Was Live Now Great Memories from the DVC Member Cruise

[WDWLVR]

In past years we've enjoyed doing live reports from the DVC Member Cruise and plan to do the same this year.

Our trip starts Thursday with the drive down. We should arrive on Friday afternoon. Saturday we have a DIS meet planned at the Beach Club and then Sunday we cruise. Looking forward to all that DVC has in store for us and in getting back on the Wonder.

I'll change the title once we get on the ship. :)

[RachelTori]

Mary,

I love your "live" threads! Will be in WDW so I'll have to read all about it after I return home!

Just wanted to wish you and Mark a safe, magical trip. Bon Voyage! :wave:


I can't wait to hear about the *gifts*. I have faith this trip will be back to the original spirit of the Member Cruise, and not a "sales pitch"! Enjoy! :yay:

[ohiominnie]

Subscribing. You know I want to hear all about it! :)

Hey, would you mind picking something up for me while you're onboard? We can either pay for you to ship it or we'll get it the next time we see you. That ok?

[WDWLVR]

Now Karen you know I can't refuse my DH's Smoothie Son's Mother. :lmao: What do you need?

[ohiominnie]

Now Karen you know I can't refuse my DH's Smoothie Son's Mother. :lmao: What do you need?

A SMOOTHIE!! :lmao: :lmao: (strawberry, please!)

[WDWLVR]

A SMOOTHIE!! :lmao: :lmao: (strawberry, please!)

No problem. Would you like a creme brulee to go with that? :lmao:

[ohiominnie]

No problem. Would you like a creme brulee to go with that? :lmao:

Actually, I know they are serving it in the other restaurant. Can I get it from there? :lmao:

[acourtwdw]

Mary,
Even though we will be on cruise together, I must know what you post:goodvibes

Annette

[justmestace]

Subscribing too!! Can't wait to hear how much fun you all are going to have!!
:banana: :banana: :banana:

[dreamcometrue]

I'm subscribing too! I'm so jealous!! Can't wait to hear all about it! :cool1:

[JOANNEL]

Four more days:banana: :banana: :banana:

[justmestace]

Safe travels, everyone!!

Mark & Mary, glad to see the weather cleared for you a bit!!

:cloud9: :cloud9: :cloud9:

[JOANNEL]

ok, where is every one!!! I hope you had a safe trip. We will see you Saturday!!!!!!

[WDWLVR]

Day 1 is finished!

Got up at 4 am and the weather forcast didn't look as bad as we thought so we hit the road. As we were approaching the tollway we saw traffic standing still. Not a good sign at that hour. So we bypassed it and took another road and turned on a local radio station. Turns out there was a major accident right where we were going to get on. All lanes of traffic stopped for close to 2 hours. Good thing we bypassed it. About 1/2 hour in the rain got heavier and we heard that the area we were heading was under a tornado watch. Oh fun! Some nasty bits of rain but only for a few hours. Rest of the trip was in great weather. Got to the hotel in Dalton, GA around 4:30 Central, 5:30 Eastern. Checked in, then headed out to grab some dinner. We are now back chilling in the room. Heading off to bed soon as tomorrow is going to be another early day and looks like we might have some more rain.

Thanks to all who are keeping us in your thoughts. You know who you are and it is much appreciated!

This time tomorrow we should be in Epcot or maybe back in the room at Boardwalk depending on how wiped we are.

[justmestace]

AWESOME!! Have fun at EPCOT!! http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/18/18_1_204.gif (*******************************************ZSzeb0 01_ZSYYYYYYKUUS)












http://www.smileycentral.com/sig.jsp?pc=ZSzeb112&pp=ZSYYYYYYKUUS (http://smiley.smileycentral.com/download/index.jhtml?partner=ZSzeb112_ZSYYYYYYKUUS&utm_id=7920)

[ohiominnie]

ugh. That Chicago traffic is a killer!
Glad you missed the worst of the weather.
I'm at KT's HSM rehearsal but I'd rather be on my way to the member cruise. :)

Cool! TOP!!
editing a post from an iPhone is tricky!
Pdfg

[WDWLVR]

Good morning everyone! Ready to hit the road this morning. More storms in our way so keep us in your thougts. Thanks!

[JOANNEL]

I don't know where Dalton is, but I hope you have better weather than we are getting....

[RachelTori]

I don't know where Dalton is, but I hope you have better weather than we are getting....

Dalton is north of Atlanta - it's the "Carpet Capitol of the World"!! :rotfl:

We're having spotty showers in Georgia - the drought continues. Sorry about all the violent weather y'all are having. Actually, your storms are preventing our area from getting the rain we need. Something about "closing off the gulf moisture flow" to Georgia. :confused3 (we'd appreciate it if you'd stop that!!!JK) :)

[JOANNEL]

I would love for it to stop. :thumbsup2 I am sitting at my desk just watching it pour. I want to be out of here by 1. But I am not getting much done.

