9/24/09 3 Day Wonder - Cruise Meets, and FEs, and Goombays oh my!

[Lilo's Mom]

Lay overs in the airport are the worst! In 2007 three of us from work were flying United from Chicago to Seattle, we boarded the plane, got all settled and we heard a "really loud pop". We all leaned over to look out the window...and the emergency door and slide had popped open. The flight attendants got on the PA and were joking that everyone should take out their cellphones and get a picture of it, because it is very unusual for the slide to be out. Within 5 minutes maintenance was there to reset the slide....30 minutes later they were taking us off the plane and trying to put everyone on other flights to Seattle. The three of us ended up stuck in the terminal 14 hours before we could get on a flight! We ended up flying on American Airlines...and they felt so sorry for us and the time we spent in the airport that they kept giving us free liquor on the flight....needless to say, it was a very good flight.

 

[karentan]

lol, thats the only thing thats keeping me from going insane, there's a TGI fridays in atlanta airport so i get the idea that we will be getting some food and quite a few cocktails to pass the time!!

 

[jenny105]

Lainey, I've only read the first two chapters so far. To know that he found her so unremarkable at first was pretty surprising. I just never got the whole 'Bella is the greatest girl in the world' thing. Did you hear that Rob hates Edward? He called him a jerk.

4 hours and 45 minutes?? Karen, you'll be having a LOT of cocktails at TGIF. I get bored sitting there after an hour. You'll be nice and toasty when you get to Disney.

 

[karentan]

yeah i think we'll need to pace ourself, otherwise we'll be sloshed when we get to disney!!
i tried to change the connecting flight to an earlier one but i cant change it because its a non refundable flight, thats why i got it so cheap i think. oh well, from the look of it atlanta is a pretty big airport so we can have a look around the shops too. plus we have to clear immigration in atlanta (but yay for not having to do it in orlando!!) so that'll help pass a bit of time.


btw: good luck on your CPA exam Mary, hope it goes well

 

[disney honeymooners]

Jen i havent heard that but i could understand from the next mvie how he would consider him a jerk. I guess the greatest girl in the whole world i guess from the other guys pov's is bc she is NEW and that is what makes them think she is so great just bc she is new with Edward its bc she is who he is meant to be with (btw this is just my opinion i sound like such a twilight dork! ) so she is the only one he wants to be with so to him she is the greatest. Ok i am done with my Twilight explination and now ont o Shower Pics I FOUND MY MOMS CAMERA!!!!!!!!!!!!

THE FOOD!!

Publix Cake the BEST AND ONLY!!!

All the Ladies from Gregs Church

this was a quilt that one of the older ladies made me and greg i loved it

Home Depot Kitchen Utensils

This was the gift from my mom that i bought, wrapped and signed the card for she didnt even know what she had gotten me oh the lady sitting next to me is my grandmother(the one i am named after)

all of our gifts and to think i still have 3 more showers left i love this

 

[karentan]

that cake looks sooooo yummy! why is it all the really tasty stuff is so bad for you!!

Home Depot Kitchen Utensils

ah, this must be the infamous orange kitchen set you were talking about!!
it reminds me of an advertising campaign from over here for tango orange soda where a big fat orange guy kept running up to people and slapping them, the line was "you know when you've been tango'd. that sooo reminds me of that!!

you're having 4 showers?? you're going to have a LOT of kitchen utensils!! well i guess you can never have too many crock pots......

 

[jenny105]

4 showers?? Maybe you'll get lucky and get orange pots and pans to match! I don't mind bright colors but that is just WAY too much orange! Great pictures though, looks like you had a great time!

Rob really went off about Edward. He said all the girls that are in love with Edward are from another planet. I get it. I can't stand Edward! I wouldn't WANT to be with him if he were my boyfriend and acted that way! Too controlling!!

 

[jenny105]

My ship is officially flying. Right into that tree on the other side of my ticker.

