>> April 1, 2012 - Disney Dream Spring Break Frenzy! <<

[tellyaddict]

Thanks for adding me in Debbie.
Erin, I have been looking through the threads (and bookmarking them as favourites as they seem to be a real maze) and saving the pictures as I go.

I have stocked up on magnetic photo paper and ordered all the bits and pieces for the FE. There is a good thread about how to personalise pictures using Word and how to add the Disney font to your computer so you can print in a Disney style. Set aside a few hours though, very time consuming and not what an obsessive like me should be doing!

 

[virginiafam]

Hello-just found this forum. Our family of 5 will also be boarding the Disney Dream on April 1st. Do you have room for one more family for the FE (This is our first Disney Cruise so we are still figuring this all out)? It will be me, DH, DS (13), DS (11) and DD (8). We have the late seating. My boys are looking forward to playing basketball and hitting the beach. My daughter can't wait for the pool and the kids' club.

 

[peytoncolts]

Debbie mentioned a cruise meet "disign". Has anyone created one? I would love to have one!

 

[guarn3md]

Hello-just found this forum. Our family of 5 will also be boarding the Disney Dream on April 1st. Do you have room for one more family for the FE (This is our first Disney Cruise so we are still figuring this all out)? It will be me, DH, DS (13), DS (11) and DD (8). We have the late seating. My boys are looking forward to playing basketball and hitting the beach. My daughter can't wait for the pool and the kids' club.

Glad you found our little thread. And welcom to your first Disney cruise! Is this your first cruise in general? My family did our first cruise with Disney last year during the Spring Break cruise and we loved it so much we rebooked for this years Spring Break while onboard. Any questions - don't hesitate to ask. There are many of us on this thread who have cruised before.
I will add you to the Roll Call and FE. I need a little more info for the FE "spreadsheet"! Names and stateroom number. You don't have enough posts to PM me...so you can either post away, till you get to ten or put the info here on this thread if you are comfortable with that or let me know if you want me to PM you my email address.
We also have a Facebook page for this thread if anyone who is new wants to join, just let us know. One of us in the group will have to "friend" you and then add you to our private group.

Hope this helps...
Debbie

 

[guarn3md]

Debbie mentioned a cruise meet "disign". Has anyone created one? I would love to have one!

I don't have anything designed yet...does anyone else out there?

I have to do some looking around the DISign thread for some new designs for some new magnets. Hmmm, does that make sense - it is way too early for me! May do that Monday when DH is at work and I am home! He just doesn't get it...

If anyone has any suggestions - post them here...

Debbie

 

[mubriankoz]

Hello-just found this forum. Our family of 5 will also be boarding the Disney Dream on April 1st. Do you have room for one more family for the FE (This is our first Disney Cruise so we are still figuring this all out)? It will be me, DH, DS (13), DS (11) and DD (8). We have the late seating. My boys are looking forward to playing basketball and hitting the beach. My daughter can't wait for the pool and the kids' club.

I've got a 8 year old son dying to play some basketball on the ship as well, however I doubt we are brining the basketball shoes along even if he has asked me 1,000 times.

 

[ccbride412]

DF and I checked today if there are any rooms left on our cruise and it appears there is 1 left! It's a mere $15,000 for 2 people- $17,000 if you're traveling with your 4 year old! Unbelievable! That room is even bigger than my friend's house!

 

[tellyaddict]

DF and I checked today if there are any rooms left on our cruise and it appears there is 1 left! It's a mere $15,000 for 2 people- $17,000 if you're traveling with your 4 year old! Unbelievable! That room is even bigger than my friend's house!

Yes showing for me too - it'd cost our family of 4 £11,427! Royal Suite with Verandah I see. I wonder if it will go? Would someone get a bargain if it is still empty the day before and they cut the price right down to a meagre £5000 or so? You could buy a nice car for that money.

