March 10, 2007 - 7 Day Western Magic

[tink&cinderella]

Suz. could you add me to your list for making a scrapbook. I would love to join the girls.

As per one of the last posting request about where people are from in Canada, we are from Ottawa, Ontario.

Thanks,
Janice

Hi

We are from Ajax,Ontario just slightly east of Toronto.

Denise

[Marsh Family]

Hi all,

just awoke from a far too short sleep, 2 more nights of work then holidays for me! snowed AGAIN here today but we missed getting the heavy snowfall expected (some Montana low was comming in) I hope it has indeed missed us and is not just slower than they thought.

John a fact about Winnipeg (great idea) ... well Disney related... the bear that Winnie the Pooh books and Disney movies are based on was named after Winnipeg.

War troops bought the bear from a hunter and it became their mascot (went over seas with them and ended up in a zoo in london where A.A. Milne and his son Christopher Robin visited often).

As for our weather we have the biggest temperature ranges (due to our location on the prairies) From winters bitter cold temps often below -30 degrees C or -22 degrees F (not including the wind chill) to the hot summers of temps of around +30 degrees C or +90 Degrees F.

The girls have finsihed cleaning their rooms so the dog can go in them while we are away and Courtney DD is packing and trying on all her old summer stuff (not looking good, she has grown lots! but i figured as much so we plan on getting clothes down there before the cruise).

Chris is busy snowblowing the driveway.

Going to try and go back for a nap, have a great day everyone,

Erin

[ShannonR]

Hi everyone! I hope everyone's weekend has been a good one!

Erin-I just woke up myself! Long night last night. We have 2 secretaries and they are both out for the next two weeks!:sad1: Not only am I doing charge nurse duties, but I am trying to be the secretary as well and I hate it!:mad:

How many people have gotten their cruise documents?:confused: We are anxiously awaiting ours!!:scared: Our luck and it will be the day before travel time when we finally get them.:scared1:

We are planning to go into Key West and go on the trolley and possibly the pirate museum. pirate: If we meet on Sunday, will it be early?:confused3

Shannon

[ShannonR]

John, we are from a VERY tiny town just outside of Grand Rapids. We have been to Windsor several times as teenagers and young adults (it wasn't hard since the whole state is only a couple hours drive side to side). I remember going there for my 19th birthday, since the legal drinking age is 19 in Canada (or at least it was back then) :laughing: :laughing: We also went there gambling a couple of times, concerts, etc... Not really much difference between Canada and the United States. Now that I am on the other end of the country, there are HUGE differences between Mexico and the United States!:scared1: Can't say that there were any immigration problems from Canada!:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Shannon

[Marsh Family]

Good Sunday Evening Everyone,
We are set to leave this Friday, just wondering if there is anyone out there who has cruised before, and used thosed little family two-way radios, we are planning to bring ours. I would like to know if, in your experience, if they worked, or is it even worth bringing them, I thought it might be a good idea for us to communicate with each other. Thanks for your input!
Best Regards,
Chris

[MECH8T7]

Good Sunday Evening Everyone,
We are set to leave this Friday, just wondering if there is anyone out there who has cruised before, and used thosed little family two-way radios, we are planning to bring ours. I would like to know if, in your experience, if they worked, or is it even worth bringing them, I thought it might be a good idea for us to communicate with each other. Thanks for your input!
Best Regards,
Chris

Chris, there's a thread on this topic on the main DCL board.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1368955

One thing to keep in mind, is that, technically, if you have a dual mode FRS/GMRS two-way radio (GMRS gives you greater range) you need a license in the US to transmit via GMRS frequency whereas in Canada you do not. It appears that it is illegal to transmit via GMRS in Mexico and who knows about Castaway Cay and Cayman Islands. So, you may want to restrict yourself to FRS frequencies. We're probably going to bring ours, partly because we will be visiting WDW beforehand.

[kperkins0407]

Both cruises, we took the 2 way radios but really never used them. Others in our group tried to get theirs to work but weren't successful--not sure if it was the 2 way radio malfunctioning or lack of reception. We will probably take ours just in case.

Shannon--did you book the trolley excursion through Disney or are you going to do it on your own when you get there? We are thinking about doing the trolley on our own. Have you heard anything about the trollies? We are going to get off the ship as soon as they allow us to. I think that is around 11:30.

Kim

[Suz D]

How many people have gotten their cruise documents?:confused: We are anxiously awaiting ours!!:scared: Our luck and it will be the day before travel time when we finally get them.:scared1:

We haven't gotten ours yet, but they are coming soon according to our travel agent.

We are planning to go into Key West and go on the trolley and possibly the pirate museum. pirate: If we meet on Sunday, will it be early?:confused3

I think we are going to look into renting an electric car in Key West. I want some key lime pie on a stick as well.

I just checked the Disney website and it says that "all ashore" is 11:30. We're planning on having lunch onboard and then getting off around 12:30 (unless we have the character breakfast that morning in which case we may not eat lunch). A while back "all aboard" was 12:30 so 11:00 was okay, but with "all ashore" at 11:30, meeting at 11:00 on Sunday will be tight. Anyone have other ideas?

