Set Sail on the S.S. Disney Snob!...bon voyage!

[AGPrincess]

Thanks to everybody for reading along on this PTR! The official trip report has now begun!
Check it out by clicking on the link:Disney Snobbery on the High Seas! (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2057273).

Introduction:

Come with us…
To a world of fantasy, and imagination
Where each discovery brings a fairy-tale inspiration
Come with us…

Ahhhhh….raise your hand if you remember that song. If you don’t, that’s ok…your Disney cruise music deprivation ends now: check this out. The song only plays for the first few minutes and then the last few minutes, but DON’T YOU LOVE IT???

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsHjxt1-t8Q&feature=related

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/DSC05232.jpg

You are invited to board the S.S. Disney Snob for a voyage filled with Disney magic, pixie dust, and snobbery. pixiedust: But I do have some bad news: the S.S. Disney Snob is not a cruise ship. I know. Bummer. It’s just a (pre-) trip report. My (pre-)trip report, to be exact.

Have we met yet? Hi, my name’s Emma. :wave2: I go by Emma, the Disney Snob, or just plain princess is fine too.

How about I familiarize you all with our sailing schedule next? We will be travelling across the sea, charted by the stars and flying on dreams. (LOVE that song!) Really, though, this (pre-)trippie will detail a late December/early January sojourn to the World which will also include a pleasure cruise to Nassau and Castaway Cay!! :sail:

But I’m sure you’re just dying to meet the crew!

princess: Captain Emma: That would be me! Yes, I am a Disney Snob :snooty: because I don’t like Universal and I love Disney and my idea of happiness is a hammock at the Polynesian. I have been to Disney a dozen-ish times, and my family has been on the cruise once before in 2004. You also might like to know that I am a VERY big fan of Disney princesses, chocolate, the POLYNESIAN, Wishes, Jane Austen and other extinct but lovely authors you’ve never heard of (Fanny Burney? Anybody?). That is why I am planning to major in literature! I am a sophomore at college (it rocks not to be a freshman!) and will be just a few weeks short of twenty when this cruise begins!

::MinnieMo Vice-Admiral Mom/Betsey: My lovely mother. She plans the Disney trips and the Disney wardrobes and now the Disney cruise! Life can be tough with four brothers, and I don’t know what I’d do without my Mom…she’s my best friend! I talk to her all the time on the web camera (often about Disney plans!!) She is so much fun to be with, extremely creative and funny and appreciates the necessity of staying up all hours for a midnight dessert buffet. Yeeeeeeees!

::MickeyMo Admiral Dad/Joe: That would be my father. He’s a fairly typical Disney dad. Mom plans the trips, but he’s the one in charge. He doesn’t exactly “love” Disney, but he appreciates the high standard of customer service and the joy it brings his family. He is very smart…prefers the more brainy bits of the Disney magic at Epcot and such. Actually, I should be giving my Dad waaaaay more credit in this blurb because he gets seasick…at least he did on the last cruise! But he has most selflessly allowed for us to go again, and this time we’ll do some research and hopefully figure out a way to make it better!

:wizard: Restaurant Maitre D' Aramis: I figured this would be the right position to assign Aramis. He is twenty-one and worked as a TS seater/greeter/assigner in the Disney College Program this past year. During the summer he worked again at a restaurant near home as a server (and deplored how badly run it was compared to Disney!). After the cruise he will be staying in Florida for a few weeks and working so he can keep his “temporary Disney employee” status (that lets us still get discounts!!).

:cool2: Boiler Room Engineer Porthos: My will-be-as-of-the-cruise seventeen-year-old brother. I put him in charge of the boiler room because he loves mechanical stuff. He watches Modern Marvels on the History Channel nonstop and put together my roommate’s futon (without instructions) in half an hour flat. Like Whoa. His favorite part of Disney is, naturally, the roller coasters!

:stitch2: First Mate Athos: My third brother, age twelve, loves Stitch, crazy for dinosaurs and animals. I’m afraid that I have to report that he has lately been turning a little “teenager-y.” I like to say he turns into a dinosaur. This is really a pity, because when he is his normal self he is always up for any adventure and makes a lot of adventures more fun. Let’s hope the “Athos” and not the “dinosaur” prevails on the cruise!

pirate: Helmsman Dart: Thank goodness Dart is still fun to be around! My fourth and last brother is five years old and very proud to be taking his art classes and such! He is so cute and funny…still loves the characters at Disney. Crazy over cars, monorails, and vehicles of various kinds (that’s why I put him in charge of the helm…). He has recently gotten into a robot craze with Wall-E…I am Eve and he is Wall-E. Also loves “go speedracer, gooooo!”

Since a trip report is nothing without pics, here’s one of yours truly…

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/IMG_6109.jpg

And yes. I am turned around on purpose. I don’t like post to identifiable pics of me or my family on the web, but you will get plenty of non-identifiable pics from the back, of my shadow, etc. And you will get plenty of identifiable pics of my trip mascots!

I almost always bring along a trip mascot. Somebody I can take pics to post of. In April, it was the buffalo Sunrise.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/April%202008/039.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/April%202008/IMG_4354.jpg
Isn’t she cute? And she was perfect for our shorter trip at the Wilderness Lodge. But usually I like to bring along some more personable friends: American Girl dolls. Yes, I am nineteen and that does say doll. What can I say…Disney brings out the little girl in me! In the past I have brought along Nikki:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/317.jpg
Looking fantabulous at the Poly

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/343.jpg
Browsing around World Showcase

or the dynamic duo, Felicity and Elizabeth…

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/July%202007/wdw7-06160.jpg
Dressed as Ariel and Aurora at Akershus

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/July%202007/154.jpg
Hitting the Beach at Vero!

So since this is a longer trip, I’m hoping to take an American Girl doll. In fact, I’m planning on taking an AG doll who has never made an official appearance on these Snob trip reports…Mia!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/419.jpg

I like to keep my AG dolls nice, so I only bring them to a park one day of the trip. Otherwise I just do photo shoots in the room and around the hotel!.

So that’s the whole crew...

Now let’s talk accomadations! We aren't just going down to Florida for the cruise! The plan right now is to drive down right after Christmas and spend a few days at Vero Beach. This will give the insane Christmas crowds a chance to clear out of WDW PLUS Mom got a Vero Beach concierge reservation with Aramis’ CM discount! We loved Vero when we went for the first time last year, and I had no idea that they had a concierge, but I DO have an idea that I am going to love it!

SO after a few days hanging with the turtles we’ll head down to Disney World itself! As of now we are undecided as to where we’re staying. Mom is still investigating what sorts of reservations she can get with the discount. The main contenders presently are the Polynesian (which OF COURSE I am pulling for)…

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/April%202008/IMG_3931.jpg
Ahhhh….tropical splendor…

The other main contender is the AKL (which everybody else loves and I like too, but I like the Poly better)….

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/AKL/020.jpg
Ahhh…Safari splendor.

Wherever we stay, I plan on finding plenty of time for this sort of thing:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/April%202008/182.jpg
My kinda happy place

After a little bit of time at the most magical place on earth, we proceed to the main attraction, the most magical place on sea: the Disney Cruise Line!!! We board the Disney Wonder for the magical 3-day cruise. We make anchor at Nassau (Mom reeeeally wants to go see Atlantis this time…last time she was thwarted), and of course Castaway Cay! I really want to try to explore the island and hopefully talk the parental units into renting a bike! :moped: (though wouldn't it be way cooler if we could rent a moped?)

So that's the basic tour of the S.S. Disney Snob! There may still be 100+ days left to count down, but don't think things won't get interesting in the meantime! Forethinking Disney Snob that I am, I wrote a bunch of updates over the summer when I had time, so I am going to put them up about one a week. These updates include CRUISEWEAR updates, a trip down memory lane to a Disney Cruise past, and – coming up shortly – the most epic, fabulous Home Depot raid and countdown calendar you have ever seen!!!!

SO DON’T MISS IT! :cool1:

INDEX

Pre-Trip:
A Tour of the S.S. Disney Snob (intro)...p.1 post 1 (this is it!)
The Saga of the Mickey Head Paint Chips!...p.2 post 19
True (Wall) Art Must Have a Disney Touch (or the MHPC Saga, part II)...p.3 post 33
E is in the House!...p.4 post 46
Fashion Consultants and Flying Footwear...p.5 post 62
Paper Paraphernalia (Disney Mail!)...p.6 post 78

2004 Mini Cruise Trip Report
A Real-Life Disney Villain...I Mean English Teacher!...p.7 post 93
The Not-So-Much-a Thursday Update...p.8 post 107 (Disney Store Shoes)
Christmas Gorgeousness and Cruise Preparations...p.8 post 118
Flashback Cruise Part I: All Aboard!...p.9 post 131
Flashback Cruise Part II: Nassau!...p.10 post 144
Flashback Cruise Part III: Castaway Cay!...p.11 post 156
Flashback Cruise Part IV: Suffleboard & Finishing Up...p.12 post 166


Crocs, crocs, everywhere CROCS!...p.12 post 173
Purchases: Potential and Actual...p.13 post 191
Door Decorations!...p.14 post 200
Disney Lists!...p.15 post 211
Count-up and Holiday Cheer!...p.15 post 215
Bon Voyage!...p. 15 post 222

[Hedy]

I can't wait! Congrats on making it to sophomore year.

[jake&samsmom]

Hi Emma! I'm in! :) Glad you started your PTR! Yay!
Have you been to Atlantis? It is beautiful...We went for my 34th Bday :)

[disneyhockeymad]

yay another report! Looking forward to this one already!! Can't wait to read yours whilst I'm writing mine! :)

[jwwi]

Emma,
I just love your TRs, and am so happy that you are taking along a doll again. Not that I didn't absolutely love Sunrise. Perfect for the WL stay. I am partial to the dolls and all the cute clothes.
Planning on where to stay is half the fun..............

[Baloo]

Emma...so happy to see a Pre trip from you! :cool1:


I so enjoyed all your previous trip reports...looking forward to this one too! :thumbsup2

[crgfsu1]

Yea!!! Looking forward to another report from the Disney Snob!!! Jess is just a cutie!!

Guess what? We are going back too - only 8 of us this time, instead of 9 like last time!! We are set for early February 2009!! Who-hoo!!!

Cathy

[AGPrincess]

I can't wait! Congrats on making it to sophomore year.

lol...you are so quick to find the newest posts, Hedy...I think you win the award for most frequent first poster! :banana: :rotfl: I'm so glad you're in, and thanks - it is fun to be a sophomore! :goodvibes

Hi Emma! I'm in! :) Glad you started your PTR! Yay!
Have you been to Atlantis? It is beautiful...We went for my 34th Bday :)

Welcome back!! We have not been to Atlantis...Mom really wanted to take a water taxi over on the last cruise but it just didn't happen. :confused3 I'd really like to see it this time!

yay another report! Looking forward to this one already!! Can't wait to read yours whilst I'm writing mine! :)

Hello there! It's so good to see you found your way over here! I loved your SWW update on your trippie, btw. Can't wait to read more!

Emma,
I just love your TRs, and am so happy that you are taking along a doll again. Not that I didn't absolutely love Sunrise. Perfect for the WL stay. I am partial to the dolls and all the cute clothes.
Planning on where to stay is half the fun..............

Welcome back!! It's so good to see you (or rather, see your post!) again! :goodvibes It will be fun with a doll...I wonder if I should bring along one of the princess outfits to dress her in...or maybe try to make a new one? hmmmm...;)

Emma...so happy to see a Pre trip from you! :cool1:


I so enjoyed all your previous trip reports...looking forward to this one too! :thumbsup2

So glad to see you're here! I'm so excited to have another TR...I'm having to stop myself from posting the next update too soon (I have to keep this up for another 118 days after all! :rotfl: )

Yea!!! Looking forward to another report from the Disney Snob!!! Jess is just a cutie!!

Guess what? We are going back too - only 8 of us this time, instead of 9 like last time!! We are set for early February 2009!! Who-hoo!!!

Cathy

Yay! That is so exciting you've got your next trip planned! :cool1: Big groups are always fun, and February should be great with the heat/crowds! (plus it's always nice to escape the winter! ;) )

[princess&her4princes]

Hi Emma,

I'm so excited to share this experience with you and Jess, too! Looking forward to the shopping trip and what you'll wear on the cruise. How exciting!! :goodvibes

[BellaSoleil]

I'm so excited! Let the shopping begin! :)

I've done the Disney Cruise before and guess what??? Grandaddy and Nana are talking about taking their DG (my very own Belle) and C0. (that means us too) for spring break next year! WooHoo!:banana:

[DisMomAmy]

Hi Emma! I'm joining in! Hope you have a good year at school.

[AZMickeyfans]

I'm joining in! Love the American Girl shots. We are considering bringing ours too. So cute.

Can't wait to hear more.

[Northern Disney Girl]

:banana: Yaahhoooo! Another Snob report! :banana: So excited to read your PTR! Can't wait to see that countdown calendar! :goodvibes Hope you have an excellent first week as a college sophmore! :)

[Dreamer & Wisher]

Yay!:banana: A new report from AGPrincess.

I am looking forward to reading more. Jess will have a lot of fun on your trip, I think she should wear the Arial dress and maybe you can make her a pirate costume? Or Tinkerbell?

[4boysrus]

I'm in! Can't wait to go along for the ride, er.. cruise.

[AGPrincess]

Hi Emma,

I'm so excited to share this experience with you and Jess, too! Looking forward to the shopping trip and what you'll wear on the cruise. How exciting!! :goodvibes

Welcome!! Thanks for posting! :goodvibes

I'm so excited! Let the shopping begin! :)

I've done the Disney Cruise before and guess what??? Grandaddy and Nana are talking about taking their DG (my very own Belle) and C0. (that means us too) for spring break next year! WooHoo!:banana:

lol...the shopping has definitely begun! :rotfl: And that sounds like a second fabulous trip in the making!

Hi Emma! I'm joining in! Hope you have a good year at school.

Welcome! Thanks for your good wishes...I'm having a great year so far!

I'm joining in! Love the American Girl shots. We are considering bringing ours too. So cute.

Can't wait to hear more.

Thanks for posting! I would definitely say bring the AG doll...they are so much fun at WDW!

:banana: Yaahhoooo! Another Snob report! :banana: So excited to read your PTR! Can't wait to see that countdown calendar! :goodvibes Hope you have an excellent first week as a college sophmore! :)

It's so nice to see you posting! Welcome back! :cool1: I'm going to post about the calendar tomorrow hopefully!

Yay!:banana: A new report from AGPrincess.

I am looking forward to reading more. Jess will have a lot of fun on your trip, I think she should wear the Arial dress and maybe you can make her a pirate costume? Or Tinkerbell?

oooo....a pirate costume is a GENIUS idea!! :banana: I think there's a "Pirates IN the Carribean" night on the cruise and she could wear it then!

I'm in! Can't wait to go along for the ride, er.. cruise.

lol...welcome aboard! :thumbsup2

[jwwi]

I like the idea of a pirate costume too. :cutie:

[LISAMWDW]

Hi Emma!

This is going to be a good one! I can't wait! I love your pre trippees, especially the shopping / outfit updates! I can't wait to hear about the Disney Cruise.

[AGPrincess]

MHPC. For the benefit of the uninitiated, I will tell you that this unassuming string of letters stands for Mickey Head Paint Chip. Available at your friendly neighborhood Home Depot. ::yes::

Most would think of Home Depot as the local watering hole for do-it-your-selfers, Dads escaping the house for a bit, and those who love large machinery. But as with any watering hole, Home Depot attracts a diverse cross section of the local wildlife. The DISers are like the cheetahs. Few in number, difficult to spot, and knowing exactly what they want and that what they want is located in the paint isle. :cool2:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Aug16046.jpg

Ah, yes. Here we are. There you see the long rows of appealing colors in plain solid square blocks. Perhaps there are a few weekend warriors looking at these uninspired shapes of rainbow, trying to pick out just one good color for their living room.

But if you continue along, you will see a small, unobtrusive section in the paint section. You look once. You look again. “Are those things Mickey heads?”

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Aug16047.jpg

Ahhh, yes. Yes, they are. Now for the most part the MHPC are just a marketing ploy. Everyone knows kids love paint chips. It’s one of the few fun things about going to a home improvement store. Now try making paint chips in the shape of a popular mouse’s irregularly-shaped head. Now slap on a beautiful name like “Ariel’s Afternoon Swim” or “Mickey’s Red Pants.”

“Mommy, I want to repaint my room! Let’s get this color! Pleeeeease daddy!”

If home depot is a watering hole, the MHPC section is that sparkling little pond where the Disney alligator of commercialism lurks. :stir:

BUT. There are a few who know the alligator. Who are friends with the alligator. These are the DISer cheetahs. They approach the MHPC, take the MHPC, and are gone with the speed of…well…a cheetah.

The MHPC have any number of wide uses to the DISer. Scrapbooking, decorating, and most importantly: TRIP COUNTDOWNS. :cool1:

In case you haven’t noticed, this Disney Snob is counting down to a trip. And in case you haven’t realized this yet: I’m a DISer cheetah too. :cool2:

My local Home Depot is about 30 minutes away from my house, so we don’t go there often. But I made it a priority to go there before I went to college. School supplies and dorm supplies are all well and good, but what I REALLY needed was a countdown calendar.

So Home Depot was our destination. Pretty much everybody elected to stay in the car. Sheesh, you would think we embarrassed them or something! :rolleyes1 That’s ok…Athos agreed to come along.

We didn’t want to keep the others waiting, so we walked in quickly rather giddy with excitement. Paint….where’s the paint…there we go! We’re speed walking down the aisle, the paint chips are in sight. We’re right on top of them…

Suddenly I realize we’re doing this all wrong. We’re way too obvious. This is not the way of the DISer cheetah.

I grind to a halt in front of the Behr paint chips and pull Athos in line behind me. “Alright…so is this the color Mom was looking for?” I say it loudly for the authoritative employee (lol…I almost typed cast member there!) nearby to hear.

Then we move along to the MHPC section. “Oooh! Look!” I exclaim to Athos. A partner in crime is so helpful in this situation. My inconsequential paint-color-related small talk to Athos was just the front we needed to grab our stash unseen. :tiptoe: My countdown is mermaid themed, so I was going for green for the tail, red for the hair, etc. Luckily all the paint chips are very well stocked. Oh yeah. It’s go time.

I go for the ones down low first. They are easiest to take surreptitiously. All of those “guestimation” skills” I learned in fourth grade deserted me, and I had no idea how many I was taking. I take about half of each color that I need just to be safe. Every so often I fumble for something in my bag so I can drop some off. It was really a blur.

No one disturbs me as I quietly abscond with half of the MHPC stock. :teeth: Even Athos, who was supposed to be helping, is only blithely browsing through the paint chips, responding to my mindless remarks on how cute a name “Ballroom Floor” is. The boy is watching me pilfer paint chips and he doesn’t even seem to notice. That’s how mad my skillz are.

Finally I hiss at him: “Grab a bunch!”

He takes four. Oh. Brother.

No worries, however, or in the words of one of the paint colors “Hakuna Matata.” I had enough. There was just one thing left to do. I give Athos the camera and instruct him to take a picture. Because every good cheetah believes in documentation.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Aug16048.jpg

And now. Cue “the split.” We bid the MHPC adieu, find an empty aisle, and make a dash.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Aug16049.jpg
Run!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Aug16051.jpg
Run faster!

Ok…STOP running, we don’t want to arise suspicion! We mosy out of the store, then leap into the car.

The first part is over, but the saga is just begun. Stay tuned for the Creation of the Countdown!!

[Hedy]

I'm glad Athos isn't too teen-y to assist a sister in Mickey Head liberation (TM abbybeth).

[princess&her4princes]

LOVE IT!!!!:thumbsup2 What a great trip to Home Depot!!!! LOL!!! Take pics when it's done....I still need to make mine!!!

[4boysrus]

I love your TR's. Your writing is excellent. Can't wait for more!

[jwwi]

Very inspiring, I may have to make a countdown calendar of sorts for the upcoming vacation..............
Has anyone made a ring of MHPC's, you know a pocketbook version of sorts? Used my LGMH to decorate our Pop room window, I was please with the simple but effective decor. But unfortunately I saw no other Diser's.:confused3

[disneyhockeymad]

aww how I wish we had home depot's in England!! That trip sounded like so much fun! :rotfl:
I love the photo's, they made me laugh so much, especially the one of Athos running! Can't wait to see the countdown!!

[teruterubouzu]

Clever of you to think ahead and pre-write your pre-trip report!

[anbouk]

My FAV Snob....back at it again! Yippeee......:goodvibes Emma, we just returned the other day from an incredible disney world vacation, the best ever stay! We stayed CL at BCV, AWESOME! Thought of you as we entered Poly for dinner at Kona, very pretty hotel!!! Guess what!!!! we loved it so much that we are looking into becoming DVC owners :) They have some great incentives right now, maybe your family should look into this. Cant wait to hear all about the pre cruise trippie....keep it up as usual you are doing a fantabulous job princess! ;) Good luck in sophmore year!

[AGPrincess]

I like the idea of a pirate costume too. :cutie:

I know...it's such a great idea! I have to start planning something out :scratchin ...hmmmm...and I'll have to come up with a piratey outfit for me too!

Hi Emma!

This is going to be a good one! I can't wait! I love your pre trippees, especially the shopping / outfit updates! I can't wait to hear about the Disney Cruise.

Welcome back!! It's so nice to see you posting! :goodvibes

I'm glad Athos isn't too teen-y to assist a sister in Mickey Head liberation (TM abbybeth).

lol...yes, at least he is still fun some of the time! :rotfl:

LOVE IT!!!!:thumbsup2 What a great trip to Home Depot!!!! LOL!!! Take pics when it's done....I still need to make mine!!!

I'll post an update with the calendar soon...Countdowns are so much fun (and Mickey Head runs too!) :thumbsup2

I love your TR's. Your writing is excellent. Can't wait for more!

Thanks and Welcome!

Very inspiring, I may have to make a countdown calendar of sorts for the upcoming vacation..............
Has anyone made a ring of MHPC's, you know a pocketbook version of sorts? Used my LGMH to decorate our Pop room window, I was please with the simple but effective decor. But unfortunately I saw no other Diser's.:confused3

Yeah...somehow I've never spotted many Disers on my trips either! :confused3 But I have seen a few door/window decorations...I really want to do some sort of door decoration for the cruise!

aww how I wish we had home depot's in England!! That trip sounded like so much fun! :rotfl:
I love the photo's, they made me laugh so much, especially the one of Athos running! Can't wait to see the countdown!!

Awww...that's too bad you don't have Home Depots in England! But you'll have to keep an eye out and maybe you'll spot something else you can use!

Clever of you to think ahead and pre-write your pre-trip report!

lol...I wrote it the night when we got back from the MHPC run, so it was pretty fun.

My FAV Snob....back at it again! Yippeee......:goodvibes Emma, we just returned the other day from an incredible disney world vacation, the best ever stay! We stayed CL at BCV, AWESOME! Thought of you as we entered Poly for dinner at Kona, very pretty hotel!!! Guess what!!!! we loved it so much that we are looking into becoming DVC owners :) They have some great incentives right now, maybe your family should look into this. Cant wait to hear all about the pre cruise trippie....keep it up as usual you are doing a fantabulous job princess! ;) Good luck in sophmore year!

Hello!! It's so nice to see you signing on! It sounds like you had a fantasmastic trip!! And DVC is starting to look pretty sweet...especially with the AKL villas and the new Contemporary villas!

[jwwi]

I did it, I went to Home Depot and took about 40 PCMH's. My husband, once he found out what I did, was horrified. He was in a completely different part of the store, so he had noooooooooooo idea what his sweet wife was doing. :rotfl2:

I put together a pocket version of the countdown, it is a gift for my Dsis:hug: , who will be coming on the Oct trip. It turned out so cute, my DH even pointed out that she can just flip the cards over the ring until the last day. (is this the same guy who told me he won't return to Disney until we have grandchildren to take??????:confused3 ) I put numbers and stickers on each card. And used Pooh Halloween stickers for the last week of the countdown.

Thanks again for the inspiration, you have to do a search on door decorations for the cruise, I think I have even seen some posted on Deb Wills All Ears site. Have a great week!

[Northern Disney Girl]

Most would think of Home Depot as the local watering hole for do-it-your-selfers, Dads escaping the house for a bit, and those who love large machinery. But as with any watering hole, Home Depot attracts a diverse cross section of the local wildlife. The DISers are like the cheetahs. Few in number, difficult to spot, and knowing exactly what they want and that what they want is located in the paint isle. :cool2:


If home depot is a watering hole, the MHPC section is that sparkling little pond where the Disney alligator of commercialism lurks. :stir:

BUT. There are a few who know the alligator. Who are friends with the alligator. These are the DISer cheetahs. They approach the MHPC, take the MHPC, and are gone with the speed of…well…a cheetah.

