Aug 03 2008 Magic (West Coast)

[DL_DCA_fans]

Saw the Magic depart for the first West Coast cruise

 

[IceSk8ersMom]

I am so excited to be sailing the Mexican Riviera again on the Magic and to have found my fellow cruisers. It will be so nice not to worry about flight delays, airport security, and lost luggage! We will only have a 30 minute drive to the port.

This cruise is extra special. We are celebrating my parents 40th wedding anniversary. They will be renewing their vows on the first Sea Day.

The 40 Years of Magic Wedding Party includes: Joe (Groom), Cheryl (Bride), Cheryl II (Sis), Lisa (Me), Mike (my husband --who worked a lot of overtime to pay for this and never told me NO...I publicly thank him), Clayton (Friend, who will be singing at the Ceremony), Amanda (Granddaughter), Rae (my daughter/Granddaughter), and Nic (my daughter's friend).

I have been planning with the Disney Wedding Coordinator since last year. Disney makes planning for such an event very easy. The music, flowers, cake, photographer, tuxedoes, spa treatments, and Palo reservations are made through the coordinator.

The only wedding task we had was the dresses! We ordered the dresses in January and the final fitting is June 6. Thank goodness the Ceremony is the First Sea Day, so we only have to worry about what we eat for the first 24 hours of the cruise.

The celebration is starting early with a Big Bon Voyage Party on August 2 (80+ people). I know we are crazy to have a party the day before the cruise, but my parents are SO WORTH IT! Invitations/mailing labels have been printed; food ordered (Mexican of course); cake ordered; decorations purchased (day after Cinco de Mayo to get sale items); margarita machines warmed-up; and band reserved.

My daughter also cannot wait. After three cruises, she will finally be able to participate in the Teen Program and go to the Stack! No Pager!!!! Nic and Rae are really looking forward to the Teen Cruise in Puerto Vallarta. Me on the other hand...Lets just say when they are on the Teen Cruise, I will be the Mother in the bar drinking and praying.

 

[BabyFavorite]

Anyone besides me not have passports (or birth certificates) yet?!?!? I am freaking out! I need to order the birth certs tomorrow... gonna pay extra to get them here FAST. (Just need my kids'.) Then passports in a couple more weeks.

We are booked for the Puerta Vallarta pirate excursion and the Cabo Beach Break. Nothing in Mazatlan. My friend and I are doing a massage at the spa one day (can't remember which) and I think we adults are doing Palo the last night. We picked the early time and then can sit with our families at our 8:30 dinner seating (even if we have no room left to eat anything). There were so few Palo choices left when I went to reserve it!

I am getting soooooooooo excited! My daughter (almost 9) wants to know what other girls her age are going. Her friend will be going, too, but I'm sure they'd both like to make some more friends...

 

[dleyel]

Hi Everyone! My family is on this cruise and we are so excited! Well, except for my husband, he's not so sure, but willing to give it a try. This is our first Disney cruise. Our group consists of DH44, DW40 (me), DS12 (turning 12 on 8/6 on the cruise), DS9, DD6, DFIL and DMIL. My in-laws may not like me revealing their ages! DFIL will also be celebrating his birthday on the 6th. We have 3 cat9 rooms on Deck 2 and have late seating for dinner. At home we usually eat at 7:30, so I think this will work out well. Although DFIL and DMIL usually eat and go to bed early, so they will likely be taking naps.

We decided to play it safe and booked all DCL excursions. In PV we are doing the dolphin swim. In Cabo, we reserved the Santa Maria snorkel trip. And in Mazatlan we are doing the City Highlights tour - the 3-3.5 hour one. We have Palo reserved for 6:30 on Friday night. I'm thinking about trying for brunch onboard.

We live in Orange County, California and have annual passes to Disneyland. We're thrilled not to have to get on a plane to board the Magic. Someday we'll plan a WDW vacation. I was there once in 1984, but no one else has been yet.

Hope we all have a magical vacation!
Debbie

 

[vossjemi]

Welcome aboard dleyel! Love the pics DCL DCA fans! I can't wait until the first Mexican Riviera cruisers come home and scan navigators and give us all the low down!

 

[amanuensis]

