Disney Fantasy, August 18, 2012 - Western Caribbean

[It'sWDW4me]

Hi everyone,
I'm 'antmeal' (Mildred), mum of Princess Belle, looking forward to making lots of new friends on my first cruise. We are from Melbourne, Australia, where we're now heading quickly into Winter. I'm booked on the 'Fantasy' with DD, DSIL and two DGD's and although I've travelled extensively over the years, this will be my first cruise. I'm so excited and enjoying all the planning. Hoping to meet all of you!

Welcome antmeal!! OK, I'll be the first to ask - exactly HOW did that nickname come to be? I'm guessing a child who couldn't pronounce Aunt Mildred?

This is my very first cruise, as well, and I'm soooo looking forward to it. I'm so glad to be able to chat with our little group and can't wait to meet you all.

 

[antmeal]

Welcome aboard Mildred! Wow winter there, we have hopefully left winter behind us , but then again in Manitoba they are getting snow , my dh just came back from Winnepeg yesterday was there for work guess he flew out in the nick of time!Raining alot the last week here in Hamilton but at least its not snowing!Your first cruise well I bet its not gonna be your last ,.one disney cruise and you will be hooked!Will you be spending time before or after the cruise at disney? Coming from such a long way away I would imagine you would be. Im still trying to figure out where and for how many days we will stay before the cruise, but will fly home fight after the being on the fantasy.Leaning toward the yacht club other possibility is the poly, hope free dining is out for then!
You mentioned travelling where have you been ? Ever been to Canada?Ive never been to Australia but would love to see it one day, hey wouldnt it be a good itinerary for the Fantasy, now that would be one great cruise from port Canaveral!

Hi Leslie, Even though we're so close to winter, we're having wonderful weather; long may it continue. We're staying in Florida for two weeks before the cruise and for one week after it, but we haven't yet decided where. Travelling - I've been to :

Bangkok,
Disneyland California twice,
Mexico,
North and South Carolina,Egypt
WDW once (in 2007),
London,
Hong Kong (including Hong Kong Disney) in 2010
Finland,
England,
Hong Kong again.
I've never been to Canada but I have a pen-friend there, who lives in Ontario and who was bridesmaid at my wedding. She has asked me over, but I've yet to say "Yes".
You should see Australia, it's a great place to live Port Canaveral to Melbourne, bring it on.

All the best; looking forward to meeting you and your family.

 

[antmeal]

Welcome antmeal!! OK, I'll be the first to ask - exactly HOW did that nickname come to be? I'm guessing a child who couldn't pronounce Aunt Mildred?

This is my very first cruise, as well, and I'm soooo looking forward to it. I'm so glad to be able to chat with our little group and can't wait to meet you all.

Hi Mary,
I just wrote a long reply to yours and then my computer went feral
You almost guessed the source of my nickname, but it came from my nephew-in-law's southern accent. I visited my niece who married Graham, whom I met for the first time when I visited the US in 2005. He called me AUNT MEEL which really tickled me, so it seemed a good name to use as my username when I booked this cruise. Well done on figuring it out

I'm really looking forward to meeting "y'all" o the cruise.

 

[antmeal]

Hi Mum

Hi Possum , Hello Mark Megan and Samantha

 

[boundfordisney]

Wow you really have travelled Mildred! Lucky you! Now you are gonna have to add Canada to the list! Im in Ontario as well!Im so looking forward to this August the 18th cause then it wont seem as far away for the cruise, one year countdown can go by alot faster! I think I will start picking up some things for the fe from that date on then I wont be as rushed as I was when I left it to the last couple of weeks before our last cruise!I wonder how things are going with the progress on the fantasy?

 

[DVC_Chris]

Nice to have you with us Mildred!

Just out of curiosity, anyone else thinking about doing the Castaway Cay 5K?

 

[PrincessBelle39]

Nice to have you with us Mildred!

Just out of curiosity, anyone else thinking about doing the Castaway Cay 5K?

Definitely not considering it.

 

[boundfordisney]

Nice to have you with us Mildred!

Just out of curiosity, anyone else thinking about doing the Castaway Cay 5K?

Well by the time we cruise I hope to have lost some weight and be in better shape if so then I just may consider it! Just got home from a weekend in Niagra Falls, wow shopping can really make a person tired, and of course losing money at the casino can really wipe you out LOL

 

[boundfordisney]

Pretty quiet here so where is everyone? Has anyone rented a cabana on cc? Was thinking of doing this and wondered if it is worth it, also if you book and want to cancel what are the options?

 

[PrincessBelle39]

I'm here.
Sounds like you have been having a great time.
We would like to rent a cabana also. We haven't done it before. They weren't built on our last trip. I'm not sure about cancellation policy but would assume that its the same as other excursions. ie: 72hours before embarkation. But there will be someone out there that knows for sure.
I've been weighing up whether its worth it or not. Its a lot of money. And some of us want to do parasailing and stingrays. But Mum is not really a beach person so it would really give us a good base.

