03/30/08 4 night Wonder, 30th March 2008

[SueNFla]

Hello folks:

Just thought I'd just jump right in...my DD and I attended a Halloween party over the weekend. He costume won first place. I dressed her as Raggedy Ann and it was adorable. What fun it is to relive my childhood through her.

Went to Princess/Pirate Party last February when they first opened it. It was fabulous. Had never done any of their parties, but it was worth it. My daughter isn't quite used to the late hours, but she hung in there like a trooper. You're right, though, tons of candy (loot). LOL

Have a great week everyone.

 

[nisiemouse]

Hope everyone had a great Halloween. It is hard to believe it is November 1 and time to start thinking about It will also be time for me to make that final cruise payment before too long.

Have a great weekend everyone. I am off tomorrow. We are going out to lunch to celebrate our 19th anniversary tomorrow.

 

[wayneg]

Hope everyone had a great Halloween. It is hard to believe it is November 1 and time to start thinking about It will also be time for me to make that final cruise payment before too long.

Have a great weekend everyone. I am off tomorrow. We are going out to lunch to celebrate our 19th anniversary tomorrow.

Congrats on your 19th, next Sept will be our 19th also Where does time go?
Wow what is going on with your economy over there, £ and Euro are hitting highs against the $ every day. We can get $2.08 to £1 now, 1st visit to Florida 14 years ago we were only getting $1.40. Last time we were there houses were so cheap compared to here, now with this exchange rate they are even cheaper. I wonder which way the rate is going to go next, do I pay cruise of now or is it going to get even better for us?

Yesterday I booked our flights for next August fly out on 1st August and return home on the 25th. They were ridiculously cheap, less than $700 each, I am sure there was some error there but I am not complaining (I believe they should have been another $400 each at least)

Enjoy your Anniversary
Wayne

 

[nisiemouse]

Congrats on your 19th, next Sept will be our 19th also Where does time go?
Wow what is going on with your economy over there, £ and Euro are hitting highs against the $ every day. We can get $2.08 to £1 now, 1st visit to Florida 14 years ago we were only getting $1.40. Last time we were there houses were so cheap compared to here, now with this exchange rate they are even cheaper. I wonder which way the rate is going to go next, do I pay cruise of now or is it going to get even better for us?

Yesterday I booked our flights for next August fly out on 1st August and return home on the 25th. They were ridiculously cheap, less than $700 each, I am sure there was some error there but I am not complaining (I believe they should have been another $400 each at least)

Enjoy your Anniversary
Wayne

Thanks for the anniversary wishes. It is hard to believe it has been 19 years.

I am glad the exchange rate is in your favour right now. Those airfares sound like a great deal. It seems like you visit pretty frequently. Have you ever looked into DVC? I know it isn't for everyone but we have really enjoyed our membership.

Have a good rest of the weekend.

Denise

 

[wayneg]

Hi Denise
Next year planning on 4 visits totalling 9 weeks (Easter, August, Oct & Xmas) unless we change the Oct visit to Vegas/DLR again.
Never really looked into DVC, I don't think it would be for us. Our only experience onsite was ASMovies, 7 years ago, Did not enjoy the small rooms, crowded pools, poor foodcourt, Disney transport or the room rate.
I know the DVC properties are in a different class to the Vaue resorts but we love getting away from Disney after the parks. Eating and sleeping Disney is OK for a few nights on a ship but we prefer offsite.
Our fave location is Courtyard by Marriott LBV easy to get to Sea World, Universal and just about anywhere. Usually pay around $50/night (or $75 for a suite) incl tax and wireless internet.
I keep considering trying moderate or Luxury resorts, sometimes get offers with our AP's but Karen says why when we only sleep there might as well spend the money on luxuries like Discovery cove, ballon flight etc. I think its ASM that has put her off trying other Disney property, maybe for our 25th I can get her to try a luxury resort

 

[nisiemouse]

Hi Denise
Next year planning on 4 visits totalling 9 weeks (Easter, August, Oct & Xmas) unless we change the Oct visit to Vegas/DLR again.
Never really looked into DVC, I don't think it would be for us. Our only experience onsite was ASMovies, 7 years ago, Did not enjoy the small rooms, crowded pools, poor foodcourt, Disney transport or the room rate.
I know the DVC properties are in a different class to the Vaue resorts but we love getting away from Disney after the parks. Eating and sleeping Disney is OK for a few nights on a ship but we prefer offsite.

