We spent 3 days in WDW before the cruise. So arriving to the terminal was not as difficult for us - others however who came from the Northeast the morning of the cruise (2ft of snow- Boston) were not so lucky 
Rumor was some were left behind (200 people) some just made it in time for the Lifeboat drill! We were lucky! So here is our story (or at least part of it):
Players: Myself (36), DH (36), DS (7), DS (5)
I want to add here that I had communication between my DH and myself via a 2-way phone - if either one of us ran into problems at check in or in the rental car return place we could let the other know without any difficulty
Arrived to the port at 10:45 - I dropped my DH and kids and all of our bags with the porter. Porters helped with his luggage and he was able to just get in line for the xray machines and checkin upstairs in the Terminal. The kids slept the entire ride from Boardwalk so when we woke them at first sign of the ship, they were not to thrilled! But once they were onsite and really seeing it, they just came alive! Our 5 y.o. especially liked Goofy haning off the back of the ship! I drove to Budget Rental and returned our car. Process went very smooth. At this point I am done in the role of caretaker of our group and slowly becoming a kid again! My heart was pounding really it was, I was so excited! Budget was easy to find and about 7 minutes from the port. The shuttle from Budget is very small it holds a total of 9 people per trip. This worked fine for me because there was only myself but if I had all of us we would have had to wait for another shuttle because there was a family heading onto the Glory that was sailing that day and they were on the shuttle before me.
First call from DH was on the shuttle back - he was greeted in the terminal and asked for all our paperwork (this was before the check in line - there are several cast members who are near tables with pens so that those who have not finished or started filling things out). He was told that he was missing the "charging" privelage form for himself
DH called and "told" me I was missing the form - it felt great I could tell him oh no I didn't - we require only one form per family, it could be found within my ticket packet! Well what do you know DH looked and showed the very nice CM and we were all set. The CM who was impressed with our organization 
We used a plastic organizer (12-15 compartments) I had all compartments organized - easy to read, sort and find things at the drop of a hat 
This is credit to the DIS - I was ready to go - I knew how to keep it together eliminating much stress for DH
Next call was from DH again - he was beginning to panic, he was 4 people from the final check in and I was no where to be found
Just so happened I was on the escalator up and by the time I got to the top, he was at the counter, I showed my license and that was it, we got in line to board - It was about 11:40 at this point - We weren't in the front but we were close and within 10 minutes they were boardingthe ship - We were on the ship by I think 12:10
I was excited to hear our families name being called and when people started clapping I was in shock! We actually went up a level and looked over to clap for a few more families boarding after us -
I got the kids and DH settled walking around the ship and playing basketball on deck 10 while I started my reservation tour~
First stop to the Spa - booked the couples Cabana Massage for Castaway 1:30 - We got one of the last appointments for Castaway and it was not even 1:00 I have to admit I was somewhat surprised they had so few appt. left. While there I toured the gym and spa. A few words about the gym. It is very nice and clean the equipment however really needs to be upgraded! Free weights only go to 50lbs ~ they have Cybex equipment the older style. The treadmills elyptical and bikes all looked fine, however we didn't use them.
The Rainforest spa was very impressive. I think the DIS describes it well but until you actually experience it, words cannot do it justice. We joined for the week! The tiled heated chairs alone were worth the $100 (for 2). We loved the Rainforest, we have never done anything like it and will definitely do it on our next cruise.
After the spa I decided to see if I could get a Palo reservation. It was not a priority for us but I thought since I was alone and got what I wanted for the spa, I would try! Well by 1:20 I could not get Thurs. or Friday (which were the only days I wanted) - I left the reservations area not happy however but not because I couldn't get a reservation. When I got in line for Friday I reached the person who was filling in the times/days - I said I wanted Friday at 7:30 and WOW it was available then he asked how many people, I said 2 and and he said I'm sorry only large tables were available! What!!!!!! We were eating with kids, other couples all week, we were looking for small intimate adult dinner I thought that was what Palo's was no I'm sorry - only large tables left! So we got no Palo reservation - (I think this is completely unfair) I could have probably put up some kind of stink and gotten in but I chose to just let it alone and call it my first negative.
Next - went to meet the family for lunch at Topsider and then to the kids club! Kids Club check in was fine! The kids loved the club and were playing while one of the staff told us about the activities, walked us through the week, explained the pager system, and how it works on/off the ship. We signed them up and by the time we were done, they had made 2 friends! We knew they would love it, just by how they played during our orientation.
We then headed off to Topsiders for lunch and to people watch - it was around 2:30 by now. We went to our room and got ready for the lifeboat drill, emptied some of our luggage and headed up to our meeting place. After the lifeboat drill it was time for our DIS meet on Deck 10 for the sailaway party.
It was cold and windy - the crowd wasn't to bad, we found Lori (LG123) and DEBK right away but it was so cold and the party was happenin' on Deck 10 that I took my kids to Deck 9 for some dancing while DH went back to the room for sweatshirts! The meet was somewhat of a bust because of the weather. We found out that 5 of us showed but only 3 of us met! It was to cold to stay on Deck 10 Lori and her family and my family stayed at the Deck Party for awhile dancing with the kids, blowing bubbles (thanks Lori). I LOVED the party! My DS(7) I think was just tired and shy at first the crowd was pretty tight where we were and he just sat and watched. Once it thinned out he got up and played with his new friend Briar and his brother! It was time for Dinner so we went to get ready.
1st night was somewhat overwhelming for DH and I. The kids went to the club, we toured the ship, had a couple of drinks and called it a day at 10:00 or so -- nothing exciting we didn't even go to the show, the ship is big and we just wondered! My DH was able to go see the spa though.