 

[WDWExpress]

I've got a 8 year old son dying to play some basketball on the ship as well, however I doubt we are brining the basketball shoes along even if he has asked me 1,000 times.

Welcome virginiafam- My two DS's 11 & 12 can't wait to play basketball, mini golf, hit the kids club and of course the Aquaduck. We bought our 11 year old those funky Fila toe shoes that have hard rubber soles, and he has worn them to school, played basketball and ran around.. plus he can wear them in the water... The 12 year old DS refuses to wear them, apparently not cool enough...
We are also late seating and the kids are hoping the Aquaduck will be open after dinner so they can slide at night.

Looking foward to meeting you and all the other cruisers.

 

[WDWExpress]

DF and I checked today if there are any rooms left on our cruise and it appears there is 1 left! It's a mere $15,000 for 2 people- $17,000 if you're traveling with your 4 year old! Unbelievable! That room is even bigger than my friend's house!

ccbride412.... loved your pictures and looking foward to having a celebration drink with you both...

$17,000 is a little over the top, would be nice as it's a Suite and I am sure would feel like a small apartment.. but for us we don't think we are planning much time in our room, too much to do and see on the ship, beach and in Nassau

 

[Deb T.]

Another "Helpful Hint" from Deb T.:

As we all know, the Dream is a huge ship. Although many things will seem familiar to veteran Magic and/or Wonder cruisers, there is still a bit of a learning curve to getting around. And if you’re new to Disney cruising, you could literally end up spending all five days trying to figure out how to get from one place to another. One thing I’ve found to be very helpful is to orient myself with the layout of the ship prior to sailing. I locate my cabin on a map (http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-cruise-line/dream-fantasy-deck-plan.htm) and then visualize the best route to the places I will want to go to from that starting point, such as each main dining room, Cabanas, drink station, Walt Disney Theatre, pool deck, the atrium, shops, etc. Those with children will also need to know how to get to the kids’ clubs. If you are directionally challenged, you might even want to make a “cheat sheet” to hang on the back of your magnetic cabin door similar to this:

FROM PORT SIDE FORWARD CABIN 6010

LEFT is Forward (to the front of the ship)
RIGHT is Aft (to the rear of the ship)
*Hallway carpet has world map decorations where NORTH POINTS FORWARD and SOUTH POINTS AFT

Deck 13:
TWEEN EDGE CLUB: right to midship stairs/elevators, up 7 decks

Deck 12:
PALO and REMY: right to aft stairs/elevators, up 6 decks

Deck 11:
SENSES SPA: right to forward stairs/elevators, up 5 decks
ADULT POOL and COVE CAFÉ (adult’s only): right to forward stairs/elevators, up 5 decks
FLO’S CAFÉ: right to midship stairs/elevators, up 5 decks
DONALD and MICKEY POOLS: right to midship stairs/elevators, up 5 decks
DRINK STATION: right to aft stairs/elevators, up 5 decks, walk forward through Cabana’s
CABANAS: right to aft stairs/elevators, up 5 decks

[Decks 6-10 are cabins only]

Deck 5
OCEANEER CLUB & LAB and IT'S A SMALL WORLD NURSERY: right to midship stairs/elevators, down 1 deck

Deck 4:
VIBE ENTRANCE: right to forward stairs/elevators, down 2 decks, go outside port-side doors, turn right on walking track, look for secret stairs on the left marked “VIBE ENTRANCE”
BUENA VISTA THEATRE: right to midship stairs/elevators, down 2 decks
SHUTTERS: right to midship stairs/elevators, down 2 decks
D LOUNGE and the ADULT DISTRICT: right to midship stairs/elevators, down 2 decks
The middle of the DISTRICT BARS: Right to aft stairs/elevators, down 2decks

Deck 3:
WALT DISNEY THEATRE and SHOPS: right to forward stairs/elevators, down 3 decks
GUEST SERVICES: right to midship stairs/elevators, down 3 decks
ROYAL PALACE: right to midship stairs/elevators, down 3 decks
ANIMATOR’S PALATE: right to aft stairs/elevators, down 3 decks

Deck 2:
ENCHANTED GARDEN: right to midship stairs/elevators, down 4 decks

 

[ccbride412]

Yes showing for me too - it'd cost our family of 4 £11,427! Royal Suite with Verandah I see. I wonder if it will go? Would someone get a bargain if it is still empty the day before and they cut the price right down to a meagre £5000 or so? You could buy a nice car for that money.