 

[boundfordisney]

Hi there princessbell39, Ive been wondering if the cabanas are worth the money also but Im leaning towards booking one. I love the beach and sun but shade is a must for me so at least Id know it wouldnt be a problem. We may not do a lot of excursions on this cruise so if we dont then the money could be spent on the cabanas instead, I may need 2 though as my daughter is also cruising and Ive read there is a limit as to how many in the cabana . Do you know anything about this? there will be 6 of us at least ,it would be great if the 6 of us in 1 is okay. Still waiting to see if my other daughter will be cruising also.If she goes then we would need to book more, she has little ones and the cabanas would be good to have for them. Well tomorrow we are down to the 15 month mark!wooohooo! I still havent made up my mind yet on how long or where we will stay before the cruise but at least there is still lots of time to deciede. Im still planning my september trip to the world, keep changing my dining plans but I think Ive finally got it right! Just debating now if I want to purchase mnsshp tickets or not, I love halloween so I will probably go ahead and get them just need to pick the date. Its amazing how many hours one can put in to planning a trip to disney! I wouldnt have it any other way!

 

[PrincessBelle39]

I think the price for the cabana includes upto 6 people and then you can have an extra 4 for $50 per person. There are only 5 of us but I think we will try and get one anyway. I cant see Mum spending all day sitting on the beach. (Right Mum??????)
Your lucky having another trip to plan. Its so far away for us and so expensive to get there. But we have done alright. This will be our 3rd trip in 5 years. We did MNSSHP party twice last time. We loved it. It gave us a chance to do everything including riding some rides. We don't really have Halloween here so the costume and trick or treating was a huge hit with the kids. On the second night, we rode Splash Mountain 3 times without getting off.
The dining planning is a hard part. We've already started planning for 2012. We are doing 2 weeks before and 1 week after the cruise but are trying to limit the onsite dining a bit. I've got a list of about 15 restaurants I'm interested in that we need to cut to a more reasonable number.

 

[boundfordisney]

Wow you really have alot of planning to do with being so far away and having a longer trip to plan! Its so great that you have been able to visit so often in the last few years even though you live that far from disney. Thanks for the cabana info and it sounds like the mnsshp is worth the cost of the tickets, I have done the mvmcp before, no halloween ! Im a halloween freak! even painted my bathroom one year like a spooky hallow black trees and bats, to this day freinds and family still talk about it each halloween. I have a garage full of halloween stuff! Looking forward to meeting you and all your family on this cruise, I know its gonna be awesome!

 

[PrincessBelle39]

Has everyone seen this update.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2723990

 

[PrincessBelle39]

And this one.

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/bl...he-disney-fantasy-new-details-revealed-today/

 

[boundfordisney]

Thanks for posting the info on the fantasy, I can t wait! It looks even better then what I could have imagined! I think Id better figure in some money to rebook while onboard cause 1 week on this ship isnt gonna be enough for me!

 

[PrincessBelle39]

You're right. A week is just not enough. I have no idea how we are going to fit things in. There is just so much to do and see. I'm already trying to plan when I can fit Palo in.

 

[boundfordisney]

You're right. A week is just not enough. I have no idea how we are going to fit things in. There is just so much to do and see. I'm already trying to plan when I can fit Palo in.

Yup me too, I ve been thinking about remy or perhaps palo, one thing for sure I want to do is the alone time at the spa. On the last 2 cruises I had it booked then cancelled but this time its a done deal as we dont plan on doin as many excursions on this trip.Im going to book a spa treatment for my grandaughter as a surprise since they now include a teen spa. My grandchildren are not gonna want to get off the ship all the kids areas look so cool on the dream so I can only imagine the fantasy will be the same if not better.Well its Victoria day weekend here and that means its the all night drive in , the new pirates of the caribbean is one of the shows playing and we plan on going to see it Just hope its not the last show playing and we have to sit through 3 others before it plays! Might have to put an air mattress in the back of our truck for a little nap before the show if thats the case!LOL

 

[boundfordisney]

Hey princessbelle Im beginning to think we are the only 2 cruisin where is everyone? lol we are almost at the 15 month mark yeah! Last cruise we kept track of who posted every 100 posts Im at 59 I think right now wonder who will hit the 100 post. Me or you lol

 

[It'sWDW4me]

Thank you so much for posting that link Suzanne! I'm such a geek - I actually got goosebumps and started tearing up. I'm sooooo flippin excited. But I've got to take it all in in small doses or I'm afraid that I'll either burn myself out before we even get on the plane or I'll have a heart attack. Neither are an optimum choice.

Beautiful, beautiful ship and I can't wait for Animator's Palette. The article said there were templates to draw your character, right? That would be hilarious watching my stick figure dance around with Mickey if they don't have templates.

When did you all book? I booked the 4 of us into an 8C back in February. Lately I've been checking to see if the price went up since then but all I've been finding is that the Deluxe Family Oceanview (8A, 8B, 8C) isn't even available anymore - at least for a party of 2A, 2C. Wow!