Cruisin' a DREAM and WDW July 2-July 15th TR updated 1/25:Final Entry! page 15

[DisneyZell]

I'm Baaaack!

For those of you who gave a large sigh of relief that my Mexican Riviera TR was finally done (although it took me over 2 years to finish the one from 1998 so you should be happy), unfortunately I'm back already. I've never done a PTR (that's Pre-Trip-Report for those of you who don't yet speak DIS) this far in advance. But What the heck...strange things always seem to happen to us in preparation of our vacations...so why not go ahead and bore....er...document it here for all of you?

First and foremost...our cast:

DH - That's me! Name's Drew, I'm 40 and when you are reading this report will be the main scribe under the nickname DisneyZell.

DW - My lovely and frequently correct bride, Deanna. When you are reading anything that seems intelligent under the nickname DisneyZell that would be her.

DS12 - My oldest son, Nick. Big sports kid...loves to have fun...and loves cruising and pizza. AKA (also known as for you non DISers ) Bacon Boy. Long story. Ask me sometime and I'll tell you, or go read my past TR's and you will find out.

DS8 - My youngest son, Connor. Skinny as a rail...never eats...needs to be entertained constantly. That's him! AKA Chocolate Boy. I don't think that one takes much explanation except to say when we say Chocolate...we mean just that. Not candy bars like snickers...just plain chocolate.

A different set of friends are cruising with us on this one. They are neighbors on the next street over. The husband and I coached youth football together a couple of years ago and ended up becoming very good friends. We now chat frequently and pretty much make fun of everyone, so be prepared. they will be joining us on the cruise portion (oh, I didn't tell you we are hitting the World the week before the cruise). Here is their cast of characters. I'm taking a good chunk of this verbatim from the e-mail they sent me...so here we go :

DFH (Disney Friend Husband. I had to use something different since our other neighbors have gone with us a couple of times...these guys deserve a new three letter initial!) - Brian. If you have read previous TR's you will note that I have frequently brought too much beer and had to give it away at the end. I don't anticipate having to do that with Brian as he can drink me under the table. In fact, I will be working my tolerance up to a high level as soon as possible.

DFW - Jennifer. According to Jennifer she will be sleeping in and will not be attending breakfast. She is more of a brunch person. Also she will be giving her kids the run of the ship with the Wave Phone as she plans on spending the entire 5 days in a lounger by the adult pool. She certainly does NOT want her kids hanging all over her. Ha! She talks a big game....

DFD11 - Ellie - She will almost be 12...and is a fireball. My guess is she will have 15 friends the first day.

DFS10 - John - Quite the ski phenom and very good athlete...John will also have a ton of friends very quickly. He's a quick thinker and very funny.

So there you have our crew. We may have others to add for the Disney World portion of our trip as our friends apparently don't want to spend any more time then they have to with us (we invited them to come to the World with us...but they said something about having to wash their hair???

My Cousin and his family may join us for the first part...but then again why am I telling you this? I can always add it later. Just pretend this paragraph didn't exist. Or I could delete it. Well, that just wouldn't be my way. How can I put people to sleep if I delete my boring posts....er...ACK! now you know my secret!!!

So for the cruise, our itinerary is a double dip (can you say yeehaw! No really, say it. I'll wait. anytime now...ok, moving on).

7/10 - Port Canaveral
7/11 - Castaway Cay
7/12 - Nassau
7/13 - Sea
7/14 - Castaway Cay
7/15 - Port Canaveral

We are in stateroom 7120 if you want to come and visit us...or leave us presents. I prefer small bills. We are in a Deluxe Family Ocean Stateroom with Verandah which according to the paperwork I'm looking at means we have a 04C. At one point we had an adjoining cabin with our friends...but they conveniently "forgot" to pay at the right time so they lost their cabin assignment and we are no longer connected. Hmmmmmm Somethin' smells fishy.

I distinctly remember someone commenting when I did my first post for the Mexican Riviera that he didn't read posts that didn't have any pictures. So here is a picture.

this, apparently, is very similar to the hair dryer that will be in my stateroom.