Shannon

Suz

[Marsh Family]

Good Morning All,
Thank-You Kim, and John for your quick response to my radio question, it is greatly appreciated. Last cruise we did not take them and wished we would have. I think based on the thread I was reading on the radios and your experience, we will bring them, if they work great, if not oh well. It might allow us to have better communication woth the kids rather than those pagers. It might give us adults a little more freedom as well. YAH HOO!!!!
had my fill of snow and cold weather this winter and looking forward to leave this city behind for a while. Problem being with the amount of snow we have I don't think it will dissapear, when we get back at the end of March. Maybe, we could get together one evening and toast the warm weather and most of all the sun, a couple of wobbly pops and some good food what else could a man ask for? Here's to keeping well!
Best Regards Chris

[MECH8T7]

Quick poll: Any families among us making a sign for their door?...and, if so, are you doing something on your printer and putting it on magnetic paper? I think our kids would get right into it. Any reason why our kids couldn't just draw a sign and tape it to the door?

[Goofy559]

:cool1: Only 6 more days of work till we leave for the trip!!!! While I haven't been at all diligent in posting (hence why this is post #2) I have enjoyed continuing to read everyone's comments - sounds like a fun group.

I tried to convince my daughter she wanted to scrapbook, but, because she's travelling with two other friends, she decided she'd rather hang with them and make new friends along the way....

I'm hoping to make some truly canadian mouse ears for the door....just working on how to make a Canadian flag become that shape.....the joys of being computer challenged!!!

In terms of an interesting fact about Toronto, we are home to two "hidden" subway stations, one of which many of you have likely seen on film pretending to be a NYC subway platform. Known as lower Bay station, it was only open for a few months, before being deemed too awkaward to route trains through!!! It is likely that Keanu Reeves (Johnny Mnemonic) and Mira Sorvino (Mimic) have spent more time in one of Toronto's coolest, yet unknown locations than any Torontonian ever will!!! Incidentally, for the next few weekends, they are doing work on one of the subway stations, so trains are actually passing through this hidden gem. There is also a second roughed out station, underneath the Queen station -- it was the beginning and end of the proposed Queen St, subway line -- it was roughed in when the original Yonge St. line was built in 1952.

That's all from relatively mild (2C) Toronto!

Lisa

[I'mWong]

Hi all.

We got our documents last week around Wed or Thurs. Haven't really looked at them too closely, but I verified our room number. We are in 6570. I ordered two baskets from Shirley at The Perfect Gift and wanted to make sure they made it to the right room. I ordered the Pirate's Chest for my son and had her make a beach bag for my daughter. She is going to include some sand toys for CC and a beach towel and flip flops as well as whatever else she comes up with. We ordered last year and they were a hit! They are already in the room when you come in and they kids are soooo excited to see them. She did a great job. I took some pictures, but those are on the card that I lost.

Shannon...Sarah is really enjoying talking to Morgan. It is funny. She gets really excited when the phone is for her and then they have a hard time thinking of enough things to say. Tell Morgan to feel free to call her anytime. She is usually up until around 8:45 or 9:00. It makes her even more excited to get to the cruise and meet the girls. Our internet is up and down, so neither her or Gregory have been able to send any emails. My DH is supposed to call today and see what the deal is. We are having our yard landscaped, but we still have cable tv, so don't think they did anything. Oh well...we'll see.

I am not sure what time early dining is, but maybe we can make a quick meet right after the sailaway party and then plan for something later. With the early departure in key West, I think we might be too pressed for time. If we meet on Saturday, atleast we can say hello and share the cards we made with our info so we can contact each other by phone. Everyone would also know their dining rotation and we could see how many would be affected by the Character Breakfast. If not too many or maybe with any luck, none have the CB that morning, we can still have the same 9:30 meeting. What do you think of meeting right after the party up on deck 10?

Why don't we all try to post a picture of our family so we can easily recognize each other? I think we might even run into each other at the port. I don't know how to post a picture, but if someone could send me some directions, I can post one from work. I have our Christmas picture here on my computer. It is time to put a face to these names!

We haven't made any signs yet, but hope to within the next week. We will probably make them on the computer and put the magnetic strips across the back. That is what we did last year and it worked well. I think it would be fine to have your kids draw pictures, or whatever makes you happy. Kim was saying she bought foam shapes from Michaels and I think that is a great idea as well. I might "borrow" that one too. Have to see what shapes they have here.

The info about your hometowns has been fun to read. Kim...when I was a kid, and now that I am a big kid, I loved going to San Antonio. I think we went there atleast every other year growing up and my DH and I have been there too many times to count! My favorite place to eat there is Margaritas. We go to San Marcos to the outlet stores a lot and always drive back home through San Antonio. I LOVE it there! Now I will have a new friend to meet up with!

Gotta go, but I am getting more excited every post I read.

PS...our uncle died within 15 minutes of turning the respirator off. Obviously, it was his time to go. I am glad the suffering is over for him. When they moved him over on Friday, he was so frail that another of his bones broke.:sad1: He had to be in so much pain. Thanks for all of your kind words and prayers. Now his family can have some closure.

[ShannonR]

Good afternoon!