No kidding! We were wondering the same thing-Do you think they'll bring down the price to reasonable levels right before the cruise? If so, can we upgrade?

ccbride412.... loved your pictures and looking foward to having a celebration drink with you both...

$17,000 is a little over the top, would be nice as it's a Suite and I am sure would feel like a small apartment.. but for us we don't think we are planning much time in our room, too much to do and see on the ship, beach and in Nassau

Thanks! We're the same way. We get a nice room so we're not crammed, but there's no point in spending that much for a room we'll hardly be in!

 

[tellyaddict]

Thanks Deb for the 'cheat sheet' that I am going to copy, adjust for the 2 decks difference and print out! We will be on the port side of the ship too.

We did two Carnival cruises before the children and I continually came out of the cabin and turned in the wrong direction for wherever we needed to go. It seemed like they were moving the restaurant every night! Fortunately DH has a much better sense of direction.
I appreciated the tip about not needing to pack beach towels earlier in the thread. Four beach towels takes up a lot of space in our bags, especially when we are limited to one free 23kg bag each.

Thanks for the tips and please keep them coming.

Wendy

 

[Deb T.]

They should print forward and aft into the carpet pattern somehow.

You are in luck on the Dream because they do incorporate forward and aft into the hallway carpet! The carpet has world map decorations spaced every few feet where NORTH POINTS FORWARD and SOUTH POINTS AFT! Perfect, huh?

 

[RemoCat]

I'm nursing a headache tonight (literally!) after my touring plan nearly exploded after a family "meeting" over dinner. We were talking the kids about our "summer" Disney trip (which they think is still 111 days away - ha!), and had them prioritize what they considered "must do's" at the parks. We were a little surprised that some of their choices were not what we thought they would be (like Toy Story wasn't high on either of their lists, for example). We have 5 days to spend at the parks, but only 2 of those days are days where we can be there for rope drop (late days are: day one is when we arrive, so late morning there, then the day we get off the ship, then Easter morning, as we're doing church at the Contemporary followed by breakfast with Mickey at Ohana's). They think we're going to be at the parks for a full week (no clue about the cruise), but they aren't following closely enough to realize how many days we're talking about...we're being pretty vague. Anyway, most of their must-do's are at Epcot and HS, and we've already been planning on a second day at Epcot (one of the late days for WS). We were planning then on one day at MK, HS, and AK each. The kids have said very clearly they'd rather spend more time at HS, even if it meant skipping AK...something I had not considered. So, I panicked slightly (I'm the family crazy-planner) wondering what day was best to do our second HS day (one of the other late arrival days), etc. Then started wondering if this was going to blow our dinner ressies out of the water, etc. All that worry to realize we're just going to switch our AK day for HS, which is still a recommended day anyway.

So...anyone else out there a crazy planner, too? I was a bit nervous thinking about changing everything all around only 6 weeks out, knowing ressies would be nearly impossible for some of our choices.

Question for anyone who was in the parks during spring break/Easter week last year. We currently have the Fantasmic! dinner package booked so we can be sure to get in. I keep hoping they'd bring back what they did over Christmas (the picnic option), but if they don't, do you think I should keep the package ressie? Will the 10:00 show be easy to get in, or would there still be a chance of getting shut out? We'll keep it if there's a chance we'd get shut out - it is a MUST DO, as the kids have never seen it. Thanks for listening to my little headache-drive rant!

