April 21, 2007 -- Western Magic -- anyone?

[ohMom]

happy saturday all!

i popped in our cruise chat last night (hi alikat ) and it reminded me of how very excited i get to cruise. i guess i have been not here as much as there has been some vague talk at my house about postponing our cruise a year. i doubt we will; it's come to close now to feel ok with postponing a year. when we booked it seemed so far in the future and now i can't believe it's 9 months! here's my reasons:

to postpone -- financially as we are remodeling our kitchen; DD will miss a BIG dog show as she did last cruise (bad mom!); airfare is outrageous; not rebooking so this will be our last DCL for quite a while to check off destinations on the 'vacations to do' list

to not postpone -- DDs only getting in higher grades and will be harder (this year they'll be in 4th and 9th); ummm........disney cruise! why postpone that! and of course a great group of DIS friends

i have a solo trip with my mom planned Jan 07 for the WDW 1/2 marathon and then cruising in April. that is BIG disney for me!

 

[Dawn414]

I can figure out what 'cruise chat' is, but where is it and there are separate ones for each group of people/cruises? Would love to chat 'live' with everyone!

Dawn

 

[alikat99]

I can figure out what 'cruise chat' is, but where is it and there are separate ones for each group of people/cruises? Would love to chat 'live' with everyone!

Dawn

Hi Dawn - there is no specific chat for different groups of people. Cruise Chat is on Friday nights at 9pm eastern time. Everyone just joins in to discuss anything cruise related. Now, sometimes, when there are enough people, you can get a group of people to break off into one of the other chat rooms (there is the main room, and rooms 2 & 3). I'm headed on the DVC member cruise in October, and sometimes several of us show up to chat and we go to one of the empty rooms to talk between us (since sometimes we tend to take over cruise chat with our banter).

I hope that helps, and if you're ever around on Friday nights, come join us. Typically, I'm there most Friday nights.

 

[curlybop]

Just checking in.

We got back from Hershey this week, it was great. But of course, the entire time I was thinking that our next vacation will be a cruise. One of the highlights was on our way to Hershey, we stopped just to get out & stretch, and hit an outlet store. They had tons of kids Disney shirts & outfits, most under $5. I even spotted Castaway Cay shirts for kids, but didn't get it, since DH would wonder what in the world I wanted that for!

Anyway, DH still doesn't know we're cruising. I am checking airfare constantly, but so far, it's just crazy. Gonna hold out for a few more months, and hopefully around Christmas Southwest will have a good Ding rate that I can snag.

Hope everyone is doing well! I just love watching the tickers count down. I think when I started, I was at 13 months. Now right at 9...

 

[Corryn]

Welcome back
Wow, a Castaway Cay shirt, here on dry land in Pennsylvania??? I thought they don't sell Any Castaway Cay merchandise anywhere BUT CC?
Hope you had fun in Hershey

 

[alikat99]

Good morning everyone! I'm still shocked that you've kept the cruise a secret!! Good for you!!

I've seen CC shirts on land too, but they were just at the employee store at WDW. My mom works for Disney and we were there looking around. I was shocked to see CC shirts (the same ones I bought at full price). Oh well, at least I got them while on vacation.

 

[curlybop]

Good morning everyone ~

Just stopping in to say hi! I noticed my ticker is now in the 8 month range. Yay! Yesterday I had to do some shopping at Wal-Mart, and I noticed they had 3-4 styles of Pirate shirts in the mens dept. We're now set for Pirate night...lol! I'd never be able to talk DH in to a costume of any sorts, but a t-shirt would be no problem. Now I've just to find something for DD. I have an eye patch & some beads.....hmmm. I'd love to find a t-shirt for her also.

DD was just asking when her birthday was again. I smiled, and said after Christmas, Valentines, and Easter.....she said firmly "Now remember, I want a Cinderella party when I turn 5" LOL! Oh if she only knew. She might actually get to see a "real" Cinderella on her birthday next time.

Still no airfare purchases here. I've noticed more schedules are slowly being released, so I'm still hoping for more options around December. Once that's out of the way & done, I can rest a bit easier!