We got our travel documents today!!!:cool1: :cool1: :cool1: We also got Melissa's earplugs today!!!:cutie: :cutie: :cutie:

Rick (being the computer genius that he is:surfweb: ) has created some beautiful magnetic door signs as well as "family cards" for us! He put a lot of time and energy into them and I am pleased with the results.:love: Morgan also drew some pictures on magnetic paper to put up on "the girls room":cheer2:

I will tell Rick to scan a family picture and post it (because I am CLUELESS on how to post a picture:confused: ). Have we finalized times for the meet and greet and the scrapbook project yet?:confused:

Kim: We are doing the trolley on our own only because we have a two year old :cutie: and want to be able to get on and off when we need to. The only two excursions we are doing with DCL is the horseback riding and the parasailing. The submarine we are doing on our own (again because of the age requirement with Melissa:cutie: ).

Laura and Erin: Morgan is enjoying taking to Sarah and Brittany!:hug: She is like her mom and LOVES:love: to talk! She is SOOO excited to meet all the girls she has been writing and/or talking to! :yay: :yay:

I am listening to my Disney CD's (Disney's Greatest Hits Volumes 1,2, and 3) and can't wait to go on this trip!:woohoo:

Only 6 more working nights for me (4 scheduled and 2 extra) and then I am off for 2 weeks!!!:cool1:

Shannon

[I'mWong]

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=13606&sort=2&cat=500&page=1

[jpilgrim]

Hi Laura, saw your picture --- looks good and I'm looking forward to meeting all of you. My youngest, Nicole, gets along very well with boys and when she saw Gregory's picture she said "maybe I can be his friend". :cool1:

I saw on the last list that you prepared that Sophie's name is listed as Sophia. Could you please correct. Thanks

Can anyone tell me if the bathroom door is also metal.

John has prepared the magnetic door decoration and the "business" cards to hand out at the meet and greet. I can't wait.:dance3:

Janice

[MECH8T7]

Laura...Condolences to you and your family for your uncle's passing. It sounds like he was suffering and I'm sure he was comforted by the love and caring of his family at the time of his death.

Thanks for mentioning The Perfect Gift in your previous post. I googled it and found their website. I'm going to ask Mary to give them a call and see if we can have something small made up for our kids

[Suz D]

Laura, so sorry to hear about the loss of your uncle. Even when it is someone's time to go, it's very hard.

Here is a link to our pictures.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=13609&sort=2&cat=500&page=1

We are decorating our door as well, but I'm waiting on a new ink cartridge. It's supposed to be here tomorrow. We've got a busy week ahead of us and I've got a school board meeting on the day before we leave.

We've had a bit of a bummer for our trip. Jeff has been so stressed out (he's home with a migraine right now...he had to cancel class tonight). Anyway, he's been so stressed out that he forgot to write something very important on his calendar. ARGH!! We are leaving March 7th for WDW and he has important (critical) meetings at work on the 8th and 9th. He was so distressed to realize that he'd completely forgotten to write them on his calendar. They'd been scheduled for almost a year so it just slipped through the cracks with everything that is going on in our lives right now. (For those who don't know, we started foster care for an 8 month old baby girl, I'm a new member of the school board-read LOTS of time, and Jeff is going through the tenure process at the University).

The bottom line is that we had to change his ticket and Katie and I will be coming to WDW alone, Jeff will fly in Friday evening. He was flying on a free ticket and of course all of the free seats were gone for Friday (the night before spring break, duh!). We had to pay $230.00 just for that leg of the trip! Depressing.

Suz

[I'mWong]

Janice, thanks for pointing out the name correction. I made it. I apologize for that. Names are important things and should be correct! That was the sweetest thing Nicole said. I know Gregory would love to meet her. He gets along well with boys and girls. Thanks for looking at the picture. I hope we can spot each other from the pictures.

Suz, I am sorry to hear of the problems Jeff had with the meetings. I am glad you were able to save all the money earlier at WDW now that you had to spend so much to get your husband there! I guess the really good news is that the meeting wasn't during the cruise! That would have been terrible.

John, I know you will be happy with the baskets you order. There is a thread that has some pictures of different baskets that she has made. If you do a search on the disboard you will find it. Might give you some ideas as to what to put in them. Last year we got two sand pails and they were filled to the brim with stuff. When you call, they will ask your child's favorite snacks, drinks, etc. Ask to speak with Shirley. Just to see how excited the kids are makes it worth it to me. Have your camera ready when you open the door!:banana:

What is the latest on the meeting?

Have a great day everyone! We are definitely in the countdown mode!

[jpilgrim]

Here is a picture of our family.

Pilgrim Family (http://picasaweb.google.ca/pilgrim.janice/ApplePickingFall2006/photo#5036378565164877682)

[Jara]

I just quickly skimmed this thread and there are a few families that have posted once but haven't posted anything else. These families have girls who might want to scrapbook...

Jara

Kath1210

Michellej2000

Let me know if your daughters would be interested in making the craft with the other girls from the "Dis". The more the merrier and we'd love to meet all of you.

Suz
Hi Suz- I have been busy working and had not logged in but finall got a chance tonight. My daughter Rubi would have loved the scarpbooking... I am sure all the girls will get to meet at the different activites. If your daughter is interested have her e-mail Rubi our e-mail is jara@entouch.net
Thanks,
Ana Jara

[kperkins0407]

I am having trouble figuring out how to post the family pictures. Would appreciate any help / directions.

