[00:00:00] Speaker A: And let me just tell you, Sam, this cruise was horny and not in a good way. Wait, wait, wait.
[00:00:06] Speaker B: We got a little audio for that.
Wait for it. Wait for it. You're still.
[00:00:13] Speaker A: Yeah, I know it's coming.
[00:00:14] Speaker C: I know it's.
[00:00:28] Speaker B: Welcome back, everybody, to this week's live episode of the DCL Duo podcast, brought to you by Karen.
There it is. Hey, Karen, it's great to have you on. For everybody watching at home, I should also say this. These bonus shows are also in. These live episodes are also brought to you by the good folks over at the DCL magazine or WDW magazine. And if you want to head over and get your copy of DCL Magazine right now, head to dcl-magazine.com to get the special edition DCL Magazine. We're hoping to make it a thing. If you use the code DCLDUO in their store, that's DCL Duo all caps, you get 10% off everything in the WDW magazine store. Let's make it a thing. It's a really cool magazine. We've talked about it a lot. We really want to keep having this magazine come to our inbox, so. But we invited Karen. We're going to start doing once a month a little special spot with with Karen and hopefully the folks over at WDW magazine too. And so Karen gotta talk some abd Adventures by Disney.
[00:01:28] Speaker D: Gotta talk some news. So before we bring Chad on for the show to talk about his cruise out of San Diego on the beautiful Disney Wonder, I'm wearing my Wonder ears, by the way, to, you know, get in theme, we wanted to have Karen on to talk a little cruise news. It's not really cruise news, but you know, Disney travel news. Because Adventures by Disney released their new land itineraries for 2026. And I think booking. Did it start today or does it start tomorrow?
[00:01:55] Speaker C: Tomorrow they gave us a little bit more of a lead time and it starts tomorrow. For those adventure insiders that have adventured with Disney three or more times, they don't have a label like they're not Pearl or whatever. They're just.
[00:02:11] Speaker D: They're like super Insider, right?
[00:02:14] Speaker C: They're adventure insiders three plus. And so that starts tomorrow. And then there's a cadence that goes through the next day for adventure insiders that have adventure ventured at least once and then other folks that have status with Disney Cruise line or BBC and then the general public. So two new itineraries released for the 2026 season. There is the most incredible new Greece itinerary that looks so good.
[00:02:45] Speaker D: Karen. Oh my God, it looks so good.
[00:02:48] Speaker C: And you know, so if you heard me talk about Greece before, it was summer or just May of 2023. Can't believe it's been two years.
Actually, two years ago this week that we were launching, there was a group of, I think, I don't know, seven, eight of us that were all on the adults, only Grace Abd and I left there like crying and saying, I want to do this again. Like, Abd needs to have more time in Greece because there's so much, you know, so much experience there. And you know, they've been in Greece for years and years. It's one of their really established itineraries. So here it is, finally, a new way to adventure with Disney in Greece for seven nights. So if you think like the nine night is too long, you can do.
[00:03:39] Speaker D: Seven, you can eight figure out. Yeah.
[00:03:43] Speaker C: Yep. I haven't figured out if you can do it back to back.
[00:03:47] Speaker B: Can I say the photo of people snorkeling over ruins and looks to be like crystal blue water. I was like, sign me up. That looks so. That looks so cool.
[00:03:56] Speaker C: It looks so amazing. There's a lot of water activities. On this new itinerary. It only overlaps with basically one activity which is visiting the Acropolis in Athens. They both start in Athens and they both visit the Acropolis, which seriously, you could do that twice. And. And then from there it completely diverges and different destinations, different experience.
Oh, my gosh, I am just like, so, so excited.
[00:04:25] Speaker D: Well.
[00:04:25] Speaker B: And yeah, and you have Switzerland now. Cheese, Cheese, More cheese and wine and chocolate.
[00:04:31] Speaker C: There's actually two activities in a week that are chocolate on that, on that Switzerland itinerary. I was just looking at it and I was like, this is amazing that there's cheese, there's a. There's a fondue dinner, which I mean, you gotta do.
[00:04:45] Speaker B: Never a fondo.
[00:04:48] Speaker C: All right. All right. And I also love that the hotels that they're staying at are like Swiss hotels. Like, you're really gonna feel like you're in Switzerland. They're not staying at like a Marriott or a Hilton. They're staying at really nice local, local hotels. So.
[00:05:09] Speaker D: Well as well. Right. That's an eight day. And then of course, you still have like South Africa ab that list. There's a whole bunch of like, you've got Costa Rica.
[00:05:22] Speaker C: I decided today I don't usually wear props. I don't wear my ears too often. But a lot of people don't realize and that I don't think this is too much of a spoiler is that you get pins on Adventures by Disney. And I don't think most people want to even trade these because they're so special and they're really exclusive to every like town that ABD visits. So this is my lanyard from actually it was my second Adventures by Disney and you could tell that because this was a two. You also get a pin for your number. And now I have one that's six, I think. So this was my second. And you get, you know, for people that have gone like dozens of times, they have to commission like special.
But there's pins and there's all kinds of surprises.
Yeah.
[00:06:14] Speaker B: Some of the new Africa, the new trips have adult only. They've done they adult only adventures. So that's kind of cool.
[00:06:21] Speaker C: Absolutely, absolutely. And it's usually those adult only ones are like the shoulder season, like May or September. So you know, it's a great time to go and 18 plus. So like May can still be like we went with our college age kids in May. They're considered adults and you know, it's a great time to kind of go a little off off season, maybe beat the heat in some of these places.
[00:06:47] Speaker D: So we're going to have, we're also going to have a couple of upcoming shows on other Adventures by Disney adventures that we haven't covered before. I know we've got one at the end of this month with Gail and Kara talking about the tulip one. Basically the one that goes preview.
[00:07:03] Speaker B: A preview of our cruise, I think.
[00:07:05] Speaker D: Yeah, exactly. A preview of our, of our 2026 podcast Cruise on Adventures by Disney. And then we're also going to have this summer our friends Haley and Drew. They actually won the Costa Rica ABD through like a contest and so they're going to come and talk to us about that. Now their opinion might be skewed because they got it for free, but we've heard really wonderful things about Costa Rica abd. Yeah. So I think some. And you, I think you went on that one, right, Karen?
[00:07:34] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:07:34] Speaker C: This lanyard is from Costa Rica and it was my second Adventures by Disney and that was actually booked and paid for before I even owned my path on wedding travel. So we did Central Europe with the grandparents, parents and the kids.
I think 12 years ago now that was our first one and we were addicted. It had always been like a bucket list thing. And it's definitely like, you know, if you're a Disney cruiser and you're looking for just a new like, you know, you're kind of like, oh, I need a new destination. I Need someplace new, different to go. But you just love Disney and you love traveling with Disney people. This is like the next step, right? I mean it's definitely, I always say pricey, but priceless.
But definitely, you know, every destination, like every. Well, they don't have Antarctica anymore, but otherwise every continent.
[00:08:29] Speaker D: Yes. Now, Karen, tell folks how they can book through you and how they can also reach out to you if they want more information about the DCL Duo podcast Cruise on Adventures by Disney in July of 2026.
[00:08:44] Speaker C: Absolutely. Come to mypathunwinding.com DCLDUO that's the easiest way to know that you heard about us from the DCL Duo. But you can also just go to the website and fill out a form and let us know. We always ask how did you hear about us? We're all over Facebook. My path unwinding on Facebook and Instagram and we have an Adventures by Disney Facebook group that also throws in some Nat Geo and Talc bridges. So you can check us out there. And yeah, love to send you more details about any adventure. But also, yes, there is still space available on that river cruise that's going to be amazing.
[00:09:25] Speaker B: And the dates are scrolling across the screen for that. It's going to be really, really fun. We're super excited about it.
[00:09:30] Speaker D: Yes.
[00:09:31] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:09:31] Speaker D: And I forgot to say we're also going to have Tracy and Michael on in this summer because they're going on in Italy land based Adventures by Disney. So we'll have them on to talk about that. So we got more coming obviously in the coming months.
But with that, thank you so much for joining us tonight, Karen. Thanks for having me. This was fun.