[kpros]

Hi Mary and Mark

Have a safe trip and a great time on the cruise! Wish we could be there! :thumbsup2

Ken

[WDWLVR]

Well that was a day I don't want to repeat any time soon. Rain, rain and more rain. Left Dalton just after 5 and pretty easy drive through Atlanta, Then the rain started and it really didn't stop until we got past Valdosta which is right near the border. Most of the time it was just a nice steady rain but near the end it really hit hard and we could barely see. Got to the Florida welcome center and took a look at the radar - yikes!

Then got back on the road and enjoyed a nice ride in sunshine. Sadly it didn't last long. About 5 miles away from the turnpike turnoff we ended up in what we think was a microburst. We could barely see the truck in front of us. That was scary!

Got to WDW about 2:30 and thankfully our room was ready. We are on the 4th floor and way at the end of the hall :lmao: Getting my walking in here.

Went over to Epcot to do a little bit of shopping and to visit the Food and Wine booths. So a really cool display over in Innoventions about the beginning of Epcot.

Now we are back in the room for the evening. Planning on using that nice jacuzzi tub and getting to bed early. We have breakfast in the morning with Thomas Kincade and then the pre-cruise DIS meet at Beach Club tomorrow afternoon.

[Verandah Man]

Looking forward to hearing about your cruise!!! Have a WONDERful time!!! :thumbsup2

[scuba.mom]

Mark, Mary & Bear - Have fun on the Member Cruise. We will be following along. I hope you have a great time.

Thanks for taking care of Jim in Chicago! If you ever can plan a stop thru Daytona Beach, we would love to see you. :banana:

[bcvprincesses]

Hope you all have a great time. When I heard that someone had to cancel I tried to talk Tom into going with you. I thought I almost had him and then remembered that Jessica's first meet is this weekend. We hope to go next year.

Ann Marie

[WDWLVR]

Thanks to all for checking in.

We had a really nice DIS meet at Beach Club today. It was great meeting so many of our fellow cruisers. We even had a visit for Jeff, Todd, and Lily and her DH who all cruised with us last year but aren't this year.

Lots of fun exchanges going on already between buttons, necklaces, necklaces and HD mickey heads with "do you DIS?" on the back. Looking to really get the party started tomorrow.

[safetymom]

Thanks for the update. Sounds like a great time.

[Verandah Man]

Good Morning DVC'ers........I got this shot of the Wonder in port this morning for you, will do my best to capture the Wonder as she sails by the Two Palms cam later today. ;)

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a118/VerandahMan/Wonder10-21-07001.jpg

[ohiominnie]

It's 9:27 am. Which means Mark and Mary are probably sitting in the parking lot at the terminal ready to make a dash for the terminal! :)

Have a great cruise, DVC'ers!!!!

[whithouston]

Got to the hotel in Dalton, GA around 4:30 Central, 5:30 Eastern.

Just curious...where did you stay in Dalton? That is where I work! :)

[wdwluvrs]

Mary and Mark have a creat cruise. We will check on the trip from time to time.

[mommasita]

You must be onboard now, and had a WONDERFUL lunch...

Wishing you all calms seas, and a perfect trip....:goodvibes

[wltdsnyfan]

Looking forward to hearing about the cruise.:)

[zulaya]

Hoping you hear some great announcements while you are there...

[Verandah Man]

From the Ron Jon Cam 10-21-07

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a118/VerandahMan/wonder10-21-07002.jpg

[Verandah Man]

From the Two Palms Cam 10-21-07

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a118/VerandahMan/wonder10-21-07003.jpg

[wltdsnyfan]

From the Ron Jon Cam

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a118/VerandahMan/wonder10-21-07002.jpg

Andy,
this is a great picture!

[Verandah Man]

Andy,
this is a great picture!

I had control of the Ron Jon cam, but had to take this pic as my time was running out, I had one second left on the clock when I captured the pic.

Ron Jon cam: http://www.ronjonresort.com/WebCam.htm

[justmestace]

Andy...that's so awesome! I was just thinking a bit ago that everyone was at the Sail Away Party!

:cool1: :cool1: :cool1: :cool1:

[ohiominnie]

So, Mary.....do tell.....

what flavor of smoothie did Smoothie Dad have with his dinner????? :lmao:

[WDWLVR]

Good morning everyone. We are live from the Wonder! Member Cruise 2007 is starting out great!

We actually took our time getting to the port yesterday so we were in boarding group 7. Boarding is so efficient we were on in no time. Our first gift waiting for us were little red suitcases with Mickey on them. Inside is a stuffed Mickey, a set of "tickets" from the original parks, a really nice nylon duffle bag and a photo frame. Very cute. Last night we came back to find small silver colored frames with a Mickey pin in each. We also got the little booklet telling us all about the Legends crusing with us. They are:

Richard Sherman of the Sherman brothers - inducted in 1990. You've all heard their work...Mary Poppings, Jungle Book, It's A Small World.

X. Atencio - inducted 1996. He wrote the lyrics to Yo Ho Yo Ho A Pirate's Life for me and worked on Fantasia.

Virginia Davis - inducted in 1998. This wonderful woman was Disney's first star even before Mickey Mouse. She played Alice in the Alice comedies begining in 1923.