Thank you!

Also, just heard that the shuttle lift off has been pushed back to at least April. Too bad--I would love to have seen lift off while we were in Cape Canaveral.

Kim

[Goofy559]

:sad2: :sad2: No document dance for us -- yet.....while both families we are travelling with had received their documents, our were missing in action. I called DCL last night and learned that they had been sent out Feb 20. Now, I know that Florida and Toronto are good ways apart, but...long story short, UPS delivered them to the wrong address, in the wrong city!!:sad2: :sad2:

All has been straightened out, and a new set is being express couriered our way...just a word of warning for any one else missing their docs!!

Six days and counting till we leave for Florida!!!:banana: :banana:

Lisa

[MECH8T7]

Speaking of cruise documents, are any of you bothering to check-in online beforehand through the DCL site?

[Goofy559]

We completed all our docs on line. All you have to print and bring is a three page form -- having crusied before, I found it much easier than trying to complete everything in that little booklet they send you. You can't do the bahamas immigration forms online though.

We also registered Sage for the clubs online.

I've heard through other posts on the DIS that doing the forms online really speeds things up at the port. Infact, when the folks at DCL saw that we had done so, they said "why do you want your cruise packet? you can get the luggage tags and the bahamas form at the port"

To which I replied "...'cause I like getting mail from the mouse!":rotfl: :rotfl:

[I'mWong]

Kim, I did a search on how to post pictures. The directions were posted on the technical thread. I just followed them step by step. If you have any problems, let me know and I will try to find the thread again.

We have already checked in online and registered my kids too. Last time we sailed, you were even able to pick up the wristbands and pagers at the port. Warning...remember the password you register your kids with. I didn't last year and had to quiz the guy for clues:rotfl:

Lisa, I am glad your documents are on the way.:goodvibes

Janice, I love the picture of your family. That is such a cute pose. Thanks for posting. Suz, your is great too. Everyone else, can't wait to see yours.

Anything new on the meet yet? I know some people are leaving early so we might want to make sure we have that decided for sure before too much longer.

Have a great day, everyone!

[MECH8T7]

Also, just heard that the shuttle lift off has been pushed back to at least April. Too bad--I would love to have seen lift off while we were in Cape Canaveral.

Rats!...Details in the story at the attached link

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17362178/

[ShannonR]

Good evening everyone!

I just finished my last run of 5 nights before we leave (I still have 4 more nights starting on Saturday). Come Wednesday morning and it's officially vacation time for me!:cool1: I don't go back to work until the 23rd of March! I hope to not see ONE pregnant lady in that entire 2 weeks!:rotfl2:

Is everyone flying in at least the day before the cruise or there some people who are flying in that day? :confused: If everyone is in the vicinity on Friday, maybe we could all meet Either Friday or the Saturday before cruise time (even in the terminal, if necessary). I don't know if this is even a possibility:confused3 (remember this is a first for us), just a suggestion.

Suz-any concrete thoughts on the craft project time/place yet? It probably should be someplace that is not windy, right?

Mitchell has one more basketball game on Saturday then on to tournaments (which we will miss:sad1: ). However, the alternative is what we have been waiting an entire year for!:banana:

Melissa has her follow up ENT appointment tomorrow to see if her ear skin graft took or was rejected. I am also going to have him fit her with her new earplugs! I really am hoping that she doesn't have to miss our on the pool because of her ears!:sick:

Talk to everyone soon!
Shannon

[Suz D]

We're doing the document dance here in Indiana!:banana:

Shannon, I'm so glad you are almost finished! Hooray for vacations:cheer2:

I don't have anything concrete for the craft project. Time wise, I'm planning for the first free time on Monday. On previous Navigators that was around 2:30. We are going to be in cabin 5514. If you do not make it to the meet to exchange contact information, please call and leave a message on Sunday at some point and tell me your name and cabin number. I'll plan on calling each of you on Sunday after I see Monday's navigator to firm up the time, but it will definately be Monday afternoon.

I'm going to scope out the ship after lunch on Saturday to check out where we might "play" if it's really windy. I called them but didn't get a lot of info. I'm thinking there are a couple of options. Guest services on the ship wil be more helpful I think.

Shannon, it would be nice to meet before hand. We are going to be at Magic Kingdom until Friday night so that would be out for us, but probably not for everyone. Jeff's plane doesn't land until 8:15 Friday night so Katie and I will leave the park after Wishes. Our transportation will pick us up at 9:30 Saturday morning so we should be in the terminal no later than 11:00. Let us know if anyone decides to meet at the port and we'll be there.

I can't believe that we sail a week from Saturday. Next week is just going to fly by!!

Suz

[Marsh Family]

well everyone we are in the final countdown, 24 hours and counting..

our room #'s are 6049 and 6051 Suz would love to hear from you with the time and place of the meet (if it has changed or does change) and the time of the scrapbooking project. Thanks
Shannon, so glad to hear you are on vacation soon, i am enjoying it soooooo much, although so much to do to get ready, last minute things, laundry (of course) and then we are going to pack the van tonight and head out tomorrow. Brittany is having a blast chatting with Morgan and Roxanna! she loves to talk on the phone with her as well, I think they have alot in common.

so this is probably my last post, Have a safe journey everyone and so looking forward to seeing everyone, I have not had time to post a pic and don't think i will have time (since that would involve me looking up the instructions and actually finding a pic) but will be looking for some of the familiar faces (great pictures, by the way) ... and will be at the meet and greet whenever it is!

see you all real soon.

