A Disney Start to 2015 - What a Dream! :-) Disney dream 12/29/2014

[TheBanksFam]

Please post any updates or corrections and we will get it on the list. Also post additional information and updates on the FE Spreadsheet on Google Apps and join our Facebook Group.

If anyone has tried to edit the FE Spreadsheet and couldn't, I didn't have the permissions set right. They are now, so you can follow the link above or here and make sure your info is correct. Thanks bunches!!!

Shawn

 

[2015Cruiser]

ICYMI, here is all the info from the 2013-2014 version of our cruise for reference:

http://disneycruiselineblog.com/201...yCruiseLineBlog+(The+Disney+Cruise+Line+Blog)

..and now back to counting down the days..

 

[russ0907]

Was there any mention on the boards about special souveniors received while on the last NYE cruise

 

[TheBanksFam]

Was there any mention on the boards about special souveniors received while on the last NYE cruise

We just returned from the Dream NYE sailing. December 29, 2013 - January 2, 2014. The answer to your question "do they do anything special?" YES!!! It was worth every penny, in our opinion, for the NYE sailing. They had a special menu in the sit down restaurants for NYE, they gave out complimentary glasses of champagne and they had Disney Cruise Line, Happy New Year 2014 on them (glasses were a heavy duty plastic, we kept them as souvenirs), when we got out of the show that evening in the Walt Disney Theater, they were giving out hats, tiaras, and beads, noisemakers, upon returning to our cabins we had Don "Ducky" Williams 2014 lithographs with the Disney characters and a box of Disney Cruise Line truffles that had Happy New Year on the box, they moved the fireworks to NYE instead of Pirate night, the NYE deck party was insane and we felt like we were in Times Square it was so much fun. The Aqua Duck was all lit up and the music was fun, it was great to see all the families having fun together and the countdown was Disney magic at its finest! Many of the FE gifts we received were NYE theme so that was fun too. We'd also brought our own noisemakers. Don't hesitate, book it.

It sounds nice. My only concern is our 7 & 4 yo, we will have to put them down for a long nap NYE day for them to be able to make it. Of course getting them to take a nap midday on DCL is like trying to convince a hungry bear that there is nothing in your picnic basket!

 

[The Mouse Marvels]

We are looking for others who are interested in participating in a Fish Extenders exchange for the Disney Dream (Dec. 29 - Jan. 2, 2015). It seems like a lot of fun and we would love to find a group on board to join us!

 

[The Mouse Marvels]

We just joined the Banks Family and others in signing up for Fish Extenders. We've never done this before but are very excited!

 

[colinsmom8813]

Hello my family and I are going on the Disney New Years cruise and my son will be one and a half is there still time to sign up for the fish extenders for him?

 

[TheBanksFam]

We just joined the Banks Family and others in signing up for Fish Extenders. We've never done this before but are very excited!

It's lots of fun! Welcome aboard! Please post this info in a reply so that we may add you to the list:

*Your Dis name:
In stateroom (ages of kids too):
Cabin Number:
Early/Late dining:
FE? (Yes/No) Yes
Celebrating?:

I see that you have already added yourself to the spreadsheet. That's great! We just need to make sure you post it here so that we can add it to Post #41 which is the official FE List. I also encourage you to participate in our forum discussions and attend our Meet & Greet on board. Let us know if you have any questions.

Shawn from TheBanksFam

 

[TheBanksFam]

Hello my family and I are going on the Disney New Years cruise and my son will be one and a half is there still time to sign up for the fish extenders for him?

Absolutely! We won't close the list down until usually the final payment date or shortly their after. So if you have anyone else who decided to join you on your cruise, they still have plenty of time. Please post this info in a reply so that we may add you to the list:

*Your Dis name:
In stateroom (ages of kids too):
Cabin Number:
Early/Late dining:
FE? (Yes/No) Yes
Celebrating?:

I see that you have already added yourself to the spreadsheet. That's great! We just need to make sure you post it here so that we can add it to Post #41 which is the official FE List. I also encourage you to participate in our forum discussions and attend our Meet & Greet on board. Let us know if you have any questions. Welcome aboard! Is this your first DIS cruise?

