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

[PhillyJen2006]

Hi gang! Wow- it sounds like everyone had an eventful weekend. Thankfully- considering the events of the past few days, we didn't. I worked on my cork wall in the bar all day yesterday after I took the girls ice skating. That was fun. Now-for the bad news....biggest loser weigh in.....I was doing so well all week, but ate pizza yesterday(dumb) and so now I am 1 lb heavier than I expected to be. So BL weigh in for me is down 1 lb.

We are not doing any ship excursions this time around. We had an absolute ball last time just winging it! We will probably do a beach in St. Maartin in the morning, this will be our 6th time to the island, so other than "Everything Cool" on front street, I have no adjenda! Still haven't even opened my bottle of Guavaberry Liquer from the last time! Oh- and if you've never had a Guavaberry Colada- got to get there. It is a neat little gingerbread house on the main drag there-get off the ferry and take a right it is down the street on your left hand side. Last time, we went back to the ship to have lunch and really took our time. We got off and went back into Philipsburg and shopped. We had plenty of time. It was a nice day. And as Julie said, there are tons of little drink shacks playing reggae right along the pier as soon as you get off the ship. A good place to hang and wait for the "all aboard"!

St. Thomas-we are setting up our own trip to St. John. Thankfully Mermaid Patty is all over that already. Gotta love it! And I heard it takes a long time, but the kids can't stay in the sun all day so we will probably head back for the Paradise Point trip! If that doesn't work out(St. John) -Maegans bay is always a great place. Again, our 6th time here too! PAradise point is a definate must see the view from the top! Hang on..... let me post a few pics or a link from our St. Thomas and St. Maartin day!

CC-just hanging at the beach, getting hair braids and bahama mama's!

The other thing that got me thinking was the new dining times and the PLA rotation was 5:30 for early dining? We have late dining-luck of the draw and before we call to get it changed, we were wondering if the PLA late dining was earlier too say 7:30? This is just a guess and 7:30 would be much better than 5:30 for us in terms of getting back from whatever the day brings us and getting showered and off to dinner. I do remember that we were always kind of rushing to get showered and ready for dinner every night. It would be nice to be able to just lay around for an hour or so or sit on the verandah and sip a glass of wine before heading out to dinner. Just my thoughts. Patty is going to call Disney today and confirm the time for all the dinner rotations. If it isn't earlier- we are going to try to get early dining with a different rotation. I think 8 is too late for dinner, but 7:30 would be ok for our crew of little ones. They are all 5 and up, but you know how the sun just wipes you out. Actually I am just trying to roll with the punches here so I am looking for positives either way the dining cookie crumbles( ) for us. Either way-I know we won't go hungry!!!

Anyway-I am going to get some of our St. Thomas and St. Maartin pics posted. I will check back when they are ready! Have a great day everyone!

PJ

 

[castlegazer]

The staggered times are based on the venue, not the rotation, I think. Check out the navigators posted here at the DIS. That will give you the best clues on how its working right now.

We had our best time on a cruise last go round by winging it too. I really don't like excursions, but in St. Maarten, I really want to do the semi submarine for my son and if you booked it on your own its later in the day - due to their preference to the cruise line - and I want to get it over with in the morning to have more time later for other things.

We will be winging it in St. Thomas by taking a cab on our own to Coral World and Coki beach.

mketting - holy bajoly!!!!!!

 

[PhillyJen2006]

CG-Thanks. I actually found the times in the main thread. I also came across yours asking what people do with young children at night. I was going to post there, but I figured I'd catch up with you here. We became semi-experts at this on the last cruise- considering Kate fell asleep every night by about 9:30. The only night we "went out" after the show was on Carribbean night-which is obviously now Pirate night. And even then, Kate was SOUND asleep in her stroller the whole time! We dressed her up in her princess jammies and lei and threw her in the stroller. I felt bad, but we weren't doing that every night. Mostly, we fell asleep early-like by 10:30 each night. I didn't feel like I missed out on a thing. Apparently-we did, but we didn't know or care that there was a whole world going on around us. My favorite time on any ship is like 5:30-6am so I was glad that I could be up for that! Hannah and I would walk up to the coffee station on Deck 10 for coffee-room service doesn't start until 7. They'd have danish and coffee there and we'd just walk around the quiet ship before the "zoo" started! Just my two cents! I am hoping to utilize the club more this time since the kids are older and can be bribed!

