Disney Wonder March 20th 2011 sailing

[alacazam]

You guys all offer some good ideas. We too want to do Disneyland on Friday and then we were hoping to do something like the La Brea Tar Pits or shopping at the Grove on Saturday. There are just so many pieces I don't know if we can get by with just shuttles. I will take a look though. Thanks!

 

[toescat]

I am thinking about doing the Dolphin swim with Makenna, my 11 yr old, in Cabo. I am not sure how I feel about the whole concept but I am curious to check it out.

We did the Dolphin swim in PV and it was one of the greatest experiences I have had in my life. I am an animal lover and just being in the water with this magnificent mammal was breath taking and one I will never forget.

 

[cruisindisney]

Kids facebook group link: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?filter=lf#!/home.php?sk=group_133115840081529

We are flying in early and going to Disneyland for a couple days and staying another day after the cruise. Right now the plan is renting a car and parking it at the port. Every time I tried to figure out the shuttle, the cost got crazy, airport to hotel, hotel (Hojo by DL) to port, port to DL, DL to hotel by the airport. I keep doing research and if I find a cheaper route, I'll jump on it.

And I priced out one way rental with Enterprise and it was OUTRAGEOUS. Two days was $150.

 

[Vegaslover]

Kids facebook group link: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?filter=lf#!/home.php?sk=group_133115840081529

We are flying in early and going to Disneyland for a couple days and staying another day after the cruise. Right now the plan is renting a car and parking it at the port. Every time I tried to figure out the shuttle, the cost got crazy, airport to hotel, hotel (Hojo by DL) to port, port to DL, DL to hotel by the airport. I keep doing research and if I find a cheaper route, I'll jump on it.

And I priced out one way rental with Enterprise and it was OUTRAGEOUS. Two days was $150.

The zippy shuttle price from airport, to HoJo, to port, then back to airport was $220 for three people. This is what we were going to do originally before my friend offered to pick up up.

 

[cruisindisney]

The zippy shuttle price from airport, to HoJo, to port, then back to airport was $220 for three people. This is what we were going to do originally before my friend offered to pick up up.

We have 4 people, so it got very expensive. I got a really GREAT deal on a car, I actually think it's a mistake, but I have a confirmation. Even with the parking we are only spending $230 and will have the flexibility of having a car. I'm guessing I won't get a better deal anywhere else.

 

[cruisindisney]

I forgot to answer the question about how many people are signed up for the Secret Mickey exchange. We have 7 people right now. Any other takers? We'll take sign ups for about another month and then I'll give everyone their person so they can do their shopping/crafting.

 

[alacazam]

We have 4 people, so it got very expensive. I got a really GREAT deal on a car, I actually think it's a mistake, but I have a confirmation. Even with the parking we are only spending $230 and will have the flexibility of having a car. I'm guessing I won't get a better deal anywhere else.

That does sound like an amazing deal! Can I ask with what company?

 

[cruisindisney]

That does sound like an amazing deal! Can I ask with what company?

It was through Costco and the rental company is Alamo. I really think it was a mistake, because 10 minutes later when I went to make a time change on it, the rate went up $70 if I made the change and it didn't affect the number of days either. So I canceled the modification and kept the original reservation.

 

[kkmcan]

That link doesn't work for me. Every time I click on it, it takes me to my facebook page. There is no where anywhere on my page that says anything about the kids group.

 

[cruisindisney]

Try searching for Dis Amigos Fiesta Cruise - Kids. It's a private group because several people requested that it is, so hopefully you can find it in a search. I will have to approve you, which I will do pretty quickly.

 

[Lissame]

We're flying in the day before on Jet Blue to Long Beach. We have a reservation at Best Western in LB. They will pick us up at the airport in a shuttle and take us to San Pedro in the morning. Breakfast in also included. The cost is $104 plus tax.

I've read that many cruisers out of San Pedro use Priceline for the Crowne Plaza and Doubletree (you have to specify 3 1/2 stars to get those hotels) and are paying about $69 or so. They will shuttle you to the terminal at no extra cost. I was going to do this but since you cannot specify how many beds in the room there is a good chance you will get a king. We have 3 people going and I didn't want to chance that.

