April 7th, 2005 3-night Cruise WONDER

[jclark3]

I called DCL today and the guy hadn't heard of the Thriller excursion. But this morning, I got an email from the Dolphin Swim saying they have accepted our reservation. So I think we'll do that instead. People just rave about it!

In the past, we have always driven to WDW. Ideally we stop (either with a friend in Lake City FL or a hotel in Valdosta, GA) and arrive at WDW EARLY in the am. But I have also driven straight through-- leave Atlanta around 10pm! That way there's much less traffic. If I drive thru- I make frequent stops at rest areas for little naps -- that's the only way I can make it! My DS jokes that he's seen every rest stop between Atlanta and Orlando...

This will be our second land/sea vacation. I already know the cruise portion will be way too short, but the price was right. We're returning to the BC for our land portion. We love the proximity to EPCOT and are looking forward to the renovations at Stormalong Bay.

 

[lovebuzz]

hi Joeclyn! It's a small world. we are also from Roswell.

 

[jclark3]

Hi Lovebuzz,
Good to know you! How old are your kiddies?

 

[lovebuzz]

I have 3 sons... 17,5 and 4.

 

[KarenMom]

We'll be on the April 3rd and April 7th Wonder, so we'll be with you all for part of our trip. It's me (mom) and my two boys (14 and 10). We've been on two previous Magic cruises, but this is our first trip on the Wonder. It's spring break for my kids and I had originally planned on a 4 day cruise and 3 days at WDW, but changed my mind and decided to do all 7 days on the ship. I can't wait for April to get here!

 

[Asil65]

Hello all,
I just realised that I'm a mouseketeer now. I guess that I've earned my ears. Amanda, I just got my 2004 passporter and cruise book from the same authors. I'm really glad that I got them. Couldn't wait for the 2005 edition.Great books. It probably would have been nice to have them earlier to help decide which resort to stay in. I just like that there is a lot of info packed into one place. I just booked a p.s. for Ohana's and sci fi dine- In theater. I have heard great things about Ohana's . I liked the theme of sci-fi. I figured it would be good to have some p.s.'s and that I could cancel if needed. I think we decided on MK-Sunday,MGM-Monday,AK-Tuesday and MK again on Wed before the cruise. We may try Epcot on the evening we go to AK. We are trying the Luau at the Poly the night before our cruise. Heard mixed reviews but thought we'd try it.Here's that banana again. Lisa

 

[agotta]

OOOhhh we booked Ohana's too. Here is what our schedule looks like.

Sat - Free Day
Sun - EPCOT & MGM
Mon - Free Day (Ohanas and Wishes Cruise)
Tues - AK & EPCOt
Wed - MK (open late!!)

We are trying to decide if we want to add on another day to our PH and maybe hit the parks on Sat. We figure it will be like noon before we get to the hotel and we have to hit church that day too. Getting so excited!!! We love to go to Ohanas. We also booked lunch at Le Cellier and Kona Cafe for breakfast. How is the planning going for everyone else??

Amanda

 

[Asil65]

Hi Amanda, Sounds like a great plan. Maybe we will see you somewhere at the Poly. We'll be there from Sunday to Thursday am. We are definitely eating breakfast at Kona cafe one am. You are doing your cruise on Monday. I think that is the late night at MK. It is also the only night we can see Spectro magic. I really want to see that this time. By the way how is the parade at MGM? Lisa

 

[agotta]

From what I have, MK is open late Sat and Wed that week. Sat just normally and Wed for EMH. The parade at MGM is pretty good, DH and I were grand marshalls in it last year. You can see pics on our website. You will have so much fun at Poly, I am kinda jealous!! I guess maybe next trip. Its just so expensive to stay there with our DVC points.

Amanda

 

[agotta]

I don't know if any of you have seen this site yet, but it rates dates at Disney from a 1-10, 10 being the busiest. We got all 4's for the week we are going. Check it out http://www.touringplans.com/BestDays.htm. It also tells you which park to visit on which day.

Amanda

 

[jclark3]

Only 44 more days to go until Spring Break and the trip! Still haven't decided what to do on Nassau day. I love Blue Lagoon but I've been there so many times and the dolphin swim is soooooo expensive! Anybody planning to stay on the ship that day (with maybe just a little shopping?) My DS14 would love the Thriller boat, however...

 

[agotta]

Dh and I will be on the ship. We might just go off for an hour or something, but since the cruise is so short, we though spending time on board might be nice.

Amanda

 

[amy2girls]

I think we will go to cable beach for a few hours then return to ship and hang out there for the rest of the day, if the kids are into the kids club and want to spend more time there.
Amy

 

[Asil65]

We will be doing the Thriller boat ride in the am. I think after that we will come back to the ship and have lunch and just hang out. Maybe get a massage on the ship if I can't book the cabana massage. My daughter asks me every day when we are going to Disney World. She is so excited. I just borrowed a neat book from the library called Birnbaum's WDW for kids. Emma my 5 yr old loves looking at the book. It shows a lot of the rides. She tells me she really wants to go on the Dinosaur ride at Animal Kingdom. Has anyone been on this? Is it scary? I think she will chicken out when we get there. Four day weekend for us starting tomorrow. We may try the circus in Richmond this weekend.

 

[agotta]

Dinosaur is scary, even for me A lot of it is in the dark and its kinda jerky. If she isn't afraid of that, there is only one other scary part and it includes a giant T-Rex....I love it!! It's a must do every trip. Make sure to take advantage of baby swap on rides like this if both you and your DH want to try it out!!

Amanda

 

[agotta]

Ok, I posted before about the menu on the Wonder, it turns out I was only looking at the first page...LOL. So the second page has all the actual entrees and yummy!! My dh is so excited that he can have whatever he wants and as much of it as he wants. I can feel our tummys getting bigger!!
Here are the menus...
http://www.dcltribute.com/menus/3day.htm
Lisa I forgot your Mom was going, so you wouldn't need baby swap, but try it anyway (the ride I mean).

Amanda

 

[jclark3]

We will be doing the Thriller boat ride in the am.

I still haven't found anyone at DCL who knows anything about the Thriller boat ride! That's where you said you booked the excursion, right?

 

[Asil65]

Hi Jocelyn,
You scared me when you said that about the Thriller boat ride. So I called DCL to verify that we did have a reservation with them. DCL assured me that yes we did have a reservation for that morning in Nassau. I mentioned that you had called DCL and the person that you talked to had not heard of the excursion. She told me that she wasn't suprised because it had recently been added to the excursions. Not very organized if you ask me. If you would really like to do that excursion keep trying. I'm sure that you will find someone there who can help you. Even my 60 yr old Mom will be on the Thriller ride with us. I am so looking forward to this trip. Lisa Amanda, I forgot to mention that I got my Passport books. They are great.

 

[agotta]

Hey girls!! 37 days to go!! Who else is excited!! I can't wait, I also can't stop playing with my Disney spreadsheets I keep planning, it's really sick!! We just signed up for the half marathon in January and DH is so afraid I am going to overplan that trip too, even though it's only a couple days. April here we come!!

Amanda

Oh, and I just upgrade the car we rented to get from Disney to the port. We pick it up wednesday morning and drop it off in cocoa beach on thur morning. It's a CONVERTIBLE!!! Can't wait! Here's hoping for god weather!!

 

[jclark3]

We're counting down the days too! Are any of you planning to take dress-up clothes for Pirate night?