Pershing, thanks for the tip on making dining reservations at WDW. Didn't know I needed to do that, and with a fairly large family crowd, we should probably look into that. Any suggestions? We're doing WDW Tuesday and Wednesday before the cruise.
You need to make reservations for sit down dinners only. Magic Kingdom has very few great options. Crystal Palace is a buffet Winnie the Pooh character place, but older people will find it noisy. Epcot has our favorite restaurant Le Cellier at the Canada Pavillion. We usually skip sit down meals at Disney Studios or Animal Kingdom Park.
We splurge for the resort restaurants. Some of our favorites: Jiko at Animal Kingdom Lodge just for adults really. Yachtsman Steakhouse at the Yacht Club is the place to get steak onsite. My kids love Whispering Canyon Cafe at Wilderness Lodge but I don't think the foods that great. I like Boatwright's Dining Hall at Port Orleans Riverside.
You can find all the menus and diser's reviews on the dining tab of WDWinfo.com. It's all very expensive, however we had free dining one year and tried a bunch of restaurants. Now we eat sit down off WDW as it's cheaper. I have teenage boys with bottomless stomachs. I need buffet places like Golden Corral!
Citricoes and Narcossee are the 2 favorite gourmet restaurants at the Grand Floridian. I haven't been to either, but plan to someday.
Love the tip about getting food and drinks before the movie. I imagine they'll have movies suitable for a 3-year-old, I mean this is a
Disney cruise after all.
They are all Disney Company based movies. Sometimes, you get a scary movie in there with the mix. It's all recent movies usually.
The television in your stateroom will have alot of other first run movies and movies for small kids. I learned that one trip with one of my DS's was sick.
Question regarding tipping: DH and I have been on a cruise before and he seems to remember putting tips on his credit card instead of cash in an envelope. Does this hold true to
DCL? I've read threads about tipping, and how much to tip, but can't seem to find the answer to tips on a credit card. Personally, I'd rather tip with cash but DH likes to use the credit card for just about everything.
Since we cruised in April, there was a thread on the main cruise board, that I cannot find now, that said cruise tips for the staff were automatically being charged to your account. If you wanted to change any of them at Guest Services, you could.
Although only the guideline is still listed on disneycruise.com
http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/faqs/onboard-services/gratuities/
I'm hoping they do add it automatically. I think it's a time saver, although other diser's thought it was rude on DCL's part. It started on the Mediterranean Cruises because of different cultures and tipping. The staff weren't getting tipped at all by some people and DCL took matters into their own hands.
Before that, you could tip the staff either way. By going to Guest Services and putting them on your account or using the envelopes they provide in the stateroom for cash.
When you order a drink on board-like an alcoholic drink. Look at the receipt. Gratuity is already included.
Many people miss that and add another tip. ('cause they put another spot for an additional tip, go figure!)
Outside of staff tipping, none of the cruise members will take cash for drinks, merchandise etc. Everything is charged with your room key (card) onboard. Be careful with those room cards! (you can block the kids from having credit attached to their room card when you pre-register online).
You can also payoff your room account with cash at Guest Services. However, the lines for Guest Services at the end of the cruise are usually long. -like
wicked long!
Today, I'm day dreaming about sitting on my stateroom veranda and watching the sunset with some kind of room service in my hand.
5 cruises and I never ordered room service!
I thought of another cruise tip! Be sure to bring deposit money or credit to re-book onboard for another Disney Cruise. If you EVER think you are going to take another Disney Cruise, it's worth it! Book any dummy date, far out if you have no plans. You can always move your reservation to new dates later (before the cancellation window closes) and retain your Onboard Booking Discounts of 10% off plus an Onboard Credit amount based on the type of cruise you end up with. You rebook on the level just above Guest Services....and don't wait until the last day. Again, wicked long line!
Once the cruise ends, you cannot get this discount.
mousefan 1972!
We've only rented AKV the last couple of years due to the low points.
We loved our August cruise. Believe it or not, it was much less hot on the cruise than WDW had been before we sailed. 
The Dream is just beautiful, and we really enjoyed all the ship had to offer. We are looking forward to going back!
) but it's far enough that we think of Hyannis as 'commuting'. lol
Let's me focus on airfare and car rentals, airport parking, and tickets. I'd love to be able to buy WDW tickets before the year ends. Disney always goes up in price around the end of December, and I kick myself for not buying the tickets sooner.
(ahhH!! soooo excited!!) This is our first cruise ever!
I went to WDW for the first time like 5 years ago and it was for a short weekend with my mom and little brother. I didnt really get a FULL Disney experience.
I feel like its going to be a SUPER long post, but I the anxiety that I am feeling is due to me being a very organized person and with this trip I dont feel organized. 