Marty Sklar - inducted in 2001. He's been the only man who has been part of every Disney Them Park Opening. His title today is Ambassador for Walt Disney Imagineering.

Alice Davis - inducted in 2004. She has dressed all the dolls in It's A Small World as well as the Pirates of the Caribbean.

Dave Smith - Disney's newest legend inducted this year. The founder of the Walt Disney archives.

I'm in awe of these legends and can't wait to attend the presentations.

Also in a special performance later in the cruise are:

Eden Espinosa - currently staring in the Los Angeles company of Wicked

Sarah Litzsinger - who starred as Belle for 3 years on Broadway.

Andrea McArdle - the original Annie who has also starred as Belle. We saw her in 2003 and enjoyed her performance.

So that's it. Getting in to CC about 10:30 this morning so DVC can do one of their presentations but we are ready for it this year. :)

To answer a few questions from the thread:

We stayed at Courtyard and Mark has a strawberry smoothie (Karen I got it for you but he drank it). :lmao:

Later guys!

[zulaya]

WOW! What a list of Legends!

Thanks for the update!

[WDWLVR]

Andy - thank you so much for the AWESOME PICTURES!

[Verandah Man]

Andy - thank you so much for the AWESOME PICTURES!


You're more than welcome!!! :goodvibes :goodvibes :goodvibes

[Plutofan]

Subscribing....

[disneyokw]

Have a great time. I had thought the weather was going to be lousy when you all left port. My parents are on the ship with you (Barbara and Ronnie). My mother is going to try to have a good time even though my father is there (ha, ha). They called and left a message for me as the ship was leaving dock. They said they have Triton once, Animator's Palate (sp?) twice and Parrot Cay once. They are going to try that other restaurant (Palo I think is the name) to replace one of the AP. I know there are thousands of people but my father will probably be wearing a hat I gave him that says Niagara Falls and has a blue jay on it. There are two Maltese pins on the hat (he is from Malta) and one cross pin. If by any miracle you should see them go up to my dad and say nice Maltese pins. And then say you heard it from their daughter Diane. Tell them all is fine at home and I'm enjoying the peace and quiet (ha, ha).

[iluvdisney]

Hi Mary and Mark - sounds like a really nice start to your Member Cruise this year! And sounds like some interesting people to go and see too. I'll be reading to see what I am missing out on.
Be sure and tell Christina I say hello when you see her!
And, keep the daily stories coming - I'm enjoying reading about your gifts!

[ohiominnie]

Mary, that just sounds absolutely amazing! What a kick-off!!!
Enjoy Castaway Cay today. I hope the skies are as sunny there as they are here. :) (and for once, that's pretty sunny! it's not grey and cloudy today!)

And thanks for the smoothie. It was good. I think. :lmao:

[disneynutz]

popcorn::

[dreamcometrue]

sounds like you're off to a great start!! Enjoy Castaway Cay today! :cloud9:

[tinkerbelle77]

Have a great cruise!!! Wish I was there with you! Can't wait to see the rest of the updates.

[chip&dale&fun]

In past years we've enjoyed doing live reports from the DVC Member Cruise and plan to do the same this year.

Our trip starts Thursday with the drive down. We should arrive on Friday afternoon. Saturday we have a DIS meet planned at the Beach Club and then Sunday we cruise. Looking forward to all that DVC has in store for us and in getting back on the Wonder.

I'll change the title once we get on the ship. :)

Mary - a bit late signing on but ready to read while you sail.

Have lots of fun.....

[WDWLVR]

Hi everyone – I’m writing this as we are docked at Castaway Cay. It is a beautiful day here on the island. Got a late start on the island same as last year due to a DVC presentation. I will say that they learned some things from last year and it wasn’t as hard a sell and offered some great incentives for adding on (we aren’t). For adding 250 points you get booked on the 2008 Member Cruise in a Cat 6 (2 adults). Yes there will be a 2008 Member Cruise. I believe the dates are September 21st and booking is November 17th.

After that we headed out to the island. Mark and I did the jet skis. Lots of fun but I’m just not very good at them. Then we had lunch at Cookies, did some walking around and now we are back and showered and relaxing before the first of the legends presentations this afternoon (featuring Virginia Davis, Dave Smith and Jeff Hoffman).

Came back to find a really cute Steamboat Willie print waiting for us. We also have been given lots of little gifts as part of the fish extender exchange with our fellow DISers. Thanks to Pauline for organizing it and Linda for doing such a cute navigator showing who was playing.

Tonight is a special performance by Richard Sherman and then the Pirates In the Caribbean Party.

One other little tidbit – we backed into the island today and I assume we’ll pull in on Wednesday since they usually do that on picture day. So everyone with a verandah should have a view of the island one of the two days.


Mary - saw Christine last night! Said hello from you and Mary and see said to say hellow to Karen, Mary and Karen right back!