1. HeelMD - Grant, DW, DD-8, DS-5 rm - 8530 (Charlotte, NC)
2. DL DCA Fans - DH, DW DS-20,DS-18 Late seating (Southern California)
3. Mn Dis Fans - Paul DW DS Chad-13 DS-10 (Late) rm - 5522 & 5524 (Fergus Falls, Minnesota)
4. Vossjemi - DH DW DS-6, DD-8 (Early)
5. Lola2 - Lola-32 DH-33 DD-13 DDBF-12 DS-6 (Early) rm - 5022 & 5024
6. Amanuensis - DH-59, DW-55, DS-14 (Early) rm - 7063 (Oceanside, Calif.)
7. Friends of Amanuensis - Single Mom (50ish), DD-12 (Late dining but waitlisted for Early) (La Jolla, Cal.)
8. FirstTimer - (Tamara, 29), DH (Dwayne, 30) and DD (Dareece 7). (New Jersey)
9. eeyoregon - Gina, DS Hayden(15), DS Jensen(12) (Late) rm -5520
10. IAN.Whiteley - Dad-42 DW-44, DS-13 DD-10 (Milton Keynes, UK)
11. Friends of HeelMD - DH DW, DS-14, DS-12 DS-10 rm - 8516
12. Debogan - Debbie-50 DS-12 DS-15 (Early) (Southern California)
13. Susan W - Susan (40) DH(44) DS Chad (12), DD Erin (9) (California)
14. Friends of Susan W - DW(33) DD( 9)
15. tinkerbell_29 - Melissa (Lissa) with DM, DB Cat. 4 GTY (Asheville NC)
16. Babyfavorite - DH, Joe (44), DW, Susan (40), DS, Chad (12), DD, Erin (9 that month), Best Friend (33), Best Friend's Daughter (9) (California)
17. MVAN - Marg, friend Chris, CHris daughter Katie (11) (Early/waitlisted for LATE) Cat. 4 GTY (Washington Metro)
18. artie137 (50ish) - DD Joyce-17, DD-12
19. DMMarla07860 - Julia nickname Marla (20) plus family (Tentative)
20. DisneyMom92 - Me, my sister, my dd16 and ds12 (one month shy of 13). Two rooms. (Indiana)
21. Samantha Becker (?)
22. Relatives of MN Dis Fans -Parents (Grandpa Pete & Grandma Dorothy), and Brother (Uncle Tony)
23. sylnbry – Sylvia, DH (Bryan 42), DS-6, and DD-5. Late dining. Husband needs golfing partners! From Grenada Hills, California.
24. iamdiva007 - (Angela), DH Brian, DS Spencer almost 7, DD almost 4
25. M&C - DH, me, DD5 and DD12. (San Diego)
26. fcrouch - Wife, myself and our 8 year old daughter
27. dleyel - DH44, DW40 (me), DS12 (turning 12 on 8/6 on the cruise), DS9, DD6, DFIL and DMIL. From Orange County, California
28. IceSk8tersMom - Lisa and DH Mike, Lisa's parents Joe & Cheryl (celebrating 40th anniversary), Cheryl II (Sister), Clayton (Friend), Amanda (Granddaughter?), Teens Rae and Nic.

 

[IceSk8ersMom]

Has anybody else started their pre-cruise check list? I just started this evening (Three lists: cruise, wedding, and Bon Voyage Party), and I was reading the DIS boards to help me remember the essential items that must be included on my check lists. Our Cat. 5 cabin is guaranteed. Since we were assigned cabin numbers when we made our previous reservations, this is a new experience for us. When are you usually assigned a cabin number when your category is guaranteed? I also emailed Cathy, our wedding coordinator, today to wrap up the final details. I am getting very excited as the final countdown quickly approaches, but there have been or will be some things that have made or will make the wait manageable ( Going to Disneyland over Memorial Weekend to watch Clayton in HSM; Rae's 13th B-day @ Disneyland; the last day of school; the party planning, and getting a new job, assistant principal at HV Middle School). Oh, by the way, we are from SoCal. Are there any other educators cruising with us?

 

[M&C]

Hi all!

Checking back in. Awesome pics DL DCA fans! Thanks! We were at DL over Memorial Day weekend and talked to a lot of folks that were on the Panama Canal Cruise. They absolutely loved it! I'm getting so excited now.

IceSk8ersMom, do you know much about the teen cruise? My daughter is turning 13 in Aug 22. That's less than a month at time of cruise. I think DCL will allow her to participate in the teen activities, like the Stack and all. I saw the teen cruise and wondered how that worked.

Thanks!

--------------
M&C

 

[DL_DCA_fans]

Are there any other educators cruising with us?

DH and I share this screen name. He's the one that posted the pictures. In reply, I am an elementary school teacher.
Nancy

 

[IceSk8ersMom]

DH and I share this screen name. He's the one that posted the pictures. In reply, I am an elementary school teacher.
Nancy

My sister and I are in special education. She is a learning center teacher, and I am a SPED program specialist (at least for the next 30 days). We teach in the Whittier area. We're glad to be on board with you. Also, I am glad to read that you have older children because Amanda, my parents' granddaughter, will be 19 years old. It's nice to know that there will be others around her age. They are just in that "in between age," and I do not know what type of activities that there will be for them.
Thank you for creating the list and sharing those fabulous pictures of the Magic returning to LA. Those pictures got me so excited that I joined our thread.

 

[IceSk8ersMom]

Hi all!

IceSk8ersMom, do you know much about the teen cruise? My daughter is turning 13 in Aug 22. That's less than a month at time of cruise. I think DCL will allow her to participate in the teen activities, like the Stack and all. I saw the teen cruise and wondered how that worked.

Thanks!

--------------
M&C

The only information that I received was from the Passporter and the Disney Cruise website. I know it is 3.5 hours, and the teens are accompanied by the Counselors. I have always been impressed by the Counselors' professionalism, so I am confident that they will be able to supervise this excursion appropriately. Let me know if you get additional information.