The MHPC have any number of wide uses to the DISer. Scrapbooking, decorating, and most importantly: TRIP COUNTDOWNS. :cool1:

!

:lmao: OH, Emma! :rotfl: You crack me up! IF you do not already have aspirations of becoming a writer, you need to serously consider it! :rotfl2: You have a great humorous appraoch! LOVE IT!

Can't wait to see your Calendar! :)

[BellaSoleil]

Hi Emma! Sorry I haven't replied sooner. I forgot to subscribe. :sad2: Terrible Disser friend, I am!!!!

Can't wait to see the Countdown!

[LISAMWDW]

:rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2:

Off to a great start as usual! I love :love: the home depot trip!

So funny! What a great brother you have to help you!

[AGPrincess]

I did it, I went to Home Depot and took about 40 PCMH's. My husband, once he found out what I did, was horrified. He was in a completely different part of the store, so he had noooooooooooo idea what his sweet wife was doing. :rotfl2:

I put together a pocket version of the countdown, it is a gift for my Dsis:hug: , who will be coming on the Oct trip. It turned out so cute, my DH even pointed out that she can just flip the cards over the ring until the last day. (is this the same guy who told me he won't return to Disney until we have grandchildren to take??????:confused3 ) I put numbers and stickers on each card. And used Pooh Halloween stickers for the last week of the countdown.

Thanks again for the inspiration, you have to do a search on door decorations for the cruise, I think I have even seen some posted on Deb Wills All Ears site. Have a great week!

:rotfl: lol! LOVE your story...My dad wasn't too happy when he found out where Mom had taken me either! Your pocket countdown sounds so cute! That was so nice of you to make it for your friend!! I've been surfing the the cruise forum for ideas, but I'll have to check All Ears as well!

OH, Emma! :rotfl: You crack me up! IF you do not already have aspirations of becoming a writer, you need to serously consider it! :rotfl2: You have a great humorous appraoch! LOVE IT!

Can't wait to see your Calendar! :)

Thanks! Glad you liked the update! And being a writer is definitely one of my future job possibilities!

Hi Emma! Sorry I haven't replied sooner. I forgot to subscribe. :sad2: Terrible Disser friend, I am!!!!

Can't wait to see the Countdown!

Hey girl! It's so great to see you...I can't wait for the next update on YOUR pre-trippie either!

:rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2:

Off to a great start as usual! I love :love: the home depot trip!

So funny! What a great brother you have to help you!

Glad you're enjoying it...Athos and I were giggling with an evil-sort of glee as soon as we got to the car! :rotfl: And Athos does get major points for tagging along!

Update shortly!

[AGPrincess]

A long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…oh wait, sorry! This isn’t Star Wars, but it is a pretty exciting saga. When I left off, the MHPC had been successfully pilfered, but it yet remained to count, sort and cut them down to size, not to mention make the countdown!

After dinner that night, I spilled out all the mickey heads on the floor and began sorting. There were so many Mickey Heads and they were so preetty!! I was giddy with glee. :banana:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Aug16058.jpg

When Dad got home and saw my stash he just stands there and yells to mom "Did you let her go to Home Depot again?!?" (In my defense, I've only made maybe ONE MHPC run before and it was not nearly this epic...I took maybe 25 or so paint chips...)

Somehow I had more than I had originally intended to get…oh well! :rolleyes1 I had gotten a total of thirteen different colors.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Aug16067.jpg

In last place, sadly, was the DISer favorite, Alien green:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Aug16060.jpg

Only 6...I know...didn't do so well...

Here's the rest of the ranking:

12. Sorcerers Hat (and there is NO apostrophe in that!! The lady who wrote Eats, Shoots, and Leaves would be livid...)

11. Smackeral of Hunny

10. Bouncy Bouncy

9. Blades of Grass

8. Ariel's Afternoon Swim (I was very sad this one didn't rank higher. It was such a pretty color and such a perfect name for the cruise!)

7. Three Cheers for Pooh

6. Mickey's Pants

5. Gamma Sector Green

4. Prince Charming (I was also hoping Prince Charming would get most mickey heads, just because I love the name...this was one of the closest colors to purple I could get...)

3. Friendly Forest

2. Code Red

And coming in NUMBER 1 was...Warp Speed Blue!

Don't you love all those names??

As you have probably guessed, that comes to a total of...WAY too many MHPC!!!! No flames please...it's not like we don't give Disney and Home Depot a fair share of our business, and it's not like I took every single one. And hey...I was starting my countdown at 132 days, so I needed a lot! :rolleyes1

Here's the final pile...isn't it beautiful??

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Aug16078.jpg

Then I tried arranging them for a more artistic photo...

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Aug16061.jpg

Jess came in and naturally wanted to take part in the photo shoot...

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Aug16062.jpg

TA DA!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Aug16064.jpg

Now it came to the actual countdown calendar. I had been deliberating what to do. I could do the traditional grid w/ a MHPC in each one, then take them off day by day. I could try to rig something fancy with a hole punch and rings (where you would flip numbers over everyday).

OR I could do this snob style. That means 1) Go big and 2) Go princess-y.

The princess of the hour proved to be Ariel – I mean, who else would I choose if this was a Disney cruise?

Now, the “big” part was inevitable…I needed to fit on 132 MHPC, after all! So what to do? Well how about a giant mermaid silhouette? Sound good? Here’s how we do it:

Get some of those HUGE pieces of white paper so that you can tape them together and get something big enough. Next we sketch out the mermaid figure. As I learned in the Animation Academy at MGM, pressing lightly is the key. Once I liked the look, I went back in and darkened the pencil lines, resulting in this:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Aug16057.jpg

Still kinda hard to see, isn’t it? So next we go in and draw with black marker over the pencil lines. I chose to outline certain areas in other colors as well (the tail in green, the hair in red). Check it out:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Aug16079.jpg

Preeeeeetty. Finally we cut it out. Now comes the tough part. The way I want the MHPC to go on is like this:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Aug16080.jpg

Doesn’t that look cool? The only problem is, if I put them all on to start with and took one off day by day, I would wind up with a very uninteresting Ariel outline. I could draw something in the outline or do pics, etc., but that seems like a lot of work. The MHPC make this piece. So I decided to PUT the MHPC on one a day rather than take them off. It's a countUP...if that makes sense. Then I can look forward to seeing Ariel complete with its fins and hair color, etc.

Here’s how far I am as of today:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/029.jpg

And since I had the camera turned on my walls I figured I might show off a few of my other Disney-ish things...

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/030.jpg
My lamp sports an Ariel crown

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/002.jpg
One of the posters on my wall...I love it b/c that hat looks just like one Athos got...now I just need to find that pretty purple/blue blanket.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/031.jpg
Anybody seen this little guy before??

So there you have it! I'll have to post pics occasionally of how the countup is going on...it'll make some great wall-art when it's finished! As of today...108 days!!

Pretty soon I'll be doing the double digits dance!! :cool1:

[Hedy]

:lmao: :lmao: I love your dad's reaction.

[BellaSoleil]

She's BEAUITFUL!!!!

Ariel is Belle's favorite princess right now. She calls her "Muh-maid".

Fabulous job, my friend!!! I'll be counting down with you.:cutie:

[disneyhockeymad]

that is such a fantastic idea!!! I love Ariel... I used to pretend to be her when I was little, I used to swim in the pool like her all the time! :rotfl:
I can't wait to see her all 'filled up'

[Lady Lallie]

Yay for another Snob PTR! I am so excited!

I can't believe your mermaid countUP. I love it, so beautiful and so creative! I even called my DH in here to see it, of course he wasn't as impressed as I but that's a man for you. Pffft. :lmao:

[jwwi]

A count up calendar is a fantastic idea. And I just love how all the MHPC look so far on the tail. It looks very fish/mermaid-ish. Very creative. :thumbsup2
My sister loved her countdown ring, she was so excited:yay: , I really need to show her your TR. She does not have a computer. :eek:

[LISAMWDW]

:rotfl2: Your dad is so funny!

I love love love your count up calendar! So creative!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:goodvibes :lovestruc

[DisMomAmy]

Love your countdown... I mean, count-up calendar!!

[AGPrincess]

I love your dad's reaction.

lol...me too! :rotfl:

She's BEAUITFUL!!!!

Ariel is Belle's favorite princess right now. She calls her "Muh-maid".

Fabulous job, my friend!!! I'll be counting down with you.:cutie:

Awwwww!! That is so adorable! She's a disney princess already! princess:

that is such a fantastic idea!!! I love Ariel... I used to pretend to be her when I was little, I used to swim in the pool like her all the time! :rotfl:
I can't wait to see her all 'filled up'

lol...I used to do a "little mermaid" flip in the pool too. :rotfl: I'll have to post pics as the count-UP gets further along!

Yay for another Snob PTR! I am so excited!

I can't believe your mermaid countUP. I love it, so beautiful and so creative! I even called my DH in here to see it, of course he wasn't as impressed as I but that's a man for you. Pffft. :lmao:

Welcome and thank you! I really like the way it came out, but lol...none of my brothers thought anything of it either!

A count up calendar is a fantastic idea. And I just love how all the MHPC look so far on the tail. It looks very fish/mermaid-ish. Very creative. :thumbsup2
My sister loved her countdown ring, she was so excited:yay: , I really need to show her your TR. She does not have a computer. :eek:

That's so nice your sister liked her countdown! It sounded reeally cute!

:rotfl2: Your dad is so funny!

I love love love your count up calendar! So creative!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:goodvibes :lovestruc

Thanks!

Love your countdown... I mean, count-up calendar!!

It should be fun to see it all come together. I think I'm still a few weeks away from finishing the tail though! :rolleyes:

[Northern Disney Girl]

Hi Emma! Sorry I am so late in posting! I have had an incredibly busy week! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your count up Ariel! Awesome idea! Very fun and creative! I still haven't decided how I will do one for my girls - we decided this week that we will tell them about our trip on New Year's day! They will have exactly 18 days to get crazy excited before we go! I can hardly wait! :goodvibes

[scrapbookersdis]

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/031.jpg
Anybody seen this little guy before??



Didn't I see these at Epcot??

I love your count-up calendar, too. :worship:

[AGPrincess]

First off, I just have to announce that today commences the

DOUBLE DIGIT DANCING!!

We are at 99 days people!!

:banana: :banana: :jumping1: :jumping1: :banana: :banana:

(like the oceany colors there? oh yeah! :cool1: )

It's a party, so everybody join in!! And to celebrate I'm going to get an update up asap!

Hi Emma! Sorry I am so late in posting! I have had an incredibly busy week! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your count up Ariel! Awesome idea! Very fun and creative! I still haven't decided how I will do one for my girls - we decided this week that we will tell them about our trip on New Year's day! They will have exactly 18 days to get crazy excited before we go! I can hardly wait! :goodvibes

lol...they are going to go insane -- that will be so much fun! :cool1:

Didn't I see these at Epcot??

I love your count-up calendar, too. :worship:

You got it!! They were at the Mexico pavillion! :thumbsup2

[Hedy]

:cool1: :cool1: :cool1:

[AGPrincess]

DARLING!!! How are you?!?! It’s been ages since we’ve talked. Do you want to come and see a few things? Don’t beg darling, I won’t do it.

What’s that? Who me? No, I’m not Edna Mode, and I don't outfit superheroes like the Incredibles. It’s still Emma Snobbish speaking, but that still makes me an E and ultra-fabulous to boot! :cool2:

But you’re right, darling, words are USELESS! Gobblegobblegobblegobble…too much of it darling, too much! That is why I will show you what I bought today!!

I may not have Edna Mode to outfit me, but I’d say I do a pretty decent job all the same! And this is cruisewear!!! Which is any snob’s specialty!

In fact, this whole trip started because of clothing. You know that old puzzle: which came first, the chicken or the egg?

WELL.

I have no idea what the answer is, but I DO know that what whoever asked that SHOULD have been asking was: what came first, the Disney trip or the Disney outfit?

You all know what I’m talking about. You’ve all been browsing through Wal-mart or Kohl’s or Macy’s, minding your own business, looking for some plain, dull, necessary item of clothing when it popped out at you, THE PERFECT DISNEY OUTFIT. It could be a western-style shirt, just dying to be soaked on Splash Mountain. It could be a tropical-print skirt, just dying to sit and make a lei at the Polynesian. Heck, it could even just be a pair of shoes or a piece of jewelry, but you’ll know it when it hits you.

And you say to yourself: “But I don’t have a Disney trip planned.” :rolleyes:

But, just like Edna, you realize that “you’ll look fabulous anyway.” So you buy it.

But sometimes, looking fabulous isn’t enough. And said perfect Disney outfit piece will mock you. Strange things will happen. You’ll start seeing Disney World commercials when you watch the news. The Disney webpage will mysteriously pop up on your computer when you’re trying to get work done. And slowly it will grind you into submission until you have booked a Disney trip so you can wear that darn outfit!!!! :eek:

And that’s what happened to us. It was just this summer. At my mom’s favorite children’s store: Hartstrings. That’s right: it wasn’t even my outfit! It was Mom that did it! :rotfl: They had cruisewear. Beautiful wonderful cruisewear. Colors like blue and navy and white and orange and a hint of lime green. Colors that MUST be worn on a cruise.

Of course, when she found these, we didn’t have a cruise booked. But it didn’t matter. We were at an outlet and they were on mega sale and they had all the right sizes and they had to be bought. OF course. ::yes::

And I should tell you something: the last time we went on a cruise was in December 2004. In summer 2004, hartstrings had cute cruisewear. Which my mom bought.

That’s right. It’s a sign.

We’re goin’ on a cruise!!!! :cool1:

The Hartstrings purchases may have come first, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have some fashionable ensembles that Edna herself wouldn’t be proud of!!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Aug26002.jpg
Navy. Navy is one of those colors that seems to belong to cruising. Although, I actually didn’t buy it for the cruise. I bought it b/c the boys were all wearing navy blazers to a Mother’s Day brunch and I needed to match. But we’ll ignore that and pretend it’s debuting on the cruise. I never look back anyway: it distracts from the now.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Aug26028.jpg
More navy, of course, darling. Isn’t it adorable? It looks so retro, and it’ll look really nice with or without the navy dress! I actually got this while we were outlet shopping (and after Mom had been to Hartstrings), so this is my first OFFICIAL S.S. Disney Snob purchase!!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Aug16023.jpg
Another I’ve-worn-it-before-but-now-it’s-perfect-for-the-cruise. This is just one of those knee-length sweatpant shorts that Kohl’s had a plethora of. I got them for $5 on sale!! :yay: I was just really psyched about that. I bought them SUPER large so they’d be comfy.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Aug16020.jpg
A beachy, vacation-y, CRUISE-y sort-of jacket!!! For Castaway Cay, maybe? Or possibly Vero…

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Aug16022.jpg
I wouldn’t normally accessorize on a trip to the beach, but the aqua-ish heart necklace goes with the aforementioned beachy jacketish thing. (and yes, that IS what it says on the tag…) ;)

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Aug26001.jpg
Lol…I thought this one looked so much like something a cruise director would wear! People are going to be mistaking me for a cruise CM!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/018.jpg
Pink is usually my favorite color, but I have now become addicted to blue...anything that looks oceany! :rotfl: I'm thinking this skirt would be good for the fancier meal at Triton's.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/020.jpg
Another pretty skirt...probably for Parrot Cay? That's the more colorful restaurant I think. Or I could wear it while we're at Disney World...I also have a jacket that I totally love that goes with this skirt...

http://www.forever21.com/images/large/50634187-01.jpg
I know it's not generally that cold in FL, but I may bring it along just because I love it!

SO. That’s about it. For now. These perfect Disney outfits mock me from their hangars and make sure I’m still looking. For more outfits. Even though I already have more than enough for a three-night cruise.

And if you go out shopping, darling, and you see one of these outfits, don’t try to avoid it. Try to avoid it?? NO!

GO! Confront the problem! Fight! Win!! Book a trip!!

…

…

And call me when you get back, darling, I enjoy our visits…

[BellaSoleil]

I have no idea what the answer is, but I DO know that what whoever asked that SHOULD have been asking was: what came first, the Disney trip or the Disney outfit?

I know, I know!!!! It was the outfit, of course! Teehee!!!:cutie:

I love everything! My favorite is the turquoise jacket and matching accessories.

Fabulous, dah-ling, fabulous!!!!:snooty:

[disneyhockeymad]

love it... such good choices!! :]
I agree on the adverts ever since weve got back from the world all I've been seeing on tv are adverts for WDW and DLP, especially DLP since I've seen perfect outfits to wear to their halloween parties!!
Definately a sign!! :thumbsup2 ;)

[Hedy]

Ultra-fabulous, my dear. But I find the re-used outfits a little worry-some. :lmao:

[AGPrincess]

Hi Emma! Sorry I am so late in posting! I have had an incredibly busy week! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your count up Ariel! Awesome idea! Very fun and creative! I still haven't decided how I will do one for my girls - we decided this week that we will tell them about our trip on New Year's day! They will have exactly 18 days to get crazy excited before we go! I can hardly wait! :goodvibes

Your DD's are going to go insane...that will be so much fun! :thumbsup2

Didn't I see these at Epcot??

I love your count-up calendar, too. :worship:

You got it! I found that little parrot at the Mexico pavillion!

I have no idea what the answer is, but I DO know that what whoever asked that SHOULD have been asking was: what came first, the Disney trip or the Disney outfit?

I know, I know!!!! It was the outfit, of course! Teehee!!!:cutie:

I love everything! My favorite is the turquoise jacket and matching accessories.

Fabulous, dah-ling, fabulous!!!!:snooty:

You're right, dah-ling. It's ALWAYS about the outfit! :rotfl: :thumbsup2

love it... such good choices!! :]
I agree on the adverts ever since weve got back from the world all I've been seeing on tv are adverts for WDW and DLP, especially DLP since I've seen perfect outfits to wear to their halloween parties!!
Definately a sign!! :thumbsup2 ;)

Thanks for posting! lol...I always get so excited when I see a Disney commercial!

Ultra-fabulous, my dear. But I find the re-used outfits a little worry-some. :lmao:

I know! Can you believe I would wear a dress more than once?? ;) :rotfl: (lol...that reminds me of Betty and Veronica!) Really, though, my mom doesn't like us to wear an outfit we've worn on a previous Disney trip b/c it messes up her pictures! :rotfl:

[LISAMWDW]

I heart heart :love: :love: disney shopping!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Keep it coming! BTW, I'm living through you right now! hehe:love:

[Disney Mommy 3]

Hello Honey!! I just found your trip report---thanks to Bella;) ---- and I am sooooo very much enjoying it!! Love,love,love your clothes!!! That first pic--the navy dress- was beckoning me. I'm sorry, but I must find a match to that. I adore it!!

Love your mermaid countUP calendar. As far as wonderful Lit---- Jane Austen is Queen. I really enjoy her. I got a gift card from my sweet hubby for Christmas to our local bookstore ( I am a proud bookworm-hence, lots of gc for Books A Million, or B & N), and bought the entire Jane Austen set. I have read these books lots of times, but never purchased. What a thrill!!! Other great lit authors.....Lucy Maud Montgomery....Janette Oke,....Francine Rivers.... Oh, I could go on and on!!!

American Girl dolls are the bomb!! I ordered my dd(5) her first one for Christmas this year. We are getting Elizabeth. She is hidden safely in my attic---she's BEAUTIFUL!! I am so happy that my little girl is getting her.

Keep up this wonderful thread--and tell your mom I love all your names!! My children also have different names.Sometimes that get flack from people, but I just tell them those people are wishing they had a name with flair!!

Can't wait for your next installment!!

[dizprincess717]

How could I have missed this?! Welcome back, Emma! I'm so excited for another (pre-)trip report from you. I'll JUST miss you there -- my boyfriend got promoted at work. He's now a BMW salesman so I put a stop to our whole moving to Orlando plans. We're going there mid-December. I'm a travel agent and just got 3 free nights at WDW.

Anyway - your count up calander is the BEST! I love it!!!

[LISAMWDW]

Hi Emma!

Would love to see periodic pictures of your count up calendar! That is soo cool! :cool1:

[princess&her4princes]

I would love to see your Count up calendar, too! I have to construct ours soon.......11 more Fridays and we're going to WDW!!!!:cool1:

[StarCruiser]

Excellent PTR. I really like the "count-up" idea. I'm considering doing something similar in the future.

I would suggest your dad try ginger pills (if he hasn't already) to help with the seasickness. They don't make you drowsy, and work pretty well.

Looking forward to more.

Ben

[AGPrincess]

I heart heart :love: :love: disney shopping!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Keep it coming! BTW, I'm living throught you right now! hehe:love:

lol...thanks! I'll have an update tomorrow...I wish I had time to do them more often! :confused3

Hello Honey!! I just found your trip report---thanks to Bella;) ---- and I am sooooo very much enjoying it!! Love,love,love your clothes!!! That first pic--the navy dress- was beckoning me. I'm sorry, but I must find a match to that. I adore it!!

Love your mermaid countUP calendar. As far as wonderful Lit---- Jane Austen is Queen. I really enjoy her. I got a gift card from my sweet hubby for Christmas to our local bookstore ( I am a proud bookworm-hence, lots of gc for Books A Million, or B & N), and bought the entire Jane Austen set. I have read these books lots of times, but never purchased. What a thrill!!! Other great lit authors.....Lucy Maud Montgomery....Janette Oke,....Francine Rivers.... Oh, I could go on and on!!!

American Girl dolls are the bomb!! I ordered my dd(5) her first one for Christmas this year. We are getting Elizabeth. She is hidden safely in my attic---she's BEAUTIFUL!! I am so happy that my little girl is getting her.

Keep up this wonderful thread--and tell your mom I love all your names!! My children also have different names.Sometimes that get flack from people, but I just tell them those people are wishing they had a name with flair!!

Can't wait for your next installment!!

Welcome and thanks for posting! lol...I was really excited to find the Navy dress too. It can be so hard when you're looking for something specific to find it (I needed something navy to match the boys' navy blazers), but I got lucky! :goodvibes

OOOo...I'll have to go check out those authors you mentioned...I'm always eager for a new book! Your DD is going to be ecstatic...Elizabeth is so gorgeous! And I have to admit that the names I give my brothers are actually pseudonames...I used the three musketeers and d'artagnon. But we can sympathise with you...some of my brothers do have old-fashioned names that they sometimes get teased for. :sad2: But they're proud of them all the same

How could I have missed this?! Welcome back, Emma! I'm so excited for another (pre-)trip report from you. I'll JUST miss you there -- my boyfriend got promoted at work. He's now a BMW salesman so I put a stop to our whole moving to Orlando plans. We're going there mid-December. I'm a travel agent and just got 3 free nights at WDW.

Anyway - your count up calander is the BEST! I love it!!!

Hello there! I'm so glad you found your way over. That's too bad you guys won't be moving down there, but at least you've got a Disney trip to look forward too. And you'll get to see Disney in all its Christmas splendour! (I've been wondering how quick they take down the decorations, and whether they'll still be up for our trip!)

Hi Emma!

Would love to see periodic pictures of your count up calendar! That is soo cool! :cool1:

I'll take one to put in my update...It's 92 days today! :woohoo:

I would love to see your Count up calendar, too! I have to construct ours soon.......11 more Fridays and we're going to WDW!!!!:cool1:

11 more Fridays is a good way to look at it!! I'd love to see your countdown/up calendar...people on the DIS make such creative countdowns that I love to look at them! :thumbsup2

Excellent PTR. I really like the "count-up" idea. I'm considering doing something similar in the future.

I would suggest your dad try ginger pills (if he hasn't already) to help with the seasickness. They don't make you drowsy, and work pretty well.

Looking forward to more.

Ben

Thanks! And I will definitely pass that advice along. On the last cruise we weren't really expecting it, so I don't think he took anything, so this time should be better.

[AZMickeyfans]

LOVE the new duds! The 1st dress is Fabulous!!! Absolutely Fabulous! :worship:

Of course matching accessories must come into play! Great outfits. Cute skirts. You are all set.:cool1:

[dizprincess717]

Hello there! I'm so glad you found your way over. That's too bad you guys won't be moving down there, but at least you've got a Disney trip to look forward too. And you'll get to see Disney in all its Christmas splendour! (I've been wondering how quick they take down the decorations, and whether they'll still be up for our trip!)

