September 3, 2005 --- Who is going?

[captaincrash]

OK...

So #1000 buys the first round of drinks at the DIS gathering ....

.... or you have to bring the 1st keg to the party! :cool1: I'll bring the paper cups.

Does this mean the Toga theme is back on again? ANd what about my pyrotechnics? We're gonna need another launching vernada.... anyone wanna volunteer their veranda? :rotfl: I may have difficulty getting my fireworks through airport security... especially the launchers. They're likely to mistake me for a maligned sort! To say nothing of what DCL security is gonna say when I try to explain what I'm doing with the stuff at the gangway! :rotfl:

[xABearx]

Sorry, I just filed for Bankruptcy today and have no money ;)

[itdjbw]

Who has ressies for Palo? We have one for dinner and brunch. I have heard so much about the Chocolate Souffle, I have to try it! :Pinkbounc

Have tried so many times to make one but it is always ' no reservations available' or something like that.

[lisa702]

Have tried so many times to make one but it is always ' no reservations available' or something like that.
You can try once we board.........they keep some available for then.

[lisa702]

YEA!!!!! We made it to 1000 and beyond! Anyone for 2000? Just kidding! :rotfl2:

[captaincrash]

LOL!???

Bankruptcy? ok... I'll do you a huge favor.... I'll officially grant you a PARDON as I've just self appointed myself President of the USA for about 5 seconds which is just long enough to sign the document - and long enough to qualify for a federal Presidential pension. Now there is the matter of collecting my pension = and our free kegs!

I hear 5 seconds of presidential service has recently been amended to just free meals for a week on the cruise ship of my choice - and the choice is just - you guessed it - the DCL Magic - and it is good only on the NEXT 7 day voyage. Oh - and I have to pay for my own cabin / port and taxes. Not the deal I bargained for when I granted the pardon... but that's how it goes. :banana:

[disneyfanforever]

Wow, we hit 1000! Way to go.

As far as special souvenirs, I think the Christmas ornament is a great idea. I think we might even try to do our Christmas Cards at Shutters.

We collect Disney pins so I am sure we will pick up a few of those. We also collect key chains so I am sure we will try to get a few of those too.

I am probably 80% packed now. I have been working at it all day. My DH hasn't packed a single thing so he better get busy tonight.

So jealous of you Andy and Ginny. Say hi to Downtown Disney for us. My boys would love to be going to the Lego store right now.

Robyn

[itdjbw]

Don't forget to bring dollar bills for room service tips!! :cool1:

We try go to the bank and make a special request for $2.00 bill, great for room service and porters and different for them.

[captaincrash]

Wow....

... I'm just starting to grasp the magnitude of the situation in the gulf coast. It is nearly mind boggling that this sort of thing could happen in the USA. Maybe I'm being pedestrian about it - but it's the simple truth.

Sorry to reintroduce a dampening moment - but I sort of needed to express a bit of acknowledge this - (I don't really know why)... it's a sort of strange feeling. This is no less - and in many ways a bigger event then the twin towers of 9-11. :guilty:

Oh well... sorry to be so public about it. I just happen to be here - and on another note... I have to get back to preparing to go. It's tough going here - too many distractions and such. Plus I just saw an episode of Star Trek Vovager I never saw before. Evidently I missed on when it was originally aired. I'm sort of watching some of my DVCDs while I pack and look after our 1.75 year old. Juuggle Juggle Juggle.... :confused3

[itdjbw]

Gas prices have gone crazy here, the lines are long and the roads all blocked up, they are talking about stations being closed, we hopefully have enough to get down into Florida.

Still haven't packed or done anything and DS is having a meltdown over Homework. :teeth: :teeth:

[captaincrash]

The meltdown is OK...

... he will survive so long as his safety and emotional well being is not permanently scarred... :dog2:

Have you tried bribing him with ice cream? I'm still trying to get my spouse to bribe me to do things but all I get is a level stare and silence (usually). It's been like this for about 15 years now - the honeymoon ended 5 years after our first dat e and 5 years before our real honeymoon!

[lisa702]

Gas prices have gone crazy here, the lines are long and the roads all blocked up, they are talking about stations being closed, we hopefully have enough to get down into Florida.

Still haven't packed or done anything and DS is having a meltdown over Homework. :teeth: :teeth:
The lines are pretty long here as well. Everyone rushing to fill up before th prices go up again. The highest I saw today was 2.85. Cheapest was 2.58. I filled my tank earlier in the week. I drive a small car so it should last at least til we drive to the Cape. Its only about 2 hours from my house.

[disneyfanforever]

Gas prices are going crazy here in Arkansas too. The station that is normally the cheapest is at 2.89 I believe. My DH said the price in Little Rock where he works was 3.16. I am glad we will be on the cruise soon and won't have to fill up for a week. It is crazy how the prices are rising so quick. However, I realize how blessed and lucky I am considering what has happened in New Orleans and Mississippi. I have my house, my car, and most of all my family safe and sound. My heart and prayers go out to those who have lost their loved ones or are still unable to make contact with those they love.

On a lighter note, I think since Andy is having to bring the kegs since he was the 1000th poster then captaincrash is going to have to wear that toga after all. Toga!Toga!

Robyn

[gdulaney]

ginny i just pm'd my picks for the next two races to tori, we'll see how that works out.

Good luck!!! I've got to figure out my picks and PM Tori. :)

Ginny

[gdulaney]

Have a safe trip everyone! Can't wait to see you in the Promenade Lounge on Saturday. Dave and I will be at the Detroit airport 48 hours from now. Count me in Crash on the internet sharing. By the way, Andy and Pogo, Dave is a huge Nascar fan, too. I'm sure he'll be heading to Diversions on Sunday for a race. I'm clueless abut Nascar.

Jan

Jan -

Usually Diversions doesn't show the race...it's on the wrong network (not an ABC affiliate). We'll be out on the SD-7 either before dinner or after dinner (or both, if I know Andy).... you guys are welcome to join us to listen to the race on the XM radio.

