May 11th 2008 ~ Any Double Dippers Out There?

[CustardTart]

Hi! :wave:

I've searched for a thread for this cruise but couldn't find one so I hope nobody minds if I go ahead and get the ball rolling...

I'm going to be on the cruise with my DD24, Sophie - it's a Girls Only vacation for us which includes a week at WDW. This will be our 2nd Girls Only cruise and we can't wait! :cheer2:

My countdown tells me we have 14 months to go, so who's with us?


http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/d/4;10732;105/st/20080511/e/Girls+Only+DD%21/dt/5/k/4317/event.png
(http://www.TickerFactory.com/)

Looking forward to meeting you all soon...


DD DISCruiser List...

CustardTart:
Karen, DH & DD25.

branv:
Brandi & DH.

alecsmom:
Yvonne, DH & DS5.

momof4ngls:
Melissa, DH, DD15, DD14, DS4 & DS2.

disneyfool_1202:
Denise, DH, DS4, DD2, DM &DSD plus 2 other families.

Tarabra:
Tara, DH, DD3 & DS 9 months.

MGM94:
MGM94 & DP.

pallamb:
Patty & DH.

Pansy:

garys12:
Gary, DW, DD7 & DS5.

buzzlightyear:
buzzlightyear, DH, DD12, DD9 & DS4.

princessh:
Heather & DH.

Pirate at Heart:
Pirate, DD11 & DD9

luvmygoofyguy:
Theresa & DH.

DAD AT DISNEY:

inkkognito:
Barb & Tony.

TADsMommy:
Karen, DH, DD15, DD14 & DS12.

IamAnniM:
IamAnniM.

Singlemomplus2:
Singlemomplus2, DS13 & DD4

mousebit:
Barb, DGD12.

soapydonutzs:
George, DW & DS.

wwoodles:
Wendy, DH, DS4 & DS3.

Frankiesmom:
Angel, DH, DD15, DS6 &DS3.

ExcessivelyDiverted:
ExcessivelyDiverted, DH, DD10 & DD7.5.

Cruiser1969:
Maria

MariaTia:
MariaTia & DH.

dopey67:

sakkujaan:
sakkujaan, DH & DS3.

sasser05:

momtocss:
Kelly, DH, DD12, DS9 & DS9.


Kids Age Inventory...

garys12 - DD - 7; DS - 5

tarabra - DD - 3 1/2; DS - 9 months

momof4ngls: DD - 15; DD - 14; DS - 4; DS - 2

alecsmom: DS - 5

buzzlightyear: DD - 12; DD - 9; DS - 4

disneyfool_1202: DS - 4.5; DD: 2.5

disneyfool_1202's friend: DS - 3; DD - 6; DD - 12

wwoodles: DS - 4; DS - 3

momtocss: DD - 12; DS - 9; DS - 9

[CustardTart]

*bump*

[Bibbidi]

We just booked this one tonight. It will be our first cruise! So excited for the double dip at Castaway Cay.

[CustardTart]

Hi there - great to have you along! :thumbsup2 Excellent choice for a first cruise - you are going to love the 2 stops at Castaway Cay...:cloud9:

[Mousermom]

DH, DS (12), and myself are considering this cruise. I was wondering if the two stops to CC is worth doing? We are new to cruising, and I want to go with DCL because I love Disney and we just returned from WDW on March 9th.
I am trying to decide if I want the day at sea (5/4/08 Wonder) or this one because I want to see all the ship has to offer. However, we are also interested in a few excursions (Parasailing, Glass Bottom Boat Tour, etc.)
Maybe if we book the some of the excursions on sepreate days we won't have to rush around on one day. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I'm a newbie--I know I can learn from you guys!

Thanks,
Mary Beth:flower3:

[Bibbidi]

We have never cruised before--I am not particularly interested in getting off the ship to tour Nassau, so we will stay on the ship that day and explore then. We have heard fantastic things about Castaway Cay. Our girls are younger (they'll be almost 7 and almost 5) when we travel and for them, Castaway Cay will be perfect. I looked at it somewhat like you mentioned--if we have two days there, then we won't be in a rush to get it all done in one day. Personally I'm not real keen on being out for long periods on the open ocean (you wonder, why am I taking a cruise, right :rolleyes1 ), so extra days at sea don't appeal to me either. We will do this 4 night and then spend 3 or 4 nights at Disney World afterwards. I would rather do it that way since I would rather head home from Disney World than feel like the cruise was the end of our vacation. Anyway, that's just my thinking on selecting this particular one.

[Mousermom]

I'm not particularly interested in getting off the ship at Nassau eithier. Maybe we can tour the boat then. I've heard so many good thing about CC that we will probably do this cruise. Although, I've been looking around on the boards and I have just seen that the parasailing has been cancelled on CC. I am also doing the Land/Sea package, but I am doing WDW first. Figure we can relax on the cruise. Anyway, if my DH and DS have thier heart set on parasailing, they offer it at the lagoon near the Contemporary. I think my mind is made up. Add us to this cruise. Thank you for the advice!

[Bibbidi]

Where did you see that parasailing was cancelled at CC? I have heard that it could be cancelled at times due to high winds, I hadn't read where it was cancelled altogether. But you are correct, if your family is set on doing it, just do it at the Contemporary on your land portion. I bet it will be a lot less crazy doing it there since you won't be part of a potentially large number of people all trying to get it done in one day.

Let us know when you're booked! Welcome Aboard :thumbsup2

[CustardTart]

Hi Mary Beth! :wave: Nice to have you along.

I agree that Nassau isn't the best port to get off when you have young kids unless (like most people seem to) you're heading off to the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island. DD and I spent some time there shopping in May 2005 but she's an adult and we both have a shopping habit. :rolleyes1 This time we plan to lounge around the pool, do some onboard activities and maybe hit the spa as they sometimes offer port day discounts...

I think the parasailing operator on CC has been dismissed by Disney and they are currently looking for a replacement - I've got my fingers crossed it'll be back on in September as DH and I want to do a tandem parasail(?) then...

Where are you guys staying in WDW? DD and I are planning on spending a week in VWL or AKV before the cruise to get our park fix...

[Mousermom]

I can't remember which thread I read it on! :scared1: I am new to this and there are so many posts on here! I told my DH about the cancelled parasailing and he said, "No big deal, we'll do something else". Very laid back guy!:love: Anyway, we are planning on staying at POFQ. We just returned from there on March 9th. We loved it. This might sound corny, but my favorite part of the trip was in the early mornings when I would go down to the food court and I would hear the jazz music playing outside and I would just sit at the table with a feeling of contentment. That doesn't happen to me that often!:goodvibes Anyway, I'm very excited about these boards and being able to share my obession with fellow DISers! My family members just don't get it! My family are Jersey Shore People!!! Been there, done that!:rotfl2: Gonna book after some family events are over (a couple weddings, bridal showers, etc.) Can't wait!:yay:

Talk to you soon!

Mary Beth:cheer2:

[CustardTart]

...Where did you see that parasailing was cancelled at CC? I have heard that it could be cancelled at times due to high winds, I hadn't read where it was cancelled altogether...

Here's one of the threads...
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1381429

[Bibbidi]

Thanks for the link to the parasailing thread. I won't be trying it, but my husband might, he's done it before. I guess we'll just have to wait and see if they find a new operator.

We will probably stay at Port Orleans, but in the Riverside section--it is my favorite mod! I've always wondered though why Disney doesn't offer the land sea cruise in reverse--why can't you book it as a package sea first land second???

I have to admit, it feels like there is a huge learning curve for these cruises. I have spent most of my life (since the age of 9) helping plan Disney trips, so that is old hat, but a cruise is an entirely different proposition! Is the best book for the disney cruise the Passporter one?

[CustardTart]

...I have to admit, it feels like there is a huge learning curve for these cruises. I have spent most of my life (since the age of 9) helping plan Disney trips, so that is old hat, but a cruise is an entirely different proposition! Is the best book for the disney cruise the Passporter one?

TBH, Bibbidi, it's still a learning curve for me too. I've only been on the 3 night Wonder cruise before, in May 2005 and I didn't really know what to expect, just kept my fingers crossed that the Disney magic would shine through. It did and the experience was fantastic! :thumbsup2

As a result, I managed to persuade DH to book a 7 night Western Caribbean cruise for our 25th Wedding Anniversary/Vow Renewal :cloud9: this September and that's where my need to plan took hold - DD did most of the planning for my previous cruise.

I've learnt an awful lot on here but I love the PassPorter guides and would definitely recommend getting hold of one. It's nice to have so much info at your fingertips - there are great descriptions of the staterooms, dining options, kids clubs and the excursions available...

[Bibbidi]

TBH, Bibbidi, it's still a learning curve for me too. I've only been on the 3 night Wonder cruise before, in May 2005 and I didn't really know what to expect, just kept my fingers crossed that the Disney magic would shine through. It did and the experience was fantastic! :thumbsup2

As a result, I managed to persuade DH to book a 7 night Western Caribbean cruise for our 25th Wedding Anniversary/Vow Renewal :cloud9: this September and that's where my need to plan took hold - DD did most of the planning for my previous cruise.

I've learnt an awful lot on here but I love the PassPorter guides and would definitely recommend getting hold of one. It's nice to have so much info at your fingertips - there are great descriptions of the staterooms, dining options, kids clubs and the excursions available...

Karen,
Am I reading this correctly? You are doing a 7 night in September for your anniversary and then the double dip next May? Wow! Congratulations! We are celebrating our 10th at Disney World this year and then for our 11th we're doing the double dip (well technically our anniversary isn't until June 1st, but it's close enough).

You come all the way over from England for the cruises? Maybe it isn't as far as it seems, but somehow hopping the pond seems longer than flying across the US.

I can see a Passporter guide in my future for sure. I love the information I am getting here, but I think I need a more portable reference.

One thing you might be able to tell me is how does the dining rotation work. What I mean is this--I realize that we will eat at a different restaurant each night, but how do you know which restaurant on which night? If we want to book a Palo dinner, but don't want to miss out on say the evening at Animator's Palate, how would we know what night to reserve Palo?

[CustardTart]

Karen,
Am I reading this correctly? You are doing a 7 night in September for your anniversary and then the double dip next May? Wow! Congratulations! We are celebrating our 10th at Disney World this year and then for our 11th we're doing the double dip (well technically our anniversary isn't until June 1st, but it's close enough).

You come all the way over from England for the cruises? Maybe it isn't as far as it seems, but somehow hopping the pond seems longer than flying across the US...

Yes, that's right! One of the benefits of having a grown-up daughter who is your best friend, loves Disney as much you do AND can pay her way on any vacations you do together!:cloud9: The flights to/from MCO take about 8 hours but visitors from the UK tend to stay for longer - some guys I know have a place in Celebration and stay the whole summer... :eek: ...One thing you might be able to tell me is how does the dining rotation work. What I mean is this--I realize that we will eat at a different restaurant each night, but how do you know which restaurant on which night? If we want to book a Palo dinner, but don't want to miss out on say the evening at Animator's Palate, how would we know what night to reserve Palo?
OK this is a very general rule but DCL tend to put families with younger children on the APPT rotation which is Animators Palette; Parrot Cay; Parrot Cay; Tritons. So you could choose to do Palo's on one of the 2 Parrot Cay nights - bearing in mind that Day 2 is Dress-Up night and Day 3 is Pirate Night... pirate: What seating are you - main or late?

Technically you won't know your dining rotation until you get your KTTW cards onboard - the rotation code APPT; TAAP; PTTA will be be printed on them. You can go and change your dining rotation during that first day if necessary. There's also the Palo Brunch on the 4 night cruise which sounds yummy - that tends to be on the last day of the cruise...
Hope that helps! :thumbsup2

[Bibbidi]

OK this is a very general rule but DCL tend to put families with younger children on the APPT rotation which is Animators Palette; Parrot Cay; Parrot Cay; Tritons. So you could choose to do Palo's on one of the 2 Parrot Cay nights - bearing in mind that Day 2 is Dress-Up night and Day 3 is Pirate Night... pirate: What seating are you - main or late?

Technically you won't know your dining rotation until you get your KTTW cards onboard - the rotation code APPT; TAAP; PTTA will be be printed on them. You can go and change your dining rotation during that first day if necessary. There's also the Palo Brunch on the 4 night cruise which sounds yummy - that tends to be on the last day of the cruise...
Hope that helps! :thumbsup2

That has helped me considerably. I think the kids would be sad to miss either of those nights, dress up and pirates, so we will aim for the Palo brunch. I've only seen positive reviews of that on this board so far. Thanks!

[CustardTart]

What I've read that some people do is go to dinner with their children (I guess this only works for the main sitting) but not eat anything and then go on to Palo's later when their kids return to Oceaneer's Club/Lab. I'm not sure if that would've worked for me when my babies (now 24, 21 and 13:eek: ) were little but it's an option. :thumbsup2

Palo's Brunch sounds awesome - DD and I definitely want to try that out... :cloud9:

[CustardTart]

One thing you might be able to tell me is how does the dining rotation work. What I mean is this--I realize that we will eat at a different restaurant each night, but how do you know which restaurant on which night? If we want to book a Palo dinner, but don't want to miss out on say the evening at Animator's Palate, how would we know what night to reserve Palo?
Bibbidi, I am so sorry - I totally told you the wrong info regarding the rotations! Goodness knows what I was thinking!:confused3

Basically it's the second night that repeats the previous night's restaurant SO the code for those with young families should read as follows - AAPT! In other words, Dress-Up night you will probably be in Animator's Palette and Pirate's Night should still see you in Parrot Cay. Apologies again for the mis-information. Hope that's cleared it up now... :thumbsup2

[Bibbidi]

Bibbidi, I am so sorry - I totally told you the wrong info regarding the rotations! Goodness knows what I was thinking!:confused3

Basically it's the second night that repeats the previous night's restaurant SO the code for those with young families should read as follows - AAPT! In other words, Dress-Up night you will probably be in Animator's Palette and Pirate's Night should still see you in Parrot Cay. Apologies again for the mis-information. Hope that's cleared it up now... :thumbsup2

No problem! I probably wouldn't have figured it out anyway :)
So let me see if I have this correct. First night Animator's Palatte-regular clothes, Second night is Animator's Palette-dress up clothes (but isn't that the night when we wouldn't see the room transform?), third night is Parrot Cay with Pirates and 4th night is Tritons and no special attire?

What I'm wondering is if the first Animator's Palette night is when we'd see the room change and if that same night was also dress up night. I don't want to schedule a Palo dinner on the night when Animator's Palette changes, nor do I want to schedule it on a dress up night. My best case scenario is that our first night at Animator's is also our dress up night. If not, we'll just be doing the brunch at Palo if we can reserve it.

[CustardTart]

I think you're probably right about the AP only changing on the first night. According to my PassPorter, the 2nd night is the Dress-Up night so if you're set on Palo's (and it is a fab experience) your best bet might be to change your rotation to TTAP or PPTA and booking it for that 1st evening. OR you can focus on the Brunch and plan Palo's for next time you cruise DCL... ;)

[CustardTart]

So I went and got myself all confused over this dining rotation thing so posted here (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1402714) and the answer was different again! Seems it all depends on our actual seating times - who knew... :confused3

I'm also not sure that the Dress-Up night is a big thing as no one seems to know about it - tho' it is referred to in the 4-night Navigator (http://www.allearsnet.com/cruise/WNav1206.htm) I looked at...

[Bibbidi]

Hmmm. This whole Palo thing gets more confusing by the minute! I think I will just aim to reserve the Palo brunch ahead of time and then take my chances on dinner once we get on the ship. Thanks for checking though.

On another note...I'm surprised we don't have more DISser's signed on for our cruise yet.

[Mousermom]

My DH and I are interested in the Palo brunch, also. My DS will be 13 by the time of the cruise. I'm hoping he'll go to the teen club while we are there, and we'll meet up with him afterwards. He is an only child, so I hope he can make friends with other kids his age on the cruise. I don't feel comfortable bringing someone else's child with us. You never know what can happen!
The photos on allears.net look SOOO good of the Palo brunch! Plus, I love champagne! I don't have it very often, but when I do, I drink it all!

Also, I didn't think there was a dress-up night on the 4-day cruise! I have to do more research!

[CustardTart]

On another note...I'm surprised we don't have more DISser's signed on for our cruise yet. Yes, me too! Hopefully more people will turn up as the months and weeks slowly pass by... :hourglass

...The photos on allears.net look SOOO good of the Palo brunch! Plus, I love champagne! I don't have it very often, but when I do, I drink it all!

Also, I didn't think there was a dress-up night on the 4-day cruise! I have to do more research!
Got to agree with you there! :thumbsup2 DD and I will be going to the Palo Brunch - fingers crossed they do it on the Double Dip...

I first spotted a reference to the Dress Up night in my PassPorter plus it mentions it on this (http://www.allearsnet.com/cruise/cruisepix/WnavDay2a.jpg) example of Navigator from last December...

[CustardTart]

Just giving us a little *bump*...

[cocinelle]

Hi fellow double-dippers!

I'm lucky enough to be joining my partner in Disney crime on this cruise; DM- who you all know as Karen!. After having the most amazing time in May 05 on the 3 nighter, I can't believe we'll be enjoying TWO DAYS IN CASTAWAY CAY!!!!:hyper: :hyper: :hyper: (Can you tell I'm excited?!) The day we spent on Serenity Bay was magical- listening to the waves gently lapping at the shore whilst you push your toes into the powder-white sand, the occasional cast member strolling by and offering you a Conch Cooler- bliss!! :cloud9:

I look forward to getting to know you all over the coming twelve-ish months (that reminds me- time to update the countdown clocks!!),

Best Disney Wishes! ::MickeyMo

Sophie

:tinker:

[Bibbidi]

Sophie, Glad to have you aboard :rotfl2:
Sorry, I couldn't resist the silliness of that joke. Does DM mean mother? After a couple years on these boards I still come across some acronyms that I just can't figure out.

[CustardTart]

Hi there, Sophie! :wave: Glad you could take some time out of your busy schedule and drop by! ;) Have a great day...

[CustardTart]

Does DM mean mother? After a couple years on these boards I still come across some acronyms that I just can't figure out.
I know what you mean - I especially have a hard time on the DVC forum working 'em all out! Yes, DM is Dear Mother and that's me, as Sophie is my DD. We are both Disneyaholics which is very fortunate as it means we always have someone willing to join in on a trip to WDW/Castaway Cay. :thumbsup2

[Bibbidi]

I know what you mean - I especially have a hard time on the DVC forum working 'em all out! Yes, DM is Dear Mother and that's me, as Sophie is my DD. We are both Disneyaholics which is very fortunate as it means we always have someone willing to join in on a trip to WDW/Castaway Cay. :thumbsup2

That is funny. I would never have put together that you two were Mother/Daughter, even though she said "Karen" in her post. I am hoping to raise two daughters who love Disney as much as me. So far so good. :thumbsup2

[Mousermom]

This is so much fun!

Welcome, Sophie!

Can't wait to see as time goes by, who'll be joining us next!

[CustardTart]

Hi everyone! I'm a little over-excited as I've just booked the flights and car-hire for this trip! :woohoo: :cheer2: :woohoo:

We are flying into Orlando on May 3 2008 and spending the first 8 nights in VWL (hopefully - won't be able to book until June) before joining the Wonder for our Double Dip! :cloud9:

Am I right in thinking that May 11 2008 will be Mother's Day in the U.S? If so, who thinks that once we've boarded, all the Mother's deserve a prompt Bahama Mama from our grateful offspring???! ;)

[Bibbidi]

Great Scott! Mother's Day is May 11, 2008! I would never have known. We don't usually go overboard at our house for Mother's or Father's day, but next year we might have to :)

[CustardTart]

Just a quick post to say Happy Easter everyone!!! :flower3:

I'm off to Paris for a couple of nights tomorrow, so have a great weekend... :thumbsup2

PS: Looks like we've made it to the 13 month mark - only another few weeks and we'll have less than a year to go! :banana:
..

[Bibbidi]

Happy Easter! Have a safe trip to Paris.

[Mousermom]

Happy Easter to you as well!

Talk to you when you get back!

[Bibbidi]

Just giving us a little "bump".

[Bibbidi]

Hope everyone had a happy easter. Anyone else out there on our cruise?

[Mousermom]

Go my DCL DVD and planner today!!!

I'm getting excited about this cruise!!!

I'm a little nervous that since it's Mother's Day, I won't be able to book this cruise because it will be full.

I won't be able to book it until maybe June.

What do you think?

[alecsmom]

Hi everybody - So excited to be joining you all on this cruise - it will be three of us - my husband, my son (who will be 5 at the time) and myself. This will be our first Disney cruise (although my husband and I have been on 2 Royal Caribbbean, 1 Princess and we took our son on his first - a Carnival cruise last summer). We are soooooo excited to be trying a Disney cruise - we hear it's just a totally different cruising experience and we can't wait for our son to have the Disney experience! We eventually want to take him to Disneyworld but will probably wait till he's a couple of years older - thought a Disney cruise would be a good place to start. Trying to wait patiently....

alec's mom (Yvonne)

[CustardTart]

Hi everyone! I'm back from a fantastic weekend in Paris with my DH. We strolled along the river, shopped on the Left Bank, ate delicious food and generally had a lovely time - can't wait to go back... :cloud9:

Welcome Yvonne! :wave: Nice to have you onboard. I'm sure you and your family will have a fab time on the Wonder - I bet your DS's going to love it! It will be a great intro to Disney as the theming is spectacular and there are plenty of characters onboard whose autographs he can collect.

