09/05/09 LABORless MAGICal Meanderers

[ibela]

We do go to the shows, but there are some things that they only do once, like Match Your Mate (that we were late for) and 'Til We Meet Again (that we totally missed out on).

I meant if you go to the shows then they start at about the same time as the early dinner so you still have to be ready at the same time so you'd might as well do early for the one time shows like Match Your Mate (which we missed last time but I really want to see this time).

Wow you guys have been chatty in the last week! I would love to sit with any of you guys but I have no idea how to arrange this. Do you just put in a request to DCL?
We are on early dining. I think they may give early dining preference to those with younger kids, at least thats what Ive read on here before. I requested a dining rotation of APLAPLA. Whether or not that happens will be another thing but it means we will be in Lumiere's for formal night.
Missy, I am worried also about being back in time on the boat for early dining and hope I dont rock up looking like a fright
If I can score an appointment at the Salon for formal night I will be very happy.
Just so you guys know, my DD who is 2 when checking in was a total of $389 and I was told this was for taxes. She is classed as an infant apparantly.
Anyone doing Palo, and if so which night are you thinking?

We did LAPLAPL last time and were in AP for formal night which was kinda nice too (and had a 6pm dining time so it was early but not TOO early). I think anything but PC on formal night is nice, that one might be a little weird. To link reservations you need to call DCL with the other person's reservation # and ask to be linked, that's it.

I think that is totally true. Don't let a pushy waiter keep you from trying it again. We've never been, and I'll be cruising with my DM (who is totally attached to my kiddies) so Palo for dinner is out of the question. I was thinking about a brunch while the kids are in activities.

As for dining preference, we have done both. I prefer early dining, because not only do you not miss anything, but if you eat late, you miss out on the dessert buffet, and desserts are my favorite

I am also going to request APLAPLA for the same reasons, Lumiere's on Formal night. We have skipped Lumiere's on both of our cruises (at DH's request), so I would like it to be our special night.

I agree, don't let the waiter ruin your experience, he was just a bit overzealous in his efforts. We loved our experience in Palo (brunch and dinner) and can't wait to do it again. Then again, we were excited to have all that food within our reach and rolling out of there. Just because it's there doesn't mean you have to finish it, just sample. Actually I couldn't decide between entrees so I asked for side orders so that worked out really well.

As for desserts on the boat, I thought they were all mostly a bust and I'm normally a big fan of desserts. The best thing were the chocolate chip cookies and at the dessert buffet the only thing we thought was edible was the chocolate fountain and stuff we dipped in so I wouldn't plan my dining time around that one for sure!

I am so excited about dressing up the girls

We are thinking about doing
1)a dolphin excursion in Cozumel
2)a Stingray/snorkeling in Grand Cayman
3)the trolley? in Key West
4)Banana boat, water trikes in Castaway Cay


We NEED to plan our F&W girls trip for THIS October. We don't have dates or ressies yet
DF is a DVC member with a gazillion points, so hopefully she'll get us something. She said yesterday if we get a 2bedvilla we can sleep 8. That is 8 women, 3 nights away from family and all responsibility, a desperately needed trip. Can't wait for this one. I love her for thinking of this....

Oh, boy, I better get to work so I can pay for this

Sounds like a really nice girls trip. I wish I could go!!!!!!!!!! She must have a gazillion points because I can't imagine having enough left over for a 2bd girls trip! GET TO PLANNING!!

 

[UGAFan0829]

Well, it looks like we may have 2 more cruisers joining us. My DSIL and Niece are planning on coming with us on the cruise! I'm so excited. My DSIL has cruised on Carnival before, but this will be her first time on DCL. It will the first time ever cruising for the DNiece. They are both really excited, and the DH and I really excited to have them with us! They've been wanting to do a Mother/Daughter cruise for a while, and they've also been wanting to do Disney. They recently asked us when we were cruising again, and the DH told them about this cruise. We knew they wanted to come, so we invited them along. I think DSIL was a little hesitant at first since it's our anniversary cruise, but we've never been the kind to want to do things with just ourselves, so told them that we would love to have them along!! Did I say how excited we are?? I've never been real close to the DSIL or DNiece, so I'm excited about spending this time with them and bonding through Disney.
We are leaving for the beach this weekend, so as soon as we get back, we're gonna get them all booked and start getting their plans rolling!! Can't wait, and I just had to share my excitement with my fellow cruise-mates!