Ginny

[itdjbw]

Can't believe am still sitting here reading the boards, should be packing, but just cannot seem to get moving.
Tomorrow I guess will be one of those really rushed late nights, just hoping our drive down is okay.

Wishing everyone a safe trip and see you all Saturday.

Captain - thanks for the pics, the kids are so cute!

Julia

[gdulaney]

Trying to do my part again - we are soooo close to 1000!!

Can you get this delicious chocolate soufflé during brunch at Palos or is it a dinner only thing?

I believe it's only available at dinner.

Ginny

[gdulaney]

Have tried so many times to make one but it is always ' no reservations available' or something like that.

If you can't get a ressie for Palo, you can stop by and ask if you can sit at the bar to have a glass of wine (cup of coffee) and a souffle.

Ginny

[gdulaney]

So jealous of you Andy and Ginny. Say hi to Downtown Disney for us. My boys would love to be going to the Lego store right now. Robyn

Robyn,

We are directly across from DisneyQuest and the House of Blues. The ladies at the front desk told us that at midnight we'll have perfect viewing for watching the fireworks. Wish you guys were here!!

Ginny

[captaincrash]

Julia...

.... don't admit to feelin' guilty about lurking when you should be packing - otherwise "I" might start feelin' guilty too... cuz I have to pack too and get to my airport hotel tonight. Plus fedex some stuff - and run to the post office + fun to the library + pack + all sorts of other things.... and here I am lurking and posting.... so do you suppose "you or I" should feel guilty about lurking.... and posting? It's a sickness I tell ya... maybe we can all get together at the DIS meet and form a self help group to deal with this .... addiction.... :cool1: and THAT means we'll have to set up shared unlimited use internet accounts so we can all continue our lurking WHILE ABOARD! Frankly I think I might post something for laughs. Otherwise we'll be just doin' ebay and email... plus maybe some other mundane stuff.

So - yeah... I'm lurking too - you're not alone among the last minute packers who also spare a moment to lurk .... and post! :rotfl:

----------------

BTW,.... Ginny....

Great tip on Palo at the bar... but we were wondering - do they exact a serving fee for doing that? Or is it just served without the dining fee? IE - have you done this personally? My spouse thought that sounded like a great tip! :wave:

[JanDave]

Thanks for the Nascar invite, Ginny! Hope you and Andy are having a great time at WDW. See you in a couple of days.

Jan

[clonefans]

http://www.dotphoto.com/Go.asp?l=nm...ID=88388760&T=1 Try clicking on the "eye" icon to watch a show!

Great pictures captain, you have a beautiful family!!

[salbythec]

Captain,
Great pics!! We enjoyed watching the show! You have a beautiful family.Looking forward to meeting them.

PS: I am taking a break from packing, we are almost done!!! :Pinkbounc

[disneyfanforever]

Ginny and Andy,

Wow it sounds like you guys have a great room. Have fun watching the fireworks.

I wonder if those fireworks will be as good as Captaincrash's firework show off the balconies on the ship.

Have a safe trip to all of those leaving early tomorrow.

Robyn

[Drcell01]

Well its about 11:20 pm here on the east coast and I am watching an old I SPY show (with Robert Culp and Bill Cosby) waiting for midnight to print our SWA boarding passes.

Gas prices here in Syracuse have gone through the roof as the price of regular was at $2.66 early in the day and on our way back home from dinner we saw prices as high as $3.19 per gallon. Just rediclous this reaction even with the government releasing oil reserves. I filled up both cars on Tuesday at $2.60 per gallon. Looks like the 140 mile drive to Albany airport will be a bit more costly than expected.

I also wanted to mention how thankful we should all be that our families are safe and together and not experiencing the difficulities the people of the gulf coast states are experiencing tonight! I know that I won't complain so much this winter about all of our issues with the large snowfall and below zero wind chill we incur here in Upstate NY. Its not such a big deal after all.

[captaincrash]

Sally/Kim....

Thanks for the kind remarks on the photos - we're still sot of packing. I just printed everything off - DIS list,rental cars, hotels, airline res, TA reference to the cruise, castaway club #, and I need to run off and finish off packing to get to the airport hotel for our 7AM AA flight! We'll touch down in Orlando at 3PM without any changes.

We're set to leave in about 25-55 minutes - I'm signing off for now til probably we hit Orlando hotel (if we can get Wifi). Adios!

Anyone want to ring us while we're in town please feel free to call our cellular at 805-857-5002. We're probably up for a family style (with kids) dinner or lunch if we don't go to WDW on Friday. We're staying at the Westgate Lakes Resort & Spa - a cheap deal trough Hotwire.com - and it will probably be a surprise of sorts for us. I fully expect to be pounced upon by time-share sales folks. Oh well... such is life when botto fishing for bargains! :rolleyes:

OK... gotta go... safe and happy travels to all!!!! I have a really fun pirate outfit.... C-YA later Alligators.... (so the kids always say!)

:banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

[pogopossum]

well i'm starting to wrap things up here, the car is all but packed, i gues i'll make dw happy and go top it off, she is convinced that between now and 6 am the price will go up 50 cents. i can't convince her that it won't go up, and we should wait to get out of dallas area, which has the highest prices in the state. capt i didn't actually get prices from the hotels, but did find out what the last city to have power to our east and the first city to have power after that which sounds like vicksburg, ms and tuscaloosa, ala. i guess she went straight up from biloxi and wiped out the middle of the state. soundslike they have gas, but no power to open the stations.

i had heard that atlanta was having problems, i'll buy in tuscaloosa and should be able to get to macon or further before having to fill up again.

i did drag the mower around the yard, and i am about to load the dishwasher, did one last load of towels. man, am i gonna miss this! :rotfl:

anybody else start packing a few days ago, put off finishing the suitcase, and then look for things that you think you packed, but can't remember if you did, and don't want to unpack everything to look for it. man am i losing it?

well goodnight all i'll try to post from macon tomorrow night and give a report on the drive and what we saw. safe travels to everyone.