I will post Day 2 tomorrow.
Any questions, I would be happy to answer if I can.
Carolyn
Rumor was some were left behind (200 people) some just made it in time for the Lifeboat drill! We were lucky! So here is our story (or at least part of it): Players: Myself (36), DH (36), DS (7), DS (5)
I want to add here that I had communication between my DH and myself via a 2-way phone - if either one of us ran into problems at check in or in the rental car return place we could let the other know without any difficulty
Arrived to the port at 10:45 - I dropped my DH and kids and all of our bags with the porter. Porters helped with his luggage and he was able to just get in line for the xray machines and checkin upstairs in the Terminal. The kids slept the entire ride from Boardwalk so when we woke them at first sign of the ship, they were not to thrilled! But once they were onsite and really seeing it, they just came alive! Our 5 y.o. especially liked Goofy haning off the back of the ship! I drove to Budget Rental and returned our car. Process went very smooth. At this point I am done in the role of caretaker of our group and slowly becoming a kid again! My heart was pounding really it was, I was so excited! Budget was easy to find and about 7 minutes from the port. The shuttle from Budget is very small it holds a total of 9 people per trip. This worked fine for me because there was only myself but if I had all of us we would have had to wait for another shuttle because there was a family heading onto the Glory that was sailing that day and they were on the shuttle before me.
First call from DH was on the shuttle back - he was greeted in the terminal and asked for all our paperwork (this was before the check in line - there are several cast members who are near tables with pens so that those who have not finished or started filling things out). He was told that he was missing the "charging" privelage form for himself
DH called and "told" me I was missing the form - it felt great I could tell him oh no I didn't - we require only one form per family, it could be found within my ticket packet! Well what do you know DH looked and showed the very nice CM and we were all set. The CM who was impressed with our organization We used a plastic organizer (12-15 compartments) I had all compartments organized - easy to read, sort and find things at the drop of a hat This is credit to the DIS - I was ready to go - I knew how to keep it together eliminating much stress for DH Next call was from DH again - he was beginning to panic, he was 4 people from the final check in and I was no where to be found
Just so happened I was on the escalator up and by the time I got to the top, he was at the counter, I showed my license and that was it, we got in line to board - It was about 11:40 at this point - We weren't in the front but we were close and within 10 minutes they were boardingthe ship - We were on the ship by I think 12:10 I was excited to hear our families name being called and when people started clapping I was in shock! We actually went up a level and looked over to clap for a few more families boarding after us -
I got the kids and DH settled walking around the ship and playing basketball on deck 10 while I started my reservation tour~
First stop to the Spa - booked the couples Cabana Massage for Castaway 1:30 - We got one of the last appointments for Castaway and it was not even 1:00 I have to admit I was somewhat surprised they had so few appt. left. While there I toured the gym and spa. A few words about the gym. It is very nice and clean the equipment however really needs to be upgraded! Free weights only go to 50lbs ~ they have Cybex equipment the older style. The treadmills elyptical and bikes all looked fine, however we didn't use them.
The Rainforest spa was very impressive. I think the DIS describes it well but until you actually experience it, words cannot do it justice. We joined for the week! The tiled heated chairs alone were worth the $100 (for 2). We loved the Rainforest, we have never done anything like it and will definitely do it on our next cruise.
After the spa I decided to see if I could get a Palo reservation. It was not a priority for us but I thought since I was alone and got what I wanted for the spa, I would try! Well by 1:20 I could not get Thurs. or Friday (which were the only days I wanted) - I left the reservations area not happy however but not because I couldn't get a reservation. When I got in line for Friday I reached the person who was filling in the times/days - I said I wanted Friday at 7:30 and WOW it was available then he asked how many people, I said 2 and and he said I'm sorry only large tables were available! What!!!!!! We were eating with kids, other couples all week, we were looking for small intimate adult dinner I thought that was what Palo's was no I'm sorry - only large tables left! So we got no Palo reservation - (I think this is completely unfair) I could have probably put up some kind of stink and gotten in but I chose to just let it alone and call it my first negative.
Next - went to meet the family for lunch at Topsider and then to the kids club! Kids Club check in was fine! The kids loved the club and were playing while one of the staff told us about the activities, walked us through the week, explained the pager system, and how it works on/off the ship. We signed them up and by the time we were done, they had made 2 friends! We knew they would love it, just by how they played during our orientation.
We then headed off to Topsiders for lunch and to people watch - it was around 2:30 by now. We went to our room and got ready for the lifeboat drill, emptied some of our luggage and headed up to our meeting place. After the lifeboat drill it was time for our DIS meet on Deck 10 for the sailaway party.
It was cold and windy - the crowd wasn't to bad, we found Lori (LG123) and DEBK right away but it was so cold and the party was happenin' on Deck 10 that I took my kids to Deck 9 for some dancing while DH went back to the room for sweatshirts! The meet was somewhat of a bust because of the weather. We found out that 5 of us showed but only 3 of us met! It was to cold to stay on Deck 10 Lori and her family and my family stayed at the Deck Party for awhile dancing with the kids, blowing bubbles (thanks Lori). I LOVED the party! My DS(7) I think was just tired and shy at first the crowd was pretty tight where we were and he just sat and watched. Once it thinned out he got up and played with his new friend Briar and his brother! It was time for Dinner so we went to get ready.
1st night was somewhat overwhelming for DH and I. The kids went to the club, we toured the ship, had a couple of drinks and called it a day at 10:00 or so -- nothing exciting we didn't even go to the show, the ship is big and we just wondered! My DH was able to go see the spa though.
I will post Day 2 tomorrow.
Any questions, I would be happy to answer if I can.
Carolyn
!