You could skip the car rental and take a taxi or shuttle to your hotel.

Marilynne--we're also from SWWA and flying in the day before on JetBlue. Which flight are you on? Still haven't decided where we're staying yet or how we're going to work everything out with transportation to and from the airport and port. We were going to go to Disneyland for the day, but it will cost us about $300 plus food for only a few hours on a Saturday during many states' spring break. Decided it wasn't worth the hassle, especially when Splash Mountain will be closed! LOL.

We're thinking we'll rent a car for the day at the airport and go to the Long Beach Aquarium and do a self-guided walking tour of the Queen Mary instead. Also heading to the store to buy alcohol to carry on Now to figure out where to stay, etc.

 

[Vegaslover]

We have 4 people, so it got very expensive. I got a really GREAT deal on a car, I actually think it's a mistake, but I have a confirmation. Even with the parking we are only spending $230 and will have the flexibility of having a car. I'm guessing I won't get a better deal anywhere else.

Susan, are you staying at the HoJo too? If so, you may be able to share the private van from Zippy from HoJo to port, then port to LAX. We are coming in on Thursday night, so not sure you can share from LAX to HoJo. There are only three of us and the van seats 8. I can get a cost estimate for you. The Zippy shuttle guy says it's an additional $5 per person per ride after three people are booked. He gave me an estimate of $130 for my family from HoJo to port, then port to LAX. So, I'm guessing it would be an additional $40 to include your family. So $170 total or $24 per person.

 

[belle'ssister]

Marilynne--we're also from SWWA and flying in the day before on JetBlue. Which flight are you on? Still haven't decided where we're staying yet or how we're going to work everything out with transportation to and from the airport and port. We were going to go to Disneyland for the day, but it will cost us about $300 plus food for only a few hours on a Saturday during many states' spring break. Decided it wasn't worth the hassle, especially when Splash Mountain will be closed! LOL.

We're thinking we'll rent a car for the day at the airport and go to the Long Beach Aquarium and do a self-guided walking tour of the Queen Mary instead. Also heading to the store to buy alcohol to carry on Now to figure out where to stay, etc.

We're flying Saturday and getting in at 4:50pm. We chose the later one because like you we didn't want to pay all of that money for Disneyland on
Saturday, especially it being Spring Break. However, I don't know if I can be so close to the park and not go.

We have a reservation at the Best Western closest to the airport and they'll pickup up in their shuttle. Breakfast and a shuttle to San Pedron in the morning is included in the $104 price. Never have stayed there, last time we went to LB for our Carnival cruise we stayed at the Hilton downtown. It was gorgeous, way to spendy for this trip, they had a $99 special because we were going on Carnival.

I've heard the aquariam is good and we had breakfast at the Queen Mary and walked around the ship after. Great old ship.

We plan on getting some wine and other goodies at a store Saturday night so we'll be ready to go in the morning.

Have you cruised Disney before? First time for us. Done 10 other cruises on RCCL, Celebrity, Holland America and NCL. We usually like to get to the terminal early about 10:00 or 10:30 and be onboard by 11:30 or so.

 

[Lissame]

We're flying Saturday and getting in at 4:50pm. We chose the later one because like you we didn't want to pay all of that money for Disneyland on
Saturday, especially it being Spring Break. However, I don't know if I can be so close to the park and not go.

We have a reservation at the Best Western closest to the airport and they'll pickup up in their shuttle. Breakfast and a shuttle to San Pedron in the morning is included in the $104 price. Never have stayed there, last time we went to LB for our Carnival cruise we stayed at the Hilton downtown. It was gorgeous, way to spendy for this trip, they had a $99 special because we were going on Carnival.

I've heard the aquariam is good and we had breakfast at the Queen Mary and walked around the ship after. Great old ship.

We plan on getting some wine and other goodies at a store Saturday night so we'll be ready to go in the morning.

Have you cruised Disney before? First time for us. Done 10 other cruises on RCCL, Celebrity, Holland America and NCL. We usually like to get to the terminal early about 10:00 or 10:30 and be onboard by 11:30 or so.

