April 9, 2009 Wonder 3-night Bahamas Cruise!

[Deb T.]

I think an FE would be great. Can someone post a link to the thread that has the basics for them?

I believe this thread should do the trick!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1219607

There are several ways to set one up, but the one way we've enjoyed the most is when each family delivers their FE gifts at their own leisure instead of being assigned to specific days. We've always given gifts to each child plus one gift to the adults.

I've participated in four FE exchanges and was the organizer two of those. I would be more than happy to organize this one, too, unless someone else would like to do it.

 

[kimkreis]

Those are cool! I have sent pictures to my even cooler MIL who does wonderful embroidery work so hopefully she can make us one!

 

[Deb T.]

The combination of me being not very handy at sewing and not having a lot of extra time on my hands has caused me to be rather "lazy" in my Fish Extender. I use a plain, white small canvas bag (like you can buy craft stores like Michael's or AC Moore) for our FE. I outlined a Mickey head icon (from a Disney paint chip sample) onto the center of the bag with a black sharpie and then colored it in with a lime green highlighter. It's not fancy by any means, but it does work out well for all the surprises that are delivered!

 

[Disney On A Dime!]

Hello all!

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile...It is great to see some others interested in getting to meet new folks and do an FE exchange. Our family is quite open to doing whatever will make this cruise fun!!! Just tell me what to do! I did end up purchasing an FE on a website for a very low price...it is not hand-made, but it will do. We are now trying to figure out a good location to stay in Cocoa Beach for a few days before the cruise. We really don't want to go into the Orlando area (we are visiting there in January) however, we would like to make a nice beach trip out of this cruise. Any suggestions??? We kind of were thinking about the Radisson....the pools look great there (I am kind of a pool person.) Anyhow...I have a bit of time to figure that one out!

Crystal

 

[Deb T.]

We are now trying to figure out a good location to stay in Cocoa Beach for a few days before the cruise. We really don't want to go into the Orlando area (we are visiting there in January) however, we would like to make a nice beach trip out of this cruise. Any suggestions??? We kind of were thinking about the Radisson....the pools look great there (I am kind of a pool person.) Anyhow...I have a bit of time to figure that one out!
Crystal

We stayed at the Radisson for one night pre-cruise ten years ago and found it quite comfortable. I believe it gets fairly good reviews here. I don't remember how far it is from a beach, though.

Whenever we're able to fly down a day or so before a cruise, we always stay at WDW. We're DVC members and have APs, so we can stay & play without having to spend any additional cash (other than food).

 

[kimkreis]

We are doing a time share hotel thing in Orlando for the three days before the cruise, so we will be heading over from Orlando the mornig of the cruise. We have reservations right now at a hotel right in front of Universal.

 

[Disney On A Dime!]

We stayed at the Radisson for one night pre-cruise ten years ago and found it quite comfortable. I believe it gets fairly good reviews here. I don't remember how far it is from a beach, though.

Whenever we're able to fly down a day or so before a cruise, we always stay at WDW. We're DVC members and have APs, so we can stay & play without having to spend any additional cash (other than food).

Thanks for the information about the Radisson! I think that you are right about its location...close to the port, but further away from the beach. I believe that our plan right now is to spend two or three nights in Cocoa Beach...haven't quite worked out all of the the details...

Hey - I really like your idea of spending a some time at WDW before the cruise...I might have to do some research! I know that that is just what my husband wants the hear!!!

Right now we are concentrating on our January trip to WDW...I still have to make some t-shirts for my neighbors kids, however; after January 28th it will be all out for the cruise!

 

[Disney On A Dime!]

We are doing a time share hotel thing in Orlando for the three days before the cruise, so we will be heading over from Orlando the mornig of the cruise. We have reservations right now at a hotel right in front of Universal.

Your plans sound great also! Are you going to get an opportunity to go to Universal? My kids loved Universal! Especially my oldest..he likes the coasters and big rides. I used to like all of those things, but for some reason as my age gets older so does my ability to tolerate the heights and spinning and such...Nowadays I often find myself holding all of the backpacks waiting at the exits to the rides!

 

[kimkreis]

Are you going to get an opportunity to go to Universal? My kids loved Universal! QUOTE]

I don't think so. Whil it would be nice, we have free tickets from Anheiser Busch for Sea World. And I think with one day kinda devoted to the stupid timeshare talk we will only have one day for a park, and free beats every other deal out there!

We were thinking of doing the Mystery Dinner theater one night.

I am trying to decide if there are any Disney restaurants we want to hit since the reservation window would be opening soon. Maybe Chef Mickey the morning of the cruise. In all my trips we have never made it there. But also know we would love to do Jiko again, but we also ahve never hit the boardwalk area either.

Decisions, decisions!

