standing in line to board

[ganurse]

do we just stand in line to board...i dont remember if there was music, characters out, etc.....

 

[CGBatch]

When you board there are CM's waiting to greet you and they go "Welcome the (insert name) family from (Insert State or Country)."

 

[ebaynut31]

While in line, we watched our portable dvd player. I think we had shreck or something like that. I think there were some characters but I really don't remember exactly. Kinda boring in line.

 

[floridaminnie]

They do have characters that come out for photo obs and signatures.

 

[PiperG]

I think the waiting goes fast. We try to get there early, because we can't wait to get on the ship. Its fun to talk to other passengers (we met other Dissers in line), go out and look at the ship, look at the ship's model and walk around the beautiful terminal.

 

[tkd lisa]

There are characters who visit. There are also comfortable couches with TVs playing Disney cartoons. There's a small snack bar (not included in the price of the cruise) where you can get a coffee if you'd like.

 

[izzinmac]

We are among those strange creatures that enjoy waiting in the line at the terminal. We get there early (10:30ish), so we end up in the front part of the line, which is a typical Disney maze, with the rows a little wider than at the parks. Since the line is not moving until boarding starts, everyone dumps their hand carried stuff and sorta camps out. My wife could carry on a conversation with a fireplug, so we end up talking to everyone around us, discuss our cruise experiences, find out about different families, etc. This has an added plus in that when you run into them onboard during the week, they seem like old friends. So if you are into that kind of stuff, the line can be fun, and the time flies til boarding. If you don't like lines or talking to strangers, I would wait until it starts to clear out, which is shortly after boarding starts. There are a few characters that come out closer to boarding start time, and the terminal is a very pleasant environment.

 

[DMS_cruisers04]

Originally posted by CGBatch
When you board there are CM's waiting to greet you and they go "Welcome the (insert name) family from (Insert State or Country)."

I just had an Animal House flashback, John Belushi standing on deck in his toga, announcing as people came aboard.

 

[crisi]

If you aren't in a rush to board, you can hang out in the terminal (or one person can stand in line while everyone else hangs out - but then they have to keep an eye on the line to join you). We had photo ops with Captian Mickey and Snow White, watched Disney cartoons, checked out the model of the ship, took photos of the terminal and the ship through the window. At 11:45 they started boarding - but the line was very long. We waited until the line had gone down (it moved very fast) and were on the ship by 12:10 with little waiting.

If you are looking for very specific reservations, you may be better off standing in line to get them the moment you board. If you aren't looking for ressies at all - or aren't picky on the day and time of your Palo ressies - you can board a little later and not need to stand in line.

 

[jrabbit]

*** (Mickey Vacation Time) goes by so quickly that we would rather wait in line before *** starts. That way the things we need to get done first on the ship won't have long lines so we aren't 'waisting' ***.

Queueing up in the terminal for an hour can save you way more than an hour waiting to make Palo and spa ressies and signing the kids into the clubs.

 

[crisi]

The sign in for the kids clubs wasn't open when the boat opened on our cruise. I don't think they opened until 12:30. So if that is your only line waiting, first or later at the terminal may not make a difference.

We must have gotten to the kids club at about 12:45 - we boarded at a little after 12:00, ate lunch at Parrot Cay first thing, then went and registered the kids. The lines were huge. Some of the posts here indicate we made a tactical error - heading to the pool and getting the kids registered at 3:00 would have had less lines - we hit the "we waited until you opened" rush plus the first wave of "just finished making Spa/Palo ressies"