Disney Wonder Jan 23, 2011

[Tigger1313]

BTW, I read a great trip report on PassPorters boards, she is also going to be on our cruise this time!
http://www.passporterboards.com/for...n-mexican-riviera-cruise-june-1-8-2008-a.html
She has lots of pictures and she did the dolphin excursion, the Outdoor Adventure (if I could live with leaving Alec on the ship I would talk Jeff into this one in a heartbeat) and a city tour.
I'm in the process of talking her into hopping over here, so play nice.
Later,
Sue

Sue
Thanks for posting this trip report, it was great. I hope you can get her to join our WONDERful group. About your car, will the hotel let you keep it there? We are renting a car for two days and then getting on the Disney bus from the Airport to the Port.

 

[SueTGGR]

Cathy-I was told by DVC (as that is who I booked our trip through) that the resort parking is so limited as it is they can't accommodate all the cars from guests sailing. They have the same policy @ WDW, I guess, too.

If anyone is interested I saw 3-4 hotels listed on the Port of Los Angeles website http://www.portoflosangeles.org/recreation/cruises.asp if anyone needs info for the port. I know there was a hotel that popped up as a park & fly hotel when I was google-ing the parking situation. You stay one night and you can park your car there while you are on the cruise. I don't remember who had it though.

 

[ryanmcin]

To make matters worse, DCL is taunting me with busses that have full size Wonder ads on them. Just cruel!

Has anyone else seen the billboards yet? "The Wonder Is Now Afloat In LA" (or something similar) they show the ship floating in the water with big bunches of balloons like Up. We have seen at least 3 of them in the past week all on the 91.

 

[ryanmcin]

But the more interesting information I got but you all may already know but I hadn't heard it officially. I guess the Wonder is going to be permanently on the West Coast with the Magic following. So this means to me that when I need a Disney cruise fix, I won't have to fly to Florida.

When/where did you hear this? The rumor for some time has been that the Magic would be going to Europe on a permanent basis. I have also seen rumors of occasional Asian and East Coast cruises for the Magic, but I hadn't seen anything about bringing the Magic to the west coast.

 

[Kidlette]

Hey everyone! Ryan and I had a BLAST at Disneyland yesterday for our anniversary! We spent the whole day there plus went to the Disney Halloween party that night. It was a VERY long and VERY exhausting day (12 full hours at the parks), but it was great! I know I promised a couple of you a little review, but I am SWAMPED this week. Actually, I'm in serious danger of not finishing my homework this week, plus I am supposed to find time this weekend to study for the SAT's next weekend - yes - you heard me right, I'm nearly 30 and studying for the SAT's!, AND, we were supposed to go to the CalState open house to see the school & talk to a counselor saturday. - but it looks like that's off too. Anyway - sometime next week I will try and write a little review of the halloween event. Maybe if you ask nicely we can get Ryan to write all about it instead!

Here are some pictures though! The first is at Steakhouse 55 Monday night for our anniversary dinner (usually great, but not-so that night), the pic is also bad, but the other one is blurry. The 2nd pic is one of my favorites, we're with the Queen of Hearts. I asked to see her knickers with the hearts on them and (through some persuasion) made it happen!

 

[jkrislc]

Has anyone else seen the billboards yet? "The Wonder Is Now Afloat In LA" (or something similar) they show the ship floating in the water with big bunches of balloons like Up. We have seen at least 3 of them in the past week all on the 91.

This is the exact ad I'm referring to on the side of the city busses down here. Saw one again tonight 1/4 mike from my house. I think Walt's ghost is purposely taunting me with these busses

Steve: I know where you're coming from. Other than Mazatlan, we have nothing planned. While we do have our Palo reservations, nothing else is confirmed/planned. I actual feel like I'm more prepared for my summer trip than for the trip.