 

[Dawn414]

I am SHOCKED at the airfare prices. DH and I decided on this cruise specifically because we have a 'credit' with Spirit Airlines that expires at the end of April and since we don't have any other travel planned where we can use it, we decided this would be the best time to use it...especially with the ever-rising gas prics. SO...I booked our airfare. Close to $900 for the four of us and that includes a credit for close to $600. Is that crazy or what?! Unfortunately, I too, think it could come down, but given the schedules and the fact that we really can't travel until the day of departure, we're at the mercy of the flight times available and can't take a chance on those flight times being booked or EGADS going up even higher...oh well, c'est la vie. At least it's done...

AND on a separate topic...I have to say that between the tips on the DISboards & The Passporter tips, I am pretty much ready to sail (ok, so I still have to get passports for my DS/DD & renew my own, but that's besides the point). The disneyshopping.com site had a TON of stuff marked WAY down as did the Disney Store and I have been trying to pick up some 'stuff' here and there when I see it (the shoe thing, portable hamper, etc). DH would probably have a cow if he saw all the stuff....BUT...means I won't have to buy it later. That's incentive, right???

Well...just wanted to check in and say HI...

Where do I get one of those ticker things and how do I add it? I've been reading some of the trip reports and every time I see curlybop's reply I smile to myself knowing that is one of the DISers on the same cruise as me (since I see how long until that cruise).

Be well all...hope you're all enjoying your summer!

Dawn McG

 

[curlybop]

Dawn,

Ticker Factory has quite a few to choose from. Just put in the dates, click a bit, and done.

We also have to do the passports. DH's just needs a renewal, it expires end of this year. DD & I need to actually get ours. Hope to get that done before October or so, to avoid any rush if the rules still change effective Jan. '07.

I've bought a lot of stuff too - a few t shirts from Disneyshopping, some tropical wear, and just odds & ends as I see them. I have a small suitcase filled already with cruise wear & stuff. Just glad DH hasn't discovered it yet.

 

[Dawn414]

curlybop---thanks for the info!

 

[Corryn]

Just wanted to pop in and say Hi....
It's Exactly 8 Months for us!
Someone on another thread is going the same week & I directed them over here, but I guess they didn't get here yet...

Southwest now has their schedule open until January 9, so
if anyone is taking them down there, be ready to purchase your tickets by the beginning to mid-December.
I like to purchase my tickets through them as soon as they open their schedule, then I keep checking the schedule for any price decrease.
So far, this trip, just from checking the Dings! and other promotions they've got going, we've saved about $400 to be applied to our next trip, the cruise.
I'd rather keep the credit with SW than have them refund the money, especially since the schedule for our cruise will be opening right before Christmas, it's like found money

 

[curlybop]

I am sooooo ready to book airfare. That's the last major thing I have to do. Hoping to catch a Ding or great sale from SW in December. We'll have to drive 2 hours to the airport SW flies out of though. But it will be worth it if I save big bucks. Hey, I have GPS, we can go anywhere now.

DH still doesn't know. I'm about to bust to keep from telling him. Just this weekend he was saying how he loved it when I planned suprises, b/c they always turn out great, and it's totally unexpected. Oh little does he know what I have up my sleeve now.

I love the end of summer sales. I've found some great stuff to take with us next spring. Just eight more months..........

 

[Corryn]

I am sooooo ready to book airfare. That's the last major thing I have to do. Hoping to catch a Ding or great sale from SW in December. We'll have to drive 2 hours to the airport SW flies out of though. But it will be worth it if I save big bucks. Hey, I have GPS, we can go anywhere now.

DH still doesn't know. I'm about to bust to keep from telling him. Just this weekend he was saying how he loved it when I planned suprises, b/c they always turn out great, and it's totally unexpected. Oh little does he know what I have up my sleeve now.

C'mon! You don't think he knows by now? You with your DCL books (which he spys) and then he adds how he loves surprises????
You go, girl, with your surprise.....If he does know, he's probably waiting for you to just bust out and tell him..
Does he have his vacation picks for next year? Is that week one of them?
Does he already have that week off? When are you going to tell him? The suspense is killing me!