[captaincrash]

OK...

12:15AM - car is packed - everything is ready except the kids are not in the car yet - and I am printing a map to the hotel tonight.

See ya at the Magic! :wave:

[Drcell01]

Its 6:15 am here in the east and we are all packed and getting ready to leave town.

We hope everyone has a safe trip..."We're off to Never-never land"!!

[lisa702]

Gas prices have gone crazy here, the lines are long and the roads all blocked up, they are talking about stations being closed, we hopefully have enough to get down into Florida.

Still haven't packed or done anything and DS is having a meltdown over Homework. :teeth: :teeth:

My DH works just outside of Orlando and when he got home last night from work, at 12:30 mind you, he wakes me up to tell me that gas stations in that area and on his way home are out of gas.

[lisa702]

Once again, safe trips to all! :goodvibes

[lisa702]

Gas prices are going crazy here in Arkansas too. The station that is normally the cheapest is at 2.89 I believe. My DH said the price in Little Rock where he works was 3.16. I am glad we will be on the cruise soon and won't have to fill up for a week. It is crazy how the prices are rising so quick. However, I realize how blessed and lucky I am considering what has happened in New Orleans and Mississippi. I have my house, my car, and most of all my family safe and sound. My heart and prayers go out to those who have lost their loved ones or are still unable to make contact with those they love.

On a lighter note, I think since Andy is having to bring the kegs since he was the 1000th poster then captaincrash is going to have to wear that toga after all. Toga!Toga!

Robyn

I am counting my blessings as well. I made my donation to the Red Cross and the one that helps the animals too.

[Hygiene99]

This statement was on the Orlando TV channel 6 website as of 4:45 pm today...

WEDNESDAY:-- Miami-based Carnival Cruise Lines says it is considering a federal request that the company use some of its cruise ships as emergency shelters or help in Katrina relief efforts in some other way.

I wonder if FEMA has also made the same request of DCL???

I'm not trying to be a wet blanket but still consider the possibility.


Disney Donated 2.5 million to the efforts..

I think you are ok..
GAS $3.29 around here
Anyone stayying at the Radisson resort Friday Night We are ..
Not crusing But Getting some Folks From the Ship on Saturday Morning..
then headed to The World.. peter

[lisa702]

Last minute packing here.......... :rolleyes:

[disneyfanforever]

We're doing last minute packing and errands here too. I am already sleepy just thinking about how early I am going to have to wake up to make our early flight. But I am so excited and ready to get on that ship!

Robyn

[lisa702]

We're doing last minute packing and errands here too. I am already sleepy just thinking about how early I am going to have to wake up to make our early flight. But I am so excited and ready to get on that ship!

Robyn

It will be Saturday before we know it!!!! :banana:

[lisa702]

Anyone leaving tonight? Robyn you leave in the AM right? Have a safe trip! Everyone else as well! :wizard: :wizard: :wizard: Pixie dust to all!

[disneyfanforever]

Well, it looks like almost everyone as gone. Yes, Lisa, we leave very very early in the morning. When do you leave? I noticed that you live in Florida so are you just driving down the day we set sail?

[xABearx]

BTW.... Ginny....Great tip on Palo at the bar... but we were wondering - do they exact a serving fee for doing that? Or is it just served without the dining fee? IE - have you done this personally? My spouse thought that sounded like a great tip! :wave:

Ginny here --- Andy's signed on & I've snuck on while he's walked out on the balcony. :goodvibes

This is a great question, I'm not sure if the charge the per person fee or not. We've never tried the bar thing, but I know that a number of folks have. I wonder if anybody on the cruise thread would know? Or we could ask once we get on board the ship..... in just a couple of days. That sounds so great...a couple of days!!!!!

One more thing...for anybody driving down, if you belong to Costco (or Sam's Club), don't forget your membership card. Gas at Costco was lower than any other place we saw. The Costco is located on Orange Blossom Trail, just a bit South of Sand Lake.

Ginny

[lisa702]

Well, it looks like almost everyone as gone. Yes, Lisa, we leave very very early in the morning. When do you leave? I noticed that you live in Florida so are you just driving down the day we set sail?

Robyn
I live just 2 hours from the POrt so we'll head out that morning. Safe trip to you!

[itdjbw]

I'm still here, should be packing but sitting here posting and having coffee, laundry is in the dryer and I am leaving at around noon for our drive down - staying at the Raddison Friday night - if I ever get packed!!!

[Mom2boyz2000]

Sorry I've been out of the loop for a couple of days. I'm now in "Packing Hell"!! I just finished the last t-shirts, they are cute, I hope the kids like them. I got up at 4:30 this AM to do the iron ons and finished them just a few minutes ago.

Safe trip Robyn, Julia and everyone else driving/ We too don't leave until Sat AM. See you all then!!

Suzanne

[disneyfanforever]

Just wanted to check in to say "bye" to everyone. I am getting ready to go to bed so I can get up tomorrow around 4 in the morning so we can make our flight.

We are staying at the Radisson tomorrow night as well, and the kids are so excited that vacation time is actually here.

Suzanne, I am glad the Tshirts turned out good. I am sure the kids will love them. Thanks for all your hard work. Tyler is so excited to meet Josh and all his email buddies. I think Brady and Zak will get along great as well.

