Disney Wonder Jan 23, 2011

Hello everyone. I think I joined the thread way back when there were only a few but haven't been back. Just saw the Kids free offer and am hoping my TA will be redoing our reservation to get this offer.

My family will be a group of 20, 3 generations. My Parents and Aunt and Uncle. My sister and her family (twins age 8) My family (kids 11,13) my 2 cousins and their families (kids 11,13,14,17). This will be my 5th cruise and the second time all 20 of us have sailed together. I live in New York, while all the rest are in PA.

I am the planner/organizer for our group, and the only one on these boards. Right now some of us are flying in Friday morning and going to visit Hollywood/Beverly Hills Friday and then do Universal Saturday. We will rent cars and then Sunday morning plan to return them to the airport and take Super Shuttle to the Port.

For excursions we hope to do the Zipline but that is all I have figured out so far. We all enjoy the water and the cold won't bother us so we will likely do something in the water one day. Any suggestions from anyone would be great.

We are doing late seating. Last Aug. I did a Mom's only 3 night cruise (got the Bounce back $99 offer) and did late seating for the very first time. I LOVED it!!! I felt like we had so much more time everyday not having to rush to get ready for dinner. Plus we have seen the shows so we won't likely go to all of those again.

The months of planning and finding out all I can for a trip is a lot of the fun for me. I am sure this group will add to that fun!

Welcome! :grouphug: I just want to say that I think it's wonderful that your family has 3 generations coming together. Our family is so split apart that that almost never happens. Well, my in-laws and that side of the family come together, but my side of the family doesn't. It's great that you guys are so close :)

Are any of you guys planning on participating in FE's? If so let me know and I will add you to the list. Even if you're not doing FE's I would love to add all of you to our little website (if that's OK with you)! Do you want to send me all of the details, or should I just put you on there with the general info you gave above? If you'd like to send me the details just shoot me a PM :thumbsup2

My husband and I LOVE the cold and HATE heat, so we're OK with cold whether/water as well. We haven't decided on snorkeling yet because we want to do more research on snorkeling in the different ports - but we're pretty sure we will be joining Yanira and Sergio for some snorkeling! :banana:

My husband and I also LOVE 2nd seating, and we completely agree with you. Late dining gives you more time in your day and makes you feel less rushed. However, I do understand why people with small children might like or need early seating. We also agree 100% on the shows. We will definitely go to the golden mickey's (I think that's what it was called), and we will definitely NOT go to Toy Story! The other one was OK, so that will just depend on whether or not we find anything better to do that night.
 
hey one more quick thing who has a FB page ? Look me up !
Cari Shields ( pic of me and 2 dogs )

Hey Cari, I tried looking you up on Facebook but I can't find you. I've used your name (Cari Shields), I included a location of 'temecula' and 'wine country', and I even tried 'cari and denver', but nothing comes up. Can you PM me your email so I can add you? Or..you can add me! (mrsjeccamcintosh@yahoo.com) :thumbsup2
 
My family will be joining you. So Far there are 10 of us , may be 10 more coming. My family, kids ages 11, 13, my sister family, age7,7 and my parents.

This will be our fourth Disney cruise. We considered doing Royal Caribbean for this cruise, but my kids really wanted to do Disney again since they know the ship.

We'll be coming from NY. Are you from east or west coast?


We're from the west coast (landlocked Alberta, so VERY excited to be near/on the ocean!) DS will be 5 and DD will be 8.

Sorry it took so long for me to reply but every time I checked back after I posted there were no replys so I left it (for ages as you can see!:guilty: ) I see I have quite a few posts to catch up on!! :yay:
 
KAREN & CO.: :welcome:

MKETTING: 3 generations!? That is amazing. I have a big family, and we are close, but we have never taken a vacation together. That is pretty cool. :upsidedow

SEEMEFLI: I was wondering about you! Just because you were the one who started this thread, and now look how far it's come along! Can't wait to meet you!

