Brother & Sister, WL, AKL, and Parents on a Disney Cruise! We're off!!! 5/8!!

[Nicole786]

Chapter List

1. Our resorts as of right now!
2. Dining plans and ADRs!
3. Park touring plans!
4. Mini TR: Xmas with mom! chapter 1
5. Mini TR: Xmas with mom! chapter 2
6. Itinerary cards!
7. Mini TR: XMas with mom! chapter 3
8. Mini TR: Our adventures with Everest!
9. Mini TR: Boma & Epcot!
10. Paying off really pays off!
11. Mini TR: Magic kingdom with the princesses!
12. Itinerary on your iPod/iPhone!
13. Mini TR: Osborne lights with mom!
14. Tee purchases!
15. Mini TR: The final mom/daughter chapter!
16. Disney email!!
17. Mini Tr with Dad! Part 1 arrival
18. Mini Tr with Dad! Part 2 arrival
19. Mini Tr with Dad! Part 1 MK morning
20. Mini Tr with Dad! Part 2 MK morning
21. Mini Tr with Dad! Our last day part 1
22. Mini Tr with Dad! Our last day part 2
23. Mini TR with dad conclusion!
24. Countdown begins!!
25. Disney mail!
26. More mail goodies, pancakes & lets predict our first day!
27. Happy earth day! Predicting our 2nd day!
28. Cruise documents and pixie dust!
29. Predicting our Day off!
30. Single digits!
31. Magic kingdom day!
32. Epcot and mom and dad come home!
33. The great switcheroo!
34. Mousekeeping envelopes!
35. 2 days left, what are we gonna do our last day?!
36. We're off!


Hello everyone! Welcome to our pre-trip report for May 2009!! This trip is going to be a wild ride, and I’m very excited to share it with my dis-family for comments and support!! Before we get into the juicy details, lets introduce the cast! Lets start with us, brother and sister, main cast for this trip!

Nicole: Lots of disney trips under the belt, loves planning for each and every one of them! Resort switcher and vacation planner! I work with apple computers and use a lot of what I learn at work, effective in my disney planning so stay tuned for more of that if you are a Mac or iPhone user!

David: High school student entering into his senior year in September 2009! Enjoys playing guitar, classic rock tunes, and just like every other 17 year old video games!! He has been to 4 different Disney hotels in the past 3 years: POR, POFQ, CSR, and AKL. AKL of course was his favorite, he still wears the hat MeMom and BrooklynnsMommy got him to this day! That trip was a brother and sister August 2008 trip, and it was a lot of fun to plan and be a part of, so we’re hoping for a redux with this trip in May!

Supporting cast:

Mom: Took a mother/daughter trip to POP in December 2008 and loved every minute of it! Hasn’t been to WDW too often, her last trip before that was March 2006. Really enjoyed getting the full disney experience, using the DDP and seeing all that disney christmas had to offer!

Dad: Never seen my dad more excited about something in a long time! Lets just say this is a much needed vacation away! We took a father/daughter trip in January 2009 to POFQ (his now favorite disney resort) used the DDP and he loved every minute of it!

I just want to add that before a few weeks ago I had no idea this was the Podcast cruise. As a matter of fact if I remember correctly, the original dates I booked (May 3rd) was to avoid the podcast cruise because mom and dad don't know what that is! But when I had to change the cruise dates it completely slipped my mind! Oh well, i'm sure they'll meet some great Dis-ers who can show them the way!

So lets talk about plans! This trip is a unique one. Unless I win the lottery, probably won’t be repeated in the near future, so we want to cherish every moment! I have been saving since April of last year and am very excited that for the first time I get to pay everything off in cash! This year is my parents 25th anniversary and I knew from the time I was little I wanted to do something really special. So I started to think if maybe I should throw them a party, but as I thought more and more about it, I really wanted to send them on a vacation. They hadn’t been anywhere in years and there favorite kind of travel is a cruise! So i looked into cruising. My grandparents best friend is a travel agent and asked her to look into it for me. They had been on Royal Carribbean, Carnival and Princess and loved each one! I did some research online, with a Disney cruise in the back of my mind because I was worried about kids and didn’t think for their anniversary that would be the best to do. I had some criteria though!


