Mike & Missy's Grand Adventure! A DCL & WDW Pre-TR w/ pics! Updated-09/18

[UGAFan0829]

Hello fellow DIS'ers!
I am so excited to finally be starting my Pre-Trip Report. It seems like I have been waiting for this for a long time! Even though we won't be sailing until September 5th, I decided that now would be as good a time as any to get started on this...Especially being the obesessive compulsive planner that I am, I couldn't wait to start sharing my plans with y'all. (Plus I think it helps to pass the 234 more days until we set sail.)

So now to explain the reason behind our "celebration". We are actually celebrating for 2 different reasons. The first is that the DH and I will be celebrating 10 years of "Happily Ever After" on September 11th (which will be the last full day of our cruise). Ever since our very first cruise (a 3-nighter on DCL back in 2005), we knew that we wanted to spend our 10 year anniversary on a 7 night cruise. We took another cruise (4-nights) in January of '06 and fell even more in love with DCL and cruising. Even though we knew that we would be cruising for our 10th, we didn't know that we wouldn't cruise again until then! So we saved enough money for the deposit and shortly after the rates/dates were released I went online and booked! :banana: I'll get to the second reason for our celebration a little later.

Now, a little about us. I'm Missy, now 29, but will turn 30 exactly one week before the day we set sail. My DH is Mike, who just turned 32 TODAY! Here's a recent pic of us from the top of Stone Mountain:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/DSC01689.jpg
In the past couple of years both of us have fallen in love with most all things Disney. Even though we took two cruises, we didn't fall completely in love with Disney until we visited the World in September of 2006. Ever since then we want nothing but Disney for our vacations. Both of us (but especially me), love any chance that we get to talk about Disney!!! One day we hope to renew our vows in Disney AND join DVC...but we've got some major saving to do before then!:scared:
Aside from Disney, we both love to travel in general, and if not to Disney, then to the beach (especially Panama City Beach) and the mountains (Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge). Another big part of our lives is dirt-track racing. I grew up in it, and Mike has come to love it, too. (A quick shout-out to my good friend Mickey's Goofy Gal, who is also a dirt-trackin', Disney lovin', Georgia girl).
Mike and I are very best friends, and we pretty go much go everywhere and do everything together. I honestly can't imagine my life without him, and he has made so many of my dreams come true. Just today, when my Dad called to wish him a Happy Birthday, Daddy told Mike that he was like the son that he never had...talking about making you tear up but also be proud!!:love:

Okay, so back to the real reason that you're reading this--the cruise! So, back at the beginning of fall, Mike and I were talking to his sister (Gayle, who is 40-something) about our plans for the cruise. She and her husband have cruised before, on Carnival, but she told us that she would love to take her daughter, Brandi (23), on a Disney cruise...so of course, we told them they should come along! I think she thought we were just being nice at first, but we were really serious! She told us that they wouldn't want to intrude since it was for our anniversary, but we told her that we really would love for them to join us. So that was it, a couple of weeks later they came over and we got them all booked to join us! I was very super excited!(For the longest time, we'd been trying to "sell" them on a Disney cruise by telling them how much fun 2 adults can have, so I guess we did a pretty good job!:rotfl: ) Other than going over to one another's house for special occasions/Holidays, I've never spent a lot of time with Mike's sister or niece, and we've never been real close, so I saw this as an opportunity to bond with them a little. This will be Brandi's first cruise, and though she is excited, she is nervous about cruising during hurricane season. I admit that I'm a little nervous too, but I know that we'll be fine!! What's even better is that Gayle will also be celebrating her birthday while on board!! :cheer2: So there ya go, that's the second reason for our "celebration"!
Sorry that I don't have any pics of Brandi or Gayle to post right now, but I will try and get some put up later. (I always like to put pictures/faces with names.)

So that's the beginning in a nutshell and the history of how our cruise came together! Now it's time to get down to business with planning and getting everything together. I made myself a checklist the other day of things that I need to get done soon...getting our passports, reserving a hotel for the night before the cruise, finding something to wear for Pirate Night, etc...so stay tuned for all the details!:rolleyes1

[Mickey's Goofy Gal]

I am so excited to have the chance to read all about your pre-planning! You are right - we are dirt-trackin', Disney lovin, Georgia Girls!!!!!!!! This is going to be a magical trip for ya'll. I am getting excited just hearing about it! I love the picture of ya'll too!!!!!!!!! :yay:

[UGAFan0829]

I am so excited to have the chance to read all about your pre-planning! You are right - we are dirt-trackin', Disney lovin, Georgia Girls!!!!!!!! This is going to be a magical trip for ya'll. I am getting excited just hearing about it! I love the picture of ya'll too!!!!!!!!! :yay:

Thanks for reading, Kim!! I'm definitely glad you're here. And I hope that one day soon I can read about your plans!!!:thumbsup2

[lillygator]

a fellow strawberry blonde!! (overlooking the Bulldawg part!)

[UGAFan0829]

In my last post I mentioned Passports being on my list of things to get done soon. Now keep in mind that neither the DH nor myself have ever had a Passport, so I know very little about them except that you need them to travel outside of the US-or so I thought. So I decided to get online this morning and do a little research to find out what we needed to do to apply for one. I actually learned a lot, mostly thanks to the super smart people here on the DIS. What I didn't know is that there are now 2 different types of Passports-One being a card, and the other being a book, which is what I always think of when I picture a Passport. So in reading about this "new" card, I find out that it is good for sea travel, and crossing certain borders, but it is NOT good for international air travel. Since applying for the card is almost half the cost of applying for the book, I told the DH that we would just go with the card since we probably won't be flying out of the country anytime soon. Then after posting a question about the passport cards here on the DIS, someone pointed out to me that until June 1 of this year, you don't actually need a Passport to cruise! DUH!:headache: I had no idea! BUT...then the thought of an emergency happening and needing to get home struck me, and without the Passport Book we couldn't go anywhere!:scared1: So I talked to the DH about it again...he called the DSIL, and we decided to go ahead and get ours. Yes, I know some of you may think that it's $$ wasted, but I think it will definitely give us peace of mind. Not to mention, since we aren't cruising until September, the laws regarding Passports could very well change! So, after all this blabbering, I'm happy to report that we have an appointment on Saturday to apply for our Passports! Yippee!!!!:dance3: I know it's a minor detail, but it's another thing crossed off my list!:banana:

[Mickey's Goofy Gal]

Keep all of your notes for me! By the time I get to go they will probably require a pass port to go from state to state - LOL:dance3:

[UGAFan0829]

a fellow strawberry blonde!! (overlooking the Bulldawg part!)
Hi, lillygator! Thanks for joining! Yes, please look over the fact that I'm a Dawg, though I am very proud to be one!;) It's very nice to have a fellow red-head here!

[UGAFan0829]

Keep all of your notes for me! By the time I get to go they will probably require a pass port to go from state to state - LOL:dance3:

Ha!:laughing: Yes, I will do that! I laugh at you saying that, but the scary part is that I wouldn't doubt something like that happening!:eek: Let's hope that you get to go on a cruise before then!:rolleyes1

[UGAFan0829]

Woohoo!:cheer2: We finally went and applied for our Passports this morning! It was a lot easier than I thought!! We all had an appointment at 10:30 this morning, and we were all 4 in and out within a matter of 20 minutes or so! One thing I will tell anyone who is planning to get a passport...If you decide to go through the Post Office, go somewhere else to have your photo taken. The post office charges $15 per person, in addition to the $100 that the actual Passport costs, and we were able to get ours done at CVS this morning for $7.99. So we were able to get it for almost half of what the Post Office charges! The clerk told us that we should have ours within 2 1/2 to 3 weeks!!:thumbsup2 We were all a little relieved to hear that it shouldn't take that long as one of my niece's co-workers told her that it took 8 MONTHS to get theirs:scared1: ...We would be in major trouble if it took us that long!
So anyway...we're almost official now! I'll make sure and let ya know as soon as we recieve them so that you'll know exactly how long it took! I know this probably isn't major news to anyone, but it's very exciting to me...It really makes the cruise seem that much closer!

[Mickey's Goofy Gal]

Today is one day closer than yesterday!!!!!!!!!!!!:cool1:

[Jennifer48]

Hi Missy!

Just found your report. I'm excited to read all about it. Did I read that correctly, if you are celebrating your 10 yr anniversary, you were married at 19?

I just got engaged in December and have DCL booked for our honeymoon in September. We'll be getting on the Magic when you are getting off! :goodvibes

I think you did right by getting the book. Who knows if the laws will change and you'll need the passport for other things. Not to mention, its good for 10 yrs so maybe you will fly internationally! :thumbsup2

[UGAFan0829]

Today is one day closer than yesterday!!!!!!!!!!!!:cool1:

Thanks for the encouragement, Kim!!! That's definitely a good way of looking at it! :thumbsup2

Hi Missy!

Just found your report. I'm excited to read all about it. Did I read that correctly, if you are celebrating your 10 yr anniversary, you were married at 19?

I just got engaged in December and have DCL booked for our honeymoon in September. We'll be getting on the Magic when you are getting off! :goodvibes

I think you did right by getting the book. Who knows if the laws will change and you'll need the passport for other things. Not to mention, its good for 10 yrs so maybe you will fly internationally! :thumbsup2

Hi, Jennifer! Thanks so much for joining in!!:wave2:
Yes, you did read it right...We are celebrating 10 years this year! I actually turned 20 about 2 weeks before we got married. It's crazy when I think about it now...but I wouldn't change a thing, and I would do it again in a heartbeat!

Congrats on your engagement. I know that you are going to have an awesome honeymoon! Will this be your 1st cruise?? I will make sure to leave the Magic in good condition for you!!:thumbsup2

You're definitely right about the Passport thing. To me, it was just too big of a thing to chance! When we were applying for them on Saturday, the agent told us that they are good for 10 years, so I told my DSIL we were gonna have to see how many trips we could get in within 10 years to get our $'s worth!:rotfl: The DH gave me a funny look, but I can't imagine why!!:confused3 :lmao:

[Jennifer48]

Hi, Jennifer! Thanks so much for joining in!!:wave2:
Yes, you did read it right...We are celebrating 10 years this year! I actually turned 20 about 2 weeks before we got married. It's crazy when I think about it now...but I wouldn't change a thing, and I would do it again in a heartbeat!

Congrats on your engagement. I know that you are going to have an awesome honeymoon! Will this be your 1st cruise?? I will make sure to leave the Magic in good condition for you!!:thumbsup2

You're definitely right about the Passport thing. To me, it was just too big of a thing to chance! When we were applying for them on Saturday, the agent told us that they are good for 10 years, so I told my DSIL we were gonna have to see how many trips we could get in within 10 years to get our $'s worth!:rotfl: The DH gave me a funny look, but I can't imagine why!!:confused3 :lmao:

Good for you! Ahh young love :flower3:

Thank you! This will actually be my 3rd cruise. My 2nd 7-night cruise. I'm super excited about it! Any questions you need answered, I'll help as much as I can!:goodvibes

[UGAFan0829]

Good for you! Ahh young love :flower3:

Thank you! This will actually be my 3rd cruise. My 2nd 7-night cruise. I'm super excited about it! Any questions you need answered, I'll help as much as I can!:goodvibes

Awww, thanks!!:blush:
You may regret telling me that I can ask you questions though!!;)
I just noticed the TR links in your siggie...I'm heading over to check out your cruise report right now!:)

[aussieinvasion]

Hey Missy,

Im having fun reading all of this, you're right it does pass the time a bit. Over here we only get the book type passports for 10 years and the kids are good for 5 years on theirs. Hey I just noticed your picture taken on Stone Mountain, I went there about 14 years ago!! What a small world:goodvibes

[UGAFan0829]

Hey Missy,

Im having fun reading all of this, you're right it does pass the time a bit. Over here we only get the book type passports for 10 years and the kids are good for 5 years on theirs. Hey I just noticed your picture taken on Stone Mountain, I went there about 14 years ago!! What a small world:goodvibes

Hi, Mel! Thanks so much for joining me! You're probably going to be soooo tired of hearing from me by the time that we cruise!:rolleyes: At least you're having fun reading!!:thumbsup2
Yep, the picture was from Stone Mountain. We live about 45 minutes from the park, but hardly ever go on our own. Mike's company has held their Christmas party there for the past 2 years, so that's when the picture was taken. It's very neat that you've been there!!

[UGAFan0829]

Soooo…Another one of the “to-do” items on my checklist is to book a hotel for the night before the cruise. All along, the DH and I had planned on staying at the Hampton Inn in Titusville for 2 reasons. One being that we stayed there before our last cruise and loved it, and the second being that since I’m a Hilton Honors member, I may just have enough points to get the room for free. Big bonus!!!
The Hampton Inn in Titusville:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Cruise%20stuff/HamptonInn.jpg
After talking to the DSIL and DN, we decided that we would leave early that Friday morning and drive down. That would give us the afternoon and evening to do whatever. And since the DN wants to check out Cocoa Beach and Ron Jon’s, we figured then would be the perfect opportunity! So of course this is when my OCD kicked in and I went in search for hotels closer to the port and Cocoa Beach. I need to also mention that I am very picky about hotels. Why, I don’t know, I guess just another part of my OCD. Anyways, I didn’t have much luck finding anything that I liked that was anywhere closer than the Hampton Inn in Titusville. So I go online this morning with plans to go ahead and book the HI, but decided to do one last check for something closer. Of course, what do I find, but the Country Inn right there at the port!
The Country Inn & Suites in Cape Canaveral:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Cruise%20stuff/countryinn.jpg
From what I’ve read, it’s pretty much the closest hotel to the terminals! Wow! So I went to my trusty Trip Advisor to check the reviews, and it’s pretty much in line with the Hampton Inn! By this time, I’m starting to get really excited at the thought of being so close to the ships that we could even see them from the hotel!! So then I check the rates to see what the difference would be…$176.00 after taxes and everything for a 2 queen room. Not bad, but even if I ended up paying for the room at the Hampton Inn, it’s still $50 more. So now I can’t decide…imagine that! Should we stay with the Hampton Inn, but have to drive 30 minutes or so over to Cocoa Beach after we check-in and then 30 minutes back to the hotel that night with another 30 minutes to port the next morning, or should I go with the Country Inn and pay $50 more, but yet be 5 minutes to everything??
I’m sure this is a no-brainer for some of you, especially considering the fact that I may even be able to get the room at the Hampton Inn for free. But, because my DSIL and DN will be with us, I really want to do what’s going to make it a better experience for them. If it were just the DH and I, I would go with the HI. But the thought of being 5 minutes from the ship AND being able to see them from the hotel…well, that’s worth $50 to me! Not to mention the gas that we’d save driving from the hotel to Cocoa and back, and then to port the next morning! So, what do y’all think? I really need some input here. I know that there will probably be rooms available at both hotels for a while, but I really wanted to go ahead and get something booked! I know that there are probably things that I’m not thinking about in deciding on one or the other, so I wanna know what y’all think. Help a girl out here!!

[Mickey's Goofy Gal]

Since Mama is OCD too, I thought that I would let you know that they stay at Country Inn and Suites most of the time when they are traveling for Daddy's job. She is comfortable staying there. Also, as far as $ for the hotel - not having that 1 hour of travel time may allow you to enjoy being there a little more & give you a little extra site seeing time since you will have a short period of time between the arrival in Florida and the cruise departure. As you mentioned, it will also take less gas to travel around.

[UGAFan0829]

Since Mama is OCD too, I thought that I would let you know that they stay at Country Inn and Suites most of the time when they are traveling for Daddy's job. She is comfortable staying there. Also, as far as $ for the hotel - not having that 1 hour of travel time may allow you to enjoy being there a little more & give you a little extra site seeing time since you will have a short period of time between the arrival in Florida and the cruise departure. As you mentioned, it will also take less gas to travel around.

See, this is exactly why I wanted to ask for input...I didn't even think about the extra time that we would have if we did stay at the CI! I'm also glad to know that your Mama likes the CI...that makes me feel good about it, too!!::yes::

And by the way, I was looking at the pic in your siggie, and it's crazy how much Kenny has changed since then. He looked like a teenager then, now he looks so grown up!

[Mickey's Goofy Gal]

I know he has grown and changed so much in the last few years. That was taken in July 2005. I can't wait to go back to Disney and to go on my first cruise - but you know - he chose a new race car over a Disney trip for his high school graduation gift from his dad and I. He said he is putting a Mickey Mouse by my name on his new race car! Gotta love Mickey!!!!!!!!!

[Jennifer48]

Hmmm thats a tricky one. Myself, I'd pay the $50 more for the closer resort only because I hate driving. How far is CI to Cocoa Beach and Ron Jon? Are you still going to try to go there no matter which hotel you stay at?

[UGAFan0829]

Hmmm thats a tricky one. Myself, I'd pay the $50 more for the closer resort only because I hate driving. How far is CI to Cocoa Beach and Ron Jon? Are you still going to try to go there no matter which hotel you stay at?

It's only 5 minutes from the CI to Ron Jon's and 10 to Cocoa Beach.
Yeah, we had planned on going there no matter where we stay!

As of right now, I'm definitely leaning towards the CI!

[Jennifer48]

It's only 5 minutes from the CI to Ron Jon's and 10 to Cocoa Beach.
Yeah, we had planned on going there no matter where we stay!

As of right now, I'm definitely leaning towards the CI! Then I'd say, stay at CI! Between saving time and gas driving back and forth, it would probably be worth it and might even be a wash in the end money wise. I just wish I knew someone that has stayed there before to give you an opinion of the hotel itself. Maybe if you post something on the DCL forum, someone must have stayed there before. :goodvibes

[UGAFan0829]

Then I'd say, stay at CI! Between saving time and gas driving back and forth, it would probably be worth it and might even be a wash in the end money wise. I just wish I knew someone that has stayed there before to give you an opinion of the hotel itself. Maybe if you post something on the DCL forum, someone must have stayed there before. :goodvibes

Thanks so much for your input, Jennifer! I appreciate it, and it makes me feel a lot better about my decision. I think I'm gonna go with the CI...Just gonna let the DH look at it and see what he thinks when I get home tonight. I'm sure that he will like it, but I always like to have his input and make him part of the decision!:thumbsup2
I actually read all of the reviews on Trip Advisor, and they were all great, with the exception of one or two, but that's to be expected. I also posted something on the main DCL board, and a few people responded--all with good things to stay about the hotel!:cheer2:

[UGAFan0829]

Just wanted to post a quick update...
We are officially booked for our night before the cruise at the Country Inn & Suites at the port! Yahoo:cheer2: I'm excited about staying there, especially since we're going to be so close to the ships! I reserved a room with 2 queens, so hopefully there will be enough room for the 4 of us.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Cruise%20stuff/cuntryinn.jpg
I think we'll all be so excited that it really won't matter anyway!:) I read that this is one of the hotels that will allow you to leave your car there and take their shuttle to the port, but I think we're just gonna park in the DCL lot. I know it's extra $, but I feel more secure leaving it in a gated lot that has 24-hour security!
Well, sorry this is so short for now, hopefully I'll have more to update on later.
Hope everyone has a great weekend!:wave2:

[aussieinvasion]

Hi, Mel! Thanks so much for joining me! You're probably going to be soooo tired of hearing from me by the time that we cruise!:rolleyes: At least you're having fun reading!!:thumbsup2
Yep, the picture was from Stone Mountain. We live about 45 minutes from the park, but hardly ever go on our own. Mike's company has held their Christmas party there for the past 2 years, so that's when the picture was taken. It's very neat that you've been there!!


As if I would get tired of hearing from you:goodvibes We had a great time when we went to Stone Mountain, that was with my mum and dad and I think I must have been in my late teens. We spent some time in Atlanta and we went driving around for the day, and thats where we ended up. It was Christmas time and they had the prettiest lights up. We went on the steam train and on the wildlife trails, and up on the skylift to the top of the mountain of course. Wow, I just realised that was 1994! I even kept an old postcard and admission ticket to the skylift in my travel diary.

Anyway, I love the room you've booked. It will be so exciting to be right there at the port!! Are you guys thinking of getting to the port early or are you going to take your time? Ive heard people have different opinions about this. We are aiming to get there early and get the kiddies registered for the Oceaneer Club. I know I can do this in advance online but its saying that Amelia is eligible for Flounders and not Oceaneers as she turns 3 on the ship and I want to get that straightened out. Plus we want to be on there as soon as humanly possible:lmao:

[UGAFan0829]

As if I would get tired of hearing from you:goodvibes We had a great time when we went to Stone Mountain, that was with my mum and dad and I think I must have been in my late teens. We spent some time in Atlanta and we went driving around for the day, and thats where we ended up. It was Christmas time and they had the prettiest lights up. We went on the steam train and on the wildlife trails, and up on the skylift to the top of the mountain of course. Wow, I just realised that was 1994! I even kept an old postcard and admission ticket to the skylift in my travel diary.

