Fantasy fans: April 7, 2012

[jmcdonnell04]

I have an addiction to logging on to the Disney Cruise website to hope for pixie dust by having our cabin upgraded. I check 2-3 times a day to see if our cabin # has changed. We are in a 9D which is a forward facing mis-shapen corner room on Deck 8 with loads of floor space. We thought DCL would upgrade us to a verandah cabin since we were originally booked on the MV but DCL changed the date. I have 3 more weeks to keep checking and keep dreaming.

 

[Had2disneycruz]

I have an addiction to logging on to the Disney Cruise website to hope for pixie dust by having our cabin upgraded. I check 2-3 times a day to see if our cabin # has changed. We are in a 9D which is a forward facing mis-shapen corner room on Deck 8 with loads of floor space. We thought DCL would upgrade us to a verandah cabin since we were originally booked on the MV but DCL changed the date. I have 3 more weeks to keep checking and keep dreaming.

We too are booked in those rooms on deck 6. I was hoping for deck 8! How about you get an upgrade and I get your room!? I wish! We actually have 2 cabins booked and we are lucky to have adjoining rooms. I have already called and suggested an upgrade, but nothing yet!!! We have our luggage tags so no clue if they would give us an upgrade now.

Welcome to all the new cruisers joining us!!! We are big Disney fans and this is our 3rd cruise too! My DDs, 18 and 15, will also be intrigued by the Australian accents! (I had to laugh at that comment!) My girls have met lots of new friends on our cruises though. It makes it very interesting to meet folks from all over!

Those of you that can afford b2b cruising are soooo fortunate! With 6 of us, and the need for 2 cabins, it is not cheap to go for just one week!

It is nice, warm and sunny where we live. My DDs are running around outside in their bathing suits! I hope this wonderful weather will last. Get me a cocktail, a beach chair and I will practice being on the cruise! Not much longer now!!!

Our last Easter cruise in 2009 had a meet and greet at the big model of the ship at the terminal, located in the center. It was nice to meet some folks before we boarded. I missed our other meet and greet once we got on the ship.

I hope everyone is healthy, happy and getting excited!!!

 

[itutorfortravel]

I remember the meet and greet at the ship's model on the 2009 spring break cruise, but we didn't make that one, only the one on board! LOL!

I wish I could say we are all healthy, but DD came down with a bad "something" this week...negative strep and flu tests, so the doctor just called it "the crud." DD's been healthy all year and hasn't missed a day of school up until this. Let's hope this is an isolated incident and that all our days are healthy from here on out! And I wish the same for everyone else, too!

I really can't believe it's only a little over 3 weeks until we sail. Boy, do I have a lot to do and I have done very little. It's not going to be pretty around here if I don't get myself in gear.

 

[kaddismum]

Haha, thank you all for the lovely welcome, & the comments about the accent. But its funny because from where we are standing, you are the ones that have the great accent!! I'm sure the boys would be rather excited about being stalked LOL.

Talking of weather , of course we have just moved into Autumn here, so my kids are thrilled that they get an extra spring / early summer again for the year. We had quite a mild Summer this year with only a couple of days hitting the 40's (around 110- 120 F I think??). Not that you would know with my kids as they got the very pale English skin from my husbands side. (I say they glow in the dark, they are so white) So they are not your typical "Bronzed Aussie" shall we say!
It is now 10.36 am Thursday morning, & I have just been out & bought 3 books to take on the plane trip(s). We leave in exactly 2 weeks (our flight leaves at 10.30 am YAY). Not thrilled about flying or the hours, but I know each hour is an hour closer to the cruise!!!

 

[jmcdonnell04]

I remember the meet and greet at the ship's model on the 2009 spring break cruise, but we didn't make that one, only the one on board! LOL!

I wish I could say we are all healthy, but DD came down with a bad "something" this week...negative strep and flu tests, so the doctor just called it "the crud." DD's been healthy all year and hasn't missed a day of school up until this. Let's hope this is an isolated incident and that all our days are healthy from here on out! And I wish the same for everyone else, too!

