Canadians hitch a ride to Disneyland on The DISNEY WONDER! (with picss) **COMPLETED**

[CrystalS]

**TRIP REPORT STARTS IN POST #22**

Canadians hitch a ride to Disneyland on The DISNEY WONDER!!

DCL: Sept 20th - 25th | DL: Sept 25th - 30th​

Introduction

So who are we? We are a pack of Canadians who love to play Disney Style!
*ages listed are what everyone will be at vacation time.

Team A:
ME, 26. Lover of Disney Vacations, been to DL, WDW and DCL! I'm the planner
DH, 29. Not as much of a Disney fanatic, but since we went on our fist DCL/WDW trip he has shown signs of enjoyment for Disney Vacations, lol.
DS, 4. Took his first DCL/WDW trip when he was 2.5yrs old and still talks about it. Very excited to do Disney again!
DD, 1. Fun little gal getting an early education into Disney fun.

Team B:
My Mom, ageless . Just as excited as I am about Disney.
My Brother, 22. Likes Disney trips but plays it cool.

To see our first DCL/WDW trip together check out my Sept '09 TR here.

 

[CrystalS]

152 DAYS UNTIL WE SET SAIL!!

This is going to be a LONG 152 days, lol!
I have been obsessing over Trip Reports and "tips" threads here on the Dis lately. Even found some graphics from the Dis'igns board for our door and t-shirts (if we do shirts, last time I made them but no one wore them except my ds).

I've also been trying to figure out what we will do with the van once we drive to the port at the beginning of our cruise. We only live about 3 hours from the port and actually have family that lives 45minutes or so from the port, so we are hoping that maybe once we get down there we can pick up a family member who can drive with us to the port, drop us off and then drive the van back to their place, and then pick us up from the airport when we get back. It would save us at least $140ish or more for parking it for the 10 days we will be gone! So hopefully we can find someone who won't be working at the time.

Oh did I mention that once we get to LA we will be going to DL afterwards?? We will spend 4 days at Disneyland and one day at Knotts Berry Farm (threw that in there for the men so they wouldn't be over-disney-fied for 10 days straight, lol!

I should start gathering materials for our FE too, and I am hoping to sew up a few cute dresses for dd with a Disney theme to them

Lots of things to plan, good thing I have 152 days to get them done, lol.

 

[CrystalS]

Fish Extender Ideas

For the sake of not spoiling anything for my cruise mates I won't post what I plan to give for gifts, but I do want to start brainstroming our fish extender, and my mom/brothers too I guess, since I'll probably be making theirs too, lol.

I've had a few ideas for themes:
-traditional mickey/minnie
-toy story characters
-nemo characters

I was at our local walmart today and the fabric selection is pitiful, so I'll be making a trip to another town to check our their Fabricland. Only problem is that I will need to have a design in mind before going so I can search out all the fabrics that I'll need to make them.

Then there is the option of having someone else make one, lol, might end up being cheaper that way.....

If anyone has ever done a FE with a Toy Story or Nemo theme (or any other Disney movie a 4yr old boy might be interested in) I'd love if you'd share photos for inspiration .

145 days to go

 

[rosiep]

Hi Crystal !

Just as excited to be cruising with you! I planned our DL trip seperately and we'll be doing that in just a few days!! It all seems so unreal!

 

[CrystalS]

70 Days to go!

We reached the mark where we could do online check in and any pre-booking of spa/palo/nursery reservations.

Once dd's passport came in the mail I was able to finish up all of the online check in, I think we got either 10:30 or 11am for check in time. I was able to get mom and brother checked in sooner since they weren't waiting on passports, so they were able to get the earliest check in time thankfully, I'm assuming we can all use their time hopefully ;'

I booked a Palo brunch for dh and I on our first sea day, still not sure if we'll keep it though... also pre booked a couples massage, again, not sure if we will keep it, depends on how much we have for "extras" when cruise time rolls around.

Didn't book any nursery time because we like to keep the kids with us when we do things, and if there is any time we need alone, my mom and brother are with us and they would be able to take one or both of the kids for a while.

Oh and we got our stateroom assignment last week too. My mom and brother had theirs from the get go; 7621. Well WE got 7035.... no pixie dust upgrade lol. But we are also on the complete opposite end AND side of the ship from my mom and brother despite linking our reservations. I was a little disappointed by this part. Couldn't they at least have placed us in a room that was in the same hallway, or same end?
Oh well.
I've been calling every day or two to see if anything opens up or if they can switch us around at all, but as of yet, nothing. I have a feeling that the only way we are going to get any closer is if one of us upgrades at port (too expensive to do now though as we'd be upgrading from an inside 11A to a verandah room cat 5 I think it would be).