Anyway, I love the room you've booked. It will be so exciting to be right there at the port!! Are you guys thinking of getting to the port early or are you going to take your time? Ive heard people have different opinions about this. We are aiming to get there early and get the kiddies registered for the Oceaneer Club. I know I can do this in advance online but its saying that Amelia is eligible for Flounders and not Oceaneers as she turns 3 on the ship and I want to get that straightened out. Plus we want to be on there as soon as humanly possible:lmao:

Awwww, thanks, Mel. That makes me feel no so quite crazy for being such an obsessive planner!:grouphug:

It's too neat that you remember your trip to Stone Mountain. It really is a cool place, and they have added a lot to it. When we were there for the Christmas Party we got to see Polar Express in 4-D...Now that was neat! They even had snow tubing this year, which is a huge thing here in Georgia!

I'm VERY excited to be so close to port! I think we are gonna try and get to the port early. That's what we've done the other 2 times that we've cruised, and it worked out well for us. I think we got a #2 boarding pass last time. I don't blame you for wanting to get the Flounders/Oceaneers thing straightened out in person, and as soon as possible!

You guys are going to WDW before the cruise right? We had booked for after the cruise, but ended up cancelling. I just didn't think that we could swing both the cruise AND Disney. I'm still a little sad about it, but it will be okay...I know the cruise is going to be awesome. And we've been talking to the DSIL and DN about heading over to DTD after we get off the ship. I want them to see the World of Disney store, and I can't wait to get back in there myself!

[Jennifer48]

Great news! :goodvibes :thumbsup2

[UGAFan0829]

Just wanted to post another quick update...
We received our Passports yesterday!:hyper: Mike got home early and called me at work to tell me that we had gotten them!:cheer2: They got here a lot faster than I thought they would. The lady at the Post Office told us about 2 weeks, but it wasn't even that long! So now we are official!
I do have a quck question about them though...On the page where our picture and info is, there is a signature line there...Are we supposed to sign them now? Just wanted to ask just in case we were suppose to sign them in front of someone!
Hopefully I'll be back later with more updates! I hope everyone is having a great week!!:goodvibes

[Jennifer48]

Wow that was super fast! That's great! One less thing to worry about.:thumbsup2

[Mickey's Goofy Gal]

It seems everything is falling into place for ya'll!!!!!!!! I think you are making great choices and remember everyday is one day closer!!!!!!!! I am so excited for ya'll!!!!!!!!!!!pixiedust: :cheer2: :moped:

[UGAFan0829]

Wow that was super fast! That's great! One less thing to worry about.:thumbsup2
I know...I couldn't believe that it was so fast! It's nice to be able to check something else off the list!!

It seems everything is falling into place for ya'll!!!!!!!! I think you are making great choices and remember everyday is one day closer!!!!!!!! I am so excited for ya'll!!!!!!!!!!!pixiedust: :cheer2: :moped:
Awww, thanks, Kim! I'm excited too. I just hope that one day I can be reading and posting on one of your trip reports!!!pixiedust:

[UGAFan0829]

It's been a little while since I've updated, and I started noticing that the days are really ticking down. Only 205 to go!!:woohoo: I'm sure that sounds like a lot to most, but considering the fact that we've been waiting for this trip for well over 400 days, then I'm happy!!!
So, with that being said, I thought it was time to really think about the shore excursions that we want to take part in. I figured for the sake of updates, that I would break it out into each port.
First up is Key West!!!:cheer2: In looking at the shore excursions that DCL offers, there are really only a couple that seem interesting to us. First is the GPS Walking Tour. Here's the description that Disney gives:

Just a 200-yard walk from the ship; arrive at the start point for your walking tour, guided by your very own GPS. Receive instructions on how to navigate and use your GPS before setting off on the approximately 1-mile walk. See some of Key West's most famous landmarks, as well as some hidden treasures you perhaps didn't know about.

As you arrive at each featured destination, a video will appear on your GPS screen giving you more information and fun facts. You can follow the designated path or choose to linger and explore some of the stops along the way. If you choose to "roam alone", your GPS map will always indicate where you are. Setting your own pace means the GPS walking tour is great for first-time visitors and for Guests on a return visit who want to discover more about this island paradise.

At the end of your tour, return your GPS unit and make your way to Pat Croce's Rum Barrel to cool off with a complimentary beverage.

I really like the idea of having a GPS to be able to see more about the sights, especially since Mike, Brandi and I have never been there before.

The one other excursion that caught my eye is the Explore Key West by Electric Car. It sounds a lot like the walking tour, except we'd obviously have a car with this one. The only thing that I'm a little worried about with having a car is parking. I'm just not sure how easy it will be to find a place to park at each spot we want to check out. Honestly, I think I would rather do the walking tour, but I think the DSIL and DN are leaning towards a car. We're actually going over to the DSIL's house on Sunday to watch the Daytona 500 (Go #88 and #29!!), so I guess we'll make a final decision then. We've already talked about all the places that we want to visit, so we know where we want to go, now it's just a matter of figuring out how we want to get there.
And just for the sake of adding some excitement with some pics, here are a couple of the places that we definitely want to check out:
The Southernmost Point:
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d37/lunera_69/southernmostpoint.jpg
The Hemingway House:
http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m320/amcanora/024_21A.jpg
Sloppy Joe's:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c80/JMIRISH333/KeyWest011.jpg
Margaritaville:
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm230/gumboisland/Key%20West/jimmy-4.jpg
Hard Rock Cafe:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m156/LincolnHigh05/Key%20West%202007/100_2829.jpg
I'm sure that we probably won't make it to all of these places, but I'm putting them all on the list anyway! And who knows where else we may end up!:rolleyes1

[Mickey's Goofy Gal]

These sound like exciting places to visit. I know that it is going to be soooo much fun. It will be fun with the GPS too. That is so cool - what are they going to come up with next!!!!!

[Jennifer48]

That GPS walking tour sounds like a blast. I like how you can pace yourself and stop to look around and you aren't completely tied to the tour. Of course, the car sounds good too but I'm with you on the parking. I don't know the area but I'd assume too you might have to pay for parking in some spots just because of the touristy area. Good luck with your decision! :goodvibes

[UGAFan0829]

These sound like exciting places to visit. I know that it is going to be soooo much fun. It will be fun with the GPS too. That is so cool - what are they going to come up with next!!!!!
I was thinking the same thing!! I think it would be really cool to have them along...especially since I have no sense of direction! Lord knows I could get lost in the mall!!

That GPS walking tour sounds like a blast. I like how you can pace yourself and stop to look around and you aren't completely tied to the tour. Of course, the car sounds good too but I'm with you on the parking. I don't know the area but I'd assume too you might have to pay for parking in some spots just because of the touristy area. Good luck with your decision! :goodvibes
That's exactly what I was thinking...being able to see things at our own pace would be better, I think.
Ooooh, paying for parking didn't even cross my mind either.:headache: Thanks for bringing that up...I will definitely mention that to the DSIL and DN on Sunday!!:thumbsup2

[UGAFan0829]

I think Grand Cayman will probably be one of the most difficult ports to pick an excursion for. I've looked at the ones that DCL offers a hundred times, and each time I think I've found one I like, and then I'll end up changing my mind. So there are a few different possibilities for this one. At the very beginning, I really wanted to do Stingray City, but the DSIL mentioned that she didn't really care for that, so that may be out of the question. So here's what we're considering for our day in GC:
Grand Cayman Island Tour:

Discover the sights and sounds of the Caribbean on this two-hour bus excursion through the streets of Georgetown, the capital of Grand Cayman, before arriving at the unique black rock formations known as "Hell." Afterward, visit the world-renowned turtle nursery, the Cayman Turtle Farm, and spend some time with these fascinating creatures

I really like the fact that this one somewhat "tours" the island. I've often thought about visiting "Hell" and the Turtle Farm. The only drawback for this one is that it doesn't have any beach time.

Rum Point Beach Adventure and Stingray City Snorket:

Hit the beach at Rum Point! Kick back, relax and soak up the sun on white-sand beaches before boarding a glass-bottom boat where you can catch a glimpse of the multitude of marine life in their natural habitat. Journey to Stingray City and make a splash with real-live stingrays as you snorkel alongside these captivating creatures. Afterward, enjoy a light lunch and take in the sights of this Caribbean paradise.

Of course I like this one because of Stingray City. But another plus is the glass bottom boat...I think Mike would really like this part of it. AND lunch is included so that's another plus. But of course DSIL may not want to do this one, as I mentioned earlier.

Island Tour and Snorkeling with Stingrays:

Discover paradise on an island tour of Grand Cayman with stops at the Cayman Turtle Farm and the fascinating prehistoric rock formation known as "Hell." Then, enjoy a relaxing 45-minute boat ride to the Stingray City sandbar for a chance to interact and feed these magnificent sea creatures at a water depth of 4-6 feet.

I think this one is my pick out of all of them, mostly because it includes both the island tour AND snorkeling with the stingrays AND the Turtle Farm. But it doesn't include lunch, which really isn't a big deal, but it's still something to consider.

Unlike Key West, I really don't have a list of things that I want to see in Grand Cayman. I have some ideas of things that might be neat, but I don't know a whole lot about the island, so that has a lot to do with it. I would like to experience at least one of the beaches, as all of the pics I've seen of the different ones are gorgeous!!

If anyone has any input/advice/suggestions on GC, please let me know...I'm always open for new stuff! Sorry about not having any pics for this installment!!

[Disneychica2009]

Hi there, don't mean to barge in our you thread but I just thought I'd let you know my sister and I and our 5 boys are going on the Magic 7 day cruise on 4/4/09. We decided to get passports for the entire family for piece of mind. We have been on 2 cruises where people had to leave the ship for medical emergencies which meant they would have to fly back to the US, on 2 other occaisions people had to leave the ship to fly home because of deaths in the family and a very ill family member back home. In all of these cases if the person leaving the ship hadn't had a passport (book) they would not have been able to get back to the US. Even though it's a zillion to one odds of anything happening I'm sure, because of the incidents mentioned above we just don't want to take the chance.

As for Key West. Most of those pictures of Hard Rock, Sloppy Joes etc. are all on Duval St very near the cruise port and even the Southern Most Point is only about 1 mile from the ship. Parking is very difficult to find and expensive if you were going to rent a vehicle. I have always walked to everything even when we've stayed there for long weekends etc.

My sister has been to GC before and she and her kids still rave about sting ray city, so we are doing that but not through DCL, I've hooked up with a private tour and they will take us out on our own boat and with a wave runner for the kids to ride as well (adults too). I read many tripadvisor reviews on the tour company and all were very positive, so I'm pretty comfortable with it.

I am still researching what to do in Cozumel, can't decide. So I will continue to research the next week or so but don't want to wait too long.

Sorry I rambled on. Enjoy your planning. That's half of the fun.:dance3:

[UGAFan0829]

Hi there, don't mean to barge in our you thread but I just thought I'd let you know my sister and I and our 5 boys are going on the Magic 7 day cruise on 4/4/09. We decided to get passports for the entire family for piece of mind. We have been on 2 cruises where people had to leave the ship for medical emergencies which meant they would have to fly back to the US, on 2 other occaisions people had to leave the ship to fly home because of deaths in the family and a very ill family member back home. In all of these cases if the person leaving the ship hadn't had a passport (book) they would not have been able to get back to the US. Even though it's a zillion to one odds of anything happening I'm sure, because of the incidents mentioned above we just don't want to take the chance.

As for Key West. Most of those pictures of Hard Rock, Sloppy Joes etc. are all on Duval St very near the cruise port and even the Southern Most Point is only about 1 mile from the ship. Parking is very difficult to find and expensive if you were going to rent a vehicle. I have always walked to everything even when we've stayed there for long weekends etc.

My sister has been to GC before and she and her kids still rave about sting ray city, so we are doing that but not through DCL, I've hooked up with a private tour and they will take us out on our own boat and with a wave runner for the kids to ride as well (adults too). I read many tripadvisor reviews on the tour company and all were very positive, so I'm pretty comfortable with it.

I am still researching what to do in Cozumel, can't decide. So I will continue to research the next week or so but don't want to wait too long.

Sorry I rambled on. Enjoy your planning. That's half of the fun.:dance3:

Hi, Disneychica 2009! You're not barging in at all. I truly appreciate your post!! I'm glad that we decided to go with the Passports. The thought of something happening like you mentioned is exactly what made us go ahead and get ours.

Thanks for confirming that about the parking in Key West. That is good to know, and I will make sure to mention that to the DSIL and DN. It sounds as though the places that we want to see are definitely do-able by walking.

The excursion that you have booked for GC sounds really cool. Especially with the wave runner. I guess I've just not been brave enough to use anyone besides the DCL excursions. Though I would love to hear more about the one you've booked, if you don't mind sharing.

And I would love to hear what you decide on for Cozumel. We were thinking about the Jeep Tour, but that's not a definite yet.

Again, I really appreciate all your input! I agree that the planning is definitely half the fun!:woohoo: Please come back and post more!!:hug:

[ibela]

Island Tour and Snorkeling with Stingrays:

Discover paradise on an island tour of Grand Cayman with stops at the Cayman Turtle Farm and the fascinating prehistoric rock formation known as "Hell." Then, enjoy a relaxing 45-minute boat ride to the Stingray City sandbar for a chance to interact and feed these magnificent sea creatures at a water depth of 4-6 feet.

I think this one is my pick out of all of them, mostly because it includes both the island tour AND snorkeling with the stingrays AND the Turtle Farm. But it doesn't include lunch, which really isn't a big deal, but it's still something to consider.



Duh, I can't believe I didn't realize you had started a pre-trip report!

I figured I'd throw my $.02 in. If that's the tour you want to do above, then you should definitely go with it. How long is it anyway? It's probably only 3 hrs long or so, just eat some bkfst before and you'll probably be back on the ship for lunch. Or do what we're doing, bringing some snacks with us - maybe a bagel or some muffins or something to tide us over. I don't know what's good there and don't want to waste too much time eating anyway, I'd rather be exploring. And it'll help cut costs down to apply towards the spa stuff!


Definitely good decision about the passports and as far as parking at the CI & S, I've read plenty of people on the dis have done it and haven't had any problems. We're going to return the car and then probably just get another one when we get back if we don't do the DCL transfers.

[aussieinvasion]

I really like the look of this one too but I think they have an age limit:confused: Im going to have to check into this. I am so confused about GC. I keep changing my mind too.

[kileybeth]

Oh! so the gangs all over here on Missy's pretrippie! Hope I am not intruding!

I was trying to look into excursions a little bit today myself (just getting started) but I've got to tell you, it was a bit depressing for this Mom with 6 people traveling! I was almost ready to call the DH and say, you know what? We can not afford this!

BUT that is just not gonna happen :rotfl: Soooo, here's what my adventurous side is telling me. I have to look beyond DCL excursions for sure to save a buck and make this happen.

Your info on Key West was excellent tho. I had been under the impression it was too far to walk to the southern most point? Not sure where I read that? But now at least I know that will not be a problem. And altho the GPS would be a ton of fun, I am taking my own personal GPS, the DH! who absolutely never gets lost, I kid you not. hehe. good thing too, I also am one that can get lost in my own town!

My DH has been to Caymen before a few times so he is all set to show us around there. We are just looking for a good car rental deal near the port as he flies in and usually rents from the airport. With a fam of 6, a car rental is almost always way cheaper then a taxi rental and gives way more freedom. AND I think the kids will get a kick out of seeing Daddy drive on the wrong side of the road!

Cozumel was my focus today and I found a fun webpage by locals (US transplants) with some good info but again , no car rental info! We are most excited about this port as we have friends who live in Mexico and it will be fun to hear/see a bit of "culture in Spanish" and try out those Homeschool Spanish lessons.

Castaway Cay is not even on my radar yet as I feel it is my last day for relaxing and to me that means sitting and doing not much of anything. Figure we will be way out of money by then anyway! ha!

so do you think we can have fun and stick to our pitifully small budget? I am starting to think maybe we can again.

sorry to highjack just ubber excited and wanted to talk to someone who was as well.

[UGAFan0829]

Duh, I can't believe I didn't realize you had started a pre-trip report!

Oh! so the gangs all over here on Missy's pretrippie! Hope I am not intruding!

sorry to highjack just ubber excited and wanted to talk to someone who was as well.

Yeaaa...I'm so glad that y'all are here!!!!! You're definitely not hijacking!!!

[UGAFan0829]

Just wanted to post a quick update before my lunch hour is over...
The DH and I went shopping yesterday, and I ended up finding a dress for semi-formal night! I really want y'alls opinion on it, so I'm gonna post some pics when I get home from work tonight!
And for our shore excursions--we've made the final choices.:woohoo: We spent most of the day Sunday over at DSIL's house watching the Daytona 500 and eating veggie soup, so we had the chance to sit down and go over all the ones that we liked. We were able to pick one for each port, so now I know for sure which ones we're doing. I'll post more details on that tonight, too!
I hope everyone had a great weekend and a Happy Valentine's Day:love: !
Sorry this is so short for now, but I gotta get back to work:thumbsup2...Make sure to come back later for pics and all the details:surfweb: ...I really want everyone's opinion on my dress!!:hug:

[ibela]

I'm looking forward to the dress pics but trust me when I say this: it's fine! Some people will still come in t-shirts. It's all about your family and the pics you want!

Personally, we (ok, I) like to get dressed up so I'm going to wear something fancy both dress-up nights. :thumbsup2

[kileybeth]

oohhh! can't wait to see the pics and hear all about what excursions you all picked!

199 DAYS :banana: :banana:

and I am panicking about enough days to get everything done I want to do for all the kids and the DH and myself before we go!

[UGAFan0829]

oohhh! can't wait to see the pics and hear all about what excursions you all picked!

199 DAYS :banana: :banana:

and I am panicking about enough days to get everything done I want to do for all the kids and the DH and myself before we go!

Holy cow!:eek: I can't believe I didn't already realize this! I'm usually good about keeping up with the days to go, but not today. It has been a rough day here at work...I'll include all the details when I post tonight, but let's just say that we are less 2 employees after this morning.:sad1:

By the way...y'all keep your fingers crossed for me...I'm going to get my hair cut tonight. No, I don't normally get nervous about haircuts, but I'm going to a new stylist tonight, so I hope that all goes well. I have naturally curly hair that I've been fighting for years, and this lady is supposed to be really good with curls! I'm looking to change my style a little, so I'm a little nervous to say the least!:scared:

[UGAFan0829]

I'm looking forward to the dress pics but trust me when I say this: it's fine! Some people will still come in t-shirts. It's all about your family and the pics you want!

Personally, we (ok, I) like to get dressed up so I'm going to wear something fancy both dress-up nights. :thumbsup2

Thanks for the reassurance!:hug: As you can probably tell by now, I'm one of those who worries about everything!:confused3 I can't wait to show y'all though!!!

[UGAFan0829]

Well, I'm finally back from my hair appointment at the "new" salon! I have to say that I'm not really happy with the results. I guess I'm expecting a miracle! I just want normal hair for once!:sad2: And if that wasn't enough to make it a bad day, 2 people at my branch were told that their jobs were being eliminated today. The worst part is that one of the girls is my co-worker. We actually have the same job title and work in the same office together. We've worked together for about 5 years now. The decision to get rid of someone from our department was between she and I. Talk about hard. On top of that she's a single mother who gets no child support. My heart is really breaking for her.:sad2: I knew that times were hard for a lot of people, but this really hit home. I honestly think I took the news worse than if it had been me that was being let go.:sad1: Anway...enough about that...let's talk about some happy stuff!!!
Soooo...as I said earlier...I think I've found the dress for semi-formal night. DH and I were both off yesterday (I work at a bank, so it was a holiday for us, the DH took the day off to spend it with me). I had some things to exchange at Bath & Body Works, and I wanted to check out some stuff at the Disney Store, so we decided to head to the mall. We always go in through JC Penney, so I mentioned to the DH that since we were there I wanted to look around at the dresses. I really didn't expect to find anything, much less buy something...just wanted to get an idea of what I might want. So as we were browsing the racks, there were several that I liked. I think I picked out all but one, and the DH picked out one. I went to try them on, and guess which one I liked the best...the one DH picked out! It really is cute, and in my opinion it does look the best on me. So, without any further delay...Here is my semi-formal dress:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Cruise%20stuff/DSC02263.jpg
It's nothing fancy, but I never pictured myself wearing something like this. I really like it though. And I think I got a decent deal on it...It was on sale for $45, regularly $80. The one thing that worries me is that it's a print instead of a solid. I guess I always associate formal with solid color dresses. So what do y'all think...will this be okay for semi-formal??
I'm thinking that since the dress that I have for formal night is solid black that maybe this will be okay...Here's what I have for formal night as of right now:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Cruise%20stuff/DSC02264.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Cruise%20stuff/DSC02265.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Cruise%20stuff/DSC02266.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Cruise%20stuff/DSC02267.jpg
Believe it or not, I've had this dress stuck back in the closet for about 3 or 4 years now. Remember when I said that we always knew that we wanted to do a 7-night cruise for our anniversary? Well, I was in Macy's one day, and I saw this dress...it was on clearance, and I thought it would be perfect for formal night, so I bought it...crazy, I know!! Now I just hope that I really wear it. It shows a little more skin that I'm used to showing, but I think it's a really pretty dress, so maybe I'll get the nerve up to actually wear it!!
Alright...so there they are...I wanna know what ya think!!

[UGAFan0829]

Alright...So here is what we decided on for our shore excursions...I'm pretty happy with what we picked, and I'm really excited now that I know what we have to look forward to...