Mousermom, I'm sure you'll be fine! :thumbsup2 June's less than a couple of months away and we'll still have 11 months to go before the cruise itself. You could keep checking what's available on the DCL website by doing a dummy reservation - don't forget if you go ahead and make a reservation now, your deposit's always refundable. :surfweb:

[Mousermom]

Hi Yvonne!

Glad to have you with us!

Your son is going to have a ball!

This is my first cruise, too!

I know I'm being ridiculous, But I am the kind of person that likes to be prepared for things way ahead of time!!

Thanks for the advice, CustardTart!!!:laughing:

[alecsmom]

Thanks for the welcome!

CustardTart - how wonderful that you were in Paris - sounds so romantic. And yes, I think my son will love it - he's gonna flip when he realizes he's cruising with Disney characters - and Captain Jack!

Mousermom - I don't think you're ridiculous at all - I like being prepared, planning, and then planning some more! I am kind of a compulsive planner. Oh well, helps me get through the work day!

I'm sure I'll have tons of questions coming up - nice to be meeting helpful people along the way. :goodvibes

Yvonne

[Bibbidi]

Hi Yvonne - welcome aboard. This cruise will be our first as well. Our DDs will be almost 7 and almost 5 when we said next year. It should be fantastic--we can't wait!

[Mousermom]

Thanks for the welcome!

CustardTart - how wonderful that you were in Paris - sounds so romantic. And yes, I think my son will love it - he's gonna flip when he realizes he's cruising with Disney characters - and Captain Jack!

Mousermom - I don't think you're ridiculous at all - I like being prepared, planning, and then planning some more! I am kind of a compulsive planner. Oh well, helps me get through the work day!

I'm sure I'll have tons of questions coming up - nice to be meeting helpful people along the way. :goodvibes

Yvonne



I only work on weekends! So, I have a lot of time on my hands!!!!:rolleyes1

[alecsmom]

Hi Bibbidi! - have you told your daughters they will be cruising yet? I haven't said a word to my son - like I said this will be our first Disney cruise- but we already took him on a Carnival cruise - so he knows what the whole cruising experience is all about. He always tells me "Mama I wish we could go on a cruise again!!" so if told him he was going on a Disney cruise this early in the game I don't think either one of us would ever have any peace from now till then!

My hubby and I are taking a Royal Caribbean cruise this September to celebrate our 10 year anniversary - without our son - so when the guilt factor kicked in - I booked this Disney cruise for the three of us!

Mousermom - you're too funny!

[CustardTart]

...I know I'm being ridiculous, But I am the kind of person that likes to be prepared for things way ahead of time!!

Nah, that's not ridiculous - it's being an Organised Efficient Planning Diva and that, IMO, is a crucial requirement for being a member of this forum! :rolleyes1

DD and I have already discussed our itinerary many times - wine tasting, Palo Brunch, spa treatment, excursions at CC etc so we'll be very prepared too! :thumbsup2

I only suggest the dummy ressie thing as I've been known to do it myself - many times! OEPDs (organised efficient planning divas) have to practise too... :lmao:

[Bibbidi]

Hi Bibbidi! - have you told your daughters they will be cruising yet? I haven't said a word to my son - like I said this will be our first Disney cruise- but we already took him on a Carnival cruise - so he knows what the whole cruising experience is all about. He always tells me "Mama I wish we could go on a cruise again!!" so if told him he was going on a Disney cruise this early in the game I don't think either one of us would ever have any peace from now till then!

My hubby and I are taking a Royal Caribbean cruise this September to celebrate our 10 year anniversary - without our son - so when the guilt factor kicked in - I booked this Disney cruise for the three of us!



No, we haven't told our girls about the cruise yet. In fact, the plan is (based on some fun ideas on this board) to do a "scavenger" hunt of sorts to have them figure it out. I don't know if we'll do that at Christmas or if we'll wait until it's closer to our travel time, because as you mentioned, we probably won't have any peace either once we tell them. I am inclined to wait until it's a few weeks until our trip, but I might not be able to wait that long. They've been to Disney twice, and we're taking them again for our 10th anniversary next month, but we've never been on a cruise. I grew up around boats, but I'm still a little nervous about being on a ship out in the deep blue sea. That's partly why we're starting with a 4 nighter. Also the Double Dip to Castaway Cay is what sold me on this one as well.

Do you think you'll register your son for the kids clubs on board? I might send them once so we can do brunch at Palo.

Happy 10th a little early. :)

[alecsmom]

Bibbidi - A scavenger hunt sounds like a great idea - maybe I'll have to plan something like that too. The Double Dip got me too - I feel like I'm just getting more for my money somehow. :)

How cool that you're celebrating your 10th anniversary too! Happy Anniversary a little early to you as well! Hope you guys have a wonderful time at Disney!! And actually your good wishes are right on time - our anniversary is tomorrow the 12th - but we're going on a cruise in September cause it's cheaper!! :laughing:

I will try to register my son for the kids club - if he wants to go then I'm all for it. We'll see how it goes.

[Mousermom]

Nah, that's not ridiculous - it's being an Organised Efficient Planning Diva and that, IMO, is a crucial requirement for being a member of this forum! :rolleyes1

DD and I have already discussed our itinerary many times - wine tasting, Palo Brunch, spa treatment, excursions at CC etc so we'll be very prepared too! :thumbsup2

I only suggest the dummy ressie thing as I've been known to do it myself - many times! OEPDs (organised efficient planning divas) have to practise too... :lmao:

I'm glad I meet te requirements!!!!:rotfl2:

We'd like to do martini tastings. Are you guys into that?

[Mousermom]

alecsmom, I try to be funny, but it never comes out that way!!

[alecsmom]

Do they do martini tastings on the cruise? Hmmm, I think I'll definitely have to sign my son up for the kids club. :yay:

[Mousermom]

Do they do martini tastings on the cruise? Hmmm, I think I'll definitely have to sign my son up for the kids club. :yay:

I saw pictures of the martini tastings on these boards somewhere. I hope they do them for the 4-day cruise. I'll check it out and get back to you.

[CustardTart]

I'm glad I meet te requirements!!!!:rotfl2:

We'd like to do martini tastings. Are you guys into that?

Oh yeah! :thumbsup2 DD and I are definitely going to sign up for the Martini tastings if they're available - she's a Martini expert and I'm always happy to learn... ;)

[CustardTart]

...I try to be funny, but it never comes out that way!!
Hey, Mousermom, don't sell yourself short! You, my OEPD (Organised Efficient Planning Diva) friend, are a hoot! :thumbsup2

[TADsMommy]

Hi everyone!! :wave:

I just know I will fit in with you crazy DISers!! :crazy:

I am also a totally obsessed planner ... in fact I am actually planning all the details for our 11/07 7day Magic cruise and so have been trying to choose the cruise for us to book onboard ... so does that qualify me as a member of the crazy cruisers?!? :dance3:

We really want to triple dip CC so ... it looks like we will be joining the fun with all of you ... and then staying onboard for the 3day that follows. :banana: :banana:

We have only been on the Wonder once (our first cruise, 4days of relaxing and family fun). We have taken the Magic on a 14day thru the Panama Canal as a family and DH and I spent 7days on the Magic for our 15th anniversary last September. We want to hit CC as many times as possible and have never done a back2back, so we are excited. :cheer2:

Our cast of characters include: DH (43), me (41), DD (15), DD (14), DS (12) at time of cruise. ;)

I hope to get to know everyone a bit before the cruise and my kids look forward to making a few friends ahead of time. :grouphug:

Karen princess:

[Mousermom]

Hey, Mousermom, don't sell yourself short! You, my OEPD (Organised Efficient Planning Diva) friend, are a hoot! :thumbsup2

Custard,

You are too kind!!!

Just wait--as time goes by before the cruise how crazy it's gonna get!!!

[Mousermom]

Hi everyone!! :wave:

I just know I will fit in with you crazy DISers!! :crazy:

I am also a totally obsessed planner ... in fact I am actually planning all the details for our 11/07 7day Magic cruise and so have been trying to choose the cruise for us to book onboard ... so does that qualify me as a member of the crazy cruisers?!? :dance3:

We really want to triple dip CC so ... it looks like we will be joining the fun with all of you ... and then staying onboard for the 3day that follows. :banana: :banana:

We have only been on the Wonder once (our first cruise, 4days of relaxing and family fun). We have taken the Magic on a 14day thru the Panama Canal as a family and DH and I spent 7days on the Magic for our 15th anniversary last September. We want to hit CC as many times as possible and have never done a back2back, so we are excited. :cheer2:

Our cast of characters include: DH (43), me (41), DD (15), DD (14), DS (12) at time of cruise. ;)

I hope to get to know everyone a bit before the cruise and my kids look forward to making a few friends ahead of time. :grouphug:

Karen princess:



Keren, Welcome aboard!!!

Great, a boy my son's age!!!

Now, I really can't wait!!!:woohoo:

Wow--you're a veteran!! You can really help us out with questions that we might have along the way!!!

We should come up for a new name for this thread!!!!

Any ideas???

[Bibbidi]

It's fun to see new people signing on.

I was looking into the martini thing and I read somewhere today (I'm not sure if it was on the boards on in my passporter) that it's only offered on the 7 night.

I'm hoping for some families with young girls. No offense to you all with boys, I just don't have any - well except for my DH, he's a big kid :)

[Bibbidi]

Hi everyone!! :wave:

I just know I will fit in with you crazy DISers!! :crazy:

I am also a totally obsessed planner ... in fact I am actually planning all the details for our 11/07 7day Magic cruise and so have been trying to choose the cruise for us to book onboard ... so does that qualify me as a member of the crazy cruisers?!? :dance3:

We really want to triple dip CC so ... it looks like we will be joining the fun with all of you ... and then staying onboard for the 3day that follows. :banana: :banana:

We have only been on the Wonder once (our first cruise, 4days of relaxing and family fun). We have taken the Magic on a 14day thru the Panama Canal as a family and DH and I spent 7days on the Magic for our 15th anniversary last September. We want to hit CC as many times as possible and have never done a back2back, so we are excited. :cheer2:

Our cast of characters include: DH (43), me (41), DD (15), DD (14), DS (12) at time of cruise. ;)

I hope to get to know everyone a bit before the cruise and my kids look forward to making a few friends ahead of time. :grouphug:

Karen princess:

A triple dipper! Now that would be fabulous! Glad to have you aboard. Sounds like you and CustardTart can give the rest of us the scoop on cruising. :)

[Mousermom]

It's fun to see new people signing on.

I was looking into the martini thing and I read somewhere today (I'm not sure if it was on the boards on in my passporter) that it's only offered on the 7 night.

I'm hoping for some families with young girls. No offense to you all with boys, I just don't have any - well except for my DH, he's a big kid :)


BUMMER!!!!

Maybe we'll do the wine tasting instead!!!

[alecsmom]

Hi Karen! Sounds like you can give us lots of Disney cruise advice along with CustardTart. This is gonna be lots of fun - I am getting sooooooooo excited. I am more excited about this cruise than I am about my Royal Caribbean cruise in September at this point!

Mousermom - I'll join you in wine tasting - no problem - I love my wine! :)

[CustardTart]

Hi everyone!! :wave: I am also a totally obsessed planner ... in fact I am actually planning all the details for our 11/07 7day Magic cruise and so have been trying to choose the cruise for us to book onboard ... so does that qualify me as a member of the crazy cruisers?!? :dance3:


Hi Karen! :wave2: Greetings from another Karen! :thumbsup2 Yes, I think that does make you a fully paid-up member - I know I want to rebook onboard when I'm on the 09/22 Western Caribbean with DH but I'm figuring we'll just go for a dummy date at the moment...
...We really want to triple dip CC so ... it looks like we will be joining the fun with all of you ... and then staying onboard for the 3day that follows.That sounds fantastic! What a great idea...

We have only been on the Wonder once (our first cruise, 4days of relaxing and family fun). We have taken the Magic on a 14day thru the Panama Canal as a family and DH and I spent 7days on the Magic for our 15th anniversary last September. We want to hit CC as many times as possible and have never done a back2back, so we are excited. :cheer2: Wow, you're a DCL cruisin' veteran!:thumbsup2 We would have loved to do the Panama Canal cruise next August but it sold out sooo fast - DH, DS and I are booked on 7 night Mexican Riviera instead...

[CustardTart]

Mousermom - I'll join you in wine tasting - no problem - I love my wine! :)

Same here! :thumbsup2

[Mousermom]

Are we gonna be some sauced-up ladies, or what?????

[alecsmom]

Are we gonna be some sauced-up ladies, or what?????

Just a bunch of HAPPY ladies!! :cool1:

[CustardTart]

Very, very happy ladies... :crazy:

[TADsMommy]

Hi all,

Anyone have ideas about a day in Nassau? We aren't sure if we will do an excusion, but we plan to walk around a bit. We enjoyed the Queen's Staircase to the fort. Any other ideas?? :confused3

Karen :) princess:

[Bibbidi]

Hi all,

Anyone have ideas about a day in Nassau? We aren't sure if we will do an excusion, but we plan to walk around a bit. We enjoyed the Queen's Staircase to the fort. Any other ideas?? :confused3

Karen :) princess:

This is our first cruise and we've never been to the Bahamas separately either. I'm interested in hearing what there is to do in Nassau as well - especially since we aren't planning any excursions. We planned on staying on the boat that day, but my husband might like that Staircase to the fort. What was that like?

[CustardTart]

DD and I have been to Nassau once before with DCL when we did our own thing - shopped for duty-free stuff and souvenirs - and I've stayed at the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island in the past which was quite an experience. :thumbsup2

There looks to be quite a good self-guided walking tour in my copy of PassPorter which takes a couple of hours so I think I might persuade DD to do that. Otherwise you can spend time at the nearby beach - people have recommended using the British Colonial Hilton's facilities... :)

[IamAnniM]

Hi, I just booked the Double CC for 5/11/08 and CAN'T WAIT, I wish it was THIS YEAR!!!
This is my second DCL trip - my first was Bahamas/Nassau . I can't say enough good things about the cruise/trip.
I fell in love with CC and spending 2 days there will be FANTASMIC!!!!:wizard: Enjoyed the mixed areas for kids/family/adults - bike riding and walking the paths - food included. It's the enjoyment of being on a island without the worry of being in a nonfamiliar environment, merchants/shopping and "tourist" feel.
Went to Nassau and did the Atlantis Excursion, I found it DEFINETELY worth doing - I loved it so much, I booked a vacation there. The slides and pools are great and I want to see the new additions to the hotel and activities. Although in the excursion you are not able to use the pools, it's a nice trip to see the aquarium:thumbsup2 and grounds for future vacations.
Going solo again - just trying to decide if I should get a veranda room - didn't spend much time in the room but would like to sit out in PJs and have a cup of tea early in the morning.
And ofcourse, there's the PIRATE PARTY - any pirates out there??????

[CustardTart]

Hi, I just booked the Double CC for 5/11/08 and CAN'T WAIT, I wish it was THIS YEAR....I fell in love with CC and spending 2 days there will be FANTASMIC!!!!

Hi there and welcome aboard! :wave: I know what you mean, I wish it were this year too - fingers crossed the months go a bit faster once we get under the 12 month mark! The 2 days at CC were what sold DD and I on this cruise as we loved CC so much when we did a 3 night cruise back in May 2005...

...Went to Nassau and did the Atlantis Excursion, I found it DEFINETELY worth doing - I loved it so much, I booked a vacation there. The slides and pools are great and I want to see the new additions to the hotel and activities. Although in the excursion you are not able to use the pools, it's a nice trip to see the aquarium:thumbsup2 and grounds for future vacations...
The aquarium is awesome, isn't it!? I loved that part where the jellyfish are all lit up in the darkness...

[Mousermom]

Hi, I just booked the Double CC for 5/11/08 and CAN'T WAIT, I wish it was THIS YEAR!!!
This is my second DCL trip - my first was Bahamas/Nassau . I can't say enough good things about the cruise/trip.
I fell in love with CC and spending 2 days there will be FANTASMIC!!!!:wizard: Enjoyed the mixed areas for kids/family/adults - bike riding and walking the paths - food included. It's the enjoyment of being on a island without the worry of being in a nonfamiliar environment, merchants/shopping and "tourist" feel.
Went to Nassau and did the Atlantis Excursion, I found it DEFINETELY worth doing - I loved it so much, I booked a vacation there. The slides and pools are great and I want to see the new additions to the hotel and activities. Although in the excursion you are not able to use the pools, it's a nice trip to see the aquarium:thumbsup2 and grounds for future vacations.
Going solo again - just trying to decide if I should get a veranda room - didn't spend much time in the room but would like to sit out in PJs and have a cup of tea early in the morning.
And ofcourse, there's the PIRATE PARTY - any pirates out there??????

OOOHHH, another Philly girl on the cruise!!!:woohoo:

Welcome, IamAnniM!!!!!

Where are you from in Philly?

[CustardTart]

OOOHHH, another Philly girl on the cruise!!!:woohoo:

I've always wanted to visit Philadelphia after watching Thirtysomething back in the 80's - it was my absolute favourite programme ever and I've still never made it! One day DH and I have to do an East Coast US trip... :thumbsup2

[Mousermom]

The downtown areas are nice. The neighborhood I grew up in, however, is not good at all. It's a shame because I have such fond memories of it.

Now, I live just outside Philly in Clifton Heights, PA. About 20 minutes from downtown by car.

There are very nice museums, restaurants, and Olde City is a walking history lesson. Same cobblestone streets and same brick houses.

If you ever come here, I would recommend going to the Franklin Instutite, and the Art Museum.

About 3 years ago, the National Constitution Center opened. I haven't been there yet, but it looks very interesting.

Also, the Philadelphia Zoo is very nice as well. My father was a zookeeper there for 40 years. So, I know the place like the back of my hand!!!

Do I sound like a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Tourism Board, or what?

Come on over, I'll be your tour guide!!!!!

[CustardTart]

Do I sound like a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Tourism Board, or what?

Come on over, I'll be your tour guide!!!!!

You sound like someone who loves their city - I would love to come over in the not too distant future... :thumbsup2

[IamAnniM]

It's raining Cats and Dogs in Philly today - just glad it's not snow. Downtown Philly can be very nice - there are alot more activities in Center City with Broadway Shows and I have to say, I am a BIG FAN of the Philadelphia Zoo (as I am a member of the Zoological Society) - Great stadium and great entertainment, got to see Justin Timberlake and Josh Groban last month. AWESOME! Maybe my occupation has alot to do with wanting to travel alot, HA.
Definitely looking forward to the sunny days, warm weather, beaches and a good carmel apple from the MainStreet Candy Shop!!!! I have a trip planned for Mother's Day to BoardWalk Villas for a quick fix. Can't wait!!!!!
Decided to go for the VERANDA for the cruise - got the same room I had on my first cruise - thought that was neat!:woohoo:

[alecsmom]

Hi, I just booked the Double CC for 5/11/08 and CAN'T WAIT, I wish it was THIS YEAR!!!
This is my second DCL trip - my first was Bahamas/Nassau . I can't say enough good things about the cruise/trip.
I fell in love with CC and spending 2 days there will be FANTASMIC!!!!:wizard: Enjoyed the mixed areas for kids/family/adults - bike riding and walking the paths - food included. It's the enjoyment of being on a island without the worry of being in a nonfamiliar environment, merchants/shopping and "tourist" feel.
Went to Nassau and did the Atlantis Excursion, I found it DEFINETELY worth doing - I loved it so much, I booked a vacation there. The slides and pools are great and I want to see the new additions to the hotel and activities. Although in the excursion you are not able to use the pools, it's a nice trip to see the aquarium:thumbsup2 and grounds for future vacations.
Going solo again - just trying to decide if I should get a veranda room - didn't spend much time in the room but would like to sit out in PJs and have a cup of tea early in the morning.
And ofcourse, there's the PIRATE PARTY - any pirates out there??????


HI and welcome! I just joined this thread a few days ago and already can't wait to meet everybody. I've been wondering about Atlantis - do you think it would be worth it for an excursion with a 5 year old? Our son will be 5 when we cruise and I'd love to try Atlantis - do you think there's enough there to keep a 5 year old entertained (and it's worth the $$)?? As far as getting a veranda - we decided to go ahead and splurge and get one - nothing better than being able to walk out and enjoy your own little piece of paradise! Also, please tell me more about the Pirate Party - what exactly goes on? My son is a big fan of Captain Jack Sparrow!

