~ºoº November 27, 2010- Western Magic! ºoº~

[iloverags2]

Thank you, this gives me a much clearer idea of the process. How many people participate in this?

Right now, these are the numbers for our cruise...
# of Cabins 20
# of Girls 11
# of Boys 15
# of Adults 36
Total # of People 62

On our cruise last October, we had only 7 or 8 cabins participate. You can do just about anything as far as gifts. Some folks give one gift to each cabin (such as the puzzle we received), while others put together several small items. What I did on the last cruise was little gifts for the kids/teens...things like Disney-themed color art (from the $1 bin at Michaels), Disney-themed decks of cards, travel size Bath & Body Works stuff (I stock up on it when it's the 5 for $5 deals and the like), etc. For the adults I gave picture frames (again very inexpensive frames from A.C. Moore...and used a coupon!), and made the picture below which was a picture I had taken on my previous cruise...I added the text to customize it for our group. They could either keep the picture in the frame or put in something from their trip! This cruise I'm attempting to be crafty for the adults!

 

[ukintheus]

Cindy - ooohhhh...crafty??? The FE is going to be fun. I have panicked a couple of times with the amount of cabins/participants, and then I read about how some have over 100 cabins!! I have to admit that I would be gracefully backing out!!

Goincrusin - don't let the FE stuff put you off the group, one step at a time! This is such a great crowd and several have done this specific cruise before. DH and I are first time cruisers too...so it is all new to us, but I'm so excited I can hardly stand it.

 

[ukintheus]

FE is Fish Extender. There are several threads on this, but to spare you trying to do a search on this...in a nutshell, Disney ships have a "holder" in the form of a fish outside each stateroom door. The original intent for use was for "mail" to guests from the DCL crew (which it is still used in that capacity). DISers took this a step further and use it for a gift exchange. If you decide to participate in an FE, you hang what is known as a Fish Extender (see pic below, from my mom's and my cruise last October) on the fish. Those in your group participating put small gifts inside. Please excuse my very basic concept of the Fish Extender...I am not crafty and do not sew! This was the best I could come up with. You will see many more elaborate versions of this.

Hope this all helps!

Fish Extender

Gifts received, which included a bag of M&M's, scrapbooking piece (photo frame), Connecticut puzzle, passport holder, notepad,, bookmarks, candy, etc!

I think this is about one of the best in a nutshell FE descriptions I have ever seen...great job Cindy!! I may steal this and repost if we have someone new pop in and ask.

 

[iloverags2]

I think this is about one of the best in a nutshell FE descriptions I have ever seen...great job Cindy!! I may steal this and repost if we have someone new pop in and ask.

Thanks! And feel free to repost as needed!!!

 

[DLW8]

Thank you, this gives me a much clearer idea of the process. How many people participate in this?

Welcome to our little group and happy first cruise! We have only cruised once (3 night) so are excited to do a 7 night this time.

Take your time on the boards, there is lots of info here, the "sticky" at the top of the boards with the FAQ is a great place to start, and I think there may be a list of acronyms there as well.

If you decide that you are interested in participating in the FE, I am coordinating the list. After you have posted 10 posts (your counter is under your name on the far left) you can send a Private message (PM) to me with the following information:

Room #
Last Name
Email Address
Names of people in party (plus DH, DW, etc)
DD/DS and ages for kids with their names
Celebrating anything?


Once we are all set with the list, I will email it out to everyone so you have a list and know where to deliver your gifts.

As for those groups with 100+ cabins, I think I would be gracefully bowing out as well! I have heard of some that are that big and they broke them into smaller groups as that would be very overwhelming (at least to me and my budget!)

I am still considering a few ideas as to what I'll do...and Ilove that someone is going to be crafty in our group (I can shop with the best of them, but crafty I am not).

The final date to email me to be included in the FE: MIDNIGHT ON OCTOBER 15

 

[DLW8]

One more item to add about the FE gifts...some people do gifts for each person in the room, or something for the kids and something different for the adults, or one gift as a "stateroom" gift.

There are no rules, it's just fun. We received great gifts big and small on our last cruise, and it was just so much fun to come back to the room to find little treasures outside our door!

My DD wore one of the pirate bandanas we received in our FE to camp last week for pirate day.

 

[Va-NanaTink]

That is the current tally for the FE

Great job on being down 4 lbs Nana Tink!

I was so busy looking up the FE stuff that I totally forgot to mention the 4 lbs!! That is awesome. I wish I could say the same!

Thanks! I have a long way to go, but you got to start somewhere. I'm thinking a lot of this loss is water though!