Well, see you guys on the boat. :banana:

Robyn

[pogopossum]

well howdy anybody out there,

we made it to macon, no major snags, a little trouble finding available restrooms in miss, we had filled up in monroe, la. and hadn't gone a mile across the river, and my leg cramped up, guess i sweat out a little too much while mowing yesterday, so we went about three exits up, and thought we'd pull in and top off to make it into ala, well the station we pulled into was out of gas, and the lines for across the street were backed up into this station, so i grabbed some powerade and got back in, and dw took off. i can't tell how much relief it was to get out and stretch, having a cramp in the car is no fun, even in a suburban.

we got just past jackson, and first dd rachel then ds son jordan piped up that they had to go, well we looked and saw that we were almost to a rest stop, pulled in after the 25 minute can you hold it? dance, and the rest rooms were closed due to power outage, so we started trying exits and there were long lines at any stations with power and gas. but kept running into closed stations with no power, finally at meridian we saw a truck stop across the freeway, drove in the truck entrance and around the building to avoid the line, and went in for some relief. think we'll make sure everyone makes use of the mississippi visitor center on the way home and will hurry our way to louisiana as fast as we can.

so far with the exception of atlanta, the gas prices have not been totally out of whack, but i heard that the gov. was reigning in atlanta today, i think we'll fill up before we leave georgia, depending on the price and we should be able to mjake it to the space coast, and hit the beach tomorrow afternoon.

maybe we'll get the inkling to check out the radisson resort tomorrow evening, at any rate may those of you traveling out tomorrow have safe travels, and it goes as well for you as it has so far for us, it really has been pretty easy so far, knock wood. :goodvibes

[clonefans]

I'm just about finished packing, which is good since our flight leaves tomorrow morning at 8am!!
I can't believe its finally here and my countdown finally says Zero!! Yeah!
:cheer2:

Safe travels to you all and see you Sat!

[lisa702]

Safe travels to all who left or are leaving today! :banana:

[xABearx]

Hello all from SSR .... it's Friday and we are 1 day away from getting on the Magic for 7 fantastic nights!! Today we are going to hang out at DTD and maybe hit Disney Quest for a few hours of flashback '80's video games, you know, Pacman, Ms. Pacman, Joust, Burger Time, etc .... anyway, hope everyone who is still traveling drives carefully and makes it safely to the Port by tomorrow .... Andy

[lisa702]

BUMP!..........couldn't let it fall to the 2nd page yet! :cool1:

[lisa702]

:rolleyes1 :rolleyes1

[xABearx]

Here we are .... Ginny & I just got back from dinner at Bahama Breeze and we are getting ready to walk over to DTD for a few hours before we hit the hay so we can get an early start on the drive to PC .....

[kendo911]

Excellent a fellow cruiser and a Tony Stewart Fan. I love it. I was fortunate enough to see Tony climb the fence in person at Daytona this summer. Hope to run into you on the cruise

[lisa702]

My last post before we leave to Cape Canaveral.......... :cool1: Still last minute packing, then breakfast and then as DD Skye would say "WE'RE OUTTA HERE!!!!" :Pinkbounc

[lisa702]

:wave2: OK........I lied not my last post..... :rolleyes1

Kendo911 if you happen to read this before you leave, you are welcome to join us in the Promenade Lounge at 3pm for a "DISmeet". Just a bunch of us DISers getting together and being able to put faces to our names. :) Everyone is welcome. :wave2:

[DisneyDadJax]

We must be the last ones still at home! Kids are still in bed. A few things left to throw in suitcases, then we're outta here too!

See you REAL soon! :earsboy:

Frank

[kendo911]

:wave2: OK........I lied not my last post..... :rolleyes1

Kendo911 if you happen to read this before you leave, you are welcome to join us in the Promenade Lounge at 3pm for a "DISmeet". Just a bunch of us DISers getting together and being able to put faces to our names. :) Everyone is welcome. :wave2:


Will definintely try to make it

Thanks for the invite

[itdjbw]

We are at the Raddisson waithing for our shuttle at 10am, yippee it is finally here!!!

See you all at 3 in the promanade..........

[captaincrash]

Hello to all coming back to visit here!

I'm posting from the computer center on the MAGIC... up late watching my 1.75 year old play while everyone else gets their "beauty rest". Tomorrow will be our 2nd DIS meet for the children's treasure hunt and the ice cream eating challenge.

So - On the award certificates for the ice cream challenge - they just informed me that Characters cannot sign the award certificates becaus they look too authentic and cannot be approved in time for our use - BUT... they might get the captain of the Magic to sign them for us in substitution of a character. I figure that would be fine.

Then - they have NOT exactly agreed to send up 15 ice cream Mickey Bars yet (through guest relations desk) - so I may have to order them through room service and have them sent to my cabin - and I'll walk them up to our event. :goodvibes

So - I'll post more later....

GOTTA GO CHANGE A DIAPER... IT'S SORT-A URGENT!!!!! :rolleyes:

[captaincrash]

We ....

... just had our treasure hunt and it waas a wonderful success! Thanks to Lisa who spearheaded the project. Plus it was pretty intimidating to see the SIZE of the box ou shipped to the Magic with all the kid's treasure "loot".

Our ice ream eating challenge came off as a modest success with 12 folks participating. The 6 adults had a winning time of 1 ,imute plus 5 seconds to finish off a Mickey Bar.... and I came in last place having paused to contribute event commentary. When we were conducting the ice cream race we got a little loud and there was this huge line for parrot caye and their character breakfast... I think a few folks were intrigued a bit with our hooting and hollerin'!

OK... gotta go... it's late and I just came up to check the NOAA weather track on a storm I just saw on CNN tonite. Tomorrows' St Thomas... and we have immigration tomorrow (arrrgh?!!?) gotta be in the Walt theater at 7-7:15AM.

Adios.... :cool1:

[captaincrash]

From the Promenade Lounge and internet station aboard the MAGIC... (enrout into Port Canaveral from Castaway Caye)... here's a BUMP.....

Anyone from this cruise who attended the DIS meet who wants a CD with 300+ PHOTOS of the DIS meet/ treasure HUnT / and the Mickey Ice Cream BAR eating challenge... OR ... if you participated in the MICKEY ice cream eating challenge but did not get your award certificate .... please send a private message with your address and I'll get a CD or award certificate out to you. Assuming I did not already hand one to you. The awards are strictly limited to the few that I have. I do have 2 spares IF anyone loses the one I already gave you.