[00:09:50] Speaker C: Have a great show. Talk to you soon.
[00:09:53] Speaker B: Thanks, Karen. All right, let's bring in Mr. Chad Pennycuff to talk about San Diego. And for those of you who don't know Chad, you must know if you listen to us, you have to know about Chad because he's still active in our Facebook group. He's been on the show before. But he is also the host of the My DVC Points podcast. He is our go to resource for dvc. He is probably the reason we purchased dvc. He is certainly the reason.
He's certainly the reason I own a fixed week at Aulani because he's the one who sent me that contract resale. So welcome to the show.
[00:10:25] Speaker D: He's the reason we're in a lot of debt, Chad.
[00:10:28] Speaker A: I wish I would have kept that contract for myself. I'm not. But I'm a giving kind of guy, Brian. I'm a giving kind of guy is all I can say as well. So I am so happy to be recording with you guys. Anytime I can hang out with you guys, it's always fun and a blessing. So it's a ton of fun here. Ton of fun.
[00:10:46] Speaker D: We feel the same. We're so lucky to get to see you just recently when we were in Florida, obviously, Chad is based in Florida slash Michigan, and so whenever we get done to Florida, he's in town. We. We try to make time to. To see him and get together and catch up. But let's. Let's dive into talking about sailing out of San Diego. Chad, remind folks of your Disney Cruise line history, which is a little limited, but I think both of your prior sailings were with us. Am about that.
[00:11:15] Speaker B: But Chad has also set a very ambitious goal, I think.
[00:11:18] Speaker D: I know he has, and I want him to tell folks about it.
[00:11:20] Speaker C: So this was.
[00:11:21] Speaker A: Yeah, this was number three, and number one was like, Covid era. And Brian, you know, had started the DCL duo podcast when there were no sailings. Like, so as soon as it came back open, Sam, I think you couldn't get off work or you had some commitments or something. So he's like, chad, I got to pay for two people are. You know, I'll just give you the. The room. Are you in? And I'm like, well, dude, let me cover the rental car and whatever else we need. Yes, I'm in. Sign me up. And I had signed the contract on the house down here, and they were building it, so I think we, like, popped in and looked at it one day in the rental car. But that was cruise number one. And it was like the month that DCL started sailing again. Right.
[00:12:02] Speaker D: And that was on the fantasy, right?
[00:12:04] Speaker A: Yeah, that was the fantasy. So it was really tainted because Brian's like, you realize we're only at, like, 20, 25 capacity, is usually a lot more crowded than this, and. Okay, okay, fine, fine, fine. And then the next one I went on, you know, was the. Your guys's initial podcast cruise deal. So a bunch of people from my community started to say, hey, we're in. Some of them were organically just there. And I was like, okay, I'm in. And then I keep trying to do these, Sam, with my entire family, and, like, we had like, four or five of them scheduled during COVID and then the DVC member sailing on the Wish. We were scheduled for that. And then I got Covid right before that. So it's just like, it's not. Not for lack of Trying. Let me just put it to you that way.
[00:12:56] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:12:56] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:12:57] Speaker D: Well, and it, it seems like you either sail with us or you sail with Gina. I mean, that's basically what it's come down to. Because. Because. So shout out to Gina Grodsky, who I know is watching. She's already in is. She's basically one of the main producers of the My DBC Points podcast. And we met her through Chad and she has become, you know, a valued member, of course, of our community. She lives in Orange county and so she, whenever she can sail out of San Diego, she's like hopping on the Wonder.
[00:13:28] Speaker B: So that's, you know, says presents and accounted for.
[00:13:31] Speaker D: Yep, exactly. I know. I saw, I saw her in the comments. So. And I know that this cruise, it was a bunch of folks from the MyDVC points community came together and did this sailing. Quite a, quite a few of you, you know, tell us like, why this cruise in particular. This was a four night out of San Diego in mid early April, right? Tell. Yeah, tell us why. Why this itinerary in particular?
[00:13:57] Speaker A: So, yeah, Gina is like my sister at this point in time. She's like my, my Disney sibling. And I'm really good friends with her and her husband Brandon. And you know, I just love the two to death and I love hanging out Disney with them and doing the backstage stuff where we're creating shows for people and, and all that kind of fun stuff. So we were looking for an initial cruise and just because of the price points of dvc, I wanted to go something small that we could say to our people. And Gina was like, I'm so tired of coming there, but I'll come there for my spring break. And then I looked and I was like, well, Gina, there's a San Diego one, you know, an hour drive from your house. You come out here all the time to do this. Let's just call San Diego by you because it's a four nighter and it met all the criteria. We can pick it on your spring break week and then we'll just see who can join us. And so it was literally revolving around her spring break week.
[00:14:56] Speaker D: And then I checked off the bucket of getting you a third. The, your third ship because I know you have a goal of hitting all of the ships, which is going to become harder, of course, at the end of this year when the adventure comes out. Although I know you've got plans to get on the adventure as well, but. Plans. Future plans.
[00:15:14] Speaker B: So jealous.
[00:15:15] Speaker D: I know, but. Well, listen, they're not concrete plans yet, so Maybe we can make it happen too, but we'll see. But, yeah, I know you're trying to hit all of those ships, so this checks off that. That ship in the list as well, which is fantastic. Now tell us. This was you and your son, Lincoln, who is. Remind me. 12.
[00:15:33] Speaker A: Yeah, he just turned 12 in February, and so he got to hang out with us on the last ship, and now he's an official DCL addict and more so Pinocchio's and the ice cream place, but you know that that's another story, right? And. But yeah, so he's a super fan of this. So I begged, borrowed, and plead, and my wife agreed to let him come out of school. And then this is the last time that can happen because it was just too big a problem and he didn't follow through on homework and.
[00:16:03] Speaker D: Oh, that's.
[00:16:04] Speaker A: I'm all done with two days. You know, this is like day three of the cruise. I'm thinking we're good. Okay. No, I'm done with two days of one class. Yeah, like, dude, you're killing me here. You know, like, I made promises that you would do work, and now you're not in.
[00:16:25] Speaker D: I know. Listen, I. That whole school thing, it's just kind of a problem because it gets in the way of my vacation timing. All right? It really does.
[00:16:34] Speaker B: I love how our son's school gets in the way of your vacation. So.
[00:16:38] Speaker D: Yeah, I'm just joking because let's be honest, Brian, we. We have actually, like, really buckled down for this, particularly next year because Nathan starts middle school in. In making sure that he's missing as little school as possible. With one exception, which is for the Disney destiny, the Disney dest maiden. He's gonna miss, like an entire week of school, so.
[00:17:00] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, no judgment here. I'm just saying.
Yeah, yeah, it's rough.
[00:17:05] Speaker D: It's rough. Well, let's. Let's dive into talking about what you guys. I know you guys spent a couple days in San Diego. Let's just give the highlights from the. The time in San Diego because obviously we want to talk more about the cruise and focus in on the. The ports you went to and of course, the. The onboard experience. But what were some of the highlights and where did you stay in San Diego?
[00:17:28] Speaker A: So we used Hyatt points and stayed at the Hyatt. What is it? The Hyatt grand something. It's. I mean, it's like a half mile up the. The ports from DCL ship dock. Right. So I thought it was right there, but it was a Little farther away than I liked. And I. So it was like a 6$8 Uber to get down there with the bags because I wasn't hauling all the bags down. Right. But it wasn't a bad walk at all. We actually walked right by the cruise and we were just checking out the town.
[00:17:58] Speaker B: Could it be the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego?
[00:18:01] Speaker A: That's it.
[00:18:02] Speaker B: Yes. Yeah, it is. That's in a great area, though, from the standpoint of you're right by that Seaport Village, which there's a lot of good little restaurants and stuff over there. So, yeah, not a bad location. But not walkable.
[00:18:11] Speaker D: But, yeah, not. I mean, it's walkable to the port, but it's not walkable to the port with luggage is the issue. Right, That's.
[00:18:17] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, we could have done it, but, you know, we brought the fish extender luggage. You know what I'm saying?
[00:18:23] Speaker B: So, like, never again.
[00:18:26] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, never again.
