August 16, 2011, Disney Dream - Part 3

[Woobie]

If your kids eat PB you could order the Uncrustables from room service the night before and keep them in your cooler and pack them for the day.

My other suggestion was going to be room service. Others order sandwiches, etc. for shore excursions. Why not CC?

 

[Mjasp]

Received my lanyards today...LOVE them, Thanks Janeanne for all the work you put into these! They are not only nice but very soft on your neck

 

[cutiebug712]

Hi Jessie, welcome aboard! My daughter Alexa turned 15 in January, she will be in the Vibe with you!

That's good to know. I can't wait to meet everyone

 

[steves100]

For the person who says this is not a big deal, yes it is. Basically anyone who stays near the port is losing all the advantage of getting a early boarding time. We have an 11:00 am arrival time. But, it seems to me anyone using Disney transportation will be able to get much better boarding #s then we will.

 

[Amanda132]

Received my lanyards today...LOVE them, Thanks Janeanne for all the work you put into these! They are not only nice but very soft on your neck

Yes, they are awesome! Thanks!

 

[uncw89]

We will be at CI&S too... we'll probably see everyone at breakfast in the morning!

Legally (by Florida law) both kids (5 & 10) can just use the seat belt in the shuttle but with all my CPST training I KNOW too much about the dangers of using seat belts when they don't fit younger kids so even it if is 20ft I would worry. At 10yo, Bethany is well beyond even PA's car seat law (8yo) but she doesn't pass the 5 Step Test in either the van or the car so she's still using a booster. Ben is actually still in a ginormous harnessed seat in the van but has been using a booster for shorter trips in the car.

Yup, I am one of those freaky car seat people but it is my volunteer thing and as I said before I have too much training to not use them whenever we can.

So now you all know my about my OTHER obsession ....other than Disney of course! (and this makes my coworkers think I am just a complete freak all the way around...but I'm still the one they come to w/ car seat and Disney questions! )

My DS is 10 also, we've been letting him ride without a booster for awhile. Thanks for posting the link to the 5 step. I'm going to have to see if he measures up!!

OMG...I almost forgot!

I have my digital version of PassPorter's 2011 Cruise Guide!

The actual books won't be available until sometime in August. Since I already have the 2010 version in my binder I just ordered the online version of the 2011 book. YAY!!!

I have only read bits and pieces so far but it is awesome!

YAY....I have it on my Kindle too!

So now if anyone needs any last minute info...I'll have it right there at my fingertips!

I got my digital Passporter too!!! I have it on my laptop, but I haven't read much of it yet!

Received my lanyards today...LOVE them, Thanks Janeanne for all the work you put into these! They are not only nice but very soft on your neck

I got mine today too!!! Thanks, Janeannne!! They look great!!

 

[elgerber]

Is the digital passporter the entire book now, or just the first couple hundred pages they mentioned before? If it's the whole thing, I will buy it for my Ipad.

 

[RanCan]

For the person who says this is not a big deal, yes it is. Basically anyone who stays near the port is losing all the advantage of getting a early boarding time. We have an 11:00 am arrival time. But, it seems to me anyone using Disney transportation will be able to get much better boarding #s then we will.

I might be way off on this, but aren't the new "arrival times" more or less directly related to the eventual boarding times? I believe boarding passes will have less significance under their new arrival time plan. I believe they want less people in the terminal at the same time.

I believe I read some where that DCL transportation will be checking the arrival time that they will be sending out to all of us. If your new arrival time isn't until ... let say 1PM, then you most likely won't be on DCL transportation arriving at 11AM. They will board you according to your new arrival time. If people get there too early, they will have to wait in the holding area anyway, thereby not having access to the boarding passes until they actually get in to the terminal.

I would hope that DCL looks at the arrival times that we have already received and tries to keep the early people still early and the later still later, if that makes since. We were already given the 10:30 time and hope that they wouldn't give us a new time hours later allowing others that have late times now get new earlier times before us. Call me selfish, but fair is fair. Candy worked hard to get us that 10:30 time.