BTW... I asked Jonathon up front about the signatures as to whether they were of the actual folks indicated (ships' Captain, etc. ....) and he emphaticly assured me they were of the actual persons and or characters represented... the REAL captain of the MAGIC (cool, eh?). pirate:

Had a great time meeting everyone... I'll upload the photos when I get a chance and send viewing links to all. I'll write more later - for the moment I'm evading the rollar-coasted ride in steerage (my forward cabin). DID you folks know we were steaming into 10-14 foot swells? My poor deal spouse was wacked from the ride.... we were up on deck 9 with Pogopossum and the NAsCAR husbands chatting for a while while my family escaped the rollercoaster for a while. I sure hope she's sleeping right now. It eased a bit for a while but now it's picked up a bit. U kno... when the ride gets ME... I think it's pretyy serious.

OK.... gotta go.... Adios till I get home.... safe travels home to all!!!!! :dog2:

:thewave: :thewave: :thewave: :thewave:

[lisa702]

Well I'm home again. This last week has been......for lack of a better word...."AWESOME", quoting my DD. Glad to meet all of you that I did get to meet. The Pirate Treasure Hunt was a success and fun too! pirate: Thanks for all your contributions and help! Well off to unpack and UGH make my own lunch!!!! :rotfl:

[disneyfanforever]

Well, we're home and still unpacking. This cruise was one of our most memorable vacations ever. It was great getting to meet everyone. I hope everyone had a safe flight/drive home.

[JanDave]

Hello Everyone!

We are home. We are busy doing laundry. How exciting!

It was fun meeting all of you. Who has booked another cruise and when?

We are 99% sure we're booking the 9/2/06 Magic.

Jan

[lisa702]

Hello Everyone!

We are home. We are busy doing laundry. How exciting!

It was fun meeting all of you. Who has booked another cruise and when?

We are 99% sure we're booking the 9/2/06 Magic.

Jan

We booked the 9/23/06 Western but will transfer it to 2007 when the dates come out. We got such a hassle taking Skye out of school that we'll probably have to do it during vacation time and pay the bigger bucks. We probably will fly to Germany for our 2006 vacation. :wave2:

[kendo911]

we booked on board the Western 9/9/2006. After three Eastern cruises wanted to try another area

[captaincrash]

Hello all!

We are home safe and recovering from the travels! The cruise was really great fun.... quite remarkable with lots of new and memorable experiences !!!! We trust everyone made it home without incident. On our trip home however Julianna spilled a little milk while on the plane.... and she was watching Peter Pan on my notebook computer when this happened. SO now my space bar is not functioning any more and I am getting by with INSERTING a copied space bar as needed (Using control "V"). So, am I annoyed.... well, slightly... being this notebook was only a few weeks old but it is under warrenty and Dell should fix it for me for free. I'll just have to do without it while it travels to their repair depot and back.

So, on another matter.... I just uploaded photos from the DIS meet, our Treasure Hunt & the DIS Mickey Ice Cream Challenge... plus a handful of misc pix. I have already emailed private links to a few DIS folks for whom I already had email addresses. As originally offerred... this is the "private review period" where you can examine the album and select any photos for EXCLUSION in case you want them out prior to posting a link here (or elsewhere). I am NOT using these for commercial purposes... LOL... like who would want to publish these commercially, eh? However, I might post a link to these on my NEXT sailing thread so a few folks who were not visiting this thread might view the photos. :confused3

At any rate, if you want to view/reveiw the album prior to a link posting here... then send me an email to magic4xtc@hotmail.com and I'll send you a private access link. In a week or so I'll post a general access link on this thread. Until then I'll await any private requests to view and/or edit the album. As previously suggested.... there may be a minor fee for modifications (NOT!). :rotfl2: OK... I'll NOT engage in petty extortion over trafficking in mildly embarassing or entertaining image files. :earseek:

NOTE.... I edited out a FEW DOZEN pix and sort of brutally moved a few dozen pix to the last page because the SLIDE SHOW only presents the first 200 images out of the original 305+ that were uploaded. SO... rearranging and deleating a few photos enabled the 3 major events to be presented in the slide show. CLICK on the "eye icon" labeled "watch show" to see the show. So.... the last page of photos are a jumbled mess.... forgive me for not trying to organize them into any logical sequence.

And... we rebooked on the 9-30-2006 Magic (Eastern). We didn't do much in St. Thomas (I didn't even get off the ship! But, my dear spouse went off happily to shop by herself for about 4 hours!!!) and Alicia missed shopping around St Martin so we're happy to repeat it. Plus, we have Julianna starting K-school right after labor day... so we're going to move our usual sailing out to the end of September. PLUS we have some friends and family who would consider a late September or early October sailing. We hope to get some of them to join us on the in 2006 on the Magic. I already started posting to a DIS thread for the September 30th sailing! :cool1:

for the moment.... Adios! :disrocks:

[itdjbw]

Hi we are home, doing laundry, unpacking, had sunday school this morning, a party this afternoon and really depressed that someone has replaced me in MY cabin and there was no waiter asking what I wanted for dinner!!!!!

We are looking at may 27th 2006, double dip at castaway Cay. School is really a problem as GA has all these new laws so I may ust get locked up for the kids missing last week!!

[gdulaney]

New laws? Could you really get locked up for taking an educational sea voyage--- which would give your children the opportunity to experience different cultures, learn geography, and eat all the Mickey bars they can hold?