JESSICA:
LOVED your review of WOC! I can't wait to see it!!! I'm actually happy that I wasn't the first to see the show because there is no way I would have given such a detailed review as yours! Awesome work! :thumbsup2

Sergio and I are scheduled to go to DCA on Sunday, and we've already made plans for Saturday, so we can't switch up the days. :sad1: Sorry guys. Hope you and Sue get to meet up. Because we've reserved dining at Ariel's Grotto, we hope we have a great (or at least good) view of the show. :) All the reviews I've read so far are saying it is an awesome show, and that having the dining package is a plus. So, we'll see...popcorn::

By the way, I will send you a PM with all our cruise info for the dining arrangements (because you know we are SO in). I tried looking for you on FB (even used your e-mail address), and I couldn't find you (or Cari...or Steve...or Sue!). Go here: http://www.facebook.com/yanira.chavez, and add me! ;)

STEVE: I love hearing about Emma too!!! I hope when I have a daughter, she's just as sharp as Emma. I definitely want to go in on buying a special FE for Emma's birthday. :woohoo:Since Cathy is giving her her "sweet cinco" present on the first night, then we will do so as well.

Your ideas on the group name/theme/graphic are good! "Saludos Amigos" is Spanish for "Greetings Friends," so it's not just South American. So here is my suggestion: what about "Cruisin' with Amigos" for our name? I'm not a graphic expert, so I wouldn't be able to come up with it, but we can definitely incorporate the 3 Amigos if everyone is okay with that? :confused3 Just a suggestion.

I still have to post a pic of my dogs! :cutie:
 

We did FE's on our last cruise so I think we will pass this time but thanks. You can add us to your website.
 
Yanira - I just clicked your FB link and sent you a request. That link was a great idea. How do you set that up? Thank you as well for the special FE for Emma. She already thinks she is a little Princess some days. She will love the attention!

I was talking about the Disney's animated movie Saludos Amigos. I thought it took place in South America somewhere but I don't recall.

Jessica - That was a fantastic write-up of WOC. Now I really want to see it even more than before. I think we'll have to make the FastPass dash one morning in September. We are going to Ariel's Grotto anyway to let the girls meet the Princesses (yet again) but I don't think there are any characters at dinner so the package wouldn't do us any good.

About the second seating on the ship, we have always done it before Emma but switched to early like so many parents do. I actually somewhat prefer earlier dining mainly because I'm starving by 8:00. Other cruiselines do a pretty good job of having good late lunch options available but it seems the only thing Disney has around 3 or 4pm is that theme park food on Deck 9. I can only handle so many days of burgers, chicken strips, and hot dogs. I wish the buffets were open longer.

It will be nice to not have to race back on the ship so early though. We've never seen Toy Story so we will have to experience it once (I won't set my expectations too high), and we love Golden Mickeys and Disney Dreams so we will see those again too. I can usually take or leave the variety shows and always pass on movie night. I hope the production shows take place on days at sea so we aren't tempted to miss them.

Seemefli - It's nice to meet the person who started it all.

Mketting - Welcome! That is great that you can travel with so many family members. This should be such a fun trip for everyone in your group. We'll probably see you on the zip line. Please don't judge me if I scream and cry for mommy!

Karen - We've never made it as far east as Klamath Falls. We'll have to check it out on one of our trips out to Ashland. We are actually about 20 miles north of Eureka. We know Redding really well. That's the big city for us. Amy and I used to make weekend shopping and dining trips out there before they built a Target here (we sound like such hicks). We would visit all the chain stores and restaurants we grew up with and couldn't do here. Now they are starting to show up here so the desire to travel for them is gone!

Keep an eye out for Cat 11 cabins in the upcoming months. I'm confident Disney will start upgrading people to Cat 8/9 to free up some cabins to try to get more people to book. We've been upgraded twice because of this. If so, you should be able to change cabins and downgrade to save some $$$ if you want.

-steve
 
Steve - you must be Arcata? or north of that still (ferndale?)....we used to camp (industrial camping, I called it) at the fisherman's place out on the jetty.

Cabin #5 says they are coming, two more little girls and a baby in that one.

All five of my kids!!! woohoo (or oh dear, not sure which yet...)

I am also on facebook...karen oakes make sure send a message with the request because I screen heavily...lol. DISers always welcome.
 
