4/29/06 Eastern Magic...We're Going!!!!!

[castlegazer]

I believe or I hope you are, forgetting Catrina. We fly with car seats when the kids are under 3 - period. I have debated this issues too many times to count here on the DIS so we will leave it at that. Oh, and she will not lay nicely in Mommies lap for 2 plus hours. No siree, she would be that child screaming up and down the aisle as Mommy tries to wrangle her back to the seat if I didn't have her belted in. Quinn will not be in a car seat on the plane. We are bringing his as luggage because I had some serious issues with Budget and renting one from them to the point of complete dismay with the whole system with them. This left me with no car seat for Quinn when in Florida. Florida laws do not call for a 4 yo to be in a car seat, however, this is unacceptable to me. We are renting a car and will be doing a LOT of driving. So, I wanted him to be in a five point harness. The issue of his seat has caused us some serious problems but I am adamant I want him in a car seat while we are down there. We will be leaving it in the condo while on the ship. But hers has to come with us to get to the port.

As for the stroller, again, Catrina.... I will NOT carry that lug of a 22 pound chick around all day at WDW. I have a hip carrier but it is not meant for long periods of time. Quinn is a complete baby when it comes to long distance walking so I do not want to listen to the whining so it's the double stroller we will be bringing. Remember, we are not spending our entire time at WDW. The stroller was bought specifically for this trip so its one that folds down to a very small size and weighs 13 pounds. It also can cart her around on the ship and I won't have to rent one from them if available. It's hers and she likes it. She still has not mastered the art of walking so it's either carry her everywhere or have her in a stroller. I pick stroller as does my chiropractor.


Oh, and we have Britax seats, no need to change anything - you just bring them on, set them up, and you are good to go. It's actually fairly easy and we have a very nice shoulder bag for it too. No big deal. Two - BIG deal. But that is why one is being checked as luggage.

 

[castlegazer]

After that boring post by me, we need some FUN!

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[castlegazer]

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[castlegazer]

I'm blowing it out - too bad for everyone who already left cause I saved my best mental siesta stuff for these last two days!

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[Belle and Rella's Dad]

Alright since I am already in hot water with a couple of the ladies on board, I figured I should probably just let things rest but of course that is not my style, so I did a little research and came up with this. I went back to the beginning to look when everybodys first post on this thread was, now I only went up until 1-1-06 and if I missed anyone I apologize up front, but check this out.

Belle and Rellas Mom 10-4-04
Belle and Rellas Dad (me) 10-7-04
Philly Jen 10-15-04
Mermaid Patty 10-17-04
CastleGazer 10-20-04
Pango 10-22-04
Pango Queen 10-25-04
Docs Queen 12-29-04
Little Lady Lisa 1-3-05
OhJulie 3-8-05
Mketting 4-19-05
IntheMood 4-28-05
BLBCB 8-6-05
Grumpy C. Hook 8-12-05
Suziemva 8-12-05
OhSo Disney 8-16-05
Sue718 9-20-05
PartyPat 11-8-05
SteveMed 11-22-05
MouseCrazy 12-28-05
JewelGrrl 12-29-05
Carolina Yankee 12-29-05

Now there were some others on there, but I don't believe that they are going on the cruise, but you know what this tells us???

Houston we have a problem!!!

If you look at the amount of days on the thread and divide the number of posts, you know what they would say in Vegas don't you??

We have a new Chip leader!!!!

Shyla is at 845 posts with 550 days on the thread which equals 1.5363 posts at day.

Suzie is at 541 posts with 255 days on the thread which equals 2.1215 posts a day.

Don't Get Mad, love ya ladies, and keep the pictures coming.

Tom

 

[castlegazer]

And the last one for this morning (notice I didn't say today) is a big sendoff for everyone still around:

 

[rubysmom]

Good morning! I have 2 off-topic announcements:

Mandy (my ) gets her stitches out today and will get her 'elizabethan collar' thing off also (Thank God)--she's almost chewed through it anyway. She'll be Soooooooo relieved to be free of that thing! Her tumor margins were NOT clear, so that really stinks, but we'll just play it by ear and keep her healthy and happy as we can, hopefully for a few more years at least--she is 16 yo after all. I've been with her longer than I've been w/DH!