Ginny

[pogopossum]

howdy all,

we got back to the hacienda about 9 tonight. been unloading the suitcases and starting to sort the laundry. everybody's asleep but me now, got to run out for some necessities, like milk and bread. the dogs look no worse for the wear, they have again been well taken care of by a neighbor.

the drive home was very uneventful, it was so nice to pass many of the tree surgeon and power company trucks that we passed last weekend going the other way and realize that this means that their work was done and many of those katrina victims had gotten their lights back on.

we are very much considering booking that 10 day sept cruise on the wonder, very tempting and the fact that we have until next month to book on points to get the discount gives us time to do some due diligence before booking. got to check on policies at a potential new school for the little possums, find out the points charts and, yes andy we may be adding those 100 points after all, got to get on the phone with mike and see if he can secure the incentives now that we are home. so i guess i'll be busy on the phone for the next few days. i need a vacation from my vacation.

i got to say that this was just about the best cruise we've ever done, of course that's only 4 and all dcl at that, so i guess i am kind of limited in experience, but i think that a part of this has to be attributed to having the company of our band of merry cruisers from the etherworld. it was great to meet all of ya'll and know that we were all having a great time by seeing the smiles on all our faces. and it sad to leave, especially for one of our party, (i thought that they had added an eighth dwarf, named weepy, but i guess that would make me the boorish dad), but now that we have met face to face, it will be fun to converse here on the boards. hope we can meet up again sometime and once the decision is made on cruising next fall, i'll be in touch.

see ya real soon!

[pogopossum]

and on top of all the other reasons for cruising next fall, i forgot to get my konk kooler on cc, what with all the free snorkeling and bike riding going on, so i have to get back as soon as possible to down a kooler or two, for as boat drinks go that has to be about the best available. :drinking1

[Drcell01]

Well after two additional days at WDW we got home just after midnight. Now back to normal life and back to work in the next hour.

I'll have some pics to post (DIS meet, St. Maartin, St. Thomas, Pirate Night, Castaway Cay, and some extras)

It was a great trip and one not soon to forget!

[xABearx]

Phil, you won't regret adding those 100 pts since they will do nothing but go up in price in the next year. We're glad we did it since we are planning on a 4 night wonder around Memorial Day next year before our 9/2 Eastern that Ginny is calling in to Member Services as I type this. It was a great cruise and looking forward to seeing everyone that we've met on a future DCL cruise again .... Andy ;)

[tekmnky]

Hi all! I'm hoping everyone's travels back home have been smooth! AWESOME cruise and it was great meeting all of you onboard! I really look forward to cruising with you again!

While onboard I rebooked two cruises (to get the onboard price break on one and the onboard stateroom credit on both) that I had originally booked online. I also booked a ghost (2 Dec '06 Western) that I can use when the 2007 itenararies hit the streets.

Phil, it was good having your family as neighbors!

[captaincrash]

Well....

We just moved our rebooking from September 30th 2006 to OCtober 28th 2006. We are still flipping between dates it seems to try and coordinate with family and friends who might join us on a 2006 sailing.

PLUS... I figure the 28th cruise will be something slightly different with the trick or treating ocassion in full swing.

With that, TTFN! :paw:

[tekmnky]

Hi we are home, doing laundry, unpacking, had sunday school this morning, a party this afternoon and really depressed that someone has replaced me in MY cabin and there was no waiter asking what I wanted for dinner!!!!!

We are looking at may 27th 2006, double dip at castaway Cay. School is really a problem as GA has all these new laws so I may ust get locked up for the kids missing last week!!

Yeah! Go for that May 27th double dip! I look forward to cruising with you all again!:boat:

[itdjbw]

Yeah! Go for that May 27th double dip! I look forward to cruising with you all again!:boat:

Need to call tomorrow and see what we are looking at for the May double dip but it will be great to have another fun cruise like this was.

Still trying to get back into being in this reality!!!

Julia

[gdulaney]

Julia - you're so right, it's hard to get back to reality! Yesterday was my first day back at work....I kept wanting to take a nap and eat a Mickey bar. :mickeybar There was not room service button on my phone and there wasn't no Mickey wake up call.

Ginny :goodvibes

[lisa702]

Our countdowns are so depressing now.............. :sad2:

[JanDave]

Hi! Let's try to be optimistic. We will, of course, cruise again -- right -- on DCL???

It's so difficult to get back to reality. This is the first day that I felt I was accomplishing anything at work -- and it was already day 3 for me. My co-worker is on the Magic this week and she is sending me daily updates. How I miss the Magic.

Dave and I are cruising again Labor Day week on the Magic -- 9-2-06. Anyone else going that week?

I really enjoyed meeting all of you. Great memories will keep me going throughout the cold Michigan winter months.

Jan

[DisneyNutMary]

Jan, I was so happy to finally meet you, you and Dave are such nice people, I wish I had gotten to spend more time with you both.

Sadly, travelling with a group, and keeping the kids happy took up all of my time.

Robyn, Laurie I was glad I got to meet you both at the DIS Meet, and my kids loved meeting their online friends. :teeth: The memories, and the trip report I have yet to start writing will get me through the post trip blues until I can start planning another trip.

[gdulaney]

Dave and I are cruising again Labor Day week on the Magic -- 9-2-06. Anyone else going that week? Jan

:wave: We are!!!!

Ginny

[pogopossum]

just wanted to pop in and say hi, and miss ya'll. thanks again to robyn for the photo albums and suzanne, thanks for the kids' shirts. lisa thanks for working up the mickey hunt and getting the pirate booty together. this was such a fun cruise. having new friends that we had already gotten to know on the boards, makes for a lot of fun.

phil

[pogopossum]

btw, if anyone is interested i have a cool screensaver of castaway cay that verandah man andy walters sent me, i'll send it to anyone who wants it, actually i've got a second one from dcl that i'll send as well. just pm me and give your email so i can send them out.

[salbythec]

Phil
Could you please send the sreensaver to me. My email is Dicksons3@yahoo.com
Thanks
Sally

[salbythec]

Well I thought I was sending a PM and I guess its been too long since I've been on the boards! :rotfl: :rotfl:

I have been slow getting back into my routine of things. Pete and I are still try to decide when to book our next cruise. Since Lindsey is graduating next year that throws our plan of doing the double dip in june off.
We are thinking about the Costa Maya Sept 16th which is a double dip or the western Sept 23 or to further complicate matters do the Dec 3, 4 day and then hit the parks. :confused3

It was great to meet everyone, we had the best cruise ever!!!! :Pinkbounc

[gdulaney]

Hi Sally!!!