[00:18:29] Speaker B: I'll tell you the two. For those out there listening, there's two hotels that we really like that are really, really close. I mean, like, literally right across the street from the port. One is the Intercontinental, one is the Spring Hill Suites, and the other one's a Marriott residence. And they're all like, right together in two buildings. And then there's a Wyndham right there, too.
[00:18:47] Speaker D: Windham is probably the most centrally located to the port.
[00:18:50] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. I mean, they're. They're. I mean, there's not much daylight between them. So if you really want the. If you really want these, show up, stay at the hotel, walk across the street. You really want one of those. It's like right across from the port. But we've been. We've walked all the way down to where your hotel was, Chad, before, to grab tacos at a place in there, the name of which is escaping me, but. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Questo, questo. I'm looking at the rest.
[00:19:10] Speaker D: Oh, yeah, we did have quests and we did. That was pretty good. Yeah, we.
[00:19:13] Speaker A: We actually ate there and my son liked it so much, he was like, dad, can we go back? And I was like, yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:19:19] Speaker D: Oh, yeah, yeah.
[00:19:21] Speaker A: I think they were on, like a sky miles dining, you know, like, bonus points program too. I got a little email from that. So I was like, oh, yeah, okay. We definitely go back there then.
[00:19:30] Speaker D: For anyone who knows Chad, he knows, like, Chad is like down the rabbit hole in all of the points stuff.
[00:19:37] Speaker A: Like, if you wanted miles, man. Right.
[00:19:39] Speaker D: If you want to learn how to game the points and miles system, in fact, Chad has a great episode of his podcast that is all about, like, which credit cards are the best for points and miles and all of that. And literally, you can go down the rabbit hole, but just reach out to Chad because he will give you all of his. His secrets. Better yet, whether or not you can.
[00:19:58] Speaker A: Subscribe to the new and upcoming YouTube channel called Miles to the Mouse.
[00:20:03] Speaker D: Oh.
[00:20:04] Speaker A: So I am. I am, like, honing my two superpowers of Disney and credit card points and miles and just figuring out how people can make the mouse more affordable. Because at the end of the day, we all want more mouse for our money.
[00:20:18] Speaker D: Like, it's just.
[00:20:19] Speaker A: I have an unquenchable desire for the mouse and a finite amount of money. So, like, that is the quandary I'm in. If you're in the same quandary, go ahead and drop us a subscribe over at Miles to the Mouse Channel.
[00:20:32] Speaker D: Awesome. I didn't even know about that project, Chad. That's awesome. That's like, is exactly merging your two loves. I love that. All right.
[00:20:39] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:20:39] Speaker D: Well. Well, tell us some of the. The highlights from San Diego. Did you hit the zoo? I feel like the zoo is the place.
[00:20:46] Speaker A: Yeah, we did. So my son wasn't real happy about the zoo, but he ended up. He ended up somewhat liking it and realizing, hey, this was a worthwhile deal. And I'm like, this is, you know, it has a reputation of the best zoo in the entire world. Like, in. In terms of zoos, it doesn't get better than San Diego.
[00:21:05] Speaker D: Yep.
[00:21:05] Speaker A: And we're like a 15 minute Uber ride away.
[00:21:08] Speaker D: Yeah. It is the best zoo in the world. The only thing it's missing is pandas, because those are at the National Zoo. That's literally the only thing that you will miss out on at the San Diego Zoo. Everything else there is amazing.
[00:21:21] Speaker A: Yeah. Okay. And so, yeah, it's. We have a decent zoo in Detroit. We have like a huge penguin thing.
And. But, you know, I've got penguins here in Orlando at SeaWorld, so I'm good. Like, I'm good. I'm good on penguins.
[00:21:36] Speaker D: Yeah. Any. Any other highlights from San Diego? Any places that you would in particular that you would recommend? I know you. I saw you got a picture in front of the midway, which is, of course, something you gotta, you know, do. I think you hit up Sea World in San Diego as well. Any. Any of the things that you did that you would say this was like a highly recommend other than the tacos at Puesto?
[00:21:56] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:21:57] Speaker A: I mean, the zoo is the zoo you kind of have to do. Okay. It's just one of those things. And then being a theme park junkie where you know, like Gina and they have like annual passes or some kind of a teacher pass. And I have a platinum pass for SeaWorld here in Orlando, so I didn't have to pay to get in, so I only had to pay for Lincoln. And we just wanted to go check out the other park. San Diego is much nicer than Orlando. Like, but like night and day nicer than Orlando. It's, it's like Disney versus like, not like Disneyland in terms of their, their cleanliness and upkeep. Okay.
[00:22:38] Speaker D: Wow.
[00:22:39] Speaker A: In Orlando, we're kind of the, the bottom park. It's still a great park to come in and bring your kids and see the animals and they're growing as a coaster park. But I needed that like comparison between the two to come back in and, and do all of that. Right. So yeah, had to check that list off. And we will go back to SeaWorld and, and San Diego as well because there was a few coasters that were down that we didn't get to check off our list.
[00:23:04] Speaker B: So yeah, I was gonna say I'd tell you a few spots that we love to recommend too. One is in terms of a site to see which is downtown. You don't have to take cabin or Uber anywhere. Which is the. What? It's the, the ship. I can't remember.
[00:23:18] Speaker D: Midway. I said the Midway.
[00:23:20] Speaker B: Oh, you said the Midway.
[00:23:21] Speaker C: Okay, sorry.
[00:23:21] Speaker B: Dealing with listercons. And then if you're in San Diego, did you make it by chance to either Little Italy or to Old Town? Because they have great Mexican food in Old Town and they also have some great food in Little Italy. Did you make it to either of those?
[00:23:34] Speaker A: We didn't make it to either of those. Okay. Because it was. We came in on a Friday night, we had Saturday, we had Sunday. And then Monday was just, you know, get up, pack, enjoy ourselves and make it down to the cruise port and.
[00:23:45] Speaker D: One day at the zoo and one day at Sea World. That's, that's kind of plenty to fill your time.
[00:23:51] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:23:51] Speaker D: Well, let's talk about embarcation and you know, the lineup for, you know, arrival at the port, boarding, all that kind of stuff. We know that San Diego is not the well oiled machine that Port Canaveral was. Tell us about your impressions of the.
[00:24:07] Speaker A: That was a little bit of a disappointing. Yeah, that was because I'm used to like walking into Port Canaveral or even the new port Everglades and you have a Disney terminal, you know what I'm saying? But I, I realize we're not full time there, and we're just like one of the ships that's coming in at a couple of different times. And so I, that kind of reset expectations for me. And then once I did that, it was like, okay, it. It still worked. It was still functional. They were still on time, you know, and it's just really convenient to get a drop off there and if you know where to stand out front and then come into the right lane and all of that. It. Yeah, it was super convenient. Super convenient. If I was staying in one of those hotels right across the street that you mentioned. Yeah, it would have been perfect because then you just drag your stuff right on over or make two trips, you know what I'm saying? It's like, it's not that big a deal.
[00:25:01] Speaker B: Someone. Someone asked us recently. They emailed us and they asked us about, like, does San Diego have the luggage drop off like Port Canaveral does? If you're showing up by car. My memory, Sam. And maybe you can speak to this Chad was. You kind of. You pull up and they have to drop you off outside the gate. They don't let cars back into the gated area. And then you drop off your. Walk your luggage through, drop it off, and then you have to come back out to stand in line.
[00:25:25] Speaker D: No, there's a, There is a, A place where cars can drop off. Where, like where the Ubers and stuff drop off. It's where we've gotten picked up from there. Brian. We've never gotten dropped. Like, we've never dropped off there. But yeah, there is a spot where you could drop off luggage, but you would. Yeah, you would have to then go drive and park somewhere.
[00:25:44] Speaker B: I just remember Uber one time, like, dropping us off outside the gate. Maybe, maybe it wasn't open yet for we got there too early. Maybe that was what it was.
[00:25:51] Speaker D: Yeah, there is, but it's to the side. It's. And it's not as, like, clearly marked. The signage is not as. It's, you know, it's very chaotic. It's. It does.
[00:25:59] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:26:00] Speaker D: Yeah. It's not clear as to where.
