Disney Magic : March 3 2017!

[AshleyDumas]

Sadly it's still a long time away, but I am started the thread for this cruise!

Can't wait to cruise with all of you!!

 

[CrystalW]

Sadly it's still a long time away, but I am started the thread for this cruise!

Can't wait to cruise with all of you!!

This will be our first cruise (family of 5). We are so excited yet sad we have to wait!

 

[chgfan21]

This will be our first Disney cruise!!(family of 4) We are very excited to check out Disney. I have also been reading about the Fish Extender groups, does anyone know if there are any groups started for this cruise? They sounds fun, and my kids would LOVE surprises waiting for them at their door!! If someone knows more about it, can you also tell me what is expected by joining a FE group?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

tell me what is expected by joining a FE group?

Glad you asked:
WHAT IS A FISH EXTENDER? (FE)
Outside your room onboard is a message holder, in most cases it's shaped like a fish:

The fish is there for Disney to place important communications to you such as excursion tickets and notes from the Cruise staff. It is like a mailbox for your room. A Fish Extender (FE) it is something that you hang off the fish. By hanging the Fish Extender off of the fish, the Cast Members can still use it for its original purpose.THIS IS NOT A ONE ON ONE EXCHANGE, YOU ARE PART OF A GROUP. All the people in the exchange buy or make little items and place them in each other's fish extenders. It is great fun to come back and check the items you have received.

Once a cruise meet thread is up and running, someone in the group will (should?) step up and say "I'll maintain the Fish Extender exchange list". That person is the center point for all those who want to participate in the exchange. The list can be as simple as DISnames/room number/number of guests or as involved as full names/room number/ages of guests/like & dislikes/allergies/favorite characters/whatever is deemed necessary to know assemble the gifts.

Then each room on the FE list (note this will not be everyone on the Cruise Meet thread for your specific cruise), makes a Fish Extender holder. This is basically an organizer-type hanging bag with separate pockets for each person in the room:

The most common Fish Extenders are ones that have a pocket for each person in that stateroom. Some are very fancy, some are very plain. Some are store bought, some are homemade. Search "Disney fish extender" and you will get options that range in price. You should make sure your Fish Extender is between 8" & 12"" wide. Otherwise it starts to get in the way of your stateroom door. It should not exceed 5 feet; otherwise it will hit the floor. If you are creating your own it is suggested you make the pockets a little deeper than normal too. It will keep items from falling out and keep curious hands from reaching in (average depth is 5-6 inches)but 8-11 is a better way to go if you are making it yourself

They also make up gifts (either individual gifts or room gifts - whatever is decided by your group) to be delivered during the cruise).

One note about the gifts, some groups set up specific delivery dates, and specify "each person gets a gift" or "only one gift per room" or (even) maximum/minimum price ranges for gifts. Other groups just say "whatever", so people can choose what/how many gifts to give. Some give individual gifts, others only one gift per room, while others might do one for the adults and separate gifts for kids. Or only gift the kids.

WHO CAN JOIN?
Anyone and everyone! Even if your stateroom is 2 adults, you can join and have just as much fun! The only rule I would say is to HAVE FUN!! It's not about the gift it's about the thoughtfulness behind it.

DO I HAVE TO BUY FOR EVERYONE? DO I NEED TO GIVE PER CABIN?
Sort of…You have to do something for EVERY CABIN PARTICIPATING, You choose whether its adult gifts or kids gifts or cabin gifts or a combination.YOU CAN NOT LEAVE A CABIN OUT IF THEY HAVE SIGNED UPAt the very least, 1 cabin gift, per cabin. Some do a cabin gift, and then do a few items for the kids. Some do individual for each member of the cabin. Some people are crafty and make gifts, and some are store bought. Some gifts are to be used on board and some are to be used at home.

DO WE PUT GIFTS IN EVERY DAY OF THE CRUISE? WILL I HAVE TO WALK ALL OVER THE SHIP TO DELIVER?
That's up to you. Most deliver ONCE.Most do one gift, some do multiple gifts.You don’t want to spend your whole cruise delivering gifts. It can be time consuming. Most deliver over the whole length of the cruise. One morning you do all the cabins on decks 4-6 that are Forward. Another time you do all the mid cabins on decks 1-4. And so on. It’s suggested you break up your list by location: Forward, Mid and Aft before leaving home. Large zip locks are good for this. Start from your highest deck and work your way to your lowest.

*If you are on a longer cruise, consider delivering later in the week. Most deliver in the beginning and then there is nothing towards the end (and the kids like to find stuff in the holder)You don’t have to deliver all on the first day, especially on the longer cruises.

Don’t deliver in the middle of the night, when no one is around, or when people are off the ship when sticky fingers are more likely.