STEVE: How funny, I never even knew of this:

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]"Saludos Amigos" - Animated feature film about Latin America, made up of four animated segments tied together by live-action footage of the activities of Walt Disney and his artists on their trip. The segments are "Lake Titicaca," chronicling Donald's exploration of the Andes; "Pedro," the story of a baby airplane who replaces his father in the job of getting the mail through; "Aquarela do Brasil," with art showing the various landscapes of Brazil and José Carioca, the parrot, teaching Donald to dance the samba; and "El Gaucho Goofy," in which American cowboy Goofy becomes a gaucho on the Argentine pampas, learning the habits through off-stage narration.[/FONT]

Although it does say it is a film about Latin America (which could technically include Mexico and Central America), the stories take place in South America. Well, I guess that won't work! :rotfl:

For the FB link, it's www.facebook.com/[enter username here]. You can find your user name in Account Settings/Username.

KAREN: When I searched your name, there were a lot of you. :lmao: Please give us your link so we can add you. Thanks!

WORLD OF COLOR: 3 DAYS!!! :woohoo:
 
Just some last minute posting before I disappear into Disneyland. We drive down tomorrow. We will be @ Paradise Pier (& World of Color) and then down to Coronado to sit on the beach a bit. :banana:
I rented the 3 Amigos about a month ago because I knew Alec would love it. And he did. :happytv: But it was more real shots (compared to cartoon shots) than I had remembered. But yes, I was thinking it was Mexico but they talked about Latin America. But then when we went to Epcot a few years ago, Donald is in the Mexico Pavilion. We even have a picture of him with Alec in a sombrero. We can keep brain storming on the logo for our group, though. Maybe something will stick. :woohoo:
Karen & Steve-My parents used to run the KOA in Langlois. Just above the Oregon/California border. This was back in the early 80's though. The loved it there but decided they couldn't keep up the place anymore. I almost went to Humbolt State but my little sis did and lived there for a number of years. Funny how it is such a small world. (No pun, well maybe...It's a Small World after all....)
OK, I need to go and pack. If anyone is finding themselves @ Disneyland we will be staying from tomorrow night and heading for Coronado on Tues (6/22). PM me or facebook me. Jeff always takes a laptop as he he seems to get calls from work a lot. So I will drop by now & then. Think of me Sunday night @ WOC!!!:cloud9:
Later,
Sue
 
Steve & Yanira: Thanks about the review. :flower3: I was REALLY tired so I didn't know that it would make sense. There are also some things I've thought of throughout the days that I wanted to add....but I keep forgetting. Now that I remember there is stuff I wanted to add, I can't remember what it is! :rotfl2: That's OK, you will just have to see it for yourselves!
Yanira: I still want to hear YOUR review of WOC! No Joke!! :thumbsup2

Cruise name/logo: I am not a graphic designer by any means, but I can make something once we come up with a tag line or theme. Personally, I like the 3 Caballeros idea...but I can't think of a clever "catch phrase" or "name" for our group, let alone to go along with the 3 caballeros (or anything else). :confused3 I'm STUMPED!

September
: Hey Steve - I think that all DISer's who meet up in September should see World of Color together! :woohoo: What does everyone think?!?

Sue: I sent you a PM! :3dglasses Have a safe trip, and I hope we can meet up on Saturday!
 
I havent been on the treatd much but been keeping up . I like the idea of a meet at WOC in sept or whatever ....
Who havent I added to FB yet ?

cruise names hmmmm-

west coast wonderers

DIS Wonderful west coast adventure

Wondering through the Mexican Rivera

wonderful Cruise to Wonderland

im thinking - im thinking - help
 
I think this is it:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=4217524&id=813744181#!/karen.oakes

I am headed to Disney at end of July. Hojo has Entertainment/AP rate and going to take advantage of ap and birthday (another 5 years younger. In five years, I will be in my thirties, no prob). :rotfl2::rotfl2::rotfl2:

September is on the agenda or October...wanted to see the Halloween party doin's.

Suggestion?

When we did the meet/greet group for the Sept cruise, someone ordered green wristbands for us to wear to identify ourselves to each other later in the cruise. My FE gift was neck wallets, lime green, with Magic! personalized on them. The rubber wristbands ran $1 apiece.....but the neck wallets ran about that too. AND folks on the FE list knew that anyone else wearing it was a DISer. What do y'all think about ordering lime green neck wallets with Wonder or Wonder 1/23/11 on them. Hopefully will be the same price. The organizer had a spot in the lounge and handed out bracelets in Florida and collected money.... I could handle ordering, get them there, etc. since I am driving.
 
OOOOh, and I think our cruise is nearly sold out. The only rooms that show up for 2 is concierge level. no rooms show up when you put in 2 adults, 3 kids....
 
