Video Killed the Trip Report Star: A Little Halloween Magic (Western) Complete!!
- Thread starter nenner1
- Start date
Jennifer48
Not a Disney bride but engaged and honeymooned at
- Joined
- Jun 1, 2005
Fantastic door decorating! 
nenner1
<font color=darkorchid>I must've been distracted b
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2007
I did not hear ANY of that about the red party!!I also had no idea about why we didn't get into our cabins until later-
Yeah we heard about it from several CM's, it really affected the turnover time that day.
Are you sure we were on the same cruise????
Oh yea....
Hmmm...I guess we were...
LMAO!!! I like your pic better!!! Look at that rudolph red nose and face
I have....drink much?!?!? LOL!!!
Awesome, an update! Keep it coming!
The real fridge was definitely a blessing in disguise! It was so nice to get an ice cold beer without having to get a bucket of ice.
I wonder if they called the red party on the Carnival ship?
Actually, according to Carnival Cruise Director John Heald's amazingly detailed blog entries on the Splendor Fire, they use the phrase "Alpha Team".
Hey, THANKS! Can you tell the ones I made myself? I admit I totally borrowed that one from the WDW Radio cruise, what you can't see is that I had caricature heads of all of us made by Tebi on the Creative Disigns board and shopped all of our heads in the boat there. All of my magnets were straight up cardstock too, I cheaped out. They held up really well though!!!
Yeah it was awesome!!!
Oh you bet, as usual there will be a full TR and video afterward.
My aunt the lucky duck is going on the inaugural this weekend!!! AND it cost her all of $1 b/c she bought it with her RCCL points. Vomit inducing!!! 
Thanks! Oh yes, it was over as soon as it began.Awesome update! I can't believe they would announce that on the loud speakers! I would have flipped out!
Good thing, too! I don't care for Spam or Pop Tarts much.
Thank you so much!!!!Fantastic door decorating!
TheThomsLuvDisney
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2010
Great update, Great doors!!!!
anewmac
Ive got nothing planned whats an OCVP to do?
- Joined
- Apr 22, 2007
Oh you bet, as usual there will be a full TR and video afterward.
I wouldnt expect anything less from ya.
Hmm guessing she has the RCCL visa for points.. that is making me rethink to get it too LOL
nenner1
<font color=darkorchid>I must've been distracted b
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2007
After getting our staterooms all settled, the kids changed into their bathing suits and we headed up to the Holy Grail- The Mickey Pool! Sarah, being an accomplished potty trainer, could now enjoy it too!
I am happy to report we had no experience with UFOs (unidentified floating objects) this cruise!!! Thats right- NONE! We did not experience the Mickey Pool closed once the entire week (and we would find ourselves there often!) Our last cruise it seemed like it was evacuated constantly for scrubdown!
The first one of these for the day! Its time for me to catch up on my frozen drink drinkin if you know what Im saying! (This was a DOTD- a Malibu Bay Breeze)
Before we knew it, it was time to head downstairs to the Promenade Lounge for our Dis Meet. I tried to arrive a little early, however I think it was 3PM on the dot when I arrived. I coordinated the group lanyards so I had 200 lanyards to hand out. As soon as I got everything arranged, a massive line of Disers queued up. At first I thought I could handle the distribution easily myself, however handing out that many of anything is no simple task. I was grateful for the offer and accepteed when fellow cruiser Nicole helped me get them all passed out.
A note on lanyards, we were inspired to do this from the last cruise we were on, the Double Dip Delight in 08. The lanyards are an awesome conversation piece and allow you to easily identify members of your meet group at a glance. And for those of us who are bad (um like REALLY BAD) with names like me, it can be a lifesaver!! They are also pretty convenient for holding KTTW cards. I do have to say though that I underestimated the amount of work it takes to undertake a project like that. I would definitely recommend that if you are coordinating something like this that costs money that instead of having everybody pay for their own, instead take a committee of 10, 20, however many volunteers and have them split the cost evenly. It would have been so much easier for a myriad of reasons, not the least of which being the time saved cashing, moving, tracking, and balancing all the payments. When you are dealing with items like custom lanyards that are priced by quantity, the price varies on the amount ordered and dropouts can leave you holding the bag later. Luckily this group was awesome and we had no issues like that (except when a couple of folks had to cancel last minute, but those were issues that couldnt have been avoided). Also we had built in a buffer to the per-item cost to ensure that the lanyards would remain fully funded, and those overages greatly helped finance our private Dis Trick or Treat event, which Ill talk more about that in a later installment.