WHEN LEAVING A GIFT, DO WE IDENTIFY WHO IT IS FROM?
Some people do put some kind of to/from tag on their items. Most want to know who it came from. Some do it because they don't want people to think they got shorted a gift or assumed theft of an item. Others go with the original intent and deliver anonymous gifts.

ANYTHING ELSE I NEED TO KNOW?

• It has been pointed out that some TA's are giving wrong info. They are saying you can hang an FE holder outside your door and expect gifts.
• Cast members are not walking around like Tinkerbelle handing out gifts.
• You cannot just show up on a cruise with gifts to randomly pass out (well you could but that would be more like Pixie dusting than FE)
• YOU HAVE TO FIND YOUR CRUISE PAGE AND JOIN A FE GROUP TO KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE PARTICIPATING, HOW LARGE YOUR GROUP WILL BE AND ALL OTHER INFO!

( this is a voluntary program and is not sanctioned by Disney)

 

[chgfan21]

Thank you princessshmoo!! That was very helpful!! Sounds like a lot of fun. Since I am a newbee, I will wait for someone to set up and take control of the list and just sign up to participate.

 

[candicewah]

This will be our first cruise (family of 5). We are so excited yet sad we have to wait!

Ours too! Soo excited! We are a family of five as well. Look forward to seeing you all!

 

[CrystalW]

Fish extenders sound fun but also daunting and exhausting if we have to walk around the entire ship delivering to every cabin participating. Maybe whoever is the leader could consider keeping delivery to same deck. Has it ever been organized where everyone on deck 5 participates only with others on deck 5, deck 6 with deck 6... And so on? Or even if it was 1-2 decks participating together- that would be more manageable. I have never been on a Disney cruise so I'm just thinking out loud...

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Fish extenders sound fun but also daunting and exhausting if we have to walk around the entire ship delivering to every cabin participating. Maybe whoever is the leader could consider keeping delivery to same deck. Has it ever been organized where everyone on deck 5 participates only with others on deck 5, deck 6 with deck 6... And so on? Or even if it was 1-2 decks participating together- that would be more manageable. I have never been on a Disney cruise so I'm just thinking out loud...

Typically, you deliver to everyone on the list, you can't pick and choose. However, lists can be kept small. Most FE groups close the list at 10-15 rooms. Then start a new list, if more people want to participate. Many times you can sign up on more than one list. But you are responsible for delivering to all the participants on your list only.

It really doesn't take long, when there's only 10 rooms.

That said, some FE groups just keep the list open and it can get quite large (upwards of 30-40 rooms).

 

[CrystalW]

Typically, you deliver to everyone on the list, you can't pick and choose. However, lists can be kept small. Most FE groups close the list at 10-15 rooms. Then start a new list, if more people want to participate. Many times you can sign up on more than one list. But you are responsible for delivering to all the participants on your list only.

It really doesn't take long, when there's only 10 rooms.

That said, some FE groups just keep the list open and it can get quite large (upwards of 30-40 rooms).

Thanks! That is helpful knowing the groups could be closed at 10-15 rooms. I would participate if that was the case.

 

[AshleyDumas]

 

[Casu]

Sadly it's still a long time away, but I am started the thread for this cruise!

Can't wait to cruise with all of you!!

March 3, 2017 I'm booked in that cruise but the ship is the Disney Dream.

 

[SnowWhite2]

We are on this cruise as a college graduation gift for my daughter. It will be our 15th DCL cruise. So excited to be back on the Magic and return to Key West.

 

[Harmon Family]

We are a family of 4 going on our first Disney cruise! We are so excited! We will be joined by my parents and brother's family. Tips and tricks for this cruise is appreciated!

 

[Harmon Family]

I'm so excited to join a Fish Extender group! My boys will love giving out gifts!

 

[Disneyelf10]

Hi, I just this week for this cruise. It will be and DH and we will also have some friends sailing with us and it will be their first Disney Cruise- very excited for them!! The kids (and adults) love coming back to the room and see their surprises! LOL! The FE is a lot of fun and I like the # of cabins limited to 10-15 per group. I (personally) find it manageable this way.
I would be happy to help out with the FE list.
thanks!

 

[WolfPack09]

This will be our second Disney cruise. Family of four. We will be celebrating my daughter's birthday. We would love to participate in an FE group. We didn't know about them the first time. Has an FE group been started for our cruise?

 

[mj50023]

I would be interested as well if a FE group has been started. First Disney cruise, celebrating daughter and granddaughters birthdays.

 

[Mom46]

Sadly it's still a long time away, but I am started the thread for this cruise!

Can't wait to cruise with all of you


We just booked this week! So excited!! This will be our first cruise ever. We have two teenage daughters...any other families with teens out there?

 

[mj50023]

I will have 2 teen boys with me, 16 and almost 15.

 

[Mom46]

I will have 2 teen boys with me, 16 and almost 15.

Awesome! Hope we get to meet you and your family on board!