10/12/08-4 night Wonder anniversary cruise

[alohabob]

hello everyone--my family and i will be cruising with you guys--this is the first time cruising for all of us--Me, husband and three boys ages 15, 11 and 5. We are staying at the residence inn on Saturday October 11th---what time can we start boarding on Sunday?? We are also going to MNSSHP--(I hope that's right) @ Magic Kingdom on Thursday night after the trip. Is anyone else going? We are very excited!!!!

Hi Laura, welcome aboard.....you and your family are going to have a great time, unfortunately Disney will have you spoiled after this cruise and you may not want to cruise with anyone else.

 

[domesticspaz]

Hi everybody! I've been lurking on the boards for a couple of weeks since all I can think about is our cruise! So I figured it was time to introduce myself.

I definitely have the Wonder on my brain.

This is our second 4 day Wonder cruise. It's me, DH, DS (8), DD (7), and DS (5) traveling with my two sisters, their husbands and children, and our parents. We all did the same cruise in 2005 and we loved it so much we're back to do it again! We're from Florida and are a big Disney loving family. I've never even been on a different cruise. Only Disney for this family!

I can't believe we're boarding in only 12 days! I can't focus on anything else!

 

[GOLDEN TINKERBELL]

Hi everybody! I've been lurking on the boards for a couple of weeks since all I can think about is our cruise! So I figured it was time to introduce myself.

I definitely have the Wonder on my brain.

This is our second 4 day Wonder cruise. It's me, DH, DS (8), DD (7), and DS (5) traveling with my two sisters, their husbands and children, and our parents. We all did the same cruise in 2005 and we loved it so much we're back to do it again! We're from Florida and are a big Disney loving family. I've never even been on a different cruise. Only Disney for this family!

I can't believe we're boarding in only 12 days! I can't focus on anything else!

Hi, it's so reassuring to know that someone is a recurring Wonder Cruiser and they liked it so much they are returning with their family. DS (27) and I have never been on a cruise, but we sure have been studying this one. We are HUGE Disney fans and have a cabinet full of Disney stuff to prove it. Did you notice anything that might be different to collect (perhaps a snowglobe of the wonder) We love collecting snowglobes. We've been to DW too many times to tell (lost count
We fly out of Mannchester, NH on the 9th and will be going to MK to the MKHP that night. Will need a vacation after our vacation the way our itinery looks.. Anyhow please pass along any tips you may have. Thanks

 

[laurabelle777]

Hi everybody! I've been lurking on the boards for a couple of weeks since all I can think about is our cruise! So I figured it was time to introduce myself.

I definitely have the Wonder on my brain.

This is our second 4 day Wonder cruise. It's me, DH, DS (8), DD (7), and DS (5) traveling with my two sisters, their husbands and children, and our parents. We all did the same cruise in 2005 and we loved it so much we're back to do it again! We're from Florida and are a big Disney loving family. I've never even been on a different cruise. Only Disney for this family!

I can't believe we're boarding in only 12 days! I can't focus on anything else!

Being that this is our first time cruising is there anything that we need to know before leaving home that you wished you had known when you got there. Did that make sense?

 

[domesticspaz]

Hi, it's so reassuring to know that someone is a recurring Wonder Cruiser and they liked it so much they are returning with their family. DS (27) and I have never been on a cruise, but we sure have been studying this one. We are HUGE Disney fans and have a cabinet full of Disney stuff to prove it. Did you notice anything that might be different to collect (perhaps a snowglobe of the wonder) We love collecting snowglobes. We've been to DW too many times to tell (lost count
We fly out of Mannchester, NH on the 9th and will be going to MK to the MKHP that night. Will need a vacation after our vacation the way our itinery looks.. Anyhow please pass along any tips you may have. Thanks

We're not huge collectors but I have taken to buying Christmas ornaments for all of our vacations including the 2005 cruise. I'm sure I'll get one this time, too! Hubs also drinks scotch and he fell in love with the scotch glasses at the Cadillac Lounge, so we've decided we're going to see if we can purchase them this time around.

As for there being anything I wish I had known before hand, there are some things - but if you're reading here you probably already know them all! Mostly we didn't plan our vacation very well the last time.

We didn't read the boards at all last time and were unprepared. We didn't really discover the whole Route 66 section of the ship until our last two days and we really liked relaxing in the Cadillac Lounge. During the day it was so peaceful in there and we enjoyed sitting next to those huge portholes and selecting whatever we wanted to listen to on the headphones. I highly recommend that if you want to relax with a drink and get out of the sun.

