20041218-cruise-friends-memories Part 2

[jilljill]

Here's a 'double toast' for your birthday Virgil and some cake . Have a great one!

 

[paulcrsb]

Happy Birthday Virgil! Enjoy your day off!

Paul

 

[tkd lisa]

Help, help, help!! Jeanette (Our newest add) is asking about doing a 4 night cruise instead and doing WDW over the holiday. Come over and convince her to stay cruising with us!!! Her threads on the main cruise board.

Jeanette, we already had the Cat 1 person bail on us, and TnRobin decided we were too expensive. We couldn't take the rejection if you left us too!!!

 

[ohioMickey]

Another "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" to Virgil. Hope you have a great day.

And now on to other news...

WE ARE IN on the evening prior activities.

Just got off the phone with CRO and we have secured MVMCP tix for Dec 17th as well as two rooms at the Poly.

YooHoo!!!

(This is primarily for OhioMinnie since I can't call home, but I figure the rest of you might like to know too.)

 

[videogal1]

Originally posted by DVC4US
Good Tuesday Morning Everyone!!

Lynda & Cash - how did Cash do on the cruise?

LeiLani

Mr. Cash did just great. He became very proficient at boarding and escaping from crowded elevators, learned different methods of successfully boarding a wheelchair lift vehicle... Two approved methods garnered admiration and photos from admiring crowds...Another, the hopping bunny in the rose garden method, only got him side-splitting laughter from bystanders and, from me, promises of some remedial training at the first opportunity... He trotted by my scooter, leash dragging (to avoid snaring sleeping bystanders), and amazed the masses by promptly obeying such esoteric commands as nose, out, stop, wait, foot, go right, leave it, no sniffing, and several different whistled directions, not to mention the commands having to do with bodily functions that will remain undiscussed....
As far as the plane ride went...(his third) he slept. Again.
I am always on the guard against refusal of service because of him and encountered none at any time. He did not get seasick, and neither did I (Wonders will never cease) and, although we were gifted with the metal-walled BAV I would have loved to have seen see his first reaction to a clear view of the ocean passing by before his nose figured out we weren't in Kansas anymore. He enjoyed standing in lines that wound through the upper level of the atrium... He would lie next to the balcony railing, nose through the grillwork, cracking up passengers with his canine version of a vulture scanning the plains below. Perhaps he was practicing for a future life peeking out from behind the window shades of a double-wide....

When I went swimming I would park him, under command, in the shade nearby, keeping an eye out for uneducated attempts by resort staff or unsupervised children to treat him like a well-mannered pet...I scared one youngish waitress by shouting at her when she went out of her way to approach the sleeping furball. Within two days nearly everyone on the ship (even the dress-white Captain) had met Cash and knew him by name. It was sort of like traveling with a rock star.....minor rock star.....With all the attention, at times he would concentrate less on my whistled commands and more on soliciting affection from those nearby. I explained over and over the difference between a service dog at work and one who is "off duty". By coincidence, (my foot/leg injury on CC) Cash spent quite a bit of time wearing just his red off duty vest and not the heavy harness/backpack that I need to hang onto while walking, so he ended up being off duty quite a bit of the time on the ship... Luckily, the scooter motor was able to be cleared of sand before burning out...only popped the circuit breaker when it overheated...and I was able to use it on the cruise instead of one of the bulky rental scooters.
At the parks and in Nassau he burnt his pads on the hot pavement in the afternoon a few times when my timing was poor in getting back to more shaded activities...Bad Mom. All in all, he was calm, cool, and collected in all circumstances that did not involve squirrels or bunnies, managed to learn a few new commands, and even shed at least one phobia...metal grid walkways... He even slept through a couple of fireworks shows....

Good dog...

 

[thesoldtrain]

Alright, alright! I have been "found out"....really, I am not a 10-night traitor, but that Cat. 3 room sounds awfully nice to me! But yes, we will hang with this one....it really is not to be missed and HEY! I can do a 4-night Cat. 3 room anytime, right? LOL

Staying for REAL now,
Jeanette (and family!!!)

 

[ohiominnie]

Originally posted by ohioMickey
(This is primarily for OhioMinnie since I can't call home, but I figure the rest of you might like to know too.)

Wow, Thanks, OhioMickey! Phones still out at work, huh? I just spent an hour and 15 minutes ironing a tutu! ARGH!!!!

 

[ohiominnie]

Originally posted by ohioMickey
Just got off the phone with CRO and we have secured MVMCP tix for Dec 17th as well as two rooms at the Poly.

(SNIP)

(This is primarily for OhioMinnie since I can't call home, but I figure the rest of you might like to know too.)

Ok, just after I hit send on my last message it hit me....

What's wrong with this picture? He can call CRO, but he can't call home??? Hmmmm. Fishy.

 

[ohiominnie]

Originally posted by WVMD
and well hate working on birthdays....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

I'll be sure to invite you all to my birthday party this year....It's disembarkation day! Do we have a little animation of a smiley getting kicked off of a ship?? That'd be me!

 

[ohioMickey]

What's wrong with this picture? He can call CRO, but he can't call home??? Hmmmm. Fishy.

Okay, okay ... the phones were fixed this afternoon. But after talking to CRO for 15 minutes, I had squandered all my free time. So, I posted. There. Now, back to marital bliss.

 

[WVMD]

Jeanette,

You made the correct choice - while I love the Cat. 3s we had on our 3 and 4 day Cruises..... They were too short - and not anything like this 10 day is going to be, and there is nothing in the world that would want me to be at WDW over the Holidays like that. Too many people.....