I don't have much chance to respond to anything but I just wanted to let my ocean family know we are heading out for the weekend. I asked for a camping trip for Father's Day so we are leaving shortly to load up the tent trailer and make the four-hour drive out there. We will be back Monday evening.

I hope everyone has a great weekend and all the dads in your lives (and dads of four-legged kids) have a fun time.

Adios!

-steve
 
new cabin report:

Jonathan and Joy
Sofia, age 11
Savanna, age 7.5
Lillie, age 1 year (by then)
Brianna, age 11 (nearly by then).

This makes my group 10 adults and 9 kids (I think).

gonna be like herding cats!
 
Today I dropped my son off at Elementary School for the last time. Both my kids will be in middle school next year. My 13 year old is turning into a true teenager:scared1:in some ways it is really fun to watch her growing more independent, in other ways it is utterly terrifying! She can't wait for the cruise because this time she will be old enough "she thinks" to walk around the ship with her cousins all on their own. I'm not sure she is. Anyone have any thoughts on this??

KSF saved our group more than $4400!!!

Cruise name idea- Siete dias de Wonder (7 days of Wonder)
 
Oh no - I need to catch up! I apologize if I miss anything! If I do and it's something you want me to respond to just let me know! :thumbsup2

First HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all of the dads out there! party:

OK- here goes with the post!
Ryan and I met Sue and her family at Disneyland yesterday! I believe that Sue will also be meeting up with Yanira and Sergio today! They are absolutely wonderful people, and it was such a joy to spend time with them! We would have liked to spend more time riding rides with them, but something in their schedule and WOC in ours put a kink in the rides. However, we had a lovely lunch and we did get to ride one ride with them! Steve: I keep meaning to send you an email on this, but I keep forgetting. You will be proud about this next thing I have to say! Last weekend Ryan got me to ride a run-away mine train with him and it was fun! Yesterday, Ryan, Sue, and Jeff got me to ride a scary space adventure and I didn't die! WooHooo!! :woohoo: I be that Sue and Jeff are super glad I didn't throw up! :rotfl2: Sue and Jeff, we can't wait to see you guys again! Hopefully we'll be able to afford the Halloween party, and if we do we'll get tickets for your date!

World of Color Update!

We saw it again last night, and from a different vantage point. This is what I have to say:

1) It was SO MUCH more crowded than last weekend! (Or, at least it felt that way). Before the pre-show even started I knew I couldn't see ANYTHING except for people's backs. It was so bad that we actually started walking out!
2) Our review of being in back (up top on the normal sidewalk area) is 100% accurate! There are things I saw this time that I never even knew were going on last weekend! If I thought it was amazing then, it was even more amazing last night! The deal is this: the entire length of the bay is utilized, so something is going on everywhere. The closer you get to the water, the more narrow your view is! In order to get the "big picture" and see everything at once, you need to be as far back as possible!
3) Now, we didn't leave because were walking out and a cast member asked us why we were leaving. (You give your ticket to them, so once you leave you can't get back in). I told her I am claustrophobic and couldn't handle being in that crowd (which was pretty true; also, someone's perfume had been making my breathing a bit heavy). We didn't go in the very back when we first got there because our impression was that it was being held for handicap people and their family only. Well, the cast member asked if we wanted in there because there are less people and it's more roomy. I said, "that would be great, but is that allowed?" She said that it is a yellow section, and we can be in any yellow section we want. OMG - it was SO ROOMY, AND, the view is SO MUCH BETTER! You guys can do as you like and try your VIP dining packages, but I just want you to know that the very top is the way to go! You can see EVERYTHING! Also, the 3D effect of the characters in the water is so much more impressive from the back!

Alright, I will shut up now. Now...onto the replies!

Cari: great start on cruise names! Out of those, the one I like is "Wondering through the Mexican Riviera", but I don't know how that will tie into a logo. I still haven't had any ideas, but Ryan and I are going to watch 3 Caballeros (after we go see Toy Story 3) today. Hopefully watching that will give me some ideas!