So here's hoping for either a miracle that they change us before sail date, or that we can find a cheap upgrade at port!

Well that's all for now.
If I can get some time to work on FE gifts again, I'll post some info on those too, maybe some sneak peeks

 

[CrystalS]

Here are our rooms:

See, not very close.... lol.

 

[UGAFan0829]

Hi, Crystal! I was just browsing the boards and came across your report! My family and I are cruising in September also--only we're cruising on the Dream! I'm very envious that you're going to Alaska and can't wait to read your report. I hope that we're able to sail there one day as well!!

Congrats on getting Palo Brunch! We have it booked for our cruise as well and can't wait!

 

[CrystalS]

Hi, Crystal! I was just browsing the boards and came across your report! My family and I are cruising in September also--only we're cruising on the Dream! I'm very envious that you're going to Alaska and can't wait to read your report. I hope that we're able to sail there one day as well!!

Congrats on getting Palo Brunch! We have it booked for our cruise as well and can't wait!

Thanks for checking out my trip report I'm a little jealous that you get to sail on the Dream!
We actually aren't going up to Alaska. This will be the repositioning cruise at the end of September once all the Alaska cruises for this season are finished. They will be putting the Wonder into dry dock for 2 weeks in Vancouver, and then our cruise will bring it from Vancouver, to Victoria, to Ensenada, and finally back to Los Angeles where it will resume it's Mexican Riviera cruises.

Alaska would be awesome to cruise to though! But the prices for the 4 of us on an Alaska cruise were more than we wanted to pay right now (even the few that had kids sail free, since you had to book the more expensive rooms to get kids free). Maybe we'll come into a big chunk of money sometime soon and will be able to try it out eventually

September is getting closer, but at the same time, it seems like it's taking forever!

 

[CrystalS]

Here is a peek at the Mickey Tie Dye shirts that ds and I made

 

[mousefan5]

Cute shirts. I am in the process of making a bunch for a trip in March. I hope they turn out as well.

 

[CrystalS]

For anyone interested in our 2009 trip report (link in siggy) you may have noticed that the photos are no longer available...
Well, I have put together a little video HERE that has photo/video/music of our trip.
Part ONE is up already, and part two will be up this evening

 

[CrystalS]

31 days! Yay, it's getting closer!
Found an airport parking coupon that will drastically reduce our parking costs while we're gone! Yay for coupons. Plus I'm going to use my save-on rewards points to get a $50 parking gift card too!

Saving money is always fun!

Still working on FE gifts, they are coming along well

The other day I was exploring the DCL website showing my son pictures/videos of the childrens clubs and our room and the pull down ceiling bed and he was getting really excited for it. I just love the excitement and anticipation before the trip!

Oh and I forgot to update earlier, but after diligently calling and checking the website, we found a few more cat 11A rooms open up! There were two that were closer together than the ones we originally had, but we down one deck, but we'd rather be closer, so we snatched them up! They are in the same hallway, basically just separated by an elevator lobby.
Would still be amazing to get pixie dusted with both rooms to side by side rooms, but not counting on it, lol. Will be checking at port to see if there are any upgrades available within our budget....

 

[Sillysox]

Looking forward to your trip report! We are BCers doing the same thing as you, cruising south, going to LA and a one way flight home again. Just one snag!! We have a whole more year to wait!!!--we are booked onto the Sept 10, 2012 repositioning cruise Van to LA. Ours will be going for two days to San Fransisco instead of Victoria and Ensenada. I grew up on Vancouver Island so victoria isn't a huge thrill but I wish we could have gone to a Mexican port--we've never been to Mexico. SO! I look forward to lots of pictures and also I'm very interested to hear how they organize the cruise, ie: what day will you have pirate night, will there be a formal night, what night is it and how formally are most people dressing? What shows do they do? I know there might be some differences because I think yours is a 5-night whereas ours will be 6-night, but I'm hoping it will give me an idea!! Also, I know that with the Disney cruise line you are actually allowed to bring alcohol aboard providing it is in your carry one luggage. So if you do happen to be bringing any aboard with you I'd love to hear how that went, since as Canadians we have to go through US customs before boarding I'm pretty sure. (as opposed to before getting off in the states) I know there are tight limits on bringing alcohol into Canada (without exorbitant duties), I'm just wondering if the same applies the other way. or is there anywhere to purchase on the other side of customs???? If by any chance you could include some of those details in the trip report I would be soooo grateful! Have a wonderful time!!!!