Erinprincess:

[NoFussRuss]

Sorry if I have not posted in a while, but I stopped getting those e-mail updates from this board! Don't know why - but I have found my way back!

Got all my docs late last week - but still waiting for my kids passports :scared1: ! It has been 9 weeks now and when I contact NPIC they told me not to worry since I should have them before the trip. Here is the catch - I had to submit my kids original birth certificates with the application - so that leaves us with NO id for the kids to get on the ship! Sweating this one out! Their passports expired in November and December at the post office was just to hectic to try to get it done then - so we did it on Jan 2.

Otherwise we are pretty much set to go. We will be heading to Orlando on Friday staying at the airport Hyatt on Friday and heading to the ship Sat. morning. Hopefully the kids will get some pool time out of the way on Friday
followed by a good night's rest.

I now have to go back and read about 150 posts to see what everyone has been saying! Bye Bye!

[kperkins0407]

Russ...Several years ago, my friend was going to Europe and her passport had not arrived 3 days prior. Her dad was once a Senator in NY. He told her to contact her state rep. or senator (can't remember which one) and they would help her get her passport. One phone call--and they tracked her passport down and it was overnighted to her. You may want to try this and see what happens. Good Luck!

Still working on posting a picture. I have the directions, but will just need some extra time to find picture and post.

Kim

[NoFussRuss]

Thanks Kim - I might have to try that if it does not come tomorrow!

[I'mWong]

Wow! Everyone sounds really busy getting ready. I am leaving in the morning for my scrapbook retreat. Took the day off work and I am sooo excited about the entire weekend of play! I got most of our stuff together, so I will hopefully pack it up when I return Sunday or Monday and be ready. My husband thought it was too early to pack everything last week. He said we would never get the wrinkles out of our clothes! So...I laid things out and will put them in the suitcases later.

Russ, I don't get email updates too often either. I don't know if there is a problem with the system, or what. I am glad you are back, though.:yay: Hi Jara, glad you are back as well.

Erin...travel safely! We will see you in "sunny Florida!"

I am going to make a note of everyone's cabin number. Again, we are in 6570. I am not sure how far that is from Erin's family without looking it up. We are on the same deck, but probably on oposite sides of the ship! I will be looking for you when I am in the halls, though!;)

I am printing the pictures you guys post out and am going to look for you at the port. Sounds like quite a few of us are staying at the Hyatt on Friday night. We might even meet up before we ever get to the port! Shannon, try to get Rick to get a picture up and I will look for you at the hotel. Unfortunately, we don't get to Orlando until way late. I think it is around 10:30 or so. We will come straight in and sack out. We stayed there last year and the rooms are really nice. I wish we could be there a little earlier to enjoy it some!

Good night everyone...have a great weekend. I won't be back on before Sunday.

[ShannonR]

Well, here we are with one week to go (for us anyway):cool1: I thought this time would NEVER come!:rolleyes1 We have been waiting an eternity and now it's right on top of us.:woohoo: I want these next 4 days to go by fast (my last days to work before vacation) and then I want time to slow down immensely :scared:

I hope your trip goes well, Erin!!:thumbsup2 I am sure you are already on your way. I envy you. I wish we could have left early, but with the truancy laws, it wasn't in the cards for us.:sad1: :sad1:

Laura: it makes me laugh to know that husband is worried about packing a week ahead, when our suitcases have been packed for almost 2 MONTHS:rotfl2: I can't wait to see what our clothes look like when we unpack in Florida!:laughing:
I guess we have been way too excited for way too long and just got overzealous!:lmao:

In fact, I think I will look through our suitcases today and make sure we have everything we need and didn't leave anything out. Wouldn't that be great, to have been packed all this time and then realize that we forgot something important?:scared1:

I will try to have Rick post a picture this weekend, Laura. Even if you do get in late, we would love to meet you just to say Hi!:)

Got to go now and get the kids off to school! TGIF:yay: :yay: :yay:

Shannon

[jpilgrim]

It just hit me that I think you mentioned putting the girls' names on the scrapbooking project. Please note that my daughter's name is Sophie and not Sophia. Also, we are in stateroom 2522.

We are having a snow day here in Ottawa but I still took my kids to school. I am having a major housecleaning day. Hoping just to do basic maintenance next week so that I will be able to concentrate on last minute details.

Anyway, have a good afternoon.

[Suz D]

[QUOTE=jpilgrim;17328884]It just hit me that I think you mentioned putting the girls' names on the scrapbooking project. Please not that my daughter's name is Sophie and not Sophia.QUOTE]

Janice,

Thanks for letting me know. I actually saw your post awhile back about that so I changed it on my list. Can't wait to meet you and everyone else! One week from tomorrow!

Suz

[Marsh Family]

Hi all, well we did not get as far as we expected today, wanted to get to Sioux Falls (my aunt and uncle live there and we were stoping in for a visit) but ppor visibility had closed the highways so we are now stuck in Fargo till tomorrow when the highways will hopefully be cleared.