[ohiominnie]

For adding 250 points you get booked on the 2008 Member Cruise in a Cat 6 (2 adults). Yes there will be a 2008 Member Cruise. I believe the dates are September 21st and booking is November 17th.

Does this mean your cabin is PAID for if you add on 250 points? Or you just get advance booking? And would that only be for one person in the cabin?
Interesting perk!!! I wonder how many will bite.

Hmmm....Member cruise 2008. OSU home games Sept. 20 and 27th. Apparently the people who schedule these aren't Buckeye fans! :lmao:

[zulaya]

Well, I have to admit, I was secretly hoping for another Oct sailing since we have a school break, but I'm kind of glad it's September since we really can't go, even though it's tempting.

Here's hoping that you hear something about Merry Member Mixers in December!popcorn::

[apurplebrat]

popcorn::

[tksbaskets]

I'm living vicariously through the members cruising this year. I'm so glad you are posting live :goodvibes

Walt and I won't be able to go until he's retires in 2009 but it is fun to share your trip.

Member cruise 2009 here we come :banana:

[disneyokw]

Glad the weather was good at CC. Enjoy the presentations with the legends. It all sounds awsome. I was wondering after the cruise will you be heading back home or are you going to WDW?

BTW, let us know what you are having at the restaurants. My parents left me a message to say that the menu is the same one from last year that is on Deb's Unofficial WDW information guide website.

[PBader]

Everyone have a great evening. Reading your posts tonight has made me so sad I had to cancel this cruise. Great incentive with the 250 add on.:)

[TLSnell1981]

Good morning everyone. We are live from the Wonder! Member Cruise 2007 is starting out great!

We actually took our time getting to the port yesterday so we were in boarding group 7. Boarding is so efficient we were on in no time. Our first gift waiting for us were little red suitcases with Mickey on them. Inside is a stuffed Mickey, a set of "tickets" from the original parks, a really nice nylon duffle bag and a photo frame. Very cute. Last night we came back to find small silver colored frames with a Mickey pin in each. We also got the little booklet telling us all about the Legends crusing with us. They are:

Richard Sherman of the Sherman brothers - inducted in 1990. You've all heard their work...Mary Poppings, Jungle Book, It's A Small World.

X. Atencio - inducted 1996. He wrote the lyrics to Yo Ho Yo Ho A Pirate's Life for me and worked on Fantasia.

Virginia Davis - inducted in 1998. This wonderful woman was Disney's first star even before Mickey Mouse. She played Alice in the Alice comedies begining in 1923.

Marty Sklar - inducted in 2001. He's been the only man who has been part of every Disney Them Park Opening. His title today is Ambassador for Walt Disney Imagineering.

Alice Davis - inducted in 2004. She has dressed all the dolls in It's A Small World as well as the Pirates of the Caribbean.

Dave Smith - Disney's newest legend inducted this year. The founder of the Walt Disney archives.

I'm in awe of these legends and can't wait to attend the presentations.

Also in a special performance later in the cruise are:

Eden Espinosa - currently staring in the Los Angeles company of Wicked

Sarah Litzsinger - who starred as Belle for 3 years on Broadway.

Andrea McArdle - the original Annie who has also starred as Belle. We saw her in 2003 and enjoyed her performance.

So that's it. Getting in to CC about 10:30 this morning so DVC can do one of their presentations but we are ready for it this year. :)

To answer a few questions from the thread:

We stayed at Courtyard and Mark has a strawberry smoothie (Karen I got it for you but he drank it). :lmao:

Later guys!

Do you have photos of your goodies? I love gifts!

[WDWLVR]

Those of you who read my reports last year know that I said seeing Roy Disney was a once in a lifetime experience and it truly was. I didn’t think anything would have been better than that. I was wrong. We just got back from a performance by Richard Sherman. It was an amazing experience and I relived my childhood tonight. You all know Richard Sherman even if you think you don’t. Think of any song from Mary Poppins….he and his brother wrote them. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang…that was theirs too. Oh an a little song called It’s a Small World. This man truly is a Disney Legend.

This afternoons presentation was wonderful as well. Virginia Davis is a sweetie and listening to her talk about working with Walt when she was 4 ¾ years old was wonderful. Then we got to hear all about the Walt Disney Archives from Dave Smith. Again just amazing.

DVC hit a home run with the entertainment for this years cruise!

Tonight’s gift was a copy of the Jungle Book soundtrack (also written by the Sherman Brothers). We hope to get it autographed.


Mark will be uploading pictures tomorrow. After the cruise we're heading up to Hilton Head and then heading home.

[iluvdisney]

Sounds like you're having a grand time Mary! That's great news about next years Member Cruise - I'll have to see if Karen wants to try another one. Thanks for saying hello to Christina for me. So, who else is working the DVC desk?

Glad to hear that you're both having a fun time - thanks for sharing your trip with us!

[KarenNY]

Sounds like you're having a grand time Mary! That's great news about next years Member Cruise - I'll have to see if Karen wants to try another one. Thanks for saying hello to Christina for me. So, who else is working the DVC desk?

