12/9/06 December Double Dip DIS Geekorama Part 1 (cruise completed) pretrip added 1/8

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CAST OF CHARACTERS

DH - Mike 38. Wonderful man who believes that the cruise is the best form of family therapy we can get and doesn’t protest when I rebook each year.

Me - Lisa 39. Hopelessly addicted to DCL and self professed DIS Geek.

DS8 - William 8. Bright kid who still has the Magic in his heart even though several friends have tried to convince him otherwise. Looking forward to spending time without his little sister onboard.

DD6 - Kaitlyn 6. Adores all things princess. Likes to antagonize her big brother. Is known for driving her mommy totally nuts. Can scale walls like a monkey.

Also over 250 DISers including DISees, DIS DHs, DIS Kids, and innocent family and friends of DISers who probably have absolutely no idea what lies in store for them as honorary members of the December Double Dip Cruisers DIS Geeks United.

This was the first year that both kids had their eyes open so of course mine were closed. OY! I had to get it anyway because everyone looked good except for that little fact. Yes, I now know that the list of ports is wrong and the scan has been sent to the company so that they can locate the original and reprint the picture with the correct ports.

 

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We left OKW by 8:30 excited to be on our way to The Magic and all of our DIS friends. After arriving at 9:30 we decided to gas up the car for our return trip. NOTE: The closest public restroom to the terminal is around 10 minutes away. The line was forming in the lot when we got back. We were surrounded by DISers. We met Brandi, Becka, Vanessa and her dad, Brack, along with some poor innocents.

The line started to move and everyone jumped in their cars to enter the parking lot. DH was at the gate taking pictures so I hopped into the car to get in the line. He joined us a couple minutes later.

After a short wait we unloaded the bags and saw Caroline. Security moved quickly and after getting our boarding card we got into the elevator. I don’t care how many times you do it -- seeing the main terminal with The Magic peaking thru the window makes my tummy flip every time. The CC line was longer than the regular one so I got in that one with the DS, only to have Kim tap me on the shoulder and pull us over to check in with her at the Concierge desk. Dave was beyond wonderful. After quickly checking us in, he escorted us to the seating area where the kids immediately sat down and started chatting and coloring.

Even though boarding was delayed from when we usually get on the ship, I found that time passed quickly. Everywhere I turned were green T-shirts. Handing out our goodie stockings was a great way to meet so many of the people I had been chatting with for over a year, as well as seeing all of our DIS friends from last year’s cruise. When the Cms came thru to check our Ids and KTTW cards, we knew that we weren’t far away form boarding our favorite ship.

 

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I love seeing the twinkle in the eyes of someone who is boarding The Magic for the first time.

DD walked into the Atrium holding hands with her email pal. Both of them were giggling and full of smiles as they heard their names announced. We quickly reviewed the battle plan and split off to accomplish our objectives. The men lead the children to Parrot Cay to feast on the buffet. Kim & I bolted to Rockin Bar D with THE BOOK in hand. NOTE: The Book contains our itinerary, group dining assignment, DIS manifest with updated stateroom info noted at the port, list of 92 going on group tour with David in Costa Maya, and DIS meets.

FIRST VICTORY

Seeing Marco standing in RNBD clinched our first victory. Our dinner reservations at Palo on Sunday were linked and moved to the private dining room at 6 pm. PJ was called over to handle our group brunch. We already had the private room booked for 14 but we added 17 people who were seated right outside the room at two tables along the window. Next on the agenda was confirming our dinner seating linking over 200 of the DISer in the early LAP and late APL rotations with the dining manager. McLean turned out to be our DM and after reviewing a few celebrations, the job was done. It was time to move on to lunch

 

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The first CM I saw in front of PC said that they were full and wanted to direct me to Topsiders. Since DH & the kids were already there, she waved me in. The other CMs commented that I must be with the green people inside and pointed me to where they were seated. LOL! Going thru the line proved to be challenging. Since the ship was on high alert a server was positioned every couple feet to plate our selections from the buffet. Each one had a question about the Green People…here on out referred to as the GP. One CM asked if I was on the DISboards. When I said yes he smiled and said that he knew that we were. He showed me his nametag and said “You’ve seen my name there, no?” It was Fitz so of course I had. Next to him was Philip and he started telling him about going to the DIS and finding an entire thread about himself there. It turned out that any GP who wanted to dine in PC that afternoon were allowed in so that we could be together.

DH took DD to the room to drop off our carryons and quickly returned to PC. DD was jumping around squealing about Mickey and Minnie and my name on it and we had to go open it right now! I followed them to our room … 7007. No upgrade this cruise but we can’t complain after our luck on two other cruises and we were in our favorite part of the ship. I was stunned at the beautiful basket sitting on the bed.