Here is an example of how the lanyards turned out. They were designed by me and purchased through Lanyard Lab, a company I would recommend working with wholeheartedly!!! I also designed, printed, and assembled the tags myself. I think they came out pretty cool, and it seemed like everyone in our group really liked them too!!!
Our Lanyards:
A closer look at mine:
A look at a large quantity of them prior to printing the tags:
Here are some snapshots of everyone chit chatting away at the meet. If you look closely you may see some familiar faces in here. And if not, you will probably recognize all these folks by the end of the TR, because you will see their pictures a lot. All of our excursions we did this trip were among the amazing company of our new Dis friends. I cant really say enough about this fantastic group of people, and this wonderful website that brought us all together and helped us experience and enjoy our cruise in a way you just cant do on any other cruise line, or with any other group. Man, I love the Dis!!!!!!
Pretty much the entire Dis Meet for me was spent doling out the lanyards and my only regret was that I was a little harried and did not have the time to really chat with or enjoy anyones company much (LOL, except Nicole!), but it was great to at least have the opportunity to at least meet everyone once that way!
At 3:30 we moved out to the atrium to assemble for our group photo. My big mouth came in handy here. Ha ha! Except that I was in the front with Judy and a few others arranging folks when they started snapping away shots, and there was nowhere to go, so I had to run to the Midship stairs and up to deck 4 and back down the Atrium staircase to get in the shot. Several of the early frames show me running down the stairs! Too funny! Due to that though, our family was split up for the photo as well. You can find my kids near Helmsman Mickeys head and integrated into Ellens family (LOL), while Ron and Sarah made their way over by me, near the top of the staircase on the right.
It really turned out awesome, didnt it?
After a little bit more chit chat, we finally disbanded to make our way to the mandatory muster drill. We were lucky to know ahead of time that our muster station would be station T, inside Animators Palate (thanks to the muster station thread from the main board). We were so happy to finally be comfortable for a muster drill. Squeezing together like sardines on the hot sweaty deck was the pits compared to this, where we could sit comfortably in A/C, and even be entertained by the CMs!
The drill was over after about 15-20 minutes, and another nice thing they did was allow those that needed assistance, the disabled, elderly, and very small children exit first, prior to the mass dismissal. Because we had Sarah, we were included. I dont recall this happening up on Deck 4, and Sarah was a tiny baby the last cruise. Kudos for that Disney, we appreciated it!
We ditched our vests quickly and got our necessary equipment for the sailaway party! Necessary equipment, you ask? Well, Mickey gloves to wave farewell to Florida with, of course!!!
Coming Next: Bom Bom Bom Bom Bom Boooooom!*
*(OK Loyal readers and the very observant may have been noticed that I have been touting this segment as next for several installments now. Sorry about that, it is because I am limited to number of pictures in a segment and it just took a bit longer to get there than I thought! This time I promise that is the next installment and then you will finally know what that is all about!
I am happy to report we had no experience with UFOs (unidentified floating objects) this cruise!!! Thats right- NONE! We did not experience the Mickey Pool closed once the entire week (and we would find ourselves there often!) Our last cruise it seemed like it was evacuated constantly for scrubdown!
The first one of these for the day! Its time for me to catch up on my frozen drink drinkin if you know what Im saying! (This was a DOTD- a Malibu Bay Breeze)
Before we knew it, it was time to head downstairs to the Promenade Lounge for our Dis Meet. I tried to arrive a little early, however I think it was 3PM on the dot when I arrived. I coordinated the group lanyards so I had 200 lanyards to hand out. As soon as I got everything arranged, a massive line of Disers queued up. At first I thought I could handle the distribution easily myself, however handing out that many of anything is no simple task. I was grateful for the offer and accepteed when fellow cruiser Nicole helped me get them all passed out.
A note on lanyards, we were inspired to do this from the last cruise we were on, the Double Dip Delight in 08. The lanyards are an awesome conversation piece and allow you to easily identify members of your meet group at a glance. And for those of us who are bad (um like REALLY BAD) with names like me, it can be a lifesaver!! They are also pretty convenient for holding KTTW cards. I do have to say though that I underestimated the amount of work it takes to undertake a project like that. I would definitely recommend that if you are coordinating something like this that costs money that instead of having everybody pay for their own, instead take a committee of 10, 20, however many volunteers and have them split the cost evenly. It would have been so much easier for a myriad of reasons, not the least of which being the time saved cashing, moving, tracking, and balancing all the payments. When you are dealing with items like custom lanyards that are priced by quantity, the price varies on the amount ordered and dropouts can leave you holding the bag later. Luckily this group was awesome and we had no issues like that (except when a couple of folks had to cancel last minute, but those were issues that couldnt have been avoided). Also we had built in a buffer to the per-item cost to ensure that the lanyards would remain fully funded, and those overages greatly helped finance our private Dis Trick or Treat event, which Ill talk more about that in a later installment.