[00:26:03] Speaker A: Our Uber driver got a very hard, harsh scolding that I didn't think he deserved based on the signs.
[00:26:08] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:26:09] Speaker A: And it's just like, okay, well, we'll do, you know, chill, dude. We'll do what we need to do. Okay. We're not here to, you know, we're Disney people. We're not here to create a ruckus. Right. It's.
[00:26:18] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Now, once you get through, you know, the bag check in and the, the, the port sort of line. Line queue madness. Was the check in process relatively straightforward there?
[00:26:32] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, it was relatively straightforward. I love the fact that you can just upload all of that stuff to DCL and passports and all of that. And then when you check out with the passports now, they do the photo ID and you don't even need your passport and blah, blah, blah, blah. It's just quick and simple and easy, like. Yeah, that has been tuned and streamlined and perfected. Yeah, no issues whatsoever there.
[00:26:59] Speaker D: Love it. Right, well, let's jump into. To onboard you. You know, you go through obviously the gangway, you enter the atrium of the beautiful Disney Wonder. Is your first time on the Disney Wonder, but you've been on the Disney Magic, so not like a huge difference. But first impressions of the Wonder. Anything really surprising about that experience?
[00:27:21] Speaker A: It seemed like really nice and new and clean. Like it had been through a dry drop recently. And I, I would. Because I, I kept going through there and I was like, now Sam and Brian used to say this was their favorite ship up until, you know, this last one that came out.
[00:27:36] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:27:37] Speaker A: And so I was like, okay, I had pretty high expectations and we liked it and, and Lincoln and I really liked it. But I think he missed the slide from the Magic. And you know, the Aqua Duck Dunk there, I think it is on the Magic.
[00:27:53] Speaker D: Yep, the Aqua Dunk. And the Wonder only has the twist and spout. It only has, like this sort of slide.
[00:28:01] Speaker B: I think it's because I can't remember the lore behind this, but I think it's. They did not put the slide on the Wonder because they knew the Wonder was going to be going through the canal and up to Alaska and all this sort of stuff. And there was some concern about the slide overhanging the ship or anything like that. And so, yeah, the Wonder never got a water slide attraction. Really? Like a good one at least.
[00:28:21] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah. It still has the smaller one, not the, the bigger one. Yeah, no, that's absolutely true. That makes sense. Well, let's jump to the ports, because I know these were two new ports of call for you. You went to Ensenada and Catalina. Is that the order? Did you go to Ensenada first and then Catalina second?
[00:28:37] Speaker A: Yeah, Catalina first and then. Then Ensenada.
[00:28:41] Speaker D: Okay, now I know you, Chad, so I'm gonna guess that you did not book a Disney Cruise Line excursion that you decided to explore on your own or you side of Disney?
[00:28:51] Speaker A: No, I, we didn't do anything. Okay. We did get off the ship to both places.
[00:28:55] Speaker D: Okay.
[00:28:56] Speaker A: But that was just because I wanted to go around and explore.
[00:29:00] Speaker D: Yeah. And that's just independent Chad though. I feel like that's one, that's you. And two, you're not going to pay for that. That exorbitant price that DCL is going to charge on that, on that excursion. I know that.
[00:29:14] Speaker A: No, no, I, I'm not paying for it because I would rather put that money towards my next DCL cruise. Right. Yeah, it's, it's like, you know, like I said, I mean we do gift app discounted gift cards in every trick in the book to like make these cruises more affordable and obtainable.
[00:29:32] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:29:33] Speaker A: So yeah, I'm probably like the only person that I know that you know, does like 90 payment with Disney gift cards that we bought at a 10 to 15 discount and then pays the rest of it with credit card points.
[00:29:45] Speaker D: Like I love it.
[00:29:47] Speaker A: You know, I, I, like I said you gotta make the mouse more affordable. So.
[00:29:51] Speaker B: But what did you think about Catalina, Chad? I think you had some cooler weather than what you expected on this, on this cruise.
[00:29:57] Speaker A: Yeah, I was expecting sunny in 70 and you know, moderately nice and warm and it was cold. Okay.
[00:30:07] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:30:08] Speaker A: I mean I have made the fatal flaw the last three years and every year I keep saying I'm gonna quit leaving Florida in snowbird season. Like the snowbir it. Right?
[00:30:19] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:30:19] Speaker A: Like stay here. No, make everybody else come here. And so yeah, next year I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm trying my best to stick to it, Sam. I'm gonna, I'm, I'm trying really hard to stick to it next year. But it was cold, okay. And I'm sitting here going, man, I had sunny 70 and 80 and no humidity in Florida. Like why did I leave?
[00:30:42] Speaker D: And we heard it was quite foggy as well. Is that right?
[00:30:48] Speaker A: Oh my gosh. Like that fog was.
I could deal with the fog, Sam. Okay. I could deal with not seeing too far. But the problem is in Catalina you have to like tender the ship at this like micro dock. Okay. So it's kind of floating out there in the middle of nowhere. And let me just tell you, Sam, this cruise was horny and not in a good way.
[00:31:16] Speaker B: Wait, wait, wait. We got a little audio for that.
Wait for it, wait for it. You're still.
[00:31:24] Speaker A: Yeah, I know it's coming.
[00:31:25] Speaker C: I know it's.
[00:31:31] Speaker B: The Chad would have to listen to every. It goes off about every like five minutes or, or maybe.
[00:31:36] Speaker A: No, it's like less than a minute or something.
[00:31:39] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, we had that in New Orleans. Remember saying we were sailing at one point and they had the fog. It was every like. And you're trying to sleep and you can hear the foghorn. Yeah.
[00:31:49] Speaker A: Luckily we were down on Deck 5, so if we were in our cabin, we, We. We didn't hear it. Okay. Yeah, yeah, but like, the shops and the shop owners are all that are complaining about it, like, back. Back on the island, and we have finally just kind of like toured around, you know, just walked into various different shops, got a feel for it that's there, kind of checked it off our list, and then made it back so that we could grab some lunch. And our server was a. An amazing, nice guy. And I don't know how to politely say, dude, just leave us alone.
It's like we were trying to eat lunch up on deck and just scarf it down. And he was on deck duty and nobody's up there.
[00:32:29] Speaker D: He was working one of the, like, one of the, the fast casual places on the pool deck. And you guys were eating on the pool deck and he just starts chatting with you.
[00:32:37] Speaker A: Yeah, he. He was on like bus duty or something for the pool deck where the side we were sitting. So he would walk by, stop, chat for a minute or two, go back, turn around, come back, stop for a minute or two, and I'm like, dude, no, I just want to, like, get my food down and get out of here. And yeah, he's wearing, you know, earplugs because he's just like, yeah, you know, this rarely ever happens. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But, but I'm telling you, Sam, we were nice to everybody. Like, yeah, as, as, as a podcaster, when I got, I got that file specifically because I knew I would be talking with Brian about this cruise. That is the actual horn recording.
[00:33:15] Speaker D: I love it.
[00:33:15] Speaker A: You know, from that. And we're being nice as podcasters. That was like eardrum, piercing level of pain.
[00:33:22] Speaker B: I have brought the noise volume down way, way from what it was. Yeah, we've.
[00:33:27] Speaker D: We've got some great comments I gotta bring up, though. So Gina's saying it was every two minutes if you guys were moving and bells, if boats were too close and you can hear it two miles away on land. Taryn is saying that they had horns in Alaska one day and night, and people in verandas did not sleep well. It's the one time there was a bit of inside stateroom Envy. So I totally could see where that. That would be an issue.
[00:33:52] Speaker B: So I want to go back though. So you got off in Catalini, just kind of wandered the downtown area.
[00:33:56] Speaker D: Avalon area.
[00:33:57] Speaker B: Yeah, the Avalon area. Like, would you would. What did you think of the, the port stop overall? Just for. So, like, I. I'll tell you what we did is rent a golf cart and kind of drive around the island a little bit and then come back down and had lunch and wandered around that sort of thing. But on a cold, foggy day, probably not a real fun thing to do. But would you go back to Catalina, Chad?
[00:34:18] Speaker A: I would definitely go back and I would probably explore because it's my second time there. I would definitely start to explore some type of excursions or some kind of activities or something to do there that's like unique to that port. Okay.