They should still be up for your trip. The first day of my internship was January 6 but I didn't get park access until January 8. Little did we know that when we walked into MK that it would still be decorated. It was a great surprise! We were there the last day the decorations were up. They're so beautiful.

Can't wait for more updates!!!! :thumbsup2

[Disney Mommy 3]

LOVE the new duds! The 1st dress is Fabulous!!! Absolutely Fabulous! :worship:

Of course matching accessories must come into play! Great outfits. Cute skirts. You are all set.:cool1:

Just wanted to say hey to a fellow "Shawna"!! There aren't many of us!!But I think there may be a Shawna from Alaska on here. Can't remember.

[AGPrincess]

LOVE the new duds! The 1st dress is Fabulous!!! Absolutely Fabulous! :worship:

Of course matching accessories must come into play! Great outfits. Cute skirts. You are all set.:cool1:

Thanks! I am holding out and not wearing any of the new skirts, etc. until Disney but its tough! :rotfl: ;)

They should still be up for your trip. The first day of my internship was January 6 but I didn't get park access until January 8. Little did we know that when we walked into MK that it would still be decorated. It was a great surprise! We were there the last day the decorations were up. They're so beautiful.

Can't wait for more updates!!!! :thumbsup2

Thanks for the info!! That will be fun to see the decorations...I haven't seen them in quite awhile! Next update will be up momentarily! :thumbsup2

Just wanted to say hey to a fellow "Shawna"!! There aren't many of us!!But I think there may be a Shawna from Alaska on here. Can't remember.

That's such a pretty name! :goodvibes

[AGPrincess]

“Your fashion consultant has arrived,” announces a blonde head, rounding the corner of one of many shoe aisles. The head is topped by a beach bum sort-of hat. The voice sounds sort of like Franc from Father of the Bride, but don’t be fooled. It’s just Athos.

The Snobbishes were outlet shopping. That’s what summer is for when you don’t go to Disney World. ;)

Anywho. Athos had somehow talked Mom into the Castaway Cay hat a few stores back. This is the best pic I got of it:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Aug26045.jpg

But actually the hat in that poster I showed earlier looks just like it and is a better pic, so let’s just go with:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/002.jpg

See the hat? Anyway, getting BACK to the subject, the novelty of Athos’ new hat had already worn out. He needed a new source of entertainment, a new mode of employment. His choice: shoe consultant!

First he finds a pair of crazy see-through blue flip flops which, though cool, have a very flat and thin bottom with zero-arch support. I x-ed that suggestion and set him to finding something I actually DID want. A pair of beachy wedges.

Now Athos starts to take his job more seriously. He finds a few pairs, but unfortunately they’re size 9 ½. I’m size 7.

So then he tags along after me and comments on every shoe we walk by.

“This is just what you’re looking for, darling. The perfect color.”

Or…

“Bingo! Come check this out!”

“Athos, I already looked at that. It’s too expensive and I don’t like it that much.”

“Too late, it’s in my hand!”

OH BROTHER! I’m the one who’s supposed to be the E here!!! :rotfl:

He didn’t manage to talk me into anything at THAT shoe store, although he was fairly convincing about a pair of palm-tree emblazoned flip flops (“They just say: Get ready Bahamas! Here I come!”). But they were $25, and I couldn’t pay that much for flip flops that were supposedly already on sale (sometimes outlets are very sneaky :tiptoe: )…

There weren’t many stores to hit after this. I popped in the Coach outlet w/ my mom but couldn’t talk myself into anything… But right next door I discovered a Naturalizer shoe outlet! I had never heard of Naturalizer, but I had really good luck with prices AND styles! Athos naturally was accompanying me, and I let him appraise my choices…

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Aug16017.jpg
Cute? YES?!? They had the blue ones in a cute bright pink too, but I just got the blue. I still don't know what I'm wearing to Animator's Palate (the restuarant on the cruise where everything goes from black and white to color), but if I wear something black and white the other pair of shoes would be good for that!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Aug16018.jpg
Athos deemed these cruise-acious! (“They are just ready to step onto a cruise ship right this minute!!”). Actually, I reeeally like them! They're just the beachy wedges I was looking for! I’m not sure if I’ll be able to resist wearing them before the cruise!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Aug16019.jpg
Only $8! Love it! So cruise-y!! (Actually found this at the Bass outlet, not Naturalizer)

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Aug26042.jpg
Here’s another cruise purchase (not from an outlet, though). It’s Dancing Waters from Bath & Body Works (it has the nicest, freshest, sea-breeziest smell!) Can you tell? I have lately become distinctly vulnerable to any product related to the sea/cruises. But seriously: isn’t dancing waters the perfect name for a Disney Cruise scent??

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/029-1.jpg
Another fashion-accessory, Athos approved. It's so pretty I tried a close-up too:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/032.jpg
It’s a little ring and it reminds me of a little piece of coral. I can now be like Ariel and have an under-the-sea-creature friend who comes everywhere with me!! (ooo..should I name my coral??)

Spot the crocs in that one pic? Who could forget them, of course. They came along to Disney in April...

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/041.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/033.jpg
A cruisy clutch purse. What I love most is that is has a strap...complete with antique-y, piratey metal clasps (I think the buckle also looks a little piratey...)

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/034.jpg
So should one tire of being so ultra hip that one has a beachy clutch to take to the beach, there's the strap!

Hmmmm…what else can I share? Surprisingly it would seem I have run out of cruise fashion accoutrements to tell of...and I need to keep all you kids entertained until January...I need more material...

Well, actually, speaking of footwear, here’s a story that sort-of, technicallyish is not really almost related, but I have to tell it. It happened this summer when I was busy outlet-shopping, getting a tan, and pre-writing pre-trip report updates for all of you.

Commence semi-off-topic-but-highly-funny story...

Here’s the thing: I love Birkenstocks. I got my lovely first pair last year and practically lived in them from that point on. (except when it was rainy or wet. I took good care of my dear birks.) So after the toils of the school year and most of the summer, Mom feels that my birkenstocks need to be sterilized. So she cleans the shoes. They then needed to dry. She chooses, as her drying rack, the hood of the car.

Next morning Porthos needs to be driven to band camp early. I was driving him over. I didn’t know my dear birks were napping on the hood. Mom thought I would notice them, of course. Of course, I failed to do so.

I drive blithely down the driveway and out of the neighborhood. The left Birkenstock makes a valiant effort but quits the field shortly after I’ve gotten onto the main road. I did notice something sort of whizzing past as it flew away. But I thought it was a bird, a bug, a leaf. It didn’t even cross my mind that it could be the left partner in my favorite footwear couple.

The right Birkenstock was far more tenacious. It held on until we had nearly reached band practice, at which point it fell off as we were turning into an intersection. Note: I had no idea at the time that or where these two fell off.

Over the next few days, I knew my Birkenstocks were missing, but I lose things fairly frequently. I had no idea they had left the house. Then three days later I went with Mom to pick Porthos up from band. We turn out of the neighborhood, and there is a Birkenstock along the side of the road.

I notice it. And happened to point it out. “That looks a lot like mine,” I say.

I didn’t even think it was my Birkenstock. I was just pointing out how odd it was to see a Birkenstock on the side of the road. But Mom put two and two together, and turned the car around.

Had I taken my birks off the hood of the car? Mom asked.
My birks were WHERE? I reply. :scared1:

I was very upset. I am sentimentally attached to my footwear. I retrieved the left Birkenstock, admittedly in pretty good shape, but the other one was gone forever, probably blown to smithereens and being pecked by crows somewhere.

Through these thoughts of despair, however, a small hope survived. I scanned the sides of the road as we drove, hoping the other one would show up. But everybody thought it couldn't have stayed on for so long.

It proved us wrong. As we approached the intersection to turn, there it was. Sitting ON THE YELLOW LINE. In the middle. Of the road.

No. Joke.

I was SO amazed to see it. I wanted to get out and snatch it right then, but there wasn’t a chance and we turned and drove on. As we waited for Porthos to come out I was in agony. Because naturally the Birkenstock was going to be run over and destroyed in the five minutes I had to wait. The past three days meant nothing. Moveover, it looked like a semi-truck had run over the birkenstock. Several times. On purpose. With rage and vengeance in its heart (the truck, I mean, not my dear Birkenstock).

This story is already pretty long (hehe…sorry!). I’ll cut to the chase: I got out at the intersection and crossed to grab the Birkenstock. It was successfully retrieved. But it was in pretty bad shape. Buckles all beat up, surface all scratched up. But surprisingly still wearable. Before I show you the long-awaited pic of the Birkenstocks, let me show you where I found the right Birkenstock (I took a pic of it later, because I knew this was a story that needed to be documented).

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Aug16026.jpg
Look! I even got one of the semi-trucks that frequent the intersection in this pic. The Birkenstock was basically right on the edge of the left turn lane, on the yellow line.

What? You don’t believe me? C’mon: I couldn’t make this stuff up. And as further proof, I will show you the Birkenstocks themselves.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Aug26038.jpg
Amazing how well they stood up, isn’t it? Note the buckles with the tire marks on the right Birkenstock. That is a sandle that has looked in the face of a 100-ton metal monster and come out alive. 10-4 rubber duck.

Here’s the moral of the story: Buy Birkenstocks. And don't be afraid to wear them to Disney. They’re indestructible. Seriously. (my mom thinks we should send in my experience to the Birkenstock people and they could use it as a commercial)

As attached as I am to these Birkenstocks, I’m not sure if I will be taking them to Disney or if I will be attempting to purchase a new pair or get them repaired. After this little adventure it seems like they might find Disney World a little tame. Unless they manage to escape on Mission Space. Or jump off the side of the Wonder.

So I don’t know if I should bring them. I haven’t even worn them again yet. Mom says she needs to sterilize them first.

[Disney Mommy 3]

That's such a pretty name! :goodvibes

Thank you!! And.... your crocs are a twin to mine!! Don't you love them!! I got mine forever ago!! I actually wore them to Disney in May of 07 and Jan of 08!!! I love them!!! I have a very high arch and was concerned about this at first--but, alas!! they were wonderful. Love all your purchases and YES you should contact the Birk people about those shoes!!

[Hedy]

I'm giggling at the Birk story.
http://www.tobiasmayer.com/birkisdisneyshoes-.htm

[princess&her4princes]

OMG....LOVE the Birk story...only you Emma!!!:lmao: I'm having flashbacks of your wallet missing last year. Too funny and I have to say you have to be the BEST writer on these boards, you are so good at it, you feel as if you've lived what you've been through. And I absolutely LOVE the new gear..especially the espidrilles (sp?) and I love the black and white flats, too!! Athos did a great job helping you out! Great installment, can't wait for the next one!!!:surfweb:

[LISAMWDW]

A girl after my own heart! Shopping! I just love your shopping updates! :love:

The shoes are adorable! So cute of your brother to "help"!

:rotfl2: The Birk story is hilarous! I can't believe you found them! Amazing! You have some good karma! :wizard: Perhaps Mickey karma? :smickey:

[AGPrincess]

I just realized I forgot to post an updated pic of the count-up yesterday. Here it is! (pretty soon I'll have the tail finished!)

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/043.jpg

Thank you!! And.... your crocs are a twin to mine!! Don't you love them!! I got mine forever ago!! I actually wore them to Disney in May of 07 and Jan of 08!!! I love them!!! I have a very high arch and was concerned about this at first--but, alas!! they were wonderful. Love all your purchases and YES you should contact the Birk people about those shoes!!

Yay-twin crocs! :goodvibes They are super comfy, are't they? :lovestruc

I'm giggling at the Birk story.
http://www.tobiasmayer.com/birkisdisneyshoes-.htm

:eek: They have DISNEY crocs?!?!?!? I think I know what my replacement croc pair is going to look like...those white ones with Minnie are sooo cute!! :love:

OMG....LOVE the Birk story...only you Emma!!!:lmao: I'm having flashbacks of your wallet missing last year. Too funny and I have to say you have to be the BEST writer on these boards, you are so good at it, you feel as if you've lived what you've been through. And I absolutely LOVE the new gear..especially the espidrilles (sp?) and I love the black and white flats, too!! Athos did a great job helping you out! Great installment, can't wait for the next one!!!:surfweb:

lol...I know, I lose things insanely often. Although this time it wasn't really my fault...unless you count me not noticing my birks sitting on the hood of the car before I drove off...:rolleyes1 Now I know to be more observant in the future! :rotfl:

And I didn't even know those were called espadrilles (just googled it)...that's such a cooler name than "beachy wedges" :thumbsup2

A girl after my own heart! Shopping! I just love your shopping updates! :love:

The shoes are adorable! So cute of your brother to "help"!

:rotfl2: The Birk story is hilarous! I can't believe you found them! Amazing! You have some good karma! :wizard: Perhaps Mickey karma? :smickey:

lol...you're right! I think it was some pixie dust karma left over from April! Now I need to go back and refuel! ;) :rotfl:

[princess&her4princes]

WOW Emma, you are talented in more than one way!! Did you make the Ariel countdown yourself? I'm impressed...now I really can't share my countup!! LOL!! You're putting it to shame!:rotfl: It's so pretty!!

Yes, espadrilles....it's a neat name, isn't it? They are really pretty and so cruisewear!!

Have a nice weekend! Doing anything special? It's POURING here and we're all soaked...it's a good weekend to stay in and rent some Disney movies!!!!:happytv:

[BellaSoleil]

Wow, Emma! You really racked up!!!


Hmmmm…what else can I share? Surprisingly it would seem I have run out of cruise fashion accoutrements to tell of...and I need to keep all you kids entertained until January...I need more material...

I feel the same way, sister!!!! I'm only two shirts and a pair of jeans shy of being COMPLETELY shopped out for this trip..... that's 99 days away! (Yahoo!:banana: )

[RachelNinja]

Hi Emma! So excited to have the chance to follow along on another one of your PTR/TR's! I know you'll document the cruise well so I'm thrilled to see those. It's more difficult to find good cruise TR's, I think, but I'll know you'll provide me with the best information and entertainment :)

I still am absolutely in love with your writing style. I was thinking about how you could have simply written, "My mom left my Birkenstocks on my car hood to dry. Not knowing it, I drove away and they flew off! Fortunately, I was still able to find them days later intact!" But no wayyy, it's gotta be written Emma-style.

I hope you have plenty of opportunities to do that kind writing (and reading, of course) as you're in college :goodvibes

[Dancegrl624]

Hello there. I made my way over from the Snowbirds thread, then to Soleil's PTR and now here I am at yours. I'm just getting started, so I have to go back and read the past few pages. I love it so far and can't wait to read more. With all of my PTR reading lately, I really think that I shall start up my own pretty soon!

[disneyhockeymad]

Wow... your countup is looking amazing already!!! :thumbsup2
I love the birkenstock story, I have a pair myself that I live in too so I feel your pain, but the fact you got them back is amazing! I was sat on a computer in my uni library reading that story, I found it so funny I laughed out loud... everyone just looked at me! Maybe I won't be doing that again!! Never the less thanks for the entertaining story, keep it up!!! :)

EDIT: I edited it to make it english... apparently I can't write comments quickly in between lectures!! :rotfl:

[crgfsu1]

Hi Emma.

Just wanted to let you know I was still here. I havent been posting lately - just reading. Love the "count up" calendar - it looks great! Your clothing choices are fabulous, as always. And VERY cute shoes. :)

Cathy

[ThePin Princess]

Dear Emma,

I love your writing, i just finish reading your trip reports this morning, and i am so excited to read your TR and i must say i love the shoes, bag, and wallet. And i also must say I have also been told many times by many people that i am a Disney Snob and from on snob to another i must ask dont you wish you could live at Disney world and have your own Hammock reserved everynight for wishes!

Grace

[AGPrincess]

WOW Emma, you are talented in more than one way!! Did you make the Ariel countdown yourself? I'm impressed...now I really can't share my countup!! LOL!! You're putting it to shame!:rotfl: It's so pretty!!

Yes, espadrilles....it's a neat name, isn't it? They are really pretty and so cruisewear!!

Have a nice weekend! Doing anything special? It's POURING here and we're all soaked...it's a good weekend to stay in and rent some Disney movies!!!!:happytv:

lol...thanks, but I'm sure your countup is fabulous too! I love seeing everybody's creations!! I had a pretty good weekend...we had good weather then, but it's been a little rainy and much chillier this week. Fall is finally here to stay! :thumbsup2

Wow, Emma! You really racked up!!!

I feel the same way, sister!!!! I'm only two shirts and a pair of jeans shy of being COMPLETELY shopped out for this trip..... that's 99 days away! (Yahoo!:banana: )

Yup...the countup is coming along! lol...and I think I do need to go Disney shopping again or find something to do to report on! :rotfl: I'm planning on doing a mini-TR of our first cruise at some point, so that'll take up a few updates! :thumbsup2

Hi Emma! So excited to have the chance to follow along on another one of your PTR/TR's! I know you'll document the cruise well so I'm thrilled to see those. It's more difficult to find good cruise TR's, I think, but I'll know you'll provide me with the best information and entertainment :)

I still am absolutely in love with your writing style. I was thinking about how you could have simply written, "My mom left my Birkenstocks on my car hood to dry. Not knowing it, I drove away and they flew off! Fortunately, I was still able to find them days later intact!" But no wayyy, it's gotta be written Emma-style.

I hope you have plenty of opportunities to do that kind writing (and reading, of course) as you're in college :goodvibes

Thanks for posting!! lol...I will definitely do my best to take plenty of pics and include all the details! Just look at what I did with the Birkenstock story! :rotfl:

Hello there. I made my way over from the Snowbirds thread, then to Soleil's PTR and now here I am at yours. I'm just getting started, so I have to go back and read the past few pages. I love it so far and can't wait to read more. With all of my PTR reading lately, I really think that I shall start up my own pretty soon!

Hello fellow snowbird! :cool1: You should start a PTR, they're so much fun!

Wow... your countup is looking amazing already!!! :thumbsup2
I love the birkenstock story, I have a pair myself that I live in too so I feel your pain, but the fact you got them back is amazing! I was sat on a computer in my uni library reading that story, I found it so funny I laughed out loud... everyone just looked at me! Maybe I won't be doing that again!! Never the less thanks for the entertaining story, keep it up!!! :)

EDIT: I edited it to make it english... apparently I can't write comments quickly in between lectures!! :rotfl:

lol...that has happened to me too when I'm in the most random places...I never trust myself on the Dis in lecture or at the library anymore! ;)

Hi Emma.

Just wanted to let you know I was still here. I havent been posting lately - just reading. Love the "count up" calendar - it looks great! Your clothing choices are fabulous, as always. And VERY cute shoes. :)

Cathy

Hey Cathy! Thanks for posting! :thumbsup2

Dear Emma,

I love you writing, i just finish reading your trip reports this morning, and i am so excited to read your TR and i must say i love the shoes, bag, and wallet. And i also must say I have also been told many times by many people that i am a Disney Snob and from on snob to another i must ask dont you wish you could live at Disney world and have your own Hammock reserved everynight for wishes!

Grace

Welcome to a fellow Disney Snob! :snooty: Glad you're enjoying the TR so far!

Update tomorrow or possibly tonight if I can swing it! :rolleyes1

[BellaSoleil]

So glad you posted today-

I spent the weekend with your twin-from-another-mother. (My cousin, Autumn.) I told her all about you.:goodvibes

[princess&her4princes]

Yay, another update coming soon!! No pressure, but I can't wait!!!:surfweb:
Hope school is going well!!

[AGPrincess]

One of the most fun things about planning and anticipating a trip is the paraphernalia attached. You know what I’m thinking of. FREE INFORMATION PACKETS!!!!

I have always been particularly fond of the cruise pamphlet because when we first went on the cruise in 2004, the pamphlet was this beautiful picture of the ship out on the sea and in the foreground was Ariel looking at it from a rock. I just thought that was so princess-y and pretty!!

And this year’s cruise paraphernalia is pretty darn awesome too! We actually booked before we requested the free DVD and information packet, so the planning packet wasn’t the first thing to arrive. One afternoon this summer I walked down to our mailbox and found a whole PILE of envelopes from the Disney Cruise line!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/001.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/003.jpg
I loved all the marks on the envelope

So what was inside? What a good question!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/005.jpg
A postcard from none other than Mickey Mouse! Dart was so excited when I read this to him…he’s so cute!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/006.jpg
Mickey’s message…

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/007.jpg
The “stamps” on the postcard…

Then, of course, the main brochure itself soon came. Again…I loved all the postmarks!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Aug26020.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Aug26022.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Aug26017.jpg
lol…I feel the same way as Minnie about going on the cruise!

Here’s the ironic thing…I took lots of pics of the inside of the booklet, but I never actually took a pic of the brochure itself! Lol…and it’s at home, so I can’t just take a pic of it now. But I took some fun pics of the inside. The brochure came just before we were driving out to drop me off at college, so I brought it along and read it in the car.

This is blurry, but I love what it says…

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Aug26055.jpg
Palm trees swaying??? Sign me up!!!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Aug26057.jpg
I can’t wait to see these things in person!! And especially this…

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Aug26061.jpg
LOVE IT!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Aug26052.jpg
Our cabin type. I love how Disney manages to call 9 out of their 11 cabin options “deluxe!”

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Aug26053.jpg
lol…I love the part where it says “Yes, there is a never never land.” I love whoever wrote this booklet.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Aug26050.jpg
See where it says “Disneylicious”? (in case the pink arrow was too subtle) I LOVED that. I mean, seriously – who wrote this thing? They have the same vocabulary as me. I think they’re my long-lost best friend!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Aug26051.jpg
When I read that first passage right under "Relaxing Facts" out to my Mom while we were in the car she goes “Alright. Since when did you start writing for Disney and not tell us?” lol…in case you guys haven’t noticed, I am very proper/squeamish when it comes to referring to, as my friend puts it, “other necessary restroom plumbing.” I wish I could write Disney promotional materials, but I have to say: whoever did the cruise packet did an excellent job.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Aug26063.jpg
The Vacation Protection Plan. That sounds like it comes complete with guys in suits and sunglasses. :cool2:

And just recently I got THIS in the mail!!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/024.jpg
Disney used the same envelope but my mom dressed it up!! Lol…they sent it home, but Mom knew I’d like to see it (and trip report about it!!) so she sent it on to me at college! What was inside???

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/025.jpg
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooOoOoOOOOOO oo

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/026.jpg
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaAAaaaaa

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/027.jpg
Preeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetty!!! I so love this brochure…it’s so fancy, it feels like a special invitation or something, when really it’s just a little booklet letting you know various ways to spend more money on the cruise…

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/028.jpg
Excursions that cost extra…

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/035.jpg
Tips advising you to spend extra money at Palo or the spa…

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/036.jpg
lol…ok, so not ALL of it was about extras! And I still got a kick out of all of it even if it was brainwashing me. Isn’t this a pretty picture?

That's all the Disney Mail for now, but if any more shows up I'll be sure to keep you posted! (oooooo...punny!) ;)

[ThePin Princess]

read it. loved it. subscribed to it!!!!!!!

Are you planning to do the College Program like your brother???
How is your Ariel coming???

And I am so excited for more

[princess&her4princes]

Ohhhhhh ahhhhhh!! Can I come..pllleeeeaazzz?:lovestruc

WOW...can't wait to hear how the real trip is, I'm already totally enjoying what you're wearing and the mail!! LOL!:goodvibes

[Hedy]

Your mom is adorable.

[Disney Mommy 3]

OH, How I love your thread!! You are so sweet!! I have to agree with you. Disney does hire the best brainwashers (salespersons) in history!! I bet they could take a really dumpy place and make it sound like vacation heaven!!!

Keep those pictures of your Count Up coming too!!

[BellaSoleil]

Great update, Emma! The cruise mail is making me so excited for you!!!!

Did you get a chance to try Palo last time?

[AGPrincess]

So glad you posted today-

I spent the weekend with your twin-from-another-mother. (My cousin, Autumn.) I told her all about you.:goodvibes

Awww! How is Autumn doing? That is so much fun...I wish I could meet her! :goodvibes

Yay, another update coming soon!! No pressure, but I can't wait!!!:surfweb:
Hope school is going well!!

lol...thanks for being patient! School is going well...this past week and this week are kinda paper-heavy, but I'm getting through it. :thumbsup2 I have a fall break coming up, so I should have more time for DISing then! :woohoo:

read it. loved it. subscribed to it!!!!!!!

Are you planning to do the College Program like your brother???
How is your Ariel coming???

