August 29, 2016 4 night Bahamian on Disney Dream

[CaliGirls]

I think we are going to do the 5K too. We are actually registered to do one in September so this will be great practice. Plus it's a great way to get a break from water activities.

 

[CaliGirls]

Is anyone else going without a spouse? My husband has no interest in a Disney cruise so it's going to be just my daughter and I. We have no issues leaving him behind. Lol!

 

[Twilight Terror]

I think we are going to do the 5K too. We are actually registered to do one in September so this will be great practice. Plus it's a great way to get a break from water activities.

That sounds like a plan. We normally do an annual charity run (well we walk!) at home (14Km) but this year they made it a weekend later into the month and we are going to miss it as we will be on holiday! So we are doing the 5km partly because we will miss our usual jaunt and partly because we wanna have a better look around the island and do something active to counteract all the food we will be eating

 

[Laura Elizabeth]

I was thinking about doing the Castaway Cay 5k. I'm worried that I will miss my chance to get character pictures on the Island with the rest of my family if I do the race? Do people have time to get character pictures and find still find a seat on the beach if they do the 5k? I'm not sure what time characters can be found on Castaway Cay. I could meet my family after the race and don't need to get back on the ship, but I don't want to miss a chance for great pictures.. Anyway, have any suggestions?

 

[Twilight Terror]

I was thinking about doing the Castaway Cay 5k. I'm worried that I will miss my chance to get character pictures on the Island with the rest of my family if I do the race? Do people have time to get character pictures and find still find a seat on the beach if they do the 5k? I'm not sure what time characters can be found on Castaway Cay. I could meet my family after the race and don't need to get back on the ship, but I don't want to miss a chance for great pictures.. Anyway, have any suggestions?

That is a good question! I have no idea. When we did kayaking, we were off the ship and gone and never saw any characters, and when we came back, there were none. So we had absolutely no pictures on Castaway Cay with characters last time. I think it was just bad timing on our part. I am hopeful that we can get through the 5K reasonably quickly and be back in time for photos!

I also can't answer the beach part. We are not beach people, and are child-free. We will be heading to Serenity to snorkel/swim and not much more! In fact, we will probably spend time shopping and hunting down characters for photo ops

 

[PlutoDisney]

I was thinking about doing the Castaway Cay 5k. I'm worried that I will miss my chance to get character pictures on the Island with the rest of my family if I do the race? Do people have time to get character pictures and find still find a seat on the beach if they do the 5k? I'm not sure what time characters can be found on Castaway Cay. I could meet my family after the race and don't need to get back on the ship, but I don't want to miss a chance for great pictures.. Anyway, have any suggestions?

Having looked at previous Navigator's there seems to be character appearances on Castaway from 9.15-11.15. Castaway Cay 5k starts at 8.30 so hopefully you will make it back in time for some pictures. That's what I'm hoping will happen

 

[bellasmummy]

Starting to think about packing as we leave in 2 weeks

Are cups provided for drinks (free soda etc) or do you need to buy/bring them?

We're at beach club for two weeks before we sail and wondered whether it's worth taking our refill mugs with us.

 

[Twilight Terror]

Starting to think about packing as we leave in 2 weeks

Are cups provided for drinks (free soda etc) or do you need to buy/bring them?

We're at beach club for two weeks before we sail and wondered whether it's worth taking our refill mugs with us.

We are the same; we have two-weeks at SSR before the cruise, and some time after as well. We are looking at getting the suitcases down ready tomorrow and working out which combo we are going to take! As for drinks, cups are provided at all times. I think inside Cabanas and the MDR it's glasses/tumblers, whereas at the drink stations (pool deck) it is paper/take-away cups. So there are always cups provided; you do not need your own. There are also lids for the cups on the pool deck.

Also, you will find that you are encouraged to use a new cup every time you want a drink. Even if you want a 'refill' you are asked to get a new cup. Although there is no explanation/reason behind this process, I can only assume it is a 'germ transference' preventative measure. 1000s of people in a small space will always spread illnesses wider and faster than say a normal hotel resort. If I was going to take my own mug, I would be inclined to follow the suggestion of 'new glasses/cups' when filling at the drink stations, and then transfer that into my own mug and go from there. That way nothing that has already been used is touching anything new/clean.

 

[bellasmummy]

We are the same; we have two-weeks at SSR before the cruise, and some time after as well. We are looking at getting the suitcases down ready tomorrow and working out which combo we are going to take! As for drinks, cups are provided at all times. I think inside Cabanas and the MDR it's glasses/tumblers, whereas at the drink stations (pool deck) it is paper/take-away cups. So there are always cups provided; you do not need your own. There are also lids for the cups on the pool deck.

Also, you will find that you are encouraged to use a new cup every time you want a drink. Even if you want a 'refill' you are asked to get a new cup. Although there is no explanation/reason behind this process, I can only assume it is a 'germ transference' preventative measure. 1000s of people in a small space will always spread illnesses wider and faster than say a normal hotel resort. If I was going to take my own mug, I would be inclined to follow the suggestion of 'new glasses/cups' when filling at the drink stations, and then transfer that into my own mug and go from there. That way nothing that has already been used is touching anything new/clean.

Thanks

I won't bother with cups then, more room for other goodies in the cases then!