 

[sdchickie]

Also on the buffet is couscous, tomato salad, banana bread and Lays potato chips. If your kids eat PB you could order the Uncrustables from room service the night before and keep them in your cooler and pack them for the day. Yogurt from breakfast could work too, maybe pack a small lunchbox/bag and put a ziplock with ice to keep things cool (or purchase the small one onboard with 6 waters for around $15).

If you do order the uncrustables from room service make sure you tell them to give you the frozen ones and keep them in their little bag. If you don't they open them and serve them on a plate with chips. The ones we got were very dried out that's why I would suggest you ask for the frozen ones.

 

[Pudo]

This will be our 9th Disney Cruise and I have to say the last time was the most pleasant in regard to embarkation. We stayed at BLT before the cruise and decided to book Chef Mickey breakfast the morning of the cruise. We enjoyed breakfast and then walked back to BLT to get on our DCL bus.

We arrived at the port just before 1 PM, walked in the terminal, and was pleasantly surprised to find the terminal practically empty. We checked in and were boarding the ship in no time at all.

During past cruises I had made plans to get to the port around 10:30 AM and deal with the crowds in the hopes of getting an early boarding number. After the last experience we are planning on arriving around 1 PM again.

Just a little food for thought...

(by the way Sarah wanted to add some emoticons. LOL).

 

[jenanderson]

Okay - I am way behind AGAIN so I am going to work backwards. Maybe I will be just posting thoughts of what I remember reading instead of quoting everything. I know it is time to get replying though because my DH who lurks on the boards all the time is getting concerned that I haven't posted in a while!

I would hope that DCL looks at the arrival times that we have already received and tries to keep the early people still early and the later still later, if that makes since. We were already given the 10:30 time and hope that they wouldn't give us a new time hours later allowing others that have late times now get new earlier times before us. Call me selfish, but fair is fair. Candy worked hard to get us that 10:30 time.

You've been chatty lately!

I worked hard to get the 10:30 slot as well and now my time is 11:30. I am not happy that Disney did this without fair warning. If I knew that there was going to be a totally enforced boarding time, I would have tried even harder to get an earlier time slot. In the past it was never a big deal so I didn't get up in the middle of the night. It is just a whole frustrating situation. I am going to try to make the best of it at this point though.

You were a chatty bunch last night! I had to weed through 6 pages of new posts...

Having 5 boys over for a sleepover tonight . Plan is to go see Transformers first. Not sure if the weather will hold out for sleeping under the stars.

They were chatty! I felt bad that I watched a movie and missed it all!

Good luck with the sleepover tonight!

Right now I am booked with Thrifty, they are killing Avis on price right now. We'll see what happens as it gets closer. I thought it we were at the same place, the guys could stick together and shuttle back together, so that we could still get dropped off with all the luggage.

Did you use a code with Thrifty? I ended up using Budget and feel like it is an okay price but always looking for better.

Our port arrival time is still 11-1130am. Has not changed at all. We are renting a car and I got a great price on a Ford Escape, $250 for the WHOLE trip. add the cost to park at the pier and it is still less than any other price I had gotten and we avoid the shuttle to the pier problem. I know thearrival time thing is frustrating and confusing, but as long as they let me get on the ship before it leaves I will be happy!

Who did you rent with? How many days is this for? I would love to have a car for the whole trip but felt like the price was way too high.

 

[jenanderson]

This will be our 9th Disney Cruise and I have to say the last time was the most pleasant in regard to embarkation. We stayed at BLT before the cruise and decided to book Chef Mickey breakfast the morning of the cruise. We enjoyed breakfast and then walked back to BLT to get on our DCL bus.

We arrived at the port just before 1 PM, walked in the terminal, and was pleasantly surprised to find the terminal practically empty. We checked in and were boarding the ship in no time at all.

During past cruises I had made plans to get to the port around 10:30 AM and deal with the crowds in the hopes of getting an early boarding number. After the last experience we are planning on arriving around 1 PM again.

Just a little food for thought...

(by the way Sarah wanted to add some emoticons. LOL).

For us part of the fun is getting to port, seeing friends, having time to visit and take photos, possibly see some characters and just hang out while getting more and more excited about the trip.