[alecsmom]

Hi everyone!! :wave:

I just know I will fit in with you crazy DISers!! :crazy:

I am also a totally obsessed planner ... in fact I am actually planning all the details for our 11/07 7day Magic cruise and so have been trying to choose the cruise for us to book onboard ... so does that qualify me as a member of the crazy cruisers?!? :dance3:

We really want to triple dip CC so ... it looks like we will be joining the fun with all of you ... and then staying onboard for the 3day that follows. :banana: :banana:

We have only been on the Wonder once (our first cruise, 4days of relaxing and family fun). We have taken the Magic on a 14day thru the Panama Canal as a family and DH and I spent 7days on the Magic for our 15th anniversary last September. We want to hit CC as many times as possible and have never done a back2back, so we are excited. :cheer2:

Our cast of characters include: DH (43), me (41), DD (15), DD (14), DS (12) at time of cruise. ;)

I hope to get to know everyone a bit before the cruise and my kids look forward to making a few friends ahead of time. :grouphug:

Karen princess:

Hi Karen! Welcome! I think you will fit right in along with the rest of us obsessed planners! Sounds like we can all learn from your Disney cruise knowledge as well. Since we all seem to be ladies so far - does anyone's husband think you're as crazy as mine does for planning and getting so excited this early??? He just doesn't get it! :confused3

[Mousermom]

Uh, YEAH!!!!

This cruise is all I talk about!!

He thinks I'm nuts!!!

Slowly but surely I will bring him over to the DARK SIDE!!!!

He will have no choice but to surrender!!!:rotfl2:

[Bibbidi]

My husband has said to me, "that's all you do on the computer, isn't it - plan disney things". It's really not all I do, but it sure is the fun part of my computer time! Besides the Dis, I have a friend here at home who is as nuts about Disney as me, so at least she "gets" it, even when my husband doesn't!

[CustardTart]

I think my DH has always indulged my DISobsession but he now understands a little more as I've dragged him into my world! :surfweb:

We're cruising for our 25th Wedding Anniversary in September and thro' the boards we've been able to link our reservations and ensure that we're dining with a fab group of like-minded people! :thumbsup2 As he was a little scared that we might be seated with freakish strangers :crazy: (such a baby) he's had to admit that chatting about Disney with a bunch of online buddies is the way to go... :thumbsup2

[alecsmom]

Oh gosh we all sound the same! :lmao: Mousermom - your comment had particular significance for me - cause for the past few weeks all my son has been wanting to do is watch the Star Wars movies - yes all 6 of them - so your reference to the "Dark Side" had me LOL!!!

[Mousermom]

I'm not a big fan of Star Wars, but that is how DH describes my obsession!!

WHAT obsession???

Just because I am on the DIS day and night doesn't mean I'm OBSESSED!!!:lmao:

I got a new one for ya----Magnetic Door Signs!!

Anyone plan on doing these???

[Bibbidi]

Sorry to break the thread up a bit, but I was wondering how soon those of us who will need passports are getting them. My husband's is current and I sent mine in for renewal last week. I was going to get our girls' forms done this weekend and send those off. I realize I'm early, but you guys understand--the obsessive planner in me wants to have our passports in the Disney 2008 Cruise folder months before we need them :)

[Mousermom]

I'm starting to freak out about this myself, Bibbidi!

We recently moved and of course I can't even find our birth certificates!!

I sent away for new ones and they haven't come yet.

I have to wait for those before I can even apply for the passports.

I was told by out Travel Agent that they will let us know how to expedite the applications so they will get to us faster.

Also, does anyone know where to go to getthe passport photos taken?

I've heard about Wallgreen's, but I've also heard that they don't take them properly!!

I'm starting to break out in a sweat here!!!!:scared1:

[alecsmom]

Wow I thought i'd be the only one with a Disney Cruise 2008 folder. In it I have passport applications which I've printed off the internet, but still haven't gotten around to applying for them yet. Was planning on doing it in the next week or two. We are just planning on going to the courthouse and getting our photos done there - at least they'll - hopefully - do them right if they're processing the whole thing. Your local post office will probably do them too, but I think you can check online to make sure.

By the way - great idea about magnetic door signs - we have over a year to get really creative!

[Bibbidi]

Also, does anyone know where to go to getthe passport photos taken?

I've heard about Wallgreen's, but I've also heard that they don't take them properly!!

I'm starting to break out in a sweat here!!!!:scared1:

I actually went to my new Walgreen's and had them done there. They had me turn my girls shirts around to the back because they said you can't have any images on your clothes. they also made me take the barrette out of my youngest's hair. It seemed like they knew what they were doing. Also, the girl then went in to the computer and cropped the images according to a grid which zoomed in so they fit what the Passport people want (supposedly). I guess I'll find out soon enough if they did them right! :rolleyes:

[Mousermom]

Ok, the birth certificates came today!!:cool1:

Step one is done.

Thanks for the info, Bibbidi!!

There is a Wallgreen's up the street from me and I'm gonna check it out.

I guess it's always better to figure things out for yourself!!

Kepp your fingers crossed!!!:thumbsup2

[Bibbidi]

Ok, the birth certificates came today!!:cool1:

Step one is done.

Thanks for the info, Bibbidi!!

There is a Wallgreen's up the street from me and I'm gonna check it out.

I guess it's always better to figure things out for yourself!!

Kepp your fingers crossed!!!:thumbsup2

Glad that the birth certificates arrived! We've moved A LOT so I know how that goes :)

As for the photos, I'm pretty sure that the government passport website tells you which of their passport centers have photos onsite. I know our post office doesn't, but the local clerk of courts here does. That is another option. Walgreens was just convenient for me and I happened to see "Passport Photos Here" on their digital display the other week - I took it as a "sign" figuratively and literally :lmao:

[CustardTart]

We were at the bottom of page 2 so giving us a little nudge...

I've just had to request a replacement marriage certificate - after 25 years and 12 house moves, it's simply disappeared! Come to think of it, I don't remember seeing any of our birth certificates for a while so I'd better order their replacements too... :surfweb:

Yvonne, Atlantis is an awesome resort but IMO the DCL excursions described in PassPorter don't sound great. The aquarium is amazing so it'd be worth taking him to see that and I think you can use the beach which is pretty nice but not any of the pool facilities. It might be worth seeing if you can arrange your own thing directly with Atlantis... :thumbsup2

[Mousermom]

A little story about moving....

My parents divorced when I was 6 years old. After my mom sold our house, we had to rent A LOT of houses because every time we would get settled in a place, the owner of the house would want to sell it.

I cannot even tell you the number of times we've had to move in our life.

The funny thing was, we never left the neighborhood. Whenever we go back to the old stomping grounds. we'll take a tour of all the houses we've lived in.:rotfl2:

I can laugh about it now, but back then it wasn't funny.

My mom did the best she could and I have a lot of respect for her. It couldn't have been easy for her.

Anyway, my brothers and I managed to stay in the same school and maintain all the same friends that we still have to this day.

Just a little tidbit about me to share today.

So, believe me, I know about losing stuff when you move.

I'm an EXPERT!!!!:rotfl:

[CustardTart]

*bump*

OMG we were at the bottom of page 3 so I thought I'd better do something!!!

Hope everyone's OK and having a good week... :thumbsup2

DH and I were discussing our September cruise at the weekend with the kids and, as they were so keen on the idea, we've pushed the boat out (get it?!) :lmao: and booked the NYE 2008 cruise for all 7 of us! :cool1: I love doing something special for NYE - we've been to Disneyland California, New York and Paris in the past so this is bound to be fantastic! I especially can't wait to see all the men (and boys) in my life dressed up and looking handsome in tuxedos... :cloud9:

Just got to make sure we don't tell the bank manager for a while... ;)

[Bibbidi]

*bump*

OMG we were at the bottom of page 3 so I thought I'd better do something!!!

Hope everyone's OK and having a good week... :thumbsup2

DH and I were discussing our September cruise at the weekend with the kids and, as they were so keen on the idea, we've pushed the boat out (get it?!) :lmao: and booked the NYE 2008 cruise for all 7 of us! :cool1: I love doing something special for NYE - we've been to Disneyland California, New York and Paris in the past so this is bound to be fantastic! I especially can't wait to see all the men (and boys) in my life dressed up and looking handsome in tuxedos... :cloud9:

Just got to make sure we don't tell the bank manager for a while... ;)

Karen,

How fun! That is so neat that you'd book a cruise for the family. Now why is it that I have parents who love Disney, but never think to book a trip for us???? :confused3 All their friends are doing it! :rolleyes1 Oh well - I love them anyway. Although, my DH and I have said that once we're grandparents (20 years from now) we're going to do things differently. We want to be the grandparents who book the condo in Florida for a month and have our kids and their families come down to stay with us, or go on a Disney cruise together. I don't want to miss out on the fun just because we don't have our own little kids anymore.

[CustardTart]

...That is so neat that you'd book a cruise for the family...

It's v cool that they want to join us! :thumbsup2 Even tho' my two eldest are 24 and 21 they still enjoy spending time with us and like to be a part of our vacation plans - I hope they always will. DH and I prefer to treat them to a vacation rather than buy them the more conventional Christmas/Birthday gifts...

...We want to be the grandparents who book the condo in Florida for a month and have our kids and their families come down to stay with us, or go on a Disney cruise together. I don't want to miss out on the fun just because we don't have our own little kids anymore.

I know what you mean. I hope DH and I can create those kind of memories when we're grandparents... :)

[alecsmom]

Yvonne, Atlantis is an awesome resort but IMO the DCL excursions described in PassPorter don't sound great. The aquarium is amazing so it'd be worth taking him to see that and I think you can use the beach which is pretty nice but not any of the pool facilities. It might be worth seeing if you can arrange your own thing directly with Atlantis... :thumbsup2

Thank you for your input Karen. I would really love to try it so I will do some investigation to see how we could do it on our own and not thru DCL. We had originally thought about staying on the ship that day, but I know my husband will want to see Atlantis if we're there, and at least some of the island itself.

[CustardTart]

Good luck with that, Yvonne! :thumbsup2 Let me know how you get on...

Hope everyone's having a good weekend - we're decorating our study and the paint fumes are giving me sinus problems but the weather is gorgeous so it's hard to be down... :)

[Mousermom]

Hey everybody!!!

The weather in Philly is gorgeous too!

However, there was MAJOR flooding in our basement a few days ago and now there is a very musty smell down there.

We rent the house we are living in right now and the landlord doesn't have much of an interest in fixing it.

It's supposed to be nice the next few days at least.

Hope everybody is doing well and I'll talk to you all soon!

[Bibbidi]

So glad to hear that we're all having great weather. It was about 80 here today in Ohio. The girls loved being outside in the sun all day. I can tell though, my girls are definite "burners" if we don't load them up with sunblock. We'll have to be really careful out on the ship next summer.

[CustardTart]

Hi guys! :wave2: Been sitting out in the garden perusing the PassPorter guide and thinking about Castaway Cay! :love: I've never really bothered before to read up on the excursions offered as I like to spend as much time as poss catching rays on Serenity Bay :cloud9: BUT I've just been looking and think Castaway Ray's Stingray Adventure sounds pretty good so I need to discuss that with DD...

Study's now finished! All fresh and neatly painted so I've ordered a desk, chair and filing cabinet to take the overhaul a stage further. Hopefully this will have a positive effect on our paperwork organisation... :goodvibes

[Mousermom]

DS saw the stingray excursion on the planning DVD, and he wants to do this, too.

Since we have the Double Dip at Castaway Cay, we'll probably give it a try.

I'm still hoping they resume the parasailing.

Anybody heard anything?

Also, I'd like to do the glass bottom boat tour as well.

Karen, Where do I get my hands on one of those Passporters? Do they sell them at Borders or Waldenbooks, or do I have to special order it?

I've been hearing how great it is from all the Disers!!!!

[CustardTart]

DS saw the stingray excursion on the planning DVD, and he wants to do this, too.

Since we have the Double Dip at Castaway Cay, we'll probably give it a try.

I'm still hoping they resume the parasailing.

Anybody heard anything?
The Stingray thing sounds fab, Mary Beth. Very safe and instructional. I'm desperately hoping the parasailing resumes soon - I really want to do a tandem flight (if that's the correct term?) with DH in September...Karen, Where do I get my hands on one of those Passporters? Do they sell them at Borders or Waldenbooks, or do I have to special order it?

I've been hearing how great it is from all the Disers!!!!
I got my PassPorter from here! (http://www.passporter.com/) You can also get it from Borders or Amazon - it's up to you! All I know is I'm addicted to them - a copy rarely leaves my side... :rolleyes1

[Mousermom]

Karen,

Thanks for the link to the Passporter website!!

Do you think it would be better to wait until the 2008 version comes out to but it?

Also, what do you think about buying all the extras that go with it such as the folders, etc.

[CustardTart]

...Do you think it would be better to wait until the 2008 version comes out to but it?

Also, what do you think about buying all the extras that go with it such as the folders, etc.

Mary Beth, I'm not sure. I think the 5th Edition only came out recently so I don't know how long we'll have to wait for the 6th. The current version has all the relevent info for our cruise - the main updates in the next one will be for the West Coast Ports of Call. I'd go for it now TBH but then I'm very impatient.

The cool thing about the Deluxe edition is you can just update it with refills in the future as it's a ring binder plus there are some handy organiser pockets (10 days worth) which you can personalise with all the details of your trip. I have an old Deluxe copy but the one I prefer for day-to-day browsing is the current paperback version... :thumbsup2

[Mousermom]

Karen,

You are so much like me, it's SCARY!!!!

I'm gonna go to Borders sometime this week.

I think I'm going to get the Deluxe version so I can add all my very detailed notes and my OEPD plans!!!!:lmao:

Thanks again, Karen!!!

Another thing to get excited about!!!!

[CustardTart]

No problem, Mary Beth! :thumbsup2 You are gonna love the PassPorter... :love:

I feel shocking today - like I've got the flu coming or something. This is a total drag as I've got to get out and about - I'm taking my DD's car to various dealerships trying to get a good deal on a new car for her. Oh well, I'll just have to dose myself up and see how it goes... :headache:

[Bibbidi]

I bought this year's passporter too, regular not deluxe. I couldn't stand to wait until the next version came out, so I'm glad to hear that I shouldn't be missing anything with regard to our cruise. I also got the Official Burnbaum guide because I wanted the glossy pages with photos. That's the only thing I wish they could change about the passporter.

[Mousermom]

Yeah, I'm not feeling so hot today, eithier.

It seems in Philly, you go directly from winter to summer.

My sinuses have been killing me the past few days because of the weather changes.

Hopefully, it will get better within the next few days.

I'm gonna go to the mall on Friday to get my Passporter.

Can't wait!!!:banana:

[CustardTart]

I bought this year's passporter too, regular not deluxe. I couldn't stand to wait until the next version came out, so I'm glad to hear that I shouldn't be missing anything with regard to our cruise. I also got the Official Burnbaum guide because I wanted the glossy pages with photos. That's the only thing I wish they could change about the passporter.
Oooh, I've not encountered that! Off to search on Amazon... :thumbsup2
Yeah, I'm not feeling so hot today, eithier.

It seems in Philly, you go directly from winter to summer.

My sinuses have been killing me the past few days because of the weather changes.

Hopefully, it will get better within the next few days...

Same here! Fingers crossed we both feel better soon. :hug: Managed to drag myself out of my sick bed yesterday and sort my DD's car out. Got her a great deal on a nearly new (1 month old) auto runaround so I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself! :woohoo:

[Bibbidi]

I've been hooked on these Birnbaum guides (they are the official Guides for Disney World/DCL/Disneyland) since my mom received one as part of a "package deal" she booked for our family when I was 11. I read it cover to cover. The information is all the "official" Disney perspective so you don't get critical opinions on anything, but you do get color photos and it brings me back each time I read one to being so excited about that one particular trip as a kid.

[CustardTart]

I've ordered one! :thumbsup2 As we're doing so many cruises, it would be silly not to... :rolleyes1

[CustardTart]

Giving us a *bump* as were in the bottom of page 2 danger zone! :scared1:

Have a great weekend, guys! I'm off to Paris this afternoon for a couple of nights so I'll check-in when I get back... :thumbsup2

[Mousermom]

I've been off these boards for a few days because I think I'm straining my eyes looking at this computer!!!!!

I've been having very bad migraines for the past 3 days!!!

Karen,

We are quite the traveller, aren't we?


Have a good time and be careful.

Talk to you soon.

[CustardTart]

I've been off these boards for a few days because I think I'm straining my eyes looking at this computer!!!!!

I've been having very bad migraines for the past 3 days!!!

Mary Beth, that's not good. :sad2: Maybe you need one of those screens that you put on top of your computer monitor to cut down on glare - I've been thinking about getting one as I find that I squint more than I used to which gives me a headache so I've started wearing sunglasses (don't laugh) when I use the computer... :cool2:

Karen,

We are quite the traveller, aren't we?


Have a good time and be careful.

Talk to you soon. Well, Paris is quite a short 2 hours 20 minute journey from here so we try and go as often as poss. We used to live there and it feels like going home... :cloud9:

Have a good week everyone - I checked my ticker and it tells me we only(!) have 12 months and 1 week to go!!! :woohoo: Can't wait to get below the 12 month mark... :cheer2:

[Mousermom]

Karen,

I wouldn't laugh about wearing the sunglasses! That sounds like a good idea to me!!

Maybe I'll try it!!

I really should go to the eye doctor, but if I need a new prescription for my glasses, my insurance will not cover them for about another 6 months.

Gotta love those insurance companies!!!

I'm glad you're able to visit Paris as often as you do. It must be exciting to go there!!!

I've got some family events coming up so I won't be on the computer for a few days.

Everybody have a good week and I'll talk to you soon.

[CustardTart]

Just giving us a little *bump*... Anyone else out there want to join our Mother's Day Double Dip???? :goodvibes

I'm excited as I've just realised it's 12 months today until DD and I fly over to Orlando for our pre-cruise stay in WDW!!! :cheer2: :cool1: :woohoo: :yay: :dance3: :yay: :woohoo: :cool1: :cheer2:

[cocinelle]

12 months to go till our May 2008 trip!!! :woohoo:

Hope you are all as excited as me to be Double Dipping! When I'm having a tough day at work, I think about Serenity Bay and everything seems a little better. Hey, Mum, did you see that the Parasailing's back on?

[Mousermom]

The parasailing is back up?

OOOHHHH Good!

I don't really want to do the glass bottom boat tour because I saw in my brand spankin' new Passporter that it got a bad review.

So, now I can substitute the parasailing for the glass bottom boat!

Hope everybody is doing well.

[CustardTart]

Woohoo!!! 12 Months To Go!!!! Woohoo!!!

:cool1: :woohoo: :yay: :dance3: :cheer2: :dancer: party: :dancer: :cheer2: :dance3::yay: :woohoo: :cool1:

[CustardTart]

*bump*

[Mousermom]

Now I can officially say that it is LESS than one year until my very first Disney CRUISE!!!!!!

Also, just checking in to say "hi" to my fellow double-dippers!!

Have a good week everybody!

Talk to you all soon.

[CustardTart]

Hey Mary Beth! :wave: Nice to see you online! :thumbsup2 Can't wait to meet you in less than 12 months time... Am I sad? Ah, who cares...?

[Bibbidi]

Anyone else have second thoughts about the cruise because of the cost and what else you can "get for the money" at Disney? I mean realistically I could get a MYWWD package for about 8 nights at POR for all 4 of us for about $2500. That is basically what the 4 night cruise costs when you factor in the passports we have to get for our girls. My husband keeps saying "let's do something different, I want to do the cruise". I just keep thinking, man, to stay 3 or 4 nights at POR after the cruise is going to bump this trip into the $3500-4000 range (once you add in food, hotel, park tickets for DH and oldest dd - I have an AP and youngest has enough days for next year). I think I'm also just paranoid about sleeping on a ship for 4 nights in the ocean. I'm used to boats and all that - my parents forced me to spend many summer nights on our boat as kids, nothing fancy, but we did it. Anyway, I just keep having second thoughts. Also, a disney package only ties up $200 now instead of $800. I think I'm totally stuck not cancelling because my husband is insisting on doing the cruise and I'd be an absolute FOOL to cancel a Disney cruise when my DH [I]wants/I] to do it, I just am not so sure that it can be so much better than DWorld? KWIM?

[CustardTart]

:cheer2: Happy Mother's Day!!! :cheer2:

So sorry you're having 2nd thoughts, Bibbidi! We are all WDW addicts in my family so never thought a cruise could match up but the 3 night Wonder cruise DD and I did in May 2005 was really fantastic - an absolutely marvellous experience! I can't wait to introduce other family members to DCL cruising over the next 18 months! :woohoo:

It's different from a WDW vacation - more relaxing TBH as there's no racing around theme parks and queueing for rides but there's still Disney attention to detail, great customer service and theming. And those 2 visits to Castaway Cay will be fab! I know I'm biased, but I think you'll have a great time. Only you can know if it's right for you family - I know it's right for mine and therefore worth the $$$. :thumbsup2

Good luck with whatever you decide... :hug:

[Bibbidi]

Karen,

Thanks for the vote of confidence. We won't be cancelling because my husband seems to be really excited about it. I've asked him a few different times if he thought we should cancel it and just rebook a package at WDW and each time he has said, "No, it will be fun, something different, I want to do it." This is from a man who really does enjoy Disney, but is not obsessed with it like me. So since he is really psyched about dropping the money on a Disney trip I should definitely keep the reservation. I am a creature of habit so I could continue to go to Disney and do the "same" vacation over and over. He likes a little variety, so I guess at least it's the Disney kind of variety next year. Hopefully he'll let me still book a couple days at POR on the end of the cruise, even if we only get a one day pass to Magic Kingdom, I would still get my theme park fix.

