Feb 20, 2011 - Presidents' Week - Mexican Riviera

[Pooh Lover]

Good morning all! Here's hoping for some cruise docs today.

Elaine, our cabin number changed for the last time (promise!). It's now 7548.

I'm off today, but am changing jobs beginning of Feb. Today I have a very long list of pre-employment hoops I have to jump through. Drug test, physical, etc. I'm not worried about passing, but certainly have better things to do with my time today. Like maybe working on those FE gifts! Maybe I'll have a couple hours this afternoon to work on them. I really have to get moving on them.

And HAPPY BIRTHDAY Silence!!! Hope you have a great day!

 

[CeCe]

Hi, all! I haven't been on for a while, but am back now and catching up - thanks for all the heads-up on the Mazatlan issue!

Our Dismeet for our cruise in November (the first one we ever participated in), was at 3:00 in the Promenade Lounge, and that seemed to work pretty well. Of course, I think our group was only about half the size of this one (all inclusive from front page, FE participants AND non-participants), so I'm not sure if that might be an issue - we'd might take up the entire place if everyone showed up, but that's probably okay. It seemed like things were pretty slow there at that time, and I'm not even sure the bar was open. But they were starting to decorate the life-size gingerbread house in the Lounge. It was amazing to see the carts full of gingerbread "bricks" arrive and the bricking process begin!

We've decided to not participate in the FE exchange, but would appreciate getting to meet you, especially for some of the kids to meet. (I'm excited to see the the number of 13 year-old boys on the list, since mine was the only one in our meet with about five 13 year-old girls on our last cruise! Some boys would have seen that as a bonus, but not mine - yet!)

We do not have cruise docs in WA yet (unless they arrived today while I'm at work), and we're having almost record-setting WARM temps here. It's interesting that it's such a staggered mailing...Maybe the addition of the Dream cruisers has made their mailroom go tilt!

See ya real soon!

I mentioned to my son that there were other 13 year old boys in the group, and his comment was "Great, what are their names"?" He's really excited to meet other boys his age. We received our cruise documents in the mail yesterday, along with more snow!

 

[DVC_Chris]

Still no cruise docs for me. But I am looking forward to this cruise so much, three weeks from right now I will be on my plane heading west to LAX!

 

[preedymtnwest]

I mentioned to my son that there were other 13 year old boys in the group, and his comment was "Great, what are their names"?" He's really excited to meet other boys his age. We received our cruise documents in the mail yesterday, along with more snow!

My 13 year old is Shaner (my maiden name) and the 10 year old is Skyler. Cool that there's a few of them!

 

[silence]

I mentioned to my son that there were other 13 year old boys in the group, and his comment was "Great, what are their names"?" He's really excited to meet other boys his age. We received our cruise documents in the mail yesterday, along with more snow!

Count me in w/a 13 y/o too. Though, he is on the smaller side so he doesn't really look his age. He is super stoked about the cruise, just having a little "freedom" w/the in and out in the clubs makes him feel more grown up I think.

 

[silence]

My 13 year old is Shaner (my maiden name) and the 10 year old is Skyler. Cool that there's a few of them!

I should have posted his name. DUH. My 13 y/o is Tyler. My 7 y/o DD is Jordan. I sure was happy to see kids of similar ages in our group!

 

[Dishy24]

Tell me about it, I do not think I have seen a blade of grass here on Long Island in a few weeks... I am still trying to figure out dining at DL for two nights... any one have any good recommendations for quick service restaurants at Disneyland? I was tempted to try Napa Rose, but think I will save that for the next visit.

I usually don't stress too much about resturants before or after cruises as I get totally "fooded out" while onboard!

When we stay and the Grand Californian we always order from Carolina's Italian Restaurant. I think last time they even had a magazine in the room with coupons in it. We also eat at white water snacks during the day. We also venture out to Tortilla Joe's in downtown disney. We order at the outside window and eat on the patio. It doesn't seem to ever be too crowded. I hear there is a good sushi restaurant in Paradise Pier but have never been there. Hope that helps!

Thanks for the tip!

No cruise docs today but I did get an e-mail from my travel agent regarding the itinerary changes. I guess Disney is slowly getting the info out.

As for the Dismeet there is a thread on the mainboard that recommends meeting on the first day at 3pm at the Promenade Lounge. Here is a link to the thread http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2554307 . Personally I have no experience since this is my first cruise.