 

[CrystalS]

Looking forward to your trip report! We are BCers doing the same thing as you, cruising south, going to LA and a one way flight home again. Just one snag!! We have a whole more year to wait!!!--we are booked onto the Sept 10, 2012 repositioning cruise Van to LA. Ours will be going for two days to San Fransisco instead of Victoria and Ensenada. I grew up on Vancouver Island so victoria isn't a huge thrill but I wish we could have gone to a Mexican port--we've never been to Mexico. SO! I look forward to lots of pictures and also I'm very interested to hear how they organize the cruise, ie: what day will you have pirate night, will there be a formal night, what night is it and how formally are most people dressing? What shows do they do? I know there might be some differences because I think yours is a 5-night whereas ours will be 6-night, but I'm hoping it will give me an idea!! Also, I know that with the Disney cruise line you are actually allowed to bring alcohol aboard providing it is in your carry one luggage. So if you do happen to be bringing any aboard with you I'd love to hear how that went, since as Canadians we have to go through US customs before boarding I'm pretty sure. (as opposed to before getting off in the states) I know there are tight limits on bringing alcohol into Canada (without exorbitant duties), I'm just wondering if the same applies the other way. or is there anywhere to purchase on the other side of customs???? If by any chance you could include some of those details in the trip report I would be soooo grateful! Have a wonderful time!!!!

Hello Glad to have you aboard my pre-trip report!
A couple of your questions I can already answer Although, like you mentioned, they may be a bit different for your cruise as ours is only a 5-night and they are a year apart.

- Night 3 will be our Pirate Party night and we have been told that there WILL be fireworks that night.

- Night 4 will be a semi-formal/dress up night for us. (no formal night on our 5-night cruise)

I'm not sure about the alcohol thing, we didn't bring any on our last Disney cruise. I don't think we will be bringing any on board this time either, but I will ask some of our cruise meet group members that are bringing some aboard what their experience is.

I will definitely have lots of photos and will include as much detail as I can.


ONLY 22 DAYS TO GO!

 

[Sillysox]

Hi again Crystal I have another question for you if you would be so kind! I dont' know if you are planning on going to Palo or not but can you keep your ear open whether or not there are Mother/Daughter afternoon teas? I know you can do an adults brunch ...but I read somewhere on the boards about mom/daughter teas and I think that would be so much fun to do! You said you have a semi-formal night. is that something you are deciding to do as a family or is that scheduled by DCL? Woo I"m excited for you : you are so close to your cruise! We are one year away today!!!

Have fun!!

 

[CrystalS]

Hi again Crystal I have another question for you if you would be so kind! I dont' know if you are planning on going to Palo or not but can you keep your ear open whether or not there are Mother/Daughter afternoon teas? I know you can do an adults brunch ...but I read somewhere on the boards about mom/daughter teas and I think that would be so much fun to do! You said you have a semi-formal night. is that something you are deciding to do as a family or is that scheduled by DCL? Woo I"m excited for you : you are so close to your cruise! We are one year away today!!!

Have fun!!

Hmm, that is the first I've heard of mother/daughter tea...
My first reaction would be that its a mistake, I can't see them letting children into Palo, even just for one sitting, as it is supposed to be an adults only restaurant and I don't think they'd want to do away with that image.... but I could be wrong. We aren't doing Palo, but I will keep my ears open to see if I hear anything about it
The semi-formal night is scheduled by DCL, but it is an optional dress up night since we aren't a 7-night cruise. They just throw it in there for those that want to get dressed up on the shorter cruises can have a night for that. That is how I interpreted it when the CM was telling me about it.




Woo hoo, only 5 more sleeps

 

[CrystalS]

5 MORE SLEEPS!

Today I called Grayline Anaheim to schedule our transportation/addmission to Knotts Berry Farm for Wednesday after the cruise.

Finished our FE (except for the pink bows that I will put on the girl heads)

Still need to call the CC companies to let them know we will be traveling out of country.

Have all of the kids clothing/diapers packed already, managed to fit it all in one carry on size luggage.

 

[KipperBun]

Hi, I'm also cruising on the Wonder repo cruise! Matter of fact, I'm on the same floor as you (room 7578). Your FE looks great! I was gonna make one but my sewing machine is one the fritz and with all the cruise excitement I haven't had time to get it repaired. The cruise is so close!

 

[CrystalS]

Hi, I'm also cruising on the Wonder repo cruise! Matter of fact, I'm on the same floor as you (room 7578). Your FE looks great! I was gonna make one but my sewing machine is one the fritz and with all the cruise excitement I haven't had time to get it repaired. The cruise is so close!

See you aboard
We are actually on deck 6 now, there were two rooms closer on deck 6 so we moved, lol.

Leaving in the morning, away we go!

 

[mdlove2cruise]

Please let us know how the boat looks after dry dock.