Glad to hear that you're both having a fun time - thanks for sharing your trip with us!

If the 2008 cruise is Sept 21, that will be DCL Value Season. The point requirement should be more reasonable than the Oct cruises have been.

[MarkRG]

Ok, finally unloaded the camera, so time to catch up some.

First up, of course Dee was there, this time brinigng her pal, Ariel Cee:
http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/01.jpg

There was of course the usual representations with this great ice and fruit scupture right in the ship's atrium:
http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/02.jpg


And a look at the main logo of the cruise, hanging right under the Dumbotron:
http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/03.jpg

Our first inroom gift, two of these cute mini suitcases:

http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/04.jpg

And inside, a old time Mikey plush, a reproduction set of the letter tickets, a photo frame, and the dk blue DVC duffle:
http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/05.jpg

Also, when checking in, every group got one of these, it's a logbook for the cruise, has some nice formatted pages inside, and even a small pouch n the back to store loose stuff:
http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/06.jpg

And then there was the deck party where Jim introduced the DVC team:
http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/07.jpg

And, the Legends we have onboard, from L-R, Dave Smith, Alice Davis, Virginia Davis, X Atencio, Richard Sherman, and Marty Sklar:
http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/08.jpg

Of course our animated friends had to be there too:
http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/09.jpg

And we are under sail of the DVC flag:
http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/10.jpg

The next inroom gift, the booklets are bios of the legends:
http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/11.jpg

And we did claim the Castaway Cay too:
http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/12.jpg

Our inroom gift yesterday afternoon:
http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/13.jpg

And our one last night, which is quite thoughtful, as we didn't bring anything for Mr Sherman to autograph:
http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/14.jpg

That's all for now, will try to get a wrapup up here sometime either still during or immediately after, off to see more Legends!

[iluvdisney]

Looks like some nice gifts Mark - thanks for posting! And have a good time - I know you both will.

And of course I love the pics - thanks for sharing.

Any hints as to rules of booking the 2008 Member Cruise yet?

[isyt]

Can't wait to hear more!!!

[disneyokw]

Thank you for posting the photos. Some nice gifts. Now I hope my father remembers me telling him he better bring everything home because I knew someone would post the photos of the trip before they disembark. Would you believe he argued that he was going to have to bring home something he got for free. :confused3 My mother is under strict orders to kill him if he tries to give them away. My mom's cousin is right now driving to Disney and has volunteered to drive anything big (like that red suitcase) back to New York for us.

[scuba.mom]

Sounds / Looks like you are having fun! :cool1:

[bobbiwoz]

This really sounds like a great cruise. Thanks for telling us about it, even if it does make me wish I were there, in a very huge way!!!

Bobbi:goodvibes

[chip&dale&fun]

Thanks for posting the updates and photos......Wish we could be there with real in person, but this is the next best thing.

[tksbaskets]

Hi Mark!
Thanks for taking the time to post the photos. I'm going to show Walt tonight. Have a great day!
Teresa

[WDWLVR]

A SMOOTHIE!! :lmao: :lmao: (strawberry, please!)

Here you go - though as you can see Mark grabbed it! :lmao:


http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/smoothie.jpg

[ohiominnie]

Here you go - though as you can see Mark grabbed it! :lmao:


http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/smoothie.jpg

Oh, man, that looks Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good!!!!

[WDWLVR]

Well I can say that the guest line-up for this cruise has been the best ever! The history lessons we are getting are amazing. Stories of working with Walt on a daily basis. Inside scoops from those who were there. It has been wonderful. I even had the good forture to run into Richard Sherman this afternoon and tell him how much his performance last night meant to me.

Saw 3 more legends today.

Had a wonderful brunch at Palo - yum!

Got to see the shuttle launch not only on the Dumbotron but we were also albe to see the contrail of the shuttle in the sky.

Blue skies and sunshine and the pools are crowded.

Did the galley tour and then did some walking around.

All in all a great day and it isn't over yet!

[chip&dale&fun]

Got to see the shuttle launch not only on the Dumbotron but we were also albe to see the contrail of the shuttle in the sky.


OH WOW - HOW WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!

[RLRDA]

What a great thread.....makes me want to book the Member Cruise for 2008! How does this year's cruise compare to past member cruises??

[mommasita]

Sounds like a Wonderful trip indeed Mary and Mark...Enjoy :cool1:

[justmestace]

Glad to hear you're having a great time and that DCL and DVC are taking great care of you!! That's an awesome lineup of guests and performers.

Thanks for the pics....fantastic!!!:thumbsup2

[Jillpie]

bumping, this is great!!

[MarkRG]

Hi all! Had a great 2nd day at CC and are now on our way back to Port Canaveral.

Feel free to line up any questions, we're just about out of internet package time, but will be hooked up on land tomorrow to give a full on photo/report update, and will cover stuff then!

