Disney Dream - April 3, 2011 - 4 nights

[rcraw45425]

LEaving wither at 7:30PM tonight or 6AM in the morning and all I have accomplished today was cash from the bank, car washed and some laundry completed. Guess it's a good thing my bag stays half packed! Safe travels everyone!

 

[EcbLovesMickey]

We are heading out in a few! I hope everyone has a safe trip down and we'll see you all soon!

 

[BishopFamily]

our connecting flight has been delayed a little over an hour in kansas city.
just enough time to surf the disboards a little.

 

[mickeyluv]

We are huge Vinylmation collectors...so we can post back for you. Also...if they are in limited supply...we can pick up an extra...if that is allowed. I will post back on Thursday of next week.

Sorry that I'm just now responding. Haven't been able to get on the DISboards until just now since your post. That would be great! If you do happen to pick up an extra one due to limited supply, how do you want to handle getting it to the OP asking if anyone would be willing to help him out but picking him up one? Here is the original thread....http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2691106&highlight=donald+duck+vinylmation

I'm not trying to push this off on anyone else, please don't think that but since you asked about possibly picking one up on your cruise I thought I would ask. I doesn't make a lot of sense for you to ship it to me and I then ship it to the OP not to mention the fact that the OP would need to reimburse you. Hope I'm explaining this in an understandable manner .

 

[jetskigrl]

Hi Everyone,
I'm checking in from CI&S We thought we were going to have flight problems (they boarded late due to "Maintenance" still being on board the plane...yikes!) But we ended up leaving only 15 minutes late and landed at MCO only 5 minutes late! The pilot told us as we were leaving that the delay was only due to a stuck water valve which feeds the water for the bathrooms and the coffee machines. NO COFFEE...now that is scary But a relief to hear it wasn't anything major as we were getting ready to take off, LOL.

The kids absolutely loved the surprise of riding in the Limo from the airport!! It was a very nice ride and we were able to stop at the store for some wine and a mixer for our Mango Rum!!

We can't wait to see everyone at the port in the morning!!!!

Night, night and Happy Cruising......

 

[MASrules]

Don't know if anyone reads these after the cruise, but just wanted to give a big thanks to all the FE people. This was our fifth cruise, and third with kids, but our first participating in the FE. Each trip back to the room was excited and no gifts disappointed. Our kids were thrilled and we really enjoyed it. Thanks to all who contributed.

 

[kikids]

We are home safe and sound as well.

The FE stuff was a lot of fun. I am still eating those awesome Mickey cut out sugar cookies! Everything we received was enjoyed and appreciated. I have a lot of good ideas for next time as well.

Thanks everybody!

 

[jawdropper]

Back in South Carolina...what a bummer...hate we didn't get to meet any of you in person...it was a much busier time than we anticipated. Let me know what you thought of the cruise...we have good and bad things to say about our first cruise ever.

 

[ty_n_cy]

We're back in New Jersey after an amazing vacation. I have to thank everybody here for a few things.

First... the advice. I asked a number of questions that people either readily answered or directed me on where to seek the answers. It helped to make our first cruise the absolute best vacation we've ever taken.

Second... the Fish Extender program. Wow! You are all amazing. We were in the room across from the laundrette. There were a number of people who seemed to be in that room constantly and they all marveled at how random people were stopping by our room to drop off goodies. The kids loved everything, as did my wife and I. We weren't sure what to expect and really felt like we 'missed the boat' on the whole thing prior to arrival. During the 4 days, it was an absolute blast to come back to the room and see how original and creative some of you are. We've already got a list of things we'd like to do for FE gifts during our next cruise!

The only downfall is that we didn't get to meet any of you. As jawdropper said, it was MUCH busier than we anticipated. There were SO many things we didn't get to do:

1. Didn't visit the pirate ship area at Castaway Cay.
2. Didn't meet anybody from the DIS.
3. Didn't get a moment to do the Midship Detective Agency.
4. Missed Villains Tonight.
5. Had REALLY horrible viewing for the Mickey Pirate Party.
6. Never stayed 'out' later than midnight.

Even with all that... we absolutely LOVED the cruise. We now know how things work a little more. We know to arrive a little earlier for the special shows (Pirate Party, etc.) because the spaces fill up fast (especially in the inside atrium when it rains!).

We've rebooked... but we're still considering dates. For now, we've booked the 4/15/2012 Dream 4 night cruise. We've contemplating moving it up to the middle of March or back to the beginning of May so it doesn't coincide so much with Easter and spring break crowds... but we know that no matter when we go, we're going to LOVE it!

