7/18/2010 Mickey's Baltic Ballyhoo!!

[Disneynutinlondon]

I do know what the FE is, just didn't understand the process and how it's determined who passes out the gifts and when.
Oh my, I'm having visions of hauling a suitcase with FE gifts only.

Funny you should say that.....what with the FE gifts we did on the Med cruise, a metal union jack keyring for every member of each family participating in the FE game ( I think I bought 144 keyrings) AND we also did a cruise DIS meet on the 1st day and we did kid swap prezzies and family prezzies so I DID bring an entire suitcase full of gifts

 

[ladyvet]

Someone mentioned lost luggage.......

British Air lost ALL our luggage at Heathrow on our med cruise. We had NO luggage for 5 days, and the last of it was returned 2 months later. I think we are going to try to fly into Gatwick.

It was kind of like being homeless on a cruise ship
Beth

 

[Hanover]

I just copied/pasted Dis/family information onto the first page. Please PM me with your information if you aren't on it and I'll be glad to add it.

Please also let me know the official cruise group title and I'll switch it.

 

[Caropooh]

I'm going to scare you even more, St. Petersburg will be 11 hours difference from Seattle.

How is my body ever going to know if it's night or day, what meal to eat and everything! Between the time change and sunset not until 11:30PM, I'm going to be all confused!

If I could shove some down the network cable to you Barb you know I would. Hey maybe that's a good idea for my gift as fish extender prezzies. Hey are we doing fish extenders this cruise. I personally had a great time doing them on the Med cruise and I know the boys loved seeing what was delivered each day and then running round the ship making our deliveries.

We loved doing the FE's on the EB Panama cruise! It was so much fun seeing what was there everytime we'd come back to the cabin!

 

[Disneynutinlondon]

I just copied/pasted Dis/family information onto the first page. Please PM me with your information if you aren't on it and I'll be glad to add it.

Please also let me know the official cruise group title and I'll switch it.

Thank you soooo much for doing this

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

I just copied/pasted Dis/family information onto the first page. Please PM me with your information if you aren't on it and I'll be glad to add it.

Please also let me know the official cruise group title and I'll switch it.

Thank you

Someone mentioned lost luggage.......

British Air lost ALL our luggage at Heathrow on our med cruise. We had NO luggage for 5 days, and the last of it was returned 2 months later. I think we are going to try to fly into Gatwick.

It was kind of like being homeless on a cruise ship
Beth

I did terminal 5 at Heathrow this summer was a bit worried but all of my luggage was ok and didnt have any hold us, they have sorted this out now.

 

[jilljill]

How is my body ever going to know if it's night or day, what meal to eat and everything! Between the time change and sunset not until 11:30PM, I'm going to be all confused!

Your worst part of the time change will be Seatte to London, 8 hours ahead. The other time changes are 1 hour each day and you will have some days you won't have to change time. It's really not that bad, just don't think about it.

The one thing I do recommend is to stay up the day you arrive in London to get on their time. This past July we flew in a day before our cruise; flight arrived at 6:45am London time, checked into our hotel by 9:00am washed up a bit, friends arrived at our hotel at 9:30am and we were hitting the streets by 10:30am. Finally returned back to our hotel about 9:30pm, showered then to bed. The next day we were eating b'fast by 8:00am, checked out at 8:45pm, friends met us again at hotel to take our suitcases to the bus station and we walked over (about 3 blocks) and we were on our bus to the Dover port at 9:45am.
This sounds tiring, but if you keep moving you will be fine. We all crashed when we got back to the hotel, but it makes for a much easier transition to the initial time change.

 

[jilljill]

Funny you should say that.....what with the FE gifts we did on the Med cruise, a metal union jack keyring for every member of each family participating in the FE game ( I think I bought 144 keyrings) AND we also did a cruise DIS meet on the 1st day and we did kid swap prezzies and family prezzies so I DID bring an entire suitcase full of gifts

Oh let's not go overboard with the gifts - I don't want to have to worry about an extra suitcase for the trip. We finally have the packing down to 3 suitcases going over and 4 coming back, I really don't want to make it 4 over and 5 back.