HAve a great day~
PJ

 

[mketting]

BL- Down 3 pounds this week and feeling good. I have to say that since I cut all suger out for the past 2 weeks and have been following Phase 1 of South Beach that there have been a few grouchy moments when I just wanted to eat an entire Chocolate cake but I resisted! I keep trying on some of my cruise duds that are a wee bit to tight to help keep me motivated.

Jen- 5:30-6:00 am?? I wish I was a morning person. Every vacation I have thoughts of rising early to enjoy the peace and the sunrise but it never seems to happen, I guess I'm just a sunset person. Maybe this cruise I'll break from tradition and actually get my butt up early a few days.

Dining Rotation- Ok I'm confused! From all that I have read, and from what Debbie at DCL Dining said, you have the same dining time all week at each restaurant, not that each restaurant has a different start time. Of course I will now have to research this question further.

Ok went and read some posts and the time is linked with rotation, but there does seem to variation of times from 5:30, 5:45 and 6:00 or 5:45, 6:00 and 6:15. Debbie said that our trip had the first set of times.

 

[castlegazer]

yea - there's even some different ideas floating out there today too. I don't know the true answer to this - I think its just a matter of keeping close eye on new navigators. I think they are currently using the times per dining room, not rotation according to recent trip reports. But this could change on the next sailing.

Yeah, Jen, I am out there asking some wicked weird questions right now. We are in deep discussion about the cruise. I haven't said anything yet, but we are waivering. Whether or not we are definatiely going changes by the day - no need to drag you all into the confusion. This morning I was a no go - this afternoon I am all about going. We're just a mess right now about this. 18 months of planning come down to the last minute decision making.

But just know, you all are a major force in the "Go" column!

mketting, I have no choice on the 5:30-6 am thing - my kids have always been early risers. They're a mess after 9 pm at night. I guess Jen and I will be up with the sun.

 

[mketting]

CG- Hope you end up with the yea not the nay for the cruise. Well, it would be nicer for everyone if some didn't have to be ready for dinner every night at 5:30! Keep this OCD planner informed!

Though I'd post a picture. (Meghan hasn't been very nice to Jared lately so she was to spend the night in her room after making another unkind comment. Well I had her write a 2 page essay about her brother and how she was going to be nicer. She wrote a beautiful essay about Jared, he was just glowing as she read it to him!! They drive me batty sometimes, bicker on and off all day and then they want to sleep in each others room at night?!?!

 

[Sue718]

Disaster barely averted in our neighborhood today. Our neighbors behind us had their across the street neighbor lose control of her car as she started to back out of her driveway. She said the gas petal stuck and ended up crossing the street, then all the way through the yard, knocking down 3 trees, clearing out a wire fence and demolishing 2 sheds, the car stopped just before it got to our backyard. Our nextdoor neighbors fence was crinkled too. Thank goodness none of the kids in the neighborhood were out this afternoon, especially considering they were all of school today..

Party Pat- Hope you were able to get all the tickets. Good for you going to curves. (here that castlegazer I am in the exercise groove myself, heading on 2 weeks without missing a day.


St. John's- Kirk and I plan to do Capt. Nautica in the morning then return to the ship for lunch with the kids then all head back out to take the tram to the top of the island.

Sue 718- Where did you get that great deal for the Cocoa Beach Hilton? My sister needs to pick a place for Friday night also?

I got the HILTON rate (as a prepaid) on the AAA web site. It's up to 94.00 now, but it's normally $190.00+++

 

[Belle&RellasMom]

Okay CG, spill it!!! You peaked my curiousity so I did a little snooping over on the Community Board...so WHAT IS THE DEAL???

And I actually have another question for you...before I go over to the Cruise Board and read all night, have you seen any posts about Pirate Night? I am just wondering (1) what most people wear (2) do the adults dress up too, or just the kids (3) have you seen any posts with pictures, etc.....

 

[suziemva]

Yeah, CG! What gives?! You can't just drop a dirty bomb like that and leave!