Shawn from TheBanksFam

 

[TheBanksFam]

I recognize that we have 305 days until the cruise however, I have started piecing together the pre-cruise itinerary for the Banks fam. Yes, I am one of those types . I, like my godfather, who is also a big cruiser, loves the trip planning almost as much as the trip itself...well maybe not that much . I think we are going to start down the day after Christmas and head to Cocoa Beach. My DW and I love Cocoa Beach and have vacationed there before. That will also help unwind the kiddos from the 17 hour car-ride we have prior to our embarkation on the Dream. Thought about hitting WDW but we want to take the boys on their first trip there in a couple of years and want to stay on the property. That would stretch the ole' pocketbook a little too far on a teacher's salary, to include it on this trip. So, I think we will stay a night in Chattanooga as well. It is a beautiful place to visit. We love Tennessee and may retire there when that time comes.

I know that in the Banks household, these next 305 days will fly by in short bursts. Spring soccer will be starting up in the next week or so.

Then the end of school. DW & I are both Junior High teachers. Then the summer months will be filled with baseball, swim lessons, soccer camp, cub day camp and the like. Then it will be fall soccer and the start of school. Before you know it, we will be packing for this thing. This is starting to sound like I am trying to convince myself I'm not crazy!

Well just thought I would put some thoughts down as I haven't done so in awhile and tell you a little more about us. I hope that you and yours are well and are starting to thaw.

Shawn of TheBanksFam

 

[The Mouse Marvels]

Thanks for getting back to us! Here's our info:

The Mouse Marvels
5 people in room (Heidi, Jim, Elayne, Tommy (12), Andrew (10)
Cabin #7600
Early Dining
FE
Celebrating Elayne's 70th Birthday!

Let me know if we need to do anything else. We are not on Facebook so we will be looking here for all the info!

So excited!

 

[momtomattclare]

We have decided that we want to do Alaska in 2015 so I have canceled our family on this cruise. Sorry we won't be able to cruise with you all--have a great cruise!!

 

[TheBanksFam]

We have decided that we want to do Alaska in 2015 so I have canceled our family on this cruise. Sorry we won't be able to cruise with you all--have a great cruise!!

You will love Alaska on the Wonder! Have a great trip.

Shawn

 

[TheBanksFam]

Greetings! I was looking over the information when I removed momtomattclare from our group as they prepare for Alaska. I was noticing that we still need information from several group members. We need the following information from the following members: 2015Cruiser, soxfam04, billandangie, WDWCathy, and pillow.

*Your Dis name:
In stateroom (ages of kids too):
Cabin Number:
Early/Late dining:
FE? (Yes/No) Yes
Celebrating?:

We also need a stateroom number for BobbiK. I would like to fill these hole while I have some time to fill them.

Shawn

 

[colinsmom8813]

So I am needing some insight in the fish extenders please! Do u put one in everybody's every night or how does this work could u please explain?

 

[TheBanksFam]

So I am needing some insight in the fish extenders please! Do u put one in everybody's every night or how does this work could u please explain?

As a general rule, you make gifts for each person in the cabin, depending on what you are doing. This time we are doing a single gift per cabin because of what it is and it is something that will be used by all. I think we will also give a little something extra for each of the kids in the stateroom. Last cruise we made individual gifts for each person. You deliver your gifts to each cabin once. It is up to you how and when you deliver them. We normally do it by floor, taking one or two a day, depending on the length of the cruise and how many participants we end up having. We do it whenever we have some down time. Others like to do it at night. We generally had something in our FE almost every time we went to our cabin. It really is all a matter of personal preference and what you feel comfortable with doing. There are lots of FE ideas on DIS Boards and Pinterest. Here's a link to the FE Gifts Forum on DISBoards and my personal Pinterest Board if that will help. There are plenty of ideas for those who are very crafty to those who would burn themselves with their glue gun

Hopefully this answers your question. If not, let us know. Remember to not stress and have fun with it. Our boys are so excited when they get back to the cabin and their is gifts in the FE! I am always amazed at the cleverness and generosity of the FE Group. It's such a wonderful part of our cruise experience.