[Mousermom]

I just wanted to wish everybody a Happy Mother's Day!!

Have a good week!:love:

Mary Beth

[branv]

Hi everyone! DH and I just tentatively booked our 2nd DCL cruise for the double dip!! Woo-hoooo!!! We didn't even know they were offering a double dip and had planned to cruise in January like last time. However, when we pondered over how little time we actually spent in the water b/c it was so :cold: , we thought, "hey, let's see how much extra a May trip costs." The double dip sold us! So very excited :cool1: and glad to be joining all of you.

It's just DH and I, no kids (we do have 2 fat cats, but I'm pretty sure DCL frowns down on furry stowaways). We loved our last Disney cruise so very much. Though technically we ended up napping an obscene amount of time, but between the rocking of the boat and frequent BBC's, well...it was out of our hands ;)

We think like last time we'll either go a few days before or a few days after the cruise to the parks. Though I still firmly believe going before is much better since you need a few days of cruising to recover your feet! I love WDW, but it's not really what you call a relaxing vacation ;)

We will most definitely be staying on board for Nassau. Last time we booked it over and caught ourselves a cab to offer our donation to the Atlantis casino and spend some time on the beach. We were most unimpressed with both. We might consider snorkeling, but I'd heard it's something of a mad house with a bunch of people bobbing around scaring the fishes. Not sure how much we'd really get to see.

One question, does anyone know if they'll still have the Palo brunch on the last day despite our day at CC vs. an at sea day?

[branv]

I got a new one for ya----Magnetic Door Signs!!

Anyone plan on doing these???


Guess I'm just going to jump right on in, hope it's all right!

I did not one, but TWO of these on our last cruise. DH was like, "and why do we need two let alone one?" After I convinced him how much easier it made it to find the door, I then just had to explain to him that doing one was so fun I didn't stop. I still have the one I did with Tink on it. If I do say so myself, it turned out really cute and very easy to do using MS Publisher.

[buzzlightyear]

We were on the Disney Magic Western Caribbean (4/21-4/28) We had such a great time, we booked the double dipper. We found the Castaway Cay days to be the most fun & relaxing with the kids. That is the main reason we booked the double dipper cruise! And we get to leave on Mothers day! I am planning on going to the Atlantis for the day at Nassau. I have 3 kids. They will be 12 dd, 9 dd, 4 ds.

[Mousermom]

OOOOHHHHH, NEW PEOPLE!!!!!:cool1:

Hello and welcome branv and buzz!!!

Looking forward to meeting everybody.

You should see the signs I am doing!!

If you have been reading this thread, we have dubbed ourselves the OEPDS!!

The Organized Efficient Planning Divas!!!!

Glad to have you guys join us!!:love:

[branv]

I'm glad you told me what that stood for, at first I was thinking, "The Ope heads??" :lmao: That's a very funny name to which I absolutely relate. It's always nice to know there are like-minded obsessive planners out there. Feels a little less like I'm the weirdo in the tin foil hat ;) Can you believe that like a fool I gave away my last Passporter thinking I wouldn't need it again, but now I'm missing it like crazy!

Right now "An Affair to Remember" is playing and boy does it make me look forward to a romantic cruise :love: Can you imagine if people still dressed like Deborah Kerr and Cary Grant for cruise dinners? *sigh* So dreamy. Though I would personally have a hard time giving up my Crocs for high heels. :rolleyes1

[CustardTart]

:cheer2: :welcome: aboard, branv and buzzlightyear!!!!:cheer2:

So happy to have you along! :thumbsup2

As a quick resume (and to save you from reading the thread from the start :rolleyes: ) I'm cruising with my DD25, Sophie, at the end of our Girls Only WDW VWL vacation. We have only done a 3 night cruise before and are sooo looking forward to relaxing on Serenity Bay during the 2 stops at Castaway Cay! :beach:

Have a great day, everyone. Look forward to chatting more as the months go by... :goodvibes

[Bibbidi]

:cheer2: :welcome: aboard, branv and buzzlightyear!!!!:cheer2:

So happy to have you along! :thumbsup2

As a quick resume (and to save you from reading the thread from the start :rolleyes: ) I'm cruising with my DD25, Sophie, at the end of our Girls Only WDW VWL vacation. We have only done a 3 night cruise before and are sooo looking forward to relaxing on Serenity Bay during the 2 stops at Castaway Cay! :beach:

Have a great day, everyone. Look forward to chatting more as the months go by... :goodvibes

Welcome! I'll follow Karen's lead and introduce our family. There is me, my DH and our two daughters, one will be nearly 7 and the other nearly 5 at the time of the cruise. We have never cruised before, but I am definitely an OEPD. We liked the idea of two days at Castaway Cay, after reading lots of good things about it, so that is why we picked this as our first cruise.

[branv]

Hi and thanks for the welcome! :goodvibes

custardtart (luv the name btw) isn't DCL addictive? I expected to like it, but I honestly didn't expect to tear up when I was leaving the ship on our first cruise! That's when I knew we'd be back for sure. I can't believe you're traveling all the way from England, now that is dedication! And to think I complained that Texas was too far from Orlando :laughing: So what did you find to be your favorite parts of the cruise?

Bibbidi - I read above that you were a little iffy about the cruise, let me chime in that you really are going to love it. It certainly is a different vacation than WDW, but it's just as good. Just wait until the sail away party when you are standing on deck, watching Mickey and your girls dancing away, and you hear the tremendous blast of the horn playing "When You Wish Upon a Star." I thought I was prepared for it (even listened to the recordings they have on the internet), but nothing prepares you for how powerful it is. I got chills! Even stoic, iffy about WDW DH's jaw dropped and he just said, "wooooooow." I'm kind of excited for you in fact! :woohoo: (But, of COURSE you have to add at least a day for the park. Who can be that close to Orlando and resist? ;) I have to go just for the Dole Whip...though that would be one expensive Dole Whip)

[CustardTart]

custardtart (luv the name btw) isn't DCL addictive?

OMG! Addictive just doesn't cover it!!! And that DCL website makes it sooo easy - like shopping for groceries! Washing powder, cereal, Cat 7 stateroom for 2 on a May Double Dip, milk, bread rolls... :lmao:


I expected to like it, but I honestly didn't expect to tear up when I was leaving the ship on our first cruise! Exactly the same here! :thumbsup2 Thank goodness DD and I had a week at WDW to look forward to afterwards or we would've been blubbing like babies! After this cruise we're going straight to MCO however, so watch out for the crazy British ladies refusing to let go of the Mickey!
:crazy::smickey: :crazy:

... I can't believe you're traveling all the way from England, now that is dedication! And to think I complained that Texas was too far from Orlando :laughing: So what did you find to be your favorite parts of the cruise? What can I say, the British Empire used to be huge so I guess we're just used to travelling to the good stuff! ;) Favourite bits??? Mmm - Serenity Bay... Palo's without a doubt... Serenity Bay... the Wine Tasting... Serenity Bay... My pathetic non-haggling over a diamond in Nassau (long story)... Serenity Bay... Hercules the Muse-ical... and did I mention Serenity Bay...????

[branv]

Oooooh Paloooo. I have never been in so happy and yet in so much pain :lmao: When I told our waiter I couldn't decide btwn 3 things...he of course brought out all 3. When I told him I couldn't take any dessert, but would love it if they had a little sorbet...he brought out every dessert on the menu. EVIL!!! One thing I learned by this experience: DO NOT schedule Palo dinner for the night before Palo brunch. We were still too full to eat:rolleyes: We had the same waiter from the night before and he treated us right though. That one free glass of champagne turned into 3 free glasses of champagne :thumbsup2 I decided to look at the champagne as the french equivalent to Alka Seltzer rather than yet another carbohydrate.

Though Palo was one of the few times I really enjoyed the food. I can eat junk food with the best of them (well actually better than the best ;) ) but on the other hand I'm a food snob. Everyone else thinks I'm crazy, I know, everyone else loves the food. But I felt like the dining room food was like cafeteria food dressed up. I think I'm more forgiving or a boring hamburger than a boring tenderloin ;)

I would like to hear the diamond story :laughing: I'm not usually much of a haggler myself. I become terribly embarrassed, let alone feeling guilty about appearing to be the gluttonous "rich" (ha!) trying to bilk the poor third world merchant. But I dunno...when we went to Cozumel one trip, I turned into a haggling fiend. It was like something possessed my body. Despite 2 wasted years of Spanish (from which I can really only remember how to say "sausage" "window" and "Where's the potty?"), I somehow managed to channel my the language gods well enough to get two really ugly blankets for half the price of the one he was offering (though we know I was still probably paying too much). I didn't even want the things, but goodness...haggling was like a drug. I think DH became a little afraid of me. But it was a one time thing - our honeymoon trip to Playa del Carmen was the anti-haggle. I practically threw my money at the vendors.

Thank goodness the shops on Castaway Cay have the prices clearly marked ;)

[CustardTart]

Oooooh Paloooo. I have never been in so happy and yet in so much pain :lmao: When I told our waiter I couldn't decide btwn 3 things...he of course brought out all 3. When I told him I couldn't take any dessert, but would love it if they had a little sorbet...he brought out every dessert on the menu. EVIL!!! One thing I learned by this experience: DO NOT schedule Palo dinner for the night before Palo brunch. We were still too full to eat:rolleyes: We had the same waiter from the night before and he treated us right though. That one free glass of champagne turned into 3 free glasses of champagne :thumbsup2 I decided to look at the champagne as the french equivalent to Alka Seltzer rather than yet another carbohydrate.
Those cheeky Palo waiters - you gotta love 'em... :thumbsup2 Actually, I could easily learn to love anyone who gave me 3 free glasses of champagne - as far as I'm concerned that's virtually a proposal of marriage and I'd stick like glue... :love2:

...Though Palo was one of the few times I really enjoyed the food. I can eat junk food with the best of them (well actually better than the best ;) ) but on the other hand I'm a food snob. Everyone else thinks I'm crazy, I know, everyone else loves the food. But I felt like the dining room food was like cafeteria food dressed up. I think I'm more forgiving or a boring hamburger than a boring tenderloin...

Oh, branv, sorry to say I am a low quality chick who can wax lyrical about any meal that mentions a wine reduction and/or a coulis - especially when I haven't cooked it! :woohoo: Seriously tho', DD and I did enjoy the food a great deal but it was Palo's that really rocked our gastronomical world. :cloud9: Sooo looking forward to the Palo Brunch - waiter, you can leave the bottle... :drinking:

BTW did you dress up for Pirate Night? pirate: (I just wanted to use that smilie...)

[branv]

We actually did not dress up for pirate night. That was our Palo night :love: Besides, my head is too big for any bandana. I'd look like a Q-Tip.

HA! "Low Quality chick"...anyone who eats in France can never say that about themselves :thumbsup2

I have a theory that wine reduction is just a fancy word for boiling down a product that, if we just drank it instead of concentrating it, would have made leather taste good. In fact, last night we had a beautiful Shiraz with a little cheese and olives. What was supposed to be an appetizer turned into a main course. As far as liquid dieting goes, I'd say that beats SlimFast any day.

Coulis is just fun to say. Though it sounds like the name of a rapper...give it time, I'm sure someone will use it as their stage name. Maybe I'll start, "That's right, they call me Coulis B-V, know it, love it!"

[CustardTart]

...In fact, last night we had a beautiful Shiraz with a little cheese and olives. What was supposed to be an appetizer turned into a main course. As far as liquid dieting goes, I'd say that beats SlimFast any day...

Definitely! :thumbsup2 I actually tried SlimFast last week - it wasn't a roaring success! I managed 3 days of "a shake for brekkie, a shake for lunch and a sensible dinner" before discovering I'd put on 3lbs!!!! :confused: That and the sweetener-induced headaches were too much to bear so I quit and went back to low-carbing. Dropped the 3 lbs within 24 hours and no headaches... :woohoo: Just think I paid all that cash (and still have 4 days worth of shakes sitting in the fridge) to stay the same weight - what a result... :rolleyes:

[Bibbidi]

Hi and thanks for the welcome! :goodvibes

Bibbidi - I read above that you were a little iffy about the cruise, let me chime in that you really are going to love it. It certainly is a different vacation than WDW, but it's just as good. Just wait until the sail away party when you are standing on deck, watching Mickey and your girls dancing away, and you hear the tremendous blast of the horn playing "When You Wish Upon a Star." I thought I was prepared for it (even listened to the recordings they have on the internet), but nothing prepares you for how powerful it is. I got chills! Even stoic, iffy about WDW DH's jaw dropped and he just said, "wooooooow." I'm kind of excited for you in fact! :woohoo: (But, of COURSE you have to add at least a day for the park. Who can be that close to Orlando and resist? ;) I have to go just for the Dole Whip...though that would be one expensive Dole Whip)

You know, all I ever hear about the Disney Cruises is how fantastic they are. I think I'm just not good at trying something new.

And yes, how could anyone be that close to Orlando and not get to the parks? I think I would feel jipped (how greedy of me) if we didn't get to the theme parks for at least a day or two, since we're already down in Orlando and all :rolleyes1

For me it's not the Dole Whip, but rather the less talked about Citrus Swirl over by the "Tiki Room".

Thanks for all the Cruise Confidence I'm getting from our thread :thumbsup2

[Mousermom]

Bibbidi,

I'm glad you are still going to be with us on the cruise.:thumbsup2

Just checking in to see how everyone is doing.

Take care!:hippie:

[Bibbidi]

We leave very early in the am tomorrow for our trip to Disney World. My DH has to work for one day in JAX Friday, so we are now heading down a day earlier than planned, and staying 8 nights at Disney instead of 7. Not a bad deal :thumbsup2

I'll catch up with our thread upon our return, sometime after the 27th. Have a great week everyone!

[Bibbidi]

Bibbidi,

I'm glad you are still going to be with us on the cruise.:thumbsup2

Take care!:hippie:

Thanks! I was never in real danger of cancelling, since my husband won't cave, (which is a good thing in this case) - but I was having anxiety over the whole thing.

[CustardTart]

We leave very early in the am tomorrow for our trip to Disney World. My DH has to work for one day in JAX Friday, so we are now heading down a day earlier than planned, and staying 8 nights at Disney instead of 7. Not a bad deal :thumbsup2

I'll catch up with our thread upon our return, sometime after the 27th. Have a great week everyone!

Have a wonderful time in WDW, Bibbidi!!! :woohoo: See you when you get back... :wave2:

[wagnut65]

I just joined the boards and I see you guys are talking about the new idea of going to Castaway Cay twice. I actually experienced this on my cruise in January. It was a quick change of plans we were told at check in. They told us that they were changing the inteneiry and we didn't know what to think. Then, they broke the news that we had to suffer, two whole, long sun filled days at Castaway Cay. (please read through my sarcasam) Anyway, in short, it was wonderful and I would book a cruise with a second call to castaway cay again, even though I did the first time unknowningly.

If you would like to see some pictures from my Double Dip. Go to YouTube.com and type in Disney Cruise and click search. My video is the very first video that pops up. Yes, I was shocked too the first time I did it, lol! I hope you enjoy my video that I put together! If you have any questions about the double dip, let me know and I would love to answer them!

[CustardTart]

Thanks for the info, wagnut! :thumbsup2 Your video is fab - I especially love the soundtrack (Slide is one of my favourite songs...) and it was great to have a reminder of my first DCL trip back in May 2005! Did you ever book another trip?

It's a sunny day here in London and I'm about to start getting ready for an evening out with my DH. :love:

Hope everyone's fit and well. Look forward to chatting some more soon... :wave:

[branv]

I must be losing my mind, can you believe I just made a spreadsheet with possible excursions/price/times? For the love of pete, if I keep this up I won't have any organizing left by July and THEN what will I do for the 10 months after that?

That being said...anyone have any ideas yet about what they'd like to do excursion wise? We didn't do any on our last trip, so I'd really like to make a go of it this time around.

I'm pretty sure we're going to do the snorkeling on our first day at Castaway Cay, but then it's a toss up whether to do the stingray excursion or the waverunner boat tour on the second day. I've never seen a stingray up close and they look super cute, but I do enjoy waverunners and would like to see the island. However, I read that the tour is pretty short and if you are someone who has spent some time on waverunners, the allowable speed might be a little dull. Plus it's a pretty short amount of time actually spent on the waverunners and pretty pricey tour at that. Hmmmmm...decisions, decisions. Any thoughts?

For you previous cruisers, did you eat at the pirate buffet? We didn't try last time b/c it was so crowded, but would like to give it a shot. Was it very hard to get near the buffet?

I just read that during the last few months they've been testing out table-service dining at the Beach Blanket Buffet on the 2nd and 3rd night? I enjoyed our dinners and our table mates, but the dinners were SOOOO long! We never got out until after 10:00 pm every night and kept missing the beginning of stuff. One night we were so tired from our long, sun-filled day we were practically falling asleep at dinner :rotfl: This time we scheduled early dining, but I hope they keep the full meal option at BBB open for our cruise as well. It's nice to have a choice of a long, social dinner or a quick in-and-out when a long dinner conflicts with our plans or our energy level ;).

[CustardTart]

Hey branv! :wave2: Nice to see ya even tho' I can't believe you made a spreadsheet, you crazy lady! :crazy: No wait, I'm the crazy lady who spent all this morning working out which West Coast hotels we were going to spend our DVC points at in August 2008... ;)

It's all part of being a OEPD, I'm afraid... :sad2:

But enough of such hand-wringing - excursion-wise, I'm hoping DD will consent to a tandem parasail on Castaway Cay. DH wants to do it in September so we'll have to see if I actually like it before commiting...:rolleyes:

[CustardTart]

PS: branv, I gotta tell you, I lurve your avatar! :thumbsup2 I have a very similar photo from our last WDW vacation - Pleakley is my fave character out of Lilo & Stitch... :love:

[branv]

Thanks, though he was crazy cold to cling onto that night! I did try to fling myself against him in a passionate embrace but about froze my knickers. So instead we have a very proper, friendly photo.

You can do the parasailing tandem?? Ooooooh, now that's a thought! Do you know what the *cough* weight limit is? :rolleyes1 I keep trying to talk DH into doing parasailing but he has in mind all these horror stories of people that do daring things in countries without proper safety regulations (he's convinced people who rent scooters in foreign ports have unconcious suicidal tendencies). I keep reminding him that since it's on Castaway Cay, it's DISNEY, and they have enough lawyers quadruple checking every single thing they do to make stuff safe and sterile.

Today we went to Six Flags/Fiesta Texas theme park, and ugh...once you go Disney, everything else fades to grey in comparison. The entire drive home I couldn't stop reminiscing about Magic Kingdom princess: You can't even compare the cleanliness, crowd control, staging and service. In fact, for a moment today, I honestly thought I was going to have to leap over the counter and throttle an evil food cashier. The whole line of customers rumbled with the threat of mutiny. If you're determined to give the absolutely worst service possible, it's probably safest to simply play stupid rather than top it off with a nasty attitude. Without a doubt, my worst day at WDW beats my best day at 6-Flags.

Though it was a perfect day for going to the parks!! Temperature about 78 degrees/F, very little humidity, slight breeze, fluffy clouds. Central Texas can be very similar to Florida temp, I hope Bibbidi is enjoying the same kind of weather we are and I sure hope we have this kind of weather this time next year.

[CustardTart]

...You can do the parasailing tandem?? Ooooooh, now that's a thought! Do you know what the *cough* weight limit is? :rolleyes1 I keep trying to talk DH into doing parasailing but he has in mind all these horror stories of people that do daring things in countries without proper safety regulations (he's convinced people who rent scooters in foreign ports have unconcious suicidal tendencies). I keep reminding him that since it's on Castaway Cay, it's DISNEY, and they have enough lawyers quadruple checking every single thing they do to make stuff safe and sterile...

According to my PassPorter, guests must be 90 - 350lbs and tandem parasailing is possible if you're both under the max weight combined - HTH! I don't think your DH should worry too much - as you say, this is Disney! :cloud9: I've decided to just go ahead and do it with DH in September - we get to book our excursions, Palo and spa stuff in a mere 19 days! Very exciting... :woohoo:

[branv]

At first I failed to read that you are speaking about your September cruise. I was like, "Oh @#$ did they change the rules? Do we now book at 350 days out instead of 90?? Wait, maybe she's in the Walt Disney Suite and gets to do super early booking...ooooh, if that's the case I must remember to suck up to her!" :lmao:

Thanks for the info! I most certainly will try to work on DH and the parasailing. I guess we all have our phobias (you should have seen me with the pin-head sized spider I encountered this morning):faint: But he will succumb to my wiles, oh yes..he will :stir: puckerup:

I finally got my confirmation letter yesterday with that adorable Mickey postcard. :cool1: Which was so cute I was required to make a planner binder just so the postcard could be my binder cover. In my defense, it's a sound way to prevent myself (though probably temporarily) from buying the Passporter DCL deluxe book just because it has nifty planner pockets. Though my cunning plan to save money by simply printing out the reams of free information online will probably be thwarted by the $50 worth of ink toner I'll have to buy.