I really can't believe it's only a little over 3 weeks until we sail. Boy, do I have a lot to do and I have done very little. It's not going to be pretty around here if I don't get myself in gear.

Sorry to hear about your DD being sick with the crud. The crud swept through our house at the end of January. The kids were feeling better quickly but DW and I had it nearly 2 weeks even with antibiotics so take care of yourself as well.

 

[jmcdonnell04]

Talking of weather , of course we have just moved into Autumn here, so my kids are thrilled that they get an extra spring / early summer again for the year. We had quite a mild Summer this year with only a couple of days hitting the 40's (around 110- 120 F I think??). Not that you would know with my kids as they got the very pale English skin from my husbands side. (I say they glow in the dark, they are so white) So they are not your typical "Bronzed Aussie" shall we say!

We will be looking for your family along with my group in the shady spots near the pool and the bar. The very pale skin disease has affected my family as well. We can share the SPF 50 suntan lotion.

 

[kaddismum]

We will be looking for your family along with my group in the shady spots near the pool and the bar. The very pale skin disease has affected my family as well. We can share the SPF 50 suntan lotion.

LOL sounds good!! Talking of sunscreen, a tip for those purchasing sunscreen in Mexico, DONT! We bought some last time whilst in Cozumel & used it at Castaway Cay. It was horrendous! Once we got in the water the sunsceen ran into our eyes & stung for hours!!! It was such a shame, my then 7, 9 & 10 yr olds cried the whole time we were there. So needless to say , we will be bringing our own from home this time!! Although on that trip the cruise was at the end of a 6 week US holiday, so we just thought we would buy things like this when we needed them. You live & learn!

 

[Elfinjojo]

We are just coming to the end of our supply of neutrogena spray factor 70 which we discovered on our first trip to the states and stock up on every time we travel as we can't get it here in the uk. Factor 70 is perfect for me and the kids , they tan but I don't really want them too, and I burn easily being a red head and very fair!
we won't get the chance to pick any up this time round, but will restock in July when we are back for a second b2b on the fantasy

 

[kaddismum]

We are just coming to the end of our supply of neutrogena spray factor 70 which we discovered on our first trip to the states and stock up on every time we travel as we can't get it here in the uk. Factor 70 is perfect for me and the kids , they tan but I don't really want them too, and I burn easily being a red head and very fair!
we won't get the chance to pick any up this time round, but will restock in July when we are back for a second b2b on the fantasy

Sounds like a great sunscreen, will look out for it here. As Austrlia has the highest rate of malenoma in the world, we are really particular now about sunsceen. All the schools have it there for the kids to use before they play outside, & in 1st & 4th terms hats are compulsory for outside play, even for my kids at high school. They have a rule "no hat no play".

Where in the UK are you from? My FIL is from Kent.

 

[Chief71]

We are driving down from NC. The plan at this time is to leave Thurs night. I was able to get tix to Kennedy Space Ctr free so we want to do that on Fri. Not sure if we'll spend the nite near there or in Cocoa yet.

I am writing this while sitting beside the wave pool at The Great Wolf Lodge. DD had off school today so we decided to celebrate her birthday a little early. I brought her and three of her BFFs up here for the night. Easiest bday party I've ever hosted!

After this excursion it's full steam ahead on cruise preps! Yeah!

We are also doing Kennedy Space Center on Friday. We were lucky enough to get free tickets from our Congressman... We are staying at the Residence Inn at Cape Canaveral on thurs & Friday

 

[Nana G]

Welcome to all the newcomers on our April 7th sailing! It is getting so close now. We think we are almost done gathering and next will be packing. Won't be long now. ITutor, how is the surprise coming along? Must be really hard to put packing off til last minute!

 

[Elfinjojo]

Sounds like a great sunscreen, will look out for it here. As Austrlia has the highest rate of malenoma in the world, we are really particular now about sunsceen. All the schools have it there for the kids to use before they play outside, & in 1st & 4th terms hats are compulsory for outside play, even for my kids at high school. They have a rule "no hat no play".