 

[karentan]

beware the flying ship....... i've got a hover ship too!

ok i'm kinda peeved. i booked our flights with delta because it worked out as about $600 cheaper than going direct.
have just found out that there is no seat back entertainment on the plane (just the overhead tvs). 9 frigging hours with no decent entertainment. not amused. if i'd have known this before i'd have booked with another airline.
i think by the time we get to atlanta airport, TGI will be sorely needed.........

 

[jenny105]

I just commented on this on your facebook. Do you know someone that has a portable DVD player? Joe usually brings his on flights and there is a spot where you can plug in two headsets and we watch movies.

 

[karentan]

we've both got portable dvd players but gary's thinking of buying a spare battery for his netbook so we can use that. we'll probably need a laptop while over there so its killing 2 birds with one stone.
still damn annoying though.

 

[jenny105]

I can't imagine being on a plane for that long.

 

[karentan]

9 hours sucks, but i've done a 15 hour flight before. thats even worse, its just mind numbing........
i've done 23 hours to australia before, but it did have an hour or so stopover for refueling.

 

[portsofcall]

i wish delta would bring my connecting flight forward, i have 4 hours 45 minutes to wait in atlanta airport

I just booked our return flight. I waited too long and the price doubled for a one-way.

I ended going through a popular travel site and choosing an unknown flight, it was a secret until I purchased (not the site with William Shatner). First time I ever did something like that, but I wasn't about to pay $200 one way to LAX from MCO. Our flight there was $99 thru Delta and the return was also $99, but we couldn't decide what day to come back. The website did let me know it departed in the evening, landed in the evening and 7 hour duration. I kind of cheated, I opened internet explorer in another window and looked for an evening flight with a 7 hour duration. So we got the flights for about $130 instead, but we have a short connection in Atlanta. Then, I found a coupon code online, the airline accepted so we wouldn't have to pay extra for seat assignments. I wish we had a very long connection in Atlanta, our son is finishing his military training in Augusta and we haven't seen him since Memorial Day weekend On the bright side, since it's a late flight we will get full use of our 5 day ticket.

I went online to our itinerary on DCL and reserved Palo for the 3rd night. Is anyone else making reservations? It looks like there was slim pickins to choose from. They were offering a cabin upgrade to a verandah for $200 more. Well, since there's no sea days it doesn't seem worth doing that.

 

[karentan]

i went to book our car hire too (it said payable locally at the time of rental so i presumed the price would stay the same), and its gone up about half the price again
i WILL get round to booking it today though, i dont want it to go up any more. at that point its not worth getting the car......

cristina, that site sounds strange, who did you end up flying with in the end? i'm not sure i'd be happy not knowing the flight details til i booked it, but yay for you getting a good deal and more disney time!!
i think mary might be going to palo one night, but i'm not 100% sure.

They were offering a cabin upgrade to a verandah for $200 more. Well, since there's no sea days it doesn't seem worth doing that

where was this offered? i keep hearing of people getting calls offering cheaper upgrades, but i've never had one or seen anything on their website.
then again living in the UK we never get pin codes either, and i'm not even eligible for the passholder sweepstakes they keep running

 

[portsofcall]

i went to book our car hire too (it said payable locally at the time of rental so i presumed the price would stay the same), and its gone up about half the price again
i WILL get round to booking it today though, i dont want it to go up any more. at that point its not worth getting the car......

cristina, that site sounds strange, who did you end up flying with in the end? i'm not sure i'd be happy not knowing the flight details til i booked it, but yay for you getting a good deal and more disney time!!
i think mary might be going to palo one night, but i'm not 100% sure.


where was this offered? i keep hearing of people getting calls offering cheaper upgrades, but i've never had one or seen anything on their website.
then again living in the UK we never get pin codes either, and i'm not even eligible for the passholder sweepstakes they keep running