KEY WEST: Actually, we aren't doing an excursion for this port. Since everything seems to be within walking distance, we thought that we would save the money that we would have spent on an electric car, and just tour Key West on our own. From what I've read it should be pretty easy. The plan is to hit the town as soon as we're allowed off the ship and get everything in that we can, and then try to be back onboard by lunch.

GRAND CAYMAN: This was probably the hardest one to decide on for us. We all really wanted to do the island tour, so after looking into all of them, we chose the Island Tour & Butterfly Farm. This one's supposed to last 3.5 hours, which seems to be a decent amount of time. And we get to visit several different places including Hell, the governor's residence, the turtle farm and the butterfly farm. And of course there's the extra bonus of stopping to sample some rum cake before the end!! I am a little sad that we won't be going to Stingray City, but there's always next time!!

COZUMEL: This one was definitely the easiest one of all, as we pretty much already knew which one we wanted...The Jeep Exploration! This one sounds really fun! Not to mention the included lunch sounds really yummy...just glad that they offer bottled water! LOL:rotfl:

CASTAWAY CAY: Since this will be our last stop, and our last day on the cruise, I think we're just gonna take it easy on this one. Probably hang out at Serenity Bay, and maybe take a bike ride around the island...This will probably be our R&R day!!!

So that's it...that's what we have planned. Now we just have to wait until it's time for us to actually book! And I do have a question about that...since the DSIL and DN are first time cruisers, will they have to wait and book their excursions seperately, or will I be able to book them with us even though they aren't staying in the same cabin as us? Anyone know how that works? I didn't know if I could make our reservations for 4, or if it can only be for the number of people in our room! Hopefully someone will know the answer to this. I also have to call and have our dining linked so that we are seated together...Anyone know when and how I need to do that?

Well, I suppose that's it for now! Thankfully that's a couple more things checked off my list. Still have to find those pirate costumes though!

[kileybeth]

Wow again! perfect, perfect, and perfect!!!!!!!!

The formal gown I fell in love with immediately, couldn't even take my finger off the "down" button to stop and really look at semi formal! hehe.

then I went back and looked at the semi formal dress. I love it! I was grinning to myself as I thought "man am I old!" I remember those fabrics from the 6th grade! LOL! and I still love them. My daughter is the one wearing them now though. You will look captivating for sure. If it was me? I'd now be on the search for a somewhat matching (colorwise I mean!) tie for my DH! Gotta think about those pics.

Your excursions sound just right for you (experienced cruiser) and your family (1st timers) . You will have a blast. Little envy over here about the turtle farm though, I think we are gonna have to skip it and I have a HUGE turtle lover (DS16) but it is just way to much $$$ for us this time. Hopefully somewhere in the carribean or even in Port Canaveral we will catch a glimpse of some turtles in the wild!

I am so sorry to hear about your rotten work day. Things are so yukky right now. My husband works for a bank so it is all around him, the whole gloom and doom and everything else. We will all need a vacation by September for sure!

And I am sure your hair is fine! I am to the point in life where mine looks "okay" (never say really good anymore!) for the first 3-4 weeks after I have it colored/cut and then I moan and groan for the next 3-4 weeks until I can afford to take us all (my kiddos and I all go to the same salon and have been for 16 years!) again. sigh. age. I tell you, simply wasted on the young! HA!

This is our week coming up for passports. My DH wants me to get all the kids one. (we have ours) and not the cards either. sigh. that's a lotta mulla.
Better just go and get it over with. Better safe then sorry.

I love hearing all about your plans and thoughts for the cruise. Keep up the pre-trippie. I am a fan! hehe

[Jennifer48]

Your dresses are perfect! Even though you think that a print dress isn't semi-formal, it works. Believe me, there will be people around that aren't even dressed up so you don't worry about it at all, its perfect!

How great that you already had a formal dress! :thumbsup2

Shore excursions sound awesome too! I especially can't wait to hear about the Jeep tour on Cozumel!

As for booking the excursions, you can book together even though they are not in the same cabin. You can do that for Palo and spa ressies as well. :goodvibes

[mousetravel]

Hey, I'm a nearby neighbor in SC. I've been to Stone Mountain a few times. It's great! I wish they would change that darn 4D movie. It's been the same for years!:3dglasses

I will be subbing to your thread for your trip report. Sounds interesting.

[UGAFan0829]

Wow again! perfect, perfect, and perfect!!!!!!!!

If it was me? I'd now be on the search for a somewhat matching (colorwise I mean!) tie for my DH! Gotta think about those pics.

This is our week coming up for passports. My DH wants me to get all the kids one. (we have ours) and not the cards either. sigh. that's a lotta mulla.
Better just go and get it over with. Better safe then sorry.

I love hearing all about your plans and thoughts for the cruise. Keep up the pre-trippie. I am a fan! hehe

Awww, thank you for all the kind words!:hug: I'm really glad that you like my dresses. I know I worry to much!!:guilty: Funny that you mentioned the tie-as the DH and I were standing in line to buy the dress the other day, he asked me about that! I had mentioned to him a while back that I'd like to find a really nice Mickey tie for him to wear on formal night. So he asked if I still wanted him to wear one, and how we would manage to find one to match the dress. I told him that we'll probably just have to get a solid color tie to match the semi-formal dress, and then since my formal dress is solid black, that maybe we could find a classy Mickey tie with black in it to match that. What do you think about that?

I don't blame you on the passports....It is a lot of money, but just the thought of something happening makes them worth it! Hopefully you'll get them back pretty quickly, ours were surprisingly fast!:thumbsup2

Thanks so much for being a fan...that means a lot to me!:grouphug:

Your dresses are perfect! Even though you think that a print dress isn't semi-formal, it works. Believe me, there will be people around that aren't even dressed up so you don't worry about it at all, its perfect!

How great that you already had a formal dress! :thumbsup2

Shore excursions sound awesome too! I especially can't wait to hear about the Jeep tour on Cozumel!

As for booking the excursions, you can book together even though they are not in the same cabin. You can do that for Palo and spa ressies as well. :goodvibes

Thanks, Jennifer! I'm really glad that you like them!!:)

I think out of all the shore excursions, I am most excited about the Jeep tour. I think it's going to be a lot of fun!!!

And thanks for the tip about booking the excursions and such...that makes me feel a lot better knowing that I can get everything taken care of for all of us!!

Hey, I'm a nearby neighbor in SC. I've been to Stone Mountain a few times. It's great! I wish they would change that darn 4D movie. It's been the same for years!:3dglasses

I will be subbing to your thread for your trip report. Sounds interesting.

Hi neighbor! Thanks so much for joining in!!!

Stone Mountain is a lot of fun. They have definitely added a lot of new stuff in the last few years! This past year was the first time that we were able to see the 4D movie, and it was really neat.:3dglasses I didn't even realize that they had been running it for so long..maybe they'll bring something new out soon!

I noticed your ticker in your signature...you are really close to your cruise! How awesome!!! Which one are you doing?

[mousetravel]

Hi neighbor! Thanks so much for joining in!!!

Stone Mountain is a lot of fun. They have definitely added a lot of new stuff in the last few years! This past year was the first time that we were able to see the 4D movie, and it was really neat.:3dglasses I didn't even realize that they had been running it for so long..maybe they'll bring something new out soon!

I noticed your ticker in your signature...you are really close to your cruise! How awesome!!! Which one are you doing

We're going on the Disney Wonder (3 day) on March 12. We're driving there a couple days early & going to Magic Kingdom the day before the cruise.

[ibela]

I think the dresses are great too! There's nothing wrong with a print for semi-formal night. . .? And the formal dress, sexay with that open back! ;)

To link reservations you need to have their reservation #, then you just call up DCL and give them the reservation # and they'll link it, only 1 of you need to call with the other's reservation#. I thought you couldn't book anyone in Palo unless they were in your cabin . . ?

[Mickey's Goofy Gal]

OMG - I love the dresses and you are going to look gorgeous!!!!! I think the semi-formal is a great choice and the black formal one is perfect!!!!! I think the land excursions sound great too! Ya'll are gonna have sooooo much fun! Keep posting with all the details! I am so excited for ya'll! I think Mike will look wonderful in a Mickey tie as well!!!! Also - can't wait to see your new hair style!

[UGAFan0829]

We're going on the Disney Wonder (3 day) on March 12. We're driving there a couple days early & going to Magic Kingdom the day before the cruise.
I think you are going to have so much fun! Our very first cruise was a 3 night as well, and we fell in love! I can't wait to hear about it, so make sure you let us know when you get back!

I think the dresses are great too! There's nothing wrong with a print for semi-formal night. . .? And the formal dress, sexay with that open back! ;)

To link reservations you need to have their reservation #, then you just call up DCL and give them the reservation # and they'll link it, only 1 of you need to call with the other's reservation#. I thought you couldn't book anyone in Palo unless they were in your cabin . . ?

Thank you! Yeah, that sexay back is what I'm a little nervous about!! I've never been one to "bring sexy back"!:rotfl2:

And thanks for the tip on linking the ressies. As of right now, I don't have to worry about Palo since I don't think we're planning on eating there.

OMG - I love the dresses and you are going to look gorgeous!!!!! I think the semi-formal is a great choice and the black formal one is perfect!!!!! I think the land excursions sound great too! Ya'll are gonna have sooooo much fun! Keep posting with all the details! I am so excited for ya'll! I think Mike will look wonderful in a Mickey tie as well!!!! Also - can't wait to see your new hair style!

Thank you, Kim! I'm glad that you reminded me about the tie, too. I need to start looking for one!!! And I'm glad that you found your way back to my report...I was getting worried about you!:scared:

[Mickey's Goofy Gal]

I had been getting emails when new posts were added but didn't these last few times?? Computers??? Anyway - keep posting and if I "get lost" again - please help me find my way back!!!! :banana:

We need to get together and go eat soon!!!!!!!

[UGAFan0829]

I had been getting emails when new posts were added but didn't these last few times?? Computers??? Anyway - keep posting and if I "get lost" again - please help me find my way back!!!! :banana:

We need to get together and go eat soon!!!!!!!

Yes, we sure do!!!:thumbsup2

[mousetravel]

I think you are going to have so much fun! Our very first cruise was a 3 night as well, and we fell in love! I can't wait to hear about it, so make sure you let us know when you get back!




Hey again neighbor, I've started my pre trip report if you'd like to visit!

[UGAFan0829]

Hey again neighbor, I've started my pre trip report if you'd like to visit!

Ooooh, you bet I would!!!:woohoo: :banana: Do you have a link anywhere?

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Hey Missy, sorry it took me a little while to get over here but I am here now! Your plans are looking great so far, we are both going to have so much fun on our cruises!

[Disneychica2009]

Hi there,
DisneyChica here. Sorry I haven't responded. Our cruise is in 6 weeks and we've been trying to make sure we are ready to go. Your dresses are beautiful! Great choices. That is something still on my list to do. So you are way ahead of me.
As for our private excursion in Grand Cayman, that is through Fat Fish Adventures. Small tour company but have the highest ratings on tripadvisor. Your choice for Cozumel sounds great. We were going to do the dune buggy adventure but neither my sister or I know how to drive a stick shift. Sad! We finally decided on the Fury Catamaran, snorkel and beach bash. We are meeting another family on it who is on a different boat but will be in port the same day.
Applied for the kids passports today. I think they are saying it's takin gabout 3 weeks right now.
Talk more later. Hope everyone is well.

[UGAFan0829]

Hey Missy, sorry it took me a little while to get over here but I am here now! Your plans are looking great so far, we are both going to have so much fun on our cruises!

Hi, Leesa! I'm very honored that you're reading and posting on my Pre-TR! Maybe some of your great writing style will rub off on me!!!

Hi there,
DisneyChica here. Sorry I haven't responded. Our cruise is in 6 weeks and we've been trying to make sure we are ready to go. Your dresses are beautiful! Great choices. That is something still on my list to do. So you are way ahead of me.
As for our private excursion in Grand Cayman, that is through Fat Fish Adventures. Small tour company but have the highest ratings on tripadvisor. Your choice for Cozumel sounds great. We were going to do the dune buggy adventure but neither my sister or I know how to drive a stick shift. Sad! We finally decided on the Fury Catamaran, snorkel and beach bash. We are meeting another family on it who is on a different boat but will be in port the same day.
Applied for the kids passports today. I think they are saying it's takin gabout 3 weeks right now.
Talk more later. Hope everyone is well.

Hi, DisneyChica! No need to apologize! You have your own plans to take care of, so I'm sure you've been busy with that. I'm glad that you like my dresses.
Isn't Trip Advisor great? I don't think I go anywhere without reading the reviews there first. I'm sure it makes you feel a lot better that this particular excursion is so highly rated. I'm sure that it's going to be a blast.
Bummer that you aren't going to get to do the dune buggy tour, but your other choice sounds just as fun!

[mousetravel]

Do you have a trip report or pictures of the Dolphin Encounter from your previous cruise?

[ibela]

Do you have a trip report or pictures of the Dolphin Encounter from your previous cruise?

I'm planning on doing this so I'd be interested to see it too. :)

[UGAFan0829]

Do you have a trip report or pictures of the Dolphin Encounter from your previous cruise?
I will see if I can find some pictures from there. I know that we used a waterproof disposable since we were in the water, but Lord knows I can't remember if we ever had them developed or not. We're the worlds worst about not having film developed--that's why we now have a digital, but I didn't want to take it in the water, obviously. I'll look to see what I can find. I know that we have the video, but I don't know how I would share that with you. Hopefully I can find something.

I'm planning on doing this so I'd be interested to see it too. :)
ibela, she's actually referring to the one in Nassau, is that the one you're interested in? I'm still willing to share either way!:)

[UGAFan0829]

Do you have a trip report or pictures of the Dolphin Encounter from your previous cruise?

I was able to find a couple of pics for you. Please excuse the quality...I had to scan them in since they were taken with a disposable camera. Not only that, but my photography skills weren't too great back then. But hopefully this will help you get a general idea of how it goes...

This is what you see as you are arriving...You will actually take a ferry from the pier over to Paradise Island...It's a somewhat short ride, and then a couple minutes walk to the actual location:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Cruise%20stuff/1.jpg

Here is what the platform looks like that you will be sitting on. Before you have your one on one time with the dolphin, they will actually perform a few tricks for everyone as you sit on the side and watch, which is what is pictured here:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Cruise%20stuff/2.jpg

This is a view looking back towards the exit, if you were standing at the gift shop. This is the way that you will come out after the excursion is over. They'll send you through the gift shop to view your pics and videos as well:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Cruise%20stuff/3.jpg

Some of the dolphins that we saw on our way out:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Cruise%20stuff/5.jpg

Lastly...here is picture of the actual encounter. I have one of the DH and I, but he didn't want me to post it, so I'm just gonna post the one of me:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Cruise%20stuff/6.jpg

I hope this helps you at least a little bit. The excursion really was a lot of fun...we enjoyed it and would definitey recommend it. Sorry that I don't have more, but this should give you a general idea.

[mousetravel]

Thanks for taking the time to get those pics. they turned out great! I found a thread earlier where someone said the upgrade for the dolphin swim was now $90 extra instead of $40 extra.

[Mickey's Goofy Gal]

Time is flying by and the time to leave is getting closer and closer! I love the photos that you posted from the Dolphin Encounter!

[UGAFan0829]

Thanks for taking the time to get those pics. they turned out great! I found a thread earlier where someone said the upgrade for the dolphin swim was now $90 extra instead of $40 extra.

You are very welcome!:thumbsup2 It was actually nice to go back and look at those pictures again. It was so much fun! I am sure that your DD will have a wonderful time even if you don't upgrade to the swim. The dolphin interaction is soooo much fun.

Time is flying by and the time to leave is getting closer and closer! I love the photos that you posted from the Dolphin Encounter!

It is isn't it!? It's crazy to think about how close it really is in comparison to how long we've been waiting!!!:scared1:

[UGAFan0829]

Since I now have both of the dresses for the cruise, I started thinking about shoes. For the sake of saving precious packing space, I hope to find a pair that will match both of my dresses. I've been looking around on the net to see what I could find, and this is what I've come up with so far. As always, I'd really like to have y'alls opinions...

#1-I like this for the most part, but I'm not so sure about the heel...It looks like it may be a little too high for me to be comfortable in:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Cruise%20stuff/shoes.jpg

#2-I like the top of these, but for some reason, they don't look dressy enough. I'm thinking that these probably wouldn't go so well with my formal dress:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Cruise%20stuff/shoes-3.jpg

#3-To me, these are really cute, and the heel doesn't seem too high, but I'm not sure about the clear part:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Cruise%20stuff/shoes-2.jpg

#4-These are pretty cute, but they are somewhat plain compared to the others, but I do think that they would go well with both dresses:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Cruise%20stuff/Shoes-1.jpg

#5-I think these are probably my favorite pair-so far. However, with these, I'm wondering how well they will go with the semi-formal dress. I like the fact that they have the extra little strap across the top and they have a little bit of "bling"...haha!:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Cruise%20stuff/shoebuy.jpg

Soooo...with all that said...which ones do y'all prefer?

I've also been scoping out some pirate costumes on e-Bay, but I'm just watching them for now...Hopefully I'll have more to post on that later!!

[Mickey's Goofy Gal]

I like #5 too. I like the wider heel and the "bling" too. I have some made similiar to #4 and love them. The top of the shoe is what is similiar. They are almost worn out because I have put many miles on them. The plastic on #3 would probably bother me. The heel on #1 would get me! I think the heel on #2 is my favorite heel. (You know me I don't walk well! Hahahah) As far as the dresses and only one pair of shoes - I like #5 overall. Heck - I like them all!

[Jennifer48]

I like #5 also but I'm not a big heel person. I do love the bling factor tho! :thumbsup2

[mousetravel]

I like #5, but I would probably break my neck in those. I have to have the short, fat, chunky heels. (Kinda like me...short, fat, & chunky!)
Or better known as Pooh Size! pooh:

[Mickey's Goofy Gal]

Just stopping by to see if there are any new plans in the works! The days are flying by!:goodvibes

[UGAFan0829]

I just want to start by apologizing for not having any updates lately. Things have been a little crazy here though. My Dad was taken to the hospital by ambulance 2 weeks ago and ended up having a triple bypass. So, needless to say, he has been the main focus of our time lately. He spent the first few days after getting out of the hospital at my sister's house, but has been here at my house since Saturday. I've been spending as much time as possible with him, so I haven't really had much time to sit down and do an actual update. Not to mention, I haven't really had much to update on cruise-wise lately. So thanks to everyone who is still reading...I appreciate it, and I hope you understand. I've been away so long that when I finally logged on today, I realized that the 2 new ships have been named, and that the details on "D23" have finally been realeased!!:banana: I called Mike a few minutes ago to tell him the news on the ships, and I loved his reply..."Well, that's just 2 more ships for us to cruise on!" I'm so lucky!!:love:
I will try to have something new to post in the next couple of days!
I hope everyone has a great rest of the week and a wonderful weekend!!:thumbsup2

[Mickey's Goofy Gal]

I know you are being a great nurse to your Daddy and I hope he is feeling better everyday!

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

So sorry to hear about your Dad, glad that he has you and the rest of your family to help him through his recovery. :hug:

[Jennifer48]

Take your time getting your father better. We'll always be here. :goodvibes

[kileybeth]

Oh my, that's so scary, glad you could be there for him, I know he is glad too! My Prayers are with your Dad and all the family as he recovers. Let us know how he is doing.

The cruise will still be here when you need a breather from life's harder stuff and something to refocus on and anticipate. Look forward to seeing which shoes you actual do get! :)

:hug:

[aussieinvasion]

It is isn't it!? It's crazy to think about how close it really is in comparison to how long we've been waiting!!!:scared1:


Ain't that the truth:upsidedow

Missy, Im sorry to hear about your dad. My mum had a triple bypass about a year ago now, and I can totally understand the worry and the recovery process involved. She's a lot better now, thank goodness and I'm sure your dad will be fine and recover quicker with all of you there to support him:goodvibes

Well, I am ashamed to say I have been away far too long as I dont even know what D23 is !!! I'll have to go back and research now:surfweb:

I love your choice of dresses. They styles are similar to what I had in mind for myself so that's very reassuring that It will all be ok. I love the neckline on your black dress, just lovely:thumbsup2 Just to throw in my 2 cents worth about the heels, I liked #1 and #5.

[UGAFan0829]

I know you are being a great nurse to your Daddy and I hope he is feeling better everyday!

So sorry to hear about your Dad, glad that he has you and the rest of your family to help him through his recovery. :hug:

Take your time getting your father better. We'll always be here. :goodvibes

Oh my, that's so scary, glad you could be there for him, I know he is glad too! My Prayers are with your Dad and all the family as he recovers. Let us know how he is doing.