So cruisers, do you use anything for motion on the cruise? I used a patch last time. Unlike some people, I had no problems with it at all :banana: Bless modern science. That and Ginger pills. The first night we had about 8-10 foot swells, which just me and one other girl at our table felt. Thanks to my pretty little patch, I was just a little wobbly-headed only on the first night, almost like having a mild buzz. But my tablemate hadn't taken anything so, well, she didn't eat much. She and I were the table's wave gauge...whenever both of us clutched the table they knew we'd rolled through a big one. ;) Though I'm glad she was there, at first I thought my balance problem had to do with it being my first time in heels in forever. I'm still not sure DH would have believed me that we were rocking if I hadn't pointed out that if it wasn't waves than some supernatural power was causing the water in his glass to move from side to side. He's got an inner ear of steel that man.

I really enjoyed the waves from our cabin. We were on the 1st deck, and every night it was like being lightly rocked to sleep. :cloud9:

[CustardTart]

...Wait, maybe she's in the Walt Disney Suite and gets to do super early booking...ooooh, if that's the case I must remember to suck up to her!"...

OMG I wish!!! But what the hey, you can suck up to me anyway! ;)

TBH I don't think I'm the kind of person who would ever get her hands on a Cat. 1 suite - don't you have promise your first-born and say a secret password before they'll even put you on a waiting-list??? Sadly, I'm just not that focused! :sad2: Maybe one day, when DH retires, I can put him in charge of procurring the Walt (or even the Roy, I'm not fussy) - I can't think of a better post-work hobby... :rotfl:

I can honestly say the whole motion-sickness thing never affected me at all. Actually it never occured to me that it might be an issue. I wasn't exactly like "We cruise on a ship?!! On the sea??!! Who knew!!?" but not far off, so it was just as well I suffered no ill-effects... :rolleyes:

[alecsmom]

Hey guys - just checking in and wanted to let you know what had been going on with me lately. We had some big unexpected expenses come up recently and my husband and I talked about it - and thought it would be best on our finances to just go ahead and cancel this cruise. Of course I was heartbroken - but decided to send my TA an e-mail and just ask her to cancel - kinda like ripping off a band-aid - just do it and get it over with. I was SO SAD when I sent the e-mail. :sad1:

That was Friday. Hadn't heard from her all day on Friday or Saturday, even checked my reservation online and our status was still "booked" hmmmmmmm - then my husband and I were on a date night Saturday night - and were discussing it again - and talked it over and over and both of us said well what the heck - we should just keep the reservation and work really hard to save for it - and decided we could make it work - and definitely wanted our son to experience the whole magic of Disney experience. So I went home Saturday night - sent another e-mail to my TA - "if it's not too late please don't cancel!!!" and felt so much better. She sent me an e-mail yesterday - saying she had been out for a couple of days - at Disney of course! and she got both my messages at the same time - and our cruise is NOT cancelled - and was so glad we were still going. :yay: I think it was just meant to be.

Soooooo, still looking forward to meeting everybody next May!!! :woohoo:

[CustardTart]

...thought it would be best on our finances to just go ahead and cancel this cruise. Of course I was heartbroken - but decided to send my TA an e-mail and just ask her to cancel...then my husband and I were on a date night Saturday night - and were discussing it again - and talked it over and over and both of us said well what the heck - we should just keep the reservation and work really hard to save for it - and decided we could make it work - and definitely wanted our son to experience the whole magic of Disney experience...sent another e-mail to my TA - "if it's not too late please don't cancel!!!"...she got both my messages at the same time - and our cruise is NOT cancelled... :yay: I think it was just meant to be...
Look's like Fate's intervened there! Glad you're still with us! :thumbsup2 :cheer2: :woohoo:

[alecsmom]

I wholeheartedly agree!!!

[alecsmom]

Hey branv - whereabouts in "Austin-ish" are you? We live in San Antonio. and I smiled when I read what you said about Fiesta Texas - I know exactly what you mean - when we went to WDW - I thought i was in another world!!!! Nothing would ever compare. BUT for now, we have the season passes for Fiesta Texas - my 4 year old loves it - absolutely can't wait till he experiences Disney!!

[branv]

Alecsmom, so glad you decided to stay onboard (pun intended). I know what you mean about expenses, last time we cruised DH's car broke down 3 months ahead of time and the repair bill was $1800 :scared1: I thought to myself, "ok, I think the universe is trying to tell me something." But it all worked out in the end, as I know it will for you.

When I convinced DH to sign up for the cruise, I buttered the deal by saying I would earn the money for half of the cost. I know I didn't need to, he's such a softy, but I figure if I can do that, it will be easier to convince him to add on a few extra WDW days :rolleyes1 I just graduated a week ago from Texas State (yes, I know, I'm 33 and trying to make a career change...I was the oldest person in all my classes :rolleyes:), and I'm banking on the hope that I'll find a job before then. Fingers crossed. Worst case scenario I can pick up the dough by doing some temp'ing or, dunno, selling plasma? ;)

But, aside from looking for a job, the Budget Board on Dis has taught me some good ways to make extra money or stretch a dime. Thanks to that board, I learned how to earn some secret money towards DH's surprise bday present. I made like $500 doing online surveys over 8 months. I highly recommend it. And just think, there's always tax returns in February :thumbsup2

We live in Kyle. We moved here about 3 years ago from Austin. Kyle is a cute and booming little town, and I enjoyed growing up in Dallas and living for a while in Houston, but I think Austin is my one true love. We probably should have just stayed in Austin for the amount of gas money we spend driving back and forth :headache: I'm still adjusting. Not to mention, being ten miles from the closest grocery store just FREAKS me out! Though we're getting an HEB in 2 weeks...who knew one day I'd be so excited by a grocery store. :lmao: On the plus side we ARE just nine miles from the outlet malls.

BTW: have you ridden that ride at Fiesta Tx that works on the same premise as the Tower of Terror but you sit in a chair type seat, staring out over the world with your feet hanging down? Now I LOVE ToT, love roller coasters (even the hanging ones), but there is just something about having to sit in some tiny little chair, staring way out over the horizon that scared the snot out of me! DH though I was shrieking in delight, but it was sheer terror. Never again, never again.
I think ToT is manageable b/c you're in the dark and can't see how high up your rear is hanging, and roller coasters go too fast to think about it. This ride makes you hang up there thinking about how stupid you are to be sitting there.

I have to say Fiesta has just about the best theming I've seen outside of WDW. I grew up going to Six Flags in Arlington, and while it may have more roller coasters, it's ugly in comparison to Fiesta.

[alecsmom]

Branv - thanks for the kind words. I know what you mean about thinking the universe is trying to tell you something. Good idea - I will head over to the Budget Board and do some research!

BTW, Congrats on getting your degree! That is awesome! Best of luck with your job search.

I think you are talking about the Scream - and heck no I haven't gotten on it. I think at 37 i'm too old for that. Ha ha. But I also loved the Tower of Terror - absolutely loved it - you're right for some reason there is a big difference. Standing on the ground by the Scream, you can also look up at all the idiots about to plummet down to the ground and be thankful you're not one of them!! :rotfl2:

You know, every summer when I was growing up we planned a trip to Six Flags Arlington - highlight of my whole summer. Then when i was 15 - we went to Disneyland in California - man did my world change!! Next month we're taking a little road trip so we can take my son and my nephews to Six Flags Arlington - they've never been - just for a change of pace, haven't been there in years, interested in what it looks like these days. I agree that Fiesta Texas is nicely themed, for what it's worth. ;)

[branv]

I had not been at Six Flags over Texas in like 6 years before I went back with my sister and niece for fright fest last year. I think when Astroworld closed they bought a bunch of their little rides like scramblers, etc. I used to know that park like the back of my hand, but I kept coming around a corner and going, "whoaa! Where did that come from?!" I finally rode the newest coaster, the Titan. HOLY COW!! Now that is a ride! It's got the largest drop of any coaster, but the ride is the smoothest I've ever been on. I highly recommend giving it a try :thumbsup2

One thing about other theme parks that really makes you miss Disney is the staging of the waiting areas. Half the time you're just standing in the hot sun staring at the back of someone's head. Disney really knows how to work a crowd :)

I really want to go to Disneyland, you know, see where it all started :love: Though I hear the teeny castle is always a shock.

[CustardTart]

...One thing about other theme parks that really makes you miss Disney is the staging of the waiting areas. Half the time you're just standing in the hot sun staring at the back of someone's head. Disney really knows how to work a crowd... So true! We have some interesting theme parks here in the UK but they're so lacking in theming they don't really work for me... :sad2:

...I really want to go to Disneyland, you know, see where it all started :love: Though I hear the teeny castle is always a shock.
We went to DL for New Year 2005/2006 and TBH it was a little weird! Not just the castle, but also the size of everything - the 'lands' seem so much smaller in scale and get crowded very quickly. Still loved it tho' and I'd definitely recommend a trip! It just has a special magic being the original and all that. We're going back in Summer 2008 - planning to stay in the Disneyland Hotel (we opted for the Grand Californian last time) and enjoy some of that LA weather... :cloud9:

Congratulations on your graduation, branv!:thumbsup2 You might think studying for a degree at 33 seems a little odd but I'm planning to go back to Uni next year and I'll be 45! :eek:

[alecsmom]

I had not been at Six Flags over Texas in like 6 years before I went back with my sister and niece for fright fest last year. I think when Astroworld closed they bought a bunch of their little rides like scramblers, etc. I used to know that park like the back of my hand, but I kept coming around a corner and going, "whoaa! Where did that come from?!" I finally rode the newest coaster, the Titan. HOLY COW!! Now that is a ride! It's got the largest drop of any coaster, but the ride is the smoothest I've ever been on. I highly recommend giving it a try :thumbsup2

One thing about other theme parks that really makes you miss Disney is the staging of the waiting areas. Half the time you're just standing in the hot sun staring at the back of someone's head. Disney really knows how to work a crowd :)

I really want to go to Disneyland, you know, see where it all started :love: Though I hear the teeny castle is always a shock.

Can't wait to tell my DH about the Titan - he's gonna love it I'm sure.

That could have been me saying the exact same thing about Disney knowing how to work a crowd - I have always told everybody that at Disney you don't even realize you're waiting in line - it's half the fun of the ride!

[branv]

We went to DL for New Year 2005/2006 and TBH it was a little weird! Not just the castle, but also the size of everything - the 'lands' seem so much smaller in scale and get crowded very quickly. Still loved it tho' and I'd definitely recommend a trip! It just has a special magic being the original and all that. We're going back in Summer 2008 - planning to stay in the Disneyland Hotel (we opted for the Grand Californian last time) and enjoy some of that LA weather... :cloud9:

Congratulations on your graduation, branv!:thumbsup2 You might think studying for a degree at 33 seems a little odd but I'm planning to go back to Uni next year and I'll be 45! :eek:

You are one lucky traveling lady! Up for adopting a slightly wrinkled daughter? :lmao: I clean my room and everything..

You know, there is one thing I learned about going back to school so late and that is sometimes education is just wasted on the young :rotfl: I was SUCH a little slacker when I went to college the first time. This time around I was one of those annoying professor's pet. :angel: Maybe my newly found dedication has something to do with being an age to finally understand just how much this was costing me. :lmao: "My tuition is what?!?! Do you realize I could get a new car for that price?!" But truly, at 20 it was about "have to," at 33 it was about "want to." I liked learning...yes even Statistics, who'd a' thunk it? :) Though my psychology classes drove DH a little crazy, "oh yes, see you're not really upset with me for asking you to stop putting your dirty laundry on top of the hamper lid. What you're really having is displaced resentment over your father's authoritarian parenting style." If I'd had another semester I might have been able to convince him he was experiencing a hysterical pregnancy.

[Mousermom]

Alecsmom,

I was wondering where you've been!

Glad to hear you'll still be joining us!

I'm just checking in again to see how everyone is.

I've been really busy lately--it's that time of year--graduations, weddings, etc.

Hope everyone is well.

Talk to you soon.

Mary Beth

[branv]

Okay, everyone, mark you calendars!

The updated DCL Travel Channel show is airing May 31, 9 pm EST

I'm pretty psyched, I haven't seen it since it's been updated.:mickeyjum

[alecsmom]

Cool - I will be watching.

Hi Mousermom - yes I am so glad i will be joining you all as well. It just feels like it's right! :thumbsup2

[pallamb]

Okay I must confess I'm a OEPD. I just never thought of myself as a diva though but I obsess with planning every aspect of planning my Disney vacations. A few days ago I booked the Double Dip cruise. This is our 3rd Disney cruise. Both were on the Disney Magic, 4 & 7 day cruises. I've been wanting to spend more than one day at C.C. I couldn't resist this opportunity. I can't wait to board the Wonder. :beach:
Now I just have to tell my DH I booked this cruise. Wish me luck.
Patty:rolleyes1

[pallamb]

I saw the new DCL show on the Travel Channel and it was great. I'm going to tape it this time.
Patty:happytv:

[CustardTart]

:welcome: Patty!!!! Glad to have you along...:thumbsup2

...Now I just have to tell my DH I booked this cruise. Wish me luck...
Good luck with that...;)

I am very jealous of the DCL show you guys are talking about - I'm not sure we'll get that over here! :sad: :sad: :sad:

[Mousermom]

Hey Patty!

Welcome to the thread!!

I don't really think of myself as a diva eithier, but I definitely am obsessive about my WDW vacations!! "Diva" just sounds good with our little group we've got going here!!!:lmao:

Karen,

Do you get the Travel Channel over there in the UK?

If you do, as they say----Check your local listings!!

If not, I'd be glad to tape it for you. PM me with your address.

I have a job interview at of all places---The Disney Store!!!

It is tomorrow (Friday). I hope I get the job because I bet I could get some good discounts!!

Is it ridiculous that a woman my age wants to work there? (See my age below):rotfl2:

[CustardTart]

I don't really think of myself as a diva eithier, but I definitely am obsessive about my WDW vacations!! "Diva" just sounds good with our little group we've got going here!!!:lmao: Ladies, we are all DIVAs!!! We just need to unleash the diva within... ;) :lmao: :thumbsup2
Karen,

Do you get the Travel Channel over there in the UK?

If you do, as they say----Check your local listings!!

If not, I'd be glad to tape it for you. PM me with your address.
Thanks, Mary Beth! :thumbsup2 I did check and we do get the Travel Channel - just gotta keep my eyes peeled... :)


I have a job interview at of all places---The Disney Store!!!

It is tomorrow (Friday). I hope I get the job because I bet I could get some good discounts!!

Is it ridiculous that a woman my age wants to work there? (See my age below):rotfl2: Very cool! Good luck!!!! :hug: It's definitely not ridiculous - I would love a job there and I'm 44 in 3 weeks or so... :scared1:

[alecsmom]

Hey Mousermom - good luck with the job interview - that actually sounds like a really cool place to work!! :thumbsup2 hmmm let us know what kind of discounts you'd get....

[branv]

Hi Patty! Welcome!

Well I consider myself a big ol' Diva - oh sure, I may look all sensible in my Crocs and ponytail, falling asleep everytime I have a glass of wine, and my personal ban on public dancing (really, it's for the best to protect innocent bystanders), but other than that, just give me my feather boa and tiara!

Good luck on your interview mouser! Boy will gift shopping be easier for you! Just beware of friends begging discounts! :rotfl: It's like being in junior high and you're the only one in town with a pool, everyone will want to be your friend ;)

[Mousermom]

Thanks for the good wishes everybody!!!:thumbsup2

I'll let you know how it goes tonight when I get home.

I knew you guys would back me up!!

I'm getting the "roll of the eyes" from family and friends around here.:sad2:

They just don't get it, do they?:rotfl:

Mary Beth

[CustardTart]

TI'm getting the "roll of the eyes" from family and friends around here.:sad2:

They just don't get it, do they?:rotfl:

Mary Beth
No - it's a Dis thing, honey! VERY BEST LUCK and FINGERS CROSSED...

[pallamb]

Thanks for the warm welcome. I too experience the "roll of the eyes" from some friends and some co-workers when I say I'm going to WDW or on a Disney cruise. They say "Why don't you go somewhere different or try a different cruise line." My co-worker even brought in a list of other "cheaper" cruise vacations. I looked at the list and didn't tell her I decided on Disney again. I'll just have to tell her "Do these cruises stop for 2 days at Castaway Cay?" I do have one co-worker who "crossed over" to my side after going to WDW last year. My family is pretty good with my obsession with Disney and my husband loves going to WDW and on Disney cruises. I just wasn't sure if he would want to spend that amount of $ since we could go to WDW with the free food deal for about half the amount we are spending on the cruise.

Mary Beth: Good luck with the job interview.

:tink: Patty (the new Diva)pixiedust:

[Mousermom]

OK, I got the job!!!

It's not a lot of hours but....

30% off all merchandise (even sale items!!!)

And.....

3 complimentary WDW park passes per year!!!!

That alone is worth it to me!!!!

I start on Wednesday!!!

Thanks to my fellow divas for all your positive feedback!!

Mary Beth

[CustardTart]

OK, I got the job!!!
Congratulations Mary Beth! :banana: :cheer2: :banana: ...30% off all merchandise (even sale items!!!)

And.....

3 complimentary WDW park passes per year!!!!

That alone is worth it to me!!!!

Wow, what an awesome result!! :woohoo: Well done, you! :thumbsup2

[branv]

Congrats! That park pass is a real perk! Though do try not to spend your whole salary at your store :rotfl: Tempting, I know ;)

So for those going to the parks before or after the cruise, where are you thinking of staying? We tend to stick to the moderates (really like peaceful POFQ, one time we tried POP we swore never again), but I keep going back and forth on upgrading us to a Deluxe. Frankly I'm not sure which side is the :stir: and which side is the :angel: !) I'd love the CR, but realistically I think I could only convince DH to do the WL. Never stayed in a Deluxe, and only visited Polynesian and AKL (wow is that a gorgeous resort), so we'll just have to see. Hoping for some room only discounts :thumbsup2 We may just stay on property Thurs and Fri night, spend Fri at MK and spend Sat. in Cape Canaveral. We'll see, too many decisions! What's everyone else's tentative plans?

So CT, you too are going for the extra Palo nights? I was very excited to read that you can waitlist like that. I don't know how lucky people tend to get, but I was surprised at how empty the restaurant was when we went (though it was pirate night, so perhaps that's why). The question is, can a person really eat at Palo for more than one night without blowing out the buttons on all her pants?

So I caved and bought the Cruise Passporter organizer after all. What can I say, I am a weak weak woman.

[CustardTart]

...So for those going to the parks before or after the cruise, where are you thinking of staying? We tend to stick to the moderates (really like peaceful POFQ, one time we tried POP we swore never again), but I keep going back and forth on upgrading us to a Deluxe. Frankly I'm not sure which side is the :stir: and which side is the :angel: !) I'd love the CR, but realistically I think I could only convince DH to do the WL. Never stayed in a Deluxe, and only visited Polynesian and AKL (wow is that a gorgeous resort), so we'll just have to see. Hoping for some room only discounts :thumbsup2 We may just stay on property Thurs and Fri night, spend Fri at MK and spend Sat. in Cape Canaveral. We'll see, too many decisions! What's everyone else's tentative plans?
No tentative plans here, branv! DD and I will be staying at VWL before the cruise and then sadly going straight to the airport when it's over! :sad: I shall be booking the week (or however many days we need) next month at the 11 month DVC window. Flights have already been booked... OMG I am such an OEPD! :goodvibes

BTW you could always try renting DVC points to get deluxe on more of a budget. I can help you work out how many you're likely to need... :)


...So CT, you too are going for the extra Palo nights? I was very excited to read that you can waitlist like that. I don't know how lucky people tend to get, but I was surprised at how empty the restaurant was when we went (though it was pirate night, so perhaps that's why). The question is, can a person really eat at Palo for more than one night without blowing out the buttons on all her pants? I've heard that the last night tends to be quiet as everyone gets their packing done and, as you say, Pirate Night possibly has more people bopping on the deck than chowing down in Palo's...

TBH I am very worried about the state of my waistline! Might have to deflate my Bean and bring it with me to do some ab work on deck - yeah right... :lmao:

...So I caved and bought the Cruise Passporter organizer after all. What can I say, I am a weak weak woman.
Hey weak, weak woman - I'm debating how soon I can order refills for mine. Have merchandise, will buy it... :rolleyes:

[alecsmom]

Congratulations on the job Mary Beth! sounds like a great deal.

Welcome Patty - you sound like an old pro at all this Disney business!

Hey guys - now I need some advice. All along I had planned this as a cruise only - but now more and more I'm thinking maybe we can swing a couple of days prior at WDW. I had thought my then-to-be 5 year old might be too young for WDW but now I'm thinking maybe we could do Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom beforehand? I think I'd like to save Epcot/MGM for when he gets a little older.

I am talking about being on a serious budget though - so before I ask my TA to price it - any suggestions for where to stay, how to get the best deals etc? I dont' mind staying in a value resort - we stayed at All Star Music once and I think something like that would be fine for us now.

Opinions on whether just Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom would be good first intro for my DS?

Anyone know how convenient the transportation is to the cruise port from WDW?

Okay - thanks for any advice you can give me.

Yvonne

[CustardTart]

...Hey guys - now I need some advice. All along I had planned this as a cruise only - but now more and more I'm thinking maybe we can swing a couple of days prior at WDW. I had thought my then-to-be 5 year old might be too young for WDW but now I'm thinking maybe we could do Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom beforehand? I think I'd like to save Epcot/MGM for when he gets a little older.