Queen mum, Pirate night was fun. I think since we've done it now we know more of what to expect and a good place to stand to see all the action. Some people dressed up or accessorized but mostly were the kids. We had some in the group that wore eye patches, necklaces (they gave some to the kids too) and one lady bought these really cool purate pins that the eyes glowed and twinkled. I will be wearing ours next trip. Wish I knew where she bought those... Now some people just made a huge deal out of it, too. It was really great to see that everyone was comfortable in whatever they wore. I do have pics of the show but they are not that great (won't waste your time posting them) but if you really want to see them, PM me and I can email them to you.

The BEST of it was the fireworks! They were so cool! And Disney is the only ship that does fireworks off the ship! We were in Cozumel when we had our PITC party and the fireworks came at send off from the dock. Really thumbed our noses at the other ships.

I love the comedian onboard. Had a really funny joke about the ships leaving port. He said the captains all try to make the biggest horn blows, but not our captain. He starts leaving the dock and then pushes his little button and you hear Na-na-na-na-nanah-nah....the first six notes of When you wish upon a star (And it still makes me cry when I hear it!!!). He then turns back to the dock with his finger and his thumb on his forehead in the shape of an L - LOSERS!! http://www.hiddenmickeys.com/Cruise/Secrets.html for the sound (scroll down a bit and you'll see the link!)

Haven't weighed in yet this week - still a bit icky feeling - but will tomorrow. I know I'm down from that sickness and still haven't regained my appetite yet. Only eating about 1 1/2 meals a day, if you can call it that. My stomach shrunk and I can't even eat a whole sandwich! This could be a good thing, though!

Ed's off to Palm Beach again tomorrow. I'm still fiddling with the idea of going to Disney while he's gone. Might just go to Tampa instead to see my friend. Or might just stay home. I just hate being here in the cold while he's in that beautiful weather......but we will be in FL next weekend! Not so impressed by GF concierge right now. They STILL haven't called about our ressies yet! And I NEVER got an email from them either - not like I did for our WL still after the cruise. Hmmmm....gotta try to call them AGAIN tonight! They never pick up, you just have to leave a message and we are at their mercy.

 

[castlegazer]

Guys - I don't know what the deal is, really - it's like we are Jekkle and Mr Hyde lately around our house - I just know that this is starting to freak me out. We're having "add up the costs" issues. See, we have the option of just staying on the beach for a week and a half or doing this cruise and the difference in price is over $2K! My in-laws are having some issues with a very long story about their summer home in Maine where they need to drop some cash fast, unexpectedly after they just retired, we want to expand our house, and on and on.... blah, blah, blah.

But then I go and price out next year's cruises and I almost faint - there's no way I would drop that much money on a cruise. So, this is the year for my budget concientious mind to go - but then again, is it????? See, its like freaky Friday stuff.

I am freaking out - I am sure of it.

But, good news is that I am sitting here with my husband and we are going to look at those awesome pics posted on the trip report board and think some more about it.

Suzie, I didn't mean to drop the bomb and run - I am telling you, I am totally unstable about this right now. I meant to PM you first, but then it just poured out when Jen saw my posts. I think this will resolve and we will go. I am like 80% sure we will end up going. But this is driving me insane right now.

Just everyone, ignore me right now. I have never been like this - its like I am a guy getting cold feet at a weddding (or girl for that matter).

__________________________________________________

Pirate NIght:

The stuff I am reading is that its a slim minority that dress up - mostly DIS'rs. I mean full tilt, dressing up. As for little stuff like Suzie said, I think a lot of people do do that - and then there are still many who are in Tropical gear - most cruise lines have a tropical night so its standard packing for a cruiser as I am sure you know.

I went out to the Lego store - believe it or not - and bought their clearanced pirate bandanas for the kids - and my son said he would wear it - so they are taking care of. I have some Captain Feathersword stuff I made for my son that I could don too. We'll keep the spirit of the night to make it fun.

Oh and yeah, I ahve seen posts with pics - but can't remember the links - but then again, they are the full tilt people - I don't think its the average Joes we're seeing here.

 

[suziemva]

Alright! I am going crazy packing tonight to leave tomorrow morning. I can't believe I actually booked us to WDW tomorrow! We'll be back Saturday!

Wish me luck. Never done a trip by myself with the Princess. Let's hope all goes well. I'm really looking forward to this trip, though. How fun!