Unlike the last cruise we do not plan to upgrade at the port, so I don't know that we will get there too early. Our official port arrival time is 10:30 - 11:00am. As we were concierge last time it will be very disconcerting to stand amongst the common folk. But alas, it is what it is.

Yeah, it's gonna be like that.

so pre-trip preparations. It's my responsibility, typically, to find the hotel room and rental car for these trips. On that note I have failed miserably as DW took the lead and booked the car. And the hotel. I suck. Clearly I suck. or she has too much time on her hands. She is quite the planner that wife o' mine. We are staying at the Courtyard Cocoa Beach the night before the cruise and at a Residence Inn the night before our flight home. Can ya tell we are Marriott people?

We rented our car from Budget...the plan is to have it for the week before and then drop it off by the port...and then get another car when we arrive back. Did I make any of these reservations? no. and in fact I'd have no idea what we were doing if it were not for DW's organization and putting them all nicely in a folder for me to see.

this is much like it is for my entire life. She puts it in a folder and I go along for the ride. Not bad, not bad at all. is this incentive for me to do my job and do the rental cars and hotels? I think not.

AH! But the week before the cruise, I have to talk about that. We are staying at a Marriott Timeshare that we traded into...which has 3 bedrooms...which is why our friends *could* have stayed with us...but I digress. DW spends alot of time on the DIS boards and bumped into this program through Disney called, ok, I don't know what it's called, but DW will chime in and help out here. It was originally set up for home schoolers but has been opened to everyone now...and you go to a free class inside the parks (I think we are doing an ocean one...but there are a whole bunch), and if you do that you can buy heavily discounted park hopper tickets. I believe (and again DW will pipe in if I'm wrong (one of my benefits, ahem)) that we ended up getting 5 day park hopper and 5 days in the water parks and Disney Quest. Heck of a deal if you ask me.

Now, if you look at the dates of the trip you will note that we are going to be there during the summer....I hate summer...because it will be very busy. Well, here is where you would be happy to be married to DW. She will know down to the minute which park we should be in...which ride in that park we should go to first, how we should do our fast pass tickets...etc. She rocks and I've been telling her for years she should start her own Disney travel agency and start making some money for our passion about Disney. But alas that has not yet happened!

So I think that's it for now...hope you grabbed your coffee before you started reading...and if not, check the mirror before you leave to make sure you don't have keyboard marks on your forehead.

Next up: No idea....but I'm sure I'll bore you with somethin'

DZ

 

[DisneyZell]

DW here...just to set a couple things straight before we get too far into this...the tickets we got were through the YES program. Great deal if you happen to be going while they have a class going on. We will be going on July 4 to a class in Epcot and yes it is about oceans. This will be our first trip taking the kids to the water parks (DH & I went to Blizzard Beach years & years ago, so I don't even remember much of it). We have never been to Disney Quest before but it sounds like something the boys will love as well.

"Unlike the last cruise we do not plan to upgrade at the port, so I don't know that we will get there too early." So says DH...but he should know better...we will be getting there fairly early so we are able to get on the ship and start the aquaduck ASAP. And no, I'm not talking 7:30 early, more like 10:00...don't worry Drew, you can still sleep in a bit!

Everything else sounds just like it happened...DH does tend to get a few things wrong, but I do give him credit for writing these reports...he takes my journals and turns them into great stories.

 

[DisneyZell]

DW here...just to set a couple things straight before we get too far into this...the tickets we got were through the YES program. Great deal if you happen to be going while they have a class going on. We will be going on July 4 to a class in Epcot and yes it is about oceans. This will be our first trip taking the kids to the water parks (DH & I went to Blizzard Beach years & years ago, so I don't even remember much of it). We have never been to Disney Quest before but it sounds like something the boys will love as well.

