17th August 2013 Magic in the Med (7nights)

[Crackleandpop]

Hi Lisa,

We are going for three half day Disney excursions too. Just thought it would be easier and cut down on the planning for me. The nice thing is they are all mornings so hopefully it will not be quite as hot, the pool might be less busy when we get back and we get back in time for lunch. I thought I might order room service late the night before so we have snacks to take with us. DS won't manage a morning without food.

 

[LisaHK]

Hi Lisa,

We are going for three half day Disney excursions too. Just thought it would be easier and cut down on the planning for me. The nice thing is they are all mornings so hopefully it will not be quite as hot, the pool might be less busy when we get back and we get back in time for lunch. I thought I might order room service late the night before so we have snacks to take with us. DS won't manage a morning without food.

Welcome

We had the same idea as you and booked all AM tours.

 

[Pinkytink]

I think I'm going for the Ikea hanger too! Not sure about how I'm going to "Disneyfie" it yet tho.

I think you guys have the right idea about doing the Disney excursions. We were going to DIY the excursions as they seem quite pricey but I've been researching tonight trying to find a ready made "idiot's guide" to doing Pisa and not had much luck so now I'm getting cold feet - especially with a 2 year old in tow! I had pre booked Pisa and Pompeii and we decided to cancel them but now I don't know.

What ones are you all going for?

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

In Villefranche we're doing the Nice & Monaco tour through DCL mostly because we'll have a lot of OBCs to use up.

For the Italian ports we're going through Rome In Limo. It's a nice to go at our own pace but still be driven/guided. I don't feel like wasting precious time trying to navigate. Since we're splitting the van with my parents, all 3 ports are costing us around $900 for our family of 4 + tips. (Their website has a section if you'd like to sign up for a small group to share & cut down costs if you have no other couples/families to share with.)

DCL would charge that much, if not more, for 4 of us on one full day excursion. Not to mention the thought of waiting for 30 other people to get their gelato is not very appealing.




eta: The prices above don't include admission tickets to various sites but RiL does provide links & what time of entry to choose such as 9:30 entry to Tower of Pisa, 2:00 Accademia or 2:00 Vatican.
HTH!!

 

[Crackleandpop]

We are skipping the French tours, going to Pompeii, Rome on the coach (we will get too see the sights and Ill have a better idea whether I can see everything in a weekend when I return sans child) and half day in Pisa. They are the cheapest trips but we chose them because I didn't fancy a whole day in the middle of the Summer with a whiny seven year old.

As for the ikea hangar, pick up felt sheets (50p each at Hobbycraft) red which could make mickey shorts (with two buttons stuck on), yellow for Donald's beak, spotted fabric for Minnie's bow, etc. I made mine and still have enough fabric to make another one or sass this one up for our next cruise (assuming we do another one. )

 

[LisaHK]

We are doing Monaco and the car museum (DH chose this one), Lerici Castle and Pompeii.


I am off to Ikea and Hobbycraft on Friday to find some inspiration.

 

[jeni37]

I just finished making my daughter's autograph book and my travel journal, so now I can focus on FE gifts! Yippee!

 

[TahjmanMum]

Hi All, Pinkytink found me on another website. Thought I would say hello. It will be my DH, me and DD 14 on our cruise. DS 18 will stay at home. DD loves the clubs on Disney and we wont see much of her.

This will be our 4th cruise and 2nd with Disney. We too are DVC members and booked with our points (about 3 years worth!).

Black tie for DH and long dress for me on formal night. Maybe an eye patch for pirate night.

We have Palo booked for dinner and brunch and various excursions, I forget where to now but nothing more than 4-5 hours. Some of the tours were 7.30 starts, too early for us.

 

[LisaHK]

Hi All, Pinkytink found me on another website. Thought I would say hello. It will be my DH, me and DD 14 on our cruise. DS 18 will stay at home. DD loves the clubs on Disney and we wont see much of her.

This will be our 4th cruise and 2nd with Disney. We too are DVC members and booked with our points (about 3 years worth!).

Black tie for DH and long dress for me on formal night. Maybe an eye patch for pirate night.

We have Palo booked for dinner and brunch and various excursions, I forget where to now but nothing more than 4-5 hours. Some of the tours were 7.30 starts, too early for us.

Welcome

 

[jeni37]

I just finished making my daughter's autograph book and my travel journal, so now I can focus on FE gifts! Yippee!

Hello and Welcome!! If you are interested we have a small FE Exchange on this cruise, PM me if you would like to join. If you are unable to PM, just let me know on this thread and I will PM you my email.

I am traveling with my DH, DS17, DS13 and DDD9. My parents are cmoing along as well. This is our second Disney cruise.

 

[Pinkytink]

Hi Tahjmansmum, great to see you on here

Thanks guys for your input on excursions and I also read Disney Mams trip report. I think we are just going to stay local to the port in Villefranche, do Pisa alone by train, hopefully in just a morning, skip Rome as I think it will just be too much for our 2 year old and then do the half day DCL excursion to Pompeii.

We liked the look of the Pompeii and Sorrento DCL excursion but I'm wondering if 2.5 hours in Sorrento would be too long. Anyone have any experience of Sorrento?