After holding the kids off so that I could take a picture they quickly explored it. They loved everything!!! Shirley did a fantastic job and succeeded in helping my fellow DIS subjects … I mean cruisers make me cry. DH was happy to see that you even thought of him with the Corona. I will also be requesting assistance since I am now a member of the IPOD geeks. THANK YOU to everyone who I didn’t thank personally on the cruise. You all got me good!

After getting the luggage into the room and the door signs in place it was time to go have some fun!

The afternoon was a flurry of activity. The 3:00 DIS meet at the Goofy Pool was a smash. I got to meet lots of other DISers for the first time. It was quite exciting to put a voice to the pictures and names that have become such a part of my DIS life over the past year. After taking a group picture with the help of an innocent bystander with a good sense of humor selected to help us due to the large camera bag sitting on the ledge next to him. This was the first public display of our group mantra….Take what you can! Give nothing back!

Dispersing to attend the life boat drill, the troops reassembled quickly to stake out prime spots for the sail away party. We enjoyed all of the classic dances -- Cha Cha Slide, Hey Now, Hey Baby, and Bouncing off the Ceiling.

Of course our favorite is Dance with Mickey! The kids had been practicing while watching our cruise videos.

The moment the characters left the stage, we dashed up to Deck 10 and found an empty railing overlooking the terminal so that we could wave to the CMs and others along the shore while wearing our Mickey gloves. We didn’t see any dolphins this year but the looks on the faces of the kids while waving at the people on the shore who were there to wave back at them was priceless.

We went to Kim’s room to get out of the wind on her midship cat 3 verandah.

 

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Thanks to the help of the dining coordinator at DCL, we were then off to get ready for our first dinner in Lumiere’s on the LAP rotation. We chose this for the time since previous experience has taught me that it really doesn’t matter which dining room you are sitting in on any particular night. A few tables were moved to change rotation or some unknown reason, but the majority of the 126 people signed up for early dining were there. Our tables were all along the right side of the dining room and in a couple rows in as well. This allowed us to visit during dinner and take lots of pictures, catch up on our day, and make plans for that evening or the next day. The kids floated between tables eating dinner at one table and dessert at another. Sitting in the front corner of Lumiere’s was fantastic because we could see when a character was coming out. The 7:15 appearance was great because most people were either at the early show or dinner so there was no line. The kids went out with one or two adults who took pictures and returned within minutes. One night Max was in the Atrium alone joking around with the CMs in the area. We went out to see him and he played with the kids. After we returned to the table, he came over to the window and played around with us some more.

Our Server was William from India and our Assistant Server was Putu. Both were beyond excellent and pampered us the entire week. We never even had to ask for a refill.

We left the dining room a little early to attend the tree lighting in the Atrium. I ran up to the room to unpack. I usually do that before the drill but was occupied with group activities and confirming dining links instead to make sure the details for the group were worked out first (which was all worth while in the end). The suitcases had been left out on the bed and couch so the hostess hadn’t been able to prepare our room for the night. I felt better once everything was in its place but that didn't happen until the next day.

 

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Rachel made an announcement that the show would go on as planned at 8:30 even though it looked like the space shuttle was going to launch. I felt sorry for the performers that night because when I went up on deck 10 to join my family & fellow DISers it seemed as though most of the guests were there. DCL had the NASA feed running on the PA system with the camera view on the Dumbotron. I was surprised to see the ship was so close to the shore within view of the shuttle launch pad. Apparently the Captain had been going around in circles during dinner. At the 9 minute mark the ship was slowly zig zagging so that we would be in a good position to view the launch. The rockets started to fire up with flames glowing. Everyone yelled out the countdown … 10 - 9 - 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1!!! The cheering was incredible as the shuttle lifted off. What had been pitch black moments earlier was now illuminated by the glow. The sky around the shuttle was blue and the reflection on the water was magnificent. The clouds hid the shuttle only allowing us a brief glimpse thru a break before the night sky once again turned to black and The Magic turned out to sea.

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I made a quick stop in the shop to buy photo albums, a scrapbook kit, and an ornament -- all half price -- before going to the lab to show DD’s new friend Savannah around. They would be spending the evening there on Sunday while we all had dinner at Palo. The adults sat on uncomfortable stools while the kids ran off and played. We decided that the next time we would drop the kids off and head over to diversions to relax a bit. We checked out of the lab and turned in for the night after midnight. We were to arrive at Castaway Cay early in the morning.

 

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It seemed that way for a few hours anyway. Our previous experiences at CC started with crowds going down the stairs and standing shoulder to shoulder waiting for the gangway to open. After finishing breakfast at TS’s, I went to the forward tender lobby with DD to find two people sitting there waiting…neither DH or DS or the other DISers waiting to start the Great Hammock Race. The aft lobby only had a few people at 8 am. I had to return to our room to get my ID (DUH!!!) and walked right off when I returned.