"Unlike the last cruise we do not plan to upgrade at the port, so I don't know that we will get there too early." So says DH...but he should know better...we will be getting there fairly early so we are able to get on the ship and start the aquaduck ASAP. And no, I'm not talking 7:30 early, more like 10:00...don't worry Drew, you can still sleep in a bit!

Everything else sounds just like it happened...DH does tend to get a few things wrong, but I do give him credit for writing these reports...he takes my journals and turns them into great stories.

is that a compliment or a put down?

 

[TheNeighbors]

I'm watching you Foker

This is the DFWN - or whatever it is: Dear Friend Neighbor Wife.
What the Zellster doesn't mention is that I'm nearly a senior citizen (turning 50 next week) and like Jesus, I prefer not to travel more than a 30-mile radius from my home. So with all my phobias about planes (what if it crashes), the boat (what if it sinks), the hotels (what if there are bedbugs), it will be quite an accomplishment for me to just get there.

The DFHN is wanting to have another beer-brewing session before the trip to be sure he doesn't get dehydrated on the boat.

 

[DisneyZell]

I'm watching you Foker

This is the DFWN - or whatever it is: Dear Friend Neighbor Wife.
What the Zellster doesn't mention is that I'm nearly a senior citizen (turning 50 next week) and like Jesus, I prefer not to travel more than a 30-mile radius from my home. So with all my phobias about planes (what if it crashes), the boat (what if it sinks), the hotels (what if there are bedbugs), it will be quite an accomplishment for me to just get there.

The DFHN is wanting to have another beer-brewing session before the trip to be sure he doesn't get dehydrated on the boat.

Hi there...Deanna here...can't believe you actually got yourself a username and joined in! Now you just have to go and sign up for the Fish Extender's.

I don't like hearing about your phobias...the planes are what get me (but it never stops me b/c I love to travel). Drew always laughs at me when he sees me grab the armrest when we hit some turbulence. However, you are not even staying in any hotels this trip since you didn't take my advice and come earlier than the day of the cruise...you are quite the risk taker my dear. Anyway, glad to see you on the boards...but beware, it can become addictive.

 

[DisneyZell]

I'm watching you Foker

This is the DFWN - or whatever it is: Dear Friend Neighbor Wife.
What the Zellster doesn't mention is that I'm nearly a senior citizen (turning 50 next week) and like Jesus, I prefer not to travel more than a 30-mile radius from my home. So with all my phobias about planes (what if it crashes), the boat (what if it sinks), the hotels (what if there are bedbugs), it will be quite an accomplishment for me to just get there.

The DFHN is wanting to have another beer-brewing session before the trip to be sure he doesn't get dehydrated on the boat.

Adding to DW's post...yes, my kids definately have a double dose of Foker.

DZ

 

[MagicMe]

I love that you all are having your own conversation!!!!

 

[Figment_Fan]

that wouldn't be any fun. Okay, DFWN (NW?), I turn 50 around the same time, so we can celebrate on the cruise! Please begin the party and continue until the last day of the cruise or later.

Yeah, I'll be on the cruise with ya. Keep the report going. DisneyZell, I have a DW just like yours, all little a-retentive with a sprinkling of obsessive compulsive. It gets things done. If you can't find a folder, painter's tape and the mirror gets my attention. Lists and instructions get put up for me. Painter's tape turns any piece of paper into a post-it note.

Now, as to that extra beer problem . . what's it like having extra? Never experienced that phenominon. I will build up my tolerance over the next few weeks - just in case.

Keep up with the reporting. I have an extra pot of coffee brewing just in case. No beer at work.

(John)

 

[DisneyZell]

I love that you all are having your own conversation!!!!

Yeah!, someone else is reading this. See, now we don't have to talk to each other anymore. It actually is kind of sad, b/c DH works from home so we are usually each on our own computer...me in the kitchen and DH right around the corner in the office. I think we find out about things easier and faster this way!

 

[DisneyZell]

that wouldn't be any fun. Okay, DFWN (NW?), I turn 50 around the same time, so we can celebrate on the cruise! Please begin the party and continue until the last day of the cruise or later.

