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

[SpartanDis]

We are home and facing the reality of laundry and being back home. We had a wonderful time and will definitely be on another Disney cruise at some point. We were all so sad the last night of the cruise - saying goodbye to our wonderful dining team, enjoying the evening ocean breeze one last time.

We didn't make it to any of the meet-ups. We were on the way to the one on embarkation day and I couldn't remember where we were meeting. We never did find it - and we darted off to Castaway Cay so early, we didn't have time to wait for anyone.

Though, I'm quite sure that I saw some of you aboard (recognized pictures from FB) - including the lovely bride who passed by in the Just Married golf cart as my daughter was getting her hair braided on Castaway Cay.

Now to save our pennies for our next cruise.

 

[WDWExpress]

We had a fantastic time! We enjoyed meeting many of you! Thank you to all the FE participants for all of the cute and creative surprises we received!

How's this for "it's a small world"... out of 4,000 passengers onboard, we were randomly assigned to the same dining table as D73 (Christopher)! There were several DISers sitting around us, too, including WDWExpress, ddeal1957, and clc053103.

DebT... loved having dinner with you and your DH.. you touched the entire family and we are sending virtual hugs...

 

[clc053103]

Welcome home! We got back yesterday after post cruise stays at universal and hyatt MCO.

Since dvc meeting ran late the first day we missed the initial meet up, but did get the opportunity to meet a few of you all while delivering or receiving FE gifts, as well as our dining room rotation with Christopher, deb t, and Chantal and families!

Thank you for the many surprises in our FE, the whole family enjoyed it!

We have rebooked a dummy cruise, and think next time we would like to try the smaller ships. A little less people, perhaps the pools won't be packed like crock pots of kids! Any repeat cruisers want to share insight on the Dream vs Wonder/ Magic, we are all ears!

 

[clc053103]

Oops dup post

 

[MASrules]

Good Cruise, Great Weather.

Thanks to all in FE #1! Can you say Marshmallow, cause my wife sure can!

Nice to meet Peytoncolts at Mixology...thanks for putting up with me.

Looking forward to the Fantasy next spring break...only 51 weeks and counting.

 

[guarn3md]

Still in Orlando at The Swan but tomorrow is our last day. Sadly this trip is coming to an end. Thank you everyone for the fabulous gifts - we enjoyed the FE. Connor & Asia enjoyed hunting down the rooms. Went to the DVC infomation meeting and still can't believe it - but I won the drawing! $300 OBC!! Bought everyone in my family a gift...so Connor & Asia were happy. Getting closer to convincing DH to buy in... think the girl we were talking to in MK was helpful!! My parents are considering it too...
My parents booked a cruise on the Fantasy in 2013 starting March 23rd and I booked a dummy cruise, hoping to book an Alaska cruise. My parents booking was a cat. 4A - room for 5 people and they booked it originally for Asia and them. Then they talked to us and wanted to add Connor and I to the room. DH wasn't interested in going. So they tried to add us and was told the ship was sold out for adding people! Very confusing! I'm sure people will cancel as it gets closer, right. My TA told me to check every day and if it allows me to book a room for 5 people with our particulars then to call her and she could add us...
Talk to you all after we get back home!!
Debbie

 

[clc053103]

Debbie, clearly I have been pronouncing your last name wrong in my head all this time, because I didn't realize that was you who won the obc at the dvc meet! We were there but only won a bag! Congrats!

 

[VA_mouseman]

All the bags are unpacked, laundry is done and the photos have been sorted and scanned and uploaded to Facebook.

My wonderful wife is putting together a book (via Disney Photopass) for us and our traveling companions.

So looking forward to the WDW 'guys' trip in August and the next family trip in January.

 

[SSinWYO]

Here I am, back at work wishing I was still cruising with you all! Guess what? It's a bit chilly in Wyoming compared to sunny Bahamas and Florida, even WITH the rain! LOL

Thanks for all the wonderful FE gifts. We really enjoyed our little daily deliveries. So many good ideas for the next time we go!

Hope nobody had any major issues getting back home. Our car service ended up cancelling us at the port, while we were standing there waiting! Had to get a cab, thank goodness they were available! Going to start posting THOSE reviews here shortly.

Hope to see you all on some future adventure! If you wish to stay in touch, please send me a PM or a friend request on Facebook. I honestly don't know how long this thread will be active.

HUGS!!

 

[RemoCat]

So sad to see that everyone's trip counters in their signature line have rolled over and are counting down to next April 1. On, how I wished we had another one booked already! Soon enough....patience, patience...

I've sent a PM to Wendy (Tellyaddict), and I know you guys are still vacationing and might not check this often, but we never got home contact info. We have some great pics of the girls together that we'd like to email, and of course we'd love to stay in touch with our new friends from the UK!! Send me a PM when you get the chance.

We're back home, going through photos now. Missing our home away from home so much already!!

 

[Mom Minnie]

Everyone goes back to school and work tomorrow .... sigh.

Thank you to everyone in FE#1 -- we had so much fun giving and receiving goodies. We can't wait to do it all again. We booked a dummy date while we wait for the 2014 dates to be released. If anyone plans to cruise Easter week 2014, let us know!

