The adventure begins Thursday October 28, 2010. It is a gorgeous, warm, blue skied Florida fall day.We are decked out in our festive candy-corn tie dye outfits, the van is packed and we are ready to head out on a 10 day, 9 night Disney World and
Disney Cruise Line extravaganza!!
And away we go!!!
The first stop is our traditional pre-cruise breakfast at Cracker Barrel. It was mid-morning so there was no wait to be seated (thank goodness as those Country Stores are a money pit!). We had great service and enjoyed a fun and delicious casual meal.
Pecan pancakes- the best way to start vacation!
The plan from here some might consider odd, but we continued past WDW and headed over to Port Canaveral first to check in prior to heading to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party (
MNSSHP) at the Magic Kingdom. The reasons for this were twofold. First just to be checked in and have our bags in the room, as we knew that we would be coming in very late at night after the party. Also we wanted our name on the list for the 10:00 shuttle to the Port ASAP! (more on how this works in a bit)
In any event it was a nice drive, and before we knew it, this is what we saw:
(OK, OK, that’s not the Magic, it’s really the Wonder but it was great to still get that special moment of being able to see the
DCL ship as you crest that first hill)
We continued just past the Port exits to the Port Canaveral Resort Area. We were staying at Country Inn and Suites (CIS) which is a very popular low-cost option for cruisers. Two of the reasons this hotel is so popular are the Kids Suites and Priceline. There is a long thread on the main DCL board about how to get rooms at this hotel for $49/night on Priceline. While we did use Priceline to bid for our stay, we were not able to get the $49 price (although some of our fellow cruisers who bid prior to us were able to snag it). One of the factors behind this was the Cocoa Beach Air Show that weekend and also the scheduled Shuttle Launch on Monday 11/1. In fact it was estimated that there would be an extra 200.000 people would be in Port/Cape Canaveral-Cocoa Beach area that weekend! Yikes!
The first in a string of hotels/resorts we approached was the CIS. While not a 5 star resort it certainly was comfortable and well-appointed for families. The price we had bid online was in the $70/night range and we found this hotel and amenities well worth that cost. (If you can get the $49 deal, even better!!) As we drove over in our own vehicle, we elected to do the Park & Stay which is an extra $20 added on to the total cost of your room and allows you use of the shuttle to and from the port and also to park your car at the CIS for the duration of the cruise. We found this a very good deal. So for a few bucks more than what it would have cost just to park at the port for the cruise, we got to park, had a Kids’ suite for 2 nights, and the shuttle to and from the port! Excellent value!!
The Country Inn and Suites at Port Canaveral:
Check in was quick and painless and we were able to get not only a kids’ suite (available upon request on a first come-first serve basis) but all of our names on the list for the earliest shuttle to the port, which was 10:00 AM. They also had 11:00 and Noon shuttles. There were appx. 15-20 spots per shuttle and they will not open up the list until about 2 days before the sail date (you can try calling the desk to inquire about shuttle availability if you are not checking in 2 days prior like we were).
We were given a handful of colorful flyers:
Each had a different purpose. The bright pink one was our Parking Pass for our vehicle, which we got once we paid for the Park & Stay. The lime green one was our Shuttle Voucher TO the port, which listed our time to meet in the lobby and number of people authorized to board the shuttle. While they do take your names, you definitely need the voucher to board the Shuttle, and more importantly you need to keep the RETURN shuttle voucher. That one is the bright orange and it had the info on it to call for our shuttle back to the hotel from the port after the cruise. The last green slip is a breakfast voucher. CIS offers a wonderful complimentary HOT continental breakfast to lodgers. It had items like Belgian waffles, omelets, hash browns, sausage, bacon, etc. So keeping track of all of this paperwork is very important during your stay.
We then headed to our room, 107, a kids’ suite on the first floor. We were impressed by the very large size of the kids suite and expansive ceilings. In the kids’ suites there is a small little kids bedroom area consisting of 3 beds, a standalone twin and a set of twin bunk beds and also their own TV , decorated in a cute nautical theme.
This view shows the entryway, looking in to the room from the door:
The main bed/sleep area:
The living area, looking back towards the entrance:
Kids’ suite standalone bed:
The kids suite bunk area:
Sarah makes her choice!
We spent a few minutes getting acclimated and refreshed and then it was time to head back out onto the road towards MNSSHP and the beginning of the Halloween festivities!
Up Next: It’s Really Not So Scary
Those shoes! lol Sorry, I get excited easily. 
Thank you so much for posting the threads!! I don't venture away from the cruise section of this website, so knowing there is a creative section opens up a WHOLE NEW WORLD for me (as if I didn't spend too much time here already). I even showed these shirts to non-Disney-loving BF who said he would wear one on our cruise and even seemed interested in helping make them! 
I wish we could go back to this day.