Karen: I couldn't find an "add friend" button on your FB. Do you want to add me? http://www.facebook.com/karen.oakes#!/jessica.mcintosh. Personally, I think I would be more in-favor of wrist bands than neck wallets. We are pin collectors but I rarely wear pins because having something around my neck bothers me (I get itchy and stuff). I would totally be in on that, but for wrist bands! (Or we could do buttons, kind of like the birthday and celebrate buttons, but with our cruise info!) I know we looked at doing something like that (wrist bands and lanyards) for everyone as an FE gift, but the cheapest we found were based on the number of items you are buying. At minimum it was about $150 for 100 bracelets. As a side note, if we do this and you don't want to wait to get paid back by everyone, you could always give us your paypal name and we could all just deposit the $1 or $2 into your account. That way you get your money right away! :thumbsup2

Also, you are correct. The cruise is (or was earlier) officially sold out! However, I must say that this is disappointing news to me. :( I know it's great for all of you who have kids - but we don't. The kids sail free is what put it over the edge, and now there is a lot less chance of an upgrade. :sad1: Yes - I am selfish :rotfl2:

Also - I have updated your cabin report in both locations! Do you have any pictures you want to send to me to post on the site? (And...are you in "guarantee" cabins?)

Mketting: (I apologize, I don't know your name :upsidedow) She's 13 you say? I don't have kids, but I was a 13 year old girl once, so maybe I can have some insight. I think this depends on the type of girl she is AND the ages and types of girls/boys her cousins are. If you think they will just "explore" on their own, go to the pool, eat junk food (if she's allowed), etc., then I don't think it would hurt. My suggestion would be to "test her". For instance, on day 1 of sailing (not the first night of the cruise, but the next day), I would do this: say yes and let them go, but tell them they have to meet you somewhere at a specific time and place to check-in, etc. If they meet you there on time and happy, then continue to allow them as long as they continue to meet you when and where you say. If they are even 1 minute late, revoke the privilege. Now, if you think they are the types to go around causing mischief and doing things they are not supposed to do, then no, don't let her be on her own. If safety is your worry and not the kids themselves, then I would just remember that kids are pretty safe on a Disney cruise. There are cast members EVERYWHERE, there are people watching the pools, and it's a ship filled with stuff for kids to do and characters to see. As long as she is responsible enough to do what you say (and not do what she's not supposed to), I don't see why it would be a problem. Also - do you have more than 1 digital camera? If not, you could buy a semi-cheap one for her so she can take any pictures she wants (this would be exciting for her). Then, nightly, you could go through her camera (maybe after she's sleeping) and see her photos. This will give you a good idea of what she's doing on her own and whether or not you want her to be on her own the next day. That's my 2 cents. :3dglasses

About the cruise name - I like that, but I like it better in English :rotfl:

OK - off to see Toy Story 3 in about an hour! :woohoo::3dglasses Then lunch, then home for laundry, laundry, laundry!
 
We're from the west coast (landlocked Alberta, so VERY excited to be near/on the ocean!) DS will be 5 and DD will be 8.

Sorry it took so long for me to reply but every time I checked back after I posted there were no replys so I left it (for ages as you can see!:guilty: ) I see I have quite a few posts to catch up on!! :yay:

Hi! Are you guys going to do FE's? If so, send me your info and I will add you to the list? Also, would you like me to add your info to our little website? If so, send me a PM with your info! :cheer2:
 
am jealous that Jessica has seen WOC twice!!! so, I booked flight to LA for my birthday at the end of July so that I can catch up.

We can wait until closer to cruise to make decision. The bracelets were good but not as eye-catching. The neck wallets are on cord, not lanyard type and have zippers to hold money/room key and such (the handy part!!)

How about Cabelleros of Wonder or Wonderful Cabelleros?

Cabins have opened back up again, only 2-3 folks in room kind (cat 6 and 7). I am somewhat hoping that more will open as final payment nears. (sorry for those folks, but will help my budget immensely as the additional rooms are two categories above what I budgeted for....and yes, Jessica, they are GTY for now. We know 8000 and 8092 for Jonathan/family. The rest are to be announced.

I spent time looking for private beaches or resorts for the day in Cabo (when we went on the Magic, we went to Nochi-Cocom, private beach in Cozumel....it was wonderful wonderful wonderful). We also did Stingray Sailing and turned out two other families from the cruise were there as well (non-disney excursion). Anyone know if anything like those are in PV or Cabo?
 
Happy to say that my family of 4 will be on board the Wonder!:woohoo: My wife and daughters (13 & 10 at sailing) and I have cruised several times but this will be our first Disney cruise.
 

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