9 weeks in Orlando sounds wonderful. The thing that really swayed us to DVC were the big two bedroom units. The rental rates are unreasonable if you rent through disney but very reasonable with DVC points. A lot of people really enjoy offsite though and it sounds like you get a good rate at the Courtyard. I still might give it one more try at some point though for a couple of nights. The other properties are very different than the value resorts. Anyway, just curious. There is so much to do in Orlando and it sounds like you and your family have been doing very well staying offsite.

Denise

 

[wayneg]

For 8 nights before the cruise we are trying a 2 bed Condo at Windsor Hills, gets very good reviews, costing about $120/night incl. we need the extra room as we are taking Mathews friend with us.
Not sure we will enjoy as much as a hotel, we like someone coming in a cleaning up and making the beds.
Is it simple for you to give me the rough cost of DVC or too complex?

 

[nisiemouse]

Wayne,
If you go to the DVC forum at the top click on "more info on DVC". If you go under the DVC operations forum there are usually a lot of people asking questions about the program and good information. I believe right now it is $101 a point with an incentive of $8 a point. So, $96 a point for Animal Kingdom Villas and $94 a point for Saratoga Springs. Also, if you give a member's name for referral you can get 160 extra points that have to be used within a year. You can stay at all the DVC resorts but can book your home resort at 11 months and the other resorts at 7 months. You can also buy one of the sold out properties as disney buys back points when owners sell. Our first set of points were at OKW at $60 a point about 5 years ago so it has gone up in value. The minimum buy-in is 160 points and you pay yearly maintenance fees (don't have the fees right in front of me but maybe about $4.25 or $4.50 a point depending on your home resort). We had our initial investment paid off in about 5 visits so now all we have is dues every year. So now if we if reserve a studio at 12 or 14 points for a night it is only costing us about $50 or $60. A 2 bedroom on the other hand would be about $130 to $170 depending on the resort and time of year but the rate through disney would be about 4 times that. Like I said, it's not for everyone but has worked out well for us. Sometime you might want to take the tour just to see all the ins and outs of the program. It is not high pressure at all.
Have a good week. Less than 5 months until the cruise.
Denise

 

[Deweysgirl]

Hi Everyone! So excited, today I got my cruise planning guide in the mail! Did you all get yours yet?
Only 20 weeks to go!!

 

[wayneg]

Hi Liz, yes we got ours yesterday morning
It was something new for us, never got them on previous cruises. how long they been sending them out?

We have been trying to decide what to do next fall this evening. Either back to Florida, Vegas/Disneyland CA again, New York or just a week on the beach in Spain doing nothing but eat and drink. Already Spring and Summer (and probably next Xmas) in Florida so think it might have to be somewhere different but we have annual passes for everywhere in Florida which cuts down on costs.

Have a great week everyone, surely more must be joining the group soon.
Wayne

 

[SueNFla]

I GOT MY DOCS TOO. HOW EXCITING!!! YEAH.

 

[Deweysgirl]

I GOT MY DOCS TOO. HOW EXCITING!!! YEAH.

Yup, it feels closer now then ever before!

Hi Liz, yes we got ours yesterday morning
It was something new for us, never got them on previous cruises. how long they been sending them out?

This is a first for us too. When we went on the previous cruise in September they weren't doing it then either. I think it's a nice touch, really gets you in the mood for cruising!

We have been trying to decide what to do next fall this evening. Either back to Florida, Vegas/Disneyland CA again, New York or just a week on the beach in Spain doing nothing but eat and drink. Already Spring and Summer (and probably next Xmas) in Florida so think it might have to be somewhere different but we have annual passes for everywhere in Florida which cuts down on costs.

Wayne

Decisions....decisions...I would pick in this order but for no particular reason though because I've never been to any of these places.

1. Vegas/Disneyland
2. Spain
3. New York

I'm sure it will be fun, no matter what you decide!

 

[nisiemouse]

We got ours in the mail too. I think it will be very helpful for my neighbors as it will be their first time on the disney cruise.

