried Pompeii) and pyroclastic flows (one of which buried Herculaneum).

So there you go.

Excellent tip about the free shuttle. I don't think DCL publicises these as well as they *could* (why tell people about FREE things when...you know...$93. EACH.).

Disappointed to hear that the tour guide passed on the opportunity to point out "Johnson Art" - boys LOVE that.

And YOU ARE NOT WRONG..."pursiettes" is faux French. It's twee and stupid, Disney. Though Gill, I reckon you and I head a VERY SHORT list of people who noticed - or care.

I have a FAB Baked Potato Soup recipe (it's a DL copycat) - you can find it here:

thefamilyfudge.com/2017/01/18/loaded-baked-potato-soup-copycat-disneyland-recipe-whats-dinner-wednesday/

This is what R.C. asked to have for dinner on his birthday - it's that good. Don't put the corn in, though. Bleurgh.


But pineapple on pizza! A crime against gastronomy!


Glad to hear that CRP had a chance to dust off his sequins. Poot loves to dance - though when we've offered to get him lessons he always balks. He wants to do it "his way". Hmm...
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