Forget no cruise docs-- we haven't received ANY mail since Tuesday! Our flag w/ outgoing mail is still up since Tuesday evening! My neighbor even called us to see what's going on since he hasn't gotten anything in days either! Our poor mail woman is probably covered ina big mound of snow somewhere & here I am stressing about my docs!

On the TA, we had out meet-up 3pm in the Prom Lounge as well ^ there were 100's of us! The woman in charge of the lanyards hung for hours in the terminal at PC passing out lanyards to everyone she recognized, too! She was amazing!

Ditto - cruise docs did arrive today, and I'm sure glad we read the DISboards! Thanks for all the info!

Lucky!

Good morning all! Here's hoping for some cruise docs today.

Elaine, our cabin number changed for the last time (promise!). It's now 7548.

And HAPPY BIRTHDAY Silence!!! Hope you have a great day!

Hey-- Was that my old stateroom before we switched to 7636??? I think it may have been!

Happy Birthday, Silence!!

Still no cruise docs for me. But I am looking forward to this cruise so much, three weeks from right now I will be on my plane heading west to LAX!

20 days for me... to say I can't wait is an understatement!!!

 

[talie]

Happy Birthday Silence!

For you Sacramentans out there, any of you thoroughly sick of this fog? Blech. At least yesterday at work we got a little sun. I was really depressed to head back over the Causeway into Yolo County and see a wall of fog. It never burned off yesterday!

 

[Pooh Lover]

Uh-oh, you switched from my stateroom? What was wrong with it? Haha!

 

[CeCe]

Count me in w/a 13 y/o too. Though, he is on the smaller side so he doesn't really look his age. He is super stoked about the cruise, just having a little "freedom" w/the in and out in the clubs makes him feel more grown up I think.

My 13 year old is Nick, and my DD10 is Allison. My 13 year old is on the small side too!

 

[ll_california]

Hi, Trish,

Just want to be sure - Is your cabin number 2082 or 2028?

Thanks!

Here is our info. Thanks again Elaine for including us.
I just want to make sure I have all of the facts for Fish Extenders: I can make my own or by one off of ebay. I need to bring a small item for every man, woman, and child in the group. I deliever these items at some point on the cruise. Is there anything else I need to know?

disboard name: Bchdreamer
first name of the person providing the information: Trish
Stateroom Number(s) - 2028
Number of adult ladies and number of adult men - 1 adult lady and 1 adult male
number of girls and their ages - 1 girl age 6
number of boys and their ages - 0 boys
how many Disney cruises have you been on including our 2/20 cruise? First Disney Cruise
Are you celebrating anything special - Husband"s 50th 1/23, Daughter"s 6th 1/24, Anniversary 2/8
There are no food allergies in our family. Daughter is a big princess fan. Husband loves Goofy.

I had one more question. Do people decorate their cabin doors with magnets and signs. Thanks for any info you can give.

Hi Elaine,
I don't believe you have our cabin number yet. It's 2082. FE gifts are done. Now to tackle the actual fish extender. I don't sew, so it should be pretty interesting. Does anyone have any tips for no sewing fish extenders?

My dd is also 6 and can be shy in new situations. It will be nice for the kids to get to know each other on the first day of the cruise.

I can't believe it is a little over three weeks away. No travel docs here, but our TA told me they should arrive by Tues. Can't wait.

 

[preedymtnwest]

My 13 year old is Nick, and my DD10 is Allison. My 13 year old is on the small side too!

Oh, these boys are going to get along famously! Shaner is on the small side too! And to add insult to injury, his cousin, Katie, who is 11 (2 weeks shy of a full 2 years younger) is now taller than me (which isn't saying much - I'm only about 5'1-1/2"), which means she's definitely taller than him (he's almost my height). She'll be on the cruise with us, and might prefer to stay in Oceaneers with Skyler rather than go to Edge with Shaner, so we're figuring on having to explain a lot why she's with the younger kids, and Shaner's with the older!

Does anyone know if the 13s can go to Aloft if they want? Shaner did that on our November cruise because Edge wasn't open yet. I like the idea of Edge better anyway, especially since he's small, but he really enjoyed Aloft and had a friend his age that he hung out with. I showed him pics of Edge, and he said it looked cool (only because there was a plethora of screens), so maybe that will suit him fine this time.