1. It had to dock out of Port Canaveral so David and I could drop them off, and stay in Disney to play!
2. The ship had to be beautiful and have ammenities my parents would love

So my grandparents friend came back with 2 ships: Carnival and Royal Carribbean. I thought for sure that Royal Carribbean was the answer until I looked up the ship. It was an old ship and also very small same with the Carnival. So I was a little upset at the reviews it was getting around the internet. I posted in the DCL forums here on the DIS just out of curiosity asking for opinions from adults about the different ships vs. DCL. I got an onslaught of replies!! People of all ages RAVING about DCL. Saying how it was the most child-free cruise they had ever been on because of all the children activities!! After doing a little research on my own, a few weeks later it was booked! DCL Wonder May 10-14th. I couldn’t wait to tell them but was a little apprehensive about the fact that it was a DCL would they like it? Finally the day approached. It was their 24th anniversary and I knew this was a good time to present it to them! But if you know me, we all know I don’t do gifts without making them work for it a little! David and I had really thought about this one! We decided to send them on a pirate scavenger hunt! We assembled scrolls and even burnt the edges to make it look authentic!

Then we gave them the first scroll:

It led them to the first “clue” (2 happy anniversary buttons courtesy of a member of the DIS: glitterkittyy how awesome is that!! and another scroll!

Which led them to another “clue” (A DCL pin i found on ebay) and another scroll:

Which finally led them to the “treasure” with the final scroll and a box full of t-shirts that looked like this:

So how did it work out? We video taped the entire thing (ignore the pajamas) We hope you enjoy it!

Click Here for the video!

So I hope you enjoyed the reveal of the cruise!! But obviously theres a lot more to share! ADRs, park plans, resort stay!! I hope you stay tuned!

 

[DWGal210]

I LOVE IT!! What nice kids you are - they are going to LOVE it. We went last June and were all adults (for the most part, my sister was 17 but she hung out with us) and had a blast.

Looking forward to more!

 

[Nicole786]

I LOVE IT!! What nice kids you are - they are going to LOVE it. We went last June and were all adults (for the most part, my sister was 17 but she hung out with us) and had a blast.

Looking forward to more!

Thanks for the reply! I'm hoping they'll love it, they are certainly looking forward to it!

 

[CanadianWDWfan]

Hi, I'm here!

Had to come see what's up...

Will there be David's thoughts again?

Loved the last TR, I'm sure this one will be great too.

 

[MeMom]

As I recall, there was something about sparks flying when you burned the paper, too! Your activities could be borderline dangerous sometimes!

I am definitely on board for this cruise and the 'play at Disney while you wait' part, too! Your parents will take pictures on the cruise for us, won't they?

I'm so glad you and your dad had such a good time on your trip together!

 

[Nicole786]

Hi, I'm here!

Had to come see what's up...

Will there be David's thoughts again?

Loved the last TR, I'm sure this one will be great too.

Yes there will be david's thought! Probably in the next post unless he posts a reply before then! Happy to have you back for this adventure!

As I recall, there was something about sparks flying when you burned the paper, too! Your activities could be borderline dangerous sometimes!

I am definitely on board for this cruise and the 'play at Disney while you wait' part, too! Your parents will take pictures on the cruise for us, won't they?

I'm so glad you and your dad had such a good time on your trip together!

Haha thats right I say that sparks flew in the video They did! But we had water handy lol. Glad to see you MeMom, the adventure can't start without you!

 

[Grybo]

Hey everyone! Sorry to be tardy to the party. I'm so pumped for this upcoming trip I never shut up about it!

 

[DWFan4Life]

Great PR coming here. I'm looking forward in hearing more from you after your trip.

Have a nice day everyone.

 

[Charleston Princess]

I'm here! I'm here!

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

very cool video, i am suprised it took them so long to figure it out, my mom would have been asking on the cruise pin, what that was all about and said she figured it out early.

cant wait to read all about it.

 

[BrooklynnsMommy]

Hey Nicole! Can't wait to hear more I will live vicariously through MeMom and then you until I can get to the end of July!

 

[Nicole786]

Hey everyone! Sorry to be tardy to the party. I'm so pumped for this upcoming trip I never shut up about it!

