A Hop, NO Skip, and Many Mishaps to a Disney Dream!

[jenseib]

Man, talk about your PRINCESS PALOOZA! They need to make it that easy in the parks!

The pictures are awesome. I'm glad you took your own. I think the white balance was really off on the photopass ones.

And Minnie................. isn't she grand! I love seeing the different costumes on DCL. Wouldn't it be cool if they had a slightly different costume for the other princesses though????

It would be cool to see a few different style dresses.
The white balance was really off. Though the lighting in there does make everything yellow, but with their big fancy flashes and equioptment, they should be able to get better shots.

Princess Minnie's twirling reminds me of a certain little girl who had a photo shoot a while back in a beautiful red dress......

I am in love with this ship!!! I cannot believe all of the things that they have to see and do. How is three days going to be enough? I guess they plan it that way so people will come back again and again.

Love the new ideas for the Fantasy. BBB was a great addition and will definitely draw a HUGE crowd!

Yes, Claire does love a good twirl! 3 days is NOT enough. We missed soo much. I definately want to be back soon!

 

[jenseib]

I love Princess Minnie! wow her dress is beautiful...and I'm sorry Princess Tiana is the most beautiful out of all the princesses and her dress is just awesome.

Tiana is beautiful!

 

[Candy30]

Subbing! Disney should hire you as a promoter. I only thought about going on a Disney Cruise and was discouraged by the price. I started reading your trip report from a post on another, and I am hooked. I have to find a way to get there. Your pictures are many and detailed. I am seriously thinking about planning to do a Cruise due to your report. My son would love the swim with the dolphins. He did the swim in the aquarium at Disney and LOOOVED it!!! I can't wait to read more of your trip. Awesome pictures! And .....Tiana is my favorite too!!!

 

[Woth2982]

Loving all the princess photos! Not sure I understand the game they were playing lol. I never understand childrens games anymore. They are way too complicated! It was nice though that Claire got to do an activity with her mom in the morning and her grandmother in the afteroon. She will always remember that she did that activity with her.

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Oh my gosh!!! I love the twirling Princess Minnie!!! I so hope we see her too! She is the cutest thing ever!

The detective game sounds really cute. I love the suspect list! It looks like the board game "Clue". So did Claire like the game? We did the KP Mission in Epcot last time and it wasn't a favorite of mine. I don't want to waste time on the ship doing anything similar to that so I'd love to know if Claire thought it was worth it or not. I know on a 3 night cruise, we will be forced to pick and choose what we will do since we are crunched for time.

Although after that blog post about the Fantasy, I'm thinking I should go ahead and book that for 2012. My only hesitation in doing that is if we take a 7 night cruise, that may not leave time or money to go to WDW also like we are doing this fall. And if the Fantasyland expansion is done in MK, I will be dying to see it. Decisions....decisions.... Do you know if they have nailed down a date for that yet?

 

[jenseib]

Subbing! Disney should hire you as a promoter. I only thought about going on a Disney Cruise and was discouraged by the price. I started reading your trip report from a post on another, and I am hooked. I have to find a way to get there. Your pictures are many and detailed. I am seriously thinking about planning to do a Cruise due to your report. My son would love the swim with the dolphins. He did the swim in the aquarium at Disney and LOOOVED it!!! I can't wait to read more of your trip. Awesome pictures! And .....Tiana is my favorite too!!!

Thanks for reading!!! I had such a fabulous time. I had wanted to go on DCL for awhile, but in the back of my mind I still had that thought of what if I don't like it, or what will I miss by doing this instead of a week a WDW. I am happy to say I LOVED DCL, so much so, that if I had a choice I would pick a cruise over the parks.

Loving all the princess photos! Not sure I understand the game they were playing lol. I never understand childrens games anymore. They are way too complicated! It was nice though that Claire got to do an activity with her mom in the morning and her grandmother in the afteroon. She will always remember that she did that activity with her.

I forget exactly what it was, but basically, they went to a picture and waved the card in front of it. The picture would activate and do some stuff and give them a clue, then they would go to the next spot. I think the clue also might've told them where to go, but I can't swear to that. They then had to figure out who the "bad" guy was. I guess I never really asked a lot about it, but Claire LOVED it.

Oh my gosh!!! I love the twirling Princess Minnie!!! I so hope we see her too! She is the cutest thing ever!

The detective game sounds really cute. I love the suspect list! It looks like the board game "Clue". So did Claire like the game? We did the KP Mission in Epcot last time and it wasn't a favorite of mine. I don't want to waste time on the ship doing anything similar to that so I'd love to know if Claire thought it was worth it or not. I know on a 3 night cruise, we will be forced to pick and choose what we will do since we are crunched for time.