I am talking about being on a serious budget though - so before I ask my TA to price it - any suggestions for where to stay, how to get the best deals etc? I dont' mind staying in a value resort - we stayed at All Star Music once and I think something like that would be fine for us now.

Opinions on whether just Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom would be good first intro for my DS?

Anyone know how convenient the transportation is to the cruise port from WDW?

Okay - thanks for any advice you can give me.

Yvonne
I think that would be a fantastic intro to WDW for your DS, Yvonne! :thumbsup2 MK is of course a classic for young kids. Loads to see and do. And AK has great theming but might only be worth half a day. Maybe you could even spend some time in the afternoon at a water park?

DD and I took the DCL bus to the port from the YC and it was a very smooth journey. Only negative was the fact that we arrived quite a bit later than we'd hoped, so we'll be driving to the port next year. The DCL buses from MCO leave much earlier so DH and I are staying overnight at the MCO Hyatt for our trip in September. ;)

Accommodation-wise, I suggested to branv looking at renting DVC points for the length of stay. I'll take a look at my points chart and see how many points would be needed for that time and get back to you... :surfweb:

[branv]

Now I really must worship at the altar of Custard Tart. Though she may not be in the Walt Disney Cabin as initially suspected, she is due homage for her really cool DVC-ness. Lo though we may be tempted to regard her with jealousy, we should instead learn from her wisdom in being both smart enough to join DVC as well as some how get her husband onboard. Ok..maybe we can be just a little jealous, but strictly in a star struck, not freaky stalker kind of way :flower3:

Any advice you can offer about renting points would be great. I thought about it on our last trip, but I was just a little overwhelmed trying to figure out how it works, reading all the warnings about being cheated, yadda yadda, and I just gave up. So much for my "stick-to-it-ness" :rolleyes1

BTW: I got my cruise passporter just in time to use it for the book-owner coupon combined with the sale they mentioned in their last newsletter to buy the *fanfare* WDW passporter last night. It's like a vicious cycle you just can't escape from. :rotfl:

Alecsmom - Even though I wouldn't stay at Pop again, I would absolutely recommend it for families on a budget. Since we're DINKs (sort of), we're not used to the noise and happy chaos families and kids bring at all hours, so Pop was just a little too rambunctious at night time for us. We didn't get a lot of sleep, but as a mom you are probably used to that :laughing:. I know alot of people prefer Pop b/c Pop gets its own buses while the All-Stars share. But don't quote me on that, it may have changed since our last trip. If you do stay at Pop, don't pay extra for the "preferred location" rooms. The 50's building (where we stayed) was very close to everything, and didn't cost anything extra. Plus, mmmm, Pop's cupcakes. Mmmmmm.

And though I may not be a mom, I think MK is a perfect place for a 5 yr old. In fact, I'd argue that age 5 is the perfect age :thumbsup2 Old enough to understand what's happening, but young enough to truly believe in the magic. :wizard: Awwwwww, it will be so sweet!!

I know AAA is supposed to be the only way to get lower room rates if special room rates/Visa deal doesn't come out, but I haven't yet bothered to sign up for AAA. I've just always been lucky enough to have a discount come out during our visits. :thumbsup2

When we went on our cruise and had 2 days in the park, we used Budget rental car. We are just people that need a car for incidentals, and every time we've gone there's always been some reason we needed a car (the one time we didn't, I got terribly ill and DH had to call a cab to get over to the pharmacy!). Plus sometimes we like to eat off-grounds and save money. We used Budget Car Rental which is closest to the port and has a free shuttle to DCL. For example, in January 2006, we rented a car from Thurs-Sunday. We picked it up at MCO and dropped it off in Cape Canaveral. The cost for 3 days was $65. When we got off the ship, we took the Budget shuttle from the port to their lot, picked up the car, had lunch in Downtown Disney before our flight (3 pm) and then headed back to the airport where we dropped off the car. That day's price was $35. So for basically 4 days of rental (not including the cost of gas of course) we spent about $100. Round Trip on the DCL shuttle would have cost us $59/person and we would have been carless for 3 days. For a family of 3+, that can make a big difference. (It also helps if you're a Costco member and can use their discount rate. Just FYI, we kept checking and checking until the rates fell enough to make it worth our while).

Then again, of course, if you take the DCL transfers, you get the great benefit of checking yourself and your bags onto your flight before leaving the port. No lugging bags! However, when renting a car, we get around lugging our bags around and standing in check-in lines by pulling up to the curbside check-in/skycap at the airport before we drop off our rental. Though it does cost us a tip per bag.

Personally, I would think for a family a car is just cheaper and more convenient. But everyone has their own idea of easy, so grain of salt and all that.

[CustardTart]

Now I really must worship at the altar of Custard Tart. Though she may not be in the Walt Disney Cabin as initially suspected, she is due homage for her really cool DVC-ness. Lo though we may be tempted to regard her with jealousy, we should instead learn from her wisdom in being both smart enough to join DVC as well as some how get her husband onboard. Ok..maybe we can be just a little jealous, but strictly in a star struck, not freaky stalker kind of way :flower3:Awwww shucks!!! I think...? :lmao: :rotfl2: :lmao: OMG are you in for a big disappointment when we meet... :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: ...Any advice you can offer about renting points would be great. I thought about it on our last trip, but I was just a little overwhelmed trying to figure out how it works, reading all the warnings about being cheated, yadda yadda, and I just gave up. So much for my "stick-to-it-ness" :rolleyes1

Before I get carried away with my own wonderful-ness, I have to confess something! OK I forgot that the 2 nights prior to our cruise were the priciest nights of the week, points-wise! :sad2: So according to my charts, the points required for a studio would range from 48 (OKW) and 52 (SSR) to 58 (BCV, BWV, VWL). Points tend to rent for $10 per point so I imagine this would be more costly than booking a room at Pop etc. :confused3 Oh well - it's always good to know the facts... :thumbsup2

[alecsmom]

okay well thanks for checking Karen! I appreciate it. And thanks everybody for the advice and opinions so far. It's giving me a good starting point. I think we'll keep checking our options to see what the best deal is - and go from there.

We were at Fiesta Texas yesterday and my DS had to get on the Scooby Doo Ghostblasters ride two times because he loved it - and all I kept thinking was - man this is NOTHING compared to Disney!! So now I can't wait for him to experience the magic of MK etc!!! And you're right Branv - the more I think about it - the more I realize 5 years old is the perfect age to experience it.

(and yep being a mom of a very active t-ball playing 4 year old - I don't get much time to sleep or relax or anything like that!!):yay:

[branv]

Thanks for checking CT, it's at least good to know realistically what our options are!

Alecsmom - Lol, I was so excited when I went to Fiesta TX for the first time last year and saw they had a Scooby Doo ride. Then I got inside into their lame, tight-squeeze queue, then got on their wanna-be Buzz Lightyear ride. I mean it was cute, it was nice to be out of the sun, but you simply CANNOT ride if after you've already been to WDW without thinking, "well they should have done this like MK...and they should have done THIS, this, this..." :) But to be fair, if Six Flags Arlington would just bring back the original "The Cave" ride with the dwarf Spelunkers instead of the lame-o bugs bunny ride they turned it into, sentimentally speaking, there is nothing at WDW that could make me as happy and nostalgic. I guess what really gets top ride billing is whatever gave you kicks as a kid :)

BTW: Do you know that I am so bad at sports that when I played T-ball in 2nd grade I actually struck out? I'm not entirely sure how that's possible, but apparently I managed to do it.

So the CURSE OF WDW continues!! On my first trip back to WDW in 14 years, I got food poisoning from chicken liver. Thought I had recovered and the third day into it I got oooooh soooo illlllllll and missed the rest of the trip. (Let me tell you, that was one big waste of a Brown Derby steak). Then on our last trip, as I mentioned, 3-4 months before our trip DH's a/c unit went out, costing $$$, and THEN his clutch went out, costing another $$$. So I'm one of those anxiety-ridden people who needs a nice chunky savings buffer to feel safe and content, and instead of touching our "Oh !#!!@#" savings account (which is really what it's there for, but apparently will take the roof blowing off for me to touch..though in TX that's not entirely improbable), gave up on my hope of a deluxe and went to Pop instead. Fast forward to last night. Almost had myself convinced that while a tax return IS better off when it's somewhere earning interest, that really it's just as happy being used for funfunfun i.e. Wilderness Lodge. That's when MY car's A/C decided not to turn on. In May. In Texas. And of course it was raining, so driving home was like riding in a fishbowl on a hot stove. The A/C did eventually come back on, but it's been acting weird and we think the A/C blower is going kaputsky. It's better than the compressor failing, but still takes removing my entire dashboard to get to which means labor charges out the wazzoo. WHY oh WHY great Disney Deluxe Gods?? Have I offended thee? :worship: Must I make a sacrifice? I'll give up THREE..no, no, too much, make that TWO Dole Whips if only you will cast down your benevolence upon me.

[CustardTart]

...Fast forward to last night. Almost had myself convinced that while a tax return IS better off when it's somewhere earning interest, that really it's just as happy being used for funfunfun i.e. Wilderness Lodge. That's when MY car's A/C decided not to turn on. In May. In Texas. And of course it was raining, so driving home was like riding in a fishbowl on a hot stove. The A/C did eventually come back on, but it's been acting weird and we think the A/C blower is going kaputsky....I hate it when cars act up! I feel so helpless when at the mercy of the mechanics who talk in tongues and always have bad news! :sad2: Hope it gets sorted asap and for not too many $$$... :hug:
... which means labor charges out the wazzoo...
OUCH! ;) :lmao:

[branv]

CT - if it's not too much trouble, I'd love to hear about where you live. I've always wanted to visit the UK. Can you believe all these years and I still haven't made it overseas though I've dreamed about it since I was 11? Course the dollar is so weak now it literally hurts me to even think about going now :faint: But if DH is at his company another 3 years he gets a 6 week sabbatical. We always say we'll do UK and Italy then, come high water or high Euro!

Anyway, if you have time please do share! The name "Kent" kept bugging me because I knew I'd recently heard it but couldn't remember why. Sooo, I looked up Kent in Wikipedia to figure it out...and saw what a pretty area you live in! I didn't even realize Kent is a county, not a town! And you have Canterbury and the White Cliffs of Dover!! I was very excited to realize I had heard something about Kent, I just didn't know it ;)

I did realize later that the "Kent" that I had heard of recently was actually Lord Kent in King Lear. Though I'm sure Kent the place is entirely less depressing than Kent the character. :lmao:

Goes to show just how good of a geography education I received :rolleyes1 Hey, at least I did learn how to pronounce Greenwich! (But only b/c my 6th grade teacher would shriek and clutch her head if we called it "Green-witch")

[CustardTart]

CT - if it's not too much trouble, I'd love to hear about where you live. I've always wanted to visit the UK...No trouble at all, branv! :thumbsup2: ...I looked up Kent in Wikipedia to figure it out...and saw what a pretty area you live in! I didn't even realize Kent is a county, not a town! And you have Canterbury and the White Cliffs of Dover!!Coincidentally, we visited Canterbury yesterday as my eldest DS is at Uni there and we went to see his Graduate Art exhibition. It's about 50 miles south of where we live. Even tho' the rain was teeming, I was struck (yet again) by the ancient beauty of the place. Stunning. He leaves on July 1st so I'll try and get down there before that with a camera and post some pics... And you mention Greenwich - we're off there tomorrow! It's DS's 14th birthday so I'm taking him to see the Royal Observatory before meeting up with DH and DD, on their way home from work, at the Greenwich multiplex where we can finally check out POTC 3! popcorn:: pirate: popcorn::

[branv]

I'd love to see any pics you take :thumbsup2 It must be amazing to have so much real history all around. Sure seems like so often if something gets older than 50 years the first thing we do is tear it down :confused:

We saw PoTC this weekend. Oy what a long movie, we didn't leave the theater until 1:50 am. It's a miracle I didn't fall asleep before it was over :lmao: And silly me didn't know you have to wait until after the credits to see the last scene! Thank goodness for internet spoilers or I still wouldn't know what had happened :thumbsup2 My 10 yo niece just loooooves PoTC...and Johnny Depp. It's really weird to think that I also had a crush on Johnny Depp when I was about the same age!! (Nightmare on Elm Street) The more things change, the more they stay the same.

[pallamb]

Originally posted by branv: Even though I wouldn't stay at Pop again, I would absolutely recommend it for families on a budget. Since we're DINKs (sort of), we're not used to the noise and happy chaos families and kids bring at all hours, so Pop was just a little too rambunctious at night time for us. We didn't get a lot of sleep, but as a mom you are probably used to that . I know alot of people prefer Pop b/c Pop gets its own buses while the All-Stars share. But don't quote me on that, it may have changed since our last trip. If you do stay at Pop, don't pay extra for the "preferred location" rooms. The 50's building (where we stayed) was very close to everything, and didn't cost anything extra. Plus, mmmm, Pop's cupcakes. Mmmmmm

My DH and I stayed at the Pop Century last year and loved it. Our room was in a quiet area facing the lake and I think it was the 70's building. The giant Telephone Mickey greeted us every morning and wished us sweet dreams every night. This wasn't one of the preferred location buildings. The walks thru the resort don't bother us since we like to look at the larger than life Disney icons. We even got a towel animal. We've only received them on the cruises. As of that time the resort wasn't sharing buses. When our grandkids are old enough I look forward to staying at Pop Century with them. Branv: How did I miss eating the cupcakes? :cake:

The other two resorts we liked were the Swan and the AKL. We liked the location of the Swan and everything about the AKL. The balcony was great and I loved just sitting, relaxing and viewing the animals. popcorn::

Original posted by branv: I know AAA is supposed to be the only way to get lower room rates if special room rates/Visa deal doesn't come out, but I haven't yet bothered to sign up for AAA. I've just always been lucky enough to have a discount come out during our visits.

I belong to AAA and when it came to better rates for Disney resorts this never happened. The only benefit we would receive would be the perks the AAA would offer. Alot of the times I would have to tell my TA about the promotions Disney would be offering. The last time I talked to her we wanted to book the Pop Century for the "free food promotion" and she said the Pop Century wasn't available. I went home and booked the Pop on line.

Before the cruise we probably won't add WDW because of the additional cost. We'll probably arrive a day early and stay at a hotel near the airport using Hotwire. There's a hotel that has the airport shuttle that is a 3 1/2 star in the $40.00 range with a pool. What a deal! :dogdance:

Yesterday I received my paperwork and postcard from DCL. Yippee!!!:sail:

Patty:mickeybar

[alecsmom]

Thanks for checking CT, it's at least good to know realistically what our options are!

Alecsmom - Lol, I was so excited when I went to Fiesta TX for the first time last year and saw they had a Scooby Doo ride. Then I got inside into their lame, tight-squeeze queue, then got on their wanna-be Buzz Lightyear ride. I mean it was cute, it was nice to be out of the sun, but you simply CANNOT ride if after you've already been to WDW without thinking, "well they should have done this like MK...and they should have done THIS, this, this..." :) But to be fair, if Six Flags Arlington would just bring back the original "The Cave" ride with the dwarf Spelunkers instead of the lame-o bugs bunny ride they turned it into, sentimentally speaking, there is nothing at WDW that could make me as happy and nostalgic. I guess what really gets top ride billing is whatever gave you kicks as a kid :)

BTW: Do you know that I am so bad at sports that when I played T-ball in 2nd grade I actually struck out? I'm not entirely sure how that's possible, but apparently I managed to do it.

So the CURSE OF WDW continues!! On my first trip back to WDW in 14 years, I got food poisoning from chicken liver. Thought I had recovered and the third day into it I got oooooh soooo illlllllll and missed the rest of the trip. (Let me tell you, that was one big waste of a Brown Derby steak). Then on our last trip, as I mentioned, 3-4 months before our trip DH's a/c unit went out, costing $$$, and THEN his clutch went out, costing another $$$. So I'm one of those anxiety-ridden people who needs a nice chunky savings buffer to feel safe and content, and instead of touching our "Oh !#!!@#" savings account (which is really what it's there for, but apparently will take the roof blowing off for me to touch..though in TX that's not entirely improbable), gave up on my hope of a deluxe and went to Pop instead. Fast forward to last night. Almost had myself convinced that while a tax return IS better off when it's somewhere earning interest, that really it's just as happy being used for funfunfun i.e. Wilderness Lodge. That's when MY car's A/C decided not to turn on. In May. In Texas. And of course it was raining, so driving home was like riding in a fishbowl on a hot stove. The A/C did eventually come back on, but it's been acting weird and we think the A/C blower is going kaputsky. It's better than the compressor failing, but still takes removing my entire dashboard to get to which means labor charges out the wazzoo. WHY oh WHY great Disney Deluxe Gods?? Have I offended thee? :worship: Must I make a sacrifice? I'll give up THREE..no, no, too much, make that TWO Dole Whips if only you will cast down your benevolence upon me.


OMG you make me laugh!! I'm bad in sports too but can't say I ever struck out in t-ball!

Hope your A/C is better - it's getting hotter by the second down here!

BTW - I LOVED the Spelunker cave when I was little - that was like my favorite ride - to the point where the whole family knew that was what I had to do first. Wow you brought back memories cause I hadn't thought about it in years!!

So everybody - tell me what experiences you've had with either the Caribbean Beach Resort or Coronado Springs - they're looking more interesting to me- I need to stop surfing the net!! :laughing:

[Mousermom]

Hey Ladies!!!

Just adding my two cents on what our plans are so far...

We were going to stay at POFQ before the cruise, but I've changed my mind on that because if my son's school calendar is the same next year as it was this year, he'll have off for most of the week that the cruise takes place.(My son goes to catholic school--the week of the cruise falls on a religious holiday) So, I've decided that we'll fly in the day before the cruise and stay at a hotel near the port also. Then, stay at POFQ after the cruise for 3 days.
Which means that we'll be on a 10-day vacation, and my son will only miss three days of school!! Pretty good, huh?

We loved POFQ. Small and quiet. DS loved the pool. Can't wait to go back there.

pallamb:

What's the name of that hotel for 40 bucks????? That sounds pretty good to me!!



alecsmom:

I've stayed at CBR in the past. I didn't like it that much. The property was too big for me and the cast members that our group encountered there were not very Disney-like at all. The food court wasn't that good, eithier.

I cannot comment on Coronado Springs. I've never stayed there.

Have a good one everybody!!!

Mary Beth

[pallamb]

mousermom: Okay, here's were my obsessive planning is revealed.
As of now I don't know the name of this hotel. With hotwire you don't know the hotel until you pay with a credit card and then you are told the name. As of today their website only goes to April of 2008. I entered a Saturday to Sunday stay over in April 2008 for Orlando. Then I checked the hotels in the Orlando (MCO) Airport area. It gave several choices. Here's the website showing this hotel: http://www.hotwire.com/hotel/details.jsp?lid=hotel/results.G.jsp:booking-result:loc:2:hotelName&selectedSolutionId=19199864410&searchId=4052953169&rs=20301&startSearchType=C&inputId=hotel-results&actionType=303

I do have a correction: The hotel is a 3 star hotel and not a 3 1/2. Tripadvisor gives this hotel 4 1/2 out of 5 rating. The price for the April date is currently $46.00 with a retail price $139.00. The hotel also lists a fitness center:cool1: and internet access too. :surfweb: I'll keep checking Hotwire until May 2008 shows up and then probably book this. When I do I'll tell you the name.
Good Night Everybody:cloud9:
Patty

[alecsmom]

Mary Beth - thanks for your opinion on CBR - I had read good things and bad, so it's good to hear an opinion from a sister planning diva. By the way, your 10 day vacation plan sounds great! Can you give me some more info on the POFQ? Think it would be a good place for a 5 year old? It looks a little subdued - and my DS is anything but quiet!! :rotfl:

Patty - Both you and Branv have said some good things about Pop - I can talk myself in and out of things too easily - because I have been looking at the moderate resorts now - but in your opinion do you think the Pop is pretty good for a family of three (with a 5 year old)?

I guess my question is - what would give us the most value for our money - if we're staying 3 nights - and I would be willing to pay the extra for a moderate resort?

Hope I'm making sense. :confused:

[branv]

alecsmom, if you want to stay at a moderate, have you looked into making your cruise a land/sea pkg? I can't say what it is for a family your size, but I priced it for DH and I and without any AAA discounts or Disney discounts it was a better deal (for once) than booking the room and tickets seperately. I was pretty shocked, normally those pkg deals are pricier.

For instance - we are booked in a cat 12, so that puts us in the moderate hotels for a land/sea pkg. For 2 adults, changing to the land/sea pkg only raised our price $665.

To see if it was a good deal, I priced the same items seperately from the cruise (three nights at POFQ and 4 day park hoppers) = $1043. I considered that we would really only spend 2 days in the park, so priced just the 3 nights at POFQ and 2-day tickets = still more expensive at $817!

Not to mention that in the next few months the 2008 room prices will be coming out, probably raising the current cost of the room, increasing your savings by booking a land/sea now.

(Plus, if you don't plan to use the extra days on your land/sea park hopper, you could pay the extra money to make them non-expiring and it would still be cheaper!)

