Eastern Caribbean Fantasy Oct. 5, 2013

[Viking]

Tink,
I have organised four cruise-meets on the DIS, the largest with about 200 people, and even though I always emphasized that everything happens absolutely voluntarily there were people who weren't exactly 'grateful' and so I know what you're feeling right now.
You're doing a great job - don't let anyone tell you different!

 

[pixiehallow]

Evening all- at the risk of looking really daft can somebody please point me in the direction of where I leave my details for the fe please- I have searched the yahoo group and don't know what I am doing wrong lol

It looks like you found the main document for the FE info.

I have one more document for you to fill in though. Go to the same place you did for the FE (Database tab on the group page....found on the left hand strip).
Then scroll down to the one that says 'FE Sub-Group (kiddo gifts or regular)'.
If you could please take a minute to fill this one in as well, it will help out when I get to the breaking up into sub-groups.


Thank You!!!!!

Oh, and Congrats you found it!

**by the way, could everyone please take a minute to fill this form in.....Thank You****

 

[Deb T.]

Plus I would like to offer a special thanks to Deb for the stories she shared with me and the advice she has offered us all. My hat goes off to her. My self and those who have been volunteering to keep everything organized have had it easy compared to some of the groups Deb has had the pleasure of keeping up with.

Soooooo, if you are curious about what I shared with Tink, I'll be happy to elaborate here. If you couldn't care less, skip this post!

I sent Tink a private message of encouragement this morning. It was bothering me that someone had upset a fellow cruiser. The DIS and these discussion boards are supposed to be a safe, friendly forum for discussing all things Disney. As I noted in an earlier post, this meets' thread is optional reading. You can choose to read and participate, lurk, or walk away if this community is not right for you. Personal attacks can, and should, be reported to moderators. Okay, I'll get off my soap box and move on to what I shared with Tink.

I've had the pleasure of organizing many FE exchanges. It is a "job" that requires constant monitoring of your meets' thread in order not to miss anyone who wants to participate. It also requires touching base with participants frequently as questions/concerns arises (ie. allergies, kids' ages, names, etc.). The organizer does sort of become the unofficially elected main poster, which is usually greatly appreciated by everyone else. Sometimes, things can get a little kooky... but all in fun, as evidenced by my Spring Break April 17, 2011, 4-night Dream cruise, when I organized EVERYTHING, including some really silly groups. It was an unusually active and chatty meets' thread for such a short cruise, and everyone was very fun and personable. In addition to the FE Exchange and Meet & Greet, here is the list of all the "Groups" that people wanted to make, which I diligently kept track of on our thread (no awesome separate group page like Tink set up):
Cabin Crawl - to tour everyone's cabin to see the different categories since the Dream was so new. I had to make two lists for this: Cabin Crawl Volunteers (the people in each cabin category who volunteered to show their cabin) and Cabin Crawl Tourists (everyone else who was interested in seeing all the cabins). This was a monster of a task because the Dream is such a big ship! I worked hard to make sure one of every cabin category was included, and that the tour progressed in a logical order to keep walking from cabin to cabin to a minimum!
Girl's Night Out 11pm Night Club Tour - self explanatory! I wasn't participating, but kept track of everyone for the cruiser who wanted to start it.
Tween Edge Meet and Greet - to help all the tweens get to know each other on the first day of our cruise.
CC Bike Riding group
CC 5k Runners & Walkers
Lazybones Hanging Out On The Beach All Day And Proud Of It group - started after people admitted they had no intention of running or walking a 5k!
My DH Doesn't Get It group - for those DH's who didn't get their DW's Disney obsessions
My DH Didn't Know What Hit Him group - for the DW's who may have influenced the DH's to take the cruise.
Shoe Intervention group for those who admitted they were bringing dozens of pairs of shoes FOR A 4-NIGHT CRUISE!!!
and even a
Cracked Up By Lists group
It really was a fun Meets' Thread, and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know everyone prior to that cruise! Our Meet & Greet was great because we finally were able to put faces to names!

This was the same cruise that I had to make the large and small FE groups that I mentioned in a previous post. We had one grumpy gal on this cruise who was always trying to stir up the pot regarding the FE exchange. She kept insisting the FE exchange was getting too large and we needed to split the group, even though the general consensus was that everyone was fine with a large group. [Remember, this was a particularly friendly bunch!] So, FINALLY just to appease her, I posted that I was going to split everyone into a small group and a large group, and asked all participants to PM me with their preference. A whopping three people preferred a small group and the grumpy gal PM'd me to say she PREFERRED THE LARGER GROUP!!!! I was actually screaming at my computer when I received her PM!!! And then... I put her in the small group!!! Still makes me chuckle to this day!

I'm really looking forward to meeting Tink and everybody else!

 

[mrs stevenson]

Pixie hallow didn't I tell you I don't understand yahoo lol? I seriously cannot see what I am filling in? I feel a bit dumb lol. It's just myself (alison) and my dh (Craig) travelling. Not really sure what else I should be adding.