 

[guarn3md]

Debbie, clearly I have been pronouncing your last name wrong in my head all this time, because I didn't realize that was you who won the obc at the dvc meet! We were there but only won a bag! Congrats!

Wish I had known you were there! We never got the chance to meet... Yes that was me and funny thing was - We were late getting there, DH was mad that I even went, etc, etc, etc. I really thought the prize was $25 OBC, Pam at the DVC had to keep convincing me it was $300! I had to sign a paper and it clearly stated the money, then later on that night I stopped by guest realations and they verified the funds were there! It was really cool! Still have to convince DH we need to buy in!

 

[ddeal1957]

Everything is finally unpacked, washed and put away. I wanted to say "Thank you" to everyone in FE group #2 for the great gifts!!!!! It was so much fun to come back to the room and check our FE.

Mark and I enjoyed meeting so many of you during our cruise.....

 

[RemoCat]

Question for the group: anyone ever rent DVC points, especially from David's DVC Rentals? We're looking at possibly staying on property for marathon weekend, and seeing that it could be economical to rent points and stay somewhere nicer than we would otherwise. We usually stay with our CM friends that weekend, but they're expecting their first baby this fall and think we might want to stay elsewhere to simplify their life that weekend. Along the same lines, any DVC-ers on here that need to rent 35-45 points next January?? Or is everyone using them all up on cruises?! Thanks!

 

[VA_mouseman]

Question for the group: anyone ever rent DVC points, especially from David's DVC Rentals? We're looking at possibly staying on property for marathon weekend, and seeing that it could be economical to rent points and stay somewhere nicer than we would otherwise. We usually stay with our CM friends that weekend, but they're expecting their first baby this fall and think we might want to stay elsewhere to simplify their life that weekend. Along the same lines, any DVC-ers on here that need to rent 35-45 points next January?? Or is everyone using them all up on cruises?! Thanks!

I'm not familiar with David's DVC Rentals, but I presume it's like other groups that act as the 'middleman' for DVC transactions. For the convenience factor, you're paying them a high premium per point.

The other approach is to eliminate the middleman and go directly to a DVC member for a transaction and save yourself that premium. The DISBoards here have a DVC rent/trade board. I've used it before with great success; there definitely is a trust factor that has to be weighed in since it's a person-to-person transaction.

Unfortunately, I have no points right now to rent ... I will be using what I have left for a January trip.

 

[RemoCat]

I'm not familiar with David's DVC Rentals, but I presume it's like other groups that act as the 'middleman' for DVC transactions. For the convenience factor, you're paying them a high premium per point.

The other approach is to eliminate the middleman and go directly to a DVC member for a transaction and save yourself that premium. The DISBoards here have a DVC rent/trade board. I've used it before with great success; there definitely is a trust factor that has to be weighed in since it's a person-to-person transaction.

Unfortunately, I have no points right now to rent ... I will be using what I have left for a January trip.

Thanks for the info! I will check out the boards on here then, too. David's and another site (both BBB accredited) charge $13 per point for less than 50 points (I only need 35-45). What is the going rate, or an acceptable rate, to rent privately? Just wondering what a "good deal" would be. As far as the trust factor, I could probably insure a trip that cheap for like $25, just in case we got scammed. Jamie, when are you going in January? We'll be there for marathon weekend (second full weekend), making an extended weekend out of it. Don't believe we ever got the chance to meet on the ship.

 

[VA_mouseman]

Thanks for the info! I will check out the boards on here then, too. David's and another site (both BBB accredited) charge $13 per point for less than 50 points (I only need 35-45). What is the going rate, or an acceptable rate, to rent privately? Just wondering what a "good deal" would be. As far as the trust factor, I could probably insure a trip that cheap for like $25, just in case we got scammed. Jamie, when are you going in January? We'll be there for marathon weekend (second full weekend), making an extended weekend out of it. Don't believe we ever got the chance to meet on the ship.

We won't be there until the last weekend in January (school break). Maybe another time!

The sellers of DVC points on the DISBoards set/request the price, typically in the $9-11 range. Here's a link to the rent/trade boards.

 

[RemoCat]

Finally got our videos uploaded that show our kids' two surprises. They are linked together like one video here, but are actually two different events, each about 3-4 minutes. First on was taken the day before the cruise (early wake-up with Disney World surprise), followed by the cruise surprise the next day. You'll need the password to view it. It's "Mickey" - what else?! http://vimeo.com/40321045

 

[ccbride412]

Can someone send me an invite to the Facebook group? I remember PMing someone a while back but never got anything. Just wanted to see if I recognize anyone from the cruise- I'm good with faces I've seen!

 

[guarn3md]

Can someone send me an invite to the Facebook group? I remember PMing someone a while back but never got anything. Just wanted to see if I recognize anyone from the cruise- I'm good with faces I've seen!

Meaghan friend me...Deborah Garrison Guarniere and I will add you to group, You have friend someone in the group to get invited - we are a private group (shhhh...)