BYE!!!

 

[OHJulie]

Suzie - Congratulations! - Have a great time! What an excellent opportunity for some quality Mommy-daughter fun!

Enjoy the weather, it is snowing like crazy here today. COLD and Windy! Yuk. But, it is supposed to be 50 by Saturday - Crazy.

CG - Man, you must be going nuts trying to decide what to do. You need to do what is right for your family, but we would sure miss you if you don't make it.

I have always had a "do it now" attitude when it comes to vacations (as my credit cards will attest), but a lot of that probably has to do with the fact that my DD has a bone condition that requires her to have ongoing surgeries. BTW - she goes for a check-up on Friday - wish us luck - can you tell I am already worried?

BL weigh in - down 2 pounds this week

 

[castlegazer]

Have a BLAST Suzie!!!! AWESOME!!! I am sooo jealous! I am still waiting to hear about work plans for February and going down - I am hoping to go to spend some alone time at the parks between meetings.

Julie, Good luck to you. Bone disorders in children are very scary. I hope everything is normal for the checkup.
Yup, I am the same way, that is why I feel so freaky about this - normally I do my best to get the best deal and then its go, go, go!

You guys are really rocking on the BL weigh ins. I am not working at it at all - hence no check ins.

 

[jewelgrrl]

Suzie--Awesome about the last minute trip. I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time. You don't happen to be an AP holder do you? If so I think Expedition Everest is holding a special preview from Thurs.-Sun. for them. It looks like it will be awesome. Also be sure to have a dole whip for me...YUM!

Julie--Hope everything goes well for your daughter. I can understand how much more important the magic of disney can be when you have to go through things like that. I don't have something like your daughter, but well, let's just say my life has not been the easiest. I think disney has renewing powers or something and also they must put something in the food to cause addiction as well. LOL

Castlegazer--I hope you end up going on the cruise too, but you know what's best for your family. It does seem like every time we plan a trip something unexpected happens to us to make us think otherwise. Once our hot water decided to quit on us and now we're having to put $1000 into our work van...yuck. But, I know I always feel better once I'm finally there.

ttfn...April

 

[castlegazer]

This view:

or this view for a week:

That is the question........

hmmmmmmmmmmm.................

 

[castlegazer]

Goodmorning everyone!!!!

The weather service recorded a 95 mph gust 5 miles from where I work yesterday! It was one scary day weather-wise.

 

[OHJulie]

Good morning!

It was windy here also - now for some warmth. 48 today and 50 tomorrow - should be coming your way CG!

I enjoyed your pictures from yesterday - needed a little sunshine. Now really, you don't want to be cleaning all of that sand out of diapers all week do you??!

 

[castlegazer]

Oh, now that's a factor we hadn't considered - good point!!!!!

 

[Belle and Rella's Dad]

Up in Petoskey, MI for the night going back home friday so that the Queen can have her girls weekend, and Dad and the princesses hang out and do the soccer thing. Had 5 interviews today and another 4 tommorrow, can't say that anyone today could fit the bill as far as a good sales rep would go, but there is always tommorrow. All I know is that in looking at the last few days posts, I have to say "SHY say it is not so", also Suzie have a great time at the World, it was only about 9 weeks ago that we saw you there, it was like yesterday and I am jealous.

Well 69 days until we go on Spring Break, and the Cruise is only 4 weeks later, I am ready, can't wait to meet all of ya and hang out with the friends and family for 7 nights of paradise.

Tom

 

[partypat]

CG, say it isn't so. How can you pick sand in the diapers compared to a diaper genie in your stateroom and being waited on hand and foot. Not to mention someone else doing the cooking and a babysitter and the clubs one floor down. And besides that, we'd all miss the chance of meeting you and your family. Those life time friendships would never have a chance to form.

Tom, sounds like you had a gruelling day. I hate doing interviews. You never know if your picking the right person for the job.

Susie, how great for you...mother/daughter time one on one is the best.

Julie, my good thoughts will be with you on Friday. I hope she gets an A+.

Does anyone know exactly which day and what time (California time that is) that all us first time Disney cruisers can make our reservations? I'm still confused about that. I've heard I need to get on the computer at midnight, but have no idea which day. HELP!

PartyPat