 

[curlybop]

I know he has no clue. When I made the deposit, I used the ccard that we get no paper statement on. As he says "I'm not computer savvy" so I pay the bill online every month - so he never saw that come through.

I've bought stuff from the Disney store, and put on a shelf, and told him it was for DD's birthday next year. Also bought some tropical clothing since it's being clearanced out with end of summer....but I left it in the car until the next morning, and got it out after he left for work.

Yes, I have the free booklet from DCL, and the Passporter guide sitting right on the table....but he thinks I'm planning to go in '08. I kept telling him that rates should be out soon, and by then we can save up a lot of money, blah, blah, blah - whatever pops in my mind to keep him off my trail.
He hates to wait for vacation! So, I'm thinking of telling him at Christmas - or either his birthday in February. I really think Christmas would be better....that way he can help me plan excursions & stuff for the next few months, and have a while to really let it all soak in before we go.

This has been THE HARDEST thing to keep to myself. I've had to be creative in my thinking & hiding stuff. The hardest part has been convincing him to renew his passport. Oh the spill I told him the other day - "Well, yours is expiring in a few months, you might as well go ahead & renew it, especially if they enforce the new rules......it's good for 10 years anyway, and one day we might want to take that cruise you know, and you'll need it. Plus, the cost will probably go up in 2007, since everyone may be required to get one. Just go ahead & take the new photo & we'll send it in....."

As for his picks, he mentioned maybe going to the beach. We both can take off from work pretty much whenever we want to, so that's not a problem.

So in his mind, we might be going on a cruise in 2008....maybe. Oh little does he know! He thinks some of this stuff is all in preparation for 2 years from now. So, from now until December, I've got to figure out exactly HOW I want to tell him. That will keep me thinking for a while! I want it to be special.....atleast I have 4 months to get my act together!

 

[Corryn]

Maybe you can wrap up a model of the Magic and place it in a box?
I'm sure if you went on the DCL board and posted a new thread on How To Surprise The Hubby you'll get a bunch of awesome ideas!

 

[alikat99]

Hi guys! It seems like SO long until this cruise takes place. We have a 4-night DVC member cruise scheduled in October, so at least I'll have my fix.

I'm SO excited for you that you've kept your secret. I don't have any great ideas, but if you want anything that I can get for you on the Wonder, I can do that in October.

 

[Corryn]

Hey AliKat,
If you're on the Wonder, say hello to our wonderful servers, Laszlo and Noemi.
They're both from Hungary. All the young girls in our groop were swooning over Laszlo........And Noemi:
My first night I ordered a Strawberry Daquiri with Whipped Cream (my usual) and about twenty minutes later, Noemi comes back huffin' and puffin'. I said, My God, Noemi! Whadd'ya go to the other side of the ship for the Whipped Cream?

She said... Yes!!!!
So of course, we tipped very nicely
Anyway, if you run into them, tell them The Thorgersen's (Corryn & Ed) Said Hello!

 

[Dawn414]

Been nice chatting with you over the past couple months...we have decided to change our plans to the 4-night Wonder cruise versus the 7-night so we can take in some Disney as well...Although the kids have been to Universal and SeaWorld, this will be their first real Disney experience. We're also planning to follow it up with another trip to WDW in late August '07.

So...I'm sure I'll be seein' many of you on the boards and in the chat rooms...until then...Happy Sailing!

Dawn McG

 

[Corryn]

Okey Dokey Dawn
You'll have a great time, no matter which ship you're cruising on!
See you around the DIS

 

[curlybop]

Enjoy your new trip Dawn! It's been nice chatting with you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WOW.

That ticker moves quickly. I remember starting at 13 months, I think.

DH kept asking last night what I wanted for Christmas. He has no idea what type of present he'll be getting. I've decided to tell him then, by wrapping up some of the tropical shirts I've purchased for him, and a few other items I've bought for the cruise. Then sit back & watch him try to figure it out. Might even put my copy of the Passporter in the very bottom of the box.