And I am so excited for more

Thanks for reading! I am planning on doing the college program, but when I do it will depend on how my study abroad works out, but I want to at least audition for a character. If that doesn't work out, I'd love to do BBB! Ariel is coming along...I'm still filling up the tail (I'm starting to think I went way overboard with the green MHPC! ;) )

Ohhhhhh ahhhhhh!! Can I come..pllleeeeaazzz?:lovestruc

WOW...can't wait to hear how the real trip is, I'm already totally enjoying what you're wearing and the mail!! LOL!:goodvibes

lol...I'd love to take you along, but I don't know how you'd stow aboard. :confused3 My brothers were watching Tom and Jerry awhile ago, and Athos said we didn't need to buy him a ticket...he now knows exactly how to sneak onto a cruise ship (because apparently Tom and Jerry were doing that a lot! :rotfl: )

Your mom is adorable.

I know -- I love my mom! :lovestruc

OH, How I love your thread!! You are so sweet!! I have to agree with you. Disney does hire the best brainwashers (salespersons) in history!! I bet they could take a really dumpy place and make it sound like vacation heaven!!!

Keep those pictures of your Count Up coming too!!

I'll def. take a pic of the count-up today, although it is sadly still only green (urghhh...why can't the days go faster!!)

Great update, Emma! The cruise mail is making me so excited for you!!!!

Did you get a chance to try Palo last time?

We didn't get to do Palo last time! We were thinking of doing it w/ just the older people this time, but the 3-night cruise is so short! We'd have to give up another restaurant, etc...so it looks like we'll have to wait for another longer cruise! (there's always a reason to go back, right?) :thumbsup2

[ThePin Princess]

I was at home depo the other day and i took some mickey heads and i got a few , fifty , more than intended, i haven't counted but i think its about 100!!!!!!:scared1:

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh218/x3iheartx0/mickeyheads.jpg

[disneyhockeymad]

aww I love the mail... that's amazing!! We booked our holiday through a travel agent when we went so we didnt get any of the exciting looking mail, but I did have the pleasure of getting the dvd through the post which made me very happy!! :)

[princess&her4princes]

Good luck with your papers this week, Emma!! Hope all is going well-- you're such a great righter though, I'm sure you fly through them!!:thumbsup2

[princess&her4princes]

I was at home depo the other day and i took some mickey heads and i got a few , fifty , more than intended, i haven't counted but i think its about 100!!!!!!:scared1:

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh218/x3iheartx0/mickeyheads.jpg

Too funny....my DH had to run to depot the other day so I thought it was the PERFECT time to get him involved with our trip planning..he brought me about 45 home....yippy! :cool1:

[anbouk]

:) Loving your update, as usual, of course! Hoping college is swell :thumbsup2 Are you guys doing the Eastern or Western cruise? Also, we are considering cruising and doing a split stay possibly. Still in the planning stages. Does your mom book thru WDW or an agent, just trying to figure the best most economical way to do it for a family of five.....would you know if they have a cabin large enuf or do we have to do two rooms...also are they connecting? I figure you would know as you are a large family, too :goodvibes Till next time!

[AGPrincess]

I was at home depo the other day and i took some mickey heads and i got a few , fifty , more than intended, i haven't counted but i think its about 100!!!!!!:scared1:

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh218/x3iheartx0/mickeyheads.jpg

:rotfl: Love it! Great job -- what are you going to make with them?

aww I love the mail... that's amazing!! We booked our holiday through a travel agent when we went so we didnt get any of the exciting looking mail, but I did have the pleasure of getting the dvd through the post which made me very happy!! :)

It is fun to get the DVD, isn't it? And I want to send in for the personalized maps too...

Good luck with your papers this week, Emma!! Hope all is going well-- you're such a great righter though, I'm sure you fly through them!!:thumbsup2

Thanks for the luck...I have been so busy-I never got around to posting the latest Ariel count-up. I'll do it at the end of this post.

Too funny....my DH had to run to depot the other day so I thought it was the PERFECT time to get him involved with our trip planning..he brought me about 45 home....yippy! :cool1:

:rotfl: Wow! Your DH is a good sport!

:) Loving your update, as usual, of course! Hoping college is swell :thumbsup2 Are you guys doing the Eastern or Western cruise? Also, we are considering cruising and doing a split stay possibly. Still in the planning stages. Does your mom book thru WDW or an agent, just trying to figure the best most economical way to do it for a family of five.....would you know if they have a cabin large enuf or do we have to do two rooms...also are they connecting? I figure you would know as you are a large family, too :goodvibes Till next time!

It's the regular Eastern cruise (it's just for 3 nights). Yay for a cruise for you! :woohoo: My mom actually booked through Disney so she could get the CM discount, but she was seriously considering booking through a travel agent. Some travel agents offer nice onboard credit if you book through them, so I would look into that!

I think that if you wanted a cabin big enough for 5 you would have to book one of the nicer rooms with a verandah. We've only stayed in the rooms w/ portholes and as far as I recall there is the one queen bed and then the couch can become a twin bed and another bed can fold out on top of it like bunk beds. They do have connecting regular rooms.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/002.jpg
The latest count-up! 78 days and counting! Like the pumpkin? I decorated my room for halloween!

Update later today!

[Northern Disney Girl]

Hi Emma! Sorry I haven't been posting here lately, I've been very caught up in the "Snowbird" craze! All caught up on your adventures now! Sounds like you are getting very excited for your cruise! How did your mid terms go? I'll bet you did just fine! Smarty pants that you are! Happy Cruise planning! :goodvibes

[ThePin Princess]

:rotfl: Love it! Great job -- what are you going to make with them?

I haven't decided yet, I'm thinking about making a globe then a bunch of people around it wearing mickey ears, like " it's a small world". Or a Tinkerbell, Aurora, or Castle! But i have to go back because ...... da da da daaahhhhhh ..... I only picked up TWO BLACK MICKEYS!!!!!!!!!! I was very surprised with my self, but i did get 16 alien greens, although i think i'll use most for a scrapbook!

[AGPrincess]

Across the sea
Let the stars chart our way
Let the waves be our guide
On a dream we will fly, we fill fly
Across the sea...

YES. It’s that song. AGAIN. I know. I’m obsessed. If they had it on iTunes I would buy it. :lovestruc As it is, I can play it in my head at any time. And these days it’s usually on repeat!

I remember how we used to watch that video so much. It was before our 2004 cruise. I did go searching in the basement for a fruitless hour or more to find this video and attractive case, and though I found many interesting things, I couldn’t find the video. Darn. :mad:

But there’s more than one way to walk down memory lane. And a search through photo boxes and my Disney diary was much more successful. So I’m thinking we’ll all take a stroll together and do a little mini-TR from days of yore.

Anyone want to come along? :thumbsup2

SO. It was our very first Disney cruise vacation. It all started in November 2004. Do the doodeleedoodoodeleedo for me… (points to anyone who can tell me where that’s from!)

November 2004. I was a sophomore in High School. We had been looking forward to the cruise since summer, since Mom had found that cruisewear at Hartstrings and talked Dad into booking! I had basically memorized the cruise brochure booklet (I wish I could find it…the cover was so pretty – it had Ariel on a rock and the blue sea and off in the distance the Disney cruise ships were approaching! But did I already tell you that? I’m getting all my déjà vue mixed up! :upsidedow ) We had also basically ceased to watch ordinary television programming in favor of the aforementioned Disney Cruise line video. And, since the Disney Cruise Line was new territory for us, we bought the Birneboum’s guide and read up!

We were pretty darn excited for it that summer. Everything looked rosy. We were counting down (although not with such a rocking awesome calendar).

And then the school year started.

With classes and teachers.

And one teacher in particular.

There were two different teachers who taught 10th grade honors English at my HS. One everybody wanted, the other everybody feared. Yup. She was “that” teacher. There’s always one. The one that everyone is scared of. The one who’s impossible to please. The one who never gives an A on a paper. The one where, “they” tell you to “abandon hope, all ye who enter here…” All hope of an ‘A’ at least. :rolleyes:

And this teacher, Mrs. G, was looooovin’ the reputation she had acquired (she was also the drama teacher, so I think that made her…mad…in a literary sense). And she had this low, whispery sort of voice. Think:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/stepmother01.gif

Or...

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/2_Wicked-Queen.jpg

I like that one of the Evil Queen on her chair. That's what it felt like. Whenever Mrs. G gave important notes she would speak so softly. The room would be completely hushed and we would always be leaning forward in our seats, straining to hear. She would give her own detentions to kids who forgot to bring a book to class – detentions where they would come in and clean her classroom. (although, to be fair, I heard that these 'detentions' were more like cleaning parties)

I’ve given you a brief sketch of Mrs. G’s character, but you’d really have to take classes with her for a year to get the whole gist. But the point of my character sketch is this: she was strict. She was mean. She loved it. And she HATED kids missing class.

Didn’t matter if they were sick.

Didn’t matter if they were going on a trip.

Didn’t matter if they were going on a DISNEY CRUISE.

GULP. :eek: I was kinda dreading telling her. Because I WAS missing a week or so of class to do the cruise. I mean, you could tell she was totally power tripping with the whole “mean” image, but I still didn’t want to get on her bad side. I had a pretty good grip on that supposedly-nonexistent “A,” and I didn’t want to lose it.

So what to do? Naturally I consulted my mother. She always has the best ideas. As she did in this case. Of course. I never doubted her. But at first I was wary of her suggestion: we give Mrs. G a cake. A pretty, chocolate cake. That said on it:

“I will be absent from class…”

Now I can hear some of you bashing me (or my mom). You’re thinking “Emma and Betsey don’t seem like suck-ups, what’s with this?”

We weren’t “sucking up.” I wasn’t trying to get out of any work. We were just feeding Mrs. G’s ego. So that she wouldn’t go all I’m-going-to-grade-your-next-paper-on-a-day-when-my-car-gets-rear-ended-and-i-burn-the-dinner on me. Not that she or other English teachers do that. And despite of all her pretended evilness, I loved Mrs. G. She's one of those teachers whom you never forget, whom you really learn something from (in addition to grammar! ;) ). ANYway.

At first I didn’t think I would have the courage to give her the cake. I mean, it just seemed too much. Too silly. I would never be able to do it.

No.

Way.

…

...

...

Next thing I know I’m walking into school early one morning carrying a white cake box. :rolleyes: Thinking (I was the one thinking, of course, not the cake box), "WHY do I let my mother talk me into these crazy schemes????"

It said on the cover (we're back to the cake box now) “To sweeten some sour news:” Alliteration!! Yeeees!! English teachers eat that up… As I went down to her classroom I felt like I was going to die if I had to hand it to her. Luckily she wasn’t there. The lights in the room were off, but the door was unlocked. I snuck in, left the box, and split.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/DSC04991np.jpg
(Disclaimer! We did not make the cake (looking back I didn't realize it was that pretty!)...it was actually around one of my brother's birthdays, so we ordered it along with his cake)

And guess what...she loved it! :cool1: She thought it was so funny, she showed it to all of her other classes, so I had some of my friends teasing me about it all day. But really they were just jealous. Because they knew it was brilliant (thanks mom!!). When it was finally time for English, I talked to her before class. She said of course I would have to make up the work, but it wouldn’t be that big of a deal, and my method of communication had been pretty fabulous.

Thanks mom!!!!!!! :woohoo:

And once the news was broken to Mrs. G, I felt TOTALLY ready for the cruise!!! :cool1:

And everything else was pretty much ready…we were all packed!! Everybody’s outfits, including the famous Hartstrings ensembles…

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/DSC05010.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/DSC05014.jpg

And my fancy skirts for the dinners!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/DSC05024.jpg

Let’s go on a cruise baby!!!

I knooooow this has been a slightly lame/not-very Disneyish update (although, how much more Disney can you get with a real-life Lady Tremaine?), BUT the point is the next update will be a more Disney World one. I scanned a bunch of pics and took excerpts out of my diary, so this should be fun!

[anbouk]

What a CLEVER idea! :rolleyes1 I should remember to do this for one of my kids teachers should if we ever are away during a school week :laughing:. Gotta LOVE this update. Snob...you are the BESTEST!!! Bring it ON! ;)

[Dancegrl624]

That cake idea is the best ever! I will have to keep that in mind for when my DD grows up! Everybody loves cake, right? By the way, I love the way that you write! You remind me of my little sis (she's a soph in college too!).

[princess&her4princes]

Looove the latest update...it will be neat to see the last cruise!! :yay: What a great idea about the cake..I'm trying how to break the news to my sons Kindergarten teacher (it's a big deal evidentally if the kids miss school at our school, too) and maybe I'll have to steal this one!! Thanks, Mom!!:lovestruc

[Lady Lallie]

That cake is the best idea ever! I love the teacher that is a real life Disney Villian as well. I have one of those in my family! ;)

[BellaSoleil]

The cake idea is hilarious!:rotfl2:

How old were the little boys when you did the cruise? I'm trying to picture them in the cute outfits.:goodvibes

[ThePin Princess]

Heyy Emma

So i was just thinking about how your going on a cruise and everything, well last night i was watching Titanic and i thought " How cool would that be if that happened to someone like EMMA" and i mean the loveydovey part not the boat sinking and everyone freezing to death and Rose losing her one true love parts.

[AGPrincess]

Hi Emma! Sorry I haven't been posting here lately, I've been very caught up in the "Snowbird" craze! All caught up on your adventures now! Sounds like you are getting very excited for your cruise! How did your mid terms go? I'll bet you did just fine! Smarty pants that you are! Happy Cruise planning! :goodvibes

Aren't the snowbirds fun? :goodvibes Mid terms went fine, I got all my papers in! :woohoo: And fall break starts this weekend - I can't wait to go home!

I haven't decided yet, I'm thinking about making a globe then a bunch of people around it wearing mickey ears, like " it's a small world". Or a Tinkerbell, Aurora, or Castle! But i have to go back because ...... da da da daaahhhhhh ..... I only picked up TWO BLACK MICKEYS!!!!!!!!!! I was very surprised with my self, but i did get 16 alien greens, although i think i'll use most for a scrapbook!

oooo...I love your idea for the world! Then again, a castle would look really cool too!

What a CLEVER idea! :rolleyes1 I should remember to do this for one of my kids teachers should if we ever are away during a school week :laughing:. Gotta LOVE this update. Snob...you are the BESTEST!!! Bring it ON! ;)

lol...we've never tried it on another teacher, but it certainly worked on that one! :rotfl:

That cake idea is the best ever! I will have to keep that in mind for when my DD grows up! Everybody loves cake, right? By the way, I love the way that you write! You remind me of my little sis (she's a soph in college too!).

I'm glad you're enjoying it! Hope your sis is having a good sophomore year...I can't believe how fast mine is flying by!

Looove the latest update...it will be neat to see the last cruise!! :yay: What a great idea about the cake..I'm trying how to break the news to my sons Kindergarten teacher (it's a big deal evidentally if the kids miss school at our school, too) and maybe I'll have to steal this one!! Thanks, Mom!!:lovestruc

Urgh...stupid schools that get hyped up over excused absences. I know that I remember (and learned more from!) the days I missed and was travelling with my family more than I would have remembered any ordinary day in class.

That cake is the best idea ever! I love the teacher that is a real life Disney Villian as well. I have one of those in my family! ;)

lol...real-life Disney villains are always fun! :thumbsup2

The cake idea is hilarious!:rotfl2:

How old were the little boys when you did the cruise? I'm trying to picture them in the cute outfits.:goodvibes

The two outfits I posted were both Dart's...he was not quite a year and a half old when we went...which would make Athos 8 and Porthos 13. Mom had the little boys matching/coordinating a lot (she could only talk Aramis, a then high-school senior, to coordinate for one or two of the dinners! :rotfl: )

Heyy Emma

So i was just thinking about how your going on a cruise and everything, well last night i was watching Titanic and i thought " How cool would that be if that happened to someone like EMMA" and i mean the loveydovey part not the boat sinking and everyone freezing to death and Rose losing her one true love parts.

I've never seen Titanic, so when I read the first sentence I thought :eek:! But I get it now, and I highly agree with your narrowed comparison - I would not be at all averse to finding a Prince Eric at sea! :lovestruc :rolleyes1

[Hedy]

1. Happened upon a Hartstrings outlet this weekend, thought of the Snobbishes. I'm glad my nephews and niece are too old for such things, or it could have turned out badly for our wallets. :lmao: :lmao:
2. I'm sure I've said it before, but Betsey? Is awesome. You're lucky to have her, and she's lucky to have a DD who appreciates her.

[disneyhockeymad]

I keep thinking I've commented when I haven't!!
That cake idea is amazing, I love it! I would have loved to see the look on your teachers face when she got it, bet it was priceless!
Love your brothers outfits!!

[ThePin Princess]

Heyy Emma,

I was wondering if you know if there is some special way that you can see next years american girls doll of the year like Nikki and Mia or do you just have to wait? I begging my mom for a new AG Doll this year, my older sisters and cousins ripped the arms and legs off of my Kirsten and Josefina and for Christmas/Late birthday present I don't know if I want Julie or Ruthie! Ruthie is really pretty but I can't do much with her hair with out damaging her curls and julies hair has so many options with Julie's hair or I could get Mia or a Just like me AG doll. But I don't know if i should get a Sam doll since they aren't going to have her anymore?

http://store.americangirl.com/agshop/html/ViewLarger.jsf?images=http%3A%2F%2Fstore.americang irl.com%2Fimages%2FF8840_main_3.jpg&index=1&itemId=132747&itemType=SET
Ruthie

http://store.americangirl.com/agshop/html/ViewLarger.jsf?itemId=732&itemType=DISPLAYGROUP&Flag=y\
Julie

http://store.americangirl.com/agshop/html/ViewLarger.jsf?images=http%3A%2F%2Fstore.americang irl.com%2Fimages%2FF7260_main_3.jpg&index=3&itemId=130738&itemType=SET
Mia

http://store.americangirl.com/agshop/html/ViewLarger.jsf?images=http%3A%2F%2Fstore.americang irl.com%2Fimages%2FF8902_main_3.jpg&index=1&itemId=1052&itemType=DISPLAYGROUP
Or Just Like Me ( I would name her Cali, Charlotte, or Leila)

Which do you like best??:confused:

[AGPrincess]

1. Happened upon a Hartstrings outlet this weekend, thought of the Snobbishes. I'm glad my nephews and niece are too old for such things, or it could have turned out badly for our wallets. :lmao: :lmao:
2. I'm sure I've said it before, but Betsey? Is awesome. You're lucky to have her, and she's lucky to have a DD who appreciates her.

lol...they do have really cute clothes...sometimes I wish they made them in adult sizes! :rotfl: And I do feel so lucky to have my Mom! She's the best. :hug:

I keep thinking I've commented when I haven't!!
That cake idea is amazing, I love it! I would have loved to see the look on your teachers face when she got it, bet it was priceless!
Love your brothers outfits!!

lol...her reaction was very funny. And the way she had to show it to all her other classes I thought was hilarious. :rotfl:

Heyy Emma,

I was wondering if you know if there is some special way that you can see next years american girls doll of the year like Nikki and Mia or do you just have to wait? I begging my mom for a new AG Doll this year, my older sisters and cousins ripped the arms and legs off of my Kirsten and Josefina and for Christmas/Late birthday present I don't know if I want Julie or Ruthie! Ruthie is really pretty but I can't do much with her hair with out damaging her curls and julies hair has so many options with Julie's hair or I could get Mia or a Just like me AG doll. But I don't know if i should get a Sam doll since they aren't going to have her anymore?

http://store.americangirl.com/agshop/html/ViewLarger.jsf?images=http%3A%2F%2Fstore.americang irl.com%2Fimages%2FF8840_main_3.jpg&index=1&itemId=132747&itemType=SET
Ruthie

http://store.americangirl.com/agshop/html/ViewLarger.jsf?itemId=732&itemType=DISPLAYGROUP&Flag=y\
Julie

http://store.americangirl.com/agshop/html/ViewLarger.jsf?images=http%3A%2F%2Fstore.americang irl.com%2Fimages%2FF7260_main_3.jpg&index=3&itemId=130738&itemType=SET
Mia

http://store.americangirl.com/agshop/html/ViewLarger.jsf?images=http%3A%2F%2Fstore.americang irl.com%2Fimages%2FF8902_main_3.jpg&index=1&itemId=1052&itemType=DISPLAYGROUP
Or Just Like Me ( I would name her Cali, Charlotte, or Leila)

Which do you like best??:confused:

**American Girl Spoiler Alert!**

I am on an American Girl forum as well, and everybody is dying to know what the Girl of 2009 will look like. No picture of the doll has been leaked yet, but we do know that the doll's name is Chrissa and that she will have a movie! The girl playing Chrissa in the movie has curly brown shoulder-length hair...kinda like Ruthie, only lighter brown. The actress who's playing her is actually the girl from the Suite Life of Zac and Cody who played the daughter of the thief. ANYway, that's all I know about the Girl of 2009!

But, I have to give my vote to Mia, just because I love Mia--her hair is so gorgeous. I wish I could get her, but I have too many AG's already! :rotfl: I heard about them discontinuing the Sam doll...that's so sad! But ultimately, it's up to you. Don't feel pressured to get one just because they won't be selling it soon (you can probably get in on ebay later anyway!). Whichever doll you choose I'm sure you'll love (and I hope you take her to WDW...I'd love to see pics! :thumbsup2 )

[mmounsey]

After all this time, I cannot believe I am finally reading a 'live' report!:cool1:

I am completely in love with all the awesomely cool cruise lit you've been getting...I myself have an older 2005-2006 info one that I still keep (on my desk!) that I just love to look at!:blush:

And the navigators?!? :woohoo:

So glad another trip is in the works! We are waiting for more...popcorn::

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

Across the sea
Let the stars chart our way
Let the waves be our guide
On a dream we will fly, we fill fly
Across the sea...



I absoltly love that song and would defently pay for a cd quility vesrion from itunes. In the mean time I have a old scratchy version that I found on Napster about 5 years ago.

[AGPrincess]

Well. It's Thursday. In case you haven't noticed, I have almost always posted an update at some point on Thursday's. But, I'm afraid I don't have an update today.

Bummer.

BUT! I have a good reason for delay. Fall break begins TOMORROW! Let's get some banana dancing in here!! :banana: :banana: AAaaand, I will definitely be updating more frequently this coming week, because I'll have way more time! :woohoo: I figured I'd put off today's update by a day or two b/c my Disney Diary and the 2004 cruise photos are at home, so I'll be able to include more in the update if I wait and post after I'm home.

So. Really, I'm just posting to say: an update is coming. soonish.

But I won't leave you hanging with absolutely nothing! I have a few pics to share. The first being...

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/083.jpg
Ariel! I am THREE MICKEY HEADS away from finishing the tail!! (that's 70 days until the cruise!! :woohoo: )

And I also have a few pics from when I went to the mall last week that I can share! I stopped in the Disney store and was Enchanted by the princess halloween costumes. Especially the shoes:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/007-1.jpg
Absolutely.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/003-1.jpg
Too.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/004-1.jpg
Pretty!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/002-1.jpg
WHY do they not make these in adult sizes?? Disney is seriously missing out here! And believe me, I checked, none of these would remotely fit even in the squeeze-my-toes-too-tight fashion.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/005-1.jpg
I was tempted by this Cindy shirt, but I decided I didn't like it enough.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/006-1.jpg
Another held-in-my-hand-while-shopping-but-ultimately-talked-myself-out-of. I have a well-stocked crown collection already. ;)

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/pillowcase.jpg
Here's something I actually did by from Sears. No, it was unfortunately not the whole bedding set. A PRINCESS AURORA PILLOWCASE! Just $6, not too shabby. Plus it's reversible. You can kinda see both sides in this pic.

And that's all the "update" I have for you. BUT, there will be a proper update in just a few days!

After all this time, I cannot believe I am finally reading a 'live' report!:cool1:

I am completely in love with all the awesomely cool cruise lit you've been getting...I myself have an older 2005-2006 info one that I still keep (on my desk!) that I just love to look at!:blush:

And the navigators?!? :woohoo:

So glad another trip is in the works! We are waiting for more...popcorn::

Welcome!!! And thank you for posting...I totally love the cruise lit too. It's just so preeetty!! I can't wait to check out the navigators...they're so cool!

I absoltly love that song and would defently pay for a cd quility vesrion from itunes. In the mean time I have a old scratchy version that I found on Napster about 5 years ago.

hmmm...I've never used Napster, but maybe I should look into it if it has the cruise song! :rotfl: That is the best song.

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

hmmm...I've never used Napster, but maybe I should look into it if it has the cruise song! :rotfl: That is the best song.