[00:34:32] Speaker D: Yeah. You can go see the bison like on one end of the island, which is like a, A national preserve. Right. You can go see. There's an excursion that Disney has, but I'm sure that third parties book as well that you can go see the bison. You can do an excursion that does, you know, get you a golf cart. We just rented one on our own. Have cash. That's the one tip for that one. So there's. Yeah, there's definitely some slightly more active things that you. You can choose to do on the island. It is a, it's a small town though, so it's like. It is one of those places I would love to go back and visit, but it's not like it's. You don't need necessarily the whole day or even multiple days.
[00:35:09] Speaker B: But that was what I thought was perfect about Catalina because it was like it's a one day. It is truly a one day port. It is. You could see so much in a day and really kind of get an understanding of what it was like. That's, that's.
[00:35:19] Speaker D: It's really adorable.
[00:35:20] Speaker B: Yeah, it's adorable. It is adorable. It's ad A. It's an adorable little town. So. Yeah. Yeah.
[00:35:24] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. Well, I, I would love to just like walk up into the houses on the hill.
[00:35:29] Speaker D: Oh yeah.
[00:35:30] Speaker A: And just because I'm like so amazed I'm going, tell me there's some back alley there or something that they don't have to carry groceries all the way up those stairs every time. Yeah, that would get old. But I, I suppose, like, hey, people do Stairmasters for. You know you got your own built in one here, right?
[00:35:46] Speaker D: Yes.
[00:35:46] Speaker E: Yeah.
[00:35:47] Speaker D: And people drive golf carts. I mean, there are Some vehicles on the island, they're mostly like delivery trucks and work vehicles and st. Stuff like that. But most people drive golf carts around the island. That's kind of there, I think, I.
[00:35:58] Speaker B: Think they're required to in most cases. I think there's like, yeah, well, that's what I said.
[00:36:02] Speaker D: I think there's a limit to how many, you know, how many vehicles, real vehicles you can have.
[00:36:06] Speaker B: And for those of you out there who are listening, you're like, well, I, you know, got to get on a cruise to see Catalina. You can also visit Catalina. They have ferry boats that leave from both Orange county and LA that you can head over. They have a, they have a hotel in Catalina that you can sit up just kind. Probably a couple hotels actually at Catalina. They even have a small airport, the Avalon Airport, called Airport in the Sky. It's up on the top of a mountain. It's a really interesting airport. I visited it one time to see it. Short Runway, makes for some exciting, exciting landings.
Yeah.
[00:36:34] Speaker D: And it's.
[00:36:35] Speaker B: And, and most of the island is a preserve and, and a Boy Scout camp. Actually, they, they have a Boy Scout camp on the island.
[00:36:41] Speaker A: Oh, that'd be a killer place to. For Boy Scouts.
[00:36:43] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:36:44] Speaker D: Yeah, absolutely.
[00:36:45] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:36:45] Speaker D: Well, let's, let's shift gears and talk about Ensenada. So Ensenada is only like, like, I don't know, 45 miles or something south of San Diego. So we're not talking significantly different weather down there, but did you have better weather that day you were going out in Catalina. You're out in the country.
[00:37:02] Speaker A: It wasn't as cold. It was still kind of nice down there, but it wasn't like frigid cold. But yeah, no, I only packed one sweatshirt the whole trip, so I got.
[00:37:14] Speaker D: A lot of mileage.
[00:37:15] Speaker A: I was never so glad to take that sweatshirt off and throw it into the laundry when I got home from that like 10 day excursion trip thing in my entire life. Because I never thought I would have to like wear the same sweatshirt day in. To me it was like, okay, if I need it, it's here, it'll be. I wear it on the plane when it gets cold if I have a window seat and you know, whatever. Okay. No, it didn't, it did not come off the entire time unless I was sleeping or showering.
Right. And yeah, that level of cold.
[00:37:48] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:37:49] Speaker A: Yeah, well.
[00:37:50] Speaker B: And the problem with these, the shortcruise is like, you know, look, Catalina is up by la, which is only a two hour drive from San Diego. Not even, yeah, not even in no traffic. Right. And then Ensenada is literally less than.
[00:38:04] Speaker D: An hour drive or maybe an hour drive from San Diego south.
[00:38:08] Speaker B: So. Yeah, yeah. So it's. I mean, you're getting kind of similar. I mean, I think San Diego has some of the best weather in Southern California, even better than LA at times, but the weather is still fairly similar between all three of these places. So whatever it is in la, it's going to be close to that in San Diego and close to that in Ensenada. So if it's cold, be cold everywhere.
[00:38:26] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:38:26] Speaker D: And April can be variable, Right. You can have.
[00:38:29] Speaker B: You can have spring.
[00:38:30] Speaker D: Yeah, spring. You can have some cooler days in April. You can have some warmer days in April. So it's not. It's not like, reliably warm, like maybe June, July. Yeah.
[00:38:39] Speaker B: And Tracy saying, it is not Florida. It is decidedly not Florida. And I prefer it that way. But yes, it's not Florida.
[00:38:46] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:38:46] Speaker D: Well, what did you think of Ensenada and what did you guys get up to there?
[00:38:50] Speaker A: So Ensenada, I didn't have any expectations. Right. And I honestly didn't really want to get off the cruise ship there because I just hadn't heard anything that would lure me off there. Right. The one thing Lincoln wanted to have a Mexican Coke in Mexico.
And so we were hanging out with the Campbell family and Thurston and Lincoln became friends and. And they all decided they wanted a Mexican Coke in Mexico as well. And, you know, it's something that they could, you know, cheers to and post about. And so we set on a little excursion to go check out some shops, do some shopping. And the Campbell kids were allowed to buy like, one item from a gift store or something along those lines.
And that's what we did. We walked around the port. I was a little shocked when we got there that there was like a taxi, like a bus waiting there that charged like, three, four bucks to take you someplace. And then when it takes you where. Where you get off, you're like, ooh, this is kind of sketch. And. But the whole place we were was just kind of super sketch, like third world country, not built for tourists.
Level of. Of activity there.
[00:40:06] Speaker B: Yeah. So you can. So we've gotten off and just. You can walk. You can just walk across a little bridge and then down a kind of a boardwalk beach type of thing where they' got restaurants and shops and stuff and things like that. We've done that. Went and had like tacos or something and came back to the ship. The bus is so frustrating because it does it takes you into, like, downtown area of Ensenada, and when you get off, there's usually a bunch of tour providers then that just like, swarm the bus with, you want to go here? You want to go here? We go here. And I made the mistake. I got sold by a tour provider to take us out to the blow.
[00:40:37] Speaker D: Blowhole.
[00:40:38] Speaker B: Yeah. Because I was supposed to kayaking, which.
[00:40:40] Speaker D: Is cool, which is a cool thing to see.
[00:40:42] Speaker A: That guy made it sound cool.
[00:40:44] Speaker B: But you have to walk like a half of a mile down, like a bunch of flea market type shops with people, like, hawking everything at you to get to the place. And then you got to walk all the way back up the same street. And the only redeeming value of that entire excursion was the blowhole itself and the tacos at the other end.
[00:41:01] Speaker D: La Bufador. That's what it's called. Yes, it is. It is one of those things. It is a cool, like, natural wonder. So if you're interested in seeing a blowhole, it's very cool to see. But the experience getting to and from is not a cool experience. It's one of those, like, aggressive, like, people trying to sell you stuff. And we were walking with Nathan and one person even kind of cut between Nathan and I as we're walking, and it was just not. Not the most comfortable experience. So I would say Ensenada, not my favorite port, might be the. Might be the kind of port that I would stay on board for. Although Brian and I did get off in Ensenada one time.
[00:41:38] Speaker B: The Nassau of the West Coast. Yes.
[00:41:40] Speaker D: And we did go get some yummy tacos. So I will say we did, like, we walked, we found a little restaurant. Like, it was kind of sketch, but it was. The tacos were delicious. We had a margarita and we got back on the ship.
[00:41:52] Speaker B: Let's face it, even the U.S. some of the best tacos are some of the sketchiest places. So I was. I was all in for it.
[00:41:57] Speaker D: Yeah, that is exactly right.