Yeah, I'll be on the cruise with ya. Keep the report going. DisneyZell, I have a DW just like yours, all little a-retentive with a sprinkling of obsessive compulsive. It gets things done. If you can't find a folder, painter's tape and the mirror gets my attention. Lists and instructions get put up for me. Painter's tape turns any piece of paper into a post-it note.

Now, as to that extra beer problem . . what's it like having extra? Never experienced that phenominon. I will build up my tolerance over the next few weeks - just in case.

Keep up with the reporting. I have an extra pot of coffee brewing just in case. No beer at work.
..
(John)

John, so glad to have you aboard for the ride and you decided to not just lurk! We were beginning to wonder if anybody would join us or if we were just going to talk to each other. I think I will like your wife. Note to self, get more blue painter's tape! See DH laughs b/c just about everytime I get in the car to go somewhere, I end up calling him to have him do something or remind him of something. Sometimes I don't even make it out of the driveway before he gets the call. I'm not sure what it is about the car, but I tend to do my best thinking/remembering in there. Of course he has made me seem like a neurotic lunatic on a trip to Disney, but just for the record, I don't know what we are doing every minute of the day...I just have a general plan as to what to hit first so we don't wait in too many lines.

The cruise will definately be a full week of parties! DH is going to really have to start getting serious about his beer drinking. Me, I'll be bringing some Malibu rum to the party to go with either some orange juice or pineapple juice...my favorite drink right now. Maybe having a few of those will help make the line for the aquaduck a little more fun

 

[DisneyZell]

I love that you all are having your own conversation!!!!

Yeah...and we only live one street away from each other.

Wait...DW and I are having a conversation on here as well...and...well...I work at home. So generally she is sitting in the kitchen on our laptop while I'm in my office about 10 feet away. maybe. *sigh* It's a sad, sad world after all.

that wouldn't be any fun.

Thank god! I was thinking I was going to be writing this PTR all by myself. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm my biggest fan. But it does get boring talking with myself all the time. So welcome aboard, and please feel free to contribute as you feel necessary.

Okay, DFWN (NW?), I turn 50 around the same time, so we can celebrate on the cruise! Please begin the party and continue until the last day of the cruise or later.

Again, I don't see this as being an issue (and DFWN, or Jennifer, just click the little button that says "quote" to put someone else's sayings in the cute little box). I know for a fact that my buddy can drink me under the table...and that I will be harrassed if I attempt to limit my intake. Clearly we need to get together on the cruise!

Yeah, I'll be on the cruise with ya. Keep the report going. DisneyZell, I have a DW just like yours, all little a-retentive with a sprinkling of obsessive compulsive. It gets things done. If you can't find a folder, painter's tape and the mirror gets my attention. Lists and instructions get put up for me. Painter's tape turns any piece of paper into a post-it note.

HA! if I had a dime for every time I was reminded to do something by DW I'd be rich. Now, some could argue that I could get off my rear end and actually *do* whatever it is I'm supposed to do...but...ahem...well...

Now, as to that extra beer problem . . what's it like having extra? Never experienced that phenominon. I will build up my tolerance over the next few weeks - just in case.

Keep up with the reporting. I have an extra pot of coffee brewing just in case. No beer at work.

(John)

Yeah...I probably should have my man-card rejected for the fact that I've had left over beer. But in my defense, I brought a case of beer with me for the 7 night cruise. I'm not necessarily saying that 3+ beers a night is too much, but it's alot to drink consistantly.

In hindsight I believe where I fell apart was not spreading those 3 beers out throughout the day. Had I had a beer with my bacon and syrup in the morning, another around lunch and two more at night I would have easily eclipsed the stash of beer. This will be my goal on the next trip.

Thanks for the comments...keep 'em comin'!

DZ

 

[DisneyZell]

John, so glad to have you aboard for the ride and you decided to not just lurk! We were beginning to wonder if anybody would join us or if we were just going to talk to each other. I think I will like your wife. Note to self, get more blue painter's tape! See DH laughs b/c just about everytime I get in the car to go somewhere, I end up calling him to have him do something or remind him of something. Sometimes I don't even make it out of the driveway before he gets the call.