I think it's just me lol I need a vacation- sorry

 

[mrs stevenson]

Debs T wow all those groups are amazing!

 

[Deb T.]

Pixie hallow didn't I tell you I don't understand yahoo lol? I seriously cannot see what I am filling in? I feel a bit dumb lol. It's just myself (alison) and my dh (Craig) travelling. Not really sure what else I should be adding.

I think it's just me lol I need a vacation- sorry

No worries! I'll be glad to lend a hand!

I just checked, and your info is, indeed, already on the "FE List" so you're all set!

Somehow, on the "Extra FE Information" page, your name and cabin number have ended up on the line that lists the categories. Pixiehallow will be able to easily fix that for you. Since you aren't traveling with children, there's nothing else that needs to be done on this page because it was a "special request" page for children's shoe sizes.

The "FE Sub-Group" page is for how many adults/kids are in your cabin and whether you have made special gifts for kids or one gift per cabin. It is also the place to make any special requests, such as to be in a FE group with specific cabins/friends to help Tink split the groups. And, there's a column for if you have any Girl Scouts in the family.

To add information to any of the lists, just click "Add Record" and then fill in the requested boxes.

Hope this helps!

 

[pixiehallow]

Pixie hallow didn't I tell you I don't understand yahoo lol? I seriously cannot see what I am filling in? I feel a bit dumb lol. It's just myself (alison) and my dh (Craig) travelling. Not really sure what else I should be adding.

I think it's just me lol I need a vacation- sorry

Not at home right now. Replying from my phone. So, I'm thinking that you already put your cabin# in (if not, I will need that as well)
The only thing I need for the second form is to know if you're making special FE's for kiddos, and if you have a kid / no kid preference on FE groups (or would like to be linked with a special cabin)
I can fill it in for you.
~Tink~

 

[pixiehallow]

You had to be typing at the same time I was.
I bet you have the advantage of a keyboard.
I'm not a teenager, so my word per minute is much slower

 

[pixiehallow]

Allison,
I put in the info I did have into the form for you.
When you get the other items to me, I will put those in for you as well.


Everyone else that is participation in the FE...I updated the FE form (and all others) to the best of my collected data.

Can you please take a minute to stop by the group page, or even drop me a note to make sure we have all the needed FE info.

Things that are needed (by the time we have sub groups, this will all be on one form ...I promise...)
1. DIS Name
2. Cabin number
3. # of adults and # of kiddos in each cabin
4. If you have kiddos: their shoe sizes, ages, and if girl scouts
5. If you made FE's specially for kiddos
6. Any sub-group special requests (i.e. if you want to be in the group giving gifts to kiddos, with another cabin, etc.)
7. Any allergy considerations

Thank you for your help on this. It will make the final organization SOOOO much easier.

 

[pixiehallow]

I am not sure if any of our FEers are in the concierge level or not.

If they are, is there a special protocol for deliverying FE's to them?

 

[Mercinursi]

Deb,

Those groups are awesome! I want to join the My DH Doesn't Get It group and the My DH Didn't Know What Hit Him group.

I know he would want to join the Lazybones Hanging Out On The Beach All Day And Proud Of It group.

Thanks for sharing!

Debbie

 

[Deb T.]

I am not sure if any of our FEers are in the concierge level or not.

If they are, is there a special protocol for deliverying FE's to them?

I think I noticed that at least one of our FE participants is currently in Concierge, and we will be asking at the port about upgrading (although we're not yet decided if we want to pay anything extra or just apply that money to another cruise). But - GOOD NEWS - there will be no problem delivering FE surprises to those cabins because there are no gates on the Fantasy! I believe there were so many complaints about the gates on the Dream that they decided to omit them when building the Fantasy.

 

[Deb T.]

Deb,

Those groups are awesome! I want to join the My DH Doesn't Get It group and the My DH Didn't Know What Hit Him group.

I know he would want to join the Lazybones Hanging Out On The Beach All Day And Proud Of It group.

Thanks for sharing!

Debbie

Debs T wow all those groups are amazing!

Thanks! It really was a fun group on that cruise! Definitely silly, but lots of fun!

 

[pixiehallow]

Deb,
I am so glad we have your experienced brain to pick. By the time we get to the boat, I might actually feel like I was completely prepared.

With all my planning, I still always feel like I forgot something.

 

[mrs stevenson]

Thanks pixie hallow for filling it in for me. We don't have kids with us and no allergies unless anyone is giving out penicillin or a puppy?

Not doing special gifts although once we have the list I will be adding kid suitable items. Trying to keep it simple as last year we ended up paying extra luggage lol

Thanks ever so much for sorting me out lol

 

[pixiehallow]

Thanks pixie hallow for filling it in for me. We don't have kids with us and no allergies unless anyone is giving out penicillin or a puppy?