Just so you know I found this when it was free you have to pay for napster you may want to try kazza or morpheus or if you want ti pm your e-mail addy i could try and send it to you.

[princess&her4princes]

Hi Emma,

Happy Fall Break!! Woohoo!!!:cool1: Doing anything fun? Besides writing all of us...lol!!:rotfl: Hope you get some well deserved rest and relaxing!!

Love the pillow case...it's a shame my sons wouldn't like it or my DH for that matter....good thing I can live vicariously through you!!:goodvibes

Looking forward to the next update!!:surfweb:

[disneyhockeymad]

aww no fair you get a fall break, we get nothing until christmas!!!
I'm going home tonight for the weekend though, so excited! I'll be able to pick up my pictures to so I'll be able to update my TR at last!!
Looking forward to your next installment! :thumbsup2

[Hedy]

yay for Fall break! :cool1: :cool1:

[Disney Mommy 3]

I absoltly love that song and would defently pay for a cd quility vesrion from itunes. In the mean time I have a old scratchy version that I found on Napster about 5 years ago.

Okay, I am lost....what song is that? I-the Disney tune-Queen just can't get it? Help...!!!

Love the pillowcase! And the shoes--oh man! I love them all.Isn't something the pictures your mind can conjure up with just a glance at a shoe? Ex: the Jasmine shoe--genies, lamps, Morrocan tiled palaces, silky fabric....Unbelievable!! Disney really should get on the ball--I would wear every single pair-I would not care if they even 100% matched an outfit-jeans and a solid color shirt-even a T--Cuz you want the shoes to get alllll the glory!!!
Have a fun fall break!

[BellaSoleil]

I am so very enchanted by the Jasmine shoes.

Ariel is looking beautiful! I cannot wait until she is finished. I'm living vicariously through your count-down.:cutie:

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

Okay, I am lost....what song is that? I-the Disney tune-Queen just can't get it? Help...!!!



we are talking about "across the sea" the DCL theme song.

[Disney Mommy 3]

Thanks- I guess I have never heard that-is it played on the ships only?

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

Thanks- I guess I have never heard that-is it played on the ships only?

They don't actully paly that in the ships isted they like to paly a modified version of Remeber the Magic from the 25th anversery of WDW. On the Magic the lyrics are some thing like "Adventure's away"

[AGPrincess]

Hi Emma,

Happy Fall Break!! Woohoo!!!:cool1: Doing anything fun? Besides writing all of us...lol!!:rotfl: Hope you get some well deserved rest and relaxing!!

Love the pillow case...it's a shame my sons wouldn't like it or my DH for that matter....good thing I can live vicariously through you!!:goodvibes

Looking forward to the next update!!:surfweb:

Thanks! lol...mostly hanging out at home, but Mom & I are going to plan a few fun shopping expeditions, and I'm going to try to round up some of my high school friends to see HSM3! I've spent the morning scanning old pics, so the update is juuuuust about ready!

aww no fair you get a fall break, we get nothing until christmas!!!
I'm going home tonight for the weekend though, so excited! I'll be able to pick up my pictures to so I'll be able to update my TR at last!!
Looking forward to your next installment! :thumbsup2

awwww...sorry! But I'm sure you get a nice long Christmas break...ours feels shorter than it was last year (prob b/c I'll be spending most of it away from home...at Disney!). Can't wait to see an update on your TR!

yay for Fall break! :cool1: :cool1:

Definitely yay! :woohoo:

Okay, I am lost....what song is that? I-the Disney tune-Queen just can't get it? Help...!!!

Love the pillowcase! And the shoes--oh man! I love them all.Isn't something the pictures your mind can conjure up with just a glance at a shoe? Ex: the Jasmine shoe--genies, lamps, Morrocan tiled palaces, silky fabric....Unbelievable!! Disney really should get on the ball--I would wear every single pair-I would not care if they even 100% matched an outfit-jeans and a solid color shirt-even a T--Cuz you want the shoes to get alllll the glory!!!
Have a fun fall break!

lol...I wish I could try to make them, but I'm not sure how I'd attack such a project....hmmmmmmmmm

I am so very enchanted by the Jasmine shoes.

Ariel is looking beautiful! I cannot wait until she is finished. I'm living vicariously through your count-down.:cutie:

Thanks! And your trip will be here before you know it too!!

we are talking about "across the sea" the DCL theme song.

Thanks- I guess I have never heard that-is it played on the ships only?

They don't actully paly that in the ships isted they like to paly a modified version of Remeber the Magic from the 25th anversery of WDW. On the Magic the lyrics are some thing like "Adventure's away"

lol...sorry for the confusion. The song was a song used in the DCL promotions a few years ago (I posted a youtube link to one of the videos in my first update!). I've never heard it played on the ship.

I didn't realize they played a "Remember the Magic" version on the ship! I loved that parade song -- I can't wait to hear it!

[AGPrincess]

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/186.jpg

Yes, that’s absolutely right! We were headed on a cruise!!! That, my friends, is a pic of my Disney diary!!

So if you’re going to Disney to go on a cruise…you have to go to Disney World first! I mean, there must be a law somewhere in the Flor. Constitution that if you visit that state, you may not leave until you have set foot on Disney property. We weren’t doing a “land and sea” package (it was cheaper to just to the cruise and then the hotel separately), but we were doing a few days at the parks first!

We arrived and checked into Port Orleans Riverside.

I was totally blown away by the Christmas decorations. The last time we had been during the festive season was years previously on our very first trip. I was too young and too inexperienced in the ways of the Disney Snob to appreciate the splendor of the decorations then, so now I loved it…they seemed almost over the top! Garland EVERYWHERE, gorgeous trees, larger-than-life ornaments and the most vivid colors!!

I attribute (or blame, depends on how you look at it) half of my love of over-the-top Christmas decorations to the unrealistic expectations of decorations which Disney gave me on this trip. Now, a garland is not a garland unless it has both lights and ornaments. A tree is not a tree unless it has a theme (like the Christmas trees at the Polynesian, with all the tropical ornaments!!). Lights are not lights unless...

1. they COMPLETELY coat whatever surface they’re covering. The same way frosting should be on a cake: EVERYWHERE
or…
2. they form the shape of words, an angel, Santa Claus… (that’s a la Osbourne Spectacle of Lights)

We made it our goal to take a photo of me in front of every Christmas tree on property. We actually did pretty well. We were eating at the restaurants at a bunch of different resorts, so we got to see a lot of the different Christmas themes! Here are a few Christmas decoration-pics I dug up… (sorry for the bad quality! This was still in the dark ages of film, so some of these are pics of pics, most I scanned.)

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/img037.jpg
Some of the tree/garland at Riverside…look at how jam packed they were!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/img038.jpg
At the POLY!!! I think these may have been my favorite.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/img177.jpg
The Wilderness Lodge!! It was so gorgeous here it deserves two pics:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/img178.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/img180.jpg
Boardwalk decorations…we ate at Spoodles one night. I had the brushetta flatbread…yuuuummm…

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/img035.jpg
The Epcot snowflake balls…not sure what they’re called, but they’re so pretty!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/DSC05134.jpg
Epcot decorations in the dark!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/img044.jpg
The Animal Kingdom tree…awesome!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/DSC05149.jpg
Minnie from the Jingle Jungle Parade!!! I totally loved this parade AND this float. I think this is when I first got that Cast-Member (and patcularly Character/Performer) Envy. I felt like I should totally be one of the dancers in the parade. I was watching their dance sequence and trying to rehearse it in my head.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/img182.jpg
This was from the Candy Story on the Boardwalk…doesn’t that look so cool?? Actually, I have a fun story from the Candy store. You know those mix-your-own M&M things? They had one there with M&M’s of every color and I got a bag with an M&M of EVERY color!!

We stayed 5 days at Disney World, and it was a blast! At the Magic Kingdom we were able to see Mickey’s Twas’ the Night Before Christmas at the Galaxy Theatre in Tomorrowland. It was absolutely POURING that night, but the show was fun!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/IMG_0767.jpg
I noted that “the singers wore the most sparkly, swirly, Christmas-colored skirts!” and that I felt bad for them, watching the drenched crowd leave in droves.

This trip was the first time we saw Wishes! I described it as “SPECTACULAR!”

This was also the first time we saw Stitch’s Great Escape. The only reason Mom rode it with us was so that she could tease us about how scared we had all been on Alien Encounter. Hey. That ride WAS scary!

I practiced my princess wave on the people going by on the Liberty Belle and was surprised to find some waving back!

Epcot was also awesome. Loved the decorations. I think this was the first time we saw the Finding Nemo sculptures outside of (at that time still) Living Seas, because I noted our going over to see them in my diary. We also spotted the walking Coral Reef (does that have name??), and we went into the shop, where, after much pestering, Mom caved and bought me and Dart a little Finding Nemo stuffed animal. What is it about Disney World that makes one want to buy stuffed animals so badly? (hehe…but now it’s become a “tradition” I’m going to try to talk her into letting us get a baby Squirt!!)

We had lunch at the Rose and Garden one day and I noted that “the restaurant smells strongly of vinegar.” I asked my Mom about this and she said that made sense…they put vinegar on the “chips!” I also remember one of the soups was fantabulous! (I’m thinking potato leek?)

On our MGM morning, Aramis and I got up SUPER early to be there at opening so we could be…

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/204.jpg

I think I’ve told this story before, so I won’t go into details. But we rode a total of SIX times (oooo…and I didn’t feel so great when we were done). The fourth or fifth time going back through the line, the CM’s started to say “Welcome Back!” lol!

It was also at MGM that I found a pin I had been looking for. On a previous trip I had seen a Christmas princess pin in a store that I loved, but I decided to wait and try to find it on a lanyard during our Christmas (or rather November!) cruise trip! Well, I looked and looked – couldn’t find it in a store and couldn’t find it on a lanyard for the longest time, but I finally found it at MGM!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/img026.jpg
Trading excitedly for the long-awaited pin!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Aug26040.jpg
Pretty Christmas pin!!

As we were leaving MGM, there were a TON of good characters milling around…with no lines!! We saw Belle in her blue dress, and the mice from Cinderella made a big fuss over Dart.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/img029.jpg

One of my all-time favorite character interactions also happened that afternoon. WHO should I meet on the street but the infamous Evil Queen!! And to this day I will affirm that she looked, sounded, and acted EXACTLY like my evil English teacher, Mrs. G!

NO. JOKE!

When it was my turn in line, as I came up, she looks at me like she’s expecting me to bow. And she wasn’t like some characters who expect to sign an autograph, snap a pic, and then send you on your was. I swear, the look on her face was like “well? What have you come to beg of my royalness today? I hope you’re not complaining about your paper grade.”

She was QUITE affronted when she noticed a Snow White pin on my lanyard, and she made me hide it in the picture!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/img027.jpg
“Now I hope you were paying attention in class yesterday, because I’ll be brewing up a pop quiz.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/img028.jpg
AWESOME!

One day we didn’t go into the parks at all, we went to the Wilderness Lodge, then went on to Fort Wilderness for breakfast (Trail’s End was very yummy!). When we came back we headed to Ol Man’s Island…I had lots of fun taking Dart out…

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/img176.jpg

THEN, we headed over to the Polynesian to swim there. I, of course, took advantage of being at the BEST place to get hairwraps on property to get a hairwrap!!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/IMG_0724.jpg
My hairwrap was in cruise colors, of course!!

One last pre-cruise story and it’s actually related to hair as well…the day before the cruise my mom and I went to the salon at Coronado Springs, and I got my hair straightened!! I have told you guys about Sarah and her secret potions before, and this was what started it all. I was so incredibly in awe…I couldn’t stop touching my hair. It had never occurred to me that my frizzy curly hair could be turned so beautifully straight! It was like magic!!


Before…

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/DSC05089.jpg

During...

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/img041.jpg

After…

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/img173.jpg

Cruise-y hair wrap, straight hair, Disney magic…sounds like we were ready to hit the Disney cruise!!!

[Dancegrl624]

Love the update! I just have to take a disney cruise someday. My mom wants our huge extended family to go on one together. That would be awesome!

[disneyhockeymad]

I hated Alien Encounter as well, my brother had to be taken out of the ride half way through because he hated it so much, I was very much happy to accompany him!
I love looking back on old photos from old WDW trips, I found pictures from our 2001 and 2004 trip, I was 11 and 14, it was amazing looking back on them!! Your's are great!
P.s I know what you mean when your hair stays straight for a long time, mine is curly as well and my flat mate is determined to make it stay straight, so far she hasn't succeeded!

[Disney Mommy 3]

Gasp......I don't think I have one picture of the Evil Queen!! We have only seen her on floats --never to do picutres. my kids probably wouldn't do it--they are terrified of Cruella De Vil, and the Mad Queen of Hearts. My dd only did Lady Tremain because the crazy step-sisters were with her!!

[Hedy]

Dart was so little!

[BellaSoleil]

Precious, little Dart! What did he think about the mice?

Your hair is so beautiful! You have princess hair if I've ever seen it!:thumbsup2

[princess&her4princes]

Love the latest update..and look how little Dart was!!! Boy..they grow up fast, dont they? Hope you and your Mom are getting some fun cruise wear!:lovestruc

[ThePin Princess]

i love the striaght hair . did it stay that way through out the cruise?? can't wait to read more

[ThePin Princess]

sorry double post

[Baloo]

I think your hair is beautiful but in that last pic it looks gorgeous!!!:thumbsup2
How long did is stay straight?

My hair as a teen and in my 20s was wavy.Since I had my son 15 years ago my hair is REALLY kinky,frizzy,wavy...I also went up a size in shoes...OY...kids! :rolleyes: Anyway I can get it to straighten out some if I put rollers in it but have never had it straightened like you did.


DS was on Fall Break all last week...tomorrow it's back to reality...ick!


Enjoyed this flashback!:)

[mmounsey]

Just bumping up to hopefully see an update soon...popcorn::

[AGPrincess]

Love the update! I just have to take a disney cruise someday. My mom wants our huge extended family to go on one together. That would be awesome!

That would be so much fun! I would love to go on a cruise with all my cousins, etc.!

I hated Alien Encounter as well, my brother had to be taken out of the ride half way through because he hated it so much, I was very much happy to accompany him!
I love looking back on old photos from old WDW trips, I found pictures from our 2001 and 2004 trip, I was 11 and 14, it was amazing looking back on them!! Your's are great!
P.s I know what you mean when your hair stays straight for a long time, mine is curly as well and my flat mate is determined to make it stay straight, so far she hasn't succeeded!

I love old pics too! It's so much fun looking at the cruise photos-I'm working on my scrapbook for that year now too (lol...that's how far behind I am!) Good luck w/ your hair!

Gasp......I don't think I have one picture of the Evil Queen!! We have only seen her on floats --never to do picutres. my kids probably wouldn't do it--they are terrified of Cruella De Vil, and the Mad Queen of Hearts. My dd only did Lady Tremain because the crazy step-sisters were with her!!

lol...the villains are always a blast, but I agree with your kids...they can be a little scary!

Dart was so little!

I know!! It's so funny looking back at those pics...he's so little and cuddly! :hug:

Precious, little Dart! What did he think about the mice?

Your hair is so beautiful! You have princess hair if I've ever seen it!:thumbsup2

He loved the mice and all the costumed characters...the face ones he didn't trust! :confused3

Love the latest update..and look how little Dart was!!! Boy..they grow up fast, dont they? Hope you and your Mom are getting some fun cruise wear!:lovestruc

I have found a few cute things! I love cruise shopping! :thumbsup2

i love the striaght hair . did it stay that way through out the cruise?? can't wait to read more

It did stay that way for the whole cruise! When I straighten my hair that way it generally lasts 4-5 days!

I think your hair is beautiful but in that last pic it looks gorgeous!!!:thumbsup2
How long did is stay straight?

My hair as a teen and in my 20s was wavy.Since I had my son 15 years ago my hair is REALLY kinky,frizzy,wavy...I also went up a size in shoes...OY...kids! :rolleyes: Anyway I can get it to straighten out some if I put rollers in it but have never had it straightened like you did.


DS was on Fall Break all last week...tomorrow it's back to reality...ick!


Enjoyed this flashback!:)

Awww...hope your DS had a good break! I go back Sunday...:rolleyes:

Just bumping up to hopefully see an update soon...popcorn::

Thanks! I have the update written, I'm just trying to get the photos scanned...hopefully I'll get it up tonight, if not - first thing tomorrow!

[princess&her4princes]

Looking forward to the latest update......:flower3:

[AGPrincess]

Our stay at Disney World was ended, but for once there were very few long faces. We were all just too incredibly excited!! Our first Disney cruise was finally here! :woohoo: We packed up our things, said goodbye to Riverside, put on the Little Mermaid CD and headed out!

We drove to the Radisson “Resort at the Port.” Mom picked that hotel because they let you park your car there, then shuttle you over to the cruise line and back again. The room was nice, and the shuttle over was fine. The problem was getting back. Once we got off the ship the lines for the shuttles were insane and we had to wait quite a bit. Meanwhile, we watch some families crossing the street and loading up their cars, no wait! They had parked at the port!

So this time we aren’t going to have any of that waiting around. We’ll stay at a less-expensive hotel and just pay to park right next to the terminal.

SO, the “Resort at the Port” was nice, but we didn’t have time to explore. We made sure the luggage for the cruise was sorted out then went to bed!

Next Morning: CRUISE MORNING!!!

We settled everything we weren't bringing in the van and said goodbye to it…for a few days at least! The whole reason we had stayed down by the Port was so that we could be on the cruise bright and early the next morning!! I believe that noon was (and probably still is) the earliest you can board the ship. Everybody has to be on board by 5 or 6 or so.

BUT, here’s a tip: GET ON AT NOON! Your room might not be ready, but you can start swimming, go to an amazing lunch buffet, check out the ship, have everything relatively to yourself.

But, I’m getting ahead of myself.

SO. Everyone and everything had to be ready by 10:30. The boys and I were practically jumping off the walls we were so excited and ready to get going!! We made the shuttle and were pretty much the only ones on it!

Soon we arrived!! Before you can even get into the terminal area we had to check in with a CM standing guard…then we finally got to see the terminal!!!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/img185.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/img183.jpg
There’s the ship!!!

Soooooooo Beautiful! We were totally blown away…it was gorgeous! You go up these escalators and then you get to see this long hall. On one side were couches and on the other side were the desks. There was a fairly short line when we arrived (there were tons of desks!). Mom noticed a special line for Castaway Club members (returning cruisers), so she was telling me about how you get a special gift when you’re in the Castaway Club and how we would get one next time! (back then I think it was a beach towel, but now it might be scaled back – I think it’s a lanyard).

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/img186.jpg

So we got checked in and took some pics and examined the cruise ship model. Of course, we got a photo by the cruise Christmas tree…it was one of my favorites!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/img048.jpg

Just a few families had been sitting in line when we came in, and there were a dozen or so by the time we got finished with everything, so we hopped in line too. I caught up in my Disney Diary (I put the time on all my entries, and that one is marked at 11:37 AM!)

Twenty-three minutes later the line opened and we got to go through the Mickey ears arch-ish thing!! There was a photographer before we got on the ship and they took a family picture. FINALLY we got to board the ship!!!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/DSC05200-1.jpg

Of course Mom had to delay us when we were almost there for a picture on the gangplank! Lol…but we made it up and heard our name announced ("Welcome Snobbish Family!") and goggled at the beautiful lobby!! I loved all of it…the Ariel statue and the gorgeous flower chandelier and all the Christmas decorations!!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/img201.jpg

Our first stop was the buffet at Parrot Cay!! We followed the signs up and got seated. We were hungry, (breakfast at the hotel had been scanty) and the buffet was FABULOUS!!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/img188.jpg

The desserts, of course, were the main attraction. I just about died when I saw they had cold strawberry soup – I had never tried it before, but it always sounded like something I would like and I LOVED it!! I probably had three bowls. The other desserts were delicious too!! There was strawberry cheesecake, white chocolate mousse, chocolate cake, and fruit tarts…mmmmmm….

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/063.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/064.jpg
(sorry for the bad quality. I just took photos of my scrapbook)

Lol…I think that lunch was one of my favorite parts of the cruise! Goofy even came around to say hi!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/img189.jpg

Aloft was open by the time we were done, so Aramis and I went up to check it out. I was definitely disappointed. I guess it just wasn't my cup of tea...it seemed like there wasn't much to do in the club itself (the room was in one of the ship's stacks, but it was kinda small) I also discovered that most of the activities took place from midnight-3 AM. There was no way I was staying up that late!

I did go to the information meeting that night, and that's what really turned me off. The jokes that the counselors made in their spiel were in bad taste (at least I thought...but then I was the same prudish Disney snob back then as I am now! ;) ), and none of the other kids seemed that nice. :confused3 So I just skipped out of the meeting before midnight and never went back.

Aramis did go back a little, but he always came back early as well (our parents were not staying up past 1 to wait for us to get back!) and the activities sounded pretty boring.

SO. Rant against the DCL teen club over. Moving on.

After that we explored the ship some more.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/img193.jpg
I believe this is when the Sail Away part started!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/DSC05179-1.jpg
Sailing away!

It was extremely awesome! On the deck with the pools we discovered a ping-pong table. We also made sure to find scoops and get some soft-serve ice cream…

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/img190.jpg
Athos was a frequent customer.

I also made sure to locate the drink station. A lot of the times we found that you could buy drinks (not just alcoholic drinks but pop too) on the ship. But there is absolutely NO need to buy pop – there is a free station with pink lemonade, coke, sprite, coffee, etc. on the pool deck. It’s a little bit out of the way, but if you just bring a big water bottle or something, you could fill it up and not have to go back too often. I definitely got my share of free pop!

Oh, and I forgot to mention. Fairly soon it was time for the lifejacket drill. (which I think is called mustering…isn’t that a cool name? It calls to mind hot dogs and mustard and such. ;) ) It wasn’t too long…I enjoyed the fact that we were in section C for Cinderella.

I explored the room once we were done (it had been ready as soon as we checked after lunch) and discovered multiple movie channels on the TV…they were even showing more recent movies, and I definitely spent too much time watching that.

I didn’t watch for too long, though. We had the late dinner seating, so at 6:30 we were headed to see the show. It was Hercules: A Muse-ical. My judgment (as recorded in my diary): “funny, but corny.” They gave Hades all these jokes, many of which were dumb. I did like Meg’s dress, though.

Dinner at Animation Palette; however, I absolutely LOVED! We all got changed into our and especially my (if I do say so myself) perfectly coordinating outfits.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/img196_org.jpg
Oh. yeah.

The paintings on the wall I loved! I was glad to see the princesses well-represented, I spotted Mulan, Beauty & the Beast, and Ariel. I can only find a pic of Mulan’s:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/img196.jpg
They gradually lit up through dinner. It was so pretty!

Our main server was Jojo, who was tons of fun. Our secondary server was a girl, and she was really good too, but I can’t remember her name! When she brought ketchup out for the boys she put it on a little plate in the shape of a mickey head!

Jojo was really awesome. He knew how to make tons of strange and cool things with the napkins…my favorite was definitely the mouse, though. Here he is in action:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/img195.jpg

He would hold it just like that and pet it and hold it out for you to pet and then all of a sudden it would spring away! He was springing it away with his fingers, but it would fly up in the air so far that it really seemed alive! It was hilarious.

There wasn’t time for much after dinner. I went to the Aloft thing, but left early and got back to the room just in time for some room service (free!) cookies!!! We tried to get to bed quickly because the next day was Nassau day!!

[princess&her4princes]

Hi Emma,
Love the update, as usual. I hope to get on a Disney cruise one of these trips, my friend just got back with her little ones and I can't wait to hear about the kids clubs from her. Did your parents leave Dart at any of them? Wondered how they were? Love the pics of the dining room, I saw that on one of the Disney specials and how it changes color..seems so neat!!!! :wizard:

[Disney Mommy 3]

How fun!! We have only been on ene cruise--a Carnival.It was great! I am a travel girl and could have stayed on board for a couple of weeks!! By that 4th day, my husband was ready to get to land!!! I would love to take the kids to do a Disney Cruise-- but that would shorten our Disney days, and I just don't think we can do that yet!!!!

Love that update--your doing awesome!!!

[BellaSoleil]

I will never foget how I felt sailing away for the first time. My heart dropped a little when I saw your picture.:lovestruc So exciting!

I loved Animator's Pallette, too! I wore a dress that faded from light to dark at the bottom- to go with the decor, of course. I will try and find the picture. :)

[LISAMWDW]

Awesome update! Can't wait to hear more about the cruise!