What is everyone doing for Thanksgiving? We will be staying home this year. The last couple of years we have visited dh's mom in Destin but we decided to make the trip after Christmas this year. Hopefully we can use the long weekend to get Christmas decorations up.

 

[SueNFla]

We got ours in the mail too. I think it will be very helpful for my neighbors as it will be their first time on the disney cruise.

What is everyone doing for Thanksgiving? We will be staying home this year. The last couple of years we have visited dh's mom in Destin but we decided to make the trip after Christmas this year. Hopefully we can use the long weekend to get Christmas decorations up.

I went to Ocala, FL to spend Thanksgiving with family there. I got a wild hair up my butt to go stand in line at the stores for the Black Friday sales. NEVER AGAIN!!! I did get a desktop and a laptop from Circuit City dirt cheap, but I think I've learned my lesson. I was on line from 6:00 p.m. Thursday until the store opened on Friday at 5:00 a.m. WHEW. What vultures!!

 

[Deweysgirl]

Wow Sue! What a trooper! I would have liked to get that laptop too but no patience for any lines, especially ones that go on overnight!!!

Not sure if you guys saw that they came out with Fl. Resident rates for the 3/29/08 cruise. Maybe that's a good sign for us that we'll see them on the 4 night too. That would be great because I'm paying a pretty penny for this cruise!

I'm a little worried too because I heard that some cruise lines are tacking on fuel surcharges because of the gas prices skyrocketing. DCL already charges so much more than the other cruises, I'm not sure how that's going to fly!

Hope everyone had a nice Turkey day!
Liz

 

[SueNFla]

Wow Sue! What a trooper! I would have liked to get that laptop too but no patience for any lines, especially ones that go on overnight!!!

Not sure if you guys saw that they came out with Fl. Resident rates for the 3/29/08 cruise. Maybe that's a good sign for us that we'll see them on the 4 night too. That would be great because I'm paying a pretty penny for this cruise!

I'm a little worried too because I heard that some cruise lines are tacking on fuel surcharges because of the gas prices skyrocketing. DCL already charges so much more than the other cruises, I'm not sure how that's going to fly!

Hope everyone had a nice Turkey day!
Liz

I know what you mean about the cruise prices. I'm a single mom and I'm just eeking by. You can bet that I'll be checking with my TA regarding any discounts opening up. Last time, she was great about applying that back to me...plus I was upgraded at the last minute to the GINORMOUS cabin. What a treat that was!! Kind of spoiled me for future cruises.

Have a great day everyone!!!

 

[wayneg]

Hi everyone
Hope you all had a great Christmas and Happy New Year.
I am always so busy in December I dont get much time to post, being a Florist is a great job but Christmas is a killer, working upto 20 hours a day. Then 26-28th I was ill, not quite flu but it was bad.
Well I booked another cruise August 2009, 7 night Western, done it before but last time they changed the itinery due to devastation with hurricaines, hopefully this time we will stick to the original itinery. We even managed to bag a SPR.
Its now only 1 hour 50 mins to 2008 relaxing with a few drinks. Not long to sailing now.
Wayne

 

[LostGirls]

Hello all! We'll be joining you - me (Lynn), husband Marty, DD's Ashley (10) and Emily (6), and my Mom, Darlene. We did a 7 day Western in May 2005 and had plans for another last year, but we lost my Dad to a brief battle with stomach cancer in January. That cruise was our last big vacation with him so it was very magical in many different ways. Made our Palo reservations last night and have booked the Beach Day at Atlantis excursion. I plan on doing NOTHING on the beach at Castaway Cay - pure bliss for us folks who get TOO MUCH RAIN! Happy New Year!!

 

[wayneg]

Welcome Lynn and family.
Sorry to hear about your Dad. I lost my Mum 3 years ago age 59 with no illness, very hard to accept, she was my best friend, babysitter, gardner, employee, you name it she was it. Its very hard to lose parents.
Where in Seattle are you from? I say that as if I know it well I have no idea about the area, my friend lives in Aberdeen, WA. Talk to her everyday on messenger. anywhere near there?
Well its now 2008 here, Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!

 

[LostGirls]

Wayne,
We actually live in Silverdale, which is about an hour's drive East of Aberdeen, across the water from Seattle. I am originally from Key West, FL but have lived here for almost 20 years. Even so, I still consider Key West "home"!