With the way things stand now....I will not be arriving to port at the same time as friends. Who knows if characters will still be out for photos and I don't think I will want to "hang out" taking photos

I am going to try to think more positive about all of this though and hope it really works and that Disney is able to smoothly get everyone on board at the correct time. In the future, I will now know this is the way it is and will plan accordingly.

I think the biggest problem with how it is making people feel is that people had plans in place and really, at the last minute, Disney is changing things up without even really giving notice of how it is all going to work.

 

[jenanderson]

Hi everyone!

Just want to introduce myself and my family... I'm Michele (with one "L", like Kristin noted...: ) my husband is Troy, and kinda quiet, my daughter Kylie is 11 and loves horses, and my son Carter is 9. I've wanted to get on here for a while but was so busy with school stuff and organizing a walkathon in my son's honor... he has a genetic condition called Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS for short), and we've done five fundraisers in his honor... He's a great kid, very outgoing and loving. He has a speech delay and sometimes acts a little bit younger than his age, but loves making new friends (and LOVES his best girls "HopeHanna"... : ), and enjoys the same things other kids his age enjoy. Just thought I'd share this information with everyone so if any of the children in our group notice he seems "different", they can know why that is so... hope no one minds my mentioning this...
We're sooooo looking forward to meeting everyone and toasting to new friends! If anyone's kids want to email Kylie or Carter, let me know...they don't have email accounts, but can use mine! Thanks for all the warm welcomes!!

Welcome Michele! We are excited to get to know you and your family.

]Kristin's been a great help in getting me orientated and organized for this trip! She's a wealth of Disney knowledge!!!

Kristin is amazing! I feel so fortunate to have met her on our last cruise.

I've just found this thread with PICS of DCL FOOD !!!!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=886187&page=108

If you scroll down and then go to next page ... there is food from the DREAM !!!!!! Enchanted Garden and such !!

So ... yummy !!!!!!!! laura

Laura - Paul found this thread and he was showing me some of the photos....YUM!!!!! I love it!

I went this morning and collected my last items for FE !!!
VERY happy about how they turned out !!!!
I now plan to wrap them in ... a cute way !!!!

Marco stated that HE is NOT going through Customs with me ... doesn't want to be "embarassed" by the stuff I am carrying ...

I ended up thinking that I will "buy" some items for FE ALSO in US - possibly at WDW , as at this point I can't really put other FE "things" in our luggage ...
Having such a long trip ahead of us ... doesn't help !
We need to be very carefull about weight , though we will be travelling Business from here to US ... They are so strict ( and EXPENSIVE !!!) about extra weight ...

Can't wait to ... deliver !!!!
laura

I laughed at your comment about Marco not wanting to go through Customs with you!

I am sure you are bringing some wonderful Italian FE gifts with you. I am having fun getting the last of my gifts put together. You will be getting an extra treat....I ordered all the Disney planning DVDs for you! They are by no means your "gift"...just a little extra treat since you can't get them sent to you. I can order them all the time and so a special set will be packed up from me to you.

I was just looking at my ticker, and realized that Donald's almost to the front of the ship! One month and 10 days to go it says! (which is right, because I just had to pay off my WDW post-cruise package as the 45 day mark is today!)

I really like your ticker! It is fun to see Donald almost to the front of the ship!!!

 

[jenanderson]

Helen - Haven't seen you on much but I wanted you to know that I was thinking of your family and your MIL. I hope that she is doing better and you are enjoying the summer a bit.

Sherri - It was wonderful when we can get up to our cabin. Minnesota is very beautiful in the lake regions and we feel really fortunate to own a place up north.

Erika - Good luck with the party tomorrow! I will be thinking of you and hoping it all goes as planned!

All right, that is as caught up as I am going to get at this point. It is so hard to keep up with all the great chats going on some days!

 

[kritter]

My son does not eat sandwiches. He takes a bowl of cereal to school everyday for lunch. (next year he can get hot lunch at school. Yeah!) He also doesn't like milk in his cereal, so I take it with me alot. I take it on planes, long car rides, etc. It is eay to carry.