Here is an example of how the lanyards turned out. They were designed by me and purchased through Lanyard Lab, a company I would recommend working with wholeheartedly!!! I also designed, printed, and assembled the tags myself. I think they came out pretty cool, and it seemed like everyone in our group really liked them too!!!
Our Lanyards:
A closer look at mine:
A look at a large quantity of them prior to printing the tags:
Here are some snapshots of everyone chit chatting away at the meet. If you look closely you may see some familiar faces in here. And if not, you will probably recognize all these folks by the end of the TR, because you will see their pictures a lot. All of our excursions we did this trip were among the amazing company of our new Dis friends. I cant really say enough about this fantastic group of people, and this wonderful website that brought us all together and helped us experience and enjoy our cruise in a way you just cant do on any other cruise line, or with any other group. Man, I love the Dis!!!!!!
Pretty much the entire Dis Meet for me was spent doling out the lanyards and my only regret was that I was a little harried and did not have the time to really chat with or enjoy anyones company much (LOL, except Nicole!), but it was great to at least have the opportunity to at least meet everyone once that way!
At 3:30 we moved out to the atrium to assemble for our group photo. My big mouth came in handy here. Ha ha! Except that I was in the front with Judy and a few others arranging folks when they started snapping away shots, and there was nowhere to go, so I had to run to the Midship stairs and up to deck 4 and back down the Atrium staircase to get in the shot. Several of the early frames show me running down the stairs! Too funny! Due to that though, our family was split up for the photo as well. You can find my kids near Helmsman Mickeys head and integrated into Ellens family (LOL), while Ron and Sarah made their way over by me, near the top of the staircase on the right.
It really turned out awesome, didnt it?
After a little bit more chit chat, we finally disbanded to make our way to the mandatory muster drill. We were lucky to know ahead of time that our muster station would be station T, inside Animators Palate (thanks to the muster station thread from the main board). We were so happy to finally be comfortable for a muster drill. Squeezing together like sardines on the hot sweaty deck was the pits compared to this, where we could sit comfortably in A/C, and even be entertained by the CMs!
The drill was over after about 15-20 minutes, and another nice thing they did was allow those that needed assistance, the disabled, elderly, and very small children exit first, prior to the mass dismissal. Because we had Sarah, we were included. I dont recall this happening up on Deck 4, and Sarah was a tiny baby the last cruise. Kudos for that Disney, we appreciated it!
We ditched our vests quickly and got our necessary equipment for the sailaway party! Necessary equipment, you ask? Well, Mickey gloves to wave farewell to Florida with, of course!!!
Coming Next: Bom Bom Bom Bom Bom Boooooom!*
*(OK Loyal readers and the very observant may have been noticed that I have been touting this segment as next for several installments now. Sorry about that, it is because I am limited to number of pictures in a segment and it just took a bit longer to get there than I thought! This time I promise that is the next installment and then you will finally know what that is all about!
nenner1
<font color=darkorchid>I must've been distracted b
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2007
Thanks so much!!!
Well, yes she does have the RCCL Visa. But I feel like I should add the disclaimer that they use it for EVERYTHANG and they are loaded. They just did a big renovation and probably paid about $50K and I'm sure it went on the card (and then got paid off). My uncle buys his vette parts with it and his race car stuff too (he's a driver) so normal reasonable people would not be able to rack up the rewards like they do. They get free cruises like every year.
Thanks!!!
Thanks so much for reading, I'm glad you are enjoying it!
It certainly was my pleasure to do the lanyards. It was so cool seeing them everywhere and thinking "Hey I did that!" 
BettyBeBop
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Sep 21, 2009
LOVE the group picture!! What a wonderfully LARGE group!! And your lanyards are amazing!! You did a great job!
pegthelawyer
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2008
We were right behind you in the last picture from the Muster Drill in Animator's Palate. My husband's bald head and daughters (one in the glasses) are at the table just beyond you!
Thanks for the great job on the lanyards and also for enlarging the name tags so we could make our bright orange shirts.