Disney just announced some 2009 dates for Europe cruises....it has me thinking! :goodvibes

[crgfsu1]

HI!!!

Finally caught up! I got tremendously busy at home/work and let my dis responsibility slip!!

I am just loving your report of your past cruise - it's like a two for one special for us :) I know you posted it before, but can you list your hair straightening technique again? I could use it! Some days, I got terrible frizzy's!

Thanks,
Cathy

[Hedy]

HI!!!

Finally caught up! I got tremendously busy at home/work and let my dis responsibility slip!!

I am just loving your report of your past cruise - it's like a two for one special for us :) I know you posted it before, but can you list your hair straightening technique again? I could use it! Some days, I got terrible frizzy's!

Thanks,
Cathy

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=20396389&postcount=117

[disneyhockeymad]

Your disney cruise looks awesome, something I've always wanted to try... I can see why you're so excited about going back on another one now!!! :)

[crgfsu1]

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=20396389&postcount=117

Thanks!!!!!

[jwwi]

Great cruise pictures and descriptions. Emma I love all the Christmas trees at the resorts too. Thank you for posting them. We went last November, so we saw the castle lights too! I just got back, had a nice Halloween trip, but will miss seeing the Christmas lights on the Castle. Maybe next year.

[ThePin Princess]

lovely mini TR

[AGPrincess]

Hi Emma,
Love the update, as usual. I hope to get on a Disney cruise one of these trips, my friend just got back with her little ones and I can't wait to hear about the kids clubs from her. Did your parents leave Dart at any of them? Wondered how they were? Love the pics of the dining room, I saw that on one of the Disney specials and how it changes color..seems so neat!!!! :wizard:

There was so much to do on the cruise, that Dart actually never got to the little kid's club. I think Porthos and Athos did briefly check out the older kid's club (the Oceaneer's Lab) on the last day and got free t-shirts! :woohoo: lol...the little kid's club looks really cute from what I've watched in the previews, and I know the older boys enjoyed their short time in the Oceaneer's Lab.

How fun!! We have only been on ene cruise--a Carnival.It was great! I am a travel girl and could have stayed on board for a couple of weeks!! By that 4th day, my husband was ready to get to land!!! I would love to take the kids to do a Disney Cruise-- but that would shorten our Disney days, and I just don't think we can do that yet!!!!

Love that update--your doing awesome!!!

lol...that's the problem with these shorter cruises...they feel waaaaay too short! I think it'd be fun to try a different cruise line some day, but I totally get what you mean with the Disney Cruise -- it is hard to give up days at Disney World! ;)

I will never foget how I felt sailing away for the first time. My heart dropped a little when I saw your picture.:lovestruc So exciting!

I loved Animator's Pallette, too! I wore a dress that faded from light to dark at the bottom- to go with the decor, of course. I will try and find the picture. :)

Ooo! That sounds pretty -- I'd love to see a pic! I'm still not sure about what I'll wear for Animator's Palette this time -- I want something with the black and white, but I'd love to tye in some color too!

Awesome update! Can't wait to hear more about the cruise!

Disney just announced some 2009 dates for Europe cruises....it has me thinking! :goodvibes

Wow! I didn't even realize Disney cruises went to Europe! That'd be cool!

HI!!!

Finally caught up! I got tremendously busy at home/work and let my dis responsibility slip!!

I am just loving your report of your past cruise - it's like a two for one special for us :) I know you posted it before, but can you list your hair straightening technique again? I could use it! Some days, I got terrible frizzy's!

Thanks,
Cathy

Thanks for posting and so glad you're enjoying it!

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=20396389&postcount=117

Thanks for digging up that link! I'll have to add it to that chapter.

Your disney cruise looks awesome, something I've always wanted to try... I can see why you're so excited about going back on another one now!!! :)

It is really fun looking back over it...and getting me excited for the coming one!!

Great cruise pictures and descriptions. Emma I love all the Christmas trees at the resorts too. Thank you for posting them. We went last November, so we saw the castle lights too! I just got back, had a nice Halloween trip, but will miss seeing the Christmas lights on the Castle. Maybe next year.

Oooo!! I'll bet your Halloween trip was awesome -- I've seen pics of decorations for that and they're incredible!! I'm thinking (maybe I already asked this before) that Christmas decorations will still be up when we're there (hopefully the Castle lights too!), so I'll definitely take lots more Christmas tree pics...it is fun looking back at the old ones!

lovely mini TR

Thank you! I should update in the next few days!

[BellaSoleil]

At Animator's Pallette you can wear black and white and add a colorful accessorie at the start of each new course.:thumbsup2 :lmao:

[AGPrincess]

Second day of the cruise – Nassau day! I opened my eyes and rolled over to find that the clock read 8 AM. :headache: Grrrr...I had hoped to get up earlier but there wasn't any time to waste in annoyance. I had to get ready for the day!

It didn’t take too too long to get everybody else assembled. We were going out into Nassau, so we wanted to get off the ship early. Breakfast was at the Beach Blanket Buffet and it was delicious!! Three words: chocolate mickey waffles!! :cool1:

After breakfast we went back to the room to make sure we had everything we needed to go into Nassau…sunglasses, room keys, passports. Mom wanted to get our passports stamped, so she made sure to round them all up.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/img200.jpg
Photo of the ship from Nassau! Look at those PALM TREES!!!!

We got off the ship and went into a tourist information center. It was inside a big building and there were all sorts of booths for excursions and things to buy or do. It was a little stressful (especially for Mom and Dad with five kids to keep track of!) in Nassau, because we were a little concerned for safety, and there was a lot of haggling. The vendors were never afraid to yell out at you, and the one thing we kept hearing was:

“Hey laydee? Wan’ me ta braid your daughter’s hair? Hey lady!”

lol…everywhere people were calling at us practically begging Mom to let them braid my hair (I didn’t even want it braided). I’m sure this happens to most women and girls, but Mom thinks it was because my hair looked so enticing. I wore it down that day (I was still so amazed that it was actually straight, I couldn’t bear to put a kink in it by putting it in a ponytail :rotfl: ), and you’ve seen in the previous pics – it was reeeeeally long. It would’ve cost a fortune. We just said “no thanks” every time, but it was pretty funny how many times we were accosted as we were walking around.

In the building we found the office and Dad went to get our passports stamped. I was watching Dart by a Jamaican band playing Christmas songs with a Jamaican flair. He was dancing along, it was so cute! He had just discovered how to dance on this trip! :yay:

Next we went to explore the town. It was a little nervewracking because it was so busy, but also very festive, with cruisers everywhere. There were lots of interesting stores. There was one that sold white t-shirts with black outlines of various pictures (a parrot, etc.), but when you were out in the sun for long enough, the outlines filled in with color! She got one for Athos…he still wears it sometimes!

Next we headed to the straw market!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/DSC05209.jpg
This was fun, although (I would say) more hectic and crowded than just being out on the streetse. The aisles were so narrow and the racks with purses and shirts and curios went up so high. It was covered by a shelter so it was darker and cooler in the aisles.

My mom had told me about the Straw Market before we arrived, because her mother had bought a straw purse there once. Both of my mom’s parents have passed away, so I really love hearing stories about them or doing things like them (like picking out a straw purse of my own at the straw market!).

There were so many different designs, I made sure to look until I found one I really liked. It was really cute…like a little wallet/purse. It was funny to hear the haggling. “$15, but for you - $12.” My mom wanted some other items as well and she haggled the overall price down a little herself! And as she was paying, the lady says “Your daughter want to get her hair braided? I know someone-“

“No. that’s ok. We’re good. Really.” :rotfl:

We walked around Nassau a bit more after that. We found the hotel my grandparents stayed at when they were here, but we didn’t have much time to explore (plus we didin't want to get lost! :scared:). It was getting to be time to head back to the ship!

The one big regret about the Nassau day was not getting to go to Atlantis. Mom had really wanted to go at the beginning of the day when she saw all the water taxis, but we didn’t have passes or swimsuits to get into the water areas, so we just explored Nassau. But as we were walking back past the taxis, Mom informed us that we were going to Atlantis next time, and that is the plan! :woohoo: It should be really fun! ANYway, back to this trip.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/IMG_0760.jpg
It wouldn’t be a trippie without a shadow pic! Dart was waving at his shadow, so I was too…so funny! It was reallybright and sunny out too – a gorgeous November ;) day in the Bahamas!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/IMG_0759.jpg
Heading back up to the ship.

Almost as soon as we got on board we headed to the Walt Disney Theatre so see National Treasure. I really thought this was awesome, that you could see very recently-released movies in a theatre on the ship, but this time we won’t be wasting any time with that stuff. We didn’t get to do a lot of stuff on the last trip…the kids clubs, the pools (we NEVER swam in the kids pool!), the sports deck, meeting characters…the list goes on! So although I reeeeally enjoyed that movie (it’s still one of my favorites today. In high school, after learning about the Masons in class, my friends and I formed a Masonic party of the Lunch Table, so yeah...we loved that movie :cool2: ), no more movies on the cruise!

While we were watching the movie, Mom and Dart found a dessert buffet!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/DSC05220.jpg
(at least they found a dessert buffet at some point...I'm not really sure when this pic was taken! :rolleyes1 ) The blue bag on the right was from the straw market!

After the movie Athos and I hit Scoops. Again. :rolleyes1 We also got (free! or rather...included!) lunch from Pluto’s Dog House and played ping pong. Before we knew it, it was time for that night’s show: the Golden Mickey’s!

It was cute, but I liked it least of all the shows. It was a hodgepodge of Disney musical numbers. I did like seeing Sleeping Beauty and Snow White, but I noted that “some of the people didn’t sing well.” lol! We Disney Snobs can be so critical! :rotfl: It was still fun, and afterwards we got ready for dinner at Parrot Cay. Urgh...couldn't find a photo of tonight's outfit It was a colorful blue skirt with a plain white blouse.

The food at Parrot Cay was really good…they had a lot to choose from, but I would up with chicken wings for an appetizer and pork ribs as a main dish. Both very good!

This update has been kinda low on the photos, so I'll share a few random shots from around the cruise...

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/IMG_0761.jpg
Above the elevator!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/img194.jpg
Stairwell!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/img198.jpg
Hallway going down to the shops and the theatre!

There was no Pirates party back in the day, but after dinner we got to attend the Tropicalifragilistic deck party instead. Only some of us stayed up, but there was no way Mom and I were going to miss the MIDNIGHT DESSERT BUFFET!! Scrumpdidileeumptious! I sampled chocolate cake, cheesecake, fruit tarts, and chocolate pirate coins. I was also thrilled to see a make-your-own burrito station complete with GUACAMOLE!!! I love avocados (I once grew 100+ avocado trees for a school project. I kept one of them, so we have a 6-year-old avocado tree living on our windowsill!) and I love guacamole too, so I was very excited for this.

We returned to the room and watched some of Aladdin…I’m not sure I’d ever seen that thing all the way through, but I got to watch the Magic Carpet ride scene which is so cute. Then it was off to sleep to dream Disney dreams of magic carpets, princes, and…Castaway Cay!

[crgfsu1]

Wow, what a fun day. I love reading about your trip - maybe one day, I'll make it on a Disney cruise too :)

[ThePin Princess]

I'm so excited for you now TR since i have seen you past TR. When i went on a Carnival Cruise we stopped at nassua and I went to that same market place!!! I bought sunglasses with the character Mr. Tumnis from Narnia on the side, well i don't think it was him but my friends all think it was :laughing:

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

have you ever thought of cruising on the Disney Magic?

[RachelNinja]

I was also thrilled to see a make-your-own burrito station complete with GUACAMOLE!!! I love avocados (I once grew 100+ avocado trees for a school project. I kept one of them, so we have a 6-year-old avocado tree living on our windowsill!) and I love guacamole too, so I was very excited for this.

Using the terminology of my middle school students, we could so totally be "biffles" (BFFL). Avocados and guacamole?! YUM! Plus, I really like National Treasure too, but some people don't understand why I do! But I love all the history involved. When I learned about the Masons, I was so excited!

Still loving all your PTRs and TRs. I'm always following along, but I unfortunately don't always have the chance to comment. Love seeing Dart's little, itty-bitty shadow!

Hope you're enjoying college life! Read anything interesting lately?

[BellaSoleil]

Emma- If it makes you feel better, we were offered drugs several times in Nassau. Be glad it was just your hair they were after. :goodvibes

[princess&her4princes]

Great update, Emma! Scarey how they were haggling you to get your hair braided all of the time, but you do have very pretty hair, so I can see why they were!!:goodvibes Dessert buffet? That very reason is why I now need to go on a cruise!! YUM!!!!!!!popcorn::

[disneyhockeymad]

Nassau looks awesome, so pretty! I can completely sympathise with the vendors 100% when I visited the Sacre Cour in Paris on a school trip all we got were 'bracelet for you miss' and they'd attempt to grab our wrists and put on one so we had no choice but to pay for it. I got surrounded by them and all I could hear was my teacher shouting 'run Laura run!!' was very funny!

[AGPrincess]

Hey everyone! Sorry for being so incommunicado lately...it's been a crazy week school-wise. I will still have an update for tomorrow though, so keep a look out!

Wow, what a fun day. I love reading about your trip - maybe one day, I'll make it on a Disney cruise too :)

Thanks, it was really fun. I hope you get to do the cruise sometime...I'd love to see your trippie about it! :goodvibes

I'm so excited for you now TR since i have seen you past TR. When i went on a Carnival Cruise we stopped at nassua and I went to that same market place!!! I bought sunglasses with the character Mr. Tumnis from Narnia on the side, well i don't think it was him but my friends all think it was :laughing:

Cool! It sounds like you had some good finds at the Straw Market too! and lol...I've heard of hidden mickey's, but never a hidden Mr. Tumnis before! :rotfl:

have you ever thought of cruising on the Disney Magic?

I hope we can do that someday, but our family is so big that the shorter Wonder cruises are the way to go for now. Hasn't the Magic gone to more exotic places, like Mexico or the Pacific?? I'd love to do that...I think I heard Disney is considering cruises to Europe too!

Using the terminology of my middle school students, we could so totally be "biffles" (BFFL). Avocados and guacamole?! YUM! Plus, I really like National Treasure too, but some people don't understand why I do! But I love all the history involved. When I learned about the Masons, I was so excited!

Still loving all your PTRs and TRs. I'm always following along, but I unfortunately don't always have the chance to comment. Love seeing Dart's little, itty-bitty shadow!

Hope you're enjoying college life! Read anything interesting lately?

:rotfl: lol...I'd never heard that one before, but yay for a fellow guac-lover!! Dart was so cute that trip. Thanks for posting!

Emma- If it makes you feel better, we were offered drugs several times in Nassau. Be glad it was just your hair they were after. :goodvibes

Yikes!! :scared: I'm glad that didn't happen to us, although I could totally imagine it happening. Nassau was fun, but a little nail-biting!

Great update, Emma! Scarey how they were haggling you to get your hair braided all of the time, but you do have very pretty hair, so I can see why they were!!:goodvibes Dessert buffet? That very reason is why I now need to go on a cruise!! YUM!!!!!!!popcorn::

I like the way you think...the promise of a dessert buffet always sells me on a vacation! :rotfl: :thumbsup2

Nassau looks awesome, so pretty! I can completely sympathise with the vendors 100% when I visited the Sacre Cour in Paris on a school trip all we got were 'bracelet for you miss' and they'd attempt to grab our wrists and put on one so we had no choice but to pay for it. I got surrounded by them and all I could hear was my teacher shouting 'run Laura run!!' was very funny!

Oh my goodness! I hope they didn't rope you into buying a bracelet. But that is very funny, your teacher telling you to run! :rotfl:

[princess&her4princes]

The nerve, Emma, to make us wait while you do school work!!:confused3 Only kidding!!!:rotfl: Looking forward to the next update, at your convenience, of course!!:surfweb:

[ThePin Princess]

I really can't wait to hear more

[AGPrincess]

The nerve, Emma, to make us wait while you do school work!!:confused3 Only kidding!!!:rotfl: Looking forward to the next update, at your convenience, of course!!:surfweb:

:rotfl: I KNOW! What kind of a Disney snob am I, putting academics over the mouse?!?! Don't worry, I'm getting better...update is coming right up!

I really can't wait to hear more

The next post will be up momentarily!

[AGPrincess]

Our last full day on the cruise! :sad2: I looked out the porthole to see Banana boats and a beautiful beach!!! This was one of those there-are-so-many-fun-things-to-do-today-I’m-not-going-to-think-about-leaving-tomorrow mornings! (then again, isn’t the second to last day of vacation always like that?) We headed down to Parrot Cay for breakfast…I had texas toast! Then we swim-suited up and went out to Castaway Cay!! There were lots of Christmas decorations and it was “bubbling” (rather than snowing!). After a few obligatory pictures, we walked over to the tram.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/img057.jpg
What’s a sleigh doing on a tropical island?? It’s the S.S. Kringle, of course!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/img058.jpg
CHRISTMAS TREE!!!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/DSC05227.jpg
Saw this on the way. This was the year two tropical storms came through! Luckily we missed both of them!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/img059org.jpg
No tropical storms, but it was an overcast day. But then there were the palm trees to make up for that!

We discovered that the tram was dressed up as a reindeer and there were other decorations all over as well!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/DSC05232.jpg
BE-A-UTIFUL!

Dad secured a spot for the boys to play on the beach, and Mom, Dart, and I went to check out a delicious-looking fruit buffet! They had huge slabs of juicy pineapple. I got a few and a bunch of strawberries. I offered the pineapple to Dart and was surprised to watch him eat it ALL up!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/img061org.jpg
THE pinapple. I kept going back up for more…it was so funny that he liked it that day. I think we’ve gotten him to try it since and he wouldn’t eat it. Silly kid.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/img061org1.jpg
Dart had the cutest tropical outfit for today…I wore a tropical shirt and the cover-up I had just gotten in Nassau over my swimsuit. Dart didn’t go swimming much and neither did I. I followed him around the beach and the paths, dancing along to the tropical music. :banana: Minnie Mouse came out to do a meet and greet, and when Dart spotted her he started clapping and laughing. He loved the costumed characters so much – and Minnie Mouse is still a favorite of his!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/img202.jpg
Minnie’s wardrobe is so extensive, she even has tropical but Christmassy duds…

We had lunch on the island. I had a burger, a giant chocolate chip cookie, and some chocolate chip cookie dough soft serve ice cream which was “DELICIOUS!”

Dart was getting tired, so Mom took him back to the room. I stuck with Dad and the boys. We explored the Grouper Game Pavillion. Unfortunately the giant chess board was taken, but it was fun to see more of the island. Walking back to the ship we saw the bike rentals and tried to talk Dad into it, but it was a no-go. :confused3 I also remember they were doing hair braiding on Castaway Cay as well, but no one yelled out at us!

Unfortunately my diary leaves off at this point. I know! I’m just as surprised and disappointed in myself. But I’ve asked my mom what she remembers and I remember the general details anyway. We went to see yet another movie in the Buena Vista Theatre when we got back. It was the Incredibles, and we really liked it. Afterwards it was time to get ready for the show – Disney Dreams. I’ve got a crush on Peter Pan, and he’s featured in this one, so I really liked it. :lovestruc

Tonight was the fancy dinner at Triton’s! Aramis and I had escargot for an appetizer!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/img062.jpg
Aramis and I with our snails. I don’t even remember who got the shrimp! And like the coordinating outfits? I love my mom! :rotfl: Anyway, I was surprised Aramis was so adventurous! He didn’t like it much. I thought it was a little strange and mushy, but not bad. (lol…so maybe I didn’t like it much either!) :confused3 For the main course I deliberated between lamb and duck and to this day I cannot remember what I ordered. It was exotic, but pretty good. Dessert was crème brulee.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/IMG_0763.jpg
A better pic of my dinner duds…I still wear this skirt. The polka-dotted fabric is actually in panels, and I just love it! I’m helping Dart down the stairs in this pic.

At some point in the evening I took the photo album we had purchased to get it signed by Captain Henry (he was signing things in the shop that night.) He was really nice. Here’s some pics of the photo album itself:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/IMG_0740.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/IMG_0741.jpg

After dinner we had to rush to get all our suitcases packed and out the door for the next morning. It was pretty sad to be leaving, but there was still some fun left for the morning!

[LISAMWDW]

Great update!

How is your count up calendar coming along?

[Disney Mommy 3]

Love it!!! Dart's little picture made me miss my boys being little. There is nothing better than a cuddly baby boy!!!

[princess&her4princes]

Love it!!! Dart's little picture made me miss my boys being little. There is nothing better than a cuddly baby boy!!!

Amen on that!! :goodvibes Gotta love baby boys hugs and kisses.....off to put my little peanut down for a nap.

[princess&her4princes]

Great update Emma.....love the coordinating outfits and you tried snails!! WOW! Quite adventurous!!! Sounds like a great trip......and sure it makes waiting for your upcoming trip a bit easier reliving this one. Speaking of which, have you been shopping and planning for the new trip recently?:confused3

[AGPrincess]

Great update!

How is your count up calendar coming along?

It's really filling up! I've started on the hair! Sorry I've been so remiss in posting pics of it! Here are two pics:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/110.jpg
from last week

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/127.jpg
sorry for the weird angle! This is from today! :cool1:

Love it!!! Dart's little picture made me miss my boys being little. There is nothing better than a cuddly baby boy!!!

I know!! Looking back on these pics I missed tiny Dart and how cuddly and cute he was! He's still so cute and funny, but he isn't cuddly so much anymore. I kinda miss the days when he would grab both my hands to help him down the stairs...now he won't even let me hold ONE hand when I need to hold it to keep track of him! :rotfl:

Amen on that!! :goodvibes Gotta love baby boys hugs and kisses.....off to put my little peanut down for a nap.

Awww...you're so lucky with your little prince! :goodvibes

Great update Emma.....love the coordinating outfits and you tried snails!! WOW! Quite adventurous!!! Sounds like a great trip......and sure it makes waiting for your upcoming trip a bit easier reliving this one. Speaking of which, have you been shopping and planning for the new trip recently?:confused3

I definitely have some shopping and planning updates coming up (including one about a Croc store we went to!!!). Sorry for the lack of those lately...I only have one last short update for the flashback TR, though, and I'll probably post that at the end of the weekend. So new purchases and plans will be coming soon! :thumbsup2

I have one other random photo to show you guys...when I was getting my mail today, I found a hidden mickey on the back of my mailbox! Ok, so not the best mickey, but I've got Disney on the brain! :rotfl:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/125.jpg

[Disney Mommy 3]

Definitely a hidden Mickey! My kids find them in odd places like that all the time. then they tell Mike, Dad it's a sign!! We gotta go back!! (They don't know about the next trip!!)

[disneyhockeymad]

Oooh castaway cay... somewhere I've always wanted to go, it always looks so fun on all the adverts! I love the christmas tree and Dart's outfit is so cute! Just think this time when you go you'll be able to see the Flying Dutchman!!
ps the countup looks awesome! You've started on her hair... not long to go now!!! :thumbsup2

[crgfsu1]

Wasnt Minnie so fashionable :) Well, it certainly looks like you had a great cruise - thanks for sharing.

Your count up calendar looks great - and almost complete! :cool1: So close!!!!!

I love the hidden Mickey at your mail box - I do the same thing, I tend to find hidden Mickey's all the time (though, often you have to use your imagination to call it a Mickey)

Cathy

[AGPrincess]

Definitely a hidden Mickey! My kids find them in odd places like that all the time. then they tell Mike, Dad it's a sign!! We gotta go back!! (They don't know about the next trip!!)

lol...we try to use that trick too! :rotfl: I love finding hidden mickeys!

Oooh castaway cay... somewhere I've always wanted to go, it always looks so fun on all the adverts! I love the christmas tree and Dart's outfit is so cute! Just think this time when you go you'll be able to see the Flying Dutchman!!
ps the countup looks awesome! You've started on her hair... not long to go now!!! :thumbsup2

I know...I can't wait to see the Flying Dutchman! That will extremely cool! And you're right...less than 50 days! :woohoo:

Wasnt Minnie so fashionable :) Well, it certainly looks like you had a great cruise - thanks for sharing.

Your count up calendar looks great - and almost complete! :cool1: So close!!!!!

I love the hidden Mickey at your mail box - I do the same thing, I tend to find hidden Mickey's all the time (though, often you have to use your imagination to call it a Mickey)

Cathy

Glad you enjoyed the mini-TR! I have one last tini update I'm about to post. I can't wait to see the count-up complete either!