Virgil

 

[videogal1]

Originally posted by DVC4US

Lynda - if you are going down early you might want to consider "Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party"(MVMCP). Several of us are going on the 17th, but they have other dates for it also. If you do stay the day before the cruise at the Poly let us know. We will be at the GF and would love to hop over and meet you and Cash
LeiLani

Well, it's all fixed...We're spending the night before the cruise at the Poly and going to go to Mickey's party...

 

[stingfancb]

Anyone heard of have any ideas about what the schedule of dinners might be like? I'm talking about when the formal, semi-formal, etc. may be.

 

[paulcrsb]

Lynda & Cash - I loved your story and I'm glad to hear that you'll be joining us for the MVMCP!

Paul

 

[thesoldtrain]

What time are you all meeting on the 17th and give me some scoop on MVMCP?

Thanks for making me feel so welcome!

Jeanette
Traveling with....DH29 Nate; DD5 Charlotte; and DD1 Delia (this will be her 4th cruise in her young life! LOL)

 

[tkd lisa]

Morning all! Jeanette, so glad you're staying. Hope I didn't do too much of the hard sell, but I couldn't resist. I truly do believe that the 10 day will be a much better choice. And one of our fellow 10 day cruisers (Glenelgmom) is named Charlotte. She'll like hearing your DD's name.

Lynda, I'm so glad to hear that Cash did well. I had read the story of the BAV on another board, and it does sound really nice.

Virgil, happy birthday a day late. I got a little distracted there! I do miss seeing Mary's morning greetings. Hope she and Mark are having a great time. And Stacey and her family as well.

I am truly amazed no one teased me about my WDW career choice. Figured I'd get a couple of jokes there. Hey, many of you didn't weigh in on your personal career choice. Come on, share! Please???

I'm going to be chaperoning a field trip to the National Museum of Art tomorrow, so probably won't post until Friday. So Happy Wednesday and Thursday.

 

[DVC4US]

Good Wednesday Morning Everyone!

Happy Belated Birthday Virgil. Yesterday was my mother's birthday also.

Lynda - I am so glad to hear that Cash did great on the cruise and after those stories I really can't wait to meet the two of you.

I am glad to hear you guys can make it for MVMCP ohiominnie & mickey, and Lynda & Cash.

Jeanette - we don't have any definite meeting times for the 17th yet. We will probably make firm plans when it gets closer.

stingfancb - I don't think anyone knows anything about the dinners yet, but I was thinking about calling today and seeing what I can find out.

Mary - I don't know exactly where you live in the Chicago area but I think you mentioned Gurnee(sp?). I have been seeing this area on the news with a lot of flooding and I hope if you do live in this area everything is okay with your property. I think about you and Mark every time I see reports from the Chicago area.

Everyone Have a Great Day!

LeiLani

 

[WDWLVR]

Good morning everyone! Tried this once and got booted off. So I'm going to try again quickly.

LeiLani - our house is fine - thanks for thinking of us. We are wel south of the Gurnee area. That is where my boss lives.

Virgil - happy belated birthday! Hope it was a great one Doc.

So far Member Homecoming has been a blast! Yesterday we did a tour of the new DVC resort Saratoga Springs. It was great getting to meet up with old friends from the boards and I'm sure the other people there thought we were all nuts as we were hugging and laughing with both new and old DIS friends! The resort is beautful and we'll definately have to plan a stay there.

We had a DIS meet yestrerday at the Land in Epcot and had over 50 people show up! At the end of the meet only 2 sets of buttons went unclaimed. After the meet I went to the washroom and as I was washing my hands a woman came in and said "is there a Mary in her? I'm looking for Mary from the DIS boards"" It was someone late for the meet who wanted her buttons!

The Member Homecoming party last night was great. We got special pins the night before. One a classic pin collector pin (limited edition of course) made just for the event. The second a mickey head with a magnetic back. When you pushed his ear it twinkled. We were asked to wear these to the event.

They took over all of the main showcase plaza (the large one right between the two merchandise buildings when you enter World Showcase). They had drinks (water, lemonade, coffee) and all kinds of yummy desserts (finger foods like giant cookies, brownies, rice crispy treats etc.) We got there early enough that we were right at the railing to see Illuminations. It is an amazing spot to watch from!

After that they had Carol Stein from Comedy Warehouse playing piano for us and doing a sing along of great Disney songs (this to keep us occupied while they cleared out the rest of the park)

Then it was off to Future World. They had tables and chairs set up. Pop and water available as well as more munchies. Giant DVC balloons lit up the sky. We had a group of 10 and did Mission Space with 6 riders (4 who opted out). Then over to Test Track where everyone rode and we almost filled 2 cars.

They had a DJ playing and also American Vive was singing. We left the party about 11:30. A friend of ours was having computer propblems with a client back home and he stopped by to use our computer for a while. So it was 1 am when we finally got to bed. Didn't get up this morning until 8:30 which is way late for me. This morning will be quiet, will most likely do Epcot later and then off to the Magic Kingdom tonight for another great night. Last night we got two more pins. One for the event tonight and a larger round one of Jiminy Cricket. Very nice!

Well off to read the rest of the boards.

 

[seaulater]

Mary-glad you are having a great time. Wish we were there!

Linda

 

[ohioMickey]

Mary -

Sounds like the homecoming party was a lot of fun! Thanks for the details. Have a great rest-of-your-trip.