Also, contrary to popular belief, it's 'Sun'-day today. At the beginning of the school year, our school association (parents & staff) voted to have a 'Sun' day (like a 'snow' day, except for good weather). So it was decided that the school day with weather forecast at sunny and over 63, we would take the day off. There are a few teachers at the school in case parents have a child-care issue, but it's a small, private school, so I'm sure any of those issues are being resolved by hanging out with another family for the day. Also, we've had a 70-degree weekend, so we all pretty much knew it was coming today. My kids aren't even awake yet, lol.

No day trips for us though--it's my SPA DAY! Pedi, haircut/color, wax, and mani tomorrow...woohoo!! Sue, I will be thinking of you at noon today at the pedicure. So sorry you had such a bad experience, but I agree about the reality TV thing!--have you guys ever seen Ed TV (w/Matthew McConaughy ) ? Send those guys to the PAHW!

Tom, I'm pretty set on re-booking, but w/DH and w/o kids next time! DS will be in 7th grade and it gets more and more difficult to pull them out, as you said. Speaking of soccer, he's missing 2 games and 3 practices with this trip, so I understand about that!

CG, thanks for the cruise terminal pics. Can't wait to take my own like that!

Better run and keep working on that packing. I get such a sense of unity and solidarity with you guys knowing that we're all packing and losing our minds and beyond excited TOGETHER at the same time!

 

[PhillyJen2006]

Wow-CG- LOVE the pictures. Especially in light of the day we are having here!

About the car seat-We always flew with one when the kids were really little. Not necessarily only for the safety aspect, but for the fact that kids know exactly what to expect when they are buckled into their car seat. It definately makes for a much nicer ride. Thankfully, both girls are in boosters now, and I just rented them for the ride from Cocoa to Satellite. If worst comes to worst, they are like $13 at WalMart. As far as the stroller, my kids actually prefer the Disney rented stroller and we still get it even with a 7 year old. I can understand though, that getting to the parks is a pain when having to carry kids around. We are probably bringing Katie's umbrella stroller bc she is the type who will fall asleep at dinner and we are the type that will just load her in a stroller and push her around to the festivites with her blankie and jammies! Hopefully- she will be a trooper this time around!

Ok the weekend from heck is over finally, and now-the week from you know where starts! I paid bills this morning. That is one thing that always bugs me on vaca-did I pay it? Didn't I?

I am sure we have had this discussion about Travelers Cheques-We never get them....why? Don't know-probably poor planning, but we were thinking of getting some this time. My concern-little vendors(I mean little like the $1.00 beer guy at the other end of the St. Maartin water taxi) on the island...do they have to accept them? So-we are leaning towards 1/2 cash and 1/2 travelers cheques. Any ideas?

Alright- I can't believe how much is left to do, with so little time. Packing will be on Thursday morning before my manicure, but just the cleaning, organizing my life so I don't come back to the nightmare it is now!

Have a great day all!
PJ

 

[rubysmom]

Wow--CG you posted those pics quick! BEAUTIFUL!! I'm keeping a couple of them!

Tom, I didn't make it on the list, but that's what I get for waiting until 01/28/06 to start posting! Amazing how quickly I felt at home with you all!

 

[OHJulie]

CG - LOVE the pictures!! Thank-you!!

And thanks for planning to have your kids actually seated while on the plane. I once was on a lovely commuter jet and the lady sitting next to me was holding her daughter, maybe 2 years old? Well, this would not have been a problem except that this lady was VERY large and this child was literally balanced on her Mom's belly with about an inch between her face and the seat in front of her. This just was not going to work and the plane was full - so I got to hold this little girl for most of the flight. I didn't really mind, but what was this Mom thinking? And then on my next flight the family behind me thought that it would be a good idea to let their son stand for the whole flight. Of course he was right behind me and was constantly bumping into my seat. It was a great day of flying for me!!

 

[rubysmom]

Ok, guys this is so off topic you're going to shoot me, but I can't help it--DH is sitting here listening to old-time radio shows while he works and it's an Abbott & Costello one from war-time. At the commercial spot, the announcer said, "Ok folks, now we're going to take a minute to honor our Yank of the week!"