[AGPrincess]

ALRIGHT! Time to get this mini-TR finished. It was the absolute last day of the cruise! :sad2: Waaaa….And it wasn’t even really a day. It’s more of a wake-up, go to the sit-down breakfast that they make you go to, and be herded off the ship.

Luckily we had one of the later breakfast times, so we got a little extra time. :thumbsup2 We woke up and said goodbye to our beautiful room. I’m not sure I ever posted pics, so here are a few:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/img199.jpg
The main bed.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/img197.jpg
Stitch on the top bunk. He didn’t want to leave! But we dragged him out, along with the rest of our stuff. Only when we were gathering up our things did we realize…

Mom’s shoes had been packed in the luggage.

The luggage that had been put in the hallway before 11 PM the previous evening.

The luggage that was even then waiting for us to pick it up OFF the ship!! :eek:

Not to worry! Disney is prepared for these sorts of things...the concierge desk was really nice about giving her a free pair of flip flop slippers (the flimsy kind, but still…free!). So she did not have to go off the ship barefoot! :rolleyes1

Before breakfast we just had time to quickly check out the shuffleboard. There were only two rounds, so I didn’t really have time to “get my head in the game.” ;)

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/img064.jpg
Here we all are considering the next shot. Dart sometimes got in the way. ;) Still, this was fun! I hope we get to do it again this time!

So we ate our breakfast (I believe it was at Triton’s, and the food was nothing special) and left the ship. We went to this big warehouse-ish place where all the luggage was and we found our section and then our luggage. We hauled it out to the bus and then the car and then home! It was a very fun cruise!

So now (at long last) we will return to the standard PTR updates. I think it’s been way too long since I’ve posted about shopping, don’t you? Regular update tomorrow!

[princess&her4princes]

Great finish, Emma. Look how little Dart was!!!! :goodvibes Can't wait to hear all about your shopping!!!!!!!!!!! And the Croc store you went to?:confused3 Woohoo!!! Looking forward to it....you're on countdown now!!:cool1:

[BellaSoleil]

I'm sure you will hear it a million times, but Dart looks so ridiculously cute!!!:cutie:

Which type of room did you stay in? I didn't know a room had bunk beds.

[LISAMWDW]

So funny your moms shoes got packed!!!! :rotfl2:

Thanks for sharing the updated count UP calendar! :goodvibes

Can't wait for the shopping updates! :lovestruc

[disneyhockeymad]

Dart was so small!! I adore his outfit in the last photo of you playing shuttleboard, he looks so cute!! (I'm one of the million that will tell you!)

Can't wait for your shopping updates, you always buy the best stuff and then make me jealous of American shops!!

[crgfsu1]

Great ending...now lets get to that shopping you've been doing :)

Cathy

[AGPrincess]

Great finish, Emma. Look how little Dart was!!!! :goodvibes Can't wait to hear all about your shopping!!!!!!!!!!! And the Croc store you went to?:confused3 Woohoo!!! Looking forward to it....you're on countdown now!!:cool1:

lol...I know! He was so adorable, Mom picked out the best cruise ensembles for him! lol! Woot! And I am on countdown...it's going a lot faster than I expected...43 days!!

I'm sure you will hear it a million times, but Dart looks so ridiculously cute!!!:cutie:

Which type of room did you stay in? I didn't know a room had bunk beds.

lol, that's ok. I'm sure you must hear that all the time with Belle, especially since she's a little girl :cutie: (I soooooo wanted a sister. But it's ok. I'm over it. Really. ;) No, Dart was so cuddly I couldn't have wished him different.).

We stayed in the porthole rooms (no balcony, but a big round window). We're staying in the same kind this time (my mom gets really nervous with Athos and Dart and the idea of the balcony! :scared: ). They weren't technically bunk beds...the couch became a bed and then there was a bed right above it that folded out of the wall. I think they might have that in most rooms, but not sure. :confused3

So funny your moms shoes got packed!!!! :rotfl2:

Thanks for sharing the updated count UP calendar! :goodvibes

Can't wait for the shopping updates! :lovestruc

lol...I know, we always laugh about Mom coming off the ship in slippers (NOT going to happen this time...although, with us, it may just happen to somebody else! :rotfl: ). Update coming up!

Dart was so small!! I adore his outfit in the last photo of you playing shuttleboard, he looks so cute!! (I'm one of the million that will tell you!)

Can't wait for your shopping updates, you always buy the best stuff and then make me jealous of American shops!!

He did have extremely cute outfits! :lovestruc Awww...I love British shops too! I think H&M comes from England, right? (although it might have a different name over there?).

Great ending...now lets get to that shopping you've been doing :)

Cathy

lol...yes m'am! Croc shopping coming right up! :thumbsup2

[AGPrincess]

ALRIGHT. So back to the PRE-tripping. I actually had a different update ready to post today, but recently I discovered something so cool that it just HAS to be reported on without delay!!! What was it?

A CROC STORE! :woohoo:

Did anybody even know these existed? I certainly didn’t. In fact, I came upon it by accident. My family came out to campus to visit me a few weeks ago, and there are some outlets near(ish) by that my Mom really wanted to visit. I’m always up for shopping, so away we went. The bad news: I found virtually no cruise clothes that day. I know. BUT. The good news: I found a croc store. We were walking along, and suddenly: there it was!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/223.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/224.jpg

Athos made me take a pic of this because he was amazed that they had crocs for winter! They also had…

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/228.jpg
Crocs that don’t look like crocs

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/232.jpg
Rappa gangsta crocs?? :confused3

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/229.jpg
Pretty crocs…

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/233.jpg
Kiddie crocs…

Here’s a cute story. This Mom was in the store with her little daughter and son (probably 4 and 2 respectively). They were both wearing pretty beat up crocs and they were both trying on new crocs! They were just so funny, both asking questions at once. The little girl said: “But mommy, what are we going to do with my old crocs now that I have new crocs?” The little boy was just bouncing up and down, excited by his new footwear purchase.

I surreptitiously snuck a pic:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/244.jpg

The store was actually hopping. My mom took a long time looking for a new Athens croc, the Athens being this variety:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/230.jpg
Heyyy…that looks familiar! ;)

Annoying thing was, they were ALL sold out of the standard women’s sizes! They should’ve put a sign up, because she was looking through all those racks and thinking there must be one! Urgh! But she did go up to the counter and they gave her a coupon for free shipping on the croc website, so she’s still going to pick out a new pair of Athens! Yay!

Now I know this is strange, but we actually didn’t buy anything! GASP! Lol…no, I was tempted a few times by this…

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/231.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/246.jpg
And these…SO colorful and pretty! What stopped me was the fact that I had recently gotten a new pair of crocs (that I haven’t shared on here yet!)…

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/sassari.jpg
oooooooo....the style is sassari. Wedges are my new thing for the cruise! :thumbsup2 I got these at Nordstrom. Surprisingly they did not carry this style at the Croc store, so I’m glad I bought them when I did!

Two last cool pairs of cros I was tempted by…

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/239.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/240.jpg

Do they sell these at Disney??? Because I had never seen them before!!! Unfortunately, they were kids sizes and I looked at the biggest one and it just would not fit me…darn. I did recognize a few things from Disney…

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/236.jpg
Lol…I know I’ve seen these before!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/235.jpg
All the jibbitz…whoa!

Just a few more shots of the store:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/243.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/242.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/227.jpg

And these aren’t crocs, but I just have to share for bellasoleil and any fans of her pre-trippie…my choice of footwear for that day was…

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/245.jpg
Uggs! It’s the Nightfall variety. Here’s a better pic…

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/nightfall.jpg

So that was my Croc Store adventure! I was pretty psyched…it really got me thinking about Disney, seeing all those fresh, colorful crocs. They’re just eye candy! One last pic…I remembered to take one of the count-up today!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/074.jpg
It’s getting clooooser!!!

[Dancegrl624]

There is a Crocs store near me and now I'm SO going! I've never worn them before, but I think I'd like the Athens. I'm going to get my DD the Mary Janes. I can't wait to go to my store now. Great little update!

[disneyhockeymad]

Yer H&M is a UK shop, same name too, I love that store!! :)
Wow the crocs shops looks fantastic, back at home in a shopping centre near us(what you would call a mall!!) they have a whole stall dedicated to crocs, it's always so colourful, but so far we have no specialised croc's shops, I'll keep my eyes open though, they may come to the UK sometime soon! :)
Your boots are awesome, I have a thing for boots at the moment, but unfortunately on my student budget I can't quite stretch to a new pair, so they've gone top of my christmas list!!!

[Lady Lallie]

Your Count Up is looking great! :thumbsup2

I can't believe they have actual croc stores. I need to find out if there is one in my area, I can't get enough of their Mary Janes.

[eyeheartgoofy]

There is a Croc store at MCO! Or, at least there was last time I was there ... can anyone confirm?

[Hedy]

There is a Croc store at MCO! Or, at least there was last time I was there ... can anyone confirm?

Yes, there is. However, it's pretty tiny.

[Disney Mommy 3]

Meghan, I have the pink/green Athens that were in the picture---loooooove them!! Also, I have the brownish-khaki colored ones with the liner.They are wonderful for cooler days!!!

Emma~ I gotta get some Uggs!!! Those are soooo cute!! and I love your wedge crocs-beautiful.

[Dancegrl624]

I'm planning on buying the black Athens. That way, they go with everything!

Emma-Love the Uggs too! I have the Classic Talls in black. I'm in the process of trying to find a place that will clean them for me. I never put the protector stuff on them and then proceeded to walk through the salt and snow in them. Well, they're a little messed up now. :sad1: My DH won't let me buy new ones.

[BellaSoleil]

Thanks for the shout out, Emma! :thumbsup2 I'm wearing my Uggs today as a matter of fact.

I think the little ballet flat Crocs are super cute!

[princess&her4princes]

Love the Croc update, Emma!! They have a kiosk (spelling?) in a mall close to hear of Crocs, I really think I want the ballet flat looking ones....don't know the Croc name but think they are cute and you could wear them with pretty much anything, I would think. :confused3 Btw, Love the Ugg pic, too!! As I am a BellaSoleil reader, too!;)

[princess&her4princes]

Thanks for the shout out, Emma! :thumbsup2 I'm wearing my Uggs today as a matter of fact.

I think the little ballet flat Crocs are super cute!

We think too much alike! LOL!:goodvibes

[Pirate Me]

There is a Croc store at MCO! Or, at least there was last time I was there ... can anyone confirm?


YES...there is!!! Limited and sold out of regular sizes when we were there last, too! :sad1: If you wear a BIG size you're in luck.:thumbsup2

[ThePin Princess]

YAYY for an update!!

SAD FACE ( :( ) for not finding cruise clothes

and HAPPY FACE ( :) ) for find a CROCS store!!

lol i loved the update i'm so excited to hear about how the actuall cruise goes lol

[AGPrincess]

There is a Crocs store near me and now I'm SO going! I've never worn them before, but I think I'd like the Athens. I'm going to get my DD the Mary Janes. I can't wait to go to my store now. Great little update!

Oooo! That's fun! I wish there was one closer to home...I don't have a car, so I won't be able to return to that one anytime soon!

Yer H&M is a UK shop, same name too, I love that store!! :)
Wow the crocs shops looks fantastic, back at home in a shopping centre near us(what you would call a mall!!) they have a whole stall dedicated to crocs, it's always so colourful, but so far we have no specialised croc's shops, I'll keep my eyes open though, they may come to the UK sometime soon! :)
Your boots are awesome, I have a thing for boots at the moment, but unfortunately on my student budget I can't quite stretch to a new pair, so they've gone top of my christmas list!!!

Cool! Yeah, I love H&M...especially all the bright colors. And lol, that's fun you'll be getting boots for Christmas! Are Uggs as big in England as they are here? Here, every other girl on campus is wearing them (or knock-offs!). :rotfl: I never realized winter boots could be such a fashion accessory until I got here! It's really fun! Even if you don't have Uggs, all the girls wear boots around. I had one older pair of cute-ish boots, and I had asked my Mom to bring them at Thanksgiving last year, and she was like "why would you want your winter boots? Is the snow going to be that bad?" lol! And then I got my first Uggs last Christmas! :banana: But I can totally understand why people break out the Uggs early, they're so cosy! :lovestruc

Your Count Up is looking great! :thumbsup2

I can't believe they have actual croc stores. I need to find out if there is one in my area, I can't get enough of their Mary Janes.

Thanks, the count-up is slowly coming along...I can't wait to see it finished! :woohoo: The croc store is really cool, I hope you find one...the Mary Janes are really cute!

There is a Croc store at MCO! Or, at least there was last time I was there ... can anyone confirm?

Hey, I didn't realize that! Cool!

Yes, there is. However, it's pretty tiny.

hmmm...that's too bad...I once found a (tiny) Vera Bradley store at an airport...that was really fun! :thumbsup2

Meghan, I have the pink/green Athens that were in the picture---loooooove them!! Also, I have the brownish-khaki colored ones with the liner.They are wonderful for cooler days!!!

Emma~ I gotta get some Uggs!!! Those are soooo cute!! and I love your wedge crocs-beautiful.

lol...croc twin! (I have the pink/green Athens too!) I love the Athens! They're so comfy & I love being able to pick two colors! The lined ones sound cozy!

I'm planning on buying the black Athens. That way, they go with everything!

Emma-Love the Uggs too! I have the Classic Talls in black. I'm in the process of trying to find a place that will clean them for me. I never put the protector stuff on them and then proceeded to walk through the salt and snow in them. Well, they're a little messed up now. :sad1: My DH won't let me buy new ones.

ooo...I never thought of that before, but the black Athens would be really pretty and elegant! Love the sound of your Uggs too! I got my Uggs last year, and I think I sprayed them almost too much, I was so afraid something would happen to them! :rotfl: I'm sure you'll be able to get yours fixed up, though!

Thanks for the shout out, Emma! :thumbsup2 I'm wearing my Uggs today as a matter of fact.

I think the little ballet flat Crocs are super cute!

lol...gotta love Uggs (and Crocs! :thumbsup2 )

Love the Croc update, Emma!! They have a kiosk (spelling?) in a mall close to hear of Crocs, I really think I want the ballet flat looking ones....don't know the Croc name but think they are cute and you could wear them with pretty much anything, I would think. :confused3 Btw, Love the Ugg pic, too!! As I am a BellaSoleil reader, too!;)

Thanks! I'm not sure the mall by us even has a croc kiosk, so it was fun to find the store! The ballet flats were really tempting! :lovestruc

YES...there is!!! Limited and sold out of regular sizes when we were there last, too! :sad1: If you wear a BIG size you're in luck.:thumbsup2

lol...I wonder if most Croc stores are like that...it was so frustrating that they didn't have anything in Mom's size! :confused3

YAYY for an update!!

SAD FACE ( :( ) for not finding cruise clothes

and HAPPY FACE ( :) ) for find a CROCS store!!

lol i loved the update i'm so excited to hear about how the actuall cruise goes lol

lol...glad you enjoyed the update! And there will be plenty of cruise clothes in the next one, so not to worry!

[mana_liz]

Love your report...we did the land/sea in 2001...didn't care for Nassau. We loved the cruise so much...we only do 7 day ones now...3 days was too short. I would love to do the Med. ones in 2010. My dream is on one the igaugural cruises of the new ships in 2011 or 2012.

Hearing that your Mom packer her shoes away made me laugh...My Mom packed her pjs...luckily the store was still open, she had to buy some new ones...we still remind her each time now.

[disneyhockeymad]

Cool! Yeah, I love H&M...especially all the bright colors. And lol, that's fun you'll be getting boots for Christmas! Are Uggs as big in England as they are here? Here, every other girl on campus is wearing them (or knock-offs!). :rotfl: I never realized winter boots could be such a fashion accessory until I got here! It's really fun! Even if you don't have Uggs, all the girls wear boots around. I had one older pair of cute-ish boots, and I had asked my Mom to bring them at Thanksgiving last year, and she was like "why would you want your winter boots? Is the snow going to be that bad?" lol! And then I got my first Uggs last Christmas! :banana: But I can totally understand why people break out the Uggs early, they're so cosy! :lovestruc


Yup Ugg boots are huge here too, you can't go anywhere without seeing at least 1 pair! At uni ugg boots are seen as the boot that all the 'posh' people wear, so if you have a pair of proper ugg boots you're considered a 'rah' (yup as in the noise dinosaurs make... :lmao: ) which is basically a person where 'daddy' buys everything for her. It's very funny how sterotypical it all is! I have a pair of ugg style boots which are so so comfy so I can completely imagine what you mean when you say they're love so cosy... I'm trying to persuade my mum to buy me some but at the moment no such luck!!

[AGPrincess]

Love your report...we did the land/sea in 2001...didn't care for Nassau. We loved the cruise so much...we only do 7 day ones now...3 days was too short. I would love to do the Med. ones in 2010. My dream is on one the igaugural cruises of the new ships in 2011 or 2012.

Hearing that your Mom packer her shoes away made me laugh...My Mom packed her pjs...luckily the store was still open, she had to buy some new ones...we still remind her each time now.

Thanks! I wish we could do the 7 night, but the 3 night is just more practical for our big group, plus we want to do days at Disney World too. Someday though! And inaugural cruise would be awesome!

Yup Ugg boots are huge here too, you can't go anywhere without seeing at least 1 pair! At uni ugg boots are seen as the boot that all the 'posh' people wear, so if you have a pair of proper ugg boots you're considered a 'rah' (yup as in the noise dinosaurs make... :lmao: ) which is basically a person where 'daddy' buys everything for her. It's very funny how sterotypical it all is! I have a pair of ugg style boots which are so so comfy so I can completely imagine what you mean when you say they're love so cosy... I'm trying to persuade my mum to buy me some but at the moment no such luck!!

lol...it is funny all the little assumptions and stuff that go with something so (at least formerly!) mundane as boots! I hope you have good luck talking your mom into them as a Christmas present! Although, it sounds like the pair you've got is cute and cosy!

Update coming right up!

[BellaSoleil]

'rah' (yup as in the noise dinosaurs make... :lmao: )

:rotfl2:

[AGPrincess]

Now, normally I’m a Plato kinda girl, but it’s when I’m shopping that I really start to appreciate Aristotle (lol...I can't get away from philosophy even outside my classes!). Aristotle talks a bunch about the actual versus the potential, and I still don’t really get what he wants to say, but I do get the actuals and potentials of purchases!

At home over fall break we went shopping. A bunch. For the cruise. Yay! :woohoo:

Every purchase starts out potential, but then it’s fun to see which actually come to Disney World and which are just left at the store. (poor neglected purchases…)

Actually I don’t feel so bad for the potential purchases, I’m too happy with the actual ones! I found some really cute things over break. The first one was at Target. I saw a picture of it in a display first. A picture kinda like this:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/bluetop.jpg
And I thought “Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo” Doesn’t the blue kinda look like the sea?? So I browsed a little bit and found that they only had two left, one of which was my size!! It’s so swirly too…I just love it!

At first I was thinking Triton’s, but I have the navy dress for that, so now I’m thinking that the blues aren’t so different from the blues on a parrot, so it might work at Parrot Cay! :cool1: Since Parrot Cay is a little less dressy, I might just do it with black shorts…BUT, I had a brain storm on a way to make this outfit more parrot-ish, and I decided that I’m going to try to get some red/green/blue feathers and make them into a little fascinator-type thing to put in my hair!! I’m pretty excited to make it…it should be pretty cute! (and if our Parrot Cay is on pirate night, that would work for that as well…all pirates have parrots, right? :confused3 )

Also over break, I stopped in one of those boutique-y stores in our outdoor mall (I think it was called Francesca's??) and found a few things, including a pair of GLASS SLIPPERS! For $2!!! Check it out:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/0182.jpg
Isn’t it princess-y? I love the gold streaks in the shirt, I took a close-up…

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/0192.jpg

The reason the (plastic) glass slippers were so cheap is because they only had really small sizes and really big sizes. And I just happened to fit into the smaller size!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/013.jpg
Like the pumpkins in the background? And I love that they were $2 which is practically as cheap as Cinderella got them for (except she got them for free, but still). :banana:

Here's another potential purchase of shoes that unfortunately was not actualized:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/008.jpg
Somehow they look like cruise director shoes to me. Plus they're cute. But I already want to bring more shoes than I will bring, so I skipped it.

The next purchases of note were at White House Black Market. Now I normally don’t do sleeveless/strapless…it’s just not my thing (I KNOW! The target purchase was kinda surprising!). But I saw several sleeveless/halter tops that just looked too cruise-y to pass up (plus they were on the SALE racks!!). There were many potential ones, such as this:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/possiblepurchase.jpg

But only two actual, which of course aren’t on the website, so I’ll have to post inferior pics taken by me.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/0032-1.jpg
This one is a halter top and (gasp!) has no back, but I have a black top I’m going to wear under it. But I love the design and my favorite part is the gold chain and the little pearls at the end of the chain:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/0062.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/0022.jpg
This one I really like…doesn’t it kinda look Polynesian-y?? One of these will definitely be for Animator’s Palatte, but the other I could wear at the Poly! They’re both pretty tropical!

There are a few purchases I was thinking about online that are actually still potential…I just can’t decide....opinions welcome! They’re on the Disney outlet/sale shopping site. Firstly:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/snowshirt.jpg
lol…don’t you love how snobby Snow looks? And I love how it says “Still Waiting for My Prince.” Problem was, when I first looked at it it was $35!!! For a T-Shirt??? And it was originally $80!! I don’t know if there are gems on it or what, but that was too much. Then I looked again recently and it was $19…better, but I’d still have to pay shipping. So I’m still undecided.

This shirt I also like (it is long-sleeved, but it should be cooler in Disney in January…)

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/arielshirt3.jpg
Front.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Arielshirt2.jpg
Back. I don’t know…I hesitate b/c the back is pretty…flamboyant, I guess? And Ariel somehow doesn't look quite right. I think this might not even be on the site anymore, but the thing I really like is the text:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/arielshirt1.jpg
Princess of the Sea! That’s me on this trip! Plus I was born in 1989, so that part is perfect! Maybe I'll try to copy it on a shirt of my own? I don't know...havent' decided yet...

So there you have it. The potential and the actual. The purchases. lol...I think I'm pretty much completely outfitted for the cruise now! I've got my three restaurant ensembles and many other cute things to boot! I am soooo excited. Before I came back at the end of fall break, I organized all of my cruise things and put them all neatly in bags, so I'm pretty much ALL ready to leave...why can't the days just go quicker???

Speaking of which, I can't forget a count-up pic!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/001-1.jpg


Next Time: Cruise Door Magnets!!!

[Hedy]

WE recently got a snooty new mall round here. It addition to making sure I don't have to trek into Boston for my high-end needs ;), it has a Vera store! it sells Vera...mints!

The jacket is kind of loud (for my tastes), BUT the 1989 princess would push me over into the "buy at a good price!" camp.

Which is how I ended up with my new Pink elephants hipster and Juicy coture sunglasses (they have a $ on the rim!) for Vegas. Oops. :rotfl: :rotfl:

[Disney Mommy 3]

Love it all Emma!!! Great choices! I think my favorite is the shoes!!!!

[princess&her4princes]

Woohoo!! Love it, you had fun shopping, didn't you?:confused3 You got some great stuff!!! Love the shoes, love the tops, very cute and very cruise like!! Not so sure on the Ariel top,myself, but you definately can pull it off, can't wait to see the pics from this trip!!:goodvibes

[LISAMWDW]

Great stuff! :lovestruc Shopping! :goodvibes

My favorite is the red flowy top! So cute! Adorable with the glass slippers! Great find!

[Dancegrl624]

Those shirts are SO cute! You also can't go wrong with glass slippers! Love the update!

[BellaSoleil]

Good job on the shopping, sister! I love the glass slippers! I like to shop at Francesca's for jewelry and gifts.

I'm going to try and PM you later today to chit chat.

Our trip is getting SO CLOSE!!!!

[AGPrincess]

WE recently got a snooty new mall round here. It addition to making sure I don't have to trek into Boston for my high-end needs ;), it has a Vera store! it sells Vera...mints!

The jacket is kind of loud (for my tastes), BUT the 1989 princess would push me over into the "buy at a good price!" camp.

Which is how I ended up with my new Pink elephants hipster and Juicy coture sunglasses (they have a $ on the rim!) for Vegas. Oops. :rotfl: :rotfl:

lol...I love the snooty new malls. Never seen a Vera store, but it's always fun to wander around! And the pink elephants hipster is adorable! And I'm sure the sunglasses are way cool too :cool2: (sometimes it's fun to have something a little loud!) :cool2: :thumbsup2

Love it all Emma!!! Great choices! I think my favorite is the shoes!!!!