 

[Disneynutinlondon]

Oh let's not go overboard with the gifts - I don't want to have to worry about an extra suitcase for the trip. We finally have the packing down to 3 suitcases going over and 4 coming back, I really don't want to make it 4 over and 5 back.

OHHHHHHHH you ARE GOOD, on our last trip to WDW this Easter we came over with 3 cases with clothes and 1 case that had 3 other foldup cases in it so went back with 7 full cases

 

[jilljill]

OHHHHHHHH you ARE GOOD, on our last trip to WDW this Easter we came over with 3 cases with clothes and 1 case that had 3 other foldup cases in it so went back with 7 full cases

Wow...you are worse than us.
We do pack an extra suitcase inside one of our big ones. But the best thing we use are the space saving packing bags to compress the air out of our clothes to put in more bulky stuff.

We've also started packing an Australian wool cooler bag, that we got in Australia last year, to put alcohol bottles in to cushion them while in transit. It's worked out very well so far. That also goes into a big zip top bag just to be on the safe side.

 

[bellelinus]

If I could shove some down the network cable to you Barb you know I would. Hey maybe that's a good idea for my gift as fish extender prezzies. Hey are we doing fish extenders this cruise. I personally had a great time doing them on the Med cruise and I know the boys loved seeing what was delivered each day and then running round the ship making our deliveries.

I know I will be buying a ton of milk chocolate McVittie's in London before I do this cruise!!!!! YUM . . .

It's funny that we are already thinking about FE gifts for a cruise almost 2 years away

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

I know I will be buying a ton of milk chocolate McVittie's in London before I do this cruise!!!!! YUM . . .

It's funny that we are already thinking about FE gifts for a cruise almost 2 years away

Actually this cruise is 3rd on my list of things to organize now:-

Venice May 2009, I got flights for free, (BA Miles) have hotel booked

Florida August 2009, DCL cruise paid up, Flights organized, Villa organized and Contemporary booked, but have to pay Virgin holidays off.
Also booked Discovery cove for Sunday post cruise. Nead to decided on disney tickets.

Then this cruise comes in third place to organize.

 

[bellelinus]

Actually this cruise is 3rd on my list of things to organize now:-

Venice May 2009, I got flights for free, (BA Miles) have hotel booked

Florida August 2009, DCL cruise paid up, Flights organized, Villa organized and Contemporary booked, but have to pay Virgin holidays off.
Also booked Discovery cove for Sunday post cruise. Nead to decided on disney tickets.

Then this cruise comes in third place to organize.

Venice is wonderful! Where are you staying there?

Also, Contemporary is really nice -- not sure whether you have stayed there after they renovated, but it is much, much nicer now -- and a great place for a train fanatic like you (and Stephen)!

Discovery Cove was one of my favorite experiences ever -- we did it August of 2006 and still have giant poster sized photos of the girls with the dolphins up. You can buy a disk with all the photos and your video and it will be easy for you to take back home and reprint as you want.

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Venice is wonderful! Where are you staying there?

http://www.hotelconcordia.com/en/index.htm

I am staying at this one in a family suite looks quite central to everything, never been there before, I have seen it form above some of my flights from Greece have flown over it on clear days. From my BA flights this summer I had miles spare so thought where do I go?

Also, Contemporary is really nice -- not sure whether you have stayed there after they renovated, but it is much, much nicer now -- and a great place for a train fanatic like you (and Stephen)!

I have stayed there in 2001 and 2003 so not since it has been renovated, in 2002 and 2006 I stayed at the Polynesian, but I wanted to see all the changes, we are only staying there three days pre cruise plan is to walk in to MK, to make the most of the time and maybe do the other parks post cruise from the Villa.
I would like to see the new bay lake tower and the enhanced Chef Mickeys.