We did catch the Disney Dreams show which was just great. Our daughter was 4 at the time and was enamored with it. We're looking forward to seeing Toy Story this time.

Our youngest was barely 2 and we spent a lot of time getting him in and out of Flounders. As far as Flounders went, we were told prior to our cruise that we would only be allowed to have him in the nursery for I think 6 hours for the entire cruise. I was happy to find out once we boarded that we could have him in the nursery for much longer. Hubs and I really needed the time together!

The whole family (the adults, so 8 of us) all had dinner at Palo one evening and they sat us (I assume because we were a larger party) in our own private room. It was safely the most amazing dinner I have ever had. Our server, Biata, literally knew what we wanted before we even knew we wanted it. She was incredible. Hubs wanted to take her home!

I'm looking forward to spending more time at Castaway this time around since last time I felt really rushed there. I'm hoping we'll be able to plan things a little better with the navigators now that all our kids are a little older and will all be able to go to the Oceaneers Club and Lab. Our 8 year old son is so excited he'll get to go to the Lab this time!

Overall, it was the best vacation we've ever taken, even though we could have planned better. I can only imagine that this time will be even better. Our servers and room attendant were top notch and made us feel so comfortable. The only minor complaint I had about the service on the cruise was that the last morning it seems that everyone is so rushed that you sort of get the feeling you're a guest who has overstayed their welcome! I imagine they are under a lot of pressure that morning and even still our servers took the time to smile for pictures with us and were incredible to our kids.

Geesh... did I just write a book?

 

[laurabelle777]

We're not huge collectors but I have taken to buying Christmas ornaments for all of our vacations including the 2005 cruise. I'm sure I'll get one this time, too! Hubs also drinks scotch and he fell in love with the scotch glasses at the Cadillac Lounge, so we've decided we're going to see if we can purchase them this time around.

As for there being anything I wish I had known before hand, there are some things - but if you're reading here you probably already know them all! Mostly we didn't plan our vacation very well the last time.

We didn't read the boards at all last time and were unprepared. We didn't really discover the whole Route 66 section of the ship until our last two days and we really liked relaxing in the Cadillac Lounge. During the day it was so peaceful in there and we enjoyed sitting next to those huge portholes and selecting whatever we wanted to listen to on the headphones. I highly recommend that if you want to relax with a drink and get out of the sun.

We did catch the Disney Dreams show which was just great. Our daughter was 4 at the time and was enamored with it. We're looking forward to seeing Toy Story this time.

Our youngest was barely 2 and we spent a lot of time getting him in and out of Flounders. As far as Flounders went, we were told prior to our cruise that we would only be allowed to have him in the nursery for I think 6 hours for the entire cruise. I was happy to find out once we boarded that we could have him in the nursery for much longer. Hubs and I really needed the time together!

The whole family (the adults, so 8 of us) all had dinner at Palo one evening and they sat us (I assume because we were a larger party) in our own private room. It was safely the most amazing dinner I have ever had. Our server, Biata, literally knew what we wanted before we even knew we wanted it. She was incredible. Hubs wanted to take her home!

I'm looking forward to spending more time at Castaway this time around since last time I felt really rushed there. I'm hoping we'll be able to plan things a little better with the navigators now that all our kids are a little older and will all be able to go to the Oceaneers Club and Lab. Our 8 year old son is so excited he'll get to go to the Lab this time!

Overall, it was the best vacation we've ever taken, even though we could have planned better. I can only imagine that this time will be even better. Our servers and room attendant were top notch and made us feel so comfortable. The only minor complaint I had about the service on the cruise was that the last morning it seems that everyone is so rushed that you sort of get the feeling you're a guest who has overstayed their welcome! I imagine they are under a lot of pressure that morning and even still our servers took the time to smile for pictures with us and were incredible to our kids.

Geesh... did I just write a book?

This is the first real vacation we have had as a family and i know there are things i should be doing to get ready but i can't seem to think of anything at the moment. I just discovered these pages yesterday so am trying to catch up. In fact i just now learned about the "Route 66" portion of the ship from you.

 

[laurabelle777]

Hey guys, I've been reading on other boards about fish extenders--is anyone going to get together and do this on our cruise?

 

[clj1410]

This is our first cruise with DD8 and DS5. My son askes every morning how many more days until we go on the Disney boat! We are also doing the MNSSHP on the 16th.

