Cruise secrets that DCL doesn't tell you

[sherekhan]

Originally Posted by Pooh_Friend#1

Where did you find the "parking lot" of these? I need this for my niece and nephew in September.

We rode the tram to the family beach and kept walking down the path. They were to the left hand side (the ocean side) of the path. I can't remember exactly where but it was definitely past the Flying Dutchman and before you come to the shopping area.

The wagons really come in handy especially if you want to get to the least crowded part of the family beach. There are ideal shady hammocks by the Heads Up bar on the very far side that my family used, but you have to cross a fair amount of sand to get there and my umbrella stroller would not have made it.

There were a lot of people doing what I was doing...hestiantly taking them and looking both ways for someone to leap out of the foliage saying "What's your room number??!!?" But no one did!

[Amlee]

Originally Posted by sherekhan

I never saw this written anywhere, but we found a little "parking lot" of free baby joggers and red wagons to use on Castaway Cay. First come first serve and very handy moving a family over sand.

Yes! Yes! Our first day on CC I didn't know about this. Because that day was mostly a wash out, we got to go back to CC the next day. We grab a wagon and put the 3 youngest in it. It was GREAT! LOL it also came in handy for food. We decided we wanted to eat on the beach. So we cleaned out the wagon, my sister and myself went and got our orders.

[misseulalie]

Originally Posted by poconoboatniks

In cat. 12, 11 & 10 rooms turn the tv to the basketball court view so that it lights up the room in the morning.


Pocono

Oh! I like that idea!!!!!!

[disneyfan551]

And for all of us running to Guest Services to have our pillowcases, mattes, aprons, etc... signed, maybe we should include a little "thank you", such as a bag of candy, for the cast members that do these special things for us!

[Stinasmom]

I almost hate to mention this secret because I hope this policy isn't discontinued, but...
I love that we can take our own beverages aboard... beer, wine, spirits...
Even though the official word on the cruise docs and at the terminal is NO alcohol or personal coolers allowed aboard (except coolers for medication).

We always bring a cooler (collapsable style) because their "ice box" refrigerators are worthless. And---
Considering they don't have a casino, alcohol purchases are a major money maker for them, they could certainly choose to inforce their rules, but to our benefit, they don't!

[Pooh_Friend#1]

Originally Posted by sherekhan

We rode the tram to the family beach and kept walking down the path. They were to the left hand side (the ocean side) of the path. I can't remember exactly where but it was definitely past the Flying Dutchman and before you come to the shopping area.

The wagons really come in handy especially if you want to get to the least crowded part of the family beach. There are ideal shady hammocks by the Heads Up bar on the very far side that my family used, but you have to cross a fair amount of sand to get there and my umbrella stroller would not have made it.

There were a lot of people doing what I was doing...hestiantly taking them and looking both ways for someone to leap out of the foliage saying "What's your room number??!!?" But no one did!

Thanks so much!!!

[Mom24Princesses]

Originally Posted by NHdisneylover

4. Tour the hallways to check out everyone's door decorations. Take a pad of sticky notes to leave messages for doors you really like.

What a great idea. I hope that gets around. I felt like we were at the "end" and no one saw my signs!

[disney1990]

Originally Posted by sherekhan

The more sharpies you put in, the prettier it will be. I gave them about 7 or 8 from a big pack with colors like aqua, orange, etc. They will even personalize it with your child's name if you request it. (Not that it's a big deal, but I didn't get the pens back)

This is who signed:
Mickey, Minnie,, Donald, Goofy, Pluto, Genie, Aladdin, Chip/Dale,Max,Lilo/Stitch,Pinocchio,Snow White, Cinderella, Fairy godmother, Dopey, Mulan, Pochahontas, Wendy Darling, belle, Princess Aurora, Captain Hook, Smee, Peter Pan, Terk, Mad Hatter, Queen of Hearts, Alice, White Rabbit
Suzy and Perla

So you see, you get a lot more characters than you actually see on the ship. I imagine the White Rabbit, et al are behind the scenes doing laundry or something

By the way, I haven't washed the pillowcases yet. Has anyone done so. Should I rinse it in something special to set the ink? I was worried about it running.

We have an Amish made quilt. The Amish woman we bought it from, suggested that we add a cup of vinegar to the wash water to set the colors. It worked great!

[been2marceline]

Originally Posted by sherekhan

The more sharpies you put in, the prettier it will be. I gave them about 7 or 8 from a big pack with colors like aqua, orange, etc. They will even personalize it with your child's name if you request it. (Not that it's a big deal, but I didn't get the pens back)

This is who signed:
Mickey, Minnie,, Donald, Goofy, Pluto, Genie, Aladdin, Chip/Dale,Max,Lilo/Stitch,Pinocchio,Snow White, Cinderella, Fairy godmother, Dopey, Mulan, Pochahontas, Wendy Darling, belle, Princess Aurora, Captain Hook, Smee, Peter Pan, Terk, Mad Hatter, Queen of Hearts, Alice, White Rabbit
Suzy and Perla

So you see, you get a lot more characters than you actually see on the ship. I imagine the White Rabbit, et al are behind the scenes doing laundry or something

By the way, I haven't washed the pillowcases yet. Has anyone done so. Should I rinse it in something special to set the ink? I was worried about it running.