My wife and I already miss the strawberry banana daquiris. Our kids were absolutely mortified on Thursday morning when they couldn't go to the Oceaneer Club and Edge.

I've got nothing but VERY good things to say about the Dream, her staff and everybody here.

Thank you all for making this such a magical trip!

CY

 

[Cmbar]

We're back in New Jersey after an amazing vacation. I have to thank everybody here for a few things.

First... the advice. I asked a number of questions that people either readily answered or directed me on where to seek the answers. It helped to make our first cruise the absolute best vacation we've ever taken.

Second... the Fish Extender program. Wow! You are all amazing. We were in the room across from the laundrette. There were a number of people who seemed to be in that room constantly and they all marveled at how random people were stopping by our room to drop off goodies. The kids loved everything, as did my wife and I. We weren't sure what to expect and really felt like we 'missed the boat' on the whole thing prior to arrival. During the 4 days, it was an absolute blast to come back to the room and see how original and creative some of you are. We've already got a list of things we'd like to do for FE gifts during our next cruise!

The only downfall is that we didn't get to meet any of you. As jawdropper said, it was MUCH busier than we anticipated. There were SO many things we didn't get to do:

1. Didn't visit the pirate ship area at Castaway Cay.
2. Didn't meet anybody from the DIS.
3. Didn't get a moment to do the Midship Detective Agency.
4. Missed Villains Tonight.
5. Had REALLY horrible viewing for the Mickey Pirate Party.
6. Never stayed 'out' later than midnight.

Even with all that... we absolutely LOVED the cruise. We now know how things work a little more. We know to arrive a little earlier for the special shows (Pirate Party, etc.) because the spaces fill up fast (especially in the inside atrium when it rains!).

We've rebooked... but we're still considering dates. For now, we've booked the 4/15/2012 Dream 4 night cruise. We've contemplating moving it up to the middle of March or back to the beginning of May so it doesn't coincide so much with Easter and spring break crowds... but we know that no matter when we go, we're going to LOVE it!

My wife and I already miss the strawberry banana daquiris. Our kids were absolutely mortified on Thursday morning when they couldn't go to the Oceaneer Club and Edge.

I've got nothing but VERY good things to say about the Dream, her staff and everybody here.

Thank you all for making this such a magical trip!

CY

I noticed you are in New Jersey. Have you considered doing Jersey Week on the ships and trying a 7 night sailing? We loved the Dream but I only want to do the longer itineraries from now on. We loved the 7 night trips to the Caribbean. The Magic is a beautiful ship and if you decide to go in November of 2012 then the Fantasy will be doing the 7 days. I don't know what your price range is, but sailing in the fall on a 7 day can be very comparable to a Spring trip on the 4 night. You might want to check them out on the website and then remember to deduct 10% for your OB discount you got. You can change your discounted booking to any itinerary, you don't have to stay with the Dream. I don't know if you have children in the Jersey school system but we have traveled with the New jersery folks on the Jersey weeks cruise twice. These folks are amazing and the FE exchange???? Forget about it. It is amazing. Often have to break up into groups because there is so many people.
Just something to consider. The weather is amazing in the Caribbean in the Fall. Much like what we had last week on the Dream.
Enjoy what ever you decide!!

 

[Disney On A Dime!]

Hi All! It's great to hear back from so many people! We had a great time...well needed vacation. For you first-timers...yes...there is so much to do in so little time...I can see how we never crossed paths! But that's okay...I really enjoy the build-up to a vacation...almost as much as the vacation!


Thanks a bunch to all who participated in the FE exchange...It was great! And who mentioned having those awesome mickey cookies left over? Those were gone by Day 3! They were wonderful!


Our cruise was a bittersweet one...we did not rebook on-board...as we really do not want to cruise with the mouse anytime soon. The brand new ship was beautiful! But as far as what my crew wants for cruising...the DCL brand just doesn't have it right now. We still really enjoyed the shows...and the staterooms were laid-out nicely. But other than that...other lines may be more in-line with what my crew wants.


I am so happy for the first time cruisers to have had a great experience! Cruising is the ultimate vacation...IMHO!


Thanks to the Mango Rum Run Crew! That was a bunch of fun! And thanks to those that met at Pink and at the DISmeet! It was really nice getting to put faces with screen-names!


I hope that everyone has returned home safely! And I want to wish our entire crew many more "Dreamy" Vacations!