Thanks for posting! I love the shoes too! :lovestruc

Woohoo!! Love it, you had fun shopping, didn't you?:confused3 You got some great stuff!!! Love the shoes, love the tops, very cute and very cruise like!! Not so sure on the Ariel top,myself, but you definately can pull it off, can't wait to see the pics from this trip!!:goodvibes

lol...I know, I love the cruise-y stuff! It's so bad, though. I am way more susceptible to cruise marketing/blue colors/tropical looking outfits! :rotfl:

Great stuff! :lovestruc Shopping! :goodvibes

My favorite is the red flowy top! So cute! Adorable with the glass slippers! Great find!

I was so excited to find those too...I don't always have good luck in that type of store! Shopping is so funny that way -- just hit or miss sometimes! :confused3

Those shirts are SO cute! You also can't go wrong with glass slippers! Love the update!

Thanks! The glass slippers are definitely fun...I think I even like the psychadelic print on the bottom peeking out under my toes! :thumbsup2

Good job on the shopping, sister! I love the glass slippers! I like to shop at Francesca's for jewelry and gifts.

I'm going to try and PM you later today to chit chat.

Our trip is getting SO CLOSE!!!!

I know!!! I was adding mickey heads to my count-up and I realized I'm (and you must be too!) under 40 days!! When I get back from Thanksgiving I'll have a whole bunch of mickeys to put up at once! :banana:

[Dreamer & Wisher]

Now, normally I’m a Plato kinda girl, but it’s when I’m shopping that I really start to appreciate Aristotle (lol...I can't get away from philosophy even outside my classes!). Aristotle talks a bunch about the actual versus the potential, and I still don’t really get what he wants to say, but I do get the actuals and potentials of purchases!

At home over fall break we went shopping. A bunch. For the cruise. Yay! :woohoo:

Every purchase starts out potential, but then it’s fun to see which actually come to Disney World and which are just left at the store. (poor neglected purchases…)

Actually I don’t feel so bad for the potential purchases, I’m too happy with the actual ones! I found some really cute things over break. The first one was at Target. I saw a picture of it in a display first. A picture kinda like this:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/bluetop.jpg
And I thought “Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo” Doesn’t the blue kinda look like the sea?? So I browsed a little bit and found that they only had two left, one of which was my size!! It’s so swirly too…I just love it!

At first I was thinking Triton’s, but I have the navy dress for that, so now I’m thinking that the blues aren’t so different from the blues on a parrot, so it might work at Parrot Cay! :cool1: Since Parrot Cay is a little less dressy, I might just do it with black shorts…BUT, I had a brain storm on a way to make this outfit more parrot-ish, and I decided that I’m going to try to get some red/green/blue feathers and make them into a little fascinator-type thing to put in my hair!! I’m pretty excited to make it…it should be pretty cute! (and if our Parrot Cay is on pirate night, that would work for that as well…all pirates have parrots, right? :confused3 )

Also over break, I stopped in one of those boutique-y stores in our outdoor mall (I think it was called Francesca's??) and found a few things, including a pair of GLASS SLIPPERS! For $2!!! Check it out:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/0182.jpg
Isn’t it princess-y? I love the gold streaks in the shirt, I took a close-up…

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/0192.jpg

The reason the (plastic) glass slippers were so cheap is because they only had really small sizes and really big sizes. And I just happened to fit into the smaller size!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/013.jpg
Like the pumpkins in the background? And I love that they were $2 which is practically as cheap as Cinderella got them for (except she got them for free, but still). :banana:

Here's another potential purchase of shoes that unfortunately was not actualized:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/008.jpg
Somehow they look like cruise director shoes to me. Plus they're cute. But I already want to bring more shoes than I will bring, so I skipped it.

The next purchases of note were at White House Black Market. Now I normally don’t do sleeveless/strapless…it’s just not my thing (I KNOW! The target purchase was kinda surprising!). But I saw several sleeveless/halter tops that just looked too cruise-y to pass up (plus they were on the SALE racks!!). There were many potential ones, such as this:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/possiblepurchase.jpg

But only two actual, which of course aren’t on the website, so I’ll have to post inferior pics taken by me.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/0032-1.jpg
This one is a halter top and (gasp!) has no back, but I have a black top I’m going to wear under it. But I love the design and my favorite part is the gold chain and the little pearls at the end of the chain:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/0062.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/0022.jpg
This one I really like…doesn’t it kinda look Polynesian-y?? One of these will definitely be for Animator’s Palatte, but the other I could wear at the Poly! They’re both pretty tropical!

There are a few purchases I was thinking about online that are actually still potential…I just can’t decide....opinions welcome! They’re on the Disney outlet/sale shopping site. Firstly:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/snowshirt.jpg
lol…don’t you love how snobby Snow looks? And I love how it says “Still Waiting for My Prince.” Problem was, when I first looked at it it was $35!!! For a T-Shirt??? And it was originally $80!! I don’t know if there are gems on it or what, but that was too much. Then I looked again recently and it was $19…better, but I’d still have to pay shipping. So I’m still undecided.

This shirt I also like (it is long-sleeved, but it should be cooler in Disney in January…)

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/arielshirt3.jpg
Front.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/Arielshirt2.jpg
Back. I don’t know…I hesitate b/c the back is pretty…flamboyant, I guess? And Ariel somehow doesn't look quite right. I think this might not even be on the site anymore, but the thing I really like is the text:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/arielshirt1.jpg
Princess of the Sea! That’s me on this trip! Plus I was born in 1989, so that part is perfect! Maybe I'll try to copy it on a shirt of my own? I don't know...havent' decided yet...

So there you have it. The potential and the actual. The purchases. lol...I think I'm pretty much completely outfitted for the cruise now! I've got my three restaurant ensembles and many other cute things to boot! I am soooo excited. Before I came back at the end of fall break, I organized all of my cruise things and put them all neatly in bags, so I'm pretty much ALL ready to leave...why can't the days just go quicker???

Speaking of which, I can't forget a count-up pic!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/001-1.jpg


Next Time: Cruise Door Magnets!!!

Wow I love your tops. I really like the Ariel top. Are you going to get it?

Can't wait to see your cruise Door magnets.

[AGPrincess]

Hey all you snobby readers!! Hope everybody is getting ready for a fabulous Thanksgiving…I know I am totally excited for a little break and to see my family! We’re going to be travelling around quite a bit, so I won’t be on the boards, but I wanted to get an update up real quick! It’s kinda short…mostly pics, and all about the cruise magnet selection/production process!

Enjoy, and have a Happy Thanksgiving!


Door Decorations!!

Now I’ve seen the door signs that people at Pop and All Stars come up with. They’re pretty darn awesome. But I never knew that people did the same thing on cruises. One day last summer my mom told me to check out the thread over on the cruise boards. I. went. nuts. I was so amazed by all of the cool designs and magnets, and it sounded so cool that these people were making their own magnets. There were even templates for making Mickey ears (and Minnie bows etc.!) to go around the door number. I’ll post a link to the thread so you can check it out:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=838817

So I took my time and did my research. I went through all 200+ pages of the thread and made sure to save (most of) the designs I was inspired by. And I got a lot of inspiration. I think I sent a dozen emails to myself with pics and links. Here were some of my inspiration pics. Please know that I did not create these. I altered a few of them to get rid of people’s names, but they are all from the very talented people over on the cruise board:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/cindygraphic.jpg
Princess-y!!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/mickeypirate.jpg
Argh!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/cruisemagnet.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/petership.jpg
I love this one…just imagine one of the kids on the ship going “look mommy, up in the sky! There’s Peter Pan!”

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/pirate.jpg
Savvy!

Now I’m not done with our cruise magnets, but I actually haven’t used any of those graphics yet. Over fall break I fiddled with paint shop and started to add text to some of the graphics. I was trying to do one magnet for every kid and then a couple general ones. Again, these graphics aren’t mine, I just added the text:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/dart.jpg
Like what Mickey’s spelling out? ;)

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/porthos.jpg
I showed this to Porthos and he’s just like…”yeah, that’s cool.” Gee, thanks. Buddy. Oh well, he’s in high school. What can you expect?

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/neverlandcopy.jpg
I’m still going to add our room number or something to this. People on the magnet thread were saying that magnets sometimes get stolen if they’re not personalized!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/hammockcopy.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/PuertaStitch.jpg
Athos wants me to use this graphic for his magnet…gotta love stitch!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/hulatime.jpg
Another one I have to personalize. Like what the billboard says?

Now we come to one of my favorite parts: the Emma snobbish magnet!! I knew I wanted something extra-princess-y but with a castle too and maybe a little bit of a sea flair for the cruise. I love concept art, so I actually started looking at the concept art for various Disney princess movies to use for my magnet...

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/bbconceptart13.jpg
This was an idea for Belle…don’t you love how snobby and snooty and supercilious she looks?

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/cindyconceptart7.jpg
I’m pretty sure this was from Cinderella, but again…love the snobbery!

But the winner was….

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/mermaid6.jpg
LOVE IT! This was concept art for Ariel actually, which is very fitting. Love the hair and the dress and the snobby expression. Perfect!

I used the snobby girl on top of a background of Ariel’s castle. I didn’t upload a pic of just the background, but here’s the finished product:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/disneysnobcopy.jpg
I’m so excited with how it came out…I can’t wait to decorate our door!

Since there are so many of us, we’ll actually have two doors to do. One I think we’ll do with just a bunch of random magnets (and maybe the mickey ears on the room number) and the other I want to get more artistic with. I saw a pic on the cruise magnet thread (and I went back looking for it but couldn’t find it) where somebody had cut out a huge piece of paper the size of the door, cut holes appropriately for the doorknob and room number, and then they basically had a mural for the door…they had drawn a pirate scene (I think) on the paper, and it looked amazing.

Depending on how much time I have when I go home for Christmas (before we leave for Disney!) I might try to make a similar one. It would look so cool! The other option is to bring the Ariel count-up along and put her up on the door…she’s so pretty, I’d love to see her up as a door decoration too!

[Disney Mommy 3]

Emma!! Love it all!! But I do like the princesses!!!! WOW!!!

[Lady Lallie]

Those are absolutely amazing! I love your Disney Snob one with the concept art. Just gorgeous!

[Dreamer & Wisher]

Wow that is so cool. But how do you decide? I love them all.
Do people at the resorts do this too? I would love a cute themed magnet for our door at French Quarter. Maybe with the kitties from Aristocats?

Very cute.

[jwwi]

Those magnets are so cool, I loved the pictures of all the snobby princesses. Your trip is coming up very quickly!

[princess&her4princes]

Happy Thanksgiving, Emma!! Hope you and your snobbish family had a wonderful time together!!! Love the magnets and the princess ones are perfect!!!princess:

[disneyhockeymad]

I just realised that I haven't posted in a while!! I love the outfits you picked out, those tops are amazing and the 'glass' slippers are fantastic :thumbsup2... good finds!!!
Loving your door signs as well, you're very creative, I don't think I'd be able to do anything like that!!!
Not long to go now! Hope you had a good thanksgiving, wish we had something like that here in England, it made me so hungry looking at all the pictures of turkeys and what not people had posted!!!

[LISAMWDW]

So cool Emma!

[AGPrincess]

Hey everybody! I'm afraid I've been shamefully neglecting my TR lately. :rolleyes1 It's just we're so close!! :banana: I only have one full week of classes left, then finals week...it's mind-boggling! lol...I've never started a PTR this early so I guess that's why it's starting to slow down! Which makes me wonder...should I start a new thread for when the TR comes along or stick w/ this one? Any thoughts? I do still have 4 weeks or so to decide! :rotfl:

Thanks for all the comments on the magnets, I'm glad you enjoyed them! I've seen signs and other decorations on doors at the value/moderate resorts, but I've never seen magnets quite like this. It'd be fun to customize some magnets for a resort door too, though! :thumbsup2

I do have a few updates still to post...I'll try to get one up soon before the finals rush starts. :scared: Hope everybody has a good weekend!

[disneyhockeymad]

Hey everybody! I'm afraid I've been shamefully neglecting my TR lately. :rolleyes1 It's just we're so close!! :banana: I only have one full week of classes left, then finals week...it's mind-boggling! lol...I've never started a PTR this early so I guess that's why it's starting to slow down! Which makes me wonder...should I start a new thread for when the TR comes along or stick w/ this one? Any thoughts? I do still have 4 weeks or so to decide! :rotfl:

Thanks for all the comments on the magnets, I'm glad you enjoyed them! I've seen signs and other decorations on doors at the value/moderate resorts, but I've never seen magnets quite like this. It'd be fun to customize some magnets for a resort door too, though! :thumbsup2

I do have a few updates still to post...I'll try to get one up soon before the finals rush starts. :scared: Hope everybody has a good weekend!

Haha if you want to see a neglected TR look at mine, I've left all my pictures at home so mine is, at the moment, none existent!!!
Good luck for your finals week... sure you'll be fine, I have exams in january which should be 'fun', my first uni exams!! :scared1:!!
Looking forward to an update... whenever!!

[AGPrincess]

Alright, I finally have an update to post...sorry for the delay! Classes are all done but I still have a week of finals before I get to 1. home and 2. disney! Hope everybody's Christmas plans are going well!

Haha if you want to see a neglected TR look at mine, I've left all my pictures at home so mine is, at the moment, none existent!!!
Good luck for your finals week... sure you'll be fine, I have exams in january which should be 'fun', my first uni exams!! :scared1:!!
Looking forward to an update... whenever!!

lol...I hope you do update yours! I'd love to read more. And thanks for the luck...I may need it and a little pixie dust besides! :rotfl: It's nice you don't have to worry about yours until January...I'm sure you'll do fine!

[AGPrincess]

SO. Amidst the list-making, studying, packing, leave-taking and such involved in the end of a college semester, I have been making another list. A disney list.

Oh yeah. I see the gleam that just came into your eyes. There's nothing like a Disney list. A list of must-do's that encompasses old favorites as well as excited-to-try new experiences! I have tried to intersperse pictorial references to jazz this list up a little:

To Do at DISNEY WORLD!

New Fun:

Find my way to Pixie Hollow and meet Tinkerbell!! (I am VERY excited for this but a little apprehensive...I mean, part of Tinkerbell's charm is that she sparkles instead of talks. Still. Can't wait!)
http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/tink.png
Find a cream-cheese-filled pretzel (Read about these somewhere and was intrigued...They're at DHS (MGM!) I think?
Ride (and soundly beat my brothers on) Toy Story Mania
Check out Spaceship Earth WITH the renovations (Didn't get a chance to do this in April)
http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/July%202007/410.jpg


Old Fun:

Find time to see Fantasmic (We haven't seen this in quite a few years...my favorite part was always the princesses on the boats at the end! princess: )
Beauty and the Beast at DHS (MGM!)...love that show!
http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/101.jpg
Ride (and soundly beat my brothers on) Toy Story Mania
Beat my brothers on Buzz (that is always on my list! :rotfl: )
Hammock at the POLY! (another always!)
http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/April%202008/polypanoramic.jpg
WISHES! (lol...I was just listening to the soundtrack earlier this week! :love: )
http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/July%202007/368.jpg


Cruise Fun:

Use the Sports Deck (especially on the first night...I think they give use glow-in-dark volleyballs, etc.!)
Swim in the Pools (I want to go down the Mickey slide!)
Find a HAMMOCK at Castaway Cay!
Try to see the princesses? (I know they do meet n' greets sometimes, and I just think it'd be fun to see Ariel while on the cruise!
http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/July%202007/464.jpg


Yummy Fun:

Mickey Bar!! (always have to have one of those!)
Cinnamon Roll from the Main St. Bakery!
http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/IMG_3998.jpg
Earl of Sandwich! (the original, if you please!)
Tonga Toast! (especially since we're staying at the Poly!)
http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/tonga.jpg

[BellaSoleil]

Sounds like a wonderful plan! I would like to try a cinnamon roll, but I have a feeling they would be too sweet for my taste. I just can't eat sugar like I used to. :sad1:

[LISAMWDW]

I didn't realize you were staying at the Poly! :lovestruc
I heart :love: the Poly!

Awesome! I'm so jealous! ;)

[disneyhockeymad]

Your to do list is fantastic.... TSM was AMAZING when I rode it in the summer, I have a feeling you'll love it! Spaceship Earth was also really really good with the renovations, just dont wear anything blue that day otherwise you'll blend into the background of the picture, my dad wore a blue cap... when his picture came out half his head was missing!! :rotfl:
Fantasmic is my all time favourite show at WDW, I love it so much, the princess boats are always my favourite bit as well!! :thumbsup2
As for the cruise stuff having never been on one reading your list is making me very very envious... I really hope you meet the princesses, esp my all time favourite Ariel!!
Not long to go now :goodvibes

ps. Im finally home from Uni for christmas so I now have access to all my pictures. I'll be updating my TR tomorrow morning!! Eventually!!!

[AGPrincess]

I just realized I hadn't posted a pic of my count-up lately, so here it is!! I am soooo close!!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/016.jpg

And while I'm at it, (and since I'm going Christmas shopping this afternoon, so I want to get into the holiday mood!) I thought I might share a few of the Christmas decorations in my room.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/006-1.jpg
Our little tree...

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/032.jpg
Christmas ornaments hanging from the shelf above my desk! (like Belle's dress? princess: )

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/029.jpg
A (slightly lopsided) pic of my door. I drew the little elf (I drew one for my roomie too, but it got cut out of the pic)

I can't wait to see all the decorations at Disney! :cool1:

Sounds like a wonderful plan! I would like to try a cinnamon roll, but I have a feeling they would be too sweet for my taste. I just can't eat sugar like I used to. :sad1:

Hmmm...they are pretty sweet! And they're so big...I might have to split it with one of my brothers (I don't think any of them will object to too much sugar though :rolleyes: )

I didn't realize you were staying at the Poly! :lovestruc
I heart :love: the Poly!

Awesome! I'm so jealous! ;)

The Poly is my favorite resort too!! I'm so excited we're staying there this time! :cloud9:

Your to do list is fantastic.... TSM was AMAZING when I rode it in the summer, I have a feeling you'll love it! Spaceship Earth was also really really good with the renovations, just dont wear anything blue that day otherwise you'll blend into the background of the picture, my dad wore a blue cap... when his picture came out half his head was missing!! :rotfl:
Fantasmic is my all time favourite show at WDW, I love it so much, the princess boats are always my favourite bit as well!! :thumbsup2
As for the cruise stuff having never been on one reading your list is making me very very envious... I really hope you meet the princesses, esp my all time favourite Ariel!!
Not long to go now :goodvibes

ps. Im finally home from Uni for christmas so I now have access to all my pictures. I'll be updating my TR tomorrow morning!! Eventually!!!

lol...thanks for the SE tip...that's really funny! That's so exciting that you're home for Christmas!! I'll definitely be on the look-out for an update!

[Dreamer & Wisher]

Wow I love your decorations. Ariel looks beautiful. The elf is adorable you are great at drawing. Are you going to draw Ariel's face in?

Did you make the Christmas tree out of the ornaments or did you buy it?
It's really pretty.

[AGPrincess]

Wow I love your decorations. Ariel looks beautiful. The elf is adorable you are great at drawing. Are you going to draw Ariel's face in?

Did you make the Christmas tree out of the ornaments or did you buy it?
It's really pretty.

Thanks! I still haven't decided whether or not to draw her face in...I'm kinda afraid I wouldn't be able to do it right and then it would spoil the whole thing...:scared: I may attempt it, but I think it still looks kinda artistic-ish with just the outline and the colors.

And lol...I did not make the tree myself (that would've taken forever!). I found it at Target last year!

[BellaSoleil]

princess: Ariel is looking BEAUTIFUL!!!! She will be off and swimming in no time!

Love the Christmas decorations. The tree is my favorite.:santa:

[eyeheartgoofy]

How many more days left?:)

[jwwi]

Your count up calendar is almost complete, you must be leaving soon?

[AGPrincess]

Hey everybody! Sorry for being soo negligent of this pre-trippie. The days have ticked by and CHRISTMAS is tomorrow and the trip is coming up right after that!! I finished up my Ariel Count-Up back at school, so she's all done now! It's so fun to see her all beautiful in color!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/013-1.jpg

I'll be starting a new thread on the regular TR board with my real TR, so watch out for that! I'll try to get it up before I leave and I'll be sure to post a link on here. Thanks to everyone for following along with this pre-trippie and from me and my AG friends, have a lovely Christmas and holiday season!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/AGPrincess/January%202009/084.jpg

princess: Ariel is looking BEAUTIFUL!!!! She will be off and swimming in no time!

Love the Christmas decorations. The tree is my favorite.:santa:

Thanks!! I put Ariel up at home for a bit before we cruise off...I think I'm going to bring her and put her up on one of our stateroom doors. Our trips are almost here!

How many more days left?:)

Just three until we leave now, although we won't arrive at Disney for more like 5 or 6. I'm so excited!

Your count up calendar is almost complete, you must be leaving soon?

Yes, I can't wait!

[princess&her4princes]

Merry Christmas Emma! I hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday!!!!:santa:

I can't believe your trip is almost here now!! Woohoo!!:banana:

[disneyhockeymad]

Happy Christmas Emma!! Hope you have a fab day! Have an amazing time on your holiday too, can't wait to hear about it!! :)

ps your count up looks fantastic!! :thumbsup2

[eyeheartgoofy]

Have a good trip! I'm looking forward to reading the trip report! :)

[BellaSoleil]

Have a safe trip, my friend! Can't wait to see you at Disney!:goodvibes

[mmounsey]

Hope you have a wonderful trip! Can't wait for the trip report!:santa:

[LISAMWDW]

Have a magical trip Emma! :wizard:

[ms.mightyduck]

Hope you are having a great trip, Emma! I'll be in the world for Marathon weekend so I'll catch you in a few weeks!

Duckie

[BellaSoleil]

Hi Emma! Hope you all got home safely. I'm thinking about you right now, because I just broke open the gummy cherries that I bought in Germany. They are so delicious! I can't wait to hear all about the cruise!

Give your mom a big hug for me!:hug:

[Dancegrl624]

I can't wait to hear all about your trip!

[jwwi]

Welcome back, hope your trip was wonderful.:wizard:

[AGPrincess]

Hey everybody! :wave2: We just disembarked from the Disney Wonder this morning and I'm already missing it - of course. :sad2: But it was such a lovely trip...I can't wait to get my report started! Thanks for all your well wishes and welcomes back! :goodvibes

[KathyRN137]

Welcome back, Princess!!

I am so looking forward to your report!!

Kathy

[princess&her4princes]

Hi Emma!! You're home already, can't wait to hear all about it!

[Disney Mommy 3]

Hey Emma! Glad you had a wonderful time!! Can't wait to read that report!!!! I know its going to be awesome.

[BellaSoleil]

You're officially home! :banana: :banana: Wasn't it terribly sad leaving the ship?!?!

I can't wait to hear all about your trip. You didn't happen to meet anyone fabulous in Epcot did you?;)


I hope you get all settled back into school. Have a great night!

[disneyhockeymad]

Welcome back Emma!!! I'm glad you had a fantastic trip :)
Can't wait to read about it!!!
oh and I've finally re-started my TR so feel free to pop by!!!

[AGPrincess]

I just posted my TR. It's got a new title: Disney Snobbery on the High Seas! Check it out: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=29630089#post29630089

Welcome back, Princess!!

I am so looking forward to your report!!

Kathy

Hey Kathy! Good to see you back on the Dis!

Hi Emma!! You're home already, can't wait to hear all about it!

I just started my trippie...I can't wait to start writing the updates - I have so many pics!

Hey Emma! Glad you had a wonderful time!! Can't wait to read that report!!!! I know its going to be awesome.

Thanks!

You're officially home! :banana: :banana: Wasn't it terribly sad leaving the ship?!?!

I can't wait to hear all about your trip. You didn't happen to meet anyone fabulous in Epcot did you?;)


I hope you get all settled back into school. Have a great night!

It was very sad leaving the ship! We had gotten to the car and were driving away and Dart says "Let's just go back! I don't wanna leave the cruise!" ;) And I did meet this fabulous couple at Epcot -- and one of them wasn't just fabulous, but also one of my favorite DISers! :rotfl: I can't wait to get to that part of the report!

Welcome back Emma!!! I'm glad you had a fantastic trip :)
Can't wait to read about it!!!
oh and I've finally re-started my TR so feel free to pop by!!!

Thanks! I'll definitely be checking out your TR again!

[DWFan4Life]

Welcome back, how's your trip? Looking forward to see your pictures during the trip. :)

Have a nice day to all. :)

[LISAMWDW]

Welcome back!