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

[MrsMork]

Lisa, so what did we do next?

 

[pyramid2000]

She's away from home right now.

 

[lbgraves]

Ok Lisa, where is part 2?!

Part 2 doesn't happen until the Eastern 12/8/07 cruise when many of us are going back together. I just got back from a week at the IL's. They live in the land of no cable and no internet. WAHHHHH!!!! I did write the report for Wednesday and Thursday on the way home so I will type those up after I catch up on the laundry & take down the Christmas decorations.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

I cannot think of a better way to start out the New Year other than reading your TR, Lisa! This is really great. I love how you weaved photos in and out of your dialogue.

Your kids are growing so big! WOW! Your pics are great and it’s so nice that you were able to meet up with so many DIS friends – that really makes the cruise even better, doesn’t it?! Also, I think it is really phenomenal that they were able to do so much in Dining for your regular rotations and Palo reservations to get you all together. That’s really special.

DH and I loved the shuttle launch photos – how incredibly lucky were you all to see the launch like that? Wow…just amazing!

Ok, well, I’m only part of the way through and just wanted you to know how much I’m enjoying your TR.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I am totally in awe at your experience on the Mayan Ruins Tour. Wow. What an amazing thing for you and your family…I’m sure your children will never forget that – just the look of gratitude on their faces. Wow. How did you hear about this tour? The DIS?

I am also completely amazed at all the characters you are seeing. I do not remember so much variety on my past cruises. I will definitely be watching out for that during our next cruises.

 

[lbgraves]

Wednesday morning was our first chance to sleep in because we had no plans for the morning. This was a huge relief for all of us. We took our time getting to Topsider’s for breakfast. Mike went off the ship to take a few pictures.

The kids and I changed then headed to the Mickey Pool……the practically empty pool. They played there with Becka’s kids until the light sprinkle turned into a hard downpour. By the time we changed, DH was back. We headed up to play ping pong and found Savannah, Steve, and Kim working on deck 9. YES! They were both on their laptops. After a light lunch Mike and William went to Ocean Quest for open house.

The girls played a few rounds of ping pong … AKA chase the ball along the deck. They then decided to play BINGO and had a great time. Savannah won the last game.

Kaitlyn wanted to draw Mickey so I took her to the animation workshop at the Promenade Lounge. She enjoyed this.

The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing at the Mickey pool where the DISers were gathering after returning from their Margaritas around the Island Banana Jeep Tour. Before we knew it, it was time to start getting ready to carry out our take over of the dining room … I mean Pirate night.

 

[lbgraves]

We warned the head server earlier of our plans. The early dining crew gathered in the Promenade Lounge.

Our Captain sent down his mateys to let us know he was having technical difficulties and would be joining us later. We proceeded to Animator’s Palate and filled in the right side of the dining room. DH and our servers tied our Jolly Roger flag to the wall to add to the ambiance.

It wasn’t long until our spotters saw the Captain’s crew approaching. He entered and spoke those immortal words … TAKE WHAT YOU CAN! We all responded with a resounding GIVE NOTHING BACK!!!

The kids were excited to finally see Captain Jack since they had been looking forward to meeting him for a while. We were all anxious to see the details that Todd had been collecting over the past year to update his pirate garb. We were not disappointed and quickly got pictures with him. Kaitlyn was dressed as a young Elizabeth Swan and had been concerned about looking right. The Captain spotted her and asked where she had gotten the Aztec gold. He let her hold the prized compass for her picture.

As expected, the other cruisers did not realize that Todd was simply a guest having fun. He took pictures with anyone who came over to see him.

 

[lbgraves]

Soon after making the DIS rounds and being able to sit with his family I saw the character manager enter the dining room and make her way to their table. Apparently guests on the other side of the room were upset that Jack Sparrow wasn’t going around with the photographer, who knew nothing of an appearance in AP. So…he called BJ who knew that CJS was signing autographs at preludes at that moment. OY!!!

 

[lbgraves]

This resulted in a meeting of the Captains at 7:30. It was hysterical!

We managed to get both kids in the mood to have life touch pictures taken. I haven’t gotten the shutter prints scanned yet but here is a shot I took while they were being done.

I was able to talk to Rachel for a few minutes and was then able to introduce her to THE Captain. I promised her that I would post pictures in my trip report … so here you go!

 

[lbgraves]

After looking in the shops a bit, we gathered outside Parrot Cay to collect a few more souls to repay the Captain’s debt. Well, we actually assembled in the atrium for a group photo. Annette had to go up to the deck 4 balcony to get us all in the frame. They have been busy traveling since the cruise so we still haven’t seen that wonderful photo.