So why aren't we doing it? Because we're still not sure we will be doing the days in the parks and if you cancel the land portion of the cruise later on, you end up paying whatever the current price of the cruise is...and that always goes up. If I were certain I was staying at WDW, I would absolutely book it so I would have a good deal and not be fishing later for discounts.

Though I would like to address poor Pal's problems with her travel agent not getting her the discounts. That's terrible! Your agent deserved a good head swirly! We always use Magical Journeys for our WDW trips and they have been spot on the ball with getting us the discount as soon as it's released, no need to even request it! Though we're using Dreams Unlimited for our cruise portion. Figured I need to support the DIS somehow :thumbsup2

*phew* now that I've written yet another novel (can you tell I was an english major?), can you believe I still have more to say?

Alecsmom - I've never stayed at CBR or CS, but my DB stayed at CS and really liked it. To be fair, that was in 1998 when it was still fairly new. The reason I prefer POFQ over all the moderates is its smaller size. After I've walked in the parks all day, the last thing I want is a long walk back to my room or a long walk to the food court. And the place is just so quiet and peaceful. But honestly, we've always seen lots of kids! I guess the layout/build was done in such a way that noise isn't the same issue...maybe better crowd control...more shrubbery camouflage...time warp? Dunno. The boat ride you can take to DTD is such a great, scenic ride. I never swim in the pool (no time!) but all the families seem to get a huge kick out of it. Never really crowded in the food court or at the front desk. My only complaint is that the food wasn't my favorite, but again, I am the food snob. As I mentioned in a recent post over on the Resort board, and as a fellow Texan I'm sure you will agree with me, what they do to biscuits and gravy is torture. :crazy2: I liked the grilled cheese though! And who can forget the mickey waffles? :mickeyjum

Is it really still just May? Could time move any slower? :hourglass

[alecsmom]

Branv - Great minds must think alike ;) - when I realized yesterday what kind of trip I was talking myselfl into - I thought might as well price the land/sea vacation and see what's best. I asked my TA to price it and she's looking into it for me as we speak. Sooo when I hear back I'll report in!

My TA did say that booking separately usually comes out cheaper if we're thinking about staying in a Value Resort - plus we can add on the dining plan.

So of course my next question - anybody have good or bad experiences with Disney's dining plan?

[branv]

Just a friendly service reminder:

Don't forget to watch the DCL show on the Travel Channel tonight! My DVR is locked and loaded for months of viewing pleasure. :happytv:

Are YOU ready? :smickey:

[Mousermom]

Hey Girls, what's up?

Patty:

Thanks for the info on the hotel. I'm glad you explained Hotwire. I didn't know it worked that way. Any additional info you could give me would be great! Thanks again!!

Yvonne:

I agree with everything that branv said about POFQ!!! As far as being kid-friendly, look on the Disney website at pictures of the pool area!! You'll be sold, trust me!!! Your child will love it!!

Also, the DDP is the reason that I am not booking a land/sea package as well.
When we went to WDW in March, we did not do the dining plan, and it was a big mistake!!! My husband really wants to do this next year!! When I told him that you could not get the DDP with the land/sea package, he told me to book seperately!! You see, I have two men in my house with very healthy appetites!!! We only went to one table service restaurant the whole vacation!! I think he was really sick of eating hot dogs!!!

branv:

I have a reminder set for the DCL show tonight!!!! I can't wait to watch!!!
Also, the last few days on the Travel Channel, they have been featuring Disney on the Great Hotels program. It comes on at noon here in the Philly area. If they do it again this week, I'll let you know.

See ya later!

Mary Beth

[branv]

Ok, I don't want to alarm anyone...

But the Travel Channel MAY have changed their line up for today. :scared1:

My cable no longer shows it as coming on tonight (it says, "Jet Set" instead :confused3 ) and the Travel Channel website says the same thing. I still have it set to record in case they're just doofus', but they do show it airing also on June 2 at 4 pm (EST). So there's always a back up plan. :thumbsup2

[CustardTart]

Hi all! :wave: Just *bump*ing us back to the front page...

No Travel Channel DCL special over on the UK network yet. I've checked out the listings but the only Disney-based show that comes up is a Disneyland Paris special! Not the same thing at all! Oh well, hopefully they'll screen 'em eventually... :worship:

DD and I visited POFQ during our May 2005 Girls Only trip and loved the pool area! Absolutely perfect for children! We were going to try out Coronado Springs this October but wanted to be near the Food & Wine Festival so opted for an Epcot resort instead... :rolleyes1

Have a great weekend one and all... :flower3:

[Bibbidi]

Hi everyone, we made it back last Saturday from our 8 night stay at Disney. Got really lucky and were upgraded at CR to a Tower room, and upgraded at BC to a Boardwalk/Water View. Had a great trip--and the best part was knowing our cruise is less than a year away!

I was very interested in the most recent posts in our thread about the land/sea, and the DDP not being a part of that. I thought you could have the dining plan on land as a part of that package. That was the biggest challenge this trip, we didn't have the dining plan (used AP to get room discounts), but feel that the DP would definitely be worth it next time, even if we have to forego the room discount. It's funny how it works out. I saved $101 a night on the rooms this trip, but we easily ate more than $100 a day. I still think though that we'd be spending $30/day OOP on food even with the DP. We are kind of 2 CS, 1 TS/day people. I know that the snack credits can be used to get a lot of good things, but that is the one issue holding me back on going for the package. I feel like if I am paying for a dining plan, I shouldn't have any OOP dining costs really. Any ideas? We're not big eaters in the sense that we couldn't eat an appetizer, entree and dessert at every meal, but I'm wondering if people buy dessert or app items that they can save for later snacks?

[CustardTart]

Hi everyone, we made it back last Saturday from our 8 night stay at Disney. Got really lucky and were upgraded at CR to a Tower room, and upgraded at BC to a Boardwalk/Water View. Had a great trip--and the best part was knowing our cruise is less than a year away!

Hi there and welcome back! :wave2:
Fab upgrades!:thumbsup2
...That was the biggest challenge this trip, we didn't have the dining plan (used AP to get room discounts), but feel that the DP would definitely be worth it next time, even if we have to forego the room discount. It's funny how it works out. I saved $101 a night on the rooms this trip, but we easily ate more than $100 a day. I still think though that we'd be spending $30/day OOP on food even with the DP. We are kind of 2 CS, 1 TS/day people. I know that the snack credits can be used to get a lot of good things, but that is the one issue holding me back on going for the package. I feel like if I am paying for a dining plan, I shouldn't have any OOP dining costs really. Any ideas? We're not big eaters in the sense that we couldn't eat an appetizer, entree and dessert at every meal, but I'm wondering if people buy dessert or app items that they can save for later snacks?

Have you looked at the DDE card, Bibbidi? That gets you 20% of most meals and includes drinks. I think it's about $65 with an AP and it worked out way better for us than the DDP on our last vacation. Here's (http://www.allearsnet.com/din/dde.htm) some info... :thumbsup2

[Bibbidi]

Have you looked at the DDE card, Bibbidi? That gets you 20% of most meals and includes drinks. I think it's about $65 with an AP and it worked out way better for us than the DDP on our last vacation. Here's (http://www.allearsnet.com/din/dde.htm) some info... :thumbsup2

I looked at it for this trip, but decided against it because we knew my parents would be picking up the tab for a couple of our table service meals and we didn't have that many planned. We determined on this trip that we do need at least one TS/day to give us all a break. I'm glad you mentioned it again though because I forgot to consider it in my pricing chart. So far it looks like adding 4 nights at WL or CR is around $1800-2200, depending on if we lucked out with an AP or if we booked a package. That is so depressing because normally my entire vacation budget is around $2500 (not including driving expenses to Disney and back). Our trip last week turned us into even more deluxe snobs than we were before. :rolleyes:

[branv]

Bibbidi, you really were dusted this trip :pixiedust: Lean over so I can virtually rub your head for good luck! :)

Is anyone surprised that Le Cellier is still a Table Service meal and hasn't been upgraded to the "really so very good we're going to charge you twice" signature meal? I mean, I think Le Cellier is worth the dining plan alone :love: On our last trip DH ordered an appetizer, I ordered the cheese soup, we had 2 filet mignons, a glass of wine, a glass of tea, and no dessert (who had room?! :confused3 ) for about $100 after tip. Definitely would have been a better deal if doofus here had paid up for the meal plan. :rolleyes1

Regarding the land/sea, I thought you could still buy the meal plan for the land portion, but you couldn't get it for free if they come out with free dining?

We're not planning on doing the meal plan this time b/c we have so few days in the park we don't want to spend a lot of time at table meals, making the meal plan more expensive than what we'll probably eat. But then again....ask me again in a week, I'll probably have changed my mind by then. Which I guess is the nature of super-planners :idea: , never content to stick to one scheme.

[Bibbidi]

Bibbidi, you really were dusted this trip :pixiedust: Lean over so I can virtually rub your head for good luck! :)

Regarding the land/sea, I thought you could still buy the meal plan for the land portion, but you couldn't get it for free if they come out with free dining?

We're not planning on doing the meal plan this time b/c we have so few days in the park we don't want to spend a lot of time at table meals, making the meal plan more expensive than what we'll probably eat. But then again....ask me again in a week, I'll probably have changed my mind by then. Which I guess is the nature of super-planners :idea: , never content to stick to one scheme.

We were really fortunate this trip with the upgrades. If I had to guess, it was because we booked a LONG time ago for our Contemporary room, we noted it was our 10th anniversary, we were linked to my parents reservation and my dad has special health needs due to having lung cancer. Of course, none of those factors come into play for our beach club reservation - so I guess you never know. All I can say for sure though is the Contemporary is AWESOME and I would stay there in a heartbeat again. It was so much more fabulous than we ever could have imagined. For anyone on the fence about staying there, go for it! Just another bit of magic while staying at the CR--one night heading back from the Marina we ran into Captain Hook and Smee as they were heading down to a boat. An hour or so later, my youngest DD and I saw Peter Pan with Tinkerbell in his lantern as we were coming back in from watching the fireworks from the pool area. It was great!

[CustardTart]

...All I can say for sure though is the Contemporary is AWESOME and I would stay there in a heartbeat again. It was so much more fabulous than we ever could have imagined. For anyone on the fence about staying there, go for it! Just another bit of magic while staying at the CR--one night heading back from the Marina we ran into Captain Hook and Smee as they were heading down to a boat. An hour or so later, my youngest DD and I saw Peter Pan with Tinkerbell in his lantern as we were coming back in from watching the fireworks from the pool area. It was great!

I've wanted to stay at the CR for a while - those revamped Tower rooms look fab! :thumbsup2 Really hoping for DVC at CR in the not too distant future... :rolleyes1

[Bibbidi]

I've wanted to stay at the CR for a while - those revamped Tower rooms look fab! :thumbsup2 Really hoping for DVC at CR in the not too distant future... :rolleyes1

The rooms were awesome! The sheets were very high thread count--when we moved to the BC the sheets felt like sandpaper compared to the CR ones. There were about 6 pillows on each bed (we're pillow people and usually never have enough). The flat screen tv was really nice. My husband loved the sleeper sofa for naps. They had free internet access, it was supposed to be $10/day but we were never charged. The only complaint about the room was the sinks which don't drain well, and there is no good storage space in the bathroom and we don't really unpack much of our stuff either.

It was SO nice to walk out of our tower room and just take the elevator to the concourse area for food/monorail access. The room was so nice after a day at the parks too. We really loved it! I hope you get to stay there one day CustardTart :)

Also, we did ask about DVC going in and NO one would commit to an answer on that.

[CustardTart]

Just giving us a little *bump* as we were on page 3!!!! :scared1:

[alecsmom]

Hi everybody - just checking in and wanted to report that - yep I went ahead and did it - added the land package to my sea package - it actually turned out to be a better deal that way for us - even pricing at current prices for the different resorts (since 2008 prices aren't out yet) - so we'll forego the dining plan but still got a pretty awesome deal that we were happy with.

Soooooo... we're staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge (my DH and DS LOVE animals so they are going to have the time of their lives I'm sure) and now we get the park hopper tickets - so we can sneak into MGM and even Epcot if we have time. I am SOOOOOOOOO excited!! :yay:

My DS is such a picky eater - so I'm sure we'll just wind up eating burgers/chicken strips the whole land portion and then DH and I can enjoy the good stuff on the cruise! Good thing the cruise is at the end of the trip - we'll need time to kick back and relax after a whirlwind tour of the World!!

CAN'T WAIT!!! :woohoo:

[branv]

Oooh, AKL, how wonderful for you!! :cool1: On our last trip we went there for a dinner at Boma and as soon as DH walked into the AKL lobby, he said, "WOW, and why aren't we staying here?"

Which reminds me of a funny story related to Boma and picky eaters. Well actually, it was kind of sad, at least for the CM. I overheard a nearby family call over the waitress and started chewing her out! They were practically yelling, "Look, all we want is plain white bread! We can't eat anything in this place!" :rolleyes1 The waitress was speechless. Guess someone didn't read the restaurant/menu description like the rest of us super planners. ;)

I am really hoping to get to Epcot this trip. I look forward to seeing the changes at Spaceship Earth. Though I'm a little afraid of finding out they've taken out the part where you pass under the star field and the earth. That's hands down one of my favorite WDW moments, makes me a little teary eyed!

[alecsmom]

Wow, that's terrible. I've never been there but me being the Super Planner that I am (and obviously we all on this board are ;) ) I already know that unfortunately that will be one restaurant we won't be trying this go-round!

I am hoping if nothing else we get to Epcot for the same reason - I want to see how it's changed - and I also want my son to be able to say he rode in that "big ball" at Disney World!

[branv]

At least one of the really great things about WDW is that even in the "fancier" dining places, they have really basic kids menus. Even Jiko serves a PB&J :thumbsup2 Personally I'm sorry I ever look at those food picture threads. Now my brain can't stop thinking about the picture I saw of the Macadamia Pancakes at Kona Cafe. YUM!! I think that's the same place with the ice cream sundae on a bed of cotton candy?

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/93/261118059_5a1f2cda48_m.jpg

This would be your son after eating something like that: :hyper: LOL! But at least WDW is the perfect place to burn off the energy.

[alecsmom]

Oh my gosh that's my son ALL the time!! LOL - and now you've made me REALLY REALLY want one of those ice cream sundaes:sad2:

[CustardTart]

...we're staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge (my DH and DS LOVE animals so they are going to have the time of their lives I'm sure) and now we get the park hopper tickets - so we can sneak into MGM and even Epcot if we have time. I am SOOOOOOOOO excited!! :yay: Fantastic news! :thumbsup2 We were watching the DVC DVD about AKV and the whole resort just looks amazing!!! Can't wait to stay there myself - hoping to make it there for Christmas 2008... Your DS is going to have the absolute best time... :woohoo:
...My DS is such a picky eater - so I'm sure we'll just wind up eating burgers/chicken strips the whole land portion and then DH and I can enjoy the good stuff on the cruise! Good thing the cruise is at the end of the trip - we'll need time to kick back and relax after a whirlwind tour of the World!! My youngest DS14 is still quite picky! He wouldn't even eat burgers until our last trip (August 2006) so I know what you mean. :rolleyes: Fortunately we've had our big kids DD24 and DS21 to babysit while DH and I enjoyed some of WDW's fine dining... :cloud9:

[CustardTart]

...Which reminds me of a funny story related to Boma and picky eaters. Well actually, it was kind of sad, at least for the CM. I overheard a nearby family call over the waitress and started chewing her out! They were practically yelling, "Look, all we want is plain white bread! We can't eat anything in this place!" :rolleyes1 The waitress was speechless. Guess someone didn't read the restaurant/menu description like the rest of us super planners...
That's so sad - why are people like that?!!! :sad2: When DD and I went on the 3 night cruise, the newly married couple at our table were very young and the food was all a bit rich/fancy for them so the young man asked for plain steak and potatoes but he did it with grace/humour and of course the servers/chefs sorted it for him. Manners cost nothing...

OK - off my soapbox and off to the gym! Catch you later, guys... :wave:

[branv]

Gym? gyyyyym? hmmm, not sure what that word is. Is it some sort of doctor? Maybe an icy dairy treat? ;) As I always say, the only way I'll run is if someone is chasing me. And even then I might just fall over and play dead. I did a few lunges yesterday, but that was just to grab the cat and move her to the kitchen before she hurled all over my carpet....again. Though since the cat is about 18 lbs, that probably counts as lifting weights too, right?

My philosophy on food during the cruise is that since you can eat all you want and you can order all you want, there is no harm/no foul in trying new things. Take a bite, don't like it, onto the next challenge! And it's not like eating monkey or grasshoppers, right? On our last cruise I ordered the escargot at Tritons b/c I'd always wondered. Everyone at the table was unwilling to try it but really really wanted me to. :laughing: Just call me the human guinea pig. As I took my first bite they were all staring at me...a little unnerving, though they probably wanted to see if I was going to turn green so they could jump back. My report? Rubbery and tasted like mushrooms. I think they were a little disappointed I didn't clutch my throat and start gasping for water. Dinner AND a show!

Everytime DH and I see someone being rude to a waiter we wonder just what the waiter is doing to that person's food back in the kitchen. :rolleyes1 I think everyone as teenagers should have to either a) work in food service over a long holiday weekend and b) work retail during Christmas. Like all pain and suffering, it will make them humbler, kinder adults. :teeth:

[CustardTart]

Gym? gyyyyym? hmmm, not sure what that word is. Is it some sort of doctor? Maybe an icy dairy treat? ;) As I always say, the only way I'll run is if someone is chasing me. And even then I might just fall over and play dead. I did a few lunges yesterday, but that was just to grab the cat and move her to the kitchen before she hurled all over my carpet....again. Though since the cat is about 18 lbs, that probably counts as lifting weights too, right? :lmao: :rotfl2: :rotfl: If I hadn't gone to to gym maybe I would have been alert enough to spot my Dalmatian acting strangely before she barfed all over the rug! :confused3 As it was I moved pretty quickly to get her and the sheepdog outside before any other badness occured... :sad2:

... I think everyone as teenagers should have to either a) work in food service over a long holiday weekend and b) work retail during Christmas. Like all pain and suffering, it will make them humbler, kinder adults. :teeth:And d'you know what - DH and myself did both as teenagers! So that explains why we're such an utterly fantastic, charming, gracious couple! ;)

[branv]

So I just realized one GREAT benefit to booking so far out.

When all the summer stuff - clothes, floats, snorkel stuff, etc - go on sale to make way for the Fall stuff, we can snatch it up for a bargain and store it away for next May. :cool1:

It makes me all quivery just thinking about it :tongue:

I'm keeping my eye on those mesh floats that snaps open from a tiny little, storable circle. :thumbsup2

[CustardTart]

So I just realized one GREAT benefit to booking so far out.

When all the summer stuff - clothes, floats, snorkel stuff, etc - go on sale to make way for the Fall stuff, we can snatch it up for a bargain and store it away for next May. :cool1:

Absolutely! :thumbsup2 Actually I did a little cash splashing on the Disney Shopping website the other day and bought DH and I a matching dress and shirt combo for quite a crazy price! :eek: I also got us some matching swimwear tho' after I'd clicked on 'submit order' I panicked a little and had a "what have I done" moment!!! :rotfl:

[Bibbidi]

Speaking of "buying ahead" for the cruise--I tend to be an overpacker with clothes, not terrible, but I always tend to have a few too many things. What is suggested. Do you find yourself changing outfits two or more times per day? The reason I ask is because I can see starting out in one thing, then having to change again before dinner. Should I plan on 8 outfits total for the 4 days or more or less than that? What about for my girls. Usually I do laundry at least once on a 7 day vacation to Disney, sometimes 2 times. I don't plan on doing laundry onboard.

[branv]

Can you believe DH is the overpacker? I keep telling him, "look, you know that no one will even know if you wear the same pair of khaki's to dinner twice, right?" Especially since he only wears them for 2 hours before he goes back to the room and changes back into shorts. That is the trouble with a cruise - that you need pool wear, and casual wear, AND dinner wear! Add in a trip to the parks along with it, and talk about a lot of clothes.

I try to be realistic about it. I would love to have a big selection of clothes, but I also know I'll be miserable hauling luggage around and, of course, trying to store it all in those cabins! Psychologically it can be hard to put on something you've already worn, but realistically so many things you wear on your cruise get worn for a short time bouncing from different types of activities. So I shake it off, and pack lighter.

What I try to do is bring bottoms that can be worn twice and neutral shoes. I do bring more shirts since that's the thing more likely to get dirty and what people notice. But I try to buy shirts that can go from casual to dressy, and casual shirts that I can wear once and then use as a pool/beach cover-up later. My favorite cruise things are jean capris. They take a lickin' and keep on tickin'!

For dinners, last time I knew I was going to Palo, so I only packed one nice dress. I wore the nice dress to the dressy dinner night and the same dress to Palo. Since I wouldn't be seeing the same people except for DH, I didn't have to be embarrassed. And again, each time I only wore the dress about 2-3 hours.

Of course one thing I won't do is wear something wrinkled unless it's a quick trip from the room to the pool. So, I do have to dedicate myself to going to the laundry room to iron things or using that wrinkle remover stuff on stuff I've already worn.