Enjoying your report!
Peggy
Thanks for the great job on the lanyards and also for enlarging the name tags so we could make our bright orange shirts.
Enjoying your report!
Peggy
knewton64
- May the luck of the Irish always be with you -
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2008
nenner1
<font color=darkorchid>I must've been distracted b
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2007
Thank you so much!!!
This was a fantastic group!!!! Couldn't have asked for better folks! But then I've found the Dis is full of them!!! I LOVED that Brendan & Savannah were a part of our family in that pic!! I always wanted more kids!!
Oh totally!!! Well they're yours just say the word. Any.Time.You.Want.Them! LOL!!!
We were right behind you in the last picture from the Muster Drill in Animator's Palate. My husband's bald head and daughters (one in the glasses) are at the table just beyond you!
Thanks for the great job on the lanyards and also for enlarging the name tags so we could make our bright orange shirts.
Enjoying your report!
Peggy
Hi Peggy!!
It was my pleasure to make the graphic for you, the shirts came out so awesome!!!
It's so cool, there are folks from our group in ao many of my pics. I just love that!!!
Thanks for stopping by!!!!
I think I am experiencing either a case of Disney sickness or am extremely homesick for DCL!
Love the pics, and those t-shirts and landyards!
Ya were a well organized bunch! I tip my hat in your direction
getting caught up again on yer tr!
Lovin every minute of it
T.T.F.N.
Aw, thanks Kris! Yes it was so well organized and the best part was so many were so willing to step up with a helping hand, or ideas, or donations, you name it, if it was needed someone was there to provide. It really made everything on the cruise we planned so seamless and fun!
But this is the next best thing to being there, I'm trying to make it as detailed as possible so you can live it through us!!!
I wouldn't do the SPAM either!!! But the pop tarts I could do for a few days.
Loved the update! The lanyards are awesome! Great Job!!!The group pic turned out great as well. Can't wait to finally hear what "Bom Bom Bom Bom Bom Boooooom!*" means!
Thanks so much!!! The lanyards were a lot of work, but a labor of love for sure! They were so useful, and they looked kinda cool too, if I do say so myself!
Yes, you will finally finds out about the mystery title shortly. Unfortunately I am going to have to do a bit more explaining than I thought I would. I *thought* I had a video that would explain it all but it turns out I don't.
In fact there are quite a few pictures and videos I was sure I took, but somehow don't have. I think I must have a faulty memory card or something. As I go through the TR I am finding more and more stuff missing that
I know I took pictures of (all of our food the first night for instance!!! GONE!)
I do hope it is just the memory card and not the camera. A new one isn't really in the budget right now (at least not the new one I want..LOL.....
..and this is how Ron feels about THAT: 
Oh I'm so glad you liked it!!!!
Yeah Ron took those while I was still passing out the lanyards. I was hopeful that more people would actually be looking at the camera but that's OK!!=
First of a few too many that day LOL!
Thanks! I didn't like them quite as much as the ones from the DDD- mainly I didn't like that the tags were one sided (but to do double sided would have cost another $130 in ink alone) and I didn't like how the inserts were too short for the tags. Long story on that one. But I am my harshest critic for sure, and I did not hear any negative comments onboard or afterwards so I'll call them a successful venture!
Oh yeah! That's soon!!! I remember when the thought of the Wonder going to the West Coast was so far away!!!!
Jennifer48
Not a Disney bride but engaged and honeymooned at
- Joined
- Jun 1, 2005
Lanyards = Fantastic!
Group photo = Impressively perfect!
Group photo = Impressively perfect!
nenner1
<font color=darkorchid>I must've been distracted b
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2007
As soon as we got back from the Muster drill, we got rid of our lifejackets, donned our big fat Mickey gloves, grabbed our drink glasses and headed up to Deck 9 for the Sailaway Party- Adventures Away!
It always seems we arrive late to this party, even though we always hightail it upstairs. Turns out this time that the extra few minutes we got from the early dismissal at the drill did make a big difference. The area right in front of the stage was already full of course, but the outlying edges were still sparsely populated.
By far the emptiest weve ever encountered upon arrival:
We positioned ourselves about 2 rows back on the Port (lefthand) side of the stage. I noticed the small gazebo areas to the sides of the stage appeared to be roped off, but they were empty. I had read this was a great spot to see the characters from, and hopped right up to be the first in there. AS soon as I did so, many other folks followed suit, but the kids were very happy being in the midst of things down by the stage, so I decided to go back down and join them. (I would have gotten MUCH better pictures had I stayed up there, but I wanted to enjoy it with the rest of the family. )
But man, did it fill up REALLY fast!!!! I could not believe how full the deck got, it was crazy! It seemed like every single person onboard was crammed in this space!!