Another princess pose by Kaitlyn …

The party continued up on deck. William enjoyed handing out glow bracelets to the kids around us. Next time I will put the connectors on beforehand and have them in a zip lock bag to make it easier to hand out. The girls had a blast watching Mickey and Crew warding off Captain Hook. The show was a bit different than last year’s and involved the characters more than just a lot of line dancing with the cast members.

The highlight of the evening was having our group mascot … Bobby Banana … featured on the Dumbotron several times during the party.

 

[lbgraves]

The plan that night was for the girls to have a sleep over at Savannah’s. DD wanted no part of it once the time arrived. I got her into princess Pjs and then went for a walk. Somehow we wound up walking past Kim’s door … imagine that!!! LOL! She decided to say hello but I had to stay put. The three of them watched a movie, snacked and ultimately had a pillow fight all over the room … since it was a midship three that was a bit of space. This was Kaitlyn’s first and once she figured out what was going on she had a ball.

I had the girls take a picture and DD wasn’t exactly cooperating. I told her that I would have the Captain talk to her and she quickly moved up and then … instead of striking her Snow White pose as she had been doing since being shown the proper way Sunday evening … struck a pose that would make the Captain proud. ROFL!

They ended up coloring and joking around so I snuck out for a bit … knowing that I would get a call to pick her up shortly. I changed the clock and went to sleep since DS was already passed out in the top bunk. DH was watching POC DMC in the theater. At 1:30 am the phone rang. It was Kaitlyn ready for me to go get her. This wasn’t bad for a first sleep over. I wish they were all one deck up and a few doors down. She fell asleep quickly and we rested up for another busy day at sea.

 

[lbgraves]

I cannot think of a better way to start out the New Year other than reading your TR, Lisa! This is really great. I love how you weaved photos in and out of your dialogue.

Your kids are growing so big! WOW! Your pics are great and it’s so nice that you were able to meet up with so many DIS friends – that really makes the cruise even better, doesn’t it?! Also, I think it is really phenomenal that they were able to do so much in Dining for your regular rotations and Palo reservations to get you all together. That’s really special.

DH and I loved the shuttle launch photos – how incredibly lucky were you all to see the launch like that? Wow…just amazing!

Ok, well, I’m only part of the way through and just wanted you to know how much I’m enjoying your TR.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I am totally in awe at your experience on the Mayan Ruins Tour. Wow. What an amazing thing for you and your family…I’m sure your children will never forget that – just the look of gratitude on their faces. Wow. How did you hear about this tour? The DIS?

I am also completely amazed at all the characters you are seeing. I do not remember so much variety on my past cruises. I will definitely be watching out for that during our next cruises.

DCL dining was fantastic to work with ... though I have to admit that I would not think about taking that job again any time soon. It gets a little hectic when everyone is changing their rooms around and getting upgrades from DCL. You have to relink them.

I read about David & Ivan's tour in CM when the hurricanes rerouted The Magic there last year. They got such rave reviews both on the DIS and on cruisecritic that I emailed them about booking a group. One bus turned into 2 and it really was an amazing experience that I know we would not have recieved thru DCL. People talked about taking school supplies for the village school and when I talked to David about this he asked if we would like to deliver them ourselves. I know that he spent alot more time with our group than they usually do. That may be because of the fact that we had 92 people. The other groups we saw had 8-10 people so they would have had to have done 4 tours each to total our group. I would highly recommend this company to anyone going to CM. Their website is http://www.chacchobenruins.com/.

Regarding the characters, we have always been able to see a lot of them. With your DD now you will have to call the PALS line every night to find out the exact schedule so you will be prepared. I'll be happy to give you some tips when she starts getting the princess costumes so that you can have her be in the right gown for each princess.

 

[lbgraves]

Just a footnote to let you know that we received two correct copies of our embarkation photo while we were at my ILs this week. I am very impressed by their CS after the cruise.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

The Captain stuff is hilarious! I can't wait to show DH when he wakes up. That's fun stuff!

How cute to have a sleepover with her DIS friends! That's too cute! Maybe next time she'll be ready to spend the entire night.

Lisa, I'll definitely be taking some tips from you. I'm very impressed that you were able to pull out the various costumes for each photo. That's a super Mom if I've ever seen one!

Lovin' the TR! Keep 'em comin'!!!!

 

[tynkerbell]

Just a footnote to let you know that we received two correct copies of our embarkation photo while we were at my ILs this week. I am very impressed by their CS after the cruise.

We received 2 copies ourselves last week. I'm very pleased as well.