Kris

 

[SueTGGR]

Ryan the info on the ships was given to me when I called DVC to ask about transportation. She could have been mistaken but that is what she said. The Wonder will stay put and the Magic will follow. I was so stunned that I didn't think to ask her to repeat it. But then how many times has a cast member given us incorrect info?
I guess I have to drive around San Jose hoping to see a bus, now. Gilroy has little busses & Amtrac Maybe I have to talk Jeff into a trip to San Francisco???
Later,
Sue

 

[airtime247]

Sue - Thanks for posting the trip report. I caught the beginning but will need to read the rest tonight when I have more time. Hopefully I can get some ideas for what to do in ports. Good luck with your decision about the parking. We are still trying to figure out what to do ourselves.

What you heard about the Magic is interesting. I can see maybe the Magic coming to the west coast to replace the Wonder but not in addition to it. I think if sailings were that popular out of LA, they wouldn't already be offering Kids Sail Free promotions. I know Alaska is really popular right now but the sailing window is short there, I think like May through September. And maybe if/when they do something with Hawaii, it will pull the ship away from Mexico a bit so maybe they could use two ships. It seems like there is so much potential for European and Asian itineraries, it would be enough to keep a ship over there. It's hard to say which rumors to believe just yet!

Jessica - Glad you had fun at Disneyland and at the party. You are busier than any person I know so take your time writing up the review. We aren't going anywhere...until January!

-steve

 

[Sailing Sue]

Hi everyone.

I'm happy to say that my family will be joining you all on this cruise.

Cast of Characters:
Sue (Me) - 40 and Theo (DH) - 41, and our four daughters, Chloe (13), Lucy (10), Cecilia (10), and Daphne (8).

We'll be in cabins 2122 & 2124.

If it's not too late we'd like to join in on the fish extender fun. Kidlette, I tried to send a PM but I'm not allowed because I don't have 10 posts yet.

This will be our second Disney Mexican Riviera Cruise. We were on the Magic the last time it was out here in June, 2008.

It's getting close now and I'm getting a wee bit excited!

 

[googles111]

Are any of you making shirts with the group logo on it? We did that last time we went so we could spot people from our group. Just wondering. I was going to go get iron on paper and just put it on white shirts.

I am ready to get my room #.... the waiting part is hard!

So anybody else like to drink or are we the only ones? We want to do the wine tasting and all the other "tastings"

 

[SueTGGR]

Hi everyone.

I'm happy to say that my family will be joining you all on this cruise.

Cast of Characters:
Sue (Me) - 40 and Theo (DH) - 41, and our four daughters, Chloe (13), Lucy (10), Cecilia (10), and Daphne (8).

We'll be in cabins 2122 & 2124.

If it's not too late we'd like to join in on the fish extender fun.

This will be our second Disney Mexican Riviera Cruise. We were on the Magic the last time it was out here in June, 2008.

It's getting close now and I'm getting a wee bit excited!

Yea, you made it over! Jessica is our official FE person but she may not get a chance to post until the weekend. I don't know if we officially closed the FE's yet, did we? I know we talked about a plan if anyone else joined us, so you are covered either way. She has done a wonderful job keeping us organized. http://sites.google.com/site/wonderjan23/home If you want to look through all the DIS-ers we have on here. So....

 

[SueTGGR]

So anybody else like to drink or are we the only ones? We want to do the wine tasting and all the other "tastings"

You can count my DH & I in for the tastings. We totally missed out on our 1st cruise. I have read reviews of the Martini tastings and I am still on the fence about tequila but, hey!, we will be in Mexico, right?
We will also be packing a few bottles of wine in our bags to have with dinner & a few other ideas. We really aren't big drinkers but when we are on vacation we will partake in a few drinks so count us in, Tonya.
Off to work!
Sue

 

[F&A]

Last cruise we found one of our bags on the rack where you claim them back at port in a garbage bag. One of the bottle of rum we bought broke despite being wrapped in bubble wrap and a beach towel. The bag had to be sacrificed once we got home. This year I am prepared. Order these on skymall (I fly a lot) and the plan is to bring two bottles on board and two bottle back.

http://www.magellans.com/store/Health___Hygiene___Food___DrinkFP135?Partner_ID=FRGL

Thought I would share.