We found the DIS clan spread out in between two hammocks. I could not believe what we saw…or rather didn’t see. There were maybe 20 people on the entire family beach. Most of them were in a hammock and were still some available on the end. Do they not know we were in port??? We took lots of pictures of the kids with no one else in sight. After 30 minutes I picked up our float. The Cm said that on the Double Dip cruises most people didn’t get off the ship for a couple hours. HELLO!!! PEOPLE!!! This is a DD!!! We are at CC!!!! We enjoyed the unique peace and quiet of the empty beach for a while. More and more of our DIS friends arrived. The kids played in the water even though it proved to be too cold for most adults, as usual in December at CC.

 

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At 10:45 our group headed down to Castaway Ray’s for our excursion. After a brief informative talk where the head of the excursion repeated that the rays have been groomed … IOW barbs clipped regularly … we went down to the water. This was the hard part. The water was so cold that it burned the skin. We were all slowly shuffling in and th4e CM thought that we were afraid of the rays. When she realized that it was the water temperature, she started shouting out encouragement. Focus on my hand! Don’t think about the water! The pictures that I had seen were of people knee deep and the children standing. This was not the case for us. The trays were in water over my waist and I am 5’5”. We all had to hold the kids so that they could watch the rays and touch them in the tray … if they wanted to. I think that was the only disappointing part for me. By this point my body was numb so I didn’t feel the cold anymore. Only Savannah would try to fee the rays, so the adults enjoyed that more. Getting out of the water wasn’t bad since I was still numb, but I knew that the sun would thaw me out soon.

DS discovered the sand castle builder at Castaway Ray’s. All of the kids helped him with his creation. He said that he helps to keep the kids who are afraid of the rays busy while their parents enjoy the excursion. It was lunchtime so we headed back to Cookies after the kids were given treasure coins so they could go back and help destroy the castle at 3 pm.

Lunch was great as always. Around 2:30 we started watching the dark clouds move in. By 3 pm the rain had started. I grabbed our things and headed back to the ship with PJ. DH was at the sand demolition with the kids. I knew that soon I would have to desand the kids. Somehow DD is like a magnet with sand. We went down to Deck 4 to play some shuffle board.

The kids had a big night planned. DS would be with the lab at Ocean Quest then see Cars in the theater while the girls would have dinner with the club before making cookies and enjoying free time in the lab. The kids ate dinner before we checked them in then DH & I got ready for Palo.

 

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Once again we were pampered by Marco. I was so glad that our friends were able to enjoy the Palo experience the right way.

We were joined by John1, Amy, Kim, Steve, Vanessa (AKA the notorious Bad Girl Reports author), John2 (AKA Charming), and Auntie PJ. A variety of appetizers filled the table. Though we ordered entrees, additional plates with other offerings were brought out. Everyone received a soufflé along with samplings of every desert to exchange or share. After we splurged, a lone soufflé was left in the center of the table. It would have been a crime to leave it behind so I gladly made the sacrifice and ate a second one.

I may as well have something to think about as I am working off the cruise in the gym for the next year. It was a wonderful evening with good friends, great food, fantastic conversation, lots of laughs, and no pages from the kid’s clubs! We picked up the girls and headed off to meet some characters and get some pictures.

 

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We began with an interesting trio. Alice, the White Rabbit, and the Queen of Hearts were in the Atrium. Alice and the White Rabbit were easy enough but no one wanted to go see the Queen. DD was finally convinced to go if DH held her.

The Queen tickled DD and Sleeping Beauty was on Deck 4. This was the beginning of our adventure that evening. I had the beach bag of costumes with me so DD slipped on the SB costume and got into the line behind S&S. David was there with Princess Aurora and stepped up to say something to a boy and his mother who jumped in front of DD & myself in line when I turned to pick up her pen from the floor. I told him that it would only take us an extra few seconds so don’t worry about it. We then headed off to see Cinderella in front of Preludes.

Savannah, Sophia, & Kaitlyn were the only kids there for a little while. Kaitlyn slipped into her blue gown. Before Cindy appeared with Susie and Pearla, one other girl arrived and got in line behind them. When the princess got in place there were two CMs standing next to her doing absolutely nothing. The girls went to get autographs and the fourth girl went right after them. This had never happened on the ship before, especially when there is a Shutter’s photographer in place waiting to take pictures. I asked the CMs if they were going to allow pictures and they didn’t seem to know what I was talking about. At this time a third CM appeared and acted like she was going to make things work. She scowled the entire time. What she did was make the situation worse. I was next to my DD when this 3rd CM took her by the shoulders & put her behind another girl in the line. This CM then tried to tell the first two girls to come back so that the fourth girl could get her picture taken. This girl’s father was trying to tell the CM that his DD should be behind the three girls. Confusing to you? Believe me….we were all confused when this was going on as well. I finally told the CM as nicely as I could to have the girl get her picture taken so that we could get on with our picture of the three girls together. OY BOY! The girl’s mother had to lead her DD to the right place in line and the Three Mouskateers got their picture and moved on to the next encounter in the Atrium.