I'm kind of dreading packing, I want to be able to organise everything into different parts of the trip but can't seem to get my head around it at the moment. I think I'll unpack everything at Beach club otherwise it'll all be creased. Then try to pack everything for the cruise into one case with what we need for our last three days after disembarking at the bottom of that case. Then the other cases can just be stowed away under the bed.

Helps to write these things down sometimes to get it a bit clearer in my head

 

[Twilight Terror]

Thanks

I won't bother with cups then, more room for other goodies in the cases then!

I'm kind of dreading packing, I want to be able to organise everything into different parts of the trip but can't seem to get my head around it at the moment. I think I'll unpack everything at Beach club otherwise it'll all be creased. Then try to pack everything for the cruise into one case with what we need for our last three days after disembarking at the bottom of that case. Then the other cases can just be stowed away under the bed.

Helps to write these things down sometimes to get it a bit clearer in my head

Yeah, I know that feeling! We will just pack everything until we get there, then towards the end of our SSR stay, we will start packing into different suitcases - stuff for the cruise (and that will be the one we us on the cruise) and then everything else. What would be great would be one of used stuff, one for cruise and one for after the cruise! I know last time we did SSR, cruise, then SSR and we were able to leave our non-cruise luggage at the hotel with a 'to be collected in 5 days' notice, although I don't know given the current climate if they are allowing that anymore

 

[bellasmummy]

Yeah, I know that feeling! We will just pack everything until we get there, then towards the end of our SSR stay, we will start packing into different suitcases - stuff for the cruise (and that will be the one we us on the cruise) and then everything else. What would be great would be one of used stuff, one for cruise and one for after the cruise! I know last time we did SSR, cruise, then SSR and we were able to leave our non-cruise luggage at the hotel with a 'to be collected in 5 days' notice, although I don't know given the current climate if they are allowing that anymore

They do still allow that I'm sure as I read that someone did just that last week. You can also leave it if you're staying at a different wdw resort upon your return.

We're going to be finishing up at Hard Rock Universal so will have to take it all with us.

Looking like we'll be taking a lot of luggage this time as we have all our snorkel gear to use at castaway cay.

 

[bellasmummy]

Woohoo our tickets arrived today

 

[Twilight Terror]

They do still allow that I'm sure as I read that someone did just that last week. You can also leave it if you're staying at a different wdw resort upon your return.

We're going to be finishing up at Hard Rock Universal so will have to take it all with us.

Looking like we'll be taking a lot of luggage this time as we have all our snorkel gear to use at castaway cay.

Excellent news! We don't tend to take much, we just come home with lots! We'll go with three suitcases, and come back with six (slightly smaller cases are inside on the way out!)

 

[bellasmummy]

Not long now

Anyone know what the chances of them showing Petes Dragon onboard are?

I had an email confirming what they're currently showing and we've seen them all. Dd would live to see Petes Dragon and I don't know whether to take her next week when it's out or wait incase they're showing it onboard.

 

[Twilight Terror]

Oh that's a tough one. I would say take her anyway, make it the start to your vacation. If she likes it and it's in when on board, then you could just see it again. Whereas if you're don't see it before, and then it's not on board, then you might miss it altogether. We want to see a non-Disney film which came out on Thursday. It's not list on the airline movies for Autust, but they don't tell you September until it's September, so rather than miss it, we will see it before we go. Then watch it on the plane home again if it's on.

 

[Twilight Terror]

Has anyone further finalised their plans for the cruise? I know a few of us might get to meet at the muster drill as we are only a few cabins apart, and therefore are likely to be on the same lifeboat. unless of course the split comes right between two cabins What about the rest of the time?

We have an early PAT, so hopefully early boarding. We plan on sorting out all the things we need to sort out (dining, meet & greet tickets, etc), then heading to Cabanas to eat. We'll probably miss the sail away party as we have a verandah room, and are (I hope) on the side of the ship that lets us wave at the people in the DCL office and along the port!

Nassau is a boat day for us, no getting off. Then Castaway Day we are doing the 5K (run) walk! I know a few others were talking about doing it, maybe we can meet and say to each other then? Whenever the Disney Trivia is on, I will most likely be there. I managed 100% last time, although I doubt I can repeat that performance We also like to do the odd game of Bingo

Of course, we generally have our Lime Green Mickey Heads (the symbol for the DisBoard) attached to our bags, so if you see us, say hi. Not long now!

 

[Laura Elizabeth]

Does anyone know what time port canaveral's parking lot opens? Do you drop off your luggage first and then park? My PAT is 10:45 so I'm not sure how early I should arrive? Any suggestions?

 

[Twilight Terror]

I think it depends where you are parking and who is with you. If you are parking in the main car park, the one right next to the terminal, then you just park and wheel your luggage across to the terminal. If you are renting a car and returning at the terminal, then you can do what we did last time - head to the drop off point, set down any travellers (including an adult!) and luggage. The driver can then go to the car rental place and catch the shuttle back to the port. It can be a hassle as the rental places are not on the port side, but just a bit further over.

The doors to the terminal do not open until 10.30am, so before that you are just milling around. They tend to look st your PAT to let you into the terminal, especially first thing when it can be busy.

 

[Twilight Terror]

@bellasmummy Hey I called DCL this morning, and good news! Here's what films they told me were showing:

Zootopia
Pete's Dragon
Captain America
The BFG
Finding Dory
Alice Through The Looking Glass

So excited, there's a couple we are planning to see/watch again!!