Now if only these Buckeyes would straighten up so my headache doesn't worsen...

Erin

 

[RemoCat]

By the way, regarding the Fantasmic! question...we are NOT on the dining plan, so we'll be paying out of pocket. If we were on the dining plan, it'd be a no-brainer for me. Just trying to decide if it's necessary to pay for the plan to be sure we don't get shut out of both shows (and we really don't want to sit there for 2 hours before the show, so time is valuable to us, too). Thanks!

 

[Deb T.]

I'm nursing a headache tonight (literally!) after my touring plan nearly exploded after a family "meeting" over dinner. We were talking the kids about our "summer" Disney trip (which they think is still 111 days away - ha!), and had them prioritize what they considered "must do's" at the parks. We were a little surprised that some of their choices were not what we thought they would be (like Toy Story wasn't high on either of their lists, for example). We have 5 days to spend at the parks, but only 2 of those days are days where we can be there for rope drop (late days are: day one is when we arrive, so late morning there, then the day we get off the ship, then Easter morning, as we're doing church at the Contemporary followed by breakfast with Mickey at Ohana's). They think we're going to be at the parks for a full week (no clue about the cruise), but they aren't following closely enough to realize how many days we're talking about...we're being pretty vague. Anyway, most of their must-do's are at Epcot and HS, and we've already been planning on a second day at Epcot (one of the late days for WS). We were planning then on one day at MK, HS, and AK each. The kids have said very clearly they'd rather spend more time at HS, even if it meant skipping AK...something I had not considered. So, I panicked slightly (I'm the family crazy-planner) wondering what day was best to do our second HS day (one of the other late arrival days), etc. Then started wondering if this was going to blow our dinner ressies out of the water, etc. All that worry to realize we're just going to switch our AK day for HS, which is still a recommended day anyway.

So...anyone else out there a crazy planner, too? I was a bit nervous thinking about changing everything all around only 6 weeks out, knowing ressies would be nearly impossible for some of our choices.

Question for anyone who was in the parks during spring break/Easter week last year. We currently have the Fantasmic! dinner package booked so we can be sure to get in. I keep hoping they'd bring back what they did over Christmas (the picnic option), but if they don't, do you think I should keep the package ressie? Will the 10:00 show be easy to get in, or would there still be a chance of getting shut out? We'll keep it if there's a chance we'd get shut out - it is a MUST DO, as the kids have never seen it. Thanks for listening to my little headache-drive rant!

Now if only these Buckeyes would straighten up so my headache doesn't worsen...

Erin

Okay... deeeeeep breaths... innnnnnnn... oooouuuuttttt......

I can empathize. I am a major planner. The biggest joke in my family is "what time is the bathroom scheduled today"? For the record, I don't plan that detailed!!!

No one really understands all the sweat and tears that us compulsive planners pour into making sure each day is full of magic and fun. Especially kids. So, let's put this in perspective... your kids are young, they are going to the Happiest Place On Earth... and I'd be willing to bet the farm that, in the end, they will actually be content with whatever you have planned.

If I were you, I would keep everything exactly as you've already planned, including all priority seating and your Fantasmic dinner package. HS is the smallest park, and there really isn't that much to do there, especially if you're not having to wait in a long TSM line. After the kids have done all the attractions at HS and EPCOT, they will most likely be ready to move along to something different (ie. MK and AK). If not, then maybe you could do some park-hopping between meal ressies to make the kids happy. And, if all else fails, offer to take them to the pool... that always worked for my kids!

Good luck. Let us know what you end up deciding to do. Sending Pixie Dust love and friendship your way to help get rid of your headache!

 

[RemoCat]

Okay... deeeeeep breaths... innnnnnnn... oooouuuuttttt......

I can empathize. I am a major planner. The biggest joke in my family is "what time is the bathroom scheduled today"? For the record, I don't plan that detailed!!!