THis is very true but of course all 4 of us don't shut up about it!

Great PR coming here. I'm looking forward in hearing more from you after your trip.

Have a nice day everyone.

Thanks for coming along!

I'm here! I'm here!

Yay! Party!

very cool video, i am suprised it took them so long to figure it out, my mom would have been asking on the cruise pin, what that was all about and said she figured it out early.

cant wait to read all about it.

Yeah if you watch closely at david's reaction he's giving sort of a "what the..?" look to me. Its sort of an inside joke that our parents NEVER get stuff like this

Hey Nicole! Can't wait to hear more I will live vicariously through MeMom and then you until I can get to the end of July!

Yay so glad you're here Jill!

 

[pooksma]

Hey Nicole and David!

I am reading along too. Thanks for the invite. I think I'll start our PT when your just about ready to go. That way, I can live vicariously for a bit first.

 

[lauren_elizabeth]

I love the video of you & your brother surprising your parents! Your mom is adorable and I love their reaction when it finally clicks that they're going on a cruise. Too cute!

 

[Nicole786]

Hey Nicole and David!

I am reading along too. Thanks for the invite. I think I'll start our PT when your just about ready to go. That way, I can live vicariously for a bit first.

I look forward to the PT! Glad you could join the party!

I love the video of you & your brother surprising your parents! Your mom is adorable and I love their reaction when it finally clicks that they're going on a cruise. Too cute!

Im glad you enjoyed the video, we had a blast planning it! Their reaction was just what I was hoping for! Sort of like this:

 

[lauren_elizabeth]

And I just realized that we'll be down at Disney during the same time!

 

[Nicole786]

So the resort stays are a bit interesting to say the least!! We had been waiting with baited breathe for the AP rates, and than finally they arrived!! After a LOT of resort swapping, we have [tentative] final plans!! Here are mom & dads:

May 9th-10th - Universal's Royal Pacific Resort
May 10th-14th - DCL Wonder Inside Cabin
May 14th-17th - Animal Kingdom Lodge Standard View

They are SUPER excited about AKL and I am so excited that the rate was so low I was able to book it for them!! I'm hoping for some anniversary pixie dust for them, but I know they are excited just to stay there nevermind having a view of the animals!

Now for David & Mine!

May 9th-10th - Universal's Royal Pacific Resort
May 10th-15th - Wilderness Lodge Standard View
May 15th-17th - Animal Kingdom Lodge Standard View

Both of us are so excited to be staying here!!

David and I are super excited to be staying here!!

Now for those of you coming from our last TR, you know how much I disliked switching resorts so let me explain. This is why it is tentative! As of right now, Disney is showing no availability for anything but courtyard view bunk beds on the weekend with the AP discount! The rooms can be booked at rack rate, but because they aren't available at the discount this effects being able to stay at the WL from the 10th-17th. I'm really hoping as the weeks go on, a regular room will pop up at the WL for our entire stay, and I plan on switching. But switching to the AKL? Getting to spend the last 2 nights of disney at the same resort as our parents? Spending time as a family while we swim or go look at animals? It's not a bad "worse case scenario" is it??

Because of work and such, we are only able to spend 1 night in Universal which David and I are a bit upset about, but we'll have to just get on what we can. When you stay at a universal hotel (like the royal pacific) your room key acts as an "express pass" so we should definitely be able to walk on practically everything, that should help!! Mom & Dad don't have universal annual passes like David & I do so they might take the car that day and go to Disney or something, we're not sure yet.

What do you guys think of the plans?

 

[Charleston Princess]

Sounds like the perfect resort mix -- WL and AKL!

 

[lauren_elizabeth]

I'm crossing my fingers for you that the standard rooms open up at the WL and yall are able to stay there the whole trip! The WL is gorgeous & I wanted to stay there so bad for our trip in May, but the only thing available for the 4/3 deal for our dates is the courtyard bunk beds, just like for you!

The plans sound great! It stinks yall only get one night at Universal, but hey, that just means more time at Disney!

 

[MeMom]

I want to stay at both of those places someday!


What do I think of your plans?
I think any plans for being in Disney World are good ones!