The kids enjoyed the pool time.

Thanks for the good wishes for a safe travel time.... much appreciated...

take care

Erin

[I'mWong]

Only 5 days and I will be on a plane, six and I will be on a ship! And not just any ship, but the Disney MAGIC! I didn't think it would ever get here!:cool1: :yay:

I hope those of you that are traveling already have a very safe trip and those of us that are about to leave do also. I am very excited about getting to meet all of you. I know my kids are really excited about doing things with your kids also.

Shannon, I would love to meet up with you when we get to Orlando. Our flight arrives a little after 10:00 so I am not sure if you will still be up by the time we get our luggage and head over to the hotel. I think you have my cell number, so if you are still awake around 11pm, give me a call and I will meet you in the hotel. If not, give me a ring the next morning and I will see you while waiting for the Disney bus to get us. I am really looking forward to it! If you need my number, give me an email and I will send it over to you.

Kim, I tried the Cricket at the retreat I went to over the weekend. It is amazing! :thumbsup2 I know what I am asking for as my next gift. Especially if they are coming out with those Disney cartridges! I got a little over half of my cruise pics from last year done. I was hoping to get them all done, but that was an unrealistic goal. If you are part of a scrapbooking group, you should look into this place in Round Top. It is called Anderson's Bed and Breakfast and it was wonderful. It would take a few of you to get the price together. We had 15, but there was another group that only had 8. It was really fun.

John, thanks for the pm. I sent you a reply. Looking forward to meeting you.

Janice, I hope you got all your cleaning done. :laundy: Thanks again for pointing out the mistake with Sophie's name. I am glad you realized it before Suz made the album. I would have really felt bad. My daughter's name is Sarah, and often people leave off that last h and I know that bothers her. Thanks again.

One more thing...did we actually decide on a place inside Topsiders (or outside) that we are going to meet Sunday? Not sure where to look for my fellow disers!

See you SOON!!

[NC Cains]

Hello fellow cruisers,
Just a few more days of work and then vacation begins. Our daughter, BC,
(10) is looking forward to meeting Sarah and the other girls her age. She is excited about the scrapbook project. The posted pictures have been great. Hopefully, it will be easier to find our new DIS friends in the crowd. We have made note of the guest rooms just in case.
Safe traveling and take care
MC, AC and BC

[jpilgrim]

The final countdown is on. Friends of ours dropped by today to loan us their DIS pirate gear. A GoofY eared bandana for John and a mouse ears bandana for me. Pirate night is going to be so much fun. I even found pirate gear for the kids at the dollar store. pirate: pirate: pirate: pirate:

Has a final time and location been set for the meet and greet? Are we still aiming for Sunday morning at 9:30? If so, where?

I know we all have a lot to do this week and that some people have already left or will be leaving soon My wish for everyone is for their week to go smoothly and for travel to be safe. I look forward to meeting all of you.

Any last minute tips for first time cruisers would still be appreciated.

Janice

P.S. I hear that daylight savings time is next week. Will this affect the ship?

[MECH8T7]

Any last minute tips for first time cruisers would still be appreciated.

Hey, Janice. We're first time DCL'ers too. In case you haven't already seen it, I came across this discussion thread on the main DCL discussion board a few days ago with some tips.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=468132

John

[NoFussRuss]

P.S. I hear that daylight savings time is next week. Will this affect the ship?

::yes:: Yes it will ::yes:: - but you will be changing your clock all the time on the ship, the way I see it.
1. We leave on Sat. 3/10/07 - early Sunday Moring we will have to "spring ahead" 1 hour.
2. Then when we leave Key West and head for Grand Cayman we will have to "fall back" 1 hour since we will then be in the Central time zone.
3. After leaving Cozumel, we will once again have to "spring ahead" 1 hour as we enter the eastern time zone again heading towards Castaway Cay.

However, I could be wrong!

They will make announcements on the ship as to what you should do to your watch/clock and at what times. It won't be a problem.

[ShannonR]

Hi everyone! I can't believe the time has come to say "we leave this week":cool1:

I worked this weekend and I got home this morning to learn that Melissa (DD2):cutie: has been up since 3:30 am vomiting.:worried: I have not been to bed yet and I have to work again tonight!:sad: It's 1:15pm here and she has vomited every 30minutes to 1 hour since 3:30am:crazy2: Rick and I are taking turns sitting with her. He is resting right now while she watches cartoons. She DOES NOT have a fever, but she does have diarrhea so I don't know if this the stomach flu or something she ate last night. I remember when I had food poisoning years ago, I vomited constantly for almost 24 hours, but whenever I have had the stomach flu, I vomit maybe once or twice and then just feel lousy for the next couple of days. I am truly hoping that it is something she ate:worship: because now IS NOT the time to pass around the stomach flu in this house. Regardless, I have sprayed EVERYTHING with Lysol (does that really work?:confused3 ), confined her to the living room and her bedroom, and will confine the older two kids to their rooms after school ( I AM NOT above feeding them in their rooms to avoid contact with the baby!:rotfl2: ) Anyone have an opinion whether this would be a stomach flu or food poisoning. NO ONE ELSE has had the stomach flu and she NEVER goes outside. We take her to the store and back, that's about it, so her exposure is minimal at best.

