Countdown Cruisers - Ringing in the New Year on the Disney Wonder - 12/31/2013

[JJ Max n Mickey]

Okay, we have to start planning what we are going to do for 2 days in Dallas and 2 days in Houston before the cruise.

Jamie (daughter) is 14, Max (son) is 10. We live in Toronto and have never visited Texas.

I know many of you are from Texas. Can you please throw out your top 5 kid-friendly things to do in Dallas and Houston, so I can start to plan and make reservations where necessary. Thanks!

 

[ksloane]

Okay, we have to start planning what we are going to do for 2 days in Dallas and 2 days in Houston before the cruise.

Jamie (daughter) is 14, Max (son) is 10. We live in Toronto and have never visited Texas.

I know many of you are from Texas. Can you please throw out your top 5 kid-friendly things to do in Dallas and Houston, so I can start to plan and make reservations where necessary. Thanks!

Houston - Zoo, Aquarium, NASA

 

[ukintheus]

Hi All,

We decided that a New Year's Eve cruise was too exciting to miss. I booked this when we were on a Spring Break cruise in March thinking we might move it to another date, but since we're in Texas and this will be one of the last departures from Galveston we're sailing into the New Year on the Wonder.

We're from Austin, and have been on the Magic and Wonder several times over the years. We have a daughter who is a HS sophomore that I hope can correspond with another teen girl before the sailing so she will have a pal beforehand.

Now that we're committed I'll be counting the days!

Hello & welcome! We booked this as a "possible" as well originally, but when they started sending out emails about all the festivities I decided it would be too much fun to miss out on. Hopefully your DD will find someone to get to know before we sail.

Okay, we have to start planning what we are going to do for 2 days in Dallas and 2 days in Houston before the cruise.

Jamie (daughter) is 14, Max (son) is 10. We live in Toronto and have never visited Texas.

I know many of you are from Texas. Can you please throw out your top 5 kid-friendly things to do in Dallas and Houston, so I can start to plan and make reservations where necessary. Thanks!

I agree with NASA for sure. That is on your way down to Galveston from Houston. If you are staying overnight in Galveston at all before the cruise, then some time on your way down there would be perfect.

The Children's Museum is rated one of the best in the country, so I would put that as my #1 in Houston. The Science museum is also good and can have some interesting exhibits going on. I agree that the zoo is nice too - I don't know how big your zoo is in Toronto to compare to though. Also, second the opinion on the Aquarium. That's only 4. I'll try to think of some others.

 

[WomanRN]

Okay, we have to start planning what we are going to do for 2 days in Dallas and 2 days in Houston before the cruise.

Jamie (daughter) is 14, Max (son) is 10. We live in Toronto and have never visited Texas.

I know many of you are from Texas. Can you please throw out your top 5 kid-friendly things to do in Dallas and Houston, so I can start to plan and make reservations where necessary. Thanks!

DD's top 5 things for the Dallas/Ft Worth area:
1)Six Flags - might be a little cool but you can dress warmly and they do have indoor things and hot chocolate in the Winter. It will be Christmas themed at that time with snow hills (manufactured, not the snow that falls from the sky and cold weather themed shows.
2)Ripley's Believe it or not and Tussaud's House of Wax
3)just wandering around the Stockyards in Ft Worth - they have a daily cattle drive down the street with real longhorn cattle - something truly Texas and it's free
4)Main Event - there are several around the metroplex - it is an indoor "funhouse" with bowling, laser tag, billiards, shuffleboard and amusement games - they also have a bar area and they serve food
5)Reunion Tower - they just reopened this - it is a tower in downtown Dallas the gives you a 360 view of downtown - it rotates slowly and now has an interactive video system that tells you where all the popular sites are in Dallas/Ft Worth. They also have 2 restaurants up there but they are upscale.

Happy planning!!

 

[JJ Max n Mickey]

Thank you all for the tourist ideas for Dallas/FW and Houston. We've booked Nasa for Mon 30th on route to Galveston.

Quick question re: accommodation...

When looking for a hotel in both Dallas/FW and Houston, can you suggest the general area we should be looking at? For example, in Toronto the financial district is not necessarily the best area for tourists to stay in, even though when you do an online search, many hotels show up there. Only a local would realize this.

We will have a car so driving isn't a problem, and we are used to long commutes as Toronto is the same size as Houston. Looking for suites if possible. Thoughts? and Thanks!

Btw, I bought my FE treats yesterday. You're all getting a little taste of Canada. Are there any other canucks in our group?

 

[ukintheus]

Thank you all for the tourist ideas for Dallas/FW and Houston. We've booked Nasa for Mon 30th on route to Galveston.

Quick question re: accommodation...

When looking for a hotel in both Dallas/FW and Houston, can you suggest the general area we should be looking at? For example, in Toronto the financial district is not necessarily the best area for tourists to stay in, even though when you do an online search, many hotels show up there. Only a local would realize this.

We will have a car so driving isn't a problem, and we are used to long commutes as Toronto is the same size as Houston. Looking for suites if possible. Thoughts? and Thanks!

Btw, I bought my FE treats yesterday. You're all getting a little taste of Canada. Are there any other canucks in our group?

In Houston I would suggest something in the the Galleria area. It should give you fairly easy access to lots of the places you might want to go, the Galleria itself has lots of places to eat, and the mall has indoor ice skating that will still have all the Christmas decorations up. There are plenty of hotels in that area, and lots that are *** Suites etc.. Traffic in the Galleria area can be heavy, but with this being right between the holidays I wouldn't think it would be too bad. Before Christmas would be a nightmare and I would tell you to stay away!