[00:41:59] Speaker A: Yeah. We should have tried the food. Okay. We should have, like, done that little bit of extra bit. But I really just kind of trusted the coke from the factory in Mexico.
[00:42:10] Speaker D: Right.
[00:42:10] Speaker A: And then we went to 711 and, well.
[00:42:13] Speaker D: And the coke probably had one of these tops. Right. One of these tops that you gotta.
[00:42:18] Speaker A: So, yeah, we had. We wanted the glass bottles and yeah, we found one that said it was extra sugar or we couldn't make out the spinach.
[00:42:28] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:42:28] Speaker A: But we tried it and we all agreed it was like super, super sweet.
And, you know, we bought some bottled Waters. And, you know, the little shop there was actually really, really, really fair in terms of their pricing. And 711 was fair as well. Where I thought they kind of like took advantage of us was a candy store. Because my wife is a cultural teacher. She teaches an intro to Spanish, Japanese, German, French. And so when she knew we were going there, I was like, oh, yeah, she's going to want me to pick up some hard candy. And there's these little things called Stop suckers for wo or something like that. And they're really, really popular with their kids. She wants me to get them anytime I can. So we bought her a couple bags of those. And I feel like they gouged just on those. It was one of those, this person says this price, this person says this price, and then they give you a price, but then they charge you in pesos. Like, wait a minute, you told me in dollars, but then you charge me in pesos. And I know you inflated it when you did that. And so I was like, yeah, I won't be. I won't be doing that again.
[00:43:32] Speaker B: Yeah. The crew love to stop in Ensenada because there's a Walmart close to the port, and so they can. They can get off and get all the stuff that they need for the day. But I. It's. It. Ensenada is. It's an industrial shipping port primarily. So, you know, that's. It's. It's a city that grew up around, you know, bringing stuff into Mexico. It's. It's an actual container port. So. Yeah, I mean, the ships don't dock in the container section, but yeah, yeah.
[00:43:56] Speaker D: And in the comments that we're seeing, Dan was saying they had a great kayak excursion to the Bufadora. It was cool to see from the ocean. And Brian commented back, but I wanted to read it for folks who aren't paying attention to the comments that Brian was supposed to do that excursion on two different occasions, and both times it got canceled for weather. So if it's. If there's like high winds, bad weather right there, those things are going to get the success.
[00:44:20] Speaker B: You're on the open ocean. I mean, the Pacific Ocean, it's going to be unpredictable there in a kayak.
[00:44:26] Speaker A: So, yeah, given what you've told me about the tourists and getting mobbed going to that, if I could do it on the open ocean on a kayak or a boat or something along those lines, sign me up, I'm in.
[00:44:36] Speaker B: It's supposed to be. I will say that La Bufador excursion is supposed to be great too, because on the way back they stop at like a local taco place and let people buy tacos and they're supposed to be really, really great. So, yeah, it's supposed to be a fantastic excursion if they still offer it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. What did, what did you get up to? Well, actually, Chad, I want to ask you about dining on board the Wonder, because I will say when we sail the Fantasy, you had some hot T takes on the DCL dining because I'd set you up for, you know, most people really liked it, thought it was better than most other cruise lines. How was the dining experience for you on the Wonder?
[00:45:08] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. I think you nail it best when you, when you're like, it's, it's hyped up wedding food like it's people.
I, I, I just have a higher bar for fine dining. Right. And there's just a debate going on in, in our MYDBC points community about like Alani versus, you know, cruise ship versus this and this and this. And I'm like, yeah, but I can't control the quality of food that I get at Aulani here. I feel like it's lower rate quality food, which is still probably better than most cruise ships. I will give you that. Okay, I will definitely give you that. But it's not what I would want or expect. And like the, the one dish that we had was the, the pasta with meat sauce. That was really good. I really enjoyed that.
[00:45:56] Speaker D: But that is a great dish in Animator's palette. That's a really good, it's good, good option. I like that. I often get that and I get the pork chop at the same time because I like the pasta is like the side and I like the pork chop as like my meat.
[00:46:11] Speaker B: What an odd combination.
[00:46:12] Speaker D: I, I know it's totally weird, but.
[00:46:14] Speaker A: I love, I'm going with the pork chop next time. Yeah. Every time I try, like the steak, I'm, or the beef, I'm, I'm disappointed.
[00:46:21] Speaker B: You know, the problem with the pork chop is a lot of times it gets dried out.
[00:46:24] Speaker D: Like that's, that's, well, that's the problem with the steak. The steak typically, the problem with the steak is typically it gets dried out. Right. So I think the pork chop is breaded. So I think they do a better job with that. It can sometimes it's dry, but it's not, It's, I think, generally pretty good.
[00:46:40] Speaker B: What about Tiana's? You had Tiana for the first time. Did you did. What do you think of the show? And, and I think Tiana's is actually some of the, the best main dining food. Like there's, there's a couple restaurants I think really push the envelope in terms of like flavors and food on the cruise line, which I appreciate Coco being one, you know, Arendelle. Well, kind of. But, but Tiana, I think is, is another example.
[00:47:02] Speaker A: Yeah, we, we liked its, its equivalent better. What is it, Is it Rapunzel's? Yeah, yeah, we like that better. Okay. And that was a consistent with Lincoln and I like the show better. I like the character interaction with the, you know, the thug type dancing men. And to me that was just more my speed and, and I will fall on the sword here. Right. I'm probably still a little bitter about losing Splash. Like a fully dive in and appreciate Tiana's. I know I have to deal with it. I know the reasons why I just, I love the ride and yeah, I'm working on it, Sam. I'm working on it. Okay.
[00:47:44] Speaker D: You know, little by little, Chad, we'll convert you to a Tiana's bayou lover. Don't worry.
[00:47:51] Speaker A: So, yeah, I will eventually convert to that. And, and it's, I love Splash though. It was. Got a special spot. Got a special spot. So I'm working on Tiana's. I'm dealing with it. Right.
[00:48:05] Speaker D: I gotta ask you about shows though, Chad, because obviously, you know, I always talk about the shows on board. That's one of the big draws, I think, for Disney cruise line in general. What did you think about the shows on the Wonder?
[00:48:17] Speaker A: I completely get the reputation the Golden Mickeys has.
[00:48:21] Speaker D: Okay.
[00:48:23] Speaker B: Like, you mean it's awesome Reputation.
[00:48:27] Speaker A: Yeah. Is the bottom of the barrel in, in terms of cruise line shows. Like it's, it's. I, yeah, I've seen enough now. Three different cruise ships, three different lineups and Disney dreams. I, I really like. Okay, Frozen was really good. And Golden Mickeys, man. I, I, I, I would sit through it with my family. Right. But after we've done it, yeah, after we've done it once as a family and shout out to Tim Allen. He's, he's a fellow Detroiter, right.
So love me some Tim Allen. But yeah, after I, I see it with the family, I don't know that I would, I would do that again.
[00:49:05] Speaker B: I love me some, I love me some Ensign Benson. I think that's such a great.
[00:49:08] Speaker D: It's, it just needs, I think as.
[00:49:13] Speaker B: Old school Iger, not, not evil Iger, but like the old non bizarro version.
[00:49:18] Speaker D: Know Brian Josh McHenry is with you. He's saying he loves the Golden Mickeys as well, Josh.
[00:49:24] Speaker B: I appreciate that.
[00:49:25] Speaker D: And, you know, I mean, Linda saying she would have swapped dreams and Golden Mickey goes Golden Mickey, Frozen, and dreams for her. As far as the. I think. I think she's saying best to worst or worst to best. I'm not sure, actually. But I think for. I mean, Frozen is the best on that ship, in my opinion. I think. I think Frozen is a cut above both Golden Mickeys and Disney dreams by a lot. I think there's some great musical numbers in Disney dreams. I actually find Golden Mickeys to be cutely nostalgic. So I actually kind of like it maybe even a little bit more than dreams. Not because of the musical numbers. I think those are better in dreams, but just it gives me the, you know, the Disney nostalgia feels, which I. Which I appreciate. But as much as I love the wonderful. I have to admit that. And I talked about this on another recent show that we recorded, but, like, the Treasure is number one as far as show lineup, and actually, the Magic is number two for me as far as show lineup, because the magic has.