Not doing special gifts although once we have the list I will be adding kid suitable items. Trying to keep it simple as last year we ended up paying extra luggage lol

Thanks ever so much for sorting me out lol

It is not a problem.
And if those were the type of allergies to be concerned with, my husband and son would have the exact same request.

So, only fresh oranges and no hidden puppy surprises
Which I am sure our cabin stewards would be grateful if we avoid the second one as well.

 

[pixiehallow]

I just got a fun new app for my phone
***and it was free***
For those of you with kiddos, you may enjoy this (or even if you are just a kid at heart...which describes most of us mouse addicts)

It is called ' Fat Cat Pirate Chat '

I got mine in the App store. The homeschool site where I found it says it is also available for iPhone, iPod, and iPad.

Plus, if anyone is interested in a few fun activities for little ones about pirates, history, the Caribbean, sailing and such, let me know. I have just down loaded 2 different unit studies (a unit study covers all subjects - from math to language, and science to social studies) on pirates and the Caribbean. I also found a cool online book / game based on the Time Warp Trio series on Discovery Kids Channel.

 

[hmhaase]

Its been awhile since I have been on here so I will introduce myself again. The traveling party will be myself, my DH, and our DD 6. This will be our 5th cruise and we can't wait. We weren't sure if we were still going on this cruise due to we decided to do the Transatlantic cruise in May, which was awesome, I would recommend it to everyone. But we decided to keep this cruise as well, we figured we will need a disney fix by October. I signed up for the FE on the website, but can someone check to make sure I did it right, I wasn't sure if I was supposed to fill out anymore of the FE stuff. My name is hmhaase on the website. We did the FE for the first time on the transatlantic and my daughter had so much fun delivering all the gifts and coming back to find things in our FE that we decided we would love to do it again. Is there any updates on the Wine meeting? We would like to participate in that, but would like some more information on it. Also are there any other kids out there my daughters age, she is 6 going to be in 1st grade? This will be our first time on the Fantasy we are so excited!!!

 

[pixiehallow]

Its been awhile since I have been on here so I will introduce myself again. The traveling party will be myself, my DH, and our DD 6. This will be our 5th cruise and we can't wait. We weren't sure if we were still going on this cruise due to we decided to do the Transatlantic cruise in May, which was awesome, I would recommend it to everyone. But we decided to keep this cruise as well, we figured we will need a disney fix by October. I signed up for the FE on the website, but can someone check to make sure I did it right, I wasn't sure if I was supposed to fill out anymore of the FE stuff. My name is hmhaase on the website. We did the FE for the first time on the transatlantic and my daughter had so much fun delivering all the gifts and coming back to find things in our FE that we decided we would love to do it again. Is there any updates on the Wine meeting? We would like to participate in that, but would like some more information on it. Also are there any other kids out there my daughters age, she is 6 going to be in 1st grade? This will be our first time on the Fantasy we are so excited!!!

Sounds like you had fun
I will put you on the list on here (see the next post) and I have checked out the group page...you got almost everything filled in
There is one more form I would like to ask you to do if you could. Now that we will be splitting in to sub groups to make gift delivery more manageable, there is a form under data base labeled 'FE sub groups'. If you could get the info filled in there, it would be great.
As for girls your daughters age, as I was checking your info, I did notice that TamaraH and Mercinursi both have 6 year old girls. You can go to the data base, and check out the different tables (specifically the different FE ones) and see who has kiddo's and their ages.
As for the wine meet, I think it was Coreeyore that was starting this meet...If not, who ever it was, can you please speak up...I looked through all my pages and pages of info, and I can not seem to find the originator of this meet....Try PMing her for more detail info on that meet.

I think that was everything you asked...If I missed anything, just let me know

And welcome back to the discussion....Oh yeah, while you were away, I added a practice sheet for the Animators Palate cartoon drawing to the group page under the photos. I am sure your daughter would enjoy it.

~Tink~

 

[pixiehallow]

Here is the most up to date FE....based on vote, we only have about one more month before it is finalized.

pixiehallow
TamaraH
actnkidz
CorEeyore
Mercinursi
jamelynn24
FrozenMinnie
TCCDad
kmronnie3
Contrady family
Marchetti family
Santam01
JulFromMD
JulFromMD +1
JulFromMD + 2
JulFromMD +3
JulFromMD +4
jbhatch
Jacqueline
Jacqueline +1
Jacqueline + 2
Dowley
goofydvc
Tenn
LadyCP
chipmunklove
ozdisneyfan
Jgamy
SinDee
Tiggerlily878
Kprovax
Kprovax +1
Deb T
Wanderluster25
hng1979
2Crazygoofies
tatianasuv
jaimelynn4
Mrs Stevenson
MDennis28
DisneyFan_SD
hmhaase

NOW...42 confirmed and counting.....

And just a reminder, if you are not on this list and want to be, just let me know. We don't want to leave anyone out that wants to share in the fun of FE gifts

Dead line to join is July 26th
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