But I will keep plugging away!

 

[Va-NanaTink]

This will be our first cruise - Nov 27th. Never been to this site before and somewhat confused about FE, DD, DS. What does all this mean??

Thanks

Welcome to the group! This will be our 6th Disney cruise and we have done this itinerary before! It's lots of fun!

I would have to also bow out...100 cabins...if you look past the cost (which I certainly am not ) but I wouldn't have room in my luggage for my clothes...

Everybody got their dancing shoes on????

 

[thepeacekeeper]

Wow, 100 cabins...that would keep the boys busy for awhile! Please don't get hung up on the FE gifts. There is so much else you can worry about! Small gifts are awesome. I think one of the best things for us was sending the kids out with a bag of goodies and a list of cabins for them to find. They loved it. Another idea is something that comes from your state. We received several items like that last time and thought it was cool. Also, it's a good idea, (in my opinion), to spread out the gift-giving. I think we waited until about day 4 or 5 to distribute our booty. Stretches out the fun!

 

[thepeacekeeper]

One more quick thing. I brought some chocolates called Cow Pies made here in Wisconsin, (chocolate covered glob of caramel with pecans). I handed those out to our cabin steward and the kid program counselors and they LOVED it. I know they get tips but sometimes stuff like that really makes their day.

 

[DLW8]

Thanks! I have a long way to go, but you got to start somewhere. I'm thinking a lot of this loss is water though!

But I will keep plugging away!

Any loss is great - slow and steady wins the race!!

 

[goincrusin]

Any recommendations on Palo?? We also want to do a dolphin swim and surprise our daughter. We were looking at the one Disney offers in the Caymans, has anyone done this or have input??

 

[mousebrat]

We have been working with the concierge and they have told us that the Dolphin Swim in Cozumel is better than the one in the Caymans. We are booking through Dolphin Discover because our son is 4 and we aren't sure about him being alone in the water without mom/dad. Dolphinaris is supposed to be better according to Disney. They offer their swim for ages 5 and up.

We scheduled Palo for a night when they weren't going to have actual stage shows in the theater because our kids are to the age that they want to see them.

 

[jd99]

Hi there.
We are back from our Med cruise and had just an incredible time. It was truly a once in a lifetime trip. I'm going to be doing a trip report with photos eventually.

We are all already REALLY looking forward to this next sailing. We weren't 100 percent sure we were going to keep it but after our experience the last 2 weeks, there is no way we are missing it! Gotta get my airfare now!
jeff

 

[DLW8]

Hi there.
We are back from our Med cruise and had just an incredible time. It was truly a once in a lifetime trip. I'm going to be doing a trip report with photos eventually.

We are all already REALLY looking forward to this next sailing. We weren't 100 percent sure we were going to keep it but after our experience the last 2 weeks, there is no way we are missing it! Gotta get my airfare now!
jeff

Welcome back and glad you had a great time! Be sure to put a link here so we can check out your trip report and photos!

As for us...we are in double digits, only 99 days til we sail!

 

[DLW8]

We have been working with the concierge and they have told us that the Dolphin Swim in Cozumel is better than the one in the Caymans. We are booking through Dolphin Discover because our son is 4 and we aren't sure about him being alone in the water without mom/dad. Dolphinaris is supposed to be better according to Disney. They offer their swim for ages 5 and up.

We scheduled Palo for a night when they weren't going to have actual stage shows in the theater because our kids are to the age that they want to see them.

Did they give you any reasons on why they say the swim in Cozumel is better than Grand Cayman? The one in GC is a new excursion that Disney is offering, so maybe they haven't got as much feedback? I've read posts from other DISsers that loved GC and for us, it's a bit more affordable, so think we will be trying it. Only 9 days to make my decision before my booking date!

 

[goincrusin]

A friend of mine who went on a different cruise line also said the dolphin swim in
Cozumel is better. Has anyone done the dolphin swim in Cozumel and if so what is your opinion?

 

[jd99]

Started my trip report. It's going to take a while....but here is the start. Our Magical Med Cruise

 

[goincrusin]

One more quick thing. I brought some chocolates called Cow Pies made here in Wisconsin, (chocolate covered glob of caramel with pecans). I handed those out to our cabin steward and the kid program counselors and they LOVED it. I know they get tips but sometimes stuff like that really makes their day.

That's a great idea. We are from Louisiana and we could bring pralines, a local sweet treat.

 

[thepeacekeeper]

That's a great idea. We are from Louisiana and we could bring pralines, a local sweet treat.

Trade ya a Cow Pie for a praline!