To answer the one of did this one measure up? Yes, I think it did. They learned from the mistakes they made last year, and have made some good strides to really making these 4 days a solid experience. They sure didn't skimp on the guests this year, and I'll have a lot on that when we get on land, including some video :)

[ohiominnie]

Hi all! Had a great 2nd day at CC and are now on our way back to Port Canaveral.

Feel free to line up any questions, we're just about out of internet package time, but will be hooked up on land tomorrow to give a full on photo/report update, and will cover stuff then!

To answer the one of did this one measure up? Yes, I think it did. They learned from the mistakes they made last year, and have made some good strides to really making these 4 days a solid experience. They sure didn't skimp on the guests this year, and I'll have a lot on that when we get on land, including some video :)

Well according to DVC, you're already home. I got a postcard in the mail today around noon announcing the plans for SSMC08 and it had a line like "Now that the SSMC07 has pulled back into port....."
I don't remember the exact wording (and I'm not at home to check) but it implied you were back a day early. :( Glad to hear you're still on the ship! :)

[iluvdisney]

Wow - it's hard to believe that it's just about over already - boy, that time did fly by fast. Glad to hear that you enjoyed your cruise and can't wait to hear some more.

[Stitch#1]

Hey there Mark & Mary.
Sounds like you are having a good time on the member cruise. The gifts are really cute. The picture frame in the little suitcase is really cool, bummin' I'm not there to get one of those (I have this weird thing for picture frames, I just love really neat and different ones).
I read about the next member cruise but I don't think we'll be able to do that one either, Oh well.

[tksbaskets]

Hi all! Had a great 2nd day at CC and are now on our way back to Port Canaveral.

Feel free to line up any questions, we're just about out of internet package time, but will be hooked up on land tomorrow to give a full on photo/report update, and will cover stuff then!

To answer the one of did this one measure up? Yes, I think it did. They learned from the mistakes they made last year, and have made some good strides to really making these 4 days a solid experience. They sure didn't skimp on the guests this year, and I'll have a lot on that when we get on land, including some video :)

Hi Mark, we are looking forward to your update! :cool1:

[bunnymkc]

Just wanted to know if you have any info about the price (cash) for the 2008 cruise?
Glad you two had a great time.
My DH and I met you on the 2005 DVC cruise and had a great time on that cruise.Here's to the 2008! Hope to see you again but this time we will be only about 20 min away as WE MOVED TO MELBOURNE, FLA LAST YEAR..
Again thanks for all you two do..
Marianne:goodvibes

[LITTLEKID58]

Tfs

[OKWMEMBER]

Just checked the DVC member site for the points list and I'm doing my dialing finger exercises to get ready for November 17th. :thumbsup2 Is there a formal night on the member cruise? :confused:

[Babs417]

Q. What is the temp. like and the water temp?:) :cutie: :hourglass

[ohiominnie]

Just checked the DVC member site for the points list and I'm doing my dialing finger exercises to get ready for November 17th. :thumbsup2 Is there a formal night on the member cruise? :confused:

Nope. The 4 day cruises don't have a formal night. Some will get more dressed up for Palo and treat it like a formal night though. :)

[frdeb1999]

Can't wait to hear more! :)

[WDWLVR]

Greetings all. Checking in from Big Mugies Den at Hilton Head. We were off the ship by 7:30 this morning and were able to look around here and enjoy a nice dinner (that we had to pay for) :lmao:.

Actually we did have a formal night on this cruise as they had the Legends Ball this year. Not one of the highlights but definately different.

No idea on prices for cash or points for the next cruise but we'll be trying to get on!

Here's something I did last year and I think it warrents it again...so the good, the bad and the amazing from the 2007 DVC Member Cruise!

The good:

They got all the little details right. All of the photos had wonder digital frames to them and had the right ports (last year they listed that we went to Nassau).

A nice touch at dinner last night...white chocolate disks with the Disney Vacation logo on them. Much like back in 2003.

The DVC staff seemed much happier this year and were always asking how things were going and were we enjoying ourselves.

Very organized for things like the signatures. I only went to one for Richard Sherman but it was held in Studio Sea and you got a number when you walked in and could relax until your group was called. Much better than being in a long line.

Having a dedicated website for the cruise. Nice!

The bad:

Still wish they hadn't cut short our first Castaway Cay day to do a sales pitch. I will say it was a much better show than past years with better incentives to add on and not quite so pushy. Still it would have been nice to get on the island earlier than 10:30.

Honestly that was the only negative I had.

The amazing:

OMG - the line up this year was remarkable.

The insider stories were fantastic and these guests brought so much of themselves to the table.

As I have already stated Richard Sheman's concert was by far the highlight of the cruise for me. That man is amazing and still so down to earth.

Last nights concert of the Broadway Beauties was wonderful as well. These ladies can sing! I've never seen Wicked but the two songs perfromed were wonderful!


All in all DVC did a fantastic job and we are definately going to try for 2008!

[iluvdisney]

That's definitely good news Mary - so you're ready to call in again, I'm sure!

By any chance, was Travis onboard this time?

[M4travels]

Last nights concert of the Broadway Beauties was wonderful as well. These ladies can sing! I've never seen Wicked but the two songs performed were wonderful!