 

[Deb T.]

i am keeping this cruise and have just booked the eb transatlantic in 2010. that trip will end up being a family trip will myself, dd, mom, grandma, and aunt

i have just booked a last minute cruise this december and hopefully will rebook onboard and get a discount and obc for this april 09 cruise

Hi Amanda!
I was just wondering if you went on that December cruise? Were you able to get the OBC for the next two cruises?

 

[Deb T.]

I am trying to decide if there are any Disney restaurants we want to hit since the reservation window would be opening soon. Maybe Chef Mickey the morning of the cruise. In all my trips we have never made it there. But also know we would love to do Jiko again, but we also ahve never hit the boardwalk area either. Decisions, decisions!

If you've never been to O'hana's at the Polynesian for breakfast, I would highly recommend it! The food is served all-you-can-eat family-style, and Lilo & Stitch go from table to table for photos and also form a conga line with the kids! If you're really lucky, you might even be able to snag a table with a MK view!

We've been to Chef Mickey's several times, but always for dinner. There's really nothing special in the Boardwalk area for breakfast - it's more of a night-life kind of area. We've never eaten at Jiko, but have always heard great things about it. Good luck with your decision!

 

[Deb T.]

Hey - I really like your idea of spending a some time at WDW before the cruise...I might have to do some research! I know that that is just what my husband wants the hear!!!

Thanks! I already had Wednesday night (April 8) reserved at BCV and just tried to add Tuesday night but had to be put on a waitlist for that night. I also finally booked our flights. Originally, DH was going to be at a conference in Orlando Sunday through Wednesday pre-cruise, so we were going to fly down on Sunday. However, his company has suspended all conference funding this year due to the economy, so now we're flying down Tuesday after work.

Right now, our new favorite ride is Toy Story Mania, so we're planning to be in line at HS first thing Wednesday morning! We rode it for the first time last July at California Adventure, then at WDW in October, then again in December!!! (DH finally let me talk him into that trip! ) Between our October and December trips, I searched online and learned that there are several tricks for getting surprises and extra points in each scene, so we tried them out in December and had so much fun!!! We can hardly wait to get down there and ride it again!!!

 

[Deb T.]

It looks like there are four of us, so far, who are interested in doing a FE Exchange! I would be more than happy to coordinate it. What I've done in the past is have everyone PM me with their cabin number, the names of everyone in each cabin, and the ages of the kids. Then, I PM the information back to all the participants. The first time I ever coordinated a FE Exchange was last spring break when there were only 4 families participanting. The second time I coordinated one was last July on the Mexican Riviera cruise - and there were 20 families participating! Both times, it was a lot of fun!

I've also organized several DIS Meets onboard. It seems to work out well to meet around 3:30 p.m. on embarkation day. It's really nice to be able to put faces with DIS names, especially before the FE Exchange starts. A good spot to meet is by the Mickey Pool, by Scoops, so everyone can enjoy a cup of ice cream while getting to know each other. However, I'm open to any ideas that anyone else has!

 

[Disney On A Dime!]

It looks like there are four of us, so far, who are interested in doing a FE Exchange! I would be more than happy to coordinate it. What I've done in the past is have everyone PM me with their cabin number, the names of everyone in each cabin, and the ages of the kids. Then, I PM the information back to all the participants. The first time I ever coordinated a FE Exchange was last spring break when there were only 4 families participanting. The second time I coordinated one was last July on the Mexican Riviera cruise - and there were 20 families participating! Both times, it was a lot of fun!

I've also organized several DIS Meets onboard. It seems to work out well to meet around 3:30 p.m. on embarkation day. It's really nice to be able to put faces with DIS names, especially before the FE Exchange starts. A good spot to meet is by the Mickey Pool, by Scoops, so everyone can enjoy a cup of ice cream while getting to know each other. However, I'm open to any ideas that anyone else has!

You've got my vote for both the ideas and the coordinator!

 

[Disney On A Dime!]

I don't think so. Whil it would be nice, we have free tickets from Anheiser Busch for Sea World. And I think with one day kinda devoted to the stupid timeshare talk we will only have one day for a park, and free beats every other deal out there!

We were thinking of doing the Mystery Dinner theater one night.

I am trying to decide if there are any Disney restaurants we want to hit since the reservation window would be opening soon. Maybe Chef Mickey the morning of the cruise. In all my trips we have never made it there. But also know we would love to do Jiko again, but we also ahve never hit the boardwalk area either.

Decisions, decisions!

Sea World is awesome and the spring is a great time to go! Oh...and my kids vote for their all-time favorite character meal is...Chef Mickey!

 

[Deb T.]

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

 

[phythomp]

My 7 year old and I will be cruising and I can't want!!

 

[Deb T.]

My 7 year old and I will be cruising and I can't want!!

Welcome Aboard, phythomp! And, CONGRATULATIONS on your FIRST POST!

 

[kimkreis]

My 7 year old and I will be cruising and I can't want!!

Girl or boy? I have a 7 year old (TODAY!!!!!!!) and she is going to be so excited if she knew we were cruising!

 

[phythomp]

Thanks for the invite!!