 

[aussieinvasion]

Thats awesome Missy! How old is your DNiece? Im sure they will have an absolute blast I bet you cant wait to get away to the beach this weekend. Ive been dreaming of the beach myself at the moment because its winter here and pretty cold. It doesnt snow where I live but it is snowing about an hour away. Hearing that you are going on your holiday this weekend makes me realise how much time has past since we started planning the cruise.
Have a wonderful time away!

 

[UGAFan0829]

Thats awesome Missy! How old is your DNiece? Im sure they will have an absolute blast I bet you cant wait to get away to the beach this weekend. Ive been dreaming of the beach myself at the moment because its winter here and pretty cold. It doesnt snow where I live but it is snowing about an hour away. Hearing that you are going on your holiday this weekend makes me realise how much time has past since we started planning the cruise.
Have a wonderful time away!

Thanks! My DNiece just turned 22 last week. I am so excited about it! The DH and I were discussing it today, talking about the shore excursions that we could do with them!
We are at the beach and now and having a great time. It's very different in that we are actually relaxing when we've been used to be so fast-paced in Disney!

 

[queenof2princesses]

Ooooh, good advice about the early dining and not having to miss the dessert buffet. That's all the more reason to keep early dining!

I hope that you have a great time in "Hotlanta". Where are y'all staying if you don't mind me asking?

Thanks again for the advice!

OMGoodness! I can't believe it has been a month since I posted!! well almost.. Our Atlanta trip was at the Hyatt Regency Downtown. This place was so-so, not great, but much cheaper, which was the goal. Keep in mind if you do priceline, you are only guaranteed a room for 2 (double bed). Luckily they bumped us to a king and gave us a rollaway since it was 3 women.. The conference more than made up for it, though.

Hope you are having fun at the beach!! I am here everyday and can't get my kids to go... Yeah I could say..We are going to the beach, and force them..how much fun is that. Oh well.

DD10 is still planning the cruise and her birthday trip for us, she is now thinking about staying at Poly, and with the economy the way it is..which affects my income directly we may be staying at POP again, which is really not a problem as that is probably their favorite place anyway. I will stop ranting now.

Glad to hear about your addition to the cruise list!! That is exciting!
I don't know if I have mentioned it before, DBFF and her family of 4 are traveling in the stateroom next to us.
We are going to have some fun. I am glad that the time is moving, don't want to wish it away, but I can't wait for this cruise.

 

[UGAFan0829]

OMGoodness! I can't believe it has been a month since I posted!! well almost.. Our Atlanta trip was at the Hyatt Regency Downtown. This place was so-so, not great, but much cheaper, which was the goal. Keep in mind if you do priceline, you are only guaranteed a room for 2 (double bed). Luckily they bumped us to a king and gave us a rollaway since it was 3 women.. The conference more than made up for it, though.

Hope you are having fun at the beach!! I am here everyday and can't get my kids to go... Yeah I could say..We are going to the beach, and force them..how much fun is that. Oh well.

DD10 is still planning the cruise and her birthday trip for us, she is now thinking about staying at Poly, and with the economy the way it is..which affects my income directly we may be staying at POP again, which is really not a problem as that is probably their favorite place anyway. I will stop ranting now.

Glad to hear about your addition to the cruise list!! That is exciting!
I don't know if I have mentioned it before, DBFF and her family of 4 are traveling in the stateroom next to us.
We are going to have some fun. I am glad that the time is moving, don't want to wish it away, but I can't wait for this cruise.

Glad that you had a great conference in Atlanta! But sorry to hear that the hotel wasn't so great...some of the downtown hotels can be very deceiving in that they look great from the outside, but the rooms aren't as nice.

We had a great time at the beach. Much better than I thought since I was so sad about not going to Disney this year. The water was nice, and the food was wonderful! We didn't want to come home at all!!

As for my sister-in-law and DNiece cruising with us...it's official. They came over just this morning and we got them all booked! I am sooooo very excited. We showed them the planning DVD and then got online and got everything booked. (I have to say that even though we've watched the video lots of times before, seeing it again got me really excited!) They decided to go with the Cat. 6 room, and are going to be just a few rooms down from us! My DSIL is going to be celebrating her birthday while we're onboard, so the DH and I are trying to think of something special to do for her. Of course we want to do something special for DNiece too, since this is her first cruise. They are both VERY excited, as we are too. But I can tell that DNiece is a little nervous.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend...Just had to share my news of getting DSIL and DN booked!! Woohoo!

 

[aussieinvasion]

I just read on another thread that the '09 DW rates should be out on Sunday. We are soooo excited, its all starting to come together

 

[EyeDisneyCruise]

Please add us to the roll call!

We'll be doing a back to back with the August 29th cruise!

We can't wait!