The cruise will still be here when you need a breather from life's harder stuff and something to refocus on and anticipate. Look forward to seeing which shoes you actual do get! :)

:hug:

Ain't that the truth:upsidedow

Missy, Im sorry to hear about your dad. My mum had a triple bypass about a year ago now, and I can totally understand the worry and the recovery process involved. She's a lot better now, thank goodness and I'm sure your dad will be fine and recover quicker with all of you there to support him:goodvibes

Well, I am ashamed to say I have been away far too long as I dont even know what D23 is !!! I'll have to go back and research now:surfweb:

I love your choice of dresses. They styles are similar to what I had in mind for myself so that's very reassuring that It will all be ok. I love the neckline on your black dress, just lovely:thumbsup2 Just to throw in my 2 cents worth about the heels, I liked #1 and #5.

Thank you all so very much for your kind thoughts and words. It really, really means a lot to me!:hug:

[aussieinvasion]

Hi Missy,

Just thought I would check in with you and see how you are feeling and how its all going. My thoughts are with you:goodvibes

[UGAFan0829]

Hi everyone! I just wanted to check-in for a quick minute. I'm sorry that I haven't posted any real updates lately. There just hasn't been anything new with the cruise plans, but hopefully that will change soon.
It seems like things have been kinda gloomy around my house lately. My Dad is getting better, and we are very greatful for that. However, Mike's company had some lay-offs last week. And those that still have a job are having to take a pay cut. I'm just thankful that Mike still has a job. He was kinda upset about the layoffs because one of his good friends was let go. Mike helped get him the job, so he felt pretty bad about it. And now my job just put a new internet usage policy into place. We can only use the internet for a total of 20 minutes a day now. I guess I've taken being able to log onto the DIS for granted. It had become my addiction here at work! It was nice 2 be able to log on and get my Disney fix for the day. So I'm actually writing this post from my phone!
Anyway...thanks for hanging in there with me! Keep your fingers crossed that I'll have something good to update on soon!

[Jennifer48]

:hug: :grouphug: :flower3:

[UGAFan0829]

Well, I finally have some exciting news to share!:woohoo: The DH and I decided to take advantage of the free dining offer, so I called this morning and booked a package for us for 4 nights after the cruise at Pop Century!! I am totally excited. As if going on a 7-night cruise wasn't enough, and now we're going to WDW too!!!:banana:
Actually, when we booked the cruise, we had also booked a whole week at the Wilderness Lodge for after the cruise. But after a lot of thought, we didn't think we could swing both the cruise AND a week in Disney. We've been really sad about it ever since we cancelled, so when free dining was announced, it was too hard not to go for it!!!:banana:

I still have a few things to get done cruise wise, but now I get to make plans for Disney World as well!!:thumbsup2

[Mickey's Goofy Gal]

OMG - I am soooooooo excited for ya'll! This is great news and ya'll are so deserving of this extended vacation!!!! This makes me so sad for me though - LOL! Just kidding - you know I am always happy when people (especially my friends) get to go to WDW!!!!!!!! :cool1::banana::dance3::yay::cheer2:

It is time to get to planning :surfweb: Jenny and family stayed at POP last year and they loved it.

[UGAFan0829]

OMG - I am soooooooo excited for ya'll! This is great news and ya'll are so deserving of this extended vacation!!!! This makes me so sad for me though - LOL! Just kidding - you know I am always happy when people (especially my friends) get to go to WDW!!!!!!!! :cool1::banana::dance3::yay::cheer2:

It is time to get to planning :surfweb: Jenny and family stayed at POP last year and they loved it.

Awww, thanks! I'm looking forward to the day when y'all get to go again!!
I think this is definitely a once in a lifetime kinda thing--We only celebrate 10 years once, so I figure that's good enough reason to do both!:thumbsup2

I'm glad to know that Jenny and her family liked Pop! I'm really excited about staying there. As crazy as it may sound, I was a little worried at first, but after looking at all the pictures, I can't wait!!!:love:

[Jennifer48]

Great news!! :goodvibes

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

:woohoo:

[UGAFan0829]

I know that the new D23 thing has really been a much debated topic since it's announcement, so I realize that everyone feels differently about it. But of course, I had to take part in it, especially since this is the charter year. I've been "patiently" awaiting the arrival of my "stuff" for a couple of weeks now. So, as you can imagine, I was super excited when the mailman brought it today!:banana: According to the letter that was included my mailing, the "special surprise" from the Disney Archives will be mailed later. Here's what was included:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/DSC02456.jpg
I was sad that I couldn't include both mine and Mike's name on the certificate, so I just went with mine.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/DSC02457.jpg
I really like this quote that's on the back of the magazine:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/DSC02458.jpg


Mike and I also visited the Disney Store a few days ago to pre-order Bolt. They had their shirts on sale, so I picked up a couple that I had been eyeing online:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/DSC02454.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/DSC02455.jpg
Of course this one is my favorite, and the one I wanted the most:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/DSC02453.jpg
There was a Donald shirt that Mike had seen on a previous shopping trip that he liked, but of course they didn't have it this time.

Next on my list is to get our Pirate Night costumes ordered! Hopefully I'll get to do that soon...there are a couple on e-Bay that I've been eyeing that are a decent price.

[Jennifer48]

Cute shirts! :thumbsup2

Keep us posted on what the "surprise" gift is from D23. If I wasn't getting married and saving to buy a house this year, I would have joined too. Just not in the budget. I'm excited to see what other stuff you get by being a member :goodvibes

[Mickey's Goofy Gal]

I love the shirts and can't wait to see all the D23 stuff. Hint Hint - we need to get together soon after I get over this bronchitis and sinus mess.

[UGAFan0829]

Mike's pirate costume arrived yesterday! I'm so excited that he finally has it. I actually ordered it off e-Bay, and it didn't take long at all to get here. Of course I took some pics so you could get an idea...
This is what the "model" looks like in the costume:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/DSC02461.jpg
And this is the actual costume, minus a few of the accessories:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/DSC02466.jpg
I was a little worried about the boots since the costume only came with covers, but Mike has a pair of black dress shoes that work perfect with the covers. I talked him into trying it on yesterday as soon as we got home and he is so darn cute in it. He's not crazy about the headband though, so I doubt he will wear that. I wanna get him an eye patch and a hook for one of his hands, and then he will be all set.
Now, I've just gotta get my costume. I had found several on e-Bay in the style that I liked when I was looking for Mike's, and now there isn't a single one on there. Almost all of the ones that are listed are very short, and definitely not anything that I would feel comfortable wearing. So I did a google search and found the one I was looking for:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/brandsonsale-store_2046_247324783.jpg
I'm not sure how it will look on me, but it's about the only one that I could find that I think I would feel okay wearing. I just hope the skirt is long enough. It will probably be a few weeks before I order it, but at least I already know what I want!!!

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Cute costume! I wanted to dress up for pirate night but I just can't find anything I like that would actually look good on me. :guilty:

[Mickey's Goofy Gal]

I like Mike's costume and you need to post a picture of him in it!!!! I think you should order that one for you cause I like it too! I know you are getting more and more excited as the days pass by!!!

[UGAFan0829]

My D23 "surprise" arrived in the mail yesterday. I was expecting some kind of figurine, so when I saw a tube in the mailbox from Disney, I was a little surprised! I wasn't sure what to expect as I opened it, but I was pleasantly surprised. Here's what I got:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/DSC02467.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/DSC02468.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/DSC02469.jpg
I love it! I can't wait to get it framed and hung in my Disney room!!!

[Jennifer48]

What a great gift! Thanks for sharing! :goodvibes

[UGAFan0829]

I can't believe how fast the days are ticking down! I'm starting to get nervous now! I feel like I still have a lot to do, but most of it is the WDW portion of the trip that I still have to plan for.
I was reminded of just how close it actually is when this came in the mail earlier this week:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/DSC02642.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/DSC02641.jpg
It's a cool little booklet with lots of info about the cruise. Included was a letter that also contains our important dates. We can make our reservations for shore excursions and Palo starting on June 7th! That's not too far away! And our final payment is due by June 27th, which seems REALLY close!:scared1:
I think we've gotten this same mailing before our other cruises, but I think I must have been a lot more prepared then!!
I hope everyone is doing well, and I hope everyone is still hanging in here with me despite my lack of updates. I really planned on having more when I started this thing, but things just haven't happened as fast as I'd planned!

[Mickey's Goofy Gal]

I am sure getting these documents in the mail has really made it more of a reality and it is really getting closer and closer!!!! We need to get together and sit down so you can fill me in on all the details. I am so excited for ya'll!!!!!

[UGAFan0829]

I found Mike the cutest pair of swim trunks on e-Bay the other day, so I had to order them for him. He's been wearing the same couple pair for the past few years, so I thought he deserved a new pair. Not to mention they're Mickey, so we couldn't go wrong, right! When I showed them to him, he loved them!!! I can't wait for him to wear them...
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/DSC02643.jpg
The Mickey's everywhere are just too darn cute. Check out the detail...
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/DSC02644.jpg
And that wasn't all that I got in the mail! When I checked our box today, there was some sort of magazine in there, but I couldn't tell what it was. But guess what...it was the first issue of my subscription to "Celebrations"!:banana: I had actually forgot about even subscribing, so it's a good thing that it actually came, or I may have never noticed!:eek:
I haven't got a chance to read it yet, but you can bet that's what I'll be doing shortly! Here's the cover...
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/DSC02647.jpg
And they even included a lithograph of It's a Small World as a welcome gift, which I thought was pretty cool too...
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/DSC02645.jpg
Yeaaa for Disney mail!!!:thumbsup2

[Mickey's Goofy Gal]

I LOVE the swim trunks. Now you need a Minnie swim suit! The Celebrations magazine looks like it is going to be interesting. I saw where it has something about Port Orleans in it. I loved it when we stayed there!!!! I am getting so excited for ya'll!!!!!

[Granny Hawkins]

Costumes are too C-U-T-E!

We are in GA also and will be sailing on the Magic on July.

[Granny Hawkins]

I am so excited to have the chance to read all about your pre-planning! You are right - we are dirt-trackin', Disney lovin, Georgia Girls!!!!!!!! This is going to be a magical trip for ya'll. I am getting excited just hearing about it! I love the picture of ya'll too!!!!!!!!! :yay:



Sounds like me!

[Mickey's Goofy Gal]

Sounds like me!

Do you like dirt track racing? UGAFan0829 and I were both raised on dirt tracks and my hubby and son races!

[Granny Hawkins]

Do you like dirt track racing? UGAFan0829 and I were both raised on dirt tracks and my hubby and son races!


LOVE dirt tracks. Have not been in quite a while though. Mainly to Dixie(If that is still the name). My early years(back in the dark ages....LOL) were spent at the track in Douglasville.

Also a NASCAR fan and most of the family are big UGA fans. Except DH who graduated from "that" college next to the Varsity that I refuse to speak of and DGS who likes Auburn.

[Mickey's Goofy Gal]

LOVE dirt tracks. Have not been in quite a while though. Mainly to Dixie(If that is still the name). My early years(back in the dark ages....LOL) were spent at the track in Douglasville.

Also a NASCAR fan and most of the family are big UGA fans. Except DH who graduated from "that" college next to the Varsity that I refuse to speak of and DGS who likes Auburn.

Ok - we will hijack UGAFan0829's Disney forum with some dirt track talking - she will not mind!!! The track is still called Dixie. We live about 2 1/2 hours from there but have been there too! I remember the track in Douglasville too. Small world and yes - Go Dawgs! We will have to overlook those non-UGA folks. My uncle graduated from Univ of Tennessee, but we still claim him! LOL :)

[UGAFan0829]

Hi Granny Hawkins!
Thanks so much for joining in!
Of course I don't mind a little Georgia dirt-track talk on my report...that kind of talk is always welcome where ever I am!! It's too neat that you're from GA and also a racing fan! This may be way off, but wasn't the track in Douglasville called 5 Flags, or something like that?
I'm sorry about your husband and "that" alma mater of his. He married a smart woman, didn't he!!! All of my in-laws are from TN, and of course are Vols fans. I think my husband is the only one in his family (aside from the nieces and nephews) who was born in Georgia!
How exciting that you'll be cruising in July...that's so close!!

[Granny Hawkins]

Hi Granny Hawkins!
Thanks so much for joining in!
Of course I don't mind a little Georgia dirt-track talk on my report...that kind of talk is always welcome where ever I am!! It's too neat that you're from GA and also a racing fan! This may be way off, but wasn't the track in Douglasville called 5 Flags, or something like that?
I'm sorry about your husband and "that" alma mater of his. He married a smart woman, didn't he!!! All of my in-laws are from TN, and of course are Vols fans. I think my husband is the only one in his family (aside from the nieces and nephews) who was born in Georgia!
How exciting that you'll be cruising in July...that's so close!!


I think it was called 5 Flags or something like that when it re-opened after being closed once.

LOL....I do good to remember what I had for supper last night.

I actually ran my car('69 Chevelle 396) in the audience Participation Race once. DH at the time was NOT happy when I got home. Someone had already called and told him....LOL....so much for "life in a small town".

I flew with 2 of my grandkids to WDW one Thanksgiving and this family walked up and sit down next to us at the gate.

My granddaughter(then 7) FLEW out of her seat and said....

"I am not sitting next to him". "LOOK! at his shirt"!

He had on a FL Gator shirt....LOL

I almost died.

[Jennifer48]

Love the swim trunks and yay for Disney mail! :woohoo:

[UGAFan0829]

Well, with very little cruise planning left to do, I guess it's time to start with the WDW plans!! :banana: This is the exciting part for me because there seems to be so much more to plan for! Now my OCD side really will start to kick in! :lmao:

So for anyone who cares to check them out-here’s a rough draft of our plans for the trip:

Friday 9/4-We'll be leaving for Florida in the A.M. I'm not sure yet just how early it will be though. But-as of now, our plan is to check into the hotel (Country Inn at the Port) and then head over to Cocoa Beach. I know that Brandi wants to check out Ron Jon's, so I'm sure we'll do that, and hopefully check out the beach as well. I was also thinking that it might be fun to find a place to eat close to or on the beach, if anyplace exists. Does anyone have any recommendations for me? If not, I'm sure we'll find something.

Saturday 9/5- Of course my plans for this day include being up very early! Its cruise day and we plan to be at port as early as possible. I know that this gets debated over on the main boards, but we really like getting there early. Not to mention it will give us a chance to check out the terminal a little more-especially since this is Brandi and Gayle’s 1st time. And of course there are a couple of fellow cruisers who I hope to be able to meet before we board the ship! I’m so excited about meeting them in person as we’ve all talked for months about each other’s plans and such!

Saturday 9/12- This is going to be a sad, but exciting day! Even though the cruise we’ll be ending, we’ll be heading to WDW! I can’t think of a better way to end a cruise! As of now, Brandi and Gayle will be heading back home after we disembark the ship. But, we have asked them if they would like to join us in one of the parks that day. Gayle has been to Disney before, but Brandi hasn’t, so we thought it would be a cool way to end the trip with them. At first we had planned to try to do a character breakfast with them, but after we thought about it, we decided it was probably a bad idea. For one, we’ll have breakfast on the ship. Secondly-once we actually get off the ship, then drive to Disney, we will probably have already wasted too much park time. Hopefully they will decide to join us, but if not, we plan to head over to Pop to check-in and grab our park tickets then head straight for a park!

Of course, I can't really plan any of the rest of the days in Disney until the park hours are released. I'm a big fan of Tour Guide Mike, and love his crowd’s calendar, but he can't publish those until Disney puts out the park hours. I'm hoping that it won't be too much longer, but I'm guessing that it will probably be around the first of June. Once those are out, then I can plan the rest of my days and figure out our ADR’s. I do know where we want to eat-it's just a matter of figuring out when. I plan our ADR’s along with the park that we’ll be in that day.

So here's what I have for our list of ADR's:

Chef Mickey's for breakfast-We've had dinner here on both our trips, so now we want to try breakfast. I've read some really good reviews and seen some really yummy pics, so I'm excited about it! Here’s a picture from our last trip:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/100_3584.jpg

'Ohana for breakfast-We've never been to 'Ohana at all! I really like Lilo and Stitch, and the food looks so yummy! I can't wait to try some of the potatoes there!!

Crystal Palace for dinner-This one is just the opposite of Chef Mickey's-We've had breakfast here on both our trips, but never dinner...so we're going to give it a shot this year. I'm not real sure about the menus that I've seen, but with Pooh there, who really cares about the food! ;) And another pic from our last trip:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/100_3685.jpg

Sci-Fi for either lunch or dinner-Mike has wanted to try Sci-Fi out for some time now, so we are actually going to give it a go this time. I have read some good reviews on this one as well. I’m thinking that we will more than likely end up here for lunch so that we can grab something quick for dinner in order to see Fantasmic.

‘Ohana for dinner-Of course everyone knows how popular this place is for dinner. Everything I’ve ever read or seen on this place has been great. Actually, I didn’t think we were going to make it here to begin with, as we had planned to eat at Coral Reef on our Epcot day. Unfortunately, some of the reviews that I read wasn’t so good, so we decided against it for this trip. I’m a little disappointed though, because staying the park to eat would save a lot of time. I’m wondering how long it will take us to get from Epcot to the Poly and back, or if maybe we should try and find some place else in the park. We had Le Cellier last trip, and really enjoyed it, but there’s no where else that I’ve really thought of trying. If anyone has any recommendations, I’m definitely open!!

Since character breakfasts seem to take a little longer, I’m thinking about saving one of those for the day we leave. Our dining credits will still be good until midnight, so I think we’re going to try and get a late character breakfast. That way we won’t be so rushed to get out of the resort and can take our time. After our breakfast, wherever it may be, we plan to head over to Downtown Disney for the rest of the morning and afternoon. I’ve always wanted to check out Disney Quest, so I’m hoping that we’ll get to do that this time, too.

So that’s what we have planned so far. Of course it could all change at any time, and especially after the park hours are released. And I’m sure that our dining choices may change as well, especially if anyone has any good suggestions that we might like to try! And if time allows, we may even check out some of the resorts that we’d like to stay in on future visits.

In other news, I was very excited to get a DisneyShopping.com from my boss last week for Administrative Professional’s Day! He knows me pretty well, I guess! So I used it to order a shirt for Mike and myself that we’d been eyeing for a while. I’d planned on ordering them when we had a little extra $, so the gift card came in quite handy for that! I’ll try and post pics of them later!

Hope everyone is doing well, and thanks again for reading!

[Jennifer48]

I highly recommend Sci-Fi and Ohana. Both are awesome! I've had breakfast and dinner at Ohana and the food is delicious! :goodvibes

[Mickey's Goofy Gal]

We had dinner at Sci-Fi and it was very good. I loved the cars you sit in (see photo of us in my post). I had ribs and they were very good and of course, my guys loved the shows! Sounds like great plans and I got so excited reading them!!!!!!! Great gift from your boss!!!!

Oh know my picture is gone???????

[Mickey moos]

Well I guess I'll introduce myself to the Sept. 5 cruisers as well. My wife and I will be joining this cruise. We too will be celebrating our anniversary onboard. We will be the old people as this will be our 24th. We got to celebrate our 20th on the DVC Members only cruise in 2005.This will be our fifth cruise ,but our first 7-day.

By the way I'll be the one in orange as we are a Clemson family. I had a dear friend that was a UGA graduate and we had many a good time going at each other during football season. Of course that was the good old Danny Ford-Vince Dooley days. Those games usually came down to who had the better field goal kicker.

I'll keep up with everybody's plans.I think your idea about doing Key West on your own is good. But do remember that it will be extremely hot in early Sept. When we did KW in 2005 we walked to the Southernmost Point and back and were wringing wet. Also I would recommend Hog's Breath. When I took my DW there she thought, what a dump with plastic lawn chairs and wobbly tables but said that the hamburger was the best she has ever had.(So you know where we will be eating lunch that Sunday).:thumbsup2

[UGAFan0829]

I highly recommend Sci-Fi and Ohana. Both are awesome! I've had breakfast and dinner at Ohana and the food is delicious! :goodvibes

I'm glad to know that you liked the food at 'Ohana! The pics I've seen of both breakfast and dinner both look so yummy. I can't wait to try it, but especially to see Lilo and Stitch! I just hope I'm able to score an ADR for both meals!

We had dinner at Sci-Fi and it was very good. I loved the cars you sit in (see photo of us in my post). I had ribs and they were very good and of course, my guys loved the shows! Sounds like great plans and I got so excited reading them!!!!!!! Great gift from your boss!!!!

Oh know my picture is gone???????

I think the idea of sitting in cars is what got Mike interested in Sci-Fi to begine with. It does look really cool! I do remember the pic you had of y'all in your siggie...What happened to it?

Well I guess I'll introduce myself to the Sept. 5 cruisers as well. My wife and I will be joining this cruise. We too will be celebrating our anniversary onboard. We will be the old people as this will be our 24th. We got to celebrate our 20th on the DVC Members only cruise in 2005.This will be our fifth cruise ,but our first 7-day.

By the way I'll be the one in orange as we are a Clemson family. I had a dear friend that was a UGA graduate and we had many a good time going at each other during football season. Of course that was the good old Danny Ford-Vince Dooley days. Those games usually came down to who had the better field goal kicker.