Frank

 

[Kidlette]

Hi Everyone,

Just a little note before bed. Horrible day! Long story, but it ended with me leaving school after my 14 hour day, driving 30 minutes home, getting home and realizing I left my purse in my classroom, driving 30 minutes back to school, waiting for campus police, and then driving yet another 30 minutes back home. Admittedly, this is the 3rd time I've done this in 2 semesters.

"Sailing Sue": Welcome to the cruise! We are very happy to have your family joining our group! The other Sue said it perfectly; technically the FE is closed in the sense that those who don't want to buy for more people/cabins than were signed up by 10/1 don't have to. With that said, there should be plenty of us who are buying/making extras &/or are OK with simply adding you guys. I would just ask for your understanding should some people not wish (or are not able to) buy for extra cabins at this point. I don't see a problem though - there are enough people accounting for a few extra cabins that I don't see it as an issue. I have added your family to the Characters of Wonder page and listed you as FE "yes."

Sue-Sue: Thank you for jumping in there - I really appreciate it! You represented my exact thoughts perfectly!

Steve: Usually being unique makes me feel special, but somehow, being the busiest person you know just makes me want to cry! Honestly, I almost cried today with the day I had. For sure this is one day where January is not coming soon enough!!

Tonya: several months ago there was some discussion of doing something like this as a group, but I think it just fizzled with the economic concerns + the concern of not having everyone on the board message in on a regular basis. There are many people who stopped in to say they were going, but then never said anything again. As to whether or not anyone is doing this on their own, I don't know. Ryan and I probably will not. Beyond that I can't say. What is everyone else thinking? Is anyone actually doing this?!? About the drinking, unfortunately Ryan and I don't drink. IF Ryan drinks (and I've only seen him drink alcohol maybe 4 times in 8 years), he ONLY drinks white Russians. As for me, I used to drink but haven't in several years. Although I would love to join you in that, I have medical concerns which keep me from drinking any alcohol. (It's probably for the better though, otherwise I might drink too much! )

On a side note - I got some good news last week. My Dr. has declared me as now diabetes free. Last week he took me off all of those meds and said I'm good for now. He's going to recheck me a couple of days before the cruise, so as long as my A1Cs don't increase then, then I'm "officially" diabetes free! I don't remember who it was (maybe you Steve??) that was talking about a mickey ice cream bar contest. Although I'm not going to abuse my carbs and sugars whether I'm diabetes free or not, at least it wouldn't be so dangerous if I joined in on that contest!! *darn - wish they had a mickey ice cream bar icon!!*

OK all - I am exhausted. Sleepy time for me! Tomorrow and the weekend are going to be INSANE for me, so I might not be able to post this weekend - but I will try!

Toodles

 

[F&A]

For those of you who just can't wait and "Wonder" where the ship is, go here:

http://www.sailwx.info/shiptrack/shipposition.phtml?call=C6QM8

You can also give the link to friends and family when you leave to track your progress.

You can also pull it up when you get home to see exactly where you went.

Frank

 

[SueTGGR]

Woo Hoo for Jessica!!!!!
I know you have been working hard on this. Great job!
As far as the stress (& forgetting things is part of it) try and take a few minutes a day to clear your head. Take a deep breath and imagine yourself on your cruise. January will be here before you know it. I'm just hoping I don't skip Christmas.

Later,
Sue

 

[jkrislc]

Jessica,

Hello from Denver, not to be confused with our K9 cruise companion.

Just keep the prizes in mind: transferring to a 4-year and the cruise.

Have you considered putting a note on your steering wheel remnding you to check for your purse? Stress screws with memory, so any memory aids you can come up with, even cell phone alarms, help. I call all my phone alarms my "digital memory.". My coworkers just laugh at me now when one of my reminders goes off.

It will be winter break soon. And while I'm sure I'm not nearly as busy as you, I can empathize. It's also sad the every day on the way to work when I pass the toll road leading to the port I think, "Just X number of days until I take the road to the Wonder." I do the same thing with the Amtrak tracks, too, but that's another trip.