We saw the white rabbit on one of our cruises. Have a picture of our DD with him.

Karen

[sherekhan]

Another fun thing I didn't know about...

The Golden Mickeys have a red carpet greeting before the show. I saw it on the navigator and thought it meant another character greet, but instead it means that you and your family get to walk the red carpet.

It was so sweet because my DD was dressed in her Ariel outfit. When she set foot on the carpet, cast members did a little pretend paparazzi with prop cameras. They were not at all obnoxious, but nicely said things like "Oh! Look, it's Ariel!" "Ariel, please, look over here!" and flashed the cameras. She was definitely used to cameras by that time in the trip, so she walked slowly down by herself smiling shyly and having a good time.

It was a fun surprise. If I had known about it, one of us would have gone down in front of her first and taken a picture of it happening. It's not huge, so I don't want to oversell it, but if you are a princess and 3 yrs old, it's definitely a moment! Older kids get interviewed before they go in and it is "broadcast" inside the theatre as a preshow to the main event.

[scottishwee35]

Originally Posted by sherekhan

Another fun thing I didn't know about...

The Golden Mickeys have a red carpet greeting before the show. I saw it on the navigator and thought it meant another character greet, but instead it means that you and your family get to walk the red carpet.

It was so sweet because my DD was dressed in her Ariel outfit. When she set foot on the carpet, cast members did a little pretend paparazzi with prop cameras. They were not at all obnoxious, but nicely said things like "Oh! Look, it's Ariel!" "Ariel, please, look over here!" and flashed the cameras. She was definitely used to cameras by that time in the trip, so she walked slowly down by herself smiling shyly and having a good time.

It was a fun surprise. If I had known about it, one of us would have gone down in front of her first and taken a picture of it happening. It's not huge, so I don't want to oversell it, but if you are a princess and 3 yrs old, it's definitely a moment! Older kids get interviewed before they go in and it is "broadcast" inside the theatre as a preshow to the main event.

Yes, that was good well.

Scotishwee35

[mmouse37]

Originally Posted by sherekhan

Another fun thing I didn't know about...

The Golden Mickeys have a red carpet greeting before the show. I saw it on the navigator and thought it meant another character greet, but instead it means that you and your family get to walk the red carpet.

It was so sweet because my DD was dressed in her Ariel outfit. When she set foot on the carpet, cast members did a little pretend paparazzi with prop cameras. They were not at all obnoxious, but nicely said things like "Oh! Look, it's Ariel!" "Ariel, please, look over here!" and flashed the cameras. She was definitely used to cameras by that time in the trip, so she walked slowly down by herself smiling shyly and having a good time.

It was a fun surprise. If I had known about it, one of us would have gone down in front of her first and taken a picture of it happening. It's not huge, so I don't want to oversell it, but if you are a princess and 3 yrs old, it's definitely a moment! Older kids get interviewed before they go in and it is "broadcast" inside the theatre as a preshow to the main event.

Here is a pic of the "red carpet" with banners before the crowds started!!!

[IMG][/IMG]


And, to add to this post....if your kids get to be intereviewed at the end of the red carpet by the the woman in the gold dress (I forget her character name) your kids will be simultaneously shown on the big video screens in the Walt Disney Theatre!!! So parents, one of you should run into the theater and check your kids out on the big screen as they are being interviewed outside the theatre!!!

[mmouse37]

Oh, and I thought of another DCL secret when I was responding to a different thread about the Buena Vista Theatre (movie theatre).

Adults....don't sit in the last row of seats as the leg clearance is less than all the other rows!!! We found out the hard way!!!

[Amlee]

Responding to another thread, made me think of one of the most important things that Disney doesn't tell you.

YOU CAN'T DO IT ALL!!! Don't try! Take a highlighter, sit down with your family at night and go over the next days events. Decide what you want to do and highlight it. Take a highlighter for each member of the family. Extra navigators are at guest services.

[nzdisneymom]

Originally Posted by sherekhan

Older kids get interviewed before they go in and it is "broadcast" inside the theatre as a preshow to the main event.

Funny thing on our Dec. 2005 cruise -- the first kid that they interviewed (we were already in the theater so we watched it on the screen), they asked her name, etc. and then asked who is her favorite Disney character. Her reply? SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS. We thought "her parents must be so proud." But it was funny.