Sailing with us, all from Canada will be:

Trisha
Ben
Alexandra 4
Zachary 2

Anne
Glenn
Samantha 4
Phillip 2

Any word on organizing a roll call for Fish Extenders?

 

[UGAFan0829]

Please add us to the roll call!

We'll be doing a back to back with the August 29th cruise!

We can't wait!

Sailing with us, all from Canada will be:

Trisha
Ben
Alexandra 4
Zachary 2

Anne
Glenn
Samantha 4
Phillip 2

Any word on organizing a roll call for Fish Extenders?

Welcome!!
How lucky are you, doing 2 cruises, back to back! I bet it's going to be an awesome trip for you.

I don't think anyone has mentioned anything about Fish Extenders. I've seen them mentioned lots here on the boards, but I really don't understand them!

 

[aussieinvasion]

Welcome EyeDisneyCruise !!! Great to have you join our growing group
Being that this is my first cruise, I have no idea what a Fish Extender is. Would you mind please explaining to this newbie???

 

[ibela]

Please add us to the roll call!

We'll be doing a back to back with the August 29th cruise!

We can't wait!

Sailing with us, all from Canada will be:

Trisha
Ben
Alexandra 4
Zachary 2

Anne
Glenn
Samantha 4
Phillip 2

Any word on organizing a roll call for Fish Extenders?

Welcome!! 2 7-day cruises back to back sounds

My little girl will be 3 so looks like our girls will all be in the kids club together.

Welcome EyeDisneyCruise !!! Great to have you join our growing group
Being that this is my first cruise, I have no idea what a Fish Extender is. Would you mind please explaining to this newbie???

Fish extender is right outside each cabin. On my 1st cruise we didn't do fish extender gifts but did make little goodie bags for the kids. No idea what goes in the fish extenders - stuff the whole family can use??

 

[aussieinvasion]

So is it something that you stick on the stateroom door then? Some sort of decoration, Im guessing?
Anyone got a picture of one? Sorry to sound like such a dummy, this is all new to me
Wow, you're right Irene about the girls - with mine does that make 4 girls about the same age now? Correct me if Im wrong anybody and if there's more, Im starting to lose track
Well we ended up adding the REAS package to our booking last week, I think it was $359. I know this is waaaay early but I managed to pick up the kids pirate costumes here on the weekend for $7 each, thats the full outfit. Im pretty happy about it, and being that they are so small they wont take up much room in the suitcase. Did I read somewhere that you have to be careful about what sort of accessories you bring?? ie no fake swords etc? Not that I have any, just checking.

 

[ibela]

So is it something that you stick on the stateroom door then? Some sort of decoration, Im guessing?
Anyone got a picture of one? Sorry to sound like such a dummy, this is all new to me
Wow, you're right Irene about the girls - with mine does that make 4 girls about the same age now? Correct me if Im wrong anybody and if there's more, Im starting to lose track
Well we ended up adding the REAS package to our booking last week, I think it was $359. I know this is waaaay early but I managed to pick up the kids pirate costumes here on the weekend for $7 each, thats the full outfit. Im pretty happy about it, and being that they are so small they wont take up much room in the suitcase. Did I read somewhere that you have to be careful about what sort of accessories you bring?? ie no fake swords etc? Not that I have any, just checking.

The fish extender is right outside your door, think of it as an open mailbox. I got my DVC 'mail' in there.

I know it may be a lot of trouble but do you want to include ages of guests on the first page?

I'll admit it, I plan on keeping an eye open for pirate costumes after Halloween this year. No one else gets how I can plan this stuff so far in advance. I don't get how they can NOT want to plan so far in advance?

And yep! No plastic swords because that can be dangerous. Interestingly enough, on my last cruise a DISer got his taken away but then was able to purchase almost the exact same thing on board . . .

I'm trying to get a friend of mine to come sail with us (and her dh and twins which will be 2). She really wants to go but needs to talk her dh into it, we're both keeping our fingers crossed!

 

[aussieinvasion]

So is the idea to give things to each other in the fish extenders then?
Ok, I can add the ages no problems. Just the kids? or all of us?
Hubby thinks Im crazy for buying the kids costumes so early ...now Ive just got to find ours.
That will be fun if you could get your friend to come too. Have they ever sailed before? Our little group is growing bigger and bigger.....

 

[aussieinvasion]

Ok, Ive updated the first page guys to include our names and some ages. Anyone else wanting to 'fess up their age, just let me know and I will add it Kvoit and Tymatt, I dont have your names so if you wanted me to add it on there just let me know.
Anyone else's details I have forgotten just message me and I will add it.