Ginny :wave2:

[salbythec]

Hi Ginny!!! :wave2:

Sally

[lisa702]

We're booked for the 9/23/06 Western but I doubt if we'll keep that date. I've been pricing the dates during school vacations and OUCH!!!. DH says maybe Skye can miss a little school for a couple more years. :rotfl: We'll decide for sure when the 2007 rates come out. :cool1:
I thought I showed great control, when we got our onboard statement, it wasn't too bad. Our biggest expense were the photos. Skye is sooooooooo photogenic! :Pinkbounc Skye has taken up pin collecting. Kim's Cassie introduced her to that and she really loves it now. :cheer2:

[captaincrash]

We moved our next sailing date to Oct 28th, 2006... the Magic for another Eastern schedule. #4 on the horizon for us! :)

[itdjbw]

Hi all, still trying to accept that there is no cruise in the near future for us.
We are looking at the May 27th, havent booked yet as 2006 is a busy year for us so trying to plan all the vacations and fit them arund the kids school.
We are booked for 2 weeks on Princess for Alaska in September so that is where we will be over labor day.
Enjoy the weekend.

[disneyfanforever]

It was hard to get back to reality this week.

Thanks Captaincrash for all of the pictures. I have a cute pic of Brady and Julianna that I still need to send you.

Steve, Kim, Luke, and Cassie, thanks for being such great tablemates. It was so nice to get to know all of you better.

Suzanne, Frank, Josh, and Zach, what can I say? You guys are fantastic, and such a great family to be around. It was so much fun to finally get to meet and talk to you guys.

And thank you to everyone here. Getting to know all of you helped make this vacation extra special. My kids loved being part of a group and the treasure hunt was so much fun. It was just so nice seeing familiar faces all over the ship through the week. I would love to get back on that ship right now. Thanks everyone for such a magical trip.

Robyn

[pogopossum]

hey ginny, some race finish today, huh? watched the last 80 or so laps out at texas stadium while we were "supposed" to be setting up for the game tomorrow night, if ya'll look closely at the sidelines i'll be one of those guys holding a clear dish to pick up field sounds, iow a human mic stand :rotfl:

you didn't let me know if you were able to open the files on andy's computer, or if you have a non hotmail address i think it would go through.

on another front, we got home last week and our 20 yo dino Tv went ***'s up, so fri night we went to best buy and got us a samsung dlp 50 inch hdtv set, can't wait for a race on nbc so i can watch it in hd, the football that i saw this weekend was incredible.

[captaincrash]

Hello....

It's been about a week since I posted my photos for private review from our DIS meet, the treasure hunt and the ice cream eating challenge.... and we've had no requests to edit the album so here is the link to view the pics. There are 305+ photos in total but I edited out about 50 or so then... the automated slide show only presents the first 200. SO the last 50 or so images were sort of disorganized left over images from my sorting to make a fair presentation of the first 200. Hope you see a few that draw a smile out of ya!

http://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=nma4cnc&p=mnh4y8&AID=2812048

:rolleyes1 Or alternatively try this link.....

http://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=nma4cnc&p=mnh4y8&AID=2812048&Pres=Y

Please try clicking the eye icon titled "watch show" to bring up a slide show. However, if you have set the "pop up" blocker too high then this slide show cannot be viewed. SO then you can click the small thumb nail images for an enlarged image.

AND... if anyone wants an image - email me the file request and I'll send a copy to you. OR if I did not hand you a CD on the ship and you want a copy I'd be happy to mail you one. No need to buy a print off the site.

OK... enjoy! :rolleyes:

:goodvibes

[gdulaney]

hey ginny, some race finish today, huh? watched the last 80 or so laps out at texas stadium while we were "supposed" to be setting up for the game tomorrow night, if ya'll look closely at the sidelines i'll be one of those guys holding a clear dish to pick up field sounds, iow a human mic stand :rotfl:

you didn't let me know if you were able to open the files on andy's computer, or if you have a non hotmail address i think it would go through.

on another front, we got home last week and our 20 yo dino Tv went ***'s up, so fri night we went to best buy and got us a samsung dlp 50 inch hdtv set, can't wait for a race on nbc so i can watch it in hd, the football that i saw this weekend was incredible.

Hi Phil!

That was a crazy race!!! I wonder what will happen to Robby Gordon?!?

We couldn't get the file to open.... would you mind sending to an alternate email address? I'll PM it to you. :) Thank you!!!!!

And ---- don't be putting any HDTV ideas into Andy's head. He wants one so bad. :rolleyes:

Ginny

[captaincrash]

OK....

Maybe this phot link will work better,

http://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=nma4cnc&P=mnh4y8&AID=2812048&CID=1416327&T=1&E=Y&ILD=1248290

:cool1:

[lisa702]

Well I jumped ship............ I have held a cabin with RCCL on The Freedom of the Seas for April 2007. We'll do DCL the next year we decided. :banana:

[gdulaney]

Hope you have a great trip Lisa.... even without Mickey bars. :mickeybar

Ginny :cutie:

[lisa702]

Ginny..........I forgot about the Mickey bars! ;)

[gdulaney]

We'll save some for you.

Ginny :mickeybar

[lisa702]

We'll save some for you.

Ginny :mickeybar

I hope so! I made reservations for the 12/07/06 Wonder sailing! :banana: :banana: :mickeybar

[pogopossum]

did any other cc members receive the shoreside survival kit in the mail? we got ours in the mail last week, it has a cd in it with music and visuals on it. just wondered if any of the4 rest of ya'll got it as well.

still haven't rebooked, last i saw or heard the points charts haven't been released for the two special sept cruises. i'm going to dvc site to check again.