 

[kimiza]

HI all you new comers! Welcome. I am flying in Oct 9th to go to the MNMNSHP. So I will be there a week from today! I can't wait, it is like pulling teeth to actually get work done. I am surprised my boss hasn't yelled at me yet!

Just wanted to say HI... No fish extender for us, but My door will be decorated.

 

[SleepyKeith]

My wife and I will be leaving on the 10th. We will be driving down from New York and expect to arrive in Port Canaveral early in the afternoon on the 11th. Anyone else driving down via I95?

 

[domesticspaz]

MNSSHP is so much fun! We did it in 2006 and we had a great time. By the end the kids were SO tired, though. We had done a full day in the Magic Kingdom so it was a lot to pack into one day. Also it was very crowded, so be prepared for that! It was really neat to see everything all dressed up for Halloween, though. We considered doing it again this year, but the timing just isn't right.

I don't think we'll do the fish extender thing, but we might put a sign on our door if I can locate some magnetic paper before we leave.

10 more days!

 

[dpara]

We did the MNSSHP a couple of years ago and agree with PP on crowd and tiredness of kids.

We head down to MCO on Oct 9 (1 week to go). Will simply be hanging out for a few days before cruise -- no parks for us this year.

I've gotta get packing though!!

And no FEs for us either and if I can get some magnetic paper -- maybe a door sign or two. Wow, too much to do, so little time.

 

[Renysmom]

My wife and I will be leaving on the 10th. We will be driving down from New York and expect to arrive in Port Canaveral early in the afternoon on the 11th. Anyone else driving down via I95?

Keith -

We are leaving on the 10th from VA about 5:00 am. Should be at the Radission by 7:00 pm same day. We are driving down 95 as well. My coworkers have all been traveling alot lately and have advised me to fillup the tank before we leave SC and enter GA as there are still gas shortages throughout the state from the hurricane.

If you see a Navy Blue GMC Acadia with 20paaws as the plates that is me.. Honk and get our attention.

 

[Renysmom]

I haven't decided what I am wearing on Sunday for the cruise embarkation but just wanted everyone to know I just packed my Dis Unpluggled Lanyard and will have that on all week so if you see one, please come introduce yourself. I haven't heard anything on the podcast board about anyone else sailing with us so I don't think it should be too hard to find me.

Also, have we yet decided if we are meeting up before the safety drill on Sunday? I dont know the ship so I dont know where or when to suggest.

 

[manchurianbrownbear]

I think alohabob has suggested time/place for meet.

I will be wearing a very attractive MN Vikings Hawaiian shirt on embarkation day! And I don't think I've changed much since my signature picture was taken last month!

Since those of us going to MNSSHP on the 16th will be looking at a pretty long day, maybe we should beg DCL to let us sleep in and leave the ship a little later!

 

[laurabelle777]

I think we are going to come down from Alabama on I 95 -- we wil be @ the Residence by mid afternoon on Saturday. I am so excited I am about to pop! I went to the party store at lunch to get pirate stuff for the kids for pirate night---are any of you adults dressing up? For MNSSHP, I will be a pink lady and hubby is Danny from Grease. Do any of you know if any kids are on the disboards for our cruise? I saw that some other cruises in October had threads going on for the teens and tweens to get to know each other too!

 

[cathydisneynut]

HI all you new comers! Welcome. I am flying in Oct 9th to go to the MNMNSHP. So I will be there a week from today! I can't wait, it is like pulling teeth to actually get work done. I am surprised my boss hasn't yelled at me yet!

Just wanted to say HI... No fish extender for us, but My door will be decorated.

Will you be at the party on the 9th, Kimiza? We go on that night! Can't wait!!!!

We are finally into the SINGLE DIGIT DANCE!!!!!!

 

[cathydisneynut]

I think we are going to come down from Alabama on I 95 -- we wil be @ the Residence by mid afternoon on Saturday. I am so excited I am about to pop! I went to the party store at lunch to get pirate stuff for the kids for pirate night---are any of you adults dressing up? For MNSSHP, I will be a pink lady and hubby is Danny from Grease. Do any of you know if any kids are on the disboards for our cruise? I saw that some other cruises in October had threads going on for the teens and tweens to get to know each other too!

Mine are not on the Disboards, but they are ages 12, 15 and 18!!

 

[domesticspaz]

One week from tomorrow night we will be going to sleep for the last time on LAND for 4 days!

Like how I put that?

 

[cathydisneynut]

One week from tomorrow night we will be going to sleep for the last time on LAND for 4 days!

Like how I put that?

Yes!!!!