Where in the UK are you from? My FIL is from Kent.

Hi we are in Bedfordshire(Luton nr the airport) which is about 30 mins drive from London and and a couple of hours from Kent.

The sunscreen goes upto factor 100 I believe and they also do a waterproof factor 45 for kids. It's in a mist spray and also they do a dry touch lotion which is great for the face.

 

[itutorfortravel]

Welcome to all the newcomers on our April 7th sailing! It is getting so close now. We think we are almost done gathering and next will be packing. Won't be long now. ITutor, how is the surprise coming along? Must be really hard to put packing off til last minute!

Hi NanaG! I still haven't cracked...the surprise is intact!!! Thankfully my DD isn't suspicious and nosey. I've got a laundry basket filled with new clothes that I have started washing so that I can iron and pack them...and it's not even phasing her. Today while she was at school I started assembling my FE's which was a lot of fun! Tomorrow I do not teach and I plan to really get going on finishing up vacation laundry and starting to pack. DH is really doing great this time, he has basically picked out all his clothes and set them aside ready to go in his bag. He is doing better than me! Hopefully while some clothes are cycling through the wash tomorrow I can finalize my wardrobe. I am so much more relaxed about this cruise than the others. Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing! I'll let you know sometime around April 5th LOL.

I got DD a tshirt that says "Countdown Till My Next Disney Cruise...0 Days!" If I can hold it together until the day of the trip, we are going to announce it by pulling her clothes out for the day and watching the reaction. So, you'll know we were successful if you see her in the terminal wearing that shirt!

She does ask every now and then (more as spring break approaches) if we can go on a Disney cruise this year and I just keep telling her I don't think so...we said it would be awhile before we'd go again after our last cruise. I think she's buying it!

-Kimberly

 

[itutorfortravel]

We are also doing Kennedy Space Center on Friday. We were lucky enough to get free tickets from our Congressman... We are staying at the Residence Inn at Cape Canaveral on thurs & Friday

We also got free tix to KSC! I'd say that it would fun to catch up and say hi if we're there at the same time, but I'd have a hard time explaining that to my DD since she won't know we are going on the cruise until the next day!

I'm so excited about going to KSC. Have you been before? We haven't...it will be a new adventure.

 

[workingmom302]

Nothing has been finalized up until this point though interest to do so has surfaced a few times. Here is a suggestion:

Saturday 7 April
Group Meet 3 15 PM to 3 45 PM (pre muster drill)
Waves Bar on Deck 12 Aft

Rain Location is Deck 4 Starboard between Vista Café and the Future Cruise Desks


Does this sound good for everyone?


Christopher

Christopher - those locations work for me for an April 7 meet-and-greet. So excited to see everyone there!!!

 

[Nana G]

Kimberely, That really sounds amazing to me. We couldn't keep booking the cruise for very long from our granddaughter and have had over a year of counting days. Seems like forever ago but here we are, so close. A teen is a bit different than a 10 yr old. Try picking their clothes, yet alone last minute!!!!! She is worse than I am.

 

[itutorfortravel]

Kimberely, That really sounds amazing to me. We couldn't keep booking the cruise for very long from our granddaughter and have had over a year of counting days. Seems like forever ago but here we are, so close. A teen is a bit different than a 10 yr old. Try picking their clothes, yet alone last minute!!!!! She is worse than I am.

Yeah, I don't think I will be able to pull off this kind of stuff too much longer. You're right, once they hit the teen years they have to have some say-so, particularly about wardrobe! I have to say, we did just go shopping for spring clothes and I told her we were doing it to take advantage of sales, so she did pick out her clothing. I also bought her swimsuits last year on clearance from Lands End. They are not the style she likes to wear to the pool in the summer, but they have have rash guard tops with good SPF so they're good for the cruise and for times we go out on the lake. I always take her out at the beginning of the summer and let her pick out a cute little bikini for the pool and she's happy

I am washing up the "big reveal" t-shirt I had made for my DD this morning. We're collecting stuff to put in a yard sale in our guest bedroom, and I actually have a suitcase sitting in the corner with stuff starting to go into it. She doesn't even notice it! Good thing the yard sale isn't happening till we get back!