DD changed into the Snow White costume since that is who was scheduled to be in front of the tree. We were delighted to find Belle in her red Christmas dress there beforehand.

After that round of pictures, we waited for Snow White. I checked with the CM there to make sure that SW would be in front of the tree so we didn’t wait in the wrong line. She told me that SW had already been out as well as Pocahontas and the PALS line had been wrong. Oh well, S&S went up to bed and DH took DD to Shutters to check out pictures. On our way back to the room we saw Peter Pan on deck 4 so we stopped to get a picture with him.

I turned around & saw SW & Pocahontas down below in the Atrium. ACK!!! DD took a quick picture then hurried down with DH to put her SW dress back on. I waited in line to get Peter’s autograph for her.

When the CM with him turned to see how many more were in line I saw that it was the Character Manger who we have seen on The Magic for the past two cruises.

BJ always knows what is going on. I told her that I was glad to see her because finally someone would know what was going on and asked if she had a lot of new CMs in her department. She asked for the details of our experiences so far & took notes, saying that there were some new CMs and she would deal with those issues. My concern was that I had raved about the character interaction on the cruise based on past experience and what had happened was not making the girls want to continue to go thru this for the rest of the cruise. Not to mention that now we were going to have to deal with the fact that when the Three Mouskateers got together the next morning S&S would find out that they had actually missed seeing SW and Pocahontas. OY! We were probably not the only ones being affect by this and it would be a shame to come back & read about bad experiences with not so magical CMs. She invited DD & her friends to visit with the princesses after their photo session on Thursday. The girls were extremely happy to hear about this the next morning. After visiting with DISers in the Atrium lobby we headed off to bed to prepare for another exciting day at sea.

 

[Babs417]

That was so great you are so verry lucky

 

[mommykeg]

Where did you get the shirts you were wearing when you boarded? I've been looking for something matching for our family to wear...those are so cute!

 

[Bella2000]

ooh I am feeling like I am there again. This is great!!

 

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Where did you get the shirts you were wearing when you boarded? I've been looking for something matching for our family to wear...those are so cute!

Many in our DIS group ordered them from DisneyDirect.com when they were on sale for 4xx this past summer. We put the iron-on in my sig on the back.

 

[lillygator]

Lisa you got some great shots!!

 

[YenSid1222]

Did you happen to take any pictures of Twice Charmed?

 

[tynkerbell]

I love the trip report so far. Can't wait to read more.

 

[Jennifer48]

Wow you were so organized! Well you have to be for a group that large! Great pictures, can't wait to read more!

Just curious, was the water at CC really that cold? Usually the water temps in the area of there is around low to mid 70's.

 

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Monday morning was our first sea day but it was also Character Breakfast. I got the kids up and dressed quickly so we could be on time. DS wasn’t in the mood to be there.

He didn’t snap out of it until William brought him two glazed donuts near the end of our meal. Of course DD enjoyed the towel waving tremendously. It is funny to watch the three kids standing on their chairs next to each other.

DH took DS to OQ while DD & I went to the shops. On the way to drop off the updated room listing to someone and meet them in OQ we ran into Caroline and Dina. We chatted while the girls delivered the list on that deck.

It turned out that her DD8 didn’t want to go to the sports deck with the lab either so I ran up to get DS out of the lab. After dealing with that mess and getting him correctly entered in the system so he could check himself out, I took him to meet Amanda and Sarah in OQ. They were to stick together until it closed for open house at noon, then go to their room to wait for me to pick him up at 12:30. His first test of trust on the ship. DH dropped DD off in the lab for free time and we ran to the room to change for brunch.

 

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MORE PALO, THE POOL, AND THE MATINEE


There were 12 of us in the private room and 17 others outside along the window. Marco spoiled us once again.

The veterans encouraged the newbies to try the stolen bread and everyone loved it. Marco brought the new executive chef of Palo, Franco from Italy, to meet us. He has a wonderful sense of humor. He was chosen after a long interview process in Europe.

After another fabulous afternoon with friends, we split up to collect the kids and regroup at the Mickey pool.

The kids had lunch and played while we recuperated from our splendid meal. DH took the kids to the matinee of The Golden Mickeys so I had some time to myself. I found PJ deck 9 midship and she showed me how her IPOD works.