[xABearx]

did any other cc members receive the shoreside survival kit in the mail? we got ours in the mail last week, it has a cd in it with music and visuals on it. just wondered if any of the4 rest of ya'll got it as well.

still haven't rebooked, last i saw or heard the points charts haven't been released for the two special sept cruises. i'm going to dvc site to check again.
Hey Phil .... we got our kit a couple of weeks ago. Ginny & I have rebooked for 9/2/06 and we are thinking about a 4 night Wonder around Memorial Day as well. Hope to you guys again in the future.....Andy

[pogopossum]

well we made up our minds and decided not to go on the 10 or 11 day sailings next sept. we decided that the cost in points was more than we wanted to use, and that we needed to get going on our new house more than we needed to buy more points, which we would have had to do in order to do the cruise, (that or leave one kid home, well i guess we wouldn't have to tell him where we went). i called dvc and booked 5 nights at hilton head for next july and in may we'll be booking our two weeks at wdw in dec, woo hoo! :cool1: the next time we cruise maybe we'll see some of ya'll again, and we'll look for the thread of cruisers, so that we can plan to hook up.

[captaincrash]

Old Friends....

We'd like to offer a Holiday Greeting with pleasant wishes from our family to yours for a Safe and Happy New Year! :wave:

From Captian Crash AKA Tom, Alicia, Julianna & Kalea!

[gdulaney]

Happy Holidays!! Hope everybody has a safe New Year!

Ginny & Andy Dulaney

[salbythec]

Here's wishes for a happy and healthy new year to all!!

We booked the October 14th double dip 06, can't wait. :cool1:

[captaincrash]

bump :thumbsup2 trying to look something up....

[gdulaney]

Here's wishes for a happy and healthy new year to all!!

We booked the October 14th double dip 06, can't wait. :cool1:

Hi Sally!!!

Ginny

[disneyfanforever]

I saw this thread and just wanted to drop in and say HI. We don't have any Disney cruises planned right now but wish we did. We do, however, leave for Disney World in 3 weeks (Thanks to my parents for a wonderful Christmas present). I am so excited.

Captaincrash, how is Julianna? Tell her Brady said Hi. Are you out creating havoc on any other cruise boards right now?

[lisa702]

:cool1: Hello!!!!!!I hope everyone is doing well! Skye still talks about our cruise last year. She's getting ready to head back to school next week. I wish you all the best! :wave2:
Lisa

[pogopossum]

our gang wants to cruise again, soon. wish we were on one of the southern cruises next month, maybe next time.

hope everyone is well, and maybe we'll meet up on the open seas again. :boat:

[captaincrash]

I saw this thread and just wanted to drop in and say HI. We don't have any Disney cruises planned right now but wish we did. We do, however, leave for Disney World in 3 weeks (Thanks to my parents for a wonderful Christmas present). I am so excited.

Captaincrash, how is Julianna? Tell her Brady said Hi. Are you out creating havoc on any other cruise boards right now?

Hey there!

.... Julianna sends her giddy regards! We are reserved for the 2008 east bound repo in August. Leaving 2007 devoid of anything. We wiped our travel agenda late last year on account of someone very close to us developing what was initially thought to be stage 4 lung. So that would have left us with less than a year of survival. Now we think it is a rare advanced form of lymphomia... which is sometimes treatable. AND... the good news is that the emerging word is the response to theraphy has been AMAZING. And full remission may be the result. Of course, we're keeping our fingers crossed that the scans and tests over the next 12 and ... dare I say... 24 months proves this is the case.

So - all of a sudden we are thinking of pleasure travel plans again. SO far we've spent a little more than half our available time traveling to be with the threatened person. We did have a Disney cruise planned for 2007 but that was canceled when we got the threatening news late last year. Well... we actually rebooked it into the 2008 repo since that was far enough out that we expected the health threat to resolve one way or the other by next Aug.

At any rate... we are "glancing" at 2007 DCL sailings. Not sure if we will do one or just skip til next year. If we skip DCL then we'll look to do smaller stuff probably.

So - in case I had not mentioned it before - I am almost done building Julianna a princess castle bunk bed with work desk underneath. I modified a factory made kit that took a twin bed to take a larger full size bed. I'v added regular stairs in substitution of the ladder - then I shifted the ladder into a new tower with trap door, and the tower spills off onto a slide - which the kids complain is too fast for them. The upper level has fake castle walls which I fabricated from thin plywood, styrofoam sheet for bricks,and granite speckled spray paint with alternating shades of grey on the base. The lower level has the desk - factory finished and nicer than any I could have achieved, and an area curtained off. I might install a revolving wall with book case on one side - and fake wall or door on the other. And I have 2 simulated torches I found at Ikea - they are kid friendly and either flicker or stay lit steady. I still have to select some extra lighting as the huge bunk bed has made some of the room darker then I like. Photos... well... I have some during construction... but I recently dropped my DSLR so it needs repair servicing. And I have not gotten around to posting many pix of the process taken through my back-up digicam.

Oh yeah... we were just informed tht Julianna is going to be among the first students in her K class awarded student of the month. Her award catagory is in science. For this first occassion they are having a school assembly with about 400 kids where she will be presented with her peers, photographed and the photo will be posted. It should be fun. I have Julianna doing math games all the time and I have given her constant and varied inspiration on the sciences, arts and so on. She's also taking a Mommy and me karate - and both girls are doing gymnastics. Kalea gets soccor and t-ball too. COme summer I think we're dropping karate though and picking up AYSO and swim team for J. Kalea may choose to concentrate on either soccor or t-ball... or we may choose to develope something new.

Aside from that... the next thing around here is we're thinking of.... #1) replacing a fence on our hillside (I'll do it), #2) installing solar power on the roof (probably not as the legislature passed something that killed the solar industry a couple months ago), #3) building a 220' cabana in our back yard - I will build most of it personally. I'll not mix the 3 or 4 yards of concrete - and I will probably engage an electrician for that part. The carpentry and finishwork will be done by ME though. So - then #4) ... maybe some limited garden work. As the cabana project will result in damage to some of the landscaping... potentially.

Hope everyones' been well and having fun.

Cheers!

Tom & Alicia