I'll keep up with everybody's plans.I think your idea about doing Key West on your own is good. But do remember that it will be extremely hot in early Sept. When we did KW in 2005 we walked to the Southernmost Point and back and were wringing wet. Also I would recommend Hog's Breath. When I took my DW there she thought, what a dump with plastic lawn chairs and wobbly tables but said that the hamburger was the best she has ever had.(So you know where we will be eating lunch that Sunday).:thumbsup2

Hi there, Mickey moos! Thanks for joining my TR! And CONGRATS on celebrating 24 years!:love: That's awesome!

I don't mind the color orange so much as long as it isn't for that other tream that's south of us!;) Actually, my friend Kim (Mickey's Goofy Gal) works for UGA! The Vince Dooley days were definitely some of the best days of GA football! It's cool how Disney can bring people together regardless of their choice in teams.

Make sure you stop by over at our cruise meet thread and say hello to everyone there. We've got a very friendly group over there! Here's the link: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1654223
We're having an awful lot of celebrations on board, so make sure to stop by and add yours to the list! I think it's going to be a wonderful cruise!:banana:

Thanks for the tip on Key West. I was thinking it would be pretty hot, which is why we're just going to take our time and see things at a leisurely pace. I've seen lots of shirts from Hog's Breath, but I've never really heard that much about it. I will definitely keep their burgers in mind and let the rest of my group know about them!

I hope to see you over on our cruise meet thread soon!:)

[UGAFan0829]

It looks like I won't have to go out and buy new shoes for semi and formal nights after all!! A few days ago, I was working in my closets putting away some of our winter clothes when I remembered that I actually have some dress shoes that could work for what I needed. So I pulled out the boxes, one of them I've never worn. I tried both pairs on with each of my dresses, and guess what-they work! I really kinda wanted to find one pair that would go with both dresses for the sake of saving room in our suitcases. But, if taking two pairs instead of one means that I won't have to go spend money on a new pair, then so be it!
Here's the pair that I've never worn that go best with my semi-formal dress:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/DSC02731.jpg
It's kinda hard to tell from the picture, but the straps are actually black satin. They're very cute, but I'm just a little nervous about walking in them with nothing around my heel. I hope that the seas aren't too rough on semi-formal night...If anyone hears a loud thump on the ship-then you know who it was and what happened!:lmao::scared1:
And here's the pair that I will be wearing with my formal dress. I actually wore these to a wedding last year, and they weren't bad at all. I like the sequins across the one strap since it adds a little pizzaz to them:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/DSC02726.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/DSC02729.jpg
What's even better about these shoes is that they are the perfect height for my dress. I thought I was going to have to have it hemmed, but when I wear the shoes with it, it's the perfect length!:thumbsup2

So, that's one more thing off my list! Now, I need to work on getting my pirate costume ordered!pirate:

[UGAFan0829]

So this morning, I was playing around with our "budget" a little to see how much we were going to need for expenses for the trip (parking, hotel for the night before, souvies, etc.), and I came up a little short. So, in trying to cut some of the stuff, I was trying to figure out an alternative for the gifts that we had planned to get for the DSIL and DN.
This is what we actually had planned to get them...
For the DSIL:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Cruise%20stuff/Gayleflowers.jpg
And for the DN:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Cruise%20stuff/Brandi.jpg
I love both of them, but the problem is that they are $75.00 each, plus tax and delivery!! I really want to get them both something since the DSIL will be celebrating her b-day on board. And since this will be the DN's 1st cruise, we wanted to do something special for her as well. I love the fact that they both come with something that they can keep forever. But since the budget is kinda outta whack I was trying to think of something else that we could do for them that might be a little cheaper, but that would mean just as much. Does anyone have any ideas?

[ibela]

OK, I think I'm all caught up. The pirate costumes are super cute and I *love* those swim trunks you picked up!


It's a cool little booklet with lots of info about the cruise. Included was a letter that also contains our important dates. We can make our reservations for shore excursions and Palo starting on June 7th! That's not too far away! And our final payment is due by June 27th, which seems REALLY close!:scared1:
I think we've gotten this same mailing before our other cruises, but I think I must have been a lot more prepared then!!
I hope everyone is doing well, and I hope everyone is still hanging in here with me despite my lack of updates. I really planned on having more when I started this thing, but things just haven't happened as fast as I'd planned!

You may want to double check but I think you can't make the online reservations until after you're paid in full so if you plan on paying 6/27, I think you can't book excursions and Palo until 6/27. . .

So this morning, I was playing around with our "budget" a little to see how much we were going to need for expenses for the trip (parking, hotel for the night before, souvies, etc.), and I came up a little short. So, in trying to cut some of the stuff, I was trying to figure out an alternative for the gifts that we had planned to get for the DSIL and DN.
This is what we actually had planned to get them...
For the DSIL:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Cruise%20stuff/Gayleflowers.jpg
And for the DN:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Cruise%20stuff/Brandi.jpg
I love both of them, but the problem is that they are $75.00 each, plus tax and delivery!! I really want to get them both something since the DSIL will be celebrating her b-day on board. And since this will be the DN's 1st cruise, we wanted to do something special for her as well. I love the fact that they both come with something that they can keep forever. But since the budget is kinda outta whack I was trying to think of something else that we could do for them that might be a little cheaper, but that would mean just as much. Does anyone have any ideas?

OK, those are cute but I think $150+ is a lot for those 2 gifts. Especially b/c I think the delivery charge will probably be about $20 each! :scared1: Why not make your own gift baskets? You're going to be in WDW beforehand so you can easily pick the ears up there. Sorry, I don't remember how you're getting to the port, are you renting a car? If so, there's a Walmart very close by (about 5 minute drive) and they sell a LOT of Disney stuff, like a whole section of basically everything you can buy in the parks (ex. the misters were $15 or $20 in the park but $5 at Walmart and it had a different Disney image on it but was still Disney). I'd go there and get whatever you want/need. :thumbsup2 Not sure exactly where you can get flowers but I'm sure there are places around, and just bring it with you. Or maybe instead of flowers (if you can't find or if it's too messy to carry) a bottle of wine? Alternatively, how about calling a local florist and asking how much it'd be? I'm sure it'd be cheaper than going through Disney direct.

[ibela]

And how's your dad doing? :hug:

[UGAFan0829]

OK, I think I'm all caught up. The pirate costumes are super cute and I *love* those swim trunks you picked up!



You may want to double check but I think you can't make the online reservations until after you're paid in full so if you plan on paying 6/27, I think you can't book excursions and Palo until 6/27. . .



OK, those are cute but I think $150+ is a lot for those 2 gifts. Especially b/c I think the delivery charge will probably be about $20 each! :scared1: Why not make your own gift baskets? You're going to be in WDW beforehand so you can easily pick the ears up there. Sorry, I don't remember how you're getting to the port, are you renting a car? If so, there's a Walmart very close by (about 5 minute drive) and they sell a LOT of Disney stuff, like a whole section of basically everything you can buy in the parks (ex. the misters were $15 or $20 in the park but $5 at Walmart and it had a different Disney image on it but was still Disney). I'd go there and get whatever you want/need. :thumbsup2 Not sure exactly where you can get flowers but I'm sure there are places around, and just bring it with you. Or maybe instead of flowers (if you can't find or if it's too messy to carry) a bottle of wine? Alternatively, how about calling a local florist and asking how much it'd be? I'm sure it'd be cheaper than going through Disney direct.

You are right about not being able to book anything until after the final payment is made. I guess I just typed that wrong! I'm hoping that the final payment will be made before then, but as long as it's made by that date, then that's all that matters. We are going to wait until the DSIL and DN can book their stuff anyway, just to make sure that we're all able to get the same thing.

I didn't even think of making my own baskets for the gifts. I talked to the DH about it yesterday, and he thinks that maybe we should just do the Bon Voyage stateroom celebration and let that be for the both of them. It would definitely be a lot more budget friendly to do it that way. Actually, we won't be in Disney until after the cruise, so we wouldn't be able to pick the mouse ears up in time anyway. I'm going to keep thinking about it, but I think we may just go with the stateroom celebration after all!

And how's your dad doing? :hug:

Awww, thanks so much for asking about him!:hug: He's doing well, I think. He's back to work, which doesn't suprise me even though the Dr. wanted him to wait just a little while longer. Pretty much, he's doing everything that he was before, minus just a little of the really heavy lifting and things like that!:) He doesn't have 100% of his energy back, but that's to be expected, I think.

[Jennifer48]

Those baskets are cute but I agree with the prices. There is a woman on the DIS that lives in FL and makes baskets herself that you can customize. Prices are cheaper but I'm not sure how much. She has permission from DCL to have her gifts sent to staterooms.

I apologize for not knowing her name but if you do a search on the cruise thread, you'll see it. Many people love her work and I heard she is easy to work with.

Hope that helps....a little! :guilty::goodvibes

[UGAFan0829]

Those baskets are cute but I agree with the prices. There is a woman on the DIS that lives in FL and makes baskets herself that you can customize. Prices are cheaper but I'm not sure how much. She has permission from DCL to have her gifts sent to staterooms.

I apologize for not knowing her name but if you do a search on the cruise thread, you'll see it. Many people love her work and I heard she is easy to work with.

Hope that helps....a little! :guilty::goodvibes

I think I know who you're talking about-Shirley from the Perfect Gift. I can't believe I didn't think about her already! I may have to send her an e-mail to see what she can put together!

Thanks for reminding me of her!!:thumbsup2

[Jennifer48]

I think I know who you're talking about-Shirley from the Perfect Gift. I can't believe I didn't think about her already! I may have to send her an e-mail to see what she can put together!

Thanks for reminding me of her!!:thumbsup2

Yes, Shirley! I kept thinking Sharon and I didn't want to post that and steer you in the wrong direction! :thumbsup2 I hope she gives you more reasonable prices! :goodvibes

[mickeysmyhero]

[
'Ohana for breakfast-We've never been to 'Ohana at all! I really like Lilo and Stitch, and the food looks so yummy! I can't wait to try some of the potatoes there!!


Sorry this is a little late, but my family and I have dined at several disney restaurants, and Ohana for breakfast is by far our favorite!!! I'm sure you will enjoy!

[UGAFan0829]

[
Sorry this is a little late, but my family and I have dined at several disney restaurants, and Ohana for breakfast is by far our favorite!!! I'm sure you will enjoy!

It's not late at all-I'm glad that you gave me your opinion on 'Ohana! And I'm really glad that you like it so much-that makes me even more excited to try it. Keep your fingers crossed that I'm able to get a reservation there!

[UGAFan0829]

According to the little countdown clock that I have on my desk...
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/downsized_0526090917.jpg
ONLY 100 MORE DAYS...Until we leave for Florida! Wow...It's amazing how fast time has flown by. Back when we booked the trip, I remember thinking that it would take forever for this trip to get here, and tomorrow we'll be in double digits!:scared1:

[LindaBabe]

LOved all the shoes you showed, but the two pairs you already own are JUST as nice!

Shirley does lovely gift baskets, but they will also cost you around 75 plus deliver, that Disney charges the companies.

I think if you order the stateroom celebration - that's the thrifty option. You could also make a couple small baskets to take with you - with things you can buy at home - for your niece - a beach basket with sunscreen, lip balm, some non-melting prepackaged snacks, that sort of thing, packed in a sand pail. For your sil - a happy birthday basket? the same sort of things you'd give her at home. She'll be given a cake in the diningroom on her birthday, if you let the servers know in advance.

Ohana? Two words - MICKEY WAFFLES!

A beach in cocoa beach - we like Laurie ?? park on "I Dream of Jeanne Lane" Jetty park is also nice, but costs.

Couple of supper suggestions in cocoa beach also - Pita Palace - very inexpensive, right next door Fish House, almost as inexpensive, and on the channel - Fish Lips - a little nicer and more expensive, but not totally outrageous.

Have fun! I've enjoyed your pre-trippie!

[UGAFan0829]

LOved all the shoes you showed, but the two pairs you already own are JUST as nice!

Shirley does lovely gift baskets, but they will also cost you around 75 plus deliver, that Disney charges the companies.

I think if you order the stateroom celebration - that's the thrifty option. You could also make a couple small baskets to take with you - with things you can buy at home - for your niece - a beach basket with sunscreen, lip balm, some non-melting prepackaged snacks, that sort of thing, packed in a sand pail. For your sil - a happy birthday basket? the same sort of things you'd give her at home. She'll be given a cake in the diningroom on her birthday, if you let the servers know in advance.

Ohana? Two words - MICKEY WAFFLES!

A beach in cocoa beach - we like Laurie ?? park on "I Dream of Jeanne Lane" Jetty park is also nice, but costs.

Couple of supper suggestions in cocoa beach also - Pita Palace - very inexpensive, right next door Fish House, almost as inexpensive, and on the channel - Fish Lips - a little nicer and more expensive, but not totally outrageous.

Have fun! I've enjoyed your pre-trippie!

Thanks for the nice comments on my shoes. I'm glad that you liked them!

I haven't had time to contact Shirley about the baskets yet, so I appreciate you giving me the heads up on what she charges! Your ideas are awesome. Thanks so much for the input on that-I certainly appreciate it!

I didn't realize that 'Ohana had Mickey Waffles. Now I'm even more excited!

And thank you for all the suggestions on Cocoa Beach. Fish Lips sounds fun! I really appreciate you taking the time to share all this with me. It sure helps a lot!:thumbsup2

[Jennifer48]

double digit dance for you!

:cool1::dance3::dancer::jumping1:

[UGAFan0829]

Hello everyone!
My how time is flying! I can’t believe that our trip is only 90 days away! I know that I haven’t had any “good” updates lately-but that’s about to change…Yesterday we added another night to the end of our Disney World stay! I am so very excited! I know it’s only a day, but it really takes a lot of stress away since we were wondering how we were going to be able to make it to all the parks and not feel totally rushed!
Mike and I were talking, and I brought the idea up. He agreed that it sounded like a good idea, but of course the first question that came up was “How much is it gonna cost?” So, I hung up with him and called Disney right away. I had my hopes up, but I really didn’t know what to expect. I knew that being able to add another night would depend on availability at our resort, and even then I wasn’t sure that we would be able to simply add another day of dining. I spoke to a wonderful CM named Jamie who probably thought I was crazy! I told her what I was looking for, she got all my info and then pulled up our reservation. She checked to see, and then told me that yes, we could do it! I was sooooo excited that I actually cried when I hung the phone up. Can you believe that we were able to add another night at Pop, an extra day of park tickets for the both of us, AND another day of dining all for only $116.00??!! I was shocked! Free dining really does pay off. We probably would have taken it even if it didn’t include the dining, as we were planning to pay for some a couple meals out of pocket anyway, but actually getting those extra meals is just icing on the cake!
Now, to make a long story even longer, Mike and I sat down last night and went over the Least Crowded Park charts from Tour Guide Mike and Touring Plans. I’ve never used Touring Plans before-I’ve always used TGM. And I was very surprised at how much they differ. I’m just hoping that we are making smart decisions on our park days. I think I’ve pretty much got the days figured out as to which park we’re going to on which day. Here’s what I have so far, and hopefully it won’t change, but you never know:

Saturday-9/12-Epcot-World Showcase-Since we will actually be getting off the ship on this day, I’m really not sure what time it will be before we are able to actually get into a park. Since I’m thinking it would definitely be too late to try and make it to any of the other parks by opening, I figured it would be a good day for World Showcase since it doesn’t open until 11 anyway. This way we can have breakfast on the ship, then make our way to Disney without feeling too much pressure about getting there by a certain time. More than likely, we’ll pick up lunch at the counter-service place in Mexico. We ate lunch there on our last trip and it was awesome. We’ve talked about it ever since, so that one’s a no brainer for us. Since we don’t spend a whole heck of a lot of time in World Showcase, the plan is to try and have dinner at the Wave, then make it back in time to see Illuminations. But I will just have to wait and see if we’re able to get anything once our ADR window opens up. If nothing is open at the Wave, then I’m going to try for ‘Ohana. I thought about eating somewhere in Epcot, but there is just no where that sounds good to us. I looked at all the menus on All Ears, but I couldn’t find a thing that both Mike and I would want. Hopefully getting to and from the Wave won’t be too bad.

Sunday-9/13-Animal Kingdom-There is so much in this park that we missed last trip, and I hope to be able to see most of it this year. We’d really like to try and see Festival of the Lion King, but we’ll see. We saw Nemo last trip, and I have to admit-neither of us cared for it. I really want to check out the character trails this time, too! As for food-we’ll probably just have breakfast at the resort, and a counter-service lunch in the park. I’m thinking Flame Tree BBQ again since we liked it so much last time. And since the park closes at 5, I’m hoping to be able to get a reservation at ‘Ohana for dinner on this evening. We’ve been wanting to eat there for a while now, but it just hasn’t worked out for us. I’m hoping that it does on this trip, but if not, then I’m going to try and go with the Wave as our backup.

Monday-9/14-Epcot-FutureWorld-I’m hoping to try and get either Chef Mickey’s or ‘Ohana for breakfast on this morning. Either one will be fine for us. And since we’ll hopefully be doing a breakfast, I doubt that we’ll be able to make it to park opening, and that’s okay if we don’t. I’m guessing that we will either have lunch in the park at some counter-service. I don’t have any dinner plans for this evening, as I hope to be able to schedule a portrait session at the Poly. We did a session at the GF last time, and it was a lot of fun. We ended up using one of the photos on our Christmas card. I’m not sure what we’ll do for dinner, probably grab something in the food court at the resort, or maybe even head to Downtown Disney. I’d love to eat at Earl of Sandwich again!

Tuesday-9/15-Hollywood Studios-This is the one park that I’m sort of disappointed with this year. We’ve really wanted to see Fantasmic this go-around, and they are only offering it ONCE during our trip, which is on the 13th. I’m betting that it’s going to be super crowded because everyone else is going to want to see it as well. So, I think we’re going to skip trying to see it again…I really don’t want to wait in line for an hour and a half just to try and see it, and I also don’t want to spend 2 credits on the Fantasmic dinner package either. That’s okay though because it only gives us one more thing to put on our list for the next trip! I hope to be able to get an ADR for Sci-Fi on this day. I’m going to try for dinner, but if I can’t get it then I’m going for lunch. And if I can’t get that, then I’m going to try for 50’s Prime Time. Breakfast will probably be in the resort food court and lunch will likely be counter-service (IF I can get Sci-Fi for dinner).

Wednesday-9/16-Magic Kingdom-This will be our last day in the parks, and I really can’t think of a better park to end our vacation with. Not to mention, I’ve heard that Wednesdays are great days to visit MK. I don’t have any plans for breakfast or lunch on this day, so it will probably be like some of the rest-food court for breakfast and counter-service lunch in the park. I am hoping to get Crystal Palace for dinner though. And if I can’t get it for dinner, then I’m going to try for lunch. And if I can’t get either of those, then we decided to try Tony’s Town Square backup. There is no Spectro on this night, but there is a Wishes, so I hope to catch that before ending our night in the MK.

Thursday-9/17-We’ll be heading home on this day, but I’m hoping to be able to get a later breakfast for either Chef Mickey’s or ‘Ohana…whichever I’m not able to get on the Monday that we’re in Epcot. We’ll probably head to Downtown Disney after breakfast to do our last shopping before we head home. And if I’m not able to fit it in earlier in the week, then I hope to do the Characters In Flight ride and hopefully Disney Quest since that’s another place that we’ve been trying to get to, but haven’t made it yet!

So there ya go-those are our plans-for now!! I hope they don’t change, and I really feel so much better now that we have this part planned and figured out. The last challenge will be calling to get our ADR’s. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we’re able to get most of it!! I’d love to hear what y’all think about everything. I’m sure there may be some minor details that I’ve forgotten, so if you see anything wrong, let me know!

[Mickey's Goofy Gal]

Sounds like great plans! I know ya'll are excited and I can't believe it is only 90 days! With Kenny on his graduation trip this week and reading your plans, it makes me want to go on vacation really bad!!!!

[Jennifer48]

Awesome news about the added day! :thumbsup2

Your plans look great. I can't believe you didn't like the Nemo show at AK. I thought that was the best stage show since FotLK! :goodvibes

[ibela]

I thought you could book the Fantasmic Package with Mama Melrose or Hollywood & Vine for only 1 credit? You should call up and ask if that's something you want to see.

[UGAFan0829]

Sounds like great plans! I know ya'll are excited and I can't believe it is only 90 days! With Kenny on his graduation trip this week and reading your plans, it makes me want to go on vacation really bad!!!!

I'm so glad that Kenny made it to the beach and back home safely! I bet he had an awesome time! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that next September works out to be a Disney trip for y'all! And, Daytona is a month away now, so it won't be long!!

Awesome news about the added day! :thumbsup2

Your plans look great. I can't believe you didn't like the Nemo show at AK. I thought that was the best stage show since FotLK! :goodvibes

I know...I think we are definitely in the minority when I say that we didn't like it. I think the combination of the puppets and being able to actually see people was weird for us. Not to mention that we stood in line for what seemed like forever before we ever made it inside the theater, and it was very hot that day. By the time we got inside and the show actually started, it seemed like it took forever. But then, I guess it's good that some people (even if it is just us) don't care for it, that way it's less crowded...LOL!!

I thought you could book the Fantasmic Package with Mama Melrose or Hollywood & Vine for only 1 credit? You should call up and ask if that's something you want to see.