No one really understands all the sweat and tears that us compulsive planners pour into making sure each day is full of magic and fun. Especially kids. So, let's put this in perspective... your kids are young, they are going to the Happiest Place On Earth... and I'd be willing to bet the farm that, in the end, they will actually be content with whatever you have planned.

If I were you, I would keep everything exactly as you've already planned, including all priority seating and your Fantasmic dinner package. HS is the smallest park, and there really isn't that much to do there, especially if you're not having to wait in a long TSM line. After the kids have done all the attractions at HS and EPCOT, they will most likely be ready to move along to something different (ie. MK and AK). If not, then maybe you could do some park-hopping between meal ressies to make the kids happy. And, if all else fails, offer to take them to the pool... that always worked for my kids!

Good luck. Let us know what you end up deciding to do. Sending Pixie Dust love and friendship your way to help get rid of your headache!

Thank you!! Actually, the headache just got worse after getting hammered (and homered by the refs) with the Buckeyes game. Ahhhh....

As far as the plans go, I think we're all good. I was just processing what my evening was like there for a short while. I think we're sticking with the original schedule, but planning to switch our AK day for HS, should we need more time there. Our full HS day is before that, so we'll know if there were things we still wanted to get to, etc. The thing is, the stuff they're really wanting to do at the studios are things like all the shows, Jedi training, One Man's Dream, etc. etc. A couple of big rides (RRC, ToT, ST), and Fantasmic! I know the dinner package will take a good 1-2 hours out of the day, too. So, it's nice to know we have another day as an option if there are things we didn't get to. If we get to everything on day one, then we'll go to AK on our last day. We didn't get park hoppers this time, figuring our park days were shorter overall and with not being there as long, didn't think we'd get enough use (had hoppers the first time we took the kids 3 years ago, and hardly used them).

When my hubby and I were going over all the possibilities and I was getting stressed, we did get a good laugh when we remembered, "Ahhh...first world problems here!" It did crack us up that we were stressing (okay _I_ was stressing) over anything Disney! It's just the OCD planner in me that forgets that part sometimes. Honestly, the kids are going to be SO blown away with the cruise, that they won't care if we miss something in the parks...they'll be happy with whatever!!

 

[RemoCat]

Oh, and we'll be doing MK on our arrival day. That is their request, and works well. It's open late, and we can sleep in since our limo doesn't pick us up for the port until 10:30 or so. It's not a recommended day, but we're okay with that. We'll make it work.

 

[Deb T.]

Thank you!! Actually, the headache just got worse after getting hammered (and homered by the refs) with the Buckeyes game. Ahhhh....

As far as the plans go, I think we're all good. I was just processing what my evening was like there for a short while. I think we're sticking with the original schedule, but planning to switch our AK day for HS, should we need more time there. Our full HS day is before that, so we'll know if there were things we still wanted to get to, etc. The thing is, the stuff they're really wanting to do at the studios are things like all the shows, Jedi training, One Man's Dream, etc. etc. A couple of big rides (RRC, ToT, ST), and Fantasmic! I know the dinner package will take a good 1-2 hours out of the day, too. So, it's nice to know we have another day as an option if there are things we didn't get to. If we get to everything on day one, then we'll go to AK on our last day. We didn't get park hoppers this time, figuring our park days were shorter overall and with not being there as long, didn't think we'd get enough use (had hoppers the first time we took the kids 3 years ago, and hardly used them).

When my hubby and I were going over all the possibilities and I was getting stressed, we did get a good laugh when we remembered, "Ahhh...first world problems here!" It did crack us up that we were stressing (okay _I_ was stressing) over anything Disney! It's just the OCD planner in me that forgets that part sometimes. Honestly, the kids are going to be SO blown away with the cruise, that they won't care if we miss something in the parks...they'll be happy with whatever!!

Sooooo glad to know you're feeling better about all of this. It will certainly be a wonderful surprise trip! And it will be here sooooon!!!!