Kris

 

[Sailing Sue]

Re: Vallarta Adventures - They were great. Excellent employees, very organized and professional.

Re: Bill Boards - I have one right on the corner near my house

Re: FEs - Thanks Kidlette. I understand perfectly. Sounds great.

 

[Kidlette]

Woo Hoo for Jessica!!!!!
I know you have been working hard on this. Great job!
As far as the stress (& forgetting things is part of it) try and take a few minutes a day to clear your head. Take a deep breath and imagine yourself on your cruise. January will be here before you know it. I'm just hoping I don't skip Christmas.

Later,
Sue

Sue - you're too silly, and sweet! I'll explain part of the purse thing below.

Jessica,

Hello from Denver, not to be confused with our K9 cruise companion.

Just keep the prizes in mind: transferring to a 4-year and the cruise.

Have you considered putting a note on your steering wheel remnding you to check for your purse? Stress screws with memory, so any memory aids you can come up with, even cell phone alarms, help. I call all my phone alarms my "digital memory.". My coworkers just laugh at me now when one of my reminders goes off.

It will be winter break soon. And while I'm sure I'm not nearly as busy as you, I can empathize. It's also sad the every day on the way to work when I pass the toll road leading to the port I think, "Just X number of days until I take the road to the Wonder." I do the same thing with the Amtrak tracks, too, but that's another trip.

Kris

Kris - Denver?!? Another boring conference, or it is for pleasure?

Thanks for the tip about a note on my steering wheel, I think that might work perfectly! My problem with phone reminders is that I do use them, and I don't have any alarms left on my phone to utilize! We're getting new phones in a couple of weeks, so maybe I'll get more. But - I also tend to ignore them sometimes which is why I think the note on the steering wheel is perfect!

Sue & Kris: As far as my purse is concened, yes, I agree that stress has a LOT to do with it, but I think it was all impacted more by the fact that I was TICKED OFF at my teacher! Before we made plans for our anniversary I specifically asked him if I would miss anything crucial or that would affect me negatively and he said no, "you should be fine." Then, once we made our plans I asked him if I should have a classmate record class for me or maybe have someone email me with pertinent information. He said, "no, you should be fine." Come to find out that he is starting every class with a quiz on the previous reading every night from here on out. Also come to find out, he specifically said that THE QUIZZES HAVE PROVEN SO HARD IN THE PAST THAT EVERYONE FAILED, HE STARTED GIVING EVERYONE A "STUDY GUIDE A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO AND STILL, MOST PEOPLE FAIL." So - what he failed to tell me is that the night I was gone he gave the whole frickin class the exact questions that would be on the test! Now, its one thing if someone skips class or whatever for no reason, BUT, when I did my due diligence and specifically asked if I would miss anything crucial because I would make plans for a different date he SPECIFICALLY told me no!! I could not have been more furious last night! So, that compacting with my insane load this weekend I was just oblivious to my purse. I think the stress and frustration of that situation got me more than anything. I don't know, I may be wrong and it may be a "well, I chose to skip class so its on me" situation, but when a student specifically asks before making the plans, what kind of a jerk does it take to do that?

For the record, I failed the quiz. 3 points out of 20. It's not easy stuff - it's a critical thinking class and we're reading people like Plato and Aristotle, etc. Last night was Cisero and it's all philosophical - so - even though I answered the questions based on what the examples were that cisero gave (technically I was right), he wanted us to "read between the lines" and give an answer other than what Cisero said specifically (not in the instruction of the quiz of course), so nearly 1/2 the class failed even with their having the questions in hand.

OK - that's it, I'm done ranting. I've had a really frustrating day today too, so I thought logging on and reading DISboards would brighten me up! Sorry about the rant . . .

 

[F&A]

Et tu Jessica? Then fall the rest of the class....

You will never looking at Rome burning on Spaceship Earth the same again.