Have a MK view so will run back to watch the fireworks from the room.

Stephen will stay up all night until the trains stop just watching them come in and out of the contemporary and all around the loop. He even got up in the middle of one night to see a few trains parked inside the Contemporary during bad weather.

Discovery Cove was one of my favorite experiences ever -- we did it August of 2006 and still have giant poster sized photos of the girls with the dolphins up. You can buy a disk with all the photos and your video and it will be easy for you to take back home and reprint as you want.

Never done it, firstly Stephen was too young, then we did three dolphin interactions with DCL instead (Cozumel,Acapulco,Costa Maya) and was too busy as WDW, but its booked for 2009. Photos sounds nice.

 

[Disneynutinlondon]

Actually this cruise is 3rd on my list of things to organize now:-

Venice May 2009, I got flights for free, (BA Miles) have hotel booked

Florida August 2009, DCL cruise paid up, Flights organized, Villa organized and Contemporary booked, but have to pay Virgin holidays off.
Also booked Discovery cove for Sunday post cruise. Nead to decided on disney tickets.

Then this cruise comes in third place to organize.

Hey snap I've also got 3 things to organise

1. Ireland and The Peak District August 2009

2. Joshua's Barmitzvah

3. This cruise

That doesn't mean I will be slacking on my planning for this cruise though

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Hey snap I've also got 3 things to organise

1. Ireland and The Peak District August 2009

2. Joshua's Barmitzvah

3. This cruise

That doesn't mean I will be slacking on my planning for this cruise though

A lot to organise before this cruise! Its really a long way off.

 

[Disneynutinlondon]

I know I will be buying a ton of milk chocolate McVittie's in London before I do this cruise!!!!! YUM . . .

It's funny that we are already thinking about FE gifts for a cruise almost 2 years away

Yea who said we were complusive planners Also, as I posted earlier today, yesterday Paul said that as there is so long to go until this cruise there will be children onboard that aren't even conceived yet

 

[Disneynutinlondon]

Venice May 2009, I got flights for free, (BA Miles) have hotel booked
.

Venice is gorgeous, Paul and I went there for our honeymoon

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Venice is gorgeous, Paul and I went there for our honeymoon

Nice,,,, my first time..

 

[bellelinus]

http://www.hotelconcordia.com/en/index.htm

I am staying at this one in a family suite looks quite central to everything, never been there before, I have seen it form above some of my flights from Greece have flown over it on clear days. From my BA flights this summer I had miles spare so thought where do I go?

I have stayed there in 2001 and 2003 so not since it has been renovated, in 2002 and 2006 I stayed at the Polynesian, but I wanted to see all the changes, we are only staying there three days pre cruise plan is to walk in to MK, to make the most of the time and maybe do the other parks post cruise from the Villa.
I would like to see the new bay lake tower and the enhanced Chef Mickeys.

Have a MK view so will run back to watch the fireworks from the room.

Stephen will stay up all night until the trains stop just watching them come in and out of the contemporary and all around the loop. He even got up in the middle of one night to see a few trains parked inside the Contemporary during bad weather.




Never done it, firstly Stephen was too young, then we did three dolphin interactions with DCL instead (Cozumel,Acapulco,Costa Maya) and was too busy as WDW, but its booked for 2009. Photos sounds nice.

Hotel Concordia looks wonderful! I love the decoration. Yes, you will really enjoy the Contemporary, especially with a MK view. Don't forget it is easy to do Epcot from there as well, one stop on the monorail to the TTC, then on the Epcot monorail -- maybe 10-15 minutes and much better than a bus. Walking to and from the MK is wonderful, especially at the end of the day when there are lines to get on the transportation options. Don't forget that Discovery Cove is more than just the dolphin experience -- the entire place there is lovely, and all-inclusive, like being on the cruise for that day on Castaway Cay or something . . .