I'm sorry, but that just cracked me up!

Ok I'm really going now.

 

[Belle and Rella's Dad]

PJ,

In going through some of the old posts I found this one by the Queen, tell your boy I can't wait for the bar to be open, and lets not wait until the last night.

Since PhillyJen can't remember the details of the "THONG" story, I did a little research and this is what I came up with...Headgear Pat must really exist because he posted this AWESOME list of things from the last cruise that didn't suck! Read "NEW FAD IN DOLL CLOTHES" for the thong story...read the rest of them just for a good laugh!!!


This is an actual post from Headgear Pat dated 5-12-2004 (immediately following our last cruise)

Headgear Pat The Disney Cruise 2004 - Top X things that don’t suck
--as told by yours truly...

Nude sun-bathers at Le Gallion beach in St. Martin.
Where else can you check these out with your wife present?
“Hey look at those..”
“Those are huge...”
“Nice, but it looks like they hurt…”
“I’ve never seen sun screen applied there before…”

But the hour of meaningful conversation my wife (Philly Jen) about these “items on display”, reminded me of why we have coffee table books…to merely stimulate conversation.

Jamaica James and the $80 case of beer…Buckets of beer (buy 5 they give you the sixth one for free). Hey, it was vacation, so we ordered 4 of them for the day. Just so I didn’t feel like I got ripped off, I brought the buckets home…still have found no use for them.

Confirmed Motion Sickness on A1A.
My wife (Philly Jen) claims it was the party flu.
I claim it was motion sickness.
Thanks to Tom (our one man jury), it has been confirmed Motion Sickness coupled with some bad fish. Not a pretty site but a remarkable ending to a wonderful cruises.
It also reminded me that my days as a rock star truly are numbered.

The look on our Room Stewards face when I asked him if the curtain in the room (i.e. the one that separates the adult bed from the kids bunk beds) was sound proof. You would’ve thought I was talking in another language...

Introducing Key Lime Martini’s to new friends (and hopefully to Bowtie Joe and JenLyn)
You might think you can look up the recipe and recreate yourself but there’s always a little magic in those drinks when I make them.…so good going down, you forget how many you’ve had. The informal party the last night. Hmm, party in a stateroom the size of most peoples closets…okay, we can make it work. And it did. Party was great and thanks to everyone who assisted in reducing the number of items I had to declare at customs. I was left standing, with a puzzled look, at the customs agent…”I swear I had more than this to claim…”

Tom/Julie and family, Steve/Laura (the Pango Clan) and our friends from the ‘cuse (that Syracuse to those outside the upstate NY area)…Great drinks, great times, great fun…

New Fad in Doll Clothes.
Somewhat of an inside story, but I thought I would share. Our friends in another cabin from ‘cuse, said they left a bag in our room with her daughter doll clothes in them. My wife emailed her and said, that we accidentally packed it. My wife, being diligent, decided to send it back to her on Monday when we returned home from the cruise. Our friends received the package, but indicated there was a pair of unidentified, white thong panties also in the bag. No, Tom they weren’t my size….Yes, please remind Philly Jen to check the bags before sending…

The Birth of Headgear Pat.
I don’t why my wife does it but every time we are around friends, she tells them I have braces (like I traveling act at the carnival). But this time, it worked out for the better as Julie, asked in her most of serious voices….”Do you wear headgear?” …the rest is history and hence, the birth of Headgear Pat….





See, I wasn't kidding!!! This is good stuff!!!

I just sat here and started laughing out loud, you are one luckey lady Jennifer, and he is an even luckier man.

Tom

 

[carolina_yankee]

CG - great pics. Thanks so much

Tom - looks like I made it in under the wire - and then promptly disappeared. At least my post count wasn't way down at the bottom. I'm not even going to try to make up for lost time since I have 2 12 hours days coming up.

Now, the question:
For those of you with nicer cameras? What do you do with them at the beach? Here, I wouldn't have any problem hiding under a towl and other junk while in the water - but what about Orient or Magens - would that be safe there?

Plan B is to leave in trunk of car at Orient, and rent a locker at Magen - but you never know when you want to take a shot. I won't necessarily need the best camera at the beach, but it's not the only stop at either island.