Although after that blog post about the Fantasy, I'm thinking I should go ahead and book that for 2012. My only hesitation in doing that is if we take a 7 night cruise, that may not leave time or money to go to WDW also like we are doing this fall. And if the Fantasyland expansion is done in MK, I will be dying to see it. Decisions....decisions.... Do you know if they have nailed down a date for that yet?

Claire LOVED it. It was one of her favorite things of everything we did. LOL! I don't know all hte details. I'll ask her about it again.
I know what you mean about giving up park time too. I wnat to do both, but I know if we ever do a week long cruise, we won't be able to hit the parks as well. But the cruise is so worth it too. (at least it was in my opinion)
I think the 1st phase of the FL expansion is scheduled to open in late 2012. And the rest possibly late 2013. But since they changed up phase 2, it may open later now. I have been pricing out the Fantasy too, and it is pretty high in price. I am also pricing out a few 5 nights on the Dream and Magic. The Magic is slightly cheaper for basically the same cruise, but I know I love the Dream and what it has to offer. I just have to get Skip on board with it.....so in other words...MAYBE next Jan we will have a date if I get him on board.

 

[jenseib]

I have started working on my next installment but we have dance tonight and the girl have to dress in recital costumes tonight, so I need to pretty Claire up after school...and then we are possible going to Cedar Point tomorrow. ( A big Amusment park not too far from us.) So most likely it will be Sunday before I get more up. I just wanted to give you a heads up on it.

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

I just have to get Skip on board with it.....so in other words...MAYBE next Jan we will have a date if I get him on board.

Ya know, I'll bet that it will be easier to get him to go than you think. I bet, even if he won't admit it, that he feels kind of guilty about missing your last trip. Not that it was his fault or he could have helped it, but I still bet he felt pretty bad about it. I know when my DH has to miss things at DD's school b/c of his job, he feels kinda guilty about it even though he can't help it. So I bet that will make it easier to persuade him. And if all else fails, just send Claire in to do the begging for you. My DH can never tell her no, so that works like a charm around my house!

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

I know what you mean about giving up park time too. I wnat to do both, but I know if we ever do a week long cruise, we won't be able to hit the parks as well. But the cruise is so worth it too. (at least it was in my opinion)

I just wonder if 7 nights on the cruise would be as fun as a split land/sea trip? I'm not sure if we would be sick of doing "water" stuff/beaches after a week and wish we had spent some time at the parks instead of the whole time on the ship. I'll know better what to expect after we sail in Oct. I think the perfect trip would probably be the 5 night double dip at CC and 4-5 nights at WDW.

I have been pricing out the Fantasy too, and it is pretty high in price. I am also pricing out a few 5 nights on the Dream and Magic. The Magic is slightly cheaper for basically the same cruise, but I know I love the Dream and what it has to offer.

I've noticed that the Magic and Wonder are cheaper too, but I really want to go on the Dream or Fantasy. They seem more kid friendly. I guess because of the Aquaduck. My only issue with cruising vs. the parks is that cruising DCL gets expensive FAST! The base price of the cruise isn't too terrible, but once you add in passports (over $400 for us this trip), airfare, a hotel room the night before departing, and the charge for transportation to and from the port (not free like going to the parks) it just really starts to snowball in price! Those 4 things added up are equal to what we are paying for the cruise itself!!! And that doesn't include any excursions! That is another big cost! I'm having to sit down and get serious with my plans and figure out what we can cut to make it more affordable. All those extra costs for cruising have really added up!

Replies in red.

 

[KatMark]

What great photos of Princess Minnie and Claire; and what a twirler.

Have fun at the dance tonight. And at Cedar Point too...we were there about 14 years ago when the kids were much younger.

 

[GoofyWife]

love the princess pictures, and I have to say I like Minnie Mouse the best! the detective game looks like a lot of fun and a good way to see different parts of the ship, I wouldn't mind trying it, although without a child with me, might look a little strange? Have a fun weekend, I remember dance and dress recitals with the makeup and hair and costumes and three nights of shows! Can't wait for next installment

 

[petals]

Luvin all the princess pics. Minnie is the best!

 

[jenseib]

Ya know, I'll bet that it will be easier to get him to go than you think. I bet, even if he won't admit it, that he feels kind of guilty about missing your last trip. Not that it was his fault or he could have helped it, but I still bet he felt pretty bad about it. I know when my DH has to miss things at DD's school b/c of his job, he feels kinda guilty about it even though he can't help it. So I bet that will make it easier to persuade him. And if all else fails, just send Claire in to do the begging for you. My DH can never tell her no, so that works like a charm around my house!