 

[ibela]

So is the idea to give things to each other in the fish extenders then?
Ok, I can add the ages no problems. Just the kids? or all of us?
Hubby thinks Im crazy for buying the kids costumes so early ...now Ive just got to find ours.
That will be fun if you could get your friend to come too. Have they ever sailed before? Our little group is growing bigger and bigger.....

Thanks for adding the extra info!

I'll be . . . argh, Monday mornings . . . I'll be 32, Erik will be 33, DD is Fallon, and 'Baby' will be under 1. So far looks like we're all similar in age. And if my friend comes, this would be her first cruise ever!

We bought DD her costume for Halloween this year because we saw it at a good price, actually hubs saw it and she wanted it so he bought it for her. Sam's Club was having Disney costumes for $20 each so she will be Tinkerbell this year. I thought Cinderella would be more fun but she chose it and she's the one that needs to wear it! (First she chose it, then she said she wanted one of each including Cinderella, Snow White, and Ariel too.

 

[aussieinvasion]

Thanks Irene and Missy, have updated the details..... wow, isnt that funny the three of us are so close in age
How are things going with the baby, Irene? How far to go now? Whats Sam's Club? Is it like Target? We have Target here which I know you guys have because its always mentioned on Oprah
We havent bought any princess costumes yet. Im holding out on that and my DS tux which Im hoping to pick up cheap on ebay or something. I thought it would be like pulling hens teeth to get DH into a pirate costume but he's told me he would as long as its the Jack Sparrow look. Are all of you adults dressing up for pirate night, too?

 

[UGAFan0829]

Are all of you adults dressing up for pirate night, too?

I was going to ask the same thing. The DH and I and the DSIL were just talking about Pirate Night this past weekend. She didn't realize that there was such a thing. So I'm not sure if she and the DN will want to dress up or not. If they go for it, then the DH and I will too. I just don't want them to feel left out or like they have to dress up, so I'm gonna leave that up to them!!

 

[ibela]

Thanks Irene and Missy, have updated the details..... wow, isnt that funny the three of us are so close in age
How are things going with the baby, Irene? How far to go now? Whats Sam's Club? Is it like Target? We have Target here which I know you guys have because its always mentioned on Oprah
We havent bought any princess costumes yet. Im holding out on that and my DS tux which Im hoping to pick up cheap on ebay or something. I thought it would be like pulling hens teeth to get DH into a pirate costume but he's told me he would as long as its the Jack Sparrow look. Are all of you adults dressing up for pirate night, too?

at the Target on Oprah comment, yet we have Target! Sam's Club is very similar except that they sell everything in BULK and you need to have an annual membership to shop there. We have one very close to our home and get some great buys there (just this past weekend my other half went for essentials like milk and eggs and came home with a tv too!

Things with the baby are good, thanks. I'm 6 1/2 months now (and this kid to be already has 2 vacations planned - this cruise and I just waitlisted for a timeshare exchange at Atlantis in the Bahamas) so it's exciting!

I was going to ask the same thing. The DH and I and the DSIL were just talking about Pirate Night this past weekend. She didn't realize that there was such a thing. So I'm not sure if she and the DN will want to dress up or not. If they go for it, then the DH and I will too. I just don't want them to feel left out or like they have to dress up, so I'm gonna leave that up to them!!

For pirate night we all wore our bandanas. I tried to wear a 'pirate-like' shirt but not quite as it was part of my regular wardrobe and definitely not costumey. At most, 1/2 of the crowd was dressed up. It looked cool but they definitely stood out, I'd say 85% wore their bandanas though - at least for the party (we wore ours during dinner too).

 

[aussieinvasion]

Things with the baby are good, thanks. I'm 6 1/2 months now (and this kid to be already has 2 vacations planned - this cruise and I just waitlisted for a timeshare exchange at Atlantis in the Bahamas) so it's exciting!

Wow, I cant believe you're that far already. Time has gone so quickly! This baby is one lucky kid, with all these wonderful holidays planned



For pirate night we all wore our bandanas. I tried to wear a 'pirate-like' shirt but not quite as it was part of my regular wardrobe and definitely not costumey. At most, 1/2 of the crowd was dressed up. It looked cool but they definitely stood out, I'd say 85% wore their bandanas though - at least for the party (we wore ours during dinner too).

Ok, Im really on the fence about us adults dressing up now. On the one hand, its our DD birthday on that day and we want to make it special for her and get into the spirit of things but on the other hand I just know when Jay see's that not everyone will be dressing up he'll probably feel a bit silly. Hmmmm, what to do.