Yeah, the magic has tangled, which is one of. One of my favorites. And the magic also has Twice Charmed, which is a really cute retelling.
[00:50:36] Speaker A: I like that one.
[00:50:36] Speaker D: Yeah. Cinderella. And then it also has Beauty and the Beast. No, it has Disney dreams as well. And so, yeah, so it's got. It's got three solid shows, Disney dreams being the bottom of that barrel. But not again. It's not a bad show. It's just not my favorite. But, yeah, I think the Magic has the second best lineup. But of course, nothing. You can't beat Moana and Beauty and the Beast being on the Treasure. So it's not even.
[00:51:04] Speaker B: At least until Hercules comes to the desk.
[00:51:06] Speaker D: At least until Hercules comes. And then we'll reevaluate. We'll have Hercules on the same ship. What is the other show that's going to be on? It's not Aladdin. It's going to be.
Oh, my God. Why am I blanking?
[00:51:21] Speaker B: I know.
[00:51:21] Speaker D: Sees the adventure. I can't remember what the third show is that they announced.
[00:51:26] Speaker B: I don't know. You're asking the wrong guys.
[00:51:28] Speaker D: Thank you, Linda. Linda's jumping in saying Frozen. That's right. Frozen. Thank you.
[00:51:32] Speaker B: And Terrence, I keep track of restaurants and drinks, not.
[00:51:34] Speaker D: Not shows like, how am I blanking? How am I blanking on this right now? Now, Frozen is already on two ships, so.
[00:51:40] Speaker A: Yeah. And I will say this. Their performance of Of Frozen. I thought our Elsa was a little bit pitchy, thought Anna was on point, thought Elsa could have just used a little bit more. But of course, it's. It's so hard to compete with Isa Mandel, the lady who, like, originally sings that stuff like it's.
[00:52:00] Speaker D: Yeah. Adena Manzel. Yes, Adena.
[00:52:02] Speaker A: Adena. There you go. Right?
[00:52:03] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:52:03] Speaker A: She's just a whole new next level. So anything beyond that is. Is this. But I will say this, their overall show and presentation of it. I just yesterday took some friends to the first time to the Frozen ever after here in Hollywood Studios, and that show went down a couple pegs now.
[00:52:24] Speaker D: Yes. The one on the ship, I think is the best version. Honestly, I think it's even better than the longer Broadway version or the version we had in the Hyperion Theater in Disneyland or the one that's in. In Hollywood Studios at Disney World. Like, I think the best version of that show is the Disney Cruise, is the Disney Cruise Line version. And Josh McHenry, you are cracking me up. I believe you're looking for Adele Tazeem. I can't remember who. Who said that, but that was the funny. There's this funny clip on the Internet with somebody. I can't remember who it was, who completely botched Adina Menzel's name on, like, an award show or something. It was hilarious.
[00:53:08] Speaker B: Well, I gotta ask a kind of a penultimate question here, which is, okay, so you've been on the Fantasy, you've been on the Magic. Now you've been on the Wonder.
Like, what's your ranking right now of the three ships? Fantasy, it sounds like might come out on top, maybe in the map.
[00:53:24] Speaker A: Fantasy is like a close second. Right. And I think if I were to do a full functioning Fantasy today, I might rank it up there. High fire. Right. But I'm gonna go Magic.
What we had of the Fantasy and then the Wonder.
[00:53:41] Speaker B: All right.
[00:53:41] Speaker A: Even though I like the cleanness and the charm of this, it's just Lincoln and I both. It just. Maybe it was just because it was my first cruise with him on the Magic that it's. I think that's going to have a special spot in his heart.
[00:53:56] Speaker B: Yeah. I mean, the Fantasy was our number one ship for a long time because it was the first ship we ever sailed on. And then so we got more and more experience with different ships in the fleet. Our rankings kind of change. Yeah.
[00:54:05] Speaker D: Continue to change.
[00:54:07] Speaker B: I think it also is so dependent, too. Like, you could go back on the Wonder in Alaska and just be blown away and decide the ship is amazing. If you'd had better weather, who knows, you know, that's why I think Disney always asks the what was your weather.
[00:54:21] Speaker A: Like supposed to be doing? Yeah, we're supposed to be doing the, the Magic in Alaska and you know. Yeah, so, so it's coming over there and, and it's not the traditional Alaska ship. So we'll be checking that out and seeing how that works out as well.
[00:54:39] Speaker B: It would be interesting to be able to do the Aquadunk in Alaska.
[00:54:45] Speaker A: Yeah, I'm sure Lincoln will be on it. You know what I'm saying? It's, you know, challenge accepted from that. What to be soon to be 13 year old as well.
[00:54:55] Speaker B: My only gripe with their west coast season right now is I wish they spent more time in San Diego because it's gotten, it got shorter and shorter and shorter over time. And then you know, the Wonder went off to, to Australia and to do Australia and Alaska and Hawaii and, and San Diego just keeps getting shorter and shorter and shorter. So I'm really hoping we get that we see that like fully west coast based ship set of itineraries soon so that we can get a little more time out of San Diego because it's, it's, I mean for us it's super easy to hop down to San Diego and get on the ship. And also it starts to cure the problem you're having in April which is the weather is kind of hit or miss. Right. And so, so you can get down there at like, you know, nice time of year and be on the ship when it's warm or maybe do some of the seven night itineraries to get all the way down to, you know, Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan and Cabo. Right Sam? Cabo Saint Lucas. Yeah.
[00:55:44] Speaker D: Yep.
[00:55:45] Speaker B: Get all the way down there. Now you're into warm weather territory. Beautiful beaches, sunshine, like.
[00:55:49] Speaker D: Yeah, it's just even the, even the five night itineraries, like if you get one that goes to Ensenada and Cabo, at least when you're down in Cabo you, you're sure to have warmer weather because you're going further south when you're just going to Ensenada and Catalina. I think the, I think the message we should tell folks is like when you're just going to Ensenada and Catalina, like you're going to have probably cooler weather unless you're talking like summertime. And right now Disney doesn't sail out of San Diego in the summertime because they're up in Alaska. So you know, that's sort of what you're. You're looking at like it's going to be a cooler weather cruise. It's not going to be the same kind of pool deck vibe that you're going to have in a ship in Florida. Florida.
[00:56:26] Speaker A: Before we got on the ship I was all in on. Let's schedule this with the family. You know, find a year when Laura and the kids and everybody. Spring break aligns. But that's usually the last week in March and so it's even earlier. And then I was like, no bueno.
[00:56:43] Speaker D: They're not gonna like that weather. You're not gonna want to do that. Yeah. Not any earlier than April. Absolutely.
[00:56:49] Speaker A: I'm like, if we do one for spring break, we are going to come out of Florida because it's just with the house here and an easy drive to Cape Canaveral in an hour or three hours down to Port Everglades. We're good. Like we're. We've got this. Okay. And yeah. So spring ones, I'm. I'm going to stick to Florida. And now I have set a goal of every year getting on a DCL ship, you know, at least once a year until I get all these ships knocked out. And then we'll re evaluate. Wait. Then I'll probably be calling Karen to do some ABD work or something along those lines. Because it's like you just gotta. You gotta climb the chain.
[00:57:25] Speaker B: Well, with your booking on the adventure, you won't surpass us on sheer number of cruises, but you may get on the adventure before we do and complete your like full set of ships. Right. Because that will be the one that we're gonna be missing for a while.
[00:57:38] Speaker A: That one's summer of 2027. Brian, we still. You still have time to shoot.
[00:57:43] Speaker B: You know what though? In2027, we got another maiden voyage coming that we have to plan for so we don't rip out.
[00:57:49] Speaker C: No, we don't.
[00:57:49] Speaker D: Not T20 29.
[00:57:52] Speaker B: No. Because they're maidening in 05 for both the adventure and the destiny. And so then you'll get a 2026 hiatus and then we're expecting at least one of the ships in 27 to Maiden.
[00:58:04] Speaker D: Is that right? That's the other wish class ship, right? Is that the. The last of the wish class ships? Oh, my goodness. I can't. I can't even.