I wish it was that easy. It's all about money to him too. It's not that we can't afford it, it's that he likes to have power to say yes and no, and that he hates to part with the money...unless it's something he really wants.
Sometimes his "theories" are really wacky.

What great photos of Princess Minnie and Claire; and what a twirler.

Have fun at the dance tonight. And at Cedar Point too...we were there about 14 years ago when the kids were much younger.

I'll probably post a little TR about it in my blog. When I do, I'll post a link here. I don't want to get in trouble talking too much about real life. LOL!

love the princess pictures, and I have to say I like Minnie Mouse the best! the detective game looks like a lot of fun and a good way to see different parts of the ship, I wouldn't mind trying it, although without a child with me, might look a little strange? Have a fun weekend, I remember dance and dress recitals with the makeup and hair and costumes and three nights of shows! Can't wait for next installment

Lots of adults did it on their own. And some with kids were ripping the cards out of the kids hands. We had one of the pictures just around the corner form our room, so we could see people doing it a lot.

Luvin all the princess pics. Minnie is the best!

She was so cute!

 

[Kathy Jetson]

Yay!! You got your computer back!

I love the princess pictures and princess Minnie is to cool.

Have fun at Cedar Point and take pictures for us (like you wouldn't)

 

[Caretames1]

Now that I'm all caught up, I'm really impressed on how the princesses come down the staircase. It all looks so grand! I like your pictures better than the ships!

I could tell Claire had a great time meeting them all. And, Minne. Now that is a costume!

Have fun tonight, and tomorrow.

 

[jenseib]

just wonder if 7 nights on the cruise would be as fun as a split land/sea trip? I'm not sure if we would be sick of doing "water" stuff/beaches after a week and wish we had spent some time at the parks instead of the whole time on the ship. I'll know better what to expect after we sail in Oct. I think the perfect trip would probably be the 5 night double dip at CC and 4-5 nights at WDW.
I've noticed that the Magic and Wonder are cheaper too, but I really want to go on the Dream or Fantasy. They seem more kid friendly. I guess because of the Aquaduck. My only issue with cruising vs. the parks is that cruising DCL gets expensive FAST! The base price of the cruise isn't too terrible, but once you add in passports (over $400 for us this trip), airfare, a hotel room the night before departing, and the charge for transportation to and from the port (not free like going to the parks) it just really starts to snowball in price! Those 4 things added up are equal to what we are paying for the cruise itself!!! And that doesn't include any excursions! That is another big cost! I'm having to sit down and get serious with my plans and figure out what we can cut to make it more affordable. All those extra costs for cruising have really added up!

You can do more than just beach stuff at the ports. There are also so many picture taking opprotunities. I wish I had more time to do so in Nassau. (of course most of what I took is lost)
It is expensive. Thats for sure. We went without passports, but I really would like to get them if we sail again. I didn't have any problems, but I would feel safer.
I did a lot of research and budgeting too. I actually had a lot of moeny left over...I was surprised, but I wanted to be sure to have enough for what I wanted and any extras...and I didn;t get a whole lot of extras. I'm not a big drinker, so I only bought a few drinks while onboard, and that saved me. I mostly drank the free stuff.

Yay!! You got your computer back!

I love the princess pictures and princess Minnie is to cool.

Have fun at Cedar Point and take pictures for us (like you wouldn't)

It should be fun. This is the 1st time I'm gonna take an SLR there. I always have taken a P&S in the past, but I know I won;t be riding many of the big things this time (my body can't take it anymore) so I figure I'll shoot it this time and try to get some neat/different shots.
I'll write a TR up in my blog and then post the link here.

 

[jenseib]

Now that I'm all caught up, I'm really impressed on how the princesses come down the staircase. It all looks so grand! I like your pictures better than the ships!

I could tell Claire had a great time meeting them all. And, Minne. Now that is a costume!

Have fun tonight, and tomorrow.

The costume was neat. I think Minnie really like it too, because she kept swirling!
Claire was so cute at dance tonight. Only one other girl wore her costume. All the other girls moms did't read or get the email to wear them.

I gotta get caught back up on yours yet too. But I think I'm gonna call it a night. I am copying some pictures to CD and I am getting to tired for that as well, so I guess the rest will have to wait.

 

[Wicket's Mom]

I would like to do a Disney cruise, they look so good. Does DCL have a 7 day cruise? That would be right up my alley.

Jen I hear you about the money part, my DH has the same ideas as your DH. It can be so exasperating some time!

 

[PrincessBetsy]

I'm joining in! I love your trip report so far. Now I definitely want to go on a Disney cruise!

 

[joy13]

I loved Minnie's costume!!!! That detective game looks like tons of fun too.