 

[ksloane]

Thank you all for the tourist ideas for Dallas/FW and Houston. We've booked Nasa for Mon 30th on route to Galveston.

Quick question re: accommodation...

When looking for a hotel in both Dallas/FW and Houston, can you suggest the general area we should be looking at? For example, in Toronto the financial district is not necessarily the best area for tourists to stay in, even though when you do an online search, many hotels show up there. Only a local would realize this.

We will have a car so driving isn't a problem, and we are used to long commutes as Toronto is the same size as Houston. Looking for suites if possible. Thoughts? and Thanks!

Btw, I bought my FE treats yesterday. You're all getting a little taste of Canada. Are there any other canucks in our group?

If you haven't considered it, Galveston itself has a lot to offer as well. You could arrive in Galveston early and do some sight seeing there.


BY THE WAY EVERYONE - ONLY 64 MORE DAYS!!!

 

[WomanRN]

Thank you all for the tourist ideas for Dallas/FW and Houston. We've booked Nasa for Mon 30th on route to Galveston.

Quick question re: accommodation...

When looking for a hotel in both Dallas/FW and Houston, can you suggest the general area we should be looking at? For example, in Toronto the financial district is not necessarily the best area for tourists to stay in, even though when you do an online search, many hotels show up there. Only a local would realize this.

We will have a car so driving isn't a problem, and we are used to long commutes as Toronto is the same size as Houston. Looking for suites if possible. Thoughts? and Thanks!

Btw, I bought my FE treats yesterday. You're all getting a little taste of Canada. Are there any other canucks in our group?

For the DFW area - the airport is about halfway between Dallas and Ft. Worth and there are many suite hotels in that area, however, there may be quite a few people using those hotels over the holidays. If you can't find something there, try Arlington. A little further south but still between both Dallas and Ft. Worth. If I were you, I would start looking soon.

Looking forward to meeting you on the ship and finding out what you think of Texas

 

[WomanRN]

Does Disney provide a Meet and Greet "party" for DISers???

If not, do groups usually plan one themselves so everyone can meet each other and put faces and real names to online names??

I think we should!

 

[ukintheus]

Does Disney provide a Meet and Greet "party" for DISers???

If not, do groups usually plan one themselves so everyone can meet each other and put faces and real names to online names??

I think we should!

DCL doesn't do anything, but lots of groups meet somewhere. I know the Promenade Lounge is a good spot as there is not much going on in that area if it is done before the muster drill. 3 pm, Promenade Lounge tends to be a favorite, although I've heard of other groups meeting elsewhere.

 

[JJ Max n Mickey]

Thank you Dallas and Houston for truly valuable insight re: accommodations. All hotels are booked, and in Galveston too. Amy mentioned Paradise Pier in Galveston. What is it? How long should it take?

Looking forward to enjoying your fair state (and it's food )

 

[ksloane]

DCL doesn't do anything, but lots of groups meet somewhere. I know the Promenade Lounge is a good spot as there is not much going on in that area if it is done before the muster drill. 3 pm, Promenade Lounge tends to be a favorite, although I've heard of other groups meeting elsewhere.

If others are interested, I'd love to do a meet and greet.

 

[Matoll3dad]

Anyone traveling from San Antonio?
We are leaving early morning the day of it’s a 3.5 hr drive.

 

[ksloane]

Anyone traveling from San Antonio?
We are leaving early morning the day of it’s a 3.5 hr drive.

We will come from east Texas....Nacogdoches area....We could easily drive it in one day, but I don't want to chance getting stuck behind a wreck, breaking down, or anything else so we're coming in the day before.

 

[JJ Max n Mickey]

If others are interested, I'd love to do a meet and greet.

Meet and Greet sounds good to me. Can we do something casual before the muster drill? We've never been part of a DISboard group so don't know what is typical.

 

[ksloane]

Meet and Greet sounds good to me. Can we do something casual before the muster drill? We've never been part of a DISboard group so don't know what is typical.

Sounds good to me. I'd love to come and see everyone. This would be a great time to spread the word for FE if anyone's room changes as well.

 

[ukintheus]

3:00 pm in the Promenade Lounge seems to be a popular time. Why don't we just throw that out there for anyone that can make it?

 

[JJ Max n Mickey]

3:00 pm in the Promenade Lounge seems to be a popular time. Why don't we just throw that out there for anyone that can make it?

If I recall, the muster drill is typically at 4:00 p.m., so 3:00 at Promenade Lounge sounds perfect. I would love to introduce the teen girls to each other just so that there are familiar faces at the Edge and Vibe NYE parties that night.

 

[WomanRN]

Yay!! This really is a great opportunity for those that have never done it before

We are definitely in!! Can't wait!!

After a day like today - makes me even more excited to be taking time off and relaxing

Have booked Palo and massages with a day in the "rainforest"

Haven't seen an answer to my question yet - Anyone know which dock Disney uses in Cozumel?? I have heard it's the downtown pier and NOT the International Pier. Anyone know or know where I can find out??

 

[ukintheus]

Haven't seen an answer to my question yet - Anyone know which dock Disney uses in Cozumel?? I have heard it's the downtown pier and NOT the International Pier. Anyone know or know where I can find out??

It's 99.9% certain that we will be at Punta Lagosta. I have never heard of DCL using a pier other than one. We have been to Cozumel 3 times in DCL and have always docked there.