If you have not experienced a sailway party on DCL yet, there is lots of music, energetic dancing, shiny streamers, and an appearance by Mickey and the gang!
Enjoying the party :
Enjoying DOTD #2. Not sure what this one was, but it was good!
A quick pan of the crowd before it got really crazy, (Video: click to play)
Before we knew it, Cruise Director Brent had come out to introduce himself, welcome us aboard, and annpounce the beginning of our voyage!
Oh yeah, and he brought a few friends!!
It was at this point, the spirited countdown from 10 began, followed by screams, yells, cheers, streamers, confetti, and of course, the serenade of the ships horn bellowing the first seven notes of the tune When You Wish Upon A Star. Or as it sounds in actuality: Bom Bom Bom Bom Bom Bom Booooooooommmm!
(The story behind the story here is in preparation for the cruise Savannah and Sarah would sit on the computer for hours, watching DCL sailaway videos posted on youtube. So anytime Sarah saw anything Disney related, Mickey, or a cruise sip or anything else she would scream at the top her lungs Bom Bom Bom Bom Bom Bom Boooooommmmmm! It is so cute, and she kept it up all cruise long, endearing herself to and warming the hearts of cruisers and staff alike.
I did take video (or at least I thought I did, it never showed up on my memory card) of the countdown and horn blow, and it was the most exciting one to date, for me. There seemed to be so much energy and excitement everywhere, it was contagious!
After that, the party began to dissipate as the Magic made her way down the channel and out to sea!
The crowd is still huge even after the party is over!
Here we go! Farewell Florida (for today, well see you again tomorrow!)
Up Next: A Magical Quest
It always seems we arrive late to this party, even though we always hightail it upstairs. Turns out this time that the extra few minutes we got from the early dismissal at the drill did make a big difference. The area right in front of the stage was already full of course, but the outlying edges were still sparsely populated.
By far the emptiest weve ever encountered upon arrival:
We positioned ourselves about 2 rows back on the Port (lefthand) side of the stage. I noticed the small gazebo areas to the sides of the stage appeared to be roped off, but they were empty. I had read this was a great spot to see the characters from, and hopped right up to be the first in there. AS soon as I did so, many other folks followed suit, but the kids were very happy being in the midst of things down by the stage, so I decided to go back down and join them. (I would have gotten MUCH better pictures had I stayed up there, but I wanted to enjoy it with the rest of the family. )
But man, did it fill up REALLY fast!!!! I could not believe how full the deck got, it was crazy! It seemed like every single person onboard was crammed in this space!!
If you have not experienced a sailway party on DCL yet, there is lots of music, energetic dancing, shiny streamers, and an appearance by Mickey and the gang!
Enjoying the party :
Enjoying DOTD #2. Not sure what this one was, but it was good!
A quick pan of the crowd before it got really crazy, (Video: click to play)
Before we knew it, Cruise Director Brent had come out to introduce himself, welcome us aboard, and annpounce the beginning of our voyage!
Oh yeah, and he brought a few friends!!
It was at this point, the spirited countdown from 10 began, followed by screams, yells, cheers, streamers, confetti, and of course, the serenade of the ships horn bellowing the first seven notes of the tune When You Wish Upon A Star. Or as it sounds in actuality: Bom Bom Bom Bom Bom Bom Booooooooommmm!
(The story behind the story here is in preparation for the cruise Savannah and Sarah would sit on the computer for hours, watching DCL sailaway videos posted on youtube. So anytime Sarah saw anything Disney related, Mickey, or a cruise sip or anything else she would scream at the top her lungs Bom Bom Bom Bom Bom Bom Boooooommmmmm! It is so cute, and she kept it up all cruise long, endearing herself to and warming the hearts of cruisers and staff alike.
I did take video (or at least I thought I did, it never showed up on my memory card) of the countdown and horn blow, and it was the most exciting one to date, for me. There seemed to be so much energy and excitement everywhere, it was contagious!
After that, the party began to dissipate as the Magic made her way down the channel and out to sea!
The crowd is still huge even after the party is over!
Here we go! Farewell Florida (for today, well see you again tomorrow!)
Up Next: A Magical Quest
nenner1
<font color=darkorchid>I must've been distracted b
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2007
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