Also, thanks for the Fish Extender ideas Did you have any luck in Hobbycraft Lisa? I went there last week but wasn't inspired . We are going to Ikea on Tuesday to get the hanging organiser, I just hope they have one in stock!

I think I'm more or less sorted on the gifts front - at least my ideas are sorted! is it just me or is anyone thinking they won't get it sorted in time?!! I've spent hours looking at forum threads and eBay for ideas! I love it! I'm hooked!!

 

[LisaHK]

Hi Tahjmansmum, great to see you on here

Thanks guys for your input on excursions and I also read Disney Mams trip report. I think we are just going to stay local to the port in Villefranche, do Pisa alone by train, hopefully in just a morning, skip Rome as I think it will just be too much for our 2 year old and then do the half day DCL excursion to Pompeii.

We liked the look of the Pompeii and Sorrento DCL excursion but I'm wondering if 2.5 hours in Sorrento would be too long. Anyone have any experience of Sorrento?

Also, thanks for the Fish Extender ideas Did you have any luck in Hobbycraft Lisa? I went there last week but wasn't inspired . We are going to Ikea on Tuesday to get the hanging organiser, I just hope they have one in stock!

I think I'm more or less sorted on the gifts front - at least my ideas are sorted! is it just me or is anyone thinking they won't get it sorted in time?!! I've spent hours looking at forum threads and eBay for ideas! I love it! I'm hooked!!

I picked up some felt and polka dot ribbon at Hobbycraft. I didn't get to Ikea as we ran out of time but my DH works 5 mins away so hopefully he will pop there in his lunch hour for me. I have checked on-line and they have 55 in stock so should be ok. I am artistically challenged so I will be buying all our FE gifts. We have had a ton of fun looking for stuff to get.

Could those with older boys maybe give a few suggestions of things they would like.

 

[Pinkytink]

Felt seems like a really popular choice. I found some Disney images on line so I'm wondering whether to get them printed onto the organiser with our names.
I read somewhere to personalise them with names to help avoid them getting pinched (sad state of affairs!!)

I've bought our gifts too and I'm going to Disneyfy them. I suppose all kids vary Lisa, but my 13 year old son likes all things bushcrafty, arty or edible! I suppose common themes would be skateboard/scooter, sport, bushcraft/camping, music, any thing techie related........ This is a tough age, he likes to have the independence of a teenager but he still enjoys playing with his toys like Lego and his techdeck style toy skateboards. he'll also wear Disney gear in Disneyland but that would sooooooo not be cool at home with his friends!

 

[jeni37]

My 13 year old boys enjoys computers, video games, music. My 17 year old likes the same things but now has his driver's license so anything car related would be fine. They both love sweets as well.

 

[jennorthernireland]

Hi everyone! It's been a while since I posted here as it has been a really busy time for me, but it's lovely to see the excitement building for August!

As the summer sales have been on, I have found time to get our holiday clothes together - I got some great bargains for us all (maybe spent a wee bit too much on shoes...), but I still have a few things I need to get. I'm desperately trying to persuade my husband to dress up for formal night, but he's having little of it. I think I will be able to get him into a pair of dark trousers and a nice shirt and that will be as far as he goes! My daughter and I are excited to dress up and have been enjoying picking outfits, but I think my 13 year old son is veering more towards my husband's way of thinking! I'm hoping we won't look too out of place...

I had to phone Disney the other day about something else and ended up talking to the advisor about dinner rotation. I have actually made a request now - L, L, AP, PC, L, AP, PC. I liked the look of Lumiere's best - I hope I haven't made the wrong choice! If we get the request, we will be there for formal night.

Excursion wise, we are booked on Disney's 'Taste of Rome' which gives participants a couple of hours by themselves in the afternoon which I am sure we will appreciate and the half day trip to Pompeii. Hopefully, we will be fine for the rest of the port days. I think we will aim for Nice and the antiques market when we are in Villefranche and we hope to visit the Cinque Terre by boat. I'm also completely excited about having a few days in Barcelona! That city looks amazing! I've been there once, but only as a child and I don't really remember it very clearly.

I would really have liked to participate in the FE, but I really am up to my proverbial Mickey ears at the minute and it isn't something I would like to enter into in an ill-prepared or half-hearted way. Total hats off to those of you who are creative enough to do it properly!

One of my best friends is actually going on the Magic tomorrow for a four day cruise - I just cannot wait until she gets home and I can hear what her family made of it all! She has been in Spain for a week or so already - lucky for her, or I would have been round at her door trying to get her to squeeze me into her suitcase (it would need to be a large one)!

Hope everyone is feeling as excited as I am!

 

[Crackleandpop]

Well with a little over a month to go I have finally started on the practical stuff.

Applied for my E111 card (or whatever it's called now) last week and within seven days it arrived. Now need to photocopy the passports.

Started packing this weekend and quickly concluded we need a bigger case. travelling with child seems to required a case twice as big again.

A familiar question in our house now is 'Is it August yet?' IF ONLY.

 

[Crackleandpop]

LisaHK - unable to pm but I am from the UK.

 

[LisaHK]

LisaHK - unable to pm but I am from the UK.

Thanks

 

[jeni37]

We just got our cruise documents in the mail today! YIPPEE! I love seeing those luggage tags!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

We just got our cruise documents in the mail today! YIPPEE! I love seeing those luggage tags!

Us too!!