I look for codes and our car rental went down a bit. $50 one way to the port with Budget. On the unknown flight, I was afraid of getting Spirit airlines since it was about the same price, but I looked up their partner codes and Spirit wasn't one of them, so I went for it. I ended up getting the flight I was thinking about a few weeks ago. On the cruise upgrade, you have to retrieve your reservation and click a few links. You'll see a small link to "upgrade cabin". Since we decided to extend 1 day, I'm thinking about canceling AKL and getting another Disney Hotel. The AKL would be $650 for 3 nights (they have less expensive rooms with a pool view-save $100). If I go with Disney Coronado Resort or Disney Dolphin, it's about $350 for 3 nights. We would save $300 and that would pay for the dining plan. What would you all do?

 

[karentan]

as much as i love AKL, i think i'd go for the dining plan. this will be our first time using the dining plan and i'm looking forward to not having to worry about paying the bill, and being able to order anything, instead of maybe going for the cheapest thing just to keep the cost down.

having said that, are you the type who spends all day in the parks, or do you like to relax in the hotel?
if you plan on spending all day at the parks, i'd say go for the cheaper hotel and the dining plan.
but if you like to relax in the resort, i'd say go for AKL. everyone should stay there at least once, its an amazing place.

is your booking part of a package or a room only reservation? (i'm asking because of the difference in cancellation policies).
if you're part of a package and you've paid money to disney already, you'll be tied to your existing reservation, or maybe changing it, otherwise you'll be charged a penalty fee.
if you're on a room only (much more liberal cancellation policy!), have you thought about renting DVC points? we're doing that for the 4 nights before the cruise, we're renting through a DVC member i found over on the rent/trade boards on the DVC section of the disboards. the 4 nights at AKL is the same price as 4 nights at all star music. we're then paying to add the dining plan on (payable on arrival).
i've just checked the points chart, for this i'm assuming that its for 3 adults (i know you mentioned it was you, DH and one child because the other two were on service?).
for the 3 nights, you would need to rent 33 points for a savannah view studio (sleeps 4). points rent for about $10 a point, (you can get cheaper at times, but it depends on the renter). so that works out as $330. adding 3 adults (not sure how old your son is, he may qualify for the childs dining plan, but i thought i'd put him down as an adult) on the dining plan works out as $359.91 for the 3 nights. this is payable on check in at the hotel.

total price is $689.91

so you could have both the dining plan and the AKL.

if this sounds like something you may be interested in and you need any more info, i'd be happy to help.

 

[karentan]

ps: can you tell me what i need to press to find out how much it is to upgrade? i cant find it

 

[portsofcall]

ps: can you tell me what i need to press to find out how much it is to upgrade? i cant find it

Have you found it yet? I logged in, go to Planning Center, went to My reservations,

My Reservation

Only 47 days until your cruise sets sail!
View Details
Cruise:3-Night Bahamian Cruise
Shipisney Wonder
Sail Date:September 24, 2009
Stateroomeluxe Oceanview Stateroom Category 09, #2260
Modify THIS IS WHERE YOU CAN UPGRADE

Can you explain DVC points? What do I do? It may be short notice, can you send me an email?

 

[karentan]

ah that'll be why i cant upgrade mine, i havent got a room assignment yet, so it just says standard inside stateroom: GTY.

with the DVC points, you need to head over to the rent/trade forum on here:
http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=30&f=29
find any post that starts with "points for rent"
i noticed you've already put up a reservation wanted post, thats a good start, you should also reply to people's "points for rent" posts, in the past i've found that works better.
the actual rental process varies by renter.
i'm renting points twice for this holiday.
i've asked for a rental agreement, they've both done this for me, theres templates out there that good renters wont mind finding. ask for references from previos renters if available.
i've paid both of them upfront, i've received confirmations from DVC for both.
the reservation will be made by the renter in your name.
you can request that the renter add the dining plan too, this will be payable locally at the time of check in.

hope this helps and that you manage to get something sorted out