 

[Belle and Rella's Dad]

Tom, I didn't make it on the list, but that's what I get for waiting until 01/28/06 to start posting! Amazing how quickly I felt at home with you all!

Trisha,

Sorry, I was only on page 67 when I stopped at January of this year, but with that date of 1-28-06 you are only at an average of 1.2413 posts a day.

I also wonder how someone might go about getting qualified for the Yank of the week, sounds interesting.

Tom

 

[suziemva]

OMG! I'd forgotten those stories!! But you forgot the bra on the head from our Dear Tom! That was a picture I could NEVER forget! And no, you can not have mine!!!

Sorry this is so quick but Tori wants lunch and then I promised to paint her nails. Went and bought new polish for her (that's her Special Treat instead of toys or candy!). So lots to do today and it is now a gorgeous day! 74 and climbing! Feels like Florida!

Does anyone else miss Pat and Barb, too? Miss the posts, etc. Wow...feels weird with them gone already! Once again, safe travels to Nikki (might already be there!) and Maria leaving tomorrow! Anyone else?

 

[suziemva]

Julie and Shannan, got the mail. Thank you!

 

[Belle and Rella's Dad]

Looking back over some old posts how about this one, that Steves only response was for the first time in his life he was speechless, page 135.

Stevemed, you crack me up!!! I can't get enough. I honestly have never met a portugese person, let alone(and please don't think I am stereotyping cause honestly I have no basis) a hairy, banana hammock wearing, one brow, SHP room stayin, secret life having Portugese man..... I just hope that the banana hammock run doesn't look like a tennis match gone bad.....

You guys all just make me laugh, I can't wait.

Tom

 

[Belle and Rella's Dad]

I have to post this one, this is where the man ended up with his own Fan Club, Steve you are the man.

Hi all,I saw the first picture of my brothers baby today.It was great to see she had two eyebrows.This is a big deal in a portuguese family not to have a unibrow.

After all this talk it should be easy to spot me on the cruise....a hairy portuguese man in a speedo(aka banana hammock)with one eye brow and a pirate hat on.I bet you ladies can't wait to meet me.

Tom

 

[Lisa D]

Tom , Thank you for clearing alot of things up for someone who joined the group late. My husband would look at this and say"Who is Stevemed and why does he have a fan club? Are we going to meet him on the cruise?"

CG, , thanks for the beautiful pix - I cannot wait!

I should not even be here now - I should be typing the school newsletter for my son's school which should have been done last week. Will check in later - have to get my post numbers up! Just kidding - you guys have to be commended for an awesome thread.

Lisa

 

[tiggersister2]

Well, I'm still a little confused, but thanks to a few posts I'm getting the hang of a few things you guys talk about -- but I mostly really am sorry I didn't get to know you all a lot sooner. You are so funny !!!!!!!!!!! I've been telling myself I need to find real Disney fanatics like myself. DH likes Disney, but not nearly as much as me. My sister is almost at my level but still not there. My kids - well, they haven't been in years and I am taking them one at a time now that they are adults - the first one liked it, but didn't get goofy and kidlike as I am. I want to take more trips than I have people to go with so it's fun to find all of you who love it too.

Anyway ...so, Tatonka - we'll have to keep a look out for you. I am still a little unsure of the Steve Med Fan Club but I had to laugh because one of the posts was talking about the banana stuff and I hadn't realized the picture I kept seeing was a banana in a hammock HYSTERICAL!!

Someone mentioned men in speedos and spandex - is this something I should look forward to seeing or should I be a little wary .

Rubsysmom -- sorry to hear you've had a sick kitty. I have 3 cats who I am going to miss more than DH I think (don't tell him that tho...well, he knows it)

And last -- Thanks to castlegazer for those beautiful pictures - Oh my Gosh - they were fantastic and now I really can't wait.

One question: we are staying friday at the radisson at the port -- any suggestions for where to go for dinner?? I've only done one othe Disney cruise and it was a land/sea package so I drove in right from WDW.

I'll keep my eye out for green wristbands - I was planning to hit deck 10 for sailaway. Keep an eye out for two perplexed looking sisters - probably giggling. This is my sister's first cruise in 50 years - I can't wait to see her excited face.