 

[DisneyVegas1]

I love these moments , I like to stare at them as they scrool by

 

[curlybop]

I absolutely LOVE your DD's dress for pirate night! It is fabulous.
The video cracked me up. That's hilarious. Thanks for sharing, it's another great installment.

 

[lbgraves]

On our way to TS’s this morning we noticed the ropes were down at the drink station. There were also no more servers along the buffet. This meant that pin trading had been reinstated with the Cast Members!!! We saw Caroline and Dina who were also curious about the status of pin trading.

​

After a quick breakfast, we all went to the shop to see if anyone was wearing a lanyard. They were! DD and I hurried back to the room to get her pins and lanyard so she could trade.

Kaitlyn had a ball talking to the shop CMs collecting lanyard pins. She even got to stop and say hello to Pocahontas on the way to the elevator since she didn‘t have her autograph book when she saw her Sunday night.

​

At 11:15 we went to the stateroom to get ready for Kaitlyn’s special audience with the princesses. At 11:30 we stopped by Savannah’s room and found that both her and Sophia were still sleeping. Not to worry! Kaitlyn was there to save the day and make sure that they were not late.

 

[lbgraves]

We did make it to the princess gathering at noon on time. They had Wendy, Cinderella, Aurora, Belle, Snow White, and Aladdin all together. The girls were floating on air.

I took Kaitlyn to the room after that finished and got her changed and packed for the pool. A quick lunch at TS was in order before going to the wine and cheese at Kim’s.

We had a very nice time visiting with many of the DISers on the ship with us. At 4 it was time to check William into the lab to prepare for the kid’s show. We were then off to Jodie and Paul’s wedding in Diversions. She looked so beautiful!!!

It was an honor to be able to share that special moment with them. I may have made a mistake in taking Kaitlyn since now she things that she needs to get married on The Magic as well. OY!!!

 

[lbgraves]

Next on the agenda was the Celebrate the Journey show. DD didn’t want to go on stage this time because her friends were still up at the pool so she sat with us to watch DS.

As soon as it was over, I took quickly took DD up to the room to change for semiformal night. We were having a life touch picture taken. I am happier with the result from this year than last year’s…though I am resigned to the fact that most of our pictures would look better without me in them. I am getting very picky about how I look. The photographer was very good. DD was getting a little restless so DH took her over to say hello to Minnie while we waited.

People were standing for most of the pictures so I wondered if it was someone new taking them. The family in front of us didn’t want to take off their shoes…forget about sitting on the floor. When it was our turn she asked if we wanted to stand for the picture. I said that isn’t why we were getting the life touch picture done. We want it done the way it was meant to and I want a shot of DH and myself. She smiled and went about getting us set up.

Dinner tonight was lobster … two please … and lava cake. That is all I needed to order. It was cooked perfectly ~ not a bit tough. I don’t know how they prepare so many and have them turn out so well.

The kids and I left dinner a little early for the Officer pin trading in the Atrium. We enjoyed Disney Dreams that night as always. This time something was different about the rigging that was used for the next to the last act. We have always sat in the same area and have never seen it so obviously before. I heard Kaitlyn tell Mike that she saw strings on them. William said the same thing on the other side of me. I usually tear up when Anne Marie finds the magic as it is but hearing both of them added to the moment and by the end of the show PJ and I were both crying pretty steadily.

 

[lbgraves]

We stopped outside the theater to ask a CM about the reading by Mrs. Clause that night. It was not noted in the navigator at all but I had been told it would be at 10 pm Thursday earlier in the week. She finally asked Rachel, who checked with the character people and confirmed the time. It was a shame that the even wasn’t advertised this year. There was a poor turn out. We always make a point to attend this event since you have a chance to talk to the performers after they sing “The Night Before Christmas” with Mrs. Clause. It is the only opportunity to see some of them out of character. I have spoken with Charlotte the past two years but found out that she was away this cruise.

Our bridal couple was in the Atrium still decked out in their finery before Mrs. Clause came out so I asked the assistant if they could get a picture with her before she went to read to the children. How many people can say they have a picture with Mrs. Clause in their wedding garb?

Once we all changed into jeans and shorts, we headed up to deck 9 to watch Parent Trap. I took DS to get in line for the dessert buffet at 10:45. I wasn’t very hungry but did want to get some pictures of the display. This is the first cruise that I have made it to the buffet. I have always been in bed by then before. It was as beautiful as I anticipated from looking at other DISer’s pictures and the little that I tasted was good as well.

​

The DISers who managed to make it to the buffet joined us at a large table and we chatted as we treated ourselves.