Crystal

 

[EcbLovesMickey]

We got in late yesterday from our B2B. We had such a blast, and even with 7 days on the ship we didn't do everything! I am going to write up a trip report when we get calmed down, but overall it was an excellent experience and you all were such an awesome bunch that it really supplemented the wonderful experience we had. I loved meeting some of you and want to send out a big THANK YOU to all the FE folks. I am so grateful for all the wonderful gifts and the boys had the best time checking our FE when we came back to the room.

 

[jetskigrl]

Hi Everyone
I'm just getting back to the boards after returning home yesterday evening. Wow! What an amazing trip. We are so glad that we booked the back-to-back because we sure weren't ready to go home after 4 nights

I really enjoyed meeting everyone at the DISmeets and all the FE gifts were wonderful. You have given me many great ideas for our next cruise (when I won't be so worried about airline luggage weight limits, LOL). It was especially nice visiting with everyone in "The District" in the evenings.

We did rebook our next cruise on board. We will be doing the 7-night Mexican Riviera on the Wonder in April 2012 (although the kids are already thinking past that and want to book the Fantasy in 2013). I'm afraid that the kid's club on the Dream has spoiled DS too much, LOL.

We all thought the Dream was amazing!!! The kids enjoyed the shows, pirate parties and Detective Agency. We found the off times to do the Aquaduck so we enjoyed riding that many times in a row. I think my favorite time was between cruises (after we were let back on the ship but they hadn't started boarding the new cruisers yet). We enjoyed the pools with no crowds and then they opened the Aquaduck 1/2 hour early and we went on it over and over until the new people boarded and started coming up to the pool area.

We met some great cast members and received two Magical Moments certificates which were really special. I guess our only complaint would be the serving teams were not as good as we had hoped. Mom and I agreed that the servers seemed very overworked and we just felt like we never got a chance to connect with them. I missed that this cruise as we had an incredible serving team on the Wonder and I missed that personal interaction. We ended up skipping our last two dinners in the dining rooms because we were getting burnt out. We were glad that we experienced all the restaurants on the first cruise and had the option to just relax and do things at our own pace on the second one.

While the first visit to Castaway Cay was nice, the wind really bothered my Mom's asthma and we were bummed that our excursion was cancelled. But on our second visit I booked one of the cabanas and it worked out great. As it turned out, the weather was perfect on our second visit and the water was so calm and beautiful. I am so glad that we had the opportunity to get the full experience of Castaway Cay.

I hope that everyone had a wonderful cruise and a safe trip home!!

 

[NatesMom2]

We had a great time on our first Disney cruise. We weren't fortunate enough to find this forum early enough to get in on the FE, but had a wonderful vacation! The ship and staff were awesome! The food was great! My DS celebrated his 7th birthday aboard. When Christoph from Guest Services found out it was his b-day he had a special certificate signed and sent to our room by Mickey and the gang, what a great touch! I had bought him a "birthday boy" button and all of the crew memebers and characters gave him extra attention that day! It was awesome!

The sea was a little rough, but that is something that is out of everyone's control. DS woke up sick the first morning, but did okay the rest of the cruise. We especially enjoyed the Dolphin Encounter at the Blue Lagoon in Nassau. it was awesome! Not everyday a Dolphin sings happy birthday to you!

Now back to the real world and THUNDER STORMS... ughhhhh!!!

 

[jawdropper]

Hi All! It's great to hear back from so many people! We had a great time...well needed vacation. For you first-timers...yes...there is so much to do in so little time...I can see how we never crossed paths! But that's okay...I really enjoy the build-up to a vacation...almost as much as the vacation!


Thanks a bunch to all who participated in the FE exchange...It was great! And who mentioned having those awesome mickey cookies left over? Those were gone by Day 3! They were wonderful!


Our cruise was a bittersweet one...we did not rebook on-board...as we really do not want to cruise with the mouse anytime soon. The brand new ship was beautiful! But as far as what my crew wants for cruising...the DCL brand just doesn't have it right now. We still really enjoyed the shows...and the staterooms were laid-out nicely. But other than that...other lines may be more in-line with what my crew wants.


I am so happy for the first time cruisers to have had a great experience! Cruising is the ultimate vacation...IMHO!


Thanks to the Mango Rum Run Crew! That was a bunch of fun! And thanks to those that met at Pink and at the DISmeet! It was really nice getting to put faces with screen-names!


I hope that everyone has returned home safely! And I want to wish our entire crew many more "Dreamy" Vacations!