Well, I better check on Melissa:cutie: and see how she is holding up. She needs to sleep, but can't stop vomiting (or gagging at this point, with no food left in her stomach). I am going to bring a menagerie of anti emetics home from the hospital tonight and IV hydration, if necessary.

Talk to everyone soon! I will definitely call you on Friday night, Laura!

Shannon

[Suz D]

I know that rotovirus is going on around here. EEEEK! We're praying that it's just something that will be gone by tomorrow. They won't let someone on the ship with those symptoms. You're smart to keep her "quarantined" (sp?).

We're so looking forward to meeting everyone. I'm putting the last minute things together in the scrapbook kits and also doing some last minute errands. I came down with a UTI during the night and went to the doc today for antibiotic. She was sweet and gave me enough to take with me in case of a reoccurance. Suz

[NoFussRuss]

We are keeping our fingers crossed.

My wife just came down with a head cold.
My son has a head cold.
I'm ok (so far).
My daughter is fine so far.

They might not let you on the ship if you are sick either. I'm not sure. We fly out 8:00 am Friday morning, so hope that the symptom will have passed by then.

Pumping the kids full Motrin and Zicam - hoping to ward off the sickness!!

[NC Cains]

Hope everyone is feeling better soon. The stomach "bug" has been going around here as well. Hydration, hydration... Good luck to all and we look forward to meeting you. Has there been a definite decision about the meeting time and place yet? Take care.
P.S. Thanks for the packing tips. It has been quite helpful.

[tuliene]

Kind of confused (not an unusual state for me). It's always so hard to arrange group meetups. Anyway, We are in 6042, just down the road from the marsh family. I think I'm going to wear a dis board name tag just to look totally geeky.

[I'mWong]

I made an excel sheet (thanks to the advice from NoFussRuss) that includes the names and room numbers of each of our disers. I put your family picture if I had one, or emailed it to you if I had your email and you could add it. Here is a list of what is missing if you want to send it to me. Send me a PM and I can get you my email address. If you want to post your room number and picture, I can get it from here. Whatever is best for you if you want to be included in the list. I know some of you have already left, or are leaving early tomorrow or Friday.

Marsh Family - missing photo
Tuliene - missing photo
Mech8T7 - missing photo
Goofy559 - missing photo and room#
kperkins - missing photo and room #
chief's kids - missing photo and room #
Jara - missing photo, names and room #
Tink and Cinderella - missing photo and room #
NC Cains - missing photo, names and room #
NuHusky - missing photo, names and room #

I will print out several of these and have them at the meet. If you want to be included, let me know by tomorrow or I won't have time to make the changes. I will drop them into the fish mail slots by the rooms of the people I have numbers for if somebody doesn't make it to the meet.

Is the meet still Sunday at 9:30 at Topsiders?

Shannon...I will talk to you on Friday night. I can't wait! I laughed after I realized I had said if you were still awake to give us a call...you are awake all night long!

Hope to hear from some of you!

Safe travels to the discruiser family. I know they are leaving out tomorrow for the long drive from Houston to Orlando. Be careful! We will see you soon!

[kperkins0407]

Hey Everyone!
Wow--it is finally here. Roxanna has a band concert tomorrow night so we are trying to finalize all packing tonight. We have a 6:50 a.m. flight Friday (taxi is picking us up at 5:00 a.m.)

We are in 2 staterooms #2100 and #2098 Our cabins are under Perkins and Broderhausen (new married name)

I would love to have one of the excel sheets at the meeting. Are we still meeting at 9:30 Sunday morning?

We will arrive in Orlando around noon on Friday and be at Pop Century Friday night. I believe that we are due to arrive at the ship terminal around 12:45.

Looking forward to meeting everyone!

Talk to everyone soon!

kim

[Jara]

Hi All,
I have no idea how to post a picture but we are
Ivan (DH)
Ana (myself)
Rubi (DD10)
Ivan Jr (6, today is his b-day)
We are in room #709?, I left the papers at work and don't remember, sorry. We are also traveling with friends so I'm not sure if we will attend them meet. Hopefully we can so Rubi can meet the girls, there seems to be so many 10 yr old.
We wil arrive at 10 am Friday but we are going to Universal for the day. We will be staying at the hotel at the airport (hyatt??) so I might see some of you on the bus to the ship..... If you see someone calling Ivan it is me... not to many with that name.
Does anyone know if the men/ boys can wear jeans with a polo shirt to the casual dinners? I just watched my husband pack and it seems to me that is what he plans to wear.
Ana

[jpilgrim]

Laura, Please send me the list.
jrpbase-disney@yahoo.ca

I hope it works.