 

[BabyFavorite]

Hi Everyone! My family is on this cruise and we are so excited! Well, except for my husband, he's not so sure, but willing to give it a try. This is our first Disney cruise. Our group consists of DH44, DW40 (me), DS12 (turning 12 on 8/6 on the cruise), DS9, DD6, DFIL and DMIL. My in-laws may not like me revealing their ages! DFIL will also be celebrating his birthday on the 6th. We have 3 cat9 rooms on Deck 2 and have late seating for dinner. At home we usually eat at 7:30, so I think this will work out well. Although DFIL and DMIL usually eat and go to bed early, so they will likely be taking naps.

We decided to play it safe and booked all DCL excursions. In PV we are doing the dolphin swim. In Cabo, we reserved the Santa Maria snorkel trip. And in Mazatlan we are doing the City Highlights tour - the 3-3.5 hour one. We have Palo reserved for 6:30 on Friday night. I'm thinking about trying for brunch onboard.

We live in Orange County, California and have annual passes to Disneyland. We're thrilled not to have to get on a plane to board the Magic. Someday we'll plan a WDW vacation. I was there once in 1984, but no one else has been yet.

Hope we all have a magical vacation!
Debbie

Welcome, Debbie!
You & your husband are the same ages as me and my husband, and we have a 12yo son and a daughter who will turn 9 right after the cruise! LOL We also have the 8:30pm seating AND will be at Palo at 6:30pm on Friday night! Plus I grew up in Garden Grove.

Lots in common! Maybe we'll see you guys around, huh?!

Susan

 

[AhoyCaptainMickey]

hello everyone... we booked our next cruise for Aug 3rd... thought we would join in on the thread and say hi...

 

[vossjemi]

Welcome aboard AhoyCaptain Mickey!

 

[vossjemi]

2 months from today!!!!

I can't believe its actually getting this close, considering I booked 1/31/07 16 looooong months ago!

 

[IceSk8ersMom]

I cannot believe we hit the 2 month mark. Received an email today from the wedding coordinator. The renewal ceremony has been changed from the second Sea Day to Friday, the second to the last Sea Day. Some members of the wedding party are a bit concerned about the dresses fitting that late into the cruise. I guess we will be frequent visitors to the gym. Also, I went to Disneyland yesterday for Rae's birthday. It was not crowd; so if anybody is considering a stay at Disneyland before or after the cruise, I suggest after because there appears to be less guests on Monday/Tuesday than Friday/Saturday. How is everybody's pre-cruise planning going?

 

[dleyel]

Welcome, Debbie!
You & your husband are the same ages as me and my husband, and we have a 12yo son and a daughter who will turn 9 right after the cruise! LOL We also have the 8:30pm seating AND will be at Palo at 6:30pm on Friday night! Plus I grew up in Garden Grove.

Lots in common! Maybe we'll see you guys around, huh?!

Susan

Susan, we'll definitely have to meet up on the cruise. The boys will probably see each other at Ocean Quest. I don't know how much time the kids will spend at the clubs as we'll want to spend a lot of time together as a family. But our staterooms are on Deck 2 not far from Ocean Quest, so I'm sure DS12 will be spending some time there. He loves simulator games.

Have you reserved any excursions? After hearing negative reviews about the Mazatlan City Highlights tour, I changed it to the longer Mazatlan Highlights, Folkloric Show and Mexican Buffet excursion. Waiting to hear reviews on that one. I'd also like to try to go parasailing on our own somewhere. I'm sure only DS12 will try it. I've gone a few times in Hawaii and love it.

I'm anxiously awaiting more info from returning cruisers. Can't wait to see the full navigators. I'm the planner in the family and can't have too much info!

Have fun planning!
Debbie

 

[DL_DCA_fans]

Some members of the wedding party are a bit concerned about the dresses fitting that late into the cruise. I guess we will be frequent visitors to the gym.

You might also want to use the stairs instead of the elevator whenever you need to go up or down a deck...which is all the time. That usually works for me.
Nancy

 

[IceSk8ersMom]

You might also want to use the stairs instead of the elevator whenever you need to go up or down a deck...which is all the time. That usually works for me.
Nancy

Thanks for that tip! I am also doing no carbs. This DRESS is developing its own personality. We call it Helga. We also got the "40 Years of Magic" t-shirts that we are going to wear on Embarkation Day. I recommend CafePress. It is easy and somewhat affordable. Are you off for summer vacation yet? 10 days until the Last Day of School

 

[gma]

I cannot believe we hit the 2 month mark. Received an email today from the wedding coordinator. The renewal ceremony has been changed from the second Sea Day to Friday, the second to the last Sea Day. Some members of the wedding party are a bit concerned about the dresses fitting that late into the cruise. I guess we will be frequent visitors to the gym. Also, I went to Disneyland yesterday for Rae's birthday. It was not crowd; so if anybody is considering a stay at Disneyland before or after the cruise, I suggest after because there appears to be less guests on Monday/Tuesday than Friday/Saturday. How is everybody's pre-cruise planning going?

:cool1: