Disney Wonder Jan 23, 2011

[Tigger1313]

Tonya or any other crafty type person, I have a question...Would I use something like a "Heat n Bond" type product to make my own FE??? It seems pretty simple to use. I have been looking at e-bay at all the different Disney pieces of fabric and really would like to try my hand at making my own. It is weird but I have done embroidery when I was younger but I just don't think hand sewing would be good enough for a FE. But this stuff looks like it would be strong enough to hold everything on.
Back to e-bay...
Sue

Sue I used heat N Bond on my FE,but be careful and only use your iron for just a few seconds. I left the iron on mine for 30 seconds it melted and did not work . I think you only need about 10 seconds. I ended up hand sewing the whole thing. It did turned out nice though

 

[airtime247]

My $0.02 on DVC, it's well worth it if you plan to take trips to WDW nearly every year and don't want to stay in Value rooms. When I did the math before we bought, I figured it would come out about the same getting a room in a moderate for a week whereas now we can stay in a 1BR, in basically a deluxe. It's definitely not an investment since there is an expiration date on them (although I'm sure there will be a way to renew), but think of it as a way to prepay vacations you would have planned on taking. We also save a fortune on dining while at WDW because we have a full kitchen and use it for about two meals a day.

Another way to think about buying into DVC is you are locking in the rates. Hotel prices go up each your but the point costs never do. They may change them around a bit but however many points a resort is for 365 days will never change. They just went up for weekdays but the weekend rates went down to compensate.

Another way we like to visit WDW and to save cash is to plan our trips so there are two within a 365-day period and buy an AP which also lets us take advantage of other saving like Jessica (or was it Ryan) said. We may plan a trip for December of '10 to see the Christmas decorations. Maybe our 2011 trip would be in September for Food & Wine and Halloween. We then wouldn't have to buy new APs until our 2012 trip which we then would use for 2013 and so on.

We also bought DVC with passing it down to Emma in mind. Just with our one contract alone, she would be able to go with her family until she is in her 30's. We will add on later to hopefully take care of her and her kids on points until they are grown.

We do plan to use points occasionally at VGC but I don't think we could justify buying DVC if it was our primary resort because of point costs. We would rather just pay cash and stay at the Candy Cane Inn or the HoJo if we can get an Entertainment Book Rate. We got a great rate at Paradise Pier one year so we stayed there with cash but normally, the Disney resorts are too expensive for us.

Sue - Have you visited Sammy's place in Lake Tahoe yet? I think it's at Harvey's. We went there one time.

-steve

 

[jkrislc]

Thanks everyone for the input on DVC; it's definitely giving me something to think about, especially since I forgot that you could use the points for hotel stays. We prefer to stay on-site whenever possible, especially for early entry into Disneyland. It also has a more "magical" feel.

Sue, the heat and bond works very well. We actually bought some drape panels on clearance that weren't wide enough and use the heat and bond to attach three of the panels together. It held up for 7 years until we sold our house, so it's very durable and holds well.

Kris

 

[ymchavez]

Hello to all the new people!!! My name is Yanira and I haven’t been really vocal lately (started school about 2 weeks ago), but I will try to check in at least every weekend. Our ocean family has really grown in the span of a month! My husband and I are really excited for this cruise (it’s our first cruise ever!) and we are looking forward to meeting all of you.

We are not DVC members, but Jessica has convinced us that we DEFINITELY need to be a part of it. We’re going to be talking to a cast member either the next time we are at DL/DCA or maybe even on the cruise. Do you think they’ll give us a better rate to join then? RYAN: The pictures of the Hawaii hotel are amazing! We’ve stayed in Hawaii before and our hotel looked like nothing compared to what this new hotel looks like. It’s just so nice! I really can’t wait to go there.

JESSICA: You are amazing!!! All that you’ve done for our ocean family as far as coordinating things and just taking charge is sincerely appreciated. I’m sure Ryan is helping you out too, so thank you too, Ryan! All of the logos for our cruise are great, but Sergio and I like the first one. We’ve already placed out votes on your website. Getting shirts would be awesome too!

We agree with everyone about the reception options. It's better to go with something that isn't going to cost us anything because we are already spending a lot of money on the cruise, excursions, etc. We agree with meeting up somewhere, and MAYBE (and that's a big maybe) even the private movie viewing (if the price seems reasonable to everyone). Meeting up on the first day is a great idea, and we would need something to be able to identify each other better. The wrist band idea is awesome! Did we ever come up with a color for that? I guess lime green is fine, since it is the official color for the DISboards. Besides, we could wear the wrist bands throughout the cruise and not just on the first day. Didn't someone say that they had a way to get these?

It's time to go to bed now. Hope everyone had a great weekend and I'll talk to you guys later.

Good night!

 

[airtime247]

Yanira - I'll PM the guy who ordered the wristbands for our last cruise to find out where he got them. I think they cost around $1.25 each. He just placed the order for everyone and we sent him money for ours.

I see our number of people is getting high enough to where we can consider doing lanyards if we want. The minimum order is typically 100 which is why we just did wristbands on our last cruise. The cost of custom lanyards under $2 per person.

-steve

 

[jkrislc]

Yanira - I'll PM the guy who ordered the wristbands for our last cruise to find out where he got them. I think they cost around $1.25 each. He just placed the order for everyone and we sent him money for ours.

I see our number of people is getting high enough to where we can consider doing lanyards if we want. The minimum order is typically 100 which is why we just did wristbands on our last cruise. The cost of custom lanyards under $2 per person.

-steve

Steve, I may have passed through your town, or at least the middle of nowhere California, last month on the way to San Mateo. I also just returned from a conference/training in San Jose, which I mention because of your signature. I guess if I keep posting to these forums, I should really create a signature like I have on other forums.

What is the purpose of the wrist bands and lanyards? Is it simply to identify each other while on the cruise? Just curious. While I've participated in these type of groups on other cruise lines, I didn't do so on my first DCL cruise, so I'm a little unfamiliar with the process as it seems to work differently. I know some of the other lines actually have a guest services coordinator that sets up a meet and has senior officers attend, which was pretty cool. I'm surprised Disney doesn't follow that model.

Kris

 

[airtime247]

Kris - There is lots of "middle of nowhere" between L.A. and the Bay Area. We are at the northern end of the state, about 90 miles south of the Oregon border. It's just a quick 12-hour drive to Disneyland! I grew up in the Bay Area though and still have a lot of family up and down the state.

The purpose of the wristbands or lanyards is just to give us an easy way to identify each other when we pass in the hall or if we are in the same area. If we had to go by our pictures in the page alone, I don't think we would have much luck unless we planned to meet in a specific place/time. The wristbands were nice because they were cheap but they weren't very easy to spot unless you were looking for them. That is why a bright color would work best for them. If you are wearing long sleeves, they are pretty much impossible to see though.

The lanyards are very visible even with low-key colors. The strap can have the name of our group on it and we can put our logo and screen name on the small badge area. I was never much of a lanyard person but I admit it did come in handy as a good place to keep my room key.

I found the link of the sample images of our bracelets. This was the closest to the DIS lime green they could do but we would be free to choose any color we want.

-steve

 

[airtime247]

He just got back to me with the link where he ordered the bracelets: http://www.theawristocrat.com/silicone-bracelets-rush.html

-steve

 

[ymchavez]

I am TOTALLY for the lanyards yay, but my husband is not. He just thinks that a wrist band is more convenient because it doesn't get in the way and you can actually wear it the WHOLE time, whereas you'd have to take off the lanyard to jump in the pool, for example. The price on the wrist bands isn't too bad. What does everyone else think? We could probably go through a different site and get them even cheaper?

 

[jkrislc]

There is lots of "middle of nowhere" between L.A. and the Bay Area
-steve

The purpose of the wristbands or lanyards is just to give us an easy way to identify each other when we pass in the hall or if we are in the same area.
-steve

When I read "middle of nowhere CA," I presumed middle of the state; thanks for the clarification.

I assumed that's what the lanyards/wristbands were for; just clarifying. Maybe we should have a contest. The one with the most lanyards (DVC if they have them, Castway, DLC, WDW) wins!

As for the lanyards, yellow might be a good color given the trim of the Wonder and the color of the lifeboats.

Kris

 

[jkrislc]

I am TOTALLY for the lanyards yay, but my husband is not. He just thinks that a wrist band is more convenient because it doesn't get in the way and you can actually wear it the WHOLE time, whereas you'd have to take off the lanyard to jump in the pool, for example. The price on the wrist bands isn't too bad. What does everyone else think? We could probably go through a different site and get them even cheaper?

I'm willing to defer to the group, but I prefer the wristband as I'm not a huge fan of lanyards. I already have a ton that I don't use.

The link Steve provided is pretty cool. They even have a Disney font that would probably work well.

Kris

 

[Kidlette]

Yo Yo Yo What up to my peeps?! LOL! I don't really talk like that, I'm just being funny!

OK - it looks like I have a LOT of reading to do - I have to catch up! But first, a couple of announcements!

1) D23 is holding a Scavenger hunt at Disneyland Resort 9/26! It sounds AMAZINGLY FUN!! You can have teams of 2 - 4, and it lasts about 5 hours. There are supposed to be some wonderful prizes! Ryan, me, Yanira, and Sergio have already formed a team of 4! Here's the link in case anyone is interested! (I've already tried to sway Steve and Amy to switch their travel dates! ) http://d23.disney.go.com/expo/092610_EE_ScavengerHunt.html

2) D23 is also holding a month of Classic Movies in August (throughout 3 theaters: Hollywood, Passadena, and Sherman Oaks). They have not released the times of the movies but they are all on weekdays. Hopefully they will be night-time showings so we can go! Anywho - they have amazing titles such as: Pete's Dragon!, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Marry Poppins, Escape to Witch Mountain, 20,000 leagues under the sea, Pinocchio, Cinderella, and others! More info can be found here: http://d23.disney.go.com/articles/071210_NF_BN_ArcLightScreenings.html

If I haven't mentioned, Ryan and I are D23 members and we HIGHLY recommend it!

 

[Kidlette]

When I read "middle of nowhere CA," I presumed middle of the state; thanks for the clarification.

I assumed that's what the lanyards/wristbands were for; just clarifying. Maybe we should have a contest. The one with the most lanyards (DVC if they have them, Castway, DLC, WDW) wins!

As for the lanyards, yellow might be a good color given the trim of the Wonder and the color of the lifeboats.

Kris

I'm gathering notes to reply all at once, but I saw this and just had to post right away!! Did you know that DCL got special permission from the coast guard to NOT paint their lifeboats yellow, but to paint them "Mickey Yellow", as in the official yellow/orange shade of Mickey's feet?!?!?!? YUP - it's true! The coast guard approved it and the lifeboats are mickey yellow!!

 

[Kidlette]

Okalie Dokalie everyone - I'm all caught up on reading; here goes the catch up on posts!

Lanyards/Buttons/Writst Bands:
Ryan and I have done a LOT of research on this, so there are several options we can choose from. Personally, I don't care what we end up doing, but I think having something is a good idea. With that said, I think Sergio makes a very valid point - that a wrist band wouldn't have to be removed and put back on 40 dozen times. Ryan doesn't care, as far as he's concerned just do what-ever's cheapest and be done with it. For me, I wouldn't mind spending a little extra money on an idea I had, the problem would be that I don't think everyone else would want to spend $3 or $3.5 on them. That said, I think I would have chosen buttons, but with Sergio's point on the wrist bands I would have to go with them. Either way, below is approx pricing for what we've found. Remember, this can change depending on the number of people joining/participating in the purchase. A lot of these things are bulk, so if only 1/2 the group wants to purchase then we'd have to pay more per person and have extras. I'm also concerned because, although a handfull of us regularly participate in this board, a LOT of people have signed up with our group and then never been back to say word 1! How will we know if they are in, especially considering it's the majority of the cruisers??
Average button (with logo): $0.59 per button (for good quality), or we found someone who would do them 100 for $30 including shipping (ok quality, but not as many reviews as the one above)
Average lanyard: $1.15 - $1.60 depending on type (polyester/woven/tubular)
Wristbands: About $1.04

Now, the idea I had (but is probably not doable) is something we bought on the ship a couple of years ago. It's a waterproof neck wallet. You can put your room key, money, credit cards, and if it's big enough - phone - in it and it's waterproof! We even wore ours while we went snorkeling! There are a couple of different types, the hard box-like ones (the kind we got on the ship) would be $1.26 - $4.72 depending on the size/color/carabiner vs. neck strap, etc). One's that aren't hard (more of a soft material) would be between $2.50 and $4.50. Anyway, in case you can't picture what I'm talking about, here are a couple of pics:

Hard case

Soft case

Now that I'm thinking about it and posting this, I think this idea came more from a desire to purchase something I would actually use. This type of thing really isn't necessary for sole purpose of identifying each other.

Anyway - after all that, my official vote is for wristbands! Should I set up a voting poll thing for this topic?

Kris: If you're only going to use it at Disneyland, and only a couple of times a year with no desire or need to have it for the next 40+ years for WDW, then DVC just might not be for you. It's good to get all the details though. And just remember, in the end we all have our own opinions; you and Sheri will have to decide if it's a good choice for you or not.

Yanira: You're so sweet. The 4 of us are going to have SO MUCH fun at the Disney Scavenger hunt! We can't wait!

Reception:
I'm kind of glad everyone agrees on the private reception not being a good idea. I have a hard time paying for something that would otherwise be free. Also, I don't know who mentioned it (maybe Kris), but I think I might ask the Disney group agent why they don't do a free reception for us like they do on other cruise lines.
Anyway, I think we should just all meet on the first day (the day we board the ship). Like I said before, this way we can update each other on any cabin numbers that have changed, pass out wristbands etc. As a side note, Ryan and I will already be on the ship from the 2 night sailing directly prior to this one, so hopefully this will give us an advantage with getting some space in a lounge. This is what we're thinking:

Meet in the Promenade Lounge from 2:30 - 3:15
Safety drill should be around 3:30
Sail away party at 4:00!
People in 1st dining start eating around 5:00
Shows begin immediately

If we think that 45 minutes isn't enough, Ryan and I would be willing to set a 2nd meeting for the next morning. The problem with this is that we will be attending the DVC thing on the ship this day, but we don't yet know what time it will be at. Therefore, we don't know for sure what time we could set to get together with everyone.

Anywho - let us know if that's OK. If it is I will put it on our little website as our first "group gathering" posting!

Steve: It's almost August and you're coming in the beginning of September . . . it's coming around quickly! Do you and Amy want to start settling on a date that you'd like to meet up with all of us? If so, let me know and I will put that date on the group gathering's section for anyone interested. As you know though, Ryan and I are still in!

 

[jkrislc]

I'm gathering notes to reply all at once, but I saw this and just had to post right away!! Did you know that DCL got special permission from the coast guard to NOT paint their lifeboats yellow, but to paint them "Mickey Yellow", as in the official yellow/orange shade of Mickey's feet?!?!?!? YUP - it's true! The coast guard approved it and the lifeboats are mickey yellow!!

I did because I'm a cruise nerd (not so much a Disney nerd but am slowly coming around). It's funny how Disney becomes that much more "magical" once you have a kid. It was even the first stock I bought form my DS's college fund before he was even a year old.

I thought about mentioning it, but I figured it was like preaching to the choir, so I refrained.

As for the DVC thing, I'm still up in the air. It would definitely be cost neutral; I just haven't yet figured the long-term benefits. I do know if we had it, we'd go more often. In addition, we'd likely go with my SIL's family, so that would make it more useful (but we'd use our points).

As you know, I'll be onboard with you early, so I can help you and Ryan stake out a place. I was thinking the Promenade Lounge as well. As for the DVC meeting the first morning, it's traditionally been at 10 a.m. from what I've read on other boards, but of course that can change. I'm thinking spa appointment that morning

Kris

 

[Kidlette]

I did because I'm a cruise nerd (not so much a Disney nerd but am slowly coming around). It's funny how Disney becomes that much more "magical" once you have a kid. It was even the first stock I bought form my DS's college fund before he was even a year old.

I thought about mentioning it, but I figured it was like preaching to the choir, so I refrained.

Kris

LOL - I'm just a nerd all around! Actually, Disney junkie and all - I didn't know this until a few weeks ago!

 

[airtime247]

Kris - I guess my location was a little misleading. Besides the areas surrounding San Francisco, Sacramento, LA, and San Diego, there are a whole lot of "boonies" in our big state. We have thought about transferring within my company to the San Luis Obispo area. It's a great location between LA and the Bay Area as we can get to either within a decent drive. I just wish it wasn't so expensive to live there! It's rough being such a fan of amusement parks where I live now as as it's 5.5 hours to the nearest park!

Jessica - I keep forgetting about buttons. Those may be a great idea for people as they can do with them as they wish. Lanyard people can throw one on their DVC or Castaway Club lanyards, people can pin them to their shirts, bags, camera straps, hats or whatever.

Wristbands are the easiest and you can leave them on all the time. Again, just from past experience though, once we were on the ship, we didn't see any wristbands on people as they were either covered up with sleeves or most likely because we just aren't conditioned to look down to the wrist of every stranger that passes.

Where the wristbands worked great were in the terminal while we were waiting to board. Since everyone was sitting still, we looked around and saw families wearing them and approached them to chat. We would have never recognized each other by pictures alone as it seems the photos we submitted were from 10 years and 20 pounds ago!

After we met in the terminal, we saw each other all over the ship but it was now because we recognized each other's faces. When I did stop to talk to someone I knew from our thread, I often looked down and saw they were wearing their bracelets. I just wouldn't have noticed otherwise. I never saw another wristband on someone else and only once did someone approach me because he saw mine.

We'll happily go along with the group on this one too so whatever is decided is good with us. We would just need to be creative with our color choice. We can't pick something like yellow as they would look like the Livestrong bracelets. I've seen a few other colors out there as well like pink and purple so we would need to pick something that stands out that isn't commonly used.

You are right though, quantity is tough to figure as we have a lot of people on the roster but so many who only posted once or twice.

I wish we could go down for the Scavenger Hunt but we will be there primarily for the Disneyland Half Marathon on the 5th. We'd definitely go if we lived closer.

I like the idea of meeting in the Promenade Lounge before the lifeboat drill. We never seem to do anything around this time like swim because we have to get back to our cabins to get our lifejackets. After we put some (screen)names with faces, we can take our party up to Deck 9 or 10 after the drill if anyone wants.

I still like the idea of linking dining with other people in our group but it didn't seem like there was much interest for this.

I also think it would be fun to have a group breakfast or lunch at a set time on a day at sea. When we get there, we can just tell them we have a party of X and take over one or more tables in a restaurant. This would be a great way to get to know one another.

-steve

 

[jkrislc]

Steve,

We definitely live in one big, long state. I don't think people, especially from the east coast, appreciate how long it takes to get from one end of the state to another. I think you can travel across 5 o 6 states in the time it takes us to get from one end to the other. I also agree with you regarding SLO; very nice area but very expensive. I always wonder how my students in Orange County are ever going to afford a place to live.

With regards to the wrist bands, I was thinking the yellow/green two tone combo would be cool, but I completely understand not being accustomed to looking at someones wrist. And while I like Jessica's idea of something functional, I know I'd only buy one for my family, where I'd buy lanyards or wrist bands for everyone in my family. I do like the soft-sided water wallet, though, and that's a good price.

Kris

 

[Kidlette]

Evening Steve

It may all be moot if no one else voices an opinion, or if everyone on the board doesn't let me know whether or not they want to purchase. Since it's bulk, if not enough people participate then there is no way to get them. If things were better and we hadn't lost our jobs last year we might just buy them for everyone - but there's no way that's going to happen with our situation now.

In the end I think buttons or wristbands are the best options. Which one we get, I don't really care.

 

[jkrislc]

I saw this mentioned on the Disneyland board and thought I'd pass it along. It's the reairing of Food Network's "Unwrapped" where they explore "Disney Delights." The focus appears to be on Disneyland's Bakery, Epcot eateries, and Club 33. You can find more information here:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/unwrapped/disney-delights/index.html

There's nothing specific to the cruise, but I thought the Disney fans might enjoy this.

Kris