Hmmmm...I thought it was two credits, but maybe that's only for Brown Derby. I know that we ate there last trip with the package and it was 2 credits, but none of the other restaurants were available, so that's what we had to go with. I guess I just assumed that since Brown Derby was 2 credits, that all of the ones on the plan were 2. Either way, I'm afraid that the park is going to be totally crowded on that day since it's the only day that they are offering Fantasmic for that week, so we just decided to visit HS on a different day. It just gives us something else to look forward to on our next trip! Thanks for the info though...other wise I probably would have never known that the other restaurants were only 1 credit!!

[UGAFan0829]

Guess what today was???? The day that I could make our ADR's! Yeaaa!:worship:
Making ADR's is definitely stressful for me...being the OCD person that I am when it comes to vacation planning, it always worries me that we won't get something that we've planned for, and it will totally mess things up.
I was definitely sweating it this morning, as I didn't get on the phone to call Disney Dining until a few minutes after 7. By the time I got through to the cue, the hold time was 30 minutes!:scared1: I was a little scared, to say the least! I logged on to the DIS, and found lots of others who were on hold right along with me. I think I ended up waiting for about 45 minutes before I finally got a CM. It was a little nerve racking going through each restaurant and then waiting for him to tell me if it was available, but in the end WE GOT EVERYTHING THAT WE WANTED!! How awesome is that!:dance3: So...here's where and when we'll be eating...
Saturday 9/13- Dinner at the Wave for 6:45. I was excited about getting this one since it's a new restaurant. I was a little worried when I first asked him about this one, because it took a little while to find any availability.
Sunday 9/14-Dinner at 'Ohana for 9:45. This one is a little later than I would have liked, but I'm just happy that we got something. There's still a little time for me to call and see if we can get anything earlier, but even if we have to stick with 9:45, I'll still be happy!
Monday 9/14- Breakfast at 'Ohana for 7:50. I was excited to get this one as well. I can't wait to eat with Lilo and Stitch!!!
Tuesday 9/15- Dinner at Sci-Fi for 5:55. I'm really glad that we got this one because Mike has wanted to eat here for a while now, and I'm kinda excited about it myself!
Wednesday 9/16- Dinner at Crystal Palace for 6. We've had breakfast here on our last two trips, so this will be a first for dinner here.
Thursday 9/17- Breakfast at Chef Mickey's for 9:10. This one is just the opposite of CP-We've only had dinner here and not breakfast, so I'm excited about this one as well.

I was really surprised that we got it all! I had some back-up restaurants just in case, but thankfully we didn't have to use them! I am really excited to be trying 3 new places that we've never eaten at before, and 2 new meals at places that we have been! Wooohoo!:banana: Making ADR's is definitely a lot of stress relieved, and it means that the trip is getting that much CLOSER!!!:woohoo:

[UGAFan0829]

Just for fun I thought I would post some pics of some of my favorite moments from our last trip back in 2007. We were there around the same time of year and had a BLAST. We stayed from Saturday-Saturday at CBR and LOVED every minute of our trip. From the time we got home, we've said that it was the best trip of our lives...I can only hope for the same for this year!

We drove down that Saturday, but didn't get to Disney until early afternoon. We got settled into our room at CBR, then headed over to Hollywood Studios for dinner at 50's Prime Time. This was definitely one of the best meals of the trip:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/100_3523.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/100_3517.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/100_3520.jpg

After dinner, we headed back to the resort and got ready for our Portrait Session over at the Grand Floridian:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/image06.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/image61-1.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/image48-1.jpg

The next morning was one of the highlights of our trip. We went on a Guided Fishing Excursion over at the Wilderness Lodge. It was my anniversary gift to Mike, and he loved it. I have to admit that I had an awesome time as well, and it was WELL worth the money!
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/100_3544-1-1.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/100_3549-1.jpg

After fishing, we headed over to Epcot and made our way around Future World. We rode all the rides that we wanted and had a great day there. We finished up the evening with dinner at Chef Mickey's!
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/100_3584-1.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/100_3583-1.jpg

[UGAFan0829]

Since the day before was spent in Future World, this day was dedicated to World Showcase. Splitting the park up into 2 days really worked out well for us. Since WS doesn't open until 11, we were able to sleep a little late which made it really nice. We had lunch at the Mexican counter service, which was really good. We loved the churros, and the view across the Lagoon.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/100_3593.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/100_3594.jpg
We had dinner at Le Cellier that evening, then waited to watch Illuminations. It stormed a little, but we still had a great time, and the fireworks were the perfect ending to an awesome day!
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/100_3637.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/100_3628.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/100_3627.jpg

[Jennifer48]

Your GF photo session came out really well! Very nice pictures! :goodvibes

[UGAFan0829]

The next day was probably one of the most magical ones. It was our anniversary, and we were spending the day in my favorite park-Magic Kingdom!
We started off the day with breakfast at my favorite restaurant, with my favorite characters-Crystal Palace with Pooh and the gang! When we arrived at our table, we had some pixie dust waiting for us:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/100_3669.jpg
At the end of the meal, we were presented with a Magical Moments certificate signed by the whole gang. It was sooo special to me, and I will always treasure it!!!
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/100_4080.jpg
After breakfast, we made our way around the park, and met some characters that we've never met before...
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/100_3779.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/100_3770.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/image142-1.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/image155.jpg
We left shortly after the 3:00 parade to get get ready for our anniversary dinner at California Grill.
We requested a window seat when we checked in, and our wish was granted. It was a wonderful meal, and the timing was just perfect-we were able to catch Wishes!
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/meandmikeatcg.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/100_3825.jpg
Our anniversary turned out to be very special...I was so glad that we decided to visit MK on this day! Eating breakfast with Pooh started the day off right, and watching Wishes from atop the Contemporary was the perfect ending to a magical day!

[nokidz]

According to the little countdown clock that I have on my desk...
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/downsized_0526090917.jpg
ONLY 100 MORE DAYS...Until we leave for Florida! Wow...It's amazing how fast time has flown by. Back when we booked the trip, I remember thinking that it would take forever for this trip to get here, and tomorrow we'll be in double digits!:scared1:

awsome report! where did you get the count down clock??????? very cool!!!

[UGAFan0829]

Your GF photo session came out really well! Very nice pictures! :goodvibes

Thank you. I thought there were a couple good ones out of the bunch. We actually ended up using the hammock shot on our Christmas cards.


awsome report! where did you get the count down clock??????? very cool!!!

Thanks so much! I figure I must be boring everyone!! I actually got my little clock online from countdowntime dot com. They are really cool! I've had mine for a few years...the neat thing is that you can change the faces on them to match different occasions!

[UGAFan0829]

We spent our 5th day in Hollywood Studios. Unfortunately, even though this was a really nice enjoyable day, there really isn't a lot to talk about, so I'll just cover most of it in pictures.
We started out having some Photopass pics made...
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/image161.jpg
We caught the Beauty and the Beast stage show. It was really cute, so I was glad that we took the time to check it out.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/100_3869.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/100_3844.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/100_3847.jpg
After Beauty and the Beast, we did the Backlot Tour which was neat to see. And after that Mike was dying to see Lights, Motors, Action. It was cool, but it was sooo hot outside, and we got stuck in one of the sections that wasn't covered from the sun. I was glad that we saw it though, because Mike really enjoyed it!
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/100_3889.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/100_3876.jpg
We caught the afternoon parade and really enjoyed it as well.
After the parade, we made our way over to Animation Academy. I had read so much about it in lots of other trip reports, so I was really excited to to try it out. I'm not artist by any means-I can't even draw a straight stick figure, but the class was a lot of fun. We drew Minnie...
Mine...
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/100_4082.jpg
And Mike's...
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/100_4081.jpg
We ended the day with the Rataouille guys. We had just seen the movie before our trip, and we LOVED it, so we were so excited to meet them!
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/image165.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/image167.jpg
We had actually done the Fantasmic package that day, so we planned on doing Fantasmic that evening. We got our seats and waited and waited and waited while it rained off and on. Finally after what seemed like forever, they cancelled the show due to the weather. We were sad, but there's nothing you can do about the weather. So we headed out and went back to the resort for the night.

[UGAFan0829]

Our next to the last day in Disney was one of the funnest! We had been waiting for a while to experience one of the Disney waterparks, and this was the day that it was going to happen!! It had been a really, really long time since Mike or I either one had been to a water park, so I really didn't know what to expect. Needless to say, we weren't let down in the least!
We started off the day by going to Typhoon Lagoon, and really that was the only park that we planned on visiting that day.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/100_4062.jpg
I'm sorry that I don't have any pictures of the slides or anything else in the park, so you'll just have to take my word on how much fun we had! We were there at park opening, and were able to ride everything that we wanted at least twice-including Crush N' Gusher which I think we did about 3 times!
We were done by lunch time, and since we had the Water Park and More option on our tickets, we decided to head on over to Blizzard Beach!
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/100_4053.jpg
We had an awesome time there as well! We thought about braving Summit Plummit, but I just couldn't do it. We did do the smaller one beside it, and even that one was kinda scary! I'm somewhat afraid of heights, and I didn't want to get all the way to the top of Summit Plummit and then chicken out, cause there was only one way down. And if I was nervous just looking at it, I could only imagine how scared I would have been once I actually got up there and saw how high it was!!
We really, really enjoyed the day in the water parks. It's definitely something that we want to do again, but unfortunately, I don't think we'll have enough time this year. Not to mention, that we aren't budgeting to add the Water Park and more option this time either. But once again, it just gives us something to look forward to on the next trip!

[UGAFan0829]

:confused:As I've mentioned earlier, one of the things left on my to-do list is to order my Pirate costume. I had found one a while back that I really liked, and had planned on ordering. Which was this one:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/brandsonsale-store_2046_247324783.jpg
At the time, it was the only one that I could find that had a longer skirt, and I thought that I would be somewhat comfortable in a longer skirt. However-a couple of days ago, I came across another costume that I thought I might like (minus the beer mug and cap-thingy)....
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Cruise%20stuff/139405.jpg
I know it's pretty plain compared to the first one, but it's not too bad in my opinion. What I like is that the skirt looks to be a little longer, so I may be able to get away with wearing a pair of flip flops instead of the boots that I had planned on wearing with the first one.
I really can't decide which one to pick. I like the first one because it's "prettier" to me. I like the shash that ties across the skirt. But it would be really nice to not have to worry about packing the boots that I planned to wear with it. Or do you think that I could get away with wearing flip flops with it as well? I never really thought of even wearing flip flops until I was checking out some of the pics of the pirate costumes on the main cruise board, and a few of the ladies there mentioned that they wore flip flops. I also think that the first one might match Mike's cotume a little better, but I guess either of them would be okay. Here's another picture of his just to give you an idea:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/DSC02461.jpg
So, what I really need is everyone's opinion please...I really don't know which to chose!:guilty: I know this probably isn't a big deal, but it's just another one of those details that I obsess over!:sad2: I really would like to be able to get one soon, but of course I can't order anything until I decide which one I really want! Hellllp!:rolleyes1

[Jennifer48]

Either of them will match your DH's outfit. I think whichever you think you'll be more comfortable in with the longer skirt or the shorter one. I wore flip flops that night and was very comfortable. Its just up to whether you want to be more comfortable or more dressy. Either will be great! :thumbsup2

[UGAFan0829]

Either of them will match your DH's outfit. I think whichever you think you'll be more comfortable in with the longer skirt or the shorter one. I wore flip flops that night and was very comfortable. Its just up to whether you want to be more comfortable or more dressy. Either will be great! :thumbsup2

Thanks for your input, Jennifer! You're so sweet to always reply when I ask a question! Thanks!
Also, I just went back an re-read your TR from your last cruise. It was an awesome report. Seeing all those pics of the Magic got me even more excited about the cruise! You did an awesome job. I sure hope you write another report after your next cruise!
Thanks again for reading!

And I do have a quick question for you, if you don't mind helping me with it. How can I post a link in my siggie to my trip report without posting the actual link? I want mine like you have yours, and I tried going by the instructions that I found on the Tech. board, but they didn't work for me. Just thought I would ask!

[Jennifer48]

Thanks for your input, Jennifer! You're so sweet to always reply when I ask a question! Thanks!
Also, I just went back an re-read your TR from your last cruise. It was an awesome report. Seeing all those pics of the Magic got me even more excited about the cruise! You did an awesome job. I sure hope you write another report after your next cruise!
Thanks again for reading!

And I do have a quick question for you, if you don't mind helping me with it. How can I post a link in my siggie to my trip report without posting the actual link? I want mine like you have yours, and I tried going by the instructions that I found on the Tech. board, but they didn't work for me. Just thought I would ask!

You're welcome :flower3:
Thanks for reading my TR! I don't know yet if I'll do another one. I might only because its so much fun to relive those trips and you can always go back and read them when you want to relive it again! Plus this is my honeymoon trip so I might do one just to document it :goodvibes

For the URL, click on the world link. Enter the URL of your TR when prompted. You will then see the URL= message in your signature and in between the sets of [ ] [ ] you want to write the text of what you have the name as your TR as. heres an example: URL="www.disboards.com"]your TR title here[/URL] To get it to not make a link I just removed the first [. Hope that makes sense!

[UGAFan0829]

You're welcome :flower3:
Thanks for reading my TR! I don't know yet if I'll do another one. I might only because its so much fun to relive those trips and you can always go back and read them when you want to relive it again! Plus this is my honeymoon trip so I might do one just to document it :goodvibes

For the URL, click on the world link. Enter the URL of your TR when prompted. You will then see the URL= message in your signature and in between the sets of [ ] [ ] you want to write the text of what you have the name as your TR as. heres an example: URL="www.disboards.com"]your TR title here[/URL] To get it to not make a link I just removed the first [. Hope that makes sense!

Well, if you decide to do one, then you know you already have one reader!!:thumbsup2

Thanks so much for the info on fixing my link! It worked...you are my hero!:worship: You have no idea how long I've been trying to do that. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I just think it looks so much neater!

[Jennifer48]

Well, if you decide to do one, then you know you already have one reader!!:thumbsup2

Thanks so much for the info on fixing my link! It worked...you are my hero!:worship: You have no idea how long I've been trying to do that. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I just think it looks so much neater!

Thank you! I'll keep that in mind. I think I'll make one tho and you'll be the first one I tell when I post it! :hug:

YAY!! :woohoo: So glad it worked! I reread my post like 15 times hoping that it made sense to you. HOORAY! So glad I could be of help! :goodvibes

[UGAFan0829]

It's time to finish up with my "review" from last year. I think it actually turned into more of a mini-report than a review, so I hope y'all don't mind...(The whole 2 of you who are reading!)

Anyway...
So our very last day in Disney was spent in a park that we'd never been to before...Animal Kingdom!
We arrived at the park a few minutes after opening, and had some quick pics made at the entrance. These would have been some of my favorites from the whole trip, but with the sun being in our eyes, they didn't turn out so great. They were still okay considering though...
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/image200.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/image202.jpg
There was SO much of this park that we didn't see, but we were still able to see a lot. We ended up riding Everest 3 times in a row. We LOVED it, and it's now one of my favorite rides at Disney!
We did the Trails and the Safari ride. I won't bore you with a bunch of pics of all the animals, but this one is my favorite from the day...
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/100_4030.jpg
WE had lunch at Flame Tree BBQ which was REALLY good. We'll definitely be eating there again this year!
Sadly, the only character that we met in AK was Flik...
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/100_4010.jpg
We totally missed the character trails, so I hope to catch them this time around.
It seemed like it was 1,000 degrees that day, so after we saw Nemo, we decided to skip the afternoon parade and head out for the evening. We ended the night by heading over to DTD to finish up our shopping and had dinner at Earl of Sandwich. We were up early the next morning to head home....and that's it...Our 2007 trip in review!

[Jennifer48]

It's time to finish up with my "review" from last year. I think it actually turned into more of a mini-report than a review, so I hope y'all don't mind...(The whole 2 of you who are reading!) Why would we mind?! :goodvibes


http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Disney%20World%202007/100_4030.jpg Thats a great photo!!

I love Flame Tree BBQ. Did you sit out back near the pond? Its so nice and quite down there with a fantastic view of Everest! You might also see Mickey drive by in his boat! :goodvibes

[UGAFan0829]

Why would we mind?! :goodvibes


Thats a great photo!!

I love Flame Tree BBQ. Did you sit out back near the pond? Its so nice and quite down there with a fantastic view of Everest! You might also see Mickey drive by in his boat! :goodvibes

Have I told you how awesome you are?!!:) Of course you don't mind cause you love Disney too!

I have to give Mike credit for that picture. I thought it was really cool!!

Flame Tree is REALLY good! One of the best CS in Disney, in my opinion! We saw out back, but I don't remember a pond, or a view of Everest. It seems like we really didn't have a view because there was a lot of trees and plants around...at least from what I can remember. We'll definitely have to make sure and look for the spot that you're talking about this time!

[Jennifer48]

Have I told you how awesome you are?!!:) Of course you don't mind cause you love Disney too!

I have to give Mike credit for that picture. I thought it was really cool!!

Flame Tree is REALLY good! One of the best CS in Disney, in my opinion! We saw out back, but I don't remember a pond, or a view of Everest. It seems like we really didn't have a view because there was a lot of trees and plants around...at least from what I can remember. We'll definitely have to make sure and look for the spot that you're talking about this time!

Awww and you're super too! Now stop it you are making me :blush:

Yes there are a lot of trees and if you walk through them to the back, you'll end up down by the pond. You know if you are standing at Everest to your back there is a lake/pond there? Thats the one. The further back you walk, the closer to the lake you'll be. I guess its more of a lake than a pond but I hope you get the idea! Sorry I don't have any photos, I'm at work. If I can find some on my home computer, I'll post them. Just keep walking.

[UGAFan0829]

Sooooo, there's been a little change in plans with our resort for the WDW portion of our trip.
As of this past Friday, the DH and I are now members of...






http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/Cruise%20stuff/DVClogo.jpg
DISNEY VACATION CLUB!!!!
I am soooooo super excited! We've been wanting to join for a while now, and even took a tour of SSR back in 2006. And as bad as we wanted to join back then, the time just wasn't right for us financially! I really didn't expect it to happen this soon, but I guess you can say it was our anniversary present to one another! It still feels so surreal to know that we are actually members!
So, as part of the deal for buying in, our sales guide, who has been phenomenal, was able to get us last year's points. And, instead of staying in Pop as we had planned, we will now be spending our 5 nights in Disney in a preferred view 1BR room villa at the Boardwalk! ( I CANNOT wait to do down the Keister Coaster!!) I can't believe that we are actually getting to stay in a DELUXE resort! I know that joining DVC is the only way this would have ever happened for us...there's no way we could have ever afforded to stay deluxe any other way! Yea, we are losing out on free dining, but the good part is that even with paying for our own dining, we'll still actually end up saving $125! Can't beat that especially considering where we're staying! Our home resort is actually SSR, and I'm hoping that we get to make our first trip "home" in March for the Princess 1/2!

Since I've been focusing so much on DVC, I haven't really been able to accomplish anything else. Time is steadily ticking away though, so I hope to be able to get several things done in the next couple of weeks. The big thing on my list right now is settling on a pirate costume for me and finally getting it ordered!

[HappyGrumpy]

That is awesome! Congratulations! Happy Anniversary!! :thumbsup2

My husband and I have been wanting to join for several years now but want to be financially wise when we do it! So when the time is right we will do it but in the mean time live through others who have taken the plunge before us!
:cool1:

[UGAFan0829]

That is awesome! Congratulations! Happy Anniversary!! :thumbsup2

My husband and I have been wanting to join for several years now but want to be financially wise when we do it! So when the time is right we will do it but in the mean time live through others who have taken the plunge before us!
:cool1:

Thank you!

I understand how it feels to have to wait, but it will happen for you. It's smart to wait, and even though it's hard, it makes it a lot sweeter when you finally do get to join! You are definitely welcome to live through my reports!

[Jennifer48]

:mickeyjum congrats on becoming a DVC member!! I hope to one day join you! :goodvibes

[Lilo's Mom]

Hi Missy! Just started reading you Pre-Trip report this afternoon...great job! I love to read other people's planning....LOL, makes me feel like I am not alone in questioning every decision I make. ;)

Also wanted to say congratulations on joining DVC! WELCOME HOME! We just joined in March, it took us five really long years to finally find a way to make it work for us, and we were able to buy at Bay Lake Tower, which was a shock. When we first started looking that wasn't even a possibility, and now it's like a dream come true. It has always been my DH's favorite resort (although he never got to stay there), he just loves the look of it! We are cruising on the Wonder September 24th, and staying at Kidani Village after the cruise, September 27th - October 4th. This will be our first DVC stay...and I can't wait!

[UGAFan0829]

:mickeyjum congrats on becoming a DVC member!! I hope to one day join you! :goodvibes

Thank you. I hope that you get to one day join as well!!

Hi Missy! Just started reading you Pre-Trip report this afternoon...great job! I love to read other people's planning....LOL, makes me feel like I am not alone in questioning every decision I make. ;)

Also wanted to say congratulations on joining DVC! WELCOME HOME! We just joined in March, it took us five really long years to finally find a way to make it work for us, and we were able to buy at Bay Lake Tower, which was a shock. When we first started looking that wasn't even a possibility, and now it's like a dream come true. It has always been my DH's favorite resort (although he never got to stay there), he just loves the look of it! We are cruising on the Wonder September 24th, and staying at Kidani Village after the cruise, September 27th - October 4th. This will be our first DVC stay...and I can't wait!