No, this is our first Disney cruise as well. We cruised on Carnival in 2007 to the MR, we stayed on the Queen Mary the night before. Awful as a hotel, made me really appreciate the cruise ship rooms we have now! But it was fun to walk through, so we thought the kids would enjoy it.

We are on the flight that gets in at 9(ish) AM. Tentative plans (although nothing officially booked yet) are to rent a car for the day at the airport so we can do our running around, then return it to the airport in the evening and take a taxi. I think we're going to stay at the Crowne Plaza.

I also want to get to the terminal around 10. I don't care if we have to sit around there for a while, I know we'll be too antsy to sit around in the hotel! The kids want to eat, then swim once on board. Hope the weather cooperates, but I don't think they will care even if it's fairly cool. We spent 2 weeks in California last summer and other than the 4th of July, which was decently warm, it was cold most of the time we were there.

 

[cruisindisney]

Just to let everyone know, I changed the kids facebook group to closed instead of secret. Now maybe you can search and find it. It says the members are public, but the content is private. Let me know if it can be found now.

 

[Vegaslover]

Susan, are you staying at the HoJo too? If so, you may be able to share the private van from Zippy from HoJo to port, then port to LAX. We are coming in on Thursday night, so not sure you can share from LAX to HoJo. There are only three of us and the van seats 8. I can get a cost estimate for you. The Zippy shuttle guy says it's an additional $5 per person per ride after three people are booked. He gave me an estimate of $130 for my family from HoJo to port, then port to LAX. So, I'm guessing it would be an additional $40 to include your family. So $170 total or $24 per person.

Susan, I totally forgot you said you were staying an extra day after the cruise. So your deal with the rental car would probably work better.

If anyone is staying at the Howard Johnson Anaheim and would like to share a private van from Zippy Shuttle let me know. We can hold up to 5 more people.

Lydia

 

[tiggerkid]

Hi again,
I know I'm new to this stuff so please be patient with me ... 30 cabins should be about 100 - 120 gifts each time & we deliver more than once on the cruise? Trying to get a grasp of what I have in front of me ... February is a crazy month & want to make sure I don't underestimate my projects.
Thanks!

 

[Vegaslover]

Hi again,
I know I'm new to this stuff so please be patient with me ... 30 cabins should be about 100 - 120 gifts each time & we deliver more than once on the cruise? Trying to get a grasp of what I have in front of me ... February is a crazy month & want to make sure I don't underestimate my projects.
Thanks!

Don't sweat it. It really depends on what you can give. some people give one gift per cabin and some people give a gift per person. Usually when we get FE gifts they are in a little goody bag. It really can be anything - candy, homemade crafts, magnets, etc... Sometimes we just get one Disney Pin.
Last trip I went on I just put my stuff in ziploc bags and delivered one bag per cabin. I felt bad when I saw some other people's decorated bags. some people really put a lot into it. You just do what you can. No-one is expecting Oprah's favorite things in their FE.

 

[toescat]

We live about a 6 hour drive so we are driving down on Saturday morning, should arrive around noon. We stay at the same hotel that we have stayed at for the last 15 cruises. It is an ok hotel, nothing to shout about, but we can leave our car there while we are crusing and do not have to pay to park, which is very nice. Part of our group will arrive on Thursday and will be going to Disneyland for two days, I will be just finishing up on a huge audit and cannot leave until Saturday and I really don't want to spend the money when I can spend it on the ship. We can go to Disneyland anytime we want so not a huge deal. I have my tradition that I have spoken about a few times on this thread and I love watch the ships sail the day before our cruise and that is our plan. The Alcapulco Room, The Margurita, The Chips and Salsa, and The Excitement of seeing two ships leave port.

The kids are getting so excited that the wait is almost over.

 

[catwoman25]

We are flying in the day before the cruise. I have been pricing shuttles...Gosedan.com $130 each way, Super Shuttle $84 each way and Zippyshuttle.net looks like $70 each way. I need to talk to the other families in our group and see what they want to do.
We are staying at the Crowne Plaza and using their shuttle in the morning.
I am so ready to go on this cruise!!! Only just over 2 months to go!!!