My kids don't eat sandwiches either. They love the gogurts I freeze them and put them into their lunches frozen they are soo good and cold they enjoy them for lunch!!

 

[sdchickie]

My kids love gogurts too, wouldn't it be nice if Disney had those on the cruise!

 

[kritter]

My kids love gogurts too, wouldn't it be nice if Disney had those on the cruise!

I agree that would be nice. Last time we flew I froze some the night before and grabbed them on our way out the door and they were a great snack on the plane for the kids!!

 

[Minniemouse07]

The Gogurts make Beth sick so we have to stick to the Stonyfield ones.

Both of my kids love yogurt...Ben has 2-3 Yo Kids yogurts every day!

 

[hbg4]

Brenda !!!
What/Where are you thinking of ?
Deck 13 , forward ? that is ? CURRENTS BAR ? PORT side ???
laura

CABIN TOUR.
Meeting place will be Forward on deck 13 between 2- 2.30pm. There is an area to the left (Port) side of the Currents Bar, that has chairs and open space.
If it is storming rain outside then we will have to meet in a sheltered area. I was thinking of the covered area on the left (port) side of the quiet Cove pool- this is Forward on Deck 11 near the start of our tour. If anyone has a good suggestion of another backup meeting place in case of adverse weather your welcome to let us know.

And BTW We are still looking for any Volunteers who have cabins in the following categories Concierge T, 10, 9A,and 8(B,C or D) IF ANYONE ELSE WOULD LIKE TO VOLUNTEER THEIR CABIN FOR THE TOUR PLEASE SEND ME A PM, IT IS NOT TOO LATE.

UPDATE
Categories so far confirmed for the tour are:
11
9B
8A
6A
5D
4B
V
R to take place on a sea day with Jeff as a Dis meet.
Thank you to everyone who has volunteered so far.


The initial plan is to meet at 2-2.30pm on the ship on deck 13 forward to the left of the Currents Bar.

At 2.30p sharp we head off to tour the cabins which hopefully should be done in about an hour or so.
The selection of cabins will be narrowed down to those that are somewhat signficantly different from each other, so that we are not seeing duplicates.

Those who are showing, would be the Disers who volunteered their cabins to viewed.

Those who are touring will be the tourists travelling to view the volunteered cabins.

Those who want to do both will come along on the tour to see the other cabins and when we reach their cabin hopefully they will open the door so we can see theirs also.


The lifeboat drill takes place at 4pm.


Hopefully as long as we don't linger too long during our tour we should be done to give everyone enough time to meet back at their cabins to pick up the rest of their family for 4pm.

The sailaway party takes place at 4.30pm. You still have time to enjoy yourself.


I believe they start boarding the ship around 12pm?? (Because of the new port arrival times things may have changed)
As long as we all get to port by 10am, we should be able to be on board before 1p. There is a DCL Ship tour that meets at the Port Adventures Desk at 1pm. There is also a Spa tour at this time.
When I got on the Dream in April we got on really late. So we dropped off my DM in Cabanas the buffet restaurant, went on a tour, then picked her up an hour later. Since we had missed the scheduled Spa tour when we went there at 5pm after the sailaway party, it was quiet and they gladly gave us our own little private tour of the Spa, salon and fitness center.
There's alot of activities that overlap for you to to have a choice. Some do get repeated on another day.

If anyone has any other questions or concerns or ideas to help this tour work please let me know.

Brenda

 

[hbg4]

OMG...I almost forgot!

I have my digital version of PassPorter's 2011 Cruise Guide!

The actual books won't be available until sometime in August. Since I already have the 2010 version in my binder I just ordered the online version of the 2011 book. YAY!!!

I have only read bits and pieces so far but it is awesome!

YAY....I have it on my Kindle too!

So now if anyone needs any
last minute info...I'll have it right there at my fingertips!

I got the new e book passporter too. It downloads really nicely to my Nook, but on my Kindle all the photos are missing and it doesn't visualize nicely for reading. I emailed it as a PDF file to my kindle's email address. Did I do something wrong ? Any advise since you have a kindle ?
I was also going to put it on my phones SD card, since it's in color there.