Thanks for joining in! I know what you mean about reading other's planning...I do the same thing!
Congrats on your new DVC membership as well. Bay Lake Tower seems to be really popular right now...which is understandable!
I am sure that your cruise and stay at AKL is going to be awesome. Are you doing the 3 night, or the 4 night? The Wonder is such a beautiful ship!

[UGAFan0829]

WOW...I can hardly believe that a mere 50 days from today, we will be in Florida! Hopefully by this time, we'll be getting ready to check-in to the Country Inn at the port! Woohooo!:dance3:
Honestly, I don't think a vacation has ever "snuck" up on me so quickly. I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that this will be the longest vacation that we've taken so far...which has required a lot of planning! And from that planning have come lists...lots of lists...Lists of things to buy, things to do, things to pack, etc, etc....The list goes on and on!!:lmao:
So, in keeping with lists theme, I thought I would post my final to-do list here, so that you can see how much I still have to do, or buy, I should say...
*Cheap ponchos from Wal-Mart- for use in the parks.
*Case of water- also for use in the parks.
*Dramamine/Bonine-Obviously for the cruise. Thankfully we didn't end up needing this on our other cruises, but since this one will be a little longer, you never know. I would rather have it and not need it, than to be the other way around.
*Hand sanitizer-I like to keep a bottle of this to use in the parks.
*Laundry detergent/stain stick- I'm sure that we'll end up doing at least one load of clothes on the ship. And instead of worrying about buying it on the ship, I figured it would be easier to just bring our own. I'd thought about trying those new Purex sheets, but I've read some reviews stating that they leave spots...I sure don't want to have to worry about that on vacation!
*Pop-up laundry hamper- I've seen lots of people mention using these, and after I thought about it, it probably would make things a little easier. Normally, I would just fold our dirty clothes up and put them back into the suitcase, but since we'll be wearing some of the same ones in WDW, I'll obviously need to wash them first. I thought a hamper would make it a little easier.
*Ties-Since Mike and I rarely dress up, he only has one or two ties. I would like to find some that match my dresses, so we need to go look for those pretty soon.
*Waterproof camera-Normally, I just buy the disposable kind. But, the other day when we were in Wal-Mart, I saw a waterproof digital camera. It was on clearance for $69.00, which is still somewhat expensive. I don't know how good the quality would be, but being able to use it over and over might make it worth the price. I'm not sure if we'll go for it, but I'm putting it on the list, just in case.
*Pirate costume- Of course this has already been talked about several times. I've just gotta get in gear and get it ordered already!:rolleyes1
*Pillow cases and markers for character autographs- On one of our other cruises I took two pillow cases along with different colored Sharpies to Guest Services and asked to have them signed. Those were for my niece and nephew, but now that I have a great niece, I want to get one signed for her, as well as one for myself! I actually don't have anything with character signatures for myself, so I thought a pillowcase would be something fun to have!
*Memory card for my camera-I do have one aleady, but I'm afraid that it won't hold all the pictures from both the cruise and WDW, so I need to pick up another one before we leave. I am sure that I will take TONS of pictures this time, so I want to make certain that I have enough room!!
*Snack/breakfast food- This is for the WDW part of the trip...Since we're trying to save $, I thought it would be smart for us to pick up a few breakfast items that we could eat in the room. Not only would it save us a few dollars here and there, but it would also save us some time in the mornings. As far as snacks, I wanted to try and get some stuff that we could put in our park bag to take with us into the parks just to have something to snack on here and there if we need it. Since we'll have a refrigerator room, I'm thinking cereal for breakfast, or something quick and easy like that. As far as snack ideas, I'm stumped. We'd need something that wouldn't melt in our bag, but I can't think of anything!! Any idea/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
And the last thing on my to-do list is to pre-order our Photopass CD, and book a portrait session at the Poly! I had actually talked to the DH about maybe not doing the portrait session this time to try and save even more money, but he wants to do it. I'm hoping that they have a time open for one of the days that I'm wanting. I can't book until 30 days out though, so I will keep you posted on that once time rolls around.

[Jennifer48]

WOW...I can hardly believe that a mere 50 days from today, we will be in Florida! Yay for 50 days!! That means my wedding is also that close, EEK! :eek:

I'm a huge list maker too. They are just so handy and helpful!

If you don't want to purchase a waterproof camera, there are great waterproof bags out there that you can put your digital camera in. I bought one for my last cruise and it worked great. Its much cheaper than buying a waterproof camera. Might want to look into that option as well. Just my opinion! :goodvibes:goodvibes

[UGAFan0829]

Yay for 50 days!! That means my wedding is also that close, EEK! :eek:

I'm a huge list maker too. They are just so handy and helpful!

If you don't want to purchase a waterproof camera, there are great waterproof bags out there that you can put your digital camera in. I bought one for my last cruise and it worked great. Its much cheaper than buying a waterproof camera. Might want to look into that option as well. Just my opinion! :goodvibes:goodvibes

Now why is it that I didn't realize your wedding was happening around the same time?? How exciting, and CONGRATS!:love: I knew that you were cruising for your honeymoon, but I never realized that it was so close! Are you ready?

Thanks for the info on the waterproof bag. I had seen something a while back about waterproof cases, but I couldn't ever find one for my camera. And, when I mentioned it to my DH, he wasn't too fond of the idea. He was too afraid that the case would leak and ruin the camera. Maybe I'll tell him that you used one and that it worked for you!;) Is there a website that shows them?

[Jennifer48]

Now why is it that I didn't realize your wedding was happening around the same time?? How exciting, and CONGRATS!:love: I knew that you were cruising for your honeymoon, but I never realized that it was so close! Are you ready?

Thanks for the info on the waterproof bag. I had seen something a while back about waterproof cases, but I couldn't ever find one for my camera. And, when I mentioned it to my DH, he wasn't too fond of the idea. He was too afraid that the case would leak and ruin the camera. Maybe I'll tell him that you used one and that it worked for you!;) Is there a website that shows them?

Thank you! I'm ready! Just a few little things still left to purchase. :bride:

I bought a bag for my camera which is just a small Canon Powershot and I also bought a larger bag for our money/IDs to go in. One was made by Water Pak and the other was a Dry Pak. They tell you to soak it in the sink before you use it to make sure there are no leaks. I was deathly afraid of that happening too but I took the risk and it was great! If you browse through my cruise trip in my siggy (the friends TR), you can see some of the photos.

Here is where I bought them Waterproof cases (http://www.waterproofcases.net/waterproof-camera-cases.html)

[Mickey's Goofy Gal]

I have missed so much while I have been away on vacation plus I stopped getting emails indicating that a new post had been added. Last email was mid-June!

It is getting so close to your vacation time and congratulations on becoming DVC members. I would love to do that one day!!!! OMG - Boardwalk for your WDW stay is wonderful!!!!! I can't wait to hear more and I hope I start getting the emails again so I can keep up with your reports better.

We need to meet and you can tell me all about the DVC!!!!!! :banana:

[UGAFan0829]

Wow...I can't believe that it's been so long since I last updated this thing! To those of you who are/were reading, I apologize. This trip has definitely snuck up on me a lot faster that I was expecting. The fact that this trip is so close is hard for me to believe!!

There hasn't been a whole heck of a lot going on in the way of updates lately, but I will let ya know what has happened...

First of all, I ended up buying another dress for formal night. I really liked the one I had, but I just didn't think I would be very comfortable in it. So, we went to JC Penney a couple weeks ago and found a pretty good deal on this dress:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/cruisedress.jpg
I really like it as well, and I think I'll be a lot more comfy in it! Thankfully the shoes I already have will match it as well!

We've also started buying the little things that we need--travel size stuff, hand sanitizer, Clorox wipes, etc. Most of this stuff is for the WDW part of the trip.

And the most recent thing that we got was a new suit for Mike. He pulled his old one out of the closet a couple of weeks ago just to try it on, and I am so glad that he did. The last time that he wore it was to a wedding well over a year ago. He's lost so much weight since then that it looked terrible on him!! We tried to take it to be altered last weekend, but the lady told us that by the time we paid to have it all altered so that it looked decent, we could just go by a new one. So that's what we did. I had a 15% off coupon for JC Penney for a survey that I did when I had bought a few things for my niece and nephew a couple of weeks ago, so I figured that we could at least save a little. Thankfully, they were having a pretty good sale, and we ended up getting him the jacket, pants, 2 dress shirts and a tie for under $200. I hated that we had to spend the money since it came out of our savings for the trip, but he had to have it. He was pretty bummed about it at first, but after he saw how much we saved, I think he felt pretty good. I was excited about being able to buy something new for him.

Now the last "big" thing left on my list is my pirate costume.pirate: I STILL haven't ordered it, but I'm determined to get it before this weekend is over!! I feel a lot better now that he has a new suit and we've started getting most of the little things taken care of. I still need to put my binder together with all our info in it, and print our door signs. Of course I still need to pack, but I think I'm okay on that.

A couple members from our cruise group have started getting their docs, so hopefully ours will be here soon. I think that will definitely make it seem more real! I'll try and start taking pictures of everything once we start getting it a little more together! I can't believe that in 21 days we will be in Florida getting ready to set sail on the Magic!!:scared1: I think I'm actually starting to feel a little excited instead of panic! Woo hoo!!:woohoo:

[Mickey's Goofy Gal]

Well you know that I think the #21 is a wonderful number so 21 days is a wonderful amount of time! It will be here before you know it. I love the dress and am glad ya'll found Mike a suit. Don't stress - you are a great planner and a very organized person and I know you have everything handled! Keep us posted and the count down begins.....20, 19, 18, 17.....:banana::cool1::yay::cheer2:

[UGAFan0829]

Well you know that I think the #21 is a wonderful number so 21 days is a wonderful amount of time! It will be here before you know it. I love the dress and am glad ya'll found Mike a suit. Don't stress - you are a great planner and a very organized person and I know you have everything handled! Keep us posted and the count down begins.....20, 19, 18, 17.....:banana::cool1::yay::cheer2:

Thank you, Kim!
You're right 21 is a good number!!!:thumbsup2
And by the way, don't you need to change your siggie so that 2009 shows for Universal?:)

[Mickey's Goofy Gal]

Thank you, Kim!
You're right 21 is a good number!!!:thumbsup2
And by the way, don't you need to change your siggie so that 2009 shows for Universal?:)


What would I do without you - it has been added! I will be glad when I can add another year to my WDW too! Still earning those Mickey Points!!!!

[Jennifer48]

Yay for your cruise being so close!

Tell me about how quickly it came. That means I'm getting married in a little over 3 weeks! :eek:

So good to hear that you've started getting things together. That always helps early. Do you have an over the door shoe organizer? I can't remember if you said you did or not. Its a must in my opinion! :thumbsup2

Cute dress!

[UGAFan0829]

Yay for your cruise being so close!

Tell me about how quickly it came. That means I'm getting married in a little over 3 weeks! :eek:

So good to hear that you've started getting things together. That always helps early. Do you have an over the door shoe organizer? I can't remember if you said you did or not. Its a must in my opinion! :thumbsup2

Cute dress!

Hi, Jennifer!!!

Yep, your wedding is getting closer as well! Are you ready?? I'm really excited for you!

I don't have a shoe holder, yet. It was actually on my list of things to get, but I just haven't got around to getting one yet. To be honest, I was wondering if we really needed one. I looked at one at Wal-Mart, but it was like $15...I guess I thought they would be a little cheaper! I wonder if they have them at the Dollar Store??:rolleyes1

[Jennifer48]

Hi, Jennifer!!!

Yep, your wedding is getting closer as well! Are you ready?? I'm really excited for you!

I don't have a shoe holder, yet. It was actually on my list of things to get, but I just haven't got around to getting one yet. To be honest, I was wondering if we really needed one. I looked at one at Wal-Mart, but it was like $15...I guess I thought they would be a little cheaper! I wonder if they have them at the Dollar Store??:rolleyes1

I'm just about ready. Thank you!

The shoe holder is definately worth it but $15 is way too much. I found mine for $5 at Target but I have seen some at the Dollar Store as well. I hope you find a cheaper one! :goodvibes

[UGAFan0829]

I'm just about ready. Thank you!

The shoe holder is definately worth it but $15 is way too much. I found mine for $5 at Target but I have seen some at the Dollar Store as well. I hope you find a cheaper one! :goodvibes

I found this online at Wal-Mart for $8.64. Is it anything like what you're talking about:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/shoeholder.jpg
I'm kinda partial to it since it's pink!!! But I wasn't sure if it was too big or not.

[Jennifer48]

The size just depends on your toiletries really. That is a good size for things. Mine is clear but thats exactly what I have! Thats a much better deal than $15. I say get it! :goodvibes

[UGAFan0829]

:woohoo:It's official...I'm doing the doc dance!!:banana::dance3: We finally received our docs in the mail last Friday!
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/DSC02940.jpg
Thankfully some smart DIS'er in our cruise group let us know that you can actually track your docs through UPS using your reservation #! How cool is that!!!:thumbsup2 I was lucky enough that the first time I checked on ours the status was "on truck for delivery!" It doesn't get much better than that!! I'm terrible about tracking things once I've been notified that something's been shipped. I go online a zillion times a day until it's been delivered!:rolleyes1

It seems as though the arrival of our docs was the beginning of a very productive weekend. Though I didn't get my pirate costume yet (plan on working on that tonight), I did manage to get a lot of my to-do list marked off in the way of purchases.
Thanks to the advice of Jennifer, I went ahead and ordered the over the door shoe holder from Wal-Mart. It should be here shortly, as I received a shipment confirmation just this morning!
Along with the shoe holder, I also managed to pick up the following from Wal-Mart, as well:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/DSC02935.jpg
I'm sure it doesn't look like a lot, but it sure did take care of a lot of things that were on my list..pop up hamper, pillow cases (I'm going to try to get these signed-one for my great niece, and one for me), markers for the pillow cases, Tide, stain stick, ponchos, Wet Ones, hand sanitizer, toothpaste and mouthwash.

I've also been working on a binder that I created to help keep things organized for the trip...
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/DSC02939.jpg
I used dividers to make 3 sections...One for Port Canaveral, one for DCL, and the other for WDW. In each section, I'm printing out the directions to each place (home to hotel, hotel to port, port to WDW, etc.) I've also got our cruise confirmation, shore excursion confirmation, ADR confirmations, etc, etc, etc. I used page protectors to try and keep the pages from tearing.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/UGAFan0829/DSC02938.jpg
I figured this would be a great way to keep all the important info handy. I still have several things to add, but it's getting there.

I can't believe that the countdown is now in the teens...That's just shocking to me.:scared1: Well, that's all the updates that I have for now. Keep your fingers crossed that I'm successful on my shopping trip tonight. Headed to JC Penney to exhange something that I ordered that's the wrong size, then headed to Party City to see what they have in the way of pirate costumes. If I can't find anything there, then it looks like I'll be ordering one off e-Bay. After Party City, I hope to make it to TJ Maxx...I'm still trying to find one more outfit for one of the Cruise Casual nights, and I really want a causal dress to wear. I'll make sure and post my results in the next few days!!:)

[cakesnjammom]

wow loving your pre-tr! 2 wks and some days out - exciting. we are 32 days out from sailing the magic too. I will be lurking for your TR. have a blast. you will appreciate the shoe organizer...mine is clear too so you can see where things are in the pockets....hope you like your pink one...too cute.
looks like you got it all under control from your shopping trip!
thinking of you and wishing you a great trip!!!! keep us posted when you return!

ps great dress!

[kileybeth]

:wave2: Hi Missy! I got an update on my subscription list and thought I better pop over and see what only 19 days to go looked like! I still lurk on your meet thread and am so sad not to to be cruising with you all but have found a lovely home over on the 9/19 thread and some great mates there as well.

You are so stinkin' organized! I mean to be but it all just sits here and I get overwhlemed by it instead! HA! I totally related to your post title though, PANIC MODE! hehe

I am committed to the shoe organizer, really wondering how helpful it will be, guess I need a plan! At least I found a really nice canvas one for $2 on clearance at TJMaxx last week. I have my cheapie clear one from the dollar store also though, but we do have two cabins with the kidlets along so maybe we will use both!

Love all the pictures you include in your report. Expecially exciting to see the infamous documents! We are sailing GTY so no room assignments yet, getting very hard to wait at 33 days out!

Can't wait to see trippie photos of you and Mike in all your finery. I broke down and bought a new formal night dress too. My two little kiddos had nice stuff and I wanted us to all look dressed up. The DH is wearing one of his dark suits, he just doesn't know it yet, :rotfl:

If I don't get back over, have an awesome anniversary trip!!! :flower3:

[UGAFan0829]

wow loving your pre-tr! 2 wks and some days out - exciting. we are 32 days out from sailing the magic too. I will be lurking for your TR. have a blast. you will appreciate the shoe organizer...mine is clear too so you can see where things are in the pockets....hope you like your pink one...too cute.
looks like you got it all under control from your shopping trip!
thinking of you and wishing you a great trip!!!! keep us posted when you return!

ps great dress!

Hi, cakesnjammom! Thanks for joining in and posting! I really appreciate it!! Please feel free to lurk away, as long as you promise to post every now and then!!;) Thank you for the well wishes! I will definitely be writing a TR when we return, so you'll be able to read all about it if you'd like!!:)

:wave2: Hi Missy! I got an update on my subscription list and thought I better pop over and see what only 19 days to go looked like! I still lurk on your meet thread and am so sad not to to be cruising with you all but have found a lovely home over on the 9/19 thread and some great mates there as well.

You are so stinkin' organized! I mean to be but it all just sits here and I get overwhlemed by it instead! HA! I totally related to your post title though, PANIC MODE! hehe

I am committed to the shoe organizer, really wondering how helpful it will be, guess I need a plan! At least I found a really nice canvas one for $2 on clearance at TJMaxx last week. I have my cheapie clear one from the dollar store also though, but we do have two cabins with the kidlets along so maybe we will use both!

Love all the pictures you include in your report. Expecially exciting to see the infamous documents! We are sailing GTY so no room assignments yet, getting very hard to wait at 33 days out!

Can't wait to see trippie photos of you and Mike in all your finery. I broke down and bought a new formal night dress too. My two little kiddos had nice stuff and I wanted us to all look dressed up. The DH is wearing one of his dark suits, he just doesn't know it yet, :rotfl:

If I don't get back over, have an awesome anniversary trip!!! :flower3:

Hey, kileybeth! Thanks for sticking with my report. It's good to see you posting here. I'm sad that you won't be cruising with us either, but very happy that you will still be cruising! And it's good to hear that your cruise
mates are as nice as our bunch!!

Honestly, I don't feel organized one bit! It's funny, but normally I feel more in control of our vacations, but this one is making me crazy! I'm just glad that I've been able to accomplish the things that I have!

I'm glad that you like my pictures. I try to include as many as I can since I love reading reports that include them as well!! I will make sure to keep posting them, just for you!

I hope that you get your cruise docs soon! And congrats on getting a formal dress! I like that your DH doesn't know that he's wearing his suit yet! LOL:laughing:

I will definitely be posting lots of pics from our trip once we get back. I'm a photo fanatic, so there's no need to worry about a lack of them in my report! I wish that I had more to add here, and sometimes worry that people reading my report are thinking, "Why did she take a pic of THAT?!":rotfl:

[UGAFan0829]

wow loving your pre-tr! 2 wks and some days out - exciting. we are 32 days out from sailing the magic too. I will be lurking for your TR. have a blast. you will appreciate the shoe organizer...mine is clear too so you can see where things are in the pockets....hope you like your pink one...too cute.
looks like you got it all under control from your shopping trip!
thinking of you and wishing you a great trip!!!! keep us posted when you return!

ps great dress!

Hi, cakesnjammom! Thanks for joining in and posting! I really appreciate it!! Please feel free to lurk away, as long as you promise to post every now and then!!;) Thank you for the well wishes! I will definitely be writing a TR when we return, so you'll be able to read all about it if you'd like!!:)

:wave2: Hi Missy! I got an update on my subscription list and thought I better pop over and see what only 19 days to go looked like! I still lurk on your meet thread and am so sad not to to be cruising with you all but have found a lovely home over on the 9/19 thread and some great mates there as well.

You are so stinkin' organized! I mean to be but it all just sits here and I get overwhlemed by it instead! HA! I totally related to your post title though, PANIC MODE! hehe

I am committed to the shoe organizer, really wondering how helpful it will be, guess I need a plan! At least I found a really nice canvas one for $2 on clearance at TJMaxx last week. I have my cheapie clear one from the dollar store also though, but we do have two cabins with the kidlets along so maybe we will use both!

Love all the pictures you include in your report. Expecially exciting to see the infamous documents! We are sailing GTY so no room assignments yet, getting very hard to wait at 33 days out!