Well, apparently you will get double answers. This is all starting to make my head hurt. I actually started my response right after John posted...but never got around to finishing until today! Drew here. uh, yeah.."just about evertime I get in the car to go somewhere"...if you get rid of the "just about" from that sentance it would be accurate.

DZ

 

[camikey]

Hey, since I'm planning this all on my own who gets credit for the stuff that is forgotten or not done???

Looking forward to meeting everyone. I'm 47 and sailing with my DD turning 5 on the cruise.

 

[DisneyZell]

Hey, since I'm planning this all on my own who gets credit for the stuff that is forgotten or not done???

Looking forward to meeting everyone. I'm 47 and sailing with my DD turning 5 on the cruise.

Since I am the one who plans everything...everyone else gets the blame for the forgotten stuff...that is just the way it goes..so sorry, your DD gets the blame on that one. Just don't be too hard on her since she will be celebrating her b-day on the cruise. I have to remember that as well since DS will be turning 9 on the cruise...I guess I will just shift that blame onto DH and DS12

 

[DisneyZell]

Since I am the one who plans everything...everyone else gets the blame for the forgotten stuff...that is just the way it goes..so sorry, your DD gets the blame on that one. Just don't be too hard on her since she will be celebrating her b-day on the cruise. I have to remember that as well since DS will be turning 9 on the cruise...I guess I will just shift that blame onto DH and DS12

Seriously, DW needs to get her own nickname!

Yes, I take on the blame...I have broad shoulders. Though I'm rarely actually at faul.

I do agree with DW, though Camikey, blame the kid...when in doubt, blame the kid!

is this your first cruise? and have you joined the cruise meet thread yet?

DZ

 

[DisneyZell]

Seriously, DW needs to get her own nickname!

Yes, I take on the blame...I have broad shoulders. Though I'm rarely actually at faul.

I do agree with DW, though Camikey, blame the kid...when in doubt, blame the kid!

is this your first cruise? and have you joined the cruise meet thread yet?

DZ

Well, Drew, you know you can always get a new nickname And, if you actually look at the cruise meet thread you would know camikey was already on it. I think since I am on the disboards more than you, you should be the one to get the new name!

 

[dededisney]

Surprise, surprise! It's DW here with my own login! DH will be so happy that I have my own name (although I created it awhile ago, it was just easier to use the original one!) The sacrifices I make for him are remarkable.

 

[Figment_Fan]

dededisney, getting your own name is a sacrifice? Now come on, his shadow isn't that big that you can't step into the lime light, is it?

Anyway, I can pretty much count on the fact that as my DW drives away in the car, I will shortly recieve a phone call, with instructions. Sometimes, I feel like answering with a code name: "Yes, .. this is 00X, what is problem? What are instructions? (Please repeat with best Boris and Natasha accent) Where are moose and squirrel?" Speaking of squirrel, I see one - drop phone, move on to next distraction. Forget what was requested. Sheepish look when she returns and I forgot. Kind of a wash rinse repeat cycle. And yet she stays with me.

Of course, I agree, maybe if I get off my lazy behind and try to be pro-active. However, I learned much from a guy named Pavlov - I do something, she re-does the something. I do something else, it gets re-done. I learn to wait for instructions. It is less time consuming to be told to do something and in what order than to do it and watch it be re-done.

I'm at the bottom of the hill that stuff rolls down from. Even the kids are on higher ground. Is that too much like venting? Anyway, we're going on a cruise. Let others complain. We will be drinking and making merry in 79 days.

 

[Figment_Fan]

BTW, dededisney, sorry for the teasing. Congratulations on your own name.

 

[dededisney]

BTW, dededisney, sorry for the teasing. Congratulations on your own name.

That's ok, I only cried for a few minutes As you can tell from the date, I created it years ago with good intentions!