The MAGIC is Back!!! ~ WBTA 2014 ~ Come & join the fun!

[Beauty & the Best]

I'll volunteer to tell the tale.

Kirby was a jumbo-sized stuffed bear that a middle-aged couple brought on board. He sat at the table with them, took photos with them, went on excursions, etc. He had his own wardrobe and dressed for dinner.

We thought it was all well and fun until we started to find out weird little things. The couple told us that Kirby had to come along because he writes their Christmas newsletter. And to tell everyone about the trip, he had to experience it first hand.

OK, weird enough.

But then the stories started to get more strange - like the fact that apparently the woman threw a fit when she was told by airline personnel that the bear had to be wrapped in plastic and placed into cargo hold - he could not ride in the cabin. In her opinion this was ludicrous that he was being treated as baggage!

We later started to get collectively ticked off when things started happening like Kirby would ask for a Mickey ice cream bar to be brought to him at dinner, just for it to melt and be wasted.

Kirby sat at Castaway Cay (with a Hawaiian shirt and sunglasses and his own beach chair) and his owners brought food from Cookie's BBQ for him - again that went uneaten and to waste.

His handler's server and assistant server were also our table's wait staff (as well as MandyGirl's). Our server got chewed out one night because the head server (maitre'd) gave him orders to be available to carry the bear to his seat every night and he was not there promptly. Of course when Dawn and MandyGirl needed assistance with their actual HUMAN children, they could not get any because the staff was tending to the bear.

And yes - this is all true and not an exaggeration. I'm sure others can chime in on things I have missed. We have pictures of him that we can share - I think somewhere I have one of him at Castaway, and HazelandAnnie have one with him at dinner.

Still glad you asked?

I remember this too! I knew something was seriously wrong when the bear had a change of clothes every day and food was ordered for him in the dining room. Bless those DCL employees for serving a bear - they must see all types.

Okay, confession - I have a bear that comes on trips with me. However, he is confined to the cabin most days and only occasionally comes out for a photo. These photos have become a standing joke with my family....the bear is quite old now...I wonder if you can guess which Disney character he is anymore?

P.S. I love hearing about everyone's lives and history. Please keep going.

 

[liesbeth1012]

So I was thinking(something I do... not often) those who did Ta's before and newbies, and we have LOTS of time, why dont we introduce ourselves.

Oke
I am Liesbeth 58 now. Sailing with my son Paul 26 now. He is on the board as Paul312.
We live in Arnhem in the Netherlands.
Our first cruise was the WBTA 2011 and we had such a great time.
This will be our 4th cruise. We did the Hawaii in oct. and going on the Dream in sept 2013.
We did Disneyland Paris since 1994 and are Disney addicted since then.
After the WBTA 2011 we were for the first time in America and had 8 days in WDW. We loved it there. Last year we spent 4 days at Disneyland CA also great days.
We are looking forward to this Cruise, meeting old friends from the WBTA and Hawaii cruise and new friends met here on disboard and Facebook.

 

[liesbeth1012]

And here another photo of Kirby with our server.

 

[NWmom]

My turn,

Kevin(NWDAD), Skye, and Katie We will be 54, 47 and 12 at time of cruise. Kevin and I will have been married 25 years and celebrating on this cruise.

Kevin plays with giant toys for a a living- he helps make Dreams fly, the 787. He loves his job.

Katie-she loves our dog and that is all I am allowed to say about her, lol.

Skye-me- I am a part time co-op volunteer, part time homeschool mom, and spent many years working with special needs children. I am working on my 5 year plan and trying to decide what I want to be "when I grow up" to prevent boredom once the homeschooling is over. After raising a special needs son that was time intensive- I am finding a lot of spare time on my hands with our youngest. She is so easy in comparision.

We also have a 19 year old son that is in Job Corps, finding his way in life. He is in culinary arts and dreams of working on a Disney ship one day. He will be in Job Corps/starting a job so won't be joining us on the cruise. We take pictures of food for him. He helped me gain an honorary degree in child psychology in the years since we adopted him. I have learned a lot about how the brain works and how to help a child learn "Family Circus style" (refers to a cartoon where PJ and Jeffy often go to get something from the mailbox and end up all over the neighborhood in the most circuitous fashion possible, that's how ds learns) The brain is fascinating!