Can't wait to see trippie photos of you and Mike in all your finery. I broke down and bought a new formal night dress too. My two little kiddos had nice stuff and I wanted us to all look dressed up. The DH is wearing one of his dark suits, he just doesn't know it yet, :rotfl:

If I don't get back over, have an awesome anniversary trip!!! :flower3:

Hey, kileybeth! Thanks for sticking with my report. It's good to see you posting here. I'm sad that you won't be cruising with us either, but very happy that you will still be cruising! And it's good to hear that your cruise
mates are as nice as our bunch!!

Honestly, I don't feel organized one bit! It's funny, but normally I feel more in control of our vacations, but this one is making me crazy! I'm just glad that I've been able to accomplish the things that I have!

I'm glad that you like my pictures. I try to include as many as I can since I love reading reports that include them as well!! I will make sure to keep posting them, just for you!

I hope that you get your cruise docs soon! And congrats on getting a formal dress! I like that your DH doesn't know that he's wearing his suit yet! LOL:laughing:

I will definitely be posting lots of pics from our trip once we get back. I'm a photo fanatic, so there's no need to worry about a lack of them in my report! I wish that I had more to add here, and sometimes worry that people reading my report are thinking, "Why did she take a pic of THAT?!":rotfl:

I hope to see you here again before I trip, but if not, I hope to see you on my TR once we get back!!! Thanks for the sweet wishes!

[Jennifer48]

:woohoo: for getting your cruise docs! :woohoo: I tried to do UPS with my reservation number, but it didn't work. I wanna know where mine are! :rotfl:

I'm so glad you got the shoe organizer. You are gonna love how helpful it is to just put your things in there so they aren't scattered all around.

Teen dance! :banana:

[UGAFan0829]

:woohoo: for getting your cruise docs! :woohoo: I tried to do UPS with my reservation number, but it didn't work. I wanna know where mine are! :rotfl:

I'm so glad you got the shoe organizer. You are gonna love how helpful it is to just put your things in there so they aren't scattered all around.

Teen dance! :banana:

I wonder why the UPS tracking didn't work for you? Do you think that maybe they haven't mailed yours quite yet? I know there are still a couple of folks from our group that haven't received theirs yet. I'm sending some pixie dust your way in hopes that you'll get them soon!!:wizard:

I'm glad that I got the organizer too, and I haven't even used it yet!:laughing: I'm thinking that it will come in really handy, and I have you to thank for it!!:)

How are things going with the wedding planning?

[Jennifer48]

I wonder why the UPS tracking didn't work for you? Do you think that maybe they haven't mailed yours quite yet? I know there are still a couple of folks from our group that haven't received theirs yet. I'm sending some pixie dust your way in hopes that you'll get them soon!!:wizard:

I'm glad that I got the organizer too, and I haven't even used it yet!:laughing: I'm thinking that it will come in really handy, and I have you to thank for it!!:)

How are things going with the wedding planning?

You're right, they probably haven't mailed mine yet. According to our meet thread, the only ones that have received theirs live over seas. I'll check next week. I'm like you, I'll check multiple times a day!

Wedding planning, I can't wait until its over! :faint: The stress is building. Just a little over 2 weeks left. Majority of things are done. I have to pick up my gown tonight, final fitting. Too much work for one day! :rotfl2:

[mousetravel]

Trying to get caught up on your TR! Won't be long now! Looking forward to your TR when you get back. I'm planning another Mom/Daughter trip to Disney HHI in October, even though I'm only 4 hours from there, I've never been. We were in your neck of the woods back in April, we went to Stone Mountain for my birthday!

[Mickey's Goofy Gal]

Getting very excited for ya'll. Seeing the photos makes it even more exciting! I love the pink shoe rack and I am so glad that you made the other photos - especially of the docs! It will be time to pack the car before you know it and I can't wait to see your trip report! :banana::cool1:

[UGAFan0829]

Trying to get caught up on your TR! Won't be long now! Looking forward to your TR when you get back. I'm planning another Mom/Daughter trip to Disney HHI in October, even though I'm only 4 hours from there, I've never been. We were in your neck of the woods back in April, we went to Stone Mountain for my birthday!

Hey there! It's good to hear from you!!
Ooooh, I would love to hear about your HHI trip! Are you planning to do a trip report for it? I hope so!! I've never been there either, but had thought about trying to take my Mom next Spring. She loves the beach, plus she is a Paula Deen fan, so I thought that HHI would be the perfect place. We'd be at the beach, and then Savannah is close enough that we could drive there for the day.
How was Stone Mountain?

Getting very excited for ya'll. Seeing the photos makes it even more exciting! I love the pink shoe rack and I am so glad that you made the other photos - especially of the docs! It will be time to pack the car before you know it and I can't wait to see your trip report! :banana::cool1:

Hey, Kim!
I'm kinda partial to the shoe holder too, since it's pink!!
I should have already started packing, but I haven't yet. That will probably be something that I work on this weekend!
You know you will probably hear all about our trip before I ever start the TR. Mike and I are planning to try and make it to a race once we get back from the trip. I'd love to try and come that Saturday after we get home, but we'll just have to wait and see how it goes!:)

[mousetravel]

Hey there! It's good to hear from you!!
Ooooh, I would love to hear about your HHI trip! Are you planning to do a trip report for it? I hope so!! I've never been there either, but had thought about trying to take my Mom next Spring. She loves the beach, plus she is a Paula Deen fan, so I thought that HHI would be the perfect place. We'd be at the beach, and then Savannah is close enough that we could drive there for the day.
How was Stone Mountain?



I will probably do a TR. I've been trying to find some TR for HHI, but only found a few, so I'd love to do one. Stone Mountain was great. We've been a few times before. It was hot, though. We took lots of pics. We went with my best friend and her kids. This was the first time we visited the Plantation that's on Stone Mountain grounds. It was very nice.

[Mickey's Goofy Gal]

That would be wonderful if ya'll came to a race especially when you first return - that way I could hear all about it first hand and right off the bat!!!! We miss ya'll so much at the races!

[UGAFan0829]

I will probably do a TR. I've been trying to find some TR for HHI, but only found a few, so I'd love to do one. Stone Mountain was great. We've been a few times before. It was hot, though. We took lots of pics. We went with my best friend and her kids. This was the first time we visited the Plantation that's on Stone Mountain grounds. It was very nice.

I think you should definitely do one! If you do, make sure and let me know, cause you know I will definitely be a subscriber!!!
I'm glad that you liked the Plantation. We went there several years ago, and it was really neat to see all that stuff!!

That would be wonderful if ya'll came to a race especially when you first return - that way I could hear all about it first hand and right off the bat!!!! We miss ya'll so much at the races!

I'd definitely have to give you a chapter at a time-one in between each of the guys races! LOL! I'm hoping that we get to make it, too. Mike and I have already talked about it, and we both want to come, it's just a matter of getting there. I've really missed being there, too. But not going is one way that we've been able to do this trip!

[VTX_Mike]

Thanks for sharing with the board.

[UGAFan0829]

Thanks for sharing with the board.

Thank you!! I really enjoy reading all the TR's from other DIS'ers, so it's only fair for me to do my part.
Nice motorcycle by the way!

[UGAFan0829]

I've been up to a little "surprise" planning this morning, and I wanted to let you all in on it!
Some of you may remember my recalling of our last trip to Disney, earlier in this report. It was there that I mentioned the fishing trip that I gave Mike for our anniversary. Ever since then he has talked about how great of a time we had, and how he would love to do it again. Now, we both agreed that because of the amount of money we've already spent between the cruise and joining DVC, that we wouldn't buy each other anything for our anniversary. Well, I've felt a little sad about this, and even though it's techincally not an anniversary gift, I decided to call to try and book another fishing excursion for him!!:banana:
I was a little unsure of which day I wanted to book, and had initially thought that the morning we check out might work. But then I remembered that we had Chef Mickey's booked for that morning, and I didn't want to miss it. Since we're staying at BWV, it happens that they actually have excursions that leave from right there at the resort. I thought this would work out well for two reasons...the first being that it would save us a lot of travel time since we'd already be there, and two-because our last fishing trip was at the Wilderness Lodge, I thought it would be neat for Mike to experience fishing from a different place.
Sooooo, I looked over our iteniary to see which day would be the best, and I decided that since Hollywood Studios is going to be open til 9, and I don't mind missing the park opening, that we would do it on the morning of our Hollywood Studios day. We may get to the park a little late, but I think we'll be fine! I decided to call Disney Recreation in hopes that something would be available since it's so close, and guess what...it was!:woohoo: I booked us for the 7 a.m. excursion from right there at BW! I am so excited.:dance3: I am dying to tell Mike, but I really want to keep it a secret. I'm terrible with surprises though, so I'm hoping that I can hold it in until then. It's probably a good thing that I waited so late to book it, that way I don't have to hold in as long!:rolleyes1
So that's what I've been up to this morning! Just keep your fingers crossed for me that I can actually keep my mouth shut!:rolleyes:

[Mickey's Goofy Gal]

You are gonna have a hard time with this one but I have faith that you can keep it a secret! Are you planning to catch another "bird" when you go fishing?:rotfl2:

[Jennifer48]

How fun!! What a super surprise. He's going to love it! Good luck with keeping it a secret! :goodvibes

[UGAFan0829]

:woohoo:10 days to go!!!
I know I say it every time I post, but I still can't believe just how fast time has flown by for this trip. I remember when the days were still in the hundreds, and starting tomorrow we'll be in SINGLE DIGITS! Mentally, I am SO ready to go, but physically we still have a lot to do! We did manage to accomplish a little over the weekend, but not as much as I would have liked. Still no success with finding a Pirate costume. After looking and coming up enmpty handed, Gayle and Brandi have decided that they aren't dressing up. I had thought about doing the same, myself, but I really do want to do it. Mike already has his costume, and if we don't dress up, then we'll have to find something to wear for one more night. I've found the costume that I want on e-Bay, but I'm just waiting to get it. I had actually sold some stuff on there last week, and the people still haven't paid...if they would just send their money, then I could go ahead and get the costume. It's so late in the game now though, that I guess I'm going to have to try and find something in a store...I'm just afraid that if I order one it won't be here in time. Hopefully I'll have found something by the end of the week, but who knows!

As far as packing, we did manage to get all of our luggage out. My spare bedroom is such a mess right now, with suitcases sitting open everywhere and clothes all over the bed. It makes me a little stressed to even look at it all. It will all come together soon though. I'm just a little worried about having enough room. We actually have 4 regular suitcases, 2 carry-ons and a garment bag. I'm still not sure if we'll actually use the garment bag or not. The sad thing is that one of the suitcases will probably end up being nothing but shoes!:eek:Between all of mine and Mike's, I'm betting that we'll fill a whole one! The other thing that I'm worried about is all the clothes that we need to pack for WDW. I told Mike last night that we may have to take those clothes that we won't need on the cruise and just leave them in the car, then we can just switch them out on the way to Disney.

Some other plans that we made/changed is that instead of driving directly to the port and paying for parking, we're going to take the shuttle from the hotel. I'm hoping that this works out okay for us. It scares me a little to have to depend on someone else for transportation, as we've parked at the port both other times that we've cruised. The first shuttle from the hotel doesn't acutally leave until 10:30, so I'm thinking of having Mike drop me and the luggage off, and then he can come back on the shuttle. I really want to be there early so that I can try and get on the boat as soon as possible so that I can head to the Salon to try and get an appointment for formal night. We'll see how that all works out though. The good part is that we'll be saving $105 by parking at the hotel instead of the port!:woohoo:Whoohooo...that's just more money for Disney stuff!:dance3:

Lastly, I wasn't able to keep the fishing trip a secret for very long. Mike ended up finding out on Saturday! Told you I can't keep a surprise!!!:rolleyes1 I didn't actually come out and tell him...he was looking at our planning folder and saw the confirmation. Of course when he asked me what it was for I didn't do to well. What can I say, I'm not a very good fibber!!

I'll try and post some pics of the packing process soon...right now it's too big of a mess to even photograph!!! :scared:

[UGAFan0829]

You are gonna have a hard time with this one but I have faith that you can keep it a secret! Are you planning to catch another "bird" when you go fishing?:rotfl2:

I don't plan on it, but who knows! I am so excited about it!

How fun!! What a super surprise. He's going to love it! Good luck with keeping it a secret! :goodvibes

Well, as you can see from above, I didn't do to well with that!!! That's okay, he's excited about it, so that's good...it gives him even more to look forward to!!:cheer2:

[kileybeth]

OMGosh Missy,

You make me laugh and smile every time I read one of your updates.

The whole luggage thing stressing you out? I am so there with you.

The not keeping secrets. I show my little ones something I promised myself would be a suprise for on the boat every day!

The shoes? Oh the shoes, shoes for the excursions, shoes for the pool, shoes for dinner, shoes for formal night, regular ol' shoes for everyday to match the outfits of course. . .shoes shoes shoes x6 for us! :scared1:

Pirate attire, Good luck! I am about to give up thinking about it for the DH and myself. The littles have somethings, the teens have priatey tees I guess and us? :confused3

Enjoy your trip! It is after midnight so I get to say

SINGLE DIGIT DANCE :woohoo: ONLY 9 MORE DAYS!

Can't wait to hear the rest of the packing adventures and then the adventures once you are on your way!

[ilovecraigandcooper]

Loving the pre-trip report!!!!

[UGAFan0829]

OMGosh Missy,

You make me laugh and smile every time I read one of your updates.

The whole luggage thing stressing you out? I am so there with you.

The not keeping secrets. I show my little ones something I promised myself would be a suprise for on the boat every day!

The shoes? Oh the shoes, shoes for the excursions, shoes for the pool, shoes for dinner, shoes for formal night, regular ol' shoes for everyday to match the outfits of course. . .shoes shoes shoes x6 for us! :scared1:

Pirate attire, Good luck! I am about to give up thinking about it for the DH and myself. The littles have somethings, the teens have priatey tees I guess and us? :confused3

Enjoy your trip! It is after midnight so I get to say

SINGLE DIGIT DANCE :woohoo: ONLY 9 MORE DAYS!

Can't wait to hear the rest of the packing adventures and then the adventures once you are on your way!

kileybeth, I'm glad to know that I can make you smile and laugh!:) And I'm glad that you understand that pain with packing and ALL the shoes! It's good to know I'm not the only one who packs them all!!:rolleyes1

Loving the pre-trip report!!!!

Hi there!! Thanks for stopping by, and I'm glad that you're enjoying my report. I am so excited about the trip, and can't wait to write the actual report. I sure hope you'll join me for that as well!

[Mickey's Goofy Gal]

We packed in separate suit cases when we went to Disney for a week and then Daytona for a week and it worked out fine. We left our Daytona clothes in the car so we would not have such a crowded room at the WDW hotel and then swapped out when we got to Daytona.


I am feeling your pain with all the shoes you have to take.

Fishing - now ya'll can be excited together! :)

Stress - I totally understand and think it is normal for us detailed planners to feel it!

Not long now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:yay:

[cakesnjammom]

I cannot believe you are SO close to leaving!! :cool1:
I am so looking forward to reading your TR and seeing your pics!!

Great surprise...Mike is going to have a BLAST fishing! Enjoy.

Well keep us posted....the excitement is HERE!:dance3:
Looking forward to more! :3dglasses

[UGAFan0829]

We packed in separate suit cases when we went to Disney for a week and then Daytona for a week and it worked out fine. We left our Daytona clothes in the car so we would not have such a crowded room at the WDW hotel and then swapped out when we got to Daytona.


I am feeling your pain with all the shoes you have to take.

Fishing - now ya'll can be excited together! :)

Stress - I totally understand and think it is normal for us detailed planners to feel it!

Not long now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:yay:

The only thing about packing in seperate suitcases is that we don't have enough. We're using all of the suitcases that we have on the cruise. I'm thinking that we'll probably just put our clothes for WDW in a crate or something, and then put them in a suitcase on our way to WDW.

I cannot believe you are SO close to leaving!! :cool1:
I am so looking forward to reading your TR and seeing your pics!!

Great surprise...Mike is going to have a BLAST fishing! Enjoy.

Well keep us posted....the excitement is HERE!:dance3:
Looking forward to more! :3dglasses

I can't believe it either. I'm starting to go into my "I don't know if I really want to go on this vacation" mode. It's part of my OCD I guess. I have my moments when I get really, really excited and can't wait to go. Then I have my moments when I think about being gone and something happenening. I guess I'm especially worried since everything happened with my Dad. I'm just a natural born worrier though. Mike says I do this everytime, so hopefully it will go away and I'll be able to enjoy everything!! I'm usually pretty sad when we first get on the ship too...I see all the little kids and wish that I could afford to bring all my nieces and nephews. It always breaks my heart and I end up crying because I feel guilty for taking such an expensive vacation. It's okay though, because now we have DVC and hopefully we'll be able to share Disney with my family through that!!

[cakesnjammom]

awww what a sweet heart you are :cutie:....enjoy yourself! you deserve a vacation! try not to worry...I do the EXACT samething...my dh says I work myself into an over anxious state and that is happens everytime. Been in a panic about our trip too....calm.....calm....calm and enjoy yourself (this is the blind leading the blind) but it will be wonderful! "no stinkin' thinkin'! is what I tell myself!
have a blast! pixie dust to you and Mike....pixiedust:

[UGAFan0829]

awww what a sweet heart you are :cutie:....enjoy yourself! you deserve a vacation! try not to worry...I do the EXACT samething...my dh says I work myself into an over anxious state and that is happens everytime. Been in a panic about our trip too....calm.....calm....calm and enjoy yourself (this is the blind leading the blind) but it will be wonderful! "no stinkin' thinkin'! is what I tell myself!
have a blast! pixie dust to you and Mike....pixiedust:

That's so sweet of you to say! Thank you!:hug:
I'm glad that someone else can relate to the way that I feel. I sometimes wonder if I'm just plain out crazy!:rolleyes1
"No stinkin' thinkin'" is a dang good motto...I'm gonna just keep repeating that to myself!!! Thanks for the encouragement!!:flower3:

[cakesnjammom]

I have to say you must check out naturallycurly.com since you are a curly girl too, if you have not already...great forum and great tips on products and styling! I love DevaCurl products :lovestruc heaven in the hair!

have fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
don't worry, be happy :banana:

[Mickey's Goofy Gal]

I just got off the telephone with UGAFan0829 and they have arrived at Port Canaveral! I am so glad to hear they had a safe trip down and I am wishing them tons of fun while on their trip!!!!!!! :banana: I am so excited for them!!!!! :cool1: It is going to be so exciting to hear all about it when they return!!!!!:yay:

[cakesnjammom]

I just got off the telephone with UGAFan0829 and they have arrived at Port Canaveral! I am so glad to hear they had a safe trip down and I am wishing them tons of fun while on their trip!!!!!!! :banana: I am so excited for them!!!!! :cool1: It is going to be so exciting to hear all about it when they return!!!!!:yay:

Thanks so much for the update! I was actually thinking about them this a.m.! I hope they have a GREAT trip!!! Cannot wait to hear all about it!!

[UGAFan0829]

Yep, we are here! It seems like we drove for 2 days straight, but we finally made it. We're just relaxing in our room right now, waiting to go check out some things before we tuck in for the night!!! Thanks for thinking of us! We are ready to start our Magical voyage tomorrow!

[UGAFan0829]

I just wanted to post a really quick update while I have a minute...
While I'm very sad that our cruise is over, I'm really excited about our 5 days here in Disney. The cruise was wonderful--everything that I could have expected and more. We had a wonderful time with Gayle and Brandi, and I hope that they will be joining us on another Disney Cruise in the future. One of the highlights of the cruise was the DIS meet last Saturday. It was so wonderful to finally meet everyone in person! Honestly, I was overwhelmed at the number of people who showed up at the meet. Everyone was wonderful, and I know that I've made some lasting friendships and made memories that we'll carry with us forever!
I know this is short, but we plan on making the most of our days here in Disney. I'll try to get started on my report as soon as I get home and get settled back in!!! Thank you to everyone who has stuck around!!

[cakesnjammom]

Missy! I am so glad you checked in and that your cruise was great!
Have ablast at Disney....:thumbsup2
We are at 1 week and counting so by the time you get home I will be on the Magic!:cool1:
Cannot wait to hear all about your trip:goodvibes

[Mickey's Goofy Gal]

Glad the cruise was everything and more! Have a wonderful stay at WDW and I can't wait for ya'll to get home. Hoping ya'll will get to come to the races that weekend! Looking forward to seeing many photos and hearing all about it!!!!!

[UGAFan0829]

Well, we're finally home! I can't believe that our big vacation has come and gone. It was definitely the trip of our dreams! I have so much to get done this weekend, but I plan on getting started on my report soon. I'm working on getting some pics put on to CD's for Brandi and Gayle now, then have to upload all the ones for the report, so it may take me a little while. I also need to order my Photopass CD for the WDW portion, but I'm sure that it will arrive before I get to that part of my report. I can wait to relive all our memories with y'all!

[Mickey's Goofy Gal]

I can't wait to hear about those memories too. I knew when I found out that ya'll were 23 minutes from home last night that it was bittersweet. Re-living the memories will hopefully make some of the excitement come back!

Welcome home :flower3:

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Can't wait!

[UGAFan0829]

My TR has officially been started...You can check it out here:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=33674067#post33674067