Here's hoping you guys in the east get dug out soon! We're relatively warm and rainy today, and I hope it holds for the next three weeks. We can get some freak storms here, even late in the season, and just an inch of snow (or ice) can bring the place to a standstill. If it looks threatening, we may just start driving south on the 18th!

 

[silence]

Happy Birthday Silence!

For you Sacramentans out there, any of you thoroughly sick of this fog? Blech. At least yesterday at work we got a little sun. I was really depressed to head back over the Causeway into Yolo County and see a wall of fog. It never burned off yesterday!

Thanks guys for the birthday wishes. No docs again today! UPS came by with a package and got me all excited too. Bummer!

I was so happy to see sun today! Though, I hear we may get rain Sunday.

 

[talie]

Thanks guys for the birthday wishes. No docs again today! UPS came by with a package and got me all excited too. Bummer!

I was so happy to see sun today! Though, I hear we may get rain Sunday.

No cruise docs here either. And no sun here in Davis today. Just cold and foggy. Oh well, only a few more weeks until we get some sun. (And I'm in Riverside for work the week before the cruise so I'm hoping I get some nice weather then too!)

 

[Beachmum]

We haven't received our docs yet either.

I just realized that the day we get off the ship is the day of the Oscars at the Kodak Theatre. Our flight doesn't leave LAX until 9pm so we were planning on spending the day site seeing. Will it be absolutely crazy in LA that day? Should we plan to do the "Hollywood" type sites prior to our cruise instead? Or should we go and try to glimpse some stars that day? The kids want to see the Santa Monica pier & Venice Beach - maybe we should do that after the cruise instead of before the cruise?

I live in Santa Monica (close to the Pier). You won't have any problem getting from the port to the pier and back to LAX. The only place you shouldn't go is Hollywood, which will be a traffic nightmare. fortunately, despite how they do the montage on American Idol, Santa Monica and Hollywood aren't at all close to each other. On a Sunday, it takes about 20 minutes to get from the Pier to the airport (PM me and I'll give you the fastest directions). From the port, it'll probably take you 40 - 60 minutes to get to Santa Monica, depending on traffic. (Again, PM me and I'll give you a few different routes depending on how nasty the 405 Fwy is.)

On Oscar Sunday, just south of the Pier is where the tent that held the Spirit Awards is. Most years, my kids and I walk to the ocean on that Saturday and see the tent and the red carpet (but no stars since it's too early in the day). Still it's cool to see. I hope you have a great time in Santa Monica. We love it here!

 

[Beachmum]

Since I live here and traffic is horrible so often, everyone who needs directions should feel free to PM me. The 405 (the main north/south freeway) is a total nightmare most of the time, but there are some good ways to avoid it to get to Santa Monica/Venice.

(We got our docs on Monday and Tuesday since we're in two cabins, but I've been so swamped I haven't had time to post much.)

We're in on the meet-up, although DH might just hang somewhere instead of coming. My older DD, who's 7.5, will be thrilled to make some instant friends. Younger DD (turns six on the 21st of Feb) makes friends easily, but will enjoy being in a big group.

 

[Bchdreamer]

Hi, Trish,

Just want to be sure - Is your cabin number 2082 or 2028?

Thanks!

Thanks for double checking ll california. Our cruise documents came today. Our cabin number is 2082. Is anyone else doing the Mexican Cookin Experience in PV? It's the only excurison we have booked. I now trying to secure a whale watching tour for Feb. 25th are second day in Cabo. Does anyone have any info on whale watching tours in Cabo?

Thanks again for the info on no sew fish extenders. It's on my list to check out.

Happy Birthday Silence. Hope it's a good one.

 

[Mich123]

No docs for us yet, either! Nothing but snow around here, too--another storm this week. Hopefully there won't be any storms interfering with our trip out...it's making me a little nervous.

Would the docs go to my TA first and then to me?

I am still trying to figure out dining at DL for two nights... any one have any good recommendations for quick service restaurants at Disneyland? I was tempted to try Napa Rose, but think I will save that for the next visit.

I agree that Whitewater snacks is really good...think nachos by the pool with a margarita at DL: PERFECTION! Breakfast here was great as well. I also agree that Tortilla