After 17 years of that, if I am talking to you and say the same thing 20+ different ways, it is because I was trained to do this. Just let me know I am doing it again and I will move on, lol. "Family Circus" is a great cue word to get me to stop.

We are DVC since 1997, we actually took our first DCL cruise because we had some points that would need to be used and we knew we would not have the money to fly to Florida to use them. We tried to do California, but the dates did not work, so we used them for Alaska 2011 for 3 of us and paid for just one in cash. The whole trip was less than airfare to Florida.

We were hooked and the rest is history.

 

[youalleverybody]

Just booked!!!

Anja and DH Bruce
Kids with ages at sailing:
George 15
Joshua 13
Abigail 10 (will turn 11 during cruise)
Anne 8
Francesca 5

Staterooms 2122 and 2124

Can't wait to read the entire thread and "meet" everyone.

 

[dbk1029]

I am MagicMe's oldest.

 

[Chris&Jeremy]

And here another photo of Kirby with our server.

Ah, good ol' Bojan - this is how he had to carry Kirby every night.

 

[TotallyAngelic]

Here's a photo of Kirby and Hazel at dinner. We're all in the background watching her as she asks if she can take a photo with him. LOL

Why is Kirby wearing a sheet .... looks a bit like a shroud ????

 

[Chris&Jeremy]

Why is Kirby wearing a sheet .... looks a bit like a shroud ????

That was the morning of the Character Breakfast.

 

[TotallyAngelic]

That was the morning of the Character Breakfast.

Perhaps it was wishful thinking on the part of the dining room staff !!

 

[scottishwee35]

Hi Deborah - what MED Cruise did you go on in '07 ? We were on the 07/07/07 sailing and I think remember your DIS name.

hi we were sailing on 18 to 28 July 2007, it was so awesome..

Scottishwee35

 

[MagicMe]

Okay, confession - I have a bear that comes on trips with me. However, he is confined to the cabin most days and only occasionally comes out for a photo. These photos have become a standing joke with my family....the bear is quite old now...I wonder if you can guess which Disney character he is anymore?

P.S. I love hearing about everyone's lives and history. Please keep going.

Yeah but is he life size???

Just booked!!!

Anja and DH Bruce
Kids with ages at sailing:
George 15
Joshua 13
Abigail 10 (will turn 11 during cruise)
Anne 8
Francesca 5

Staterooms 2122 and 2124

Can't wait to read the entire thread and "meet" everyone.

Welcome!!!

I am MagicMe's oldest.

Is that the extent of your introduction!!??!! Nice to see you joining us!! Now just need to get TheDisneyGirl02 on here!!!

 

[scottishwee35]

I'll bet Kirby was stuffed.

Woody

that my son now

I'll volunteer to tell the tale.

Kirby was a jumbo-sized stuffed bear that a middle-aged couple brought on board. He sat at the table with them, took photos with them, went on excursions, etc. He had his own wardrobe and dressed for dinner.

We thought it was all well and fun until we started to find out weird little things. The couple told us that Kirby had to come along because he writes their Christmas newsletter. And to tell everyone about the trip, he had to experience it first hand.

OK, weird enough.

But then the stories started to get more strange - like the fact that apparently the woman threw a fit when she was told by airline personnel that the bear had to be wrapped in plastic and placed into cargo hold - he could not ride in the cabin. In her opinion this was ludicrous that he was being treated as baggage!

We later started to get collectively ticked off when things started happening like Kirby would ask for a Mickey ice cream bar to be brought to him at dinner, just for it to melt and be wasted.

Kirby sat at Castaway Cay (with a Hawaiian shirt and sunglasses and his own beach chair) and his owners brought food from Cookie's BBQ for him - again that went uneaten and to waste.

His handler's server and assistant server were also our table's wait staff (as well as MandyGirl's). Our server got chewed out one night because the head server (maitre'd) gave him orders to be available to carry the bear to his seat every night and he was not there promptly. Of course when Dawn and MandyGirl needed assistance with their actual HUMAN children, they could not get any because the staff was tending to the bear.