Mary, I'm going to hijack for just one moment. If you get a chance to see Wicked (I think it's still in Chicago), GO!

Marc and I have seen Eden perform Elphaba 4 times since she's been out here in L.A. and we're trying to get in another soon.

We so missed not being on the cruise this year and thank you and Mark so much for your posts. 2008 is not in the cards either, but I'm going to try and convince Marc for 2009 (if they're still doing them!). See you in a Friday night chat soon!

Be well,
Michael and Marc

[chip&dale&fun]

Mary - thanks so much to you - and Mark for the great trip reports.

On the "points" issue, I received an e-mail from DVC on signing up for more points with a "bonus" vacation. It sounded much like you were describing, maybe not as good as a deal, but for so many new points, you would receive so many vacation points.......Hope this may help those who are asking...

Rest up before your drive back.

[MarkRG]

Hiya ladies and gents!

I know what I promised, but I am admittedly a bit beat after driving thru another 2 days of rain rain rain. So a multimedia update *may* take me a bit longer, but I will get it there soon.

I'll just skim and cover stuff for now :)

Hi Irene - yes, that's a lot like the offer they had onboard, buy points and you get x amount extra to use 1st year. They also offered for 250 pts bought, a stateroom on the next member cruise for 2 adults, cat 6, free.

And Hi Michael and Marc! Your pirating was really missed, though you would have had some competition this year, especially from our tablemates. Eden's performance very much outshone the other two ladies performing. That much so for me to say so, and not in any way implying the two others were chopped liver or something. She was just that much better.

What is the temp. like and the water temp?
Hmmm... air temp was in the 80's-90's, water not much cooler than air, yet. Definitely still good swimming/snorkeling temps.

To clear(or maybe muddy up???) up the dressing question: the Wonder normally is a bit less formal than the Magic, and normally doesn't have a formal night, but DVC set one up with a 'ball' held in the atrium and asked everyone to go formal for that night.

Welp, I'm going to go get the pics out of the camera and see if I can toss together another batch to show.

But.. here's a teaser for you: a little clip from Mr. Sherman's show, in .avi format (a bit over 3meg, might take a minute or two to download) :)

Click ME (http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/sherman.avi)

[patsal]

I'm so glad you had so much fun. I am just a little bummed that I will never be able to do a member cruise since they are always during the school year and since I teach and only get three personal days per year that cannot be used in succession it really is a no can do! But I have all of you to live vicariously through so that makes it a little better!

[MarkRG]

We're finally home! Tired, but here. There will be a massive report in a few more days when everything's settled in.

In the meantime, if anyone's reading this and intends to go next year or is already booked, I've tossed together a few siggies for you.

For everyone calling on the 17th:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/36347dial.jpg

And, for those already confirmed and who get in on the 17th:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/36347sailinga.gif

I made them a bit smaller to be better with the new sig rules :)

[tksbaskets]

I'm so glad you had so much fun. I am just a little bummed that I will never be able to do a member cruise since they are always during the school year and since I teach and only get three personal days per year that cannot be used in succession it really is a no can do! But I have all of you to live vicariously through so that makes it a little better!

I can sympathize with you. I'm married to a teacher. Retirement is less than two years away though....SSMC 2009 here we come! :cool1:

[bgsnmky]

Hey Marc and Mary -

Dawn and I just got home and in the house --- Loved on the pets, went straight to the mail and of course I had to read your live report (even tho we WERE there and even had dinner with you).

Really cool to read the report....

Just wanted to say glad you made it home safe....

Good Night!!

[cobbler]

We just got home today as well and Mary I loved reading your posts. Makes me relive everything over again.

We had a fantastic time as it was our first cruise ever. Enjoyed meeting other Dis'ers even though after the first initial meeting I didn't run into many after that, enjoying and soaking up all the stuff going on.

I did call MS this morning to find out cash prices for next years cruise and they are as follows.

Cat 11 = $869
Cat 10 = $ 916
Cat 9 = $ 944
Cat 8 = $992
Cat 7 = $1081
Cat 6 = $1147
Cat 5 = $1195
Cat 4 = $1384
Cat 3 = $2264

I was told all kids will be $542 each.

Based on this years cruise. It will cost us about $500 less four our family of 4 next year from this year.

[zulaya]

cobbler...are those prices quoted per adult?

[cobbler]

Yes per adult.

[MarkRG]

Well, it's been a few weeks now since the cruise, and I'm finally caught up enough to put together a final photo montage, some of these are out of order some. The only two pics not in this are the group and pirate night photo as I still need to scan them. I'll add them in after.