Janice

[ShannonR]

I thought this day would never come!:cool1: I have the next 17 days off and look forward to no pregnant women:banana:

I left work on a sad note, though.:sad1: A 36 year old women came onto the unit at midnight and was soaked in blood from her belly down to her toes. She was a medical mess (morbidly obese, high blood pressure, insulin dependent diabetes, and had had 2 previous c/s). The placenta had abrupted 100% and the baby was dead. We did a sonogram and found that her uterine scar from her previous c/s had also ruptured. The weird thing was, that we had just sent her home from our antepartum unit where she had spent a couple of weeks for unstable blood pressures and sugars. She had 2 liters of blood in her belly and we were trying to decide what was the safest way to deliver her. She was still receiving her numerous units worth of blood transfusion when I left in the morning. The saddest part of all was that she had two boys at home and this was her little girl(she planned to get her tubes tied):sad1: . Not to damper anyone's moods, but it really makes you realize how fortunate you are with what you have!:hug:

We are going through all our suitcases today and making sure that we have all that we need. I cleaned the house, AGAIN, yesterday:mad: so that we come back to a clean house! Rick went to the bank and got cash and told them we were leaving the country. We have everything bought and ready to go!!!:cool1:

Melissa:cutie: has had a rough couple of days!:sick: She was vomiting ALL DAY on Monday, diarrhea and fever on Tuesday, and I took her to the pediatrician on Wednesday. She said that Melissa:cutie: just had a stomach virus and that it was actually good that she had the diarrhea because it rids her body of the infection. She said her ears looked good and that the eardrums are healing well!:yay: She then a gave her shot of Phenergan (an antiemetic antihistamine) to allow for her to rest. Well, of course, my kid would have the opposite reaction. Unfortunately, with Phenergan you are supposed to be "knocked out", but some people have the opposite happen. Melissa:cutie: became so anxious, irritable and crabby it was horrible!:eek: I felt bad for her because you could tell that she was having a psychotic (at least that's how I saw it) reaction, and there was nothing I could do, except to wait it out. She got the injection at 9:30 am and it finally wore off at 4:00pm.:eek: It was a long day. She felt fine the rest of the day/night. I will NEVER give that to her again!:scared:

The other two kids have literally been quarantined to their rooms for three straight days. I feel bad for them, but they realize it has been necessary. I have used an entire can or Lysol in this house and kept Melissa:cutie: to two rooms only. I can't believe our luck. We are so healthy ALL YEAR LONG, and then right before the cruise, we all get the URI and stomach bug:sick:

Well, enough of the sad notes, let's get excited!:yay: I gather we have definitely decided 9:30am at Topsiders on Sunday morning!?:confused3 We will be there! If it is different, please let me know. We are flying out tomorrow at 11:00am and will be in Orlando by 5:00pm. We are staying at the Hyatt. I am going to call you, Laura, on Friday night (yes, I WILL be awake all night) What time is a good time to call you? Is 11:00pm okay:confused3 ? I will call you on your cell phone. If it is a bad time, let me know or you can always call me on my cell phone. I can't wait to see everybody. Can you send us a list of everyone's names and pictures? Send it to my e-mail address. If anyone else is staying at the Hyatt, look for us. I am tall, skinny with spikey red hair and CANNOT be missed where ever I go. I have people recognize from YEARS before because of my hair:scared1:

Well, I will finish my long winded entry with a last hoorah:cool1: We are finally here people!!! This is what we have been waiting an ENTIRE year for!

Shannon

[Marsh Family]

Good Morning All,
We have officially arrived in Cocoa Beach, long drive but well worth it looking over the Atlantic Ocean from our balcony is beautiful considering the bone chilling cold we left only 4 days ago, Sunny today and going to be 78, right now at 57 feels very hot, Could someone post a quick note with the final plans as we have not been checking while travelling, noe that the laptop is set up we will be checking frequently. Would greatly appreciate what you all have decided on meetign places and all other plans neccessary. Thank-you and safe travels to all, CHris

[I'mWong]

I have updated the list with everyone that I have new info for. I am going to email it to those of you that sent me an address. I will try to deliver them to the rooms of the ones that I don't get to.

I am guessing the meet is still at 9:30 Sunday morning at Topsiders. I hope we can recognize each other. Maybe the pictures will help! I am not even sure what I will be wearing. I will try for the light green. I can't wait to get to meet everyone! We have all been waiting for this day for a long time!

Shannon, that is a sad story about the lady. I hope she recovers. Sounds almost like her life is very threatened. I will say prayers for her. I am glad Melissa is getting better, too. My kids reacted to different medicines when they were little like that, but not so much now. I can't remember what I would give my son, seems like it was a cold medicine, and he would go bonkers! It was amazing! Sarah send Morgan one last email last night. She included a picture. I am looking forward to your call tomorrow night! Still can't believe it is finally here! Believe it or not, I am still not finished packing! I had plans last night, but helped Gregory with his homework, part of which was reading, and I fell asleep! I should be able to finish up quickly tonight.

My house is beyond messy. We have been remodeling and everything is everywhere. I will face it when I come back. Don't have time to even think about it today and we leave for the airport right after school tomorrow, so it won't get done then either. It isn't dirty, just messy, so it can wait! I wish I could use a little :wizard: and get it sparkly clean! Too bad it takes actual work.

Ana, I think jeans and polos for kids at dinner will be fine for the casual nights. I am bringing dockers for my son, but he wears those to school everyday, so they are just part of him. (He goes to a private school where uniforms are strictly enforced.) I saw other kids in jeans for sure last year.

See everyone Sunday. I will look for you all at the port and on the ship Saturday, too.

[eruwqoi]

So, how long does the hangover last? I still feel like I have the ship rocking under me - It's just weird!

Later,

E