Crystal

Crystal...what is it that other cruises offer that DCL doesn't? This was our first cruise and I had a great time but, if you told me I could never cruise again it wouldn't kill me. I guess if my kids had spent more time in the clubs we may have met more adults and had a great time, but this was about the kids so we let them rule the roost for the most part. My girls got bored in the clubs while my son loved Edge. Hate we didn't get to meet everyone! Anyway, if you have advice on other cruise lines or different Disney ships let me know.

 

[jawdropper]

Hi Everyone
I'm just getting back to the boards after returning home yesterday evening. Wow! What an amazing trip. We are so glad that we booked the back-to-back because we sure weren't ready to go home after 4 nights

I really enjoyed meeting everyone at the DISmeets and all the FE gifts were wonderful. You have given me many great ideas for our next cruise (when I won't be so worried about airline luggage weight limits, LOL). It was especially nice visiting with everyone in "The District" in the evenings.

We did rebook our next cruise on board. We will be doing the 7-night Mexican Riviera on the Wonder in April 2012 (although the kids are already thinking past that and want to book the Fantasy in 2013). I'm afraid that the kid's club on the Dream has spoiled DS too much, LOL.

We all thought the Dream was amazing!!! The kids enjoyed the shows, pirate parties and Detective Agency. We found the off times to do the Aquaduck so we enjoyed riding that many times in a row. I think my favorite time was between cruises (after we were let back on the ship but they hadn't started boarding the new cruisers yet). We enjoyed the pools with no crowds and then they opened the Aquaduck 1/2 hour early and we went on it over and over until the new people boarded and started coming up to the pool area.

We met some great cast members and received two Magical Moments certificates which were really special. I guess our only complaint would be the serving teams were not as good as we had hoped. Mom and I agreed that the servers seemed very overworked and we just felt like we never got a chance to connect with them. I missed that this cruise as we had an incredible serving team on the Wonder and I missed that personal interaction. We ended up skipping our last two dinners in the dining rooms because we were getting burnt out. We were glad that we experienced all the restaurants on the first cruise and had the option to just relax and do things at our own pace on the second one.

While the first visit to Castaway Cay was nice, the wind really bothered my Mom's asthma and we were bummed that our excursion was cancelled. But on our second visit I booked one of the cabanas and it worked out great. As it turned out, the weather was perfect on our second visit and the water was so calm and beautiful. I am so glad that we had the opportunity to get the full experience of Castaway Cay.

I hope that everyone had a wonderful cruise and a safe trip home!!

What were the off times for the Aquaduck? How did you book a Cabana? If I could be sure to get one of those I'd pay double...the beach was way too crowded for my liking.

 

[mark jalali fortmyer]

Hi everyone. Please let me know of upcoming in May. Thanks.
Mark Jalali in Fort Myers

 

[54disneyfun]

Hi EVERYONE

We had such a magical trip and wished we could still be there now I'm so glad we joined the group, the FE gifts were so wonderful and tonight we will open them (my kids can't wait....been asking since each day we brought them back to the room lol ) I wanted to save some of that magic for when we were back home.

Has anyone booked for next April 5, 2012 the 5 night double dip in Castaway Cay? We have, we hope to see many of you, if not all, on next years spring break cruise

This DIS group was wonderful and added an extra touch of magical fun! We really enjoyed meeting everyone we could...only a handfull but it sure was fun all the same!! I'm glad everyone is home safe and sounds like we all can't wait to live the DREAM again!!

I'm going to read the other post and write again later, can't wait to hear about everyones trip!!!!

 

[54disneyfun]

Hi!! Think we had a chance to have drinks...what is your real name again? lol We are doing a double dip next april and would love a cabanna and my husband and I are doing a b2b so I'd love to know the ins and outs of pulling into port canaveral getting off boat and getting back on for the next part of the cruise. Thanks for your help!!!
Heidi

 

[Woosh]

We just returned yesterday from our cruise and post cruise WDW stay. The cruise was absolutely amazing...from weather, food, friends and activities...can't be beat. We rebooked for the Dream Castaway Cay double dip on April 10th. We have the countdown going already. We loved our room 7690 at the back of the ship. Our stateroom host Ida was great.
The kids really enjoyed the Edge (DS11) and Vibe (DD15). We hardly saw them and they were bummed when they had to leave. I enjoyed meeting fellow Dis'ers and the FE was a blast. My son enjoyed yelling "we got mail" when he'd find the FE with gifts. Thank you to everyone for all the great gifts. Happy Dreams to everyone! It was a memorable cruise!- Wendy