And yes - this is all true and not an exaggeration. I'm sure others can chime in on things I have missed. We have pictures of him that we can share - I think somewhere I have one of him at Castaway, and HazelandAnnie have one with him at dinner.

Still glad you asked?

My son Keith was laughing to read it...

Scottishwee35

 

[annichan]

Yeah but is he life size???

I mean, look at him, will you - he's almost as tall as that bridge!

 

[poohluv2u]

hi we were sailing on 18 to 28 July 2007, it was so awesome..

Scottishwee35

I recognize that gorgeous guy in the picture in your signature, he was the love of my life until my Hubby came along ... I still love him though

 

[Pinky166]

Just booked!!!

Anja and DH Bruce
Kids with ages at sailing:
George 15
Joshua 13
Abigail 10 (will turn 11 during cruise)
Anne 8
Francesca 5

Staterooms 2122 and 2124

Can't wait to read the entire thread and "meet" everyone.

Welcome aboard. I've added you to the roll call.

 

[scottishwee35]

I recognize that gorgeous guy in the picture in your signature, he was the love of my life until my Hubby came along ... I still love him though

I went along to see Donny & Marie show at Glasgow, and my friend and I were chatting to Donny's staff (i saw he had a badge of Donny with AAA) and the staff realised that we are deaf and took us to backstage to meet Donny!before the show started. I was gobsmacked and when I met him and he used ASL, it was best night ever!! That was three weeks ago...

Scottishwee35

 

[Dgentrysim]

Which cruise were you on? Maybe we have already met?

Brent was really nice. On our cruise he mixed up his days and got ready for pirate night the day before.

We actually had some kind of real Princess on our cruise. Special cast member with her all the time and she brought her two dogs out late one night. Sat and played with her kids and them before she was "protected" and escorted up the lifts. I must have looked dangerous. Nope- just missing my dog.

DD12 missed her so much that she has declared she doesn't want to go on vacation ever again. Counting on her getting over that in the next 1 1/2 years.

We were on the Dec. 7 Eastern Car. cruise. Had a great time. We went zip-lining in San Juan and had a blast. Which one were you on?

 

[pilk]

For our introduction I am Jon and my DW is Candida. We have been together for 22 years, married for 15 in May. We have three boys and two girls. The oldest is 14 and the youngest 6 months. With that age range it is a real zoo around here. They won't be coming on the cruise with us, actually they have never been taken anywhere. They don't all travel well. They are actually, two dogs, a cat, bird and fish

This will be our 8th cruise. This will be our second WBTA. Our 6th is the WBPC in May, with the 7th being the 9nt Alaskan next year.

Candida spends most of her time dealing with the "kids" and scrapbooking. I spend my days working on or under the water. For the past seven years I have been working as a commercial diver and supervisor. Outside of that I am also a recreational diving instructor. So, the water is a big part of our life.

The newest Disney thing that is keeping me busy is runDisney. A coworker who is also a Disney fan always talked about how fun the races were at WDW. Then he was diagnosed with cancer. I was never big into running, put me on a bike or throw me in the water and I would keep going. I the summer of 2011 I decided to run the 2012 WDW Half marathon because of my co-worker. Well, not settling with one race I decided to do the Chip and Dale the same weekend. So, I ended up with two half marathons in one weekend and have been moving forward ever since. Sadly, Dale passed away on September 11, 2012. But not before finishing a half marathon when he was told he couldn't. Now because of him I did the Goofy this past January and have the Dumbo Double Dare in August.

We are traveling with my father, Bob (83) who lives in Virginia. He says he has always wanted to see Barcelona, so I convinced him to join us. He is retired Navy MD, worked admin his entire career but did some interesting things like submarine medicine, Antarctica station, and research on Deep Sea Living (SeaLab) He can find a topic of mutual interest with anyone, and loves to meet new people.

I will have to talk to your dad at somepoint during the cruise.

Jon

 

[PFlamingo]

Here's a photo of Kirby and Hazel at dinner. We're all in the background watching her as she asks if she can take a photo with him. LOL

Why is Kirby wearing a sheet .... looks a bit like a shroud ????

I thought it was a dinner jacket. It looks like it was the Prince and Princess dinner.