Shawn

 

[js]

Hi all!
We just booked last week. While we do have a NCL Breakaway cruise booked for August, I'm excited about the NYE Dream that I will not have the stress about NYE this year and what we are doing, what my dd is doing (she will be 2 months shy of 21 and away at college) keeping my ds-16 happy, etc.
My mom and my sister's family are also booked and my sister has 3 boys under 11. We sailed the Dream in July 2011 too, all 10 of us.

My dd is also very happy not to have the stress of NYE, especially being a couple months shy of 21. She did, however, ask my dh and I to go to Senior Frogs with her in Nassau and we have agreed (we didn't get there in March during her spring break when we sailed NCL). My ds will be 16. My dd plans to hang out with us and hoping that my ds will find teens his age.

Not sure yet about the FE. I'm not handy or crafty LOL I would like to to the Meet/Greet.
We are on Deck 8, an aft facing cabin and my mom and my sister's family are in connecting aft Deck 6 cabins.

Not making any excursion plans. CC we will beach it (although I am looking into that 5K run and I need to find out if it starts early enough so I would have time to spend at the beach with my family) and Nassau, well, I'll be at Senior Frogs. Been there done that with Nassau. We are HARDLY ever together as a family of 4 on NYE so we are all very much looking forward to a real family vacation (espeically since we usually let the kids bring a friend and this cruise they are "just" with us LOL).

Also, we have NEVER spent NYE with my mom and my sister's family so it will be a wonderful celebration with my mom and her dd's and her 5 grandchildren and son in laws. My mom is taking ALL of us on this cruise!! We are very thankful and excited.


We live in NY. My dh is retired NYPD and I work at a private college. My son is 16 and in HS and my dd is in college in PA and both will be juniors when we sail.
We will stay 2 nights pre cruise at BLT but not doing parks.

Hope we have sun and a little bit of warmth end of December/beginning of January.

Happy planning!

 

[jenifair]

Happy to have found this group! My husband and I took our first (non-Disney) cruise last year and loved it so much we decided our next family trip had to be a Disney cruise. And with NYE being my favorite holiday, we chose the 4-day Bahama cruise on the Dream 12/29/14....CAN'T WAIT!!!!

 

[js]

Happy to have found this group! My husband and I took our first (non-Disney) cruise last year and loved it so much we decided our next family trip had to be a Disney cruise. And with NYE being my favorite holiday, we chose the 4-day Bahama cruise on the Dream 12/29/14....CAN'T WAIT!!!!

Welcome!
Funny, we cruise often but not on DCL (this will be our third one) but going with my mom and my sister's family.
I am very much looking forward to this cruise since NYE is my least favorite holiday (unlike your favorite LOL) and I do not have to worry/think about what we are going to do, how to include my 16 year old son and/or worry about my 21 year old dd and what she is doing/going.

My kids don't like NYE either and my dd is actually happy, like I am, she doesn't have the "stress" of deciding where to go and spending so much money.

Looking forward to our Dream December 29 cruise.

Will you guys be staying anywhere prior or coming in for the cruise?

 

[jenifair]

Welcome! Funny, we cruise often but not on DCL (this will be our third one) but going with my mom and my sister's family. I am very much looking forward to this cruise since NYE is my least favorite holiday (unlike your favorite LOL) and I do not have to worry/think about what we are going to do, how to include my 16 year old son and/or worry about my 21 year old dd and what she is doing/going. My kids don't like NYE either and my dd is actually happy, like I am, she doesn't have the "stress" of deciding where to go and spending so much money. Looking forward to our Dream December 29 cruise. Will you guys be staying anywhere prior or coming in for the cruise?

We are going to Universal for a few days before the cruise...leaving home on 12/26. We'll be staying at the Hard Rock at a Universal. I also have a 21 dd, 16 dd and 13 ds. We always have NYE home with the kids (safer that way!) so this cruise will be a fun new way to celebrate.