[00:58:11] Speaker B: And then one maiden every year thereafter.
[00:58:13] Speaker D: No, every. It's like every two years thereafter.
[00:58:16] Speaker B: No, no, it's one ever. It's whenever it's 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32.
[00:58:20] Speaker D: That's.
[00:58:20] Speaker B: That gets you to the 13 TR ships. Yeah.
[00:58:22] Speaker D: God, don't.
[00:58:23] Speaker A: Is that including the OCL ones?
[00:58:25] Speaker B: Yes, that'll include the, the Tokyo ones.
[00:58:27] Speaker D: The Tokyo one is, is the 2029 one. That's the one I was confusing with. Well Chad, you got to tell us like what do you've got set up next? What I obviously let's set aside park strips because you're at the parks like all the time because you live down there part time. But tell us what have you got lined up as far as cruises.
[00:58:45] Speaker A: So right now it's just Alaska, 2026 and then we're still working out the details because a, the schedules haven't come out yet but I'm gonna try to sneak on to some like last minute Florida resident ones because I'm only at three and I need to have five under my belt before I go to Alaska so that I can get to.
[00:59:03] Speaker D: You gotta get on the Dream and the Wish and then eventually the Treasure. I know for you that seven night is going to be harder to fit into the schedule, but.
[00:59:10] Speaker A: Yeah, well, I need, I feel like I need to hit gold before I get to Alaska. So I'm gonna have to find some like three nighters here on the Wish or something along those lines. So I'm gonna have to like shoehorn some in there just, just for status reasons. It's like I need, I need to like get on the ship for the glacier excursions and all that. Right?
[00:59:31] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:59:31] Speaker A: And then 2027, Singapore, we're gonna be doing a back to back with some Universal as a thing Singapore park out there.
[00:59:39] Speaker D: Oh cool.
[00:59:40] Speaker A: And I'm looking into some point in mile hacks that like KLM has a flight path from Detroit to Charles de Gaulle and then you take a second plane over to Singapore. But the neat thing about them is they allow you to book like a three or four day layover without any additional fees.
[01:00:01] Speaker D: So you're talking Disneyland Paris is what you're saying? Yeah, yeah, obviously. Obviously, yeah.
[01:00:07] Speaker A: Because next Tuesday Sam, I head off to Shanghai and that's like an epic point and mile trip with I'm celebrating 30 years of friendship with my friend that you know, we're, we're Disney ride or dies together. Right. So we've been to land and World together multiple times. And so we just decided we were sitting on a bunch of point and miles from Delta and we both have status with them so we booked on points and then he threw his Delta diamond upgrades to it. So we've got Delta 1 coming and going and it was like, like, I don't know, 150 bucks out of pocket going to Shanghai direct from Detroit and then we use more miles to get down to Hong Kong and then miles to get up to Tokyo and then Delta 1 with miles again from Tokyo straight back to Detroit.
So amazing.
[01:01:03] Speaker D: An epic two week trip where you're going to hit all three of the Asia parks. I, I think that's amazing. Chad, are you going to be talking about that on my DVC Points podcast or are you going to talk about that on your new podcast? Talking about, you know, it'll be both.
[01:01:15] Speaker A: Of them or both. Yeah, it'll definitely be both of them. So I'll have to do some trip reports and I am going radio silent while I'm in China. Like I am not messing around. I am looking at just buying another phone to just put the apps on there that I have to have while I'm in China and that's it. Right. I am like sticking by the rules there. No VPNs, no nothing. And I'm just going radio silent once I get to Tokyo. If I have my real phone with me, which I don't even think I want to bring with me, then I'll start to do some posting there. But we'll cover it all when we get back, right?
[01:01:50] Speaker D: Yeah.
[01:01:51] Speaker A: Awesome. Yes. So that's the good news there.
[01:01:54] Speaker D: Well, Chad, why don't you tell folks how they can follow along with you, how they can find you and find both of your podcasts and follow along with all your adventures.
[01:02:04] Speaker B: Yeah.
[01:02:04] Speaker A: So you can find myDVC points on any podcast player that's out there. You can Find us on YouTube. And best yet, if you really have questions about DVC, the best thing to do is join the MyDVC Points community group on Facebook and post your questions in there. I read everything that's posted. I usually comment on them if I feel like something's missing or something's there. You can also tag me in there as well and I'll definitely see it and reply to you and give you an at least my thoughts on the answer in that group and so will otherwise other people. Right.
[01:02:37] Speaker B: And I will say this, Chad's podcast needs to come with a black box FDA warning. Once you start listening, you are likely to to to get some ad on ITIs and want to buy some DVC. So is an infectious podcast. It's such great energy. I love the stories that you tell members and all the great information you provide too But I love those member story shows that you do. So it's, it's a fantastic show.
[01:03:02] Speaker D: Yeah. And we, and, and we have to blame you for all of our ad on itis.
[01:03:06] Speaker A: So hey, my shoulders are take it right. I will take it.
[01:03:12] Speaker D: Well, thanks so much for coming on the show, Chad. We so appreciate you. We, you know, you have been with us from the beginning. For those who don't know, we have mentioned Chad before on this show because he really helped us out, really helped Brian out in particular when we first started this show in giving him all of you know, the tips and tricks for like how to get have good sound quality and good production quality and all that kind of stuff that really was sort of the foundation of our show. And without Chad, we would not be where we are today. I don't think we would have the successful podcast that we have today without his advice and sort of tutelage and taking Brian under his wing and being our podcast mentor. I know we've had, we've had our friend Paul Thornton refer to us as his podcast mentors, but Chad is really our podcast mentor. So thank you so much, Chad, for all of that, all that you've done, all that you continue to do. And thanks for coming on the show. Show and we will be back next week. We have a special Mother's Day episode coming up next. Next Monday night our our usual time. So that's 5:30pm Pacific, 8:30pm Eastern. We will have Alex from who is second dad to the right on his blog and we've had him on the show before, but his wife Audrey is going to come on as well and we're going to be, you know, talking about DCL favorites for moms. So join us next week and with that I'll just say have a wonderful evening and thanks for joining us.
[01:04:38] Speaker B: I think we got to end on thanks. Thanks everybody. We'll see you next time.
[01:04:51] Speaker E: Well, thanks everyone out there for listening this week. We really, really appreciate it. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to keep you can keep getting great content from us every week. In fact, twice a week we publish shows. So be sure to hit the subscribe button to get all of those great episodes. And if you want to watch us alive, we have a live show now every week, Monday nights, 5:30pm Pacific, 8:30pm Eastern over on YouTube.com DCLDUO so be sure to head over and check that out. If you want help support the show, be sure to hit those five stars on Apple podcasts. And if you leave us a written review a five star written review. We will read it at the top of one of our main episodes. So please head over there and hit those five stars. Of course you can also help support the show by supporting our fabulous show sponsor, My Path Unwinding Travel. You want to book your next Disney vacation? Head over to mypathunwinding.com dclduo or email them at dclduomypathunwinding.com so they know we sent you their way. If you've got questions or you'd like to connect with us, the best way to do that is to head over to DCLDuo.com it's got links to to all of our things. Full catalog of the podcast episodes including a searchable catalog for the podcast links off to our vlog a link to our Etsy store. We sell some fun fan inspired magnets link to our Patreon if you'd like to help directly support the show each.
[01:06:00] Speaker B: And every month, just head over to.
[01:06:02] Speaker E: The website or patreon.com DCLDUO also has a way for you to sign up for our substack newsletter that we're hoping to start really pumping out monthly here, at least on a few blog articles that we've written. So DCLD duo.com is the best way to connect with us. You can also of course email
[email protected] or reach out to us on our voicemail line at 402-413-5590. That's 402-413-5590. The DCL Duo podcast is not affiliated with Disney Cruise Line, the Disney Company or the Disney family of theme parks. The views expressed on the show are solely those of the individuals on the podcast and in no way reflective views the Disney Company or Disney Cruise Line. If you have questions about a Disney Cruise or a Disney vacation, please contact the great folks over at My Path Unwinding Travel or Disney directly or your own travel agent. Thanks again for listening and we'll see you next time for another fabulous adventure with the DCL Duo. Good night.