To go all the way back one of the new things for us was seeing the newer DCL buses, they've changed them up since the last time we sailed:
http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/15.jpg

This is one of those nice touches they added just for this cruise, the wall you see with Walt & Mickey normally has a tile mural of just Walt alone, that has an entire story of its own.
http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/16.jpg

And, yes the Dis group had a gift exchance going, always a nice surprise to see new stuff in the fish extender:
http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/17.jpg

Now... As Mary said, this is the *only* thing I still have an objection to, holding back letting us go to Castaway Cay on the first day so they can have a captive audience for their sales pitch. Want a captive audience? Hold it on the sea day. Normal disembark is 9am, we were docked even before that, but go ashore didn't happen until 10:30, not cool. I didn't go to the 'show' and nor will I going forward, even with being the big winner of it last year. Mary did and said it wasn't bad.
http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/18.jpg

Now, one thing I like ot do, maybe not so much for Mary is the jetski Eco tour. It's a very fun ride out to a sandbar you learn a little about the area, then another fun ride back. This'll give you an idea of how far out we go:
http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/19.jpg

Now, on to some of the special presentations. They brought a host, Tim O'Day who is something of a Disney scholar in his own right, to run all the panel discussions.

First up was Virginia Davis, who was, as a little girl, in a number of pre-Mickey shorts called the Alice films. She was filmed live action in front of a plain white backdrop, then they'd go frame by fram and animate the rest of the scene around her, the prelude to what we now know as green screen. She was a total hoot and had fun stories of Walt & co to share.
http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/20.jpg

Also at this discussion is Dave Smith, and the leader of the Legends progam, Jeff Hoffman.
http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/21.jpg

Now as for the incentives, one was buy 250 points and you get a Cat 6 cabin for two on the 2008 member cruise. Bruce and Nancy added on and here they are showing it. :)
http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/22.jpg

Now, personally for us any dcl cruise, one of the do not misses is Palo, preferably for brunch or high tea, here's dessert at brunch:
http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/23.jpg

The next panel was with X Atencio and Alice Davis, X did Animation for Fantasia and work for the rides Pirates and Haunted Mansion among other things. Alice is the main person behind the costuming of most of the figures in the Disney theme park rides, like Small World and Pirates. Here's one of the Small World kids she has done:
http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/24.jpg

And, here's a pic of the actual Legends trophy, the camera doesn't do it justice, it really looks like burnished bronze:
http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/25.jpg

And the two guests themselves, this was kind of a melancholy interview as this one really brought home that we are going to be losing these creative geniuses in the near future:
http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/26.jpg

Now we returned to our room that afternoon to a really cool souvenir, a reproduction of the Life magazine article about the day WDW opened:
http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/27.jpg

And even at dinner, a really cool chocolate treat, that image is printed right on the chocolate:
http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/28.jpg

Now one thing I hadn't covered too well, There is a great amount of DVC theming going on from the DCL crew side of things, like this:
http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/29.jpg

That evening, another pin and the reminder of the photo shoot tomorrow:
http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/30.jpg

Now here's one of the people who really brings these events to life for us on the cruise, Matt(on the right) who is really in charge of organizing the events from the DCL side of things, and really does a great job:
http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/31.jpg

Now, one of the new things on the island is they added a bike path about halfway down the airstrip towards the adult beach. On that path is a tower you can climb to get a great view of the entire island:
http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/33.jpg

Mary mentioned this, on the last night's dinner they had these cool dessert accents:
http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/34.jpg

Now on the last night, we had the Disney Beauties as our entertainment. Already talked about them, here they are, from l-r, Eden Espinosa, Andrea McArdle, Sarah Litzsinger:
http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/35.jpg

And in our cabin for the last night, two pins and two throws, the throws having that Legends Walt/Mickey image I've shown you before:
http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/36.jpg

And, for the final, nice touch, even leaving they had custom things to send us on our way:
http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/37.jpg

[MarkRG]

Now, we didn't go straight home. We took a meandering ride up the east coast, stopping for a night at Hilton Head, a night just past Charlotte, so we could do a little bit of Nascar fan stuff then stopped to visit my cousin, who was the ring bearer at our wedding, is now married and he and his wife just had their first baby.:eek: Not exactly the most direct route from PC to Chicago.

Since this was a DVC cruise a little more DVC if you don't mind my indulgence.

So we arrive at Hilton Head.
http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/38.jpg

http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/39.jpg

http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/40.jpg
It's a very nice place, I do think the age bracket and frame of mind at Hilton Head in general is something a bit outside our personal norm. More older yuppie crowd than us, if I was going to try to explain it. The accomodations are great, the rooms are spacious and remind us more of OKW than anywhere. We were only there for the evening so it was check in, unpack, check out the resort amenities and go look for dinner. The beach house is very nice with a large pool and good access to the ocean. If the weather had been better we might have gotten more out of it.

Dinner was a short walk to the Kingfisher at the end of the entrance drive. Nice place, good food, and they currently have a limited menu discount special for the first hour of opening if you're interested.

Now as I said we drove across from Charlotte to Nashville, on I-40. I have to include at least one picture. It was a beautiful easy ride thru the Great Smoky Mountains. It winds, but not in a nervous way like say, I-24 over the mountains between Nashville and Chatanooga.
http://monorailgreen.info/member2007/upload/41.jpg


And so ends our report, barring the two group pics, hope you enjoyed it :)