 

[kaddismum]

We are also going to Kennedy Space Centre & Harry Potter World while we are in Orlando. We have been to KSC before & just loved it. I got very emotional when doing the re-enactment of the lift off, it was like you were truelly there! It felt amazing. And it is increduble just how large the space rockets really are. Well worth doing again, especially as my kids are now 5 years older. Another must do is to have lunch with an Astronaut. The kids loved this, & you get to hear first hand how things really are in space. You can ask questions & have your photo taken with them. I presume this still happens.

I'm not sure of our itinerary yet. We arrive in Orlando on Thursday 29th, & the next day is DH & my 16th wedding Anniversary. We have booked in to see the Hoop-De-Doo Revue at DW. It looks fun & I wanted to do something to celebrate. It's hard when you're coming from around the other side of the world & not sure of what there is to do. Our whole party is going DH, kids, my sister, nephew & mum.
We have decided to do a day at each DW park, but only 1 water park. We did Typhoon Lagoon last time, so thought we might try Blizzard Beach this time. Any thoughts on this from anyone? Does anyone have any suggestions on anything else we should do whilst in Orlando? We have been to Universal Studios in LA before, & Sea World in San Deago, so thought we would skip these this time in Orlando.

 

[D73]

We are also going to Kennedy Space Centre & Harry Potter World while we are in Orlando. We have been to KSC before & just loved it. I got very emotional when doing the re-enactment of the lift off, it was like you were truelly there! It felt amazing. And it is increduble just how large the space rockets really are. Well worth doing again, especially as my kids are now 5 years older. Another must do is to have lunch with an Astronaut. The kids loved this, & you get to hear first hand how things really are in space. You can ask questions & have your photo taken with them. I presume this still happens.

I'm not sure of our itinerary yet. We arrive in Orlando on Thursday 29th, & the next day is DH & my 16th wedding Anniversary. We have booked in to see the Hoop-De-Doo Revue at DW. It looks fun & I wanted to do something to celebrate. It's hard when you're coming from around the other side of the world & not sure of what there is to do. Our whole party is going DH, kids, my sister, nephew & mum.
We have decided to do a day at each DW park, but only 1 water park. We did Typhoon Lagoon last time, so thought we might try Blizzard Beach this time. Any thoughts on this from anyone? Does anyone have any suggestions on anything else we should do whilst in Orlando? We have been to Universal Studios in LA before, & Sea World in San Deago, so thought we would skip these this time in Orlando.

When are you going to Hoop Dee Doo? I am going on Saturday 31 March at 9 30

Many people enjoy shopping at the outlet malls when they are in Orlando.

Where are you staying? A day relaxing at your resort pool especially after your long trip might be worthwhile. Or really take some time to explore the Disney resorts. Each one is full of character.

 

[kaddismum]

When are you going to Hoop Dee Doo? I am going on Saturday 31 March at 9 30

Many people enjoy shopping at the outlet malls when they are in Orlando.

Where are you staying? A day relaxing at your resort pool especially after your long trip might be worthwhile. Or really take some time to explore the Disney resorts. Each one is full of character.

Hi Christopher, we are going to HDD on Fri 30th March! That is our wedding Anniversary. I'm not sure of the time off hand.

We are staying at the Coronardo Springs Resort. The pool looks fabulous! There are 40 of us travelling over together. My sister & I run a dance studio here & are bringing 20 of the children over to perform at Downtown Disney on Monay 2nd April. There are another 2 families doing the cruise as well, while others have decided to go off to New York or Hawaii etc. after their 9 days at DW.

Last time we came over we stayed at the Dolphin Resort. It was great. But this was where our travel agent booked us in to this time, but we are happy to go with the flow.

We did do one of the shopping outlets last time, so we will probably do another again.