Shoes are the most suitcase hogging and the hardest to leave behind for me. I think I finally have it down to 5 pairs of shoes. :rolleyes1 Now if someone can just tell me why it is that I must bring 6 tools/products for my hair even though almost everyday I wear it twisted up.

I'll tell you what I would pack for DH b/c for me it's too variable since for a woman a "shirt" can mean sooo many different things. (Does not including the parks, b/c that's just a whole other story):
2 golf shirts
2 dress shirts
2 pairs of pants
4 pairs of shorts
2 bathing suits
4 t-shirts
5 underwear
5 pairs of socks
either black or brown dress shoes/belt - chooses shirts by which he can wear just the one option with
crocs
leather sandals
tennis shoes
toiletries

[Bibbidi]

Thanks for all the packing tidbits. That's what I was wondering about, poolwear, daytime casual, dinner. I like the suggestion about the dressy night and Palo being the same outfit. I agree, I do tend to pack more tops than bottoms. What are the best two pairs of shoes to bring on a cruise? Teva type sandals and then a pair of casual shoes for dinner? I am a light packer when it comes to shoes, but you mentioning bringing so many pairs has me wondering...:rolleyes:

[branv]

Well, b/c of the incredible support and traction I am bringing Crocs. First for the parks (the only shoe that doesn't make me want to weep after walking all day), but also for walking around the pools and the beach. Everytime I walked near the pools I slid on water except for when I was wearing my clown shoes..rr..I mean, Crocs. (And there is a good chance that if I fall down I may never get back up again. :rolleyes1) Plus just when you enter the water on the adult beach it's rocky and painful on the feet, and I can wear my Crocs into the water. (There, I've officially turned into my mother - choosing practical over fashionable. Next thing you know I'll be frosting my hair and griping at everyone to stop mumbling:headache: .)

SO, here's what I'm bringing :)

Cayman Crocs - black (park)
Mary Jane Crocs - gold (beach and deck)
strappy heeled sandal for dinners
platinum colored flip flops
black flip flops

[CustardTart]

Wow! You ladies really are organised! I'm only just thinking about outfits/footwear for this September's cruise! Hopefully I'll recycle most of what I eventually come up with. As DD and I will be in WDW the week preceding our May DD cruise, I'm hoping to pack light and launder our stuff midaway thro' the vacation. :laundy:

branv, I received my 1st pair of Crocs last week and I'm very impressed! They're a pair of pink/pearl Disney Crocs and I love 'em - sooo comfortable and well, just easy to wear! Pretty sure they won't be my last pair... :thumbsup2

[branv]

branv, I received my 1st pair of Crocs last week and I'm very impressed! They're a pair of pink/pearl Disney Crocs and I love 'em - sooo comfortable and well, just easy to wear! Pretty sure they won't be my last pair... :thumbsup2

Once you succumb to the dark side, you never go back. I just initiated my mother. Like your really wiley Croc pusher, I gave her a little free taste with a pair for her birthday. Now she's addicted and can't stop using.

So did you guys see the "rumor" on the Disney Dining board about the DDP no longer including the tip? I say "rumor" b/c theoretically people claiming to be servers at Disney are saying that the new union agreement passed saying that tipping would now be seperate (though we really only have their word that they actually do work at WDW). Anyway, does that change any of your plans to get the DDP now that it's not quite as good a deal, to be specific, an 18-20% less savings?

[CustardTart]

Once you succumb to the dark side, you never go back. I just initiated my mother. Like your really wiley Croc pusher, I gave her a little free taste with a pair for her birthday. Now she's addicted and can't stop using...
You bad daughter! :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Actually, I was only just thinking that I wish they did the blue/green Disney Crocs in adult sizes - they're sooo cute! And so it begins... :sad2:

...So did you guys see the "rumor" on the Disney Dining board about the DDP no longer including the tip? I say "rumor" b/c theoretically people claiming to be servers at Disney are saying that the new union agreement passed saying that tipping would now be seperate (though we really only have their word that they actually do work at WDW). Anyway, does that change any of your plans to get the DDP now that it's not quite as good a deal, to be specific, an 18-20% less savings?

Mmm - that's interesting. Is this supposedly effective immediately?

[branv]

You bad daughter! :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Actually, I was only just thinking that I wish they did the blue/green Disney Crocs in adult sizes - they're sooo cute! And so it begins... :sad2:



Mmm - that's interesting. Is this supposedly effective immediately?

The rumor says it's for 2008.

But then, of course, now they're reporting the possibility of a higher pricing structure for weekends at the hotel for 2008, so it looks like WDW is eeking out every last dime :laughing: Which is terrible b/c I just developed a cunning plan to make DH see my side of things. I knew if he started really looking at the hotels, the covetous side would overtake the frugal "it's just a bed" side. So this weekend I handed a list of websites and my guidebooks to him and said, "here, you pick a hotel." :cool1: Last night he told me he'd pretty much narrowed it down to Wilderness Lodge or maybe the Swan/Dolphin. Woo-hoo! Just what I wanted ;) (do I know my man, or what?) But now that they're coming out and saying that weekends may be priced at a premium, I think he's going to back away. I do understand, since you can get the Gaylord or the Hyatt Grand Cypress on Priceline for about $100-140 and are on par with the WDW deluxes. May be off-site from now on for us. :headache: Not that the Gaylord or the Hyatt is a hardship, far from it, but I do love staying onsite.

[CustardTart]

The rumor says it's for 2008.

But then, of course, now they're reporting the possibility of a higher pricing structure for weekends at the hotel for 2008, so it looks like WDW is eeking out every last dime......now that they're coming out and saying that weekends may be priced at a premium......May be off-site from now on for us. :headache: Not that the Gaylord or the Hyatt is a hardship, far from it, but I do love staying onsite.
That's such a shame! Tho' TBH, I'd always assumed weekend rates (like DVC points) would be premium. Swan & Dolphin seem to have some great deals on a regular basis so there might be flexibility there. Fingers crossed you get a result... :hug:

[branv]

That's such a shame! Tho' TBH, I'd always assumed weekend rates (like DVC points) would be premium. Swan & Dolphin seem to have some great deals on a regular basis so there might be flexibility there. Fingers crossed you get a result... :hug:

LOL, thanks! Goodness knows either way it's not a tragedy; I'm still at WDW!!

OMG, CT, I just realized how many trips you have coming up - How exciting! How do you handle jet lag since WDW is such an active vacation? Do you dedicate a day or two to down time or are you just easily acclimated to time difference, long plane rides, etc?

[CustardTart]

LOL, thanks! Goodness knows either way it's not a tragedy; I'm still at WDW!! Too true! :cool1:

...OMG, CT, I just realized how many trips you have coming up - How exciting! How do you handle jet lag since WDW is such an active vacation? Do you dedicate a day or two to down time or are you just easily acclimated to time difference, long plane rides, etc?

TBH, branv, I try and get over it asap. On the outward journey, I change my watch as soon as I get on the plane and stay awake until a normal bedtime - even if it means I've actually been up for 24 hours. :eek: Homeward bound, I have my meal on the plane and then go to sleep for about 5/6 hours! I find that really helps. It's usually an overnight flight, so we land early morning. Once I'm home, I keep active for the rest of that day and have an early night. It works for me... :thumbsup2

[branv]

Hola chicas!

Just giving us a little bump :)

[Mousermom]

Hey Everybody!

Just checking in to see how everybody is doing.

Been very busy with work and other fun stuff.

Hope eveybody is doing well.

Talk to you soon.

Mary Beth

[alecsmom]

Hey Mary Beth! How is the Disney job going?? I'm interested to hear!

Hope everybody's doing well.

Been celebrating my Spurs!!!! :cool1:

[CustardTart]

Hey Everybody!

Just checking in to see how everybody is doing.

Been very busy with work and other fun stuff.

Hope eveybody is doing well.

Talk to you soon.

Mary Beth

Hi Mary Beth! :wave2: Great to hear from you.

How's the job? Enjoying it?

...Been celebrating my Spurs!!!! :cool1:

Congratulations! :cheer2: :banana: :cheer2: We've been watching the play-offs too - my DH's a Spurs/Ginobli fan!

Have a great weekend everyone. :thumbsup2 It's Father's Day here on Sunday - is it for you?

[alecsmom]

Thanks we love our Spurs! How awesome we have a fan over in the UK!! It's always fun to go to the Caribbean islands and tell people we're from San Antonio - all the locals seem to know the Spurs!

Yes tomorrow is Father's Day - hope everyone has a great one!:flower3:

[branv]

Ok, I am officially a bad bad Texan.

I didn't even know basketball was still playing or that the Spurs were in the playoffs. Whoops! So ummm...yay Spurs! :banana: (belatedly) Though as a Dallas-bred girl I'm probably supposed to shake my fist curmudgeon-like. However, I only consider it really heretical to turn my back on the Cowboys, so I'm probably safe. So again, YAY SPURS!!!

I totally also want to hear how the new job is going MouserMom. I though about you when I was at the Disney outlet store last week. I asked them how crazy Christmas was, and the lady just shook her head. LOL. We're not very close to a regular Disney store, but at least we're only about 9 miles from the Disney outlet. Wait, maybe instead of "lucky" I should have said, "dangerous." In fact I bought a really ugly Mickey shirt just b/c it was only $2.99. Does that make me demented? Oh well, I may not wear it in public, but it's darn comfy for a nightshirt. Pretty impressed with the overall quality in fact. I also got myself a Tink coffee mug and the DH an Eeyore (b/c he IS Eeyore...ooooooooh wellllll :eeyore: ). Yay, coffee Disney style! (well, not entirely, b/c then it would have to be that nasty Nescafe, and that ain't gonna happen).

So has anyone seen the PotC ride since its refurb? When we were there last they were still working on it, so we look forward to seeing it. Wondering if the changes and additions are really nifty. I can't WAIT to see how they've updated the Haunted Mansion. One of my top 5 favorites, very excited :cool1: Though I live in constant fear of what they'll announce as being refurb'd during next May. Not Space Mountain, say it won't be Space Mountain, big money, no whammies! (ok, does anyone get that last part?)

[Mousermom]

Hey Girls!!

Things are going well at the new job. I caught on pretty fast and I am enjoying it very much.

However...

I haven't received my discount card yet and I'm getting a little antsy!!!

I will probably get it with my paycheck this coming Thursday!!!

branv:

I have been on the refurbished POTC...it's AWESOME!!!

Also...who doesn't love them some Press Your Luck!!! I am a game show freak!!!

Talk to you all later!

Mary Beth

[branv]

Hey Girls!!

However...

I haven't received my discount card yet and I'm getting a little antsy!!!

I will probably get it with my paycheck this coming Thursday!!!



LOL :laughing: I'll keep my fingers and toes crossed for you :thumbsup2

Hope everyone is enjoying their Father's Day, giving lots of love to the men who indulge your Disney obsessions :love:

[CustardTart]

Glad to hear all is going well, Mary Beth! :thumbsup2 Fingers crossed your discount card comes soon... ;)

We had a fab Father's Day here. The weather held (despite the Met Office threatening rain) and we BBQ'd burgers, steaks and lamb kofte all served up with salad - delicious... :cloud9: Whilst our menfolk played soccer, DD and I passed a pleasant hour watching a DCL DVD which was fantastic and really whet our appetite for the May 2008...

Just thought I'd see how the countdown was going...


http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/d/4;10750;443/st/20080511/e/we+Double+Dip%21/dt/5/k/abaf/event.png
(http://www.TickerFactory.com/)

[Mousermom]

Father's Day is not a really good day for me. My dad passed away in 2004.

My son and his father are spending the day with with my husband's parents today. Don't really get along with the in-laws. Very long and complicated story. PLEASE tell me someone out there identifies with me on that subject!:rotfl2:

I'm just having a nice, peaceful, quiet, day by myself for a change!:goodvibes

See Ya!

Mary Beth

[alecsmom]

Hey Mary Beth -

Sorry to hear about your dad.

I won't mention anything about inlaws in case my DH ever decides to check up on me and see what i'm chatting about online. :rolleyes1

Hope you had a great day.

Talk to you gals soon.

[CustardTart]

Father's Day is not a really good day for me. My dad passed away in 2004...

Sorry to hear that Mary Beth. :hug: My father died a couple of years ago but we hadn't been close for many years due to issues relating to my Mum's untimely death in 1993...

...My son and his father are spending the day with with my husband's parents today. Don't really get along with the in-laws. Very long and complicated story. PLEASE tell me someone out there identifies with me on that subject...

Oh yes! :thumbsup2 My DH's family only consists of his mother and his sister and they manage to drive me crazy! :crazy: For many years my MIL referred to me as 'that girl' and was horrified when we married! :rolleyes: Basically she's the most mean-spirited individual I've ever come across - I'm always amazed that my DH is so wonderfully generous and big-hearted... :love:

[branv]

Mouser - I'm really sorry about your Dad. I hope you were at least able to enjoy the peace and quiet of having a few hours to yourself AWAY from your inlaws on father's day. Inlaws..pshhht...I think it's more abnormal to have good relationships with them :rotfl: Luckily my MIL lives in AZ :thumbsup2 My FIL lives about 1 hour away, but we don't see him much b/c of DH's schedule. All the better for me! FIL and I have at least developed a tongue-biting peace, and that's about the best we can hope for. We're polar opposites - I think he's an manipulative ignorant redneck and he thinks I'm a feminist communist. What we do have in common is that we're both stubborn know-it-all's :laughing: That, and we love DH. We fake friendliness very well.

Here comes another story...you know I do love telling my stories...

A few years ago I met and became friends with a girl in Spanish class who was all of 20 years old. I think I'm sort of a surrogate older, wiser (:rolleyes1 ) sister to her. She started dating a guy, it became serious, and time came for her to meet his parents. I told her at the time, "just watch out for the mom. She may act like your friend at first, but it can come back to bite you if you don't watch yourself." My friend returned from the visit talking about how nice his mom was....oh yes, and how mom openly said that this son was her favorite and they were very, VERY close. Uh oh. I just sat back and waited. They got engaged, and mom started doing things like calling her son up and saying, "don't you think X is gaining a lot of weight? You really want to not let her do that, b/c what will happen when she has babies?" Complaining about things she'd done (or not done), trying to get her son to tell her private information about my friend, etc. Then one day my friend told her fiance that she thought she would rather them see each other before the ceremony and take pictures. He said...lol...I still laugh every time I think how close he came to death. Anyway, he said, "Well, I don't think my MOM will like that." Huge explosion, fireworks! Ever notice how often the planning of a wedding turns into the straw that broke the camels back in regards to inlaws? In this case, I hate to say I was right! Though I think it's funny, I saw a pic of her and she literally has Witchy-Poo dyed hair. Love the irony.

Oh yes, I finally managed to turn my last door sign into a .jpeg file. I posted it below. It's a little small, hope you can see it. That long thread about making door signs was invaluable!

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/88477doorart.JPG

[Mousermom]

I could go on for days and days with in-law stories.... Unfortunately, it doesn't just involve MIL... It's all of them. They are a very tight-knit group who do not have any friends outside their family. I've put up with a lot of crap even before we were married(not showing up for wedding events, my husband's sisters not coming to my bridal shower, bachelorette party, not coming to my mom's house for pictures, etc.) for my husband's sake. But, there was an incident that happened a few years ago that involved my son. My son has ADHD(we were living with husband's family at the time)and someone in his family stole DS's medication.(I know who stole it, but I have never told anyone who it was)At first, I thought it was a mistake by the pharmacy, but it happened not once, not twice, but 3 times!!!The medicine my son took at the time was being sold on the street for $25.00 per pill. That's what I think this person did with my son's medication. This person was not steadily employed at the time (As a matter of fact,this person STILL isn't) and I think it was a way to get money. Anyway, I confront the whole family about this. Of course, they think I am crazy and how could I possibly accuse this perfect family of such a thing! I said "How could someone do this to a defenseless 5 year old!" They tried to come up with all these scenarios on what could have happened to the pills. My MIL said that I purposely threw away the pills because I was looking for a reason to move out!!?? I was beginning to think I was losing my freakin' mind! Well, all this was going on, and DH didn't support me in any of this! Very laid back guy and does not like confontations. Who does? The bottom line is that someone had to stick up for my son.If I wasn't going to do it, NO ONE was! This is just one of the many things that have gone on with the in-laws over the 15 years that DH and I have been together.

[CustardTart]

...I've put up with a lot of crap even before we were married...for my husband's sake. But, there was an incident that happened a few years ago that involved my son. My son has ADHD...and someone in his family stole DS's medication...I confront the whole family about this. Of course, they think I am crazy and how could I possibly accuse this perfect family of such a thing! I said "How could someone do this to a defenseless 5 year old!"....I was beginning to think I was losing my freakin' mind! Well, all this was going on, and DH didn't support me in any of this! Very laid back guy and does not like confontations. Who does? The bottom line is that someone had to stick up for my son.If I wasn't going to do it, NO ONE was...
That's bad, Mary Beth! :hug:

My DH has always let his mother get away with stuff for the sake of a quiet life and in the early days would even take her side in arguments which used to drive me crazy! :crazy: More recently he has seen her for what she is and maintains a relatively superficial relationship with her which seems to work. I personally have never forgiven the woman for her treatment of my two sons compared to how she indulges her granddaughters. IMO it's appalling. Plus she slated my eldest DS (a wonderful young man) as lazy and feckless! How I didn't just slap her silly I will never know! :sad2:

[CustardTart]

...Oh yes, I finally managed to turn my last door sign into a .jpeg file. I posted it below. It's a little small, hope you can see it. That long thread about making door signs was invaluable!

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/88477doorart.JPG
Very nice, branv! :thumbsup2
http://bestsmileys.com/clapping/2.gifhttp://bestsmileys.com/clapping/2.gifhttp://bestsmileys.com/clapping/2.gifhttp://bestsmileys.com/clapping/2.gifhttp://bestsmileys.com/clapping/2.gif

[Mousermom]

Love the sign, branv!!!

I am really excited about making my signs. I have already downloaded tons of images for them. I saw on another thread that Home Depot was doing away with thier Disney paints and the Mickey Heads will no longer be available for us Disers to "borrow" to decorate our doors. Bummer! I'm gonna try to get over to my local store (which is right down the street from me) to try and grab some before they take the display down. If I can't, I'll have to come up with some other creative ideas for Mickey heads. I saw someone on the wedding boards that had a Mickey head hole punch. Maybe that would work. Oh well, we'll see!

Talk to ya later!

Mary Beth

[branv]

I saw someone on the wedding boards that had a Mickey head hole punch.

That's terrible! Why would someone want to be so cruel to poor Mickey??





;) Just kidding. Couldn't resist.


Goodness, you guys do have a lot to put up with re: inlaws! I'm always amazed at how grown men turn into 8 year olds when their parents are around. Spouses can be such doofus'. Don't they realize at the end of the day, we're the ones they have to live with? I like that saying, "If Momma ain't happy, ain't NOBODY happy" :rotfl:

[Mousermom]

Please, I would never do that to Mickey...He's my man!!!:lmao:

Another incident with in-laws (talk about big babies)...

The day my son was christened, I had a party at my house after church. MIL, FIL, and 2 out of 3 of my DH's siblings were there. (I did not send out invitations because this party was planned last minute because one of my DH's sisters said she would pay for a hall... we did not have money for a big party, but she insisted on paying for a hall and caterer.) As it turns out, this SIL went away for the weekend of the christening. So, I had to come up with some type of party on the spur of the moment. When my DH's mother got to the house, she sat there for about 10 minutes and announced that she wasn't feeling well. So, MIL, FIL, and the other SIL (who happens to be his godmother) got up and left my son on his christening day!! My husband's brother did stay. I must say he did have a lot of guts for staying because we tore them apart after they left. Anyway, later on that evening, I recieved a phone call from MIL. She went on and on how she was so disappointed that "her people" were not there. (I told DH to ask his mother who to invite and then to invite them by phone because of the fact that his sister left us high and dry and now we didn't have time to send out invitatons. He never did this.) I informed her of what her son's responsibilities were regarding this party, and she said that he is not used to planning events like this and it should have been me inviting people. She also made the comment that she is "used to being consulted about things" (code: used to running the show) Well, things started to get out of hand with this phone call, and instead of DH sticking up for me, I found him on the porch CRYING!!!! Mama's boy!!! Also, she was criticizing things about my wedding! That woman did not help me with any part of my wedding whatsoever, and now she was going to find fault with it!!!
I hung up the phone with her (but, not before my mother got in on it. I thought the neighbors were gonna call the cops on her because she was screaming so loud!!) DH still on the porch crying. (I have to say, lately, he is no where near as much of a Mama's Boy as he used to be. There is the occasional phone call or visit, but it's about 1/3 of what it was.) He wants us all to get along. It's been 7 years since the pill incident...that was the last straw for me.

Hope you guys are finding these stories entertaining! I can chuckle about it now a little bit because I have a very supportive family, but DH still won't confront any issues with HIS family. I know it bothers him, but he refuses to do anything about it. He gets along great with my family, though. My brothers and thier kids absolutley love him. But, I am The Wicked Witch Of The West!!:lmao:

I'm really getting off topic here, but sometimes it's nice to talk about it with a 3rd party. Thank you all for letting me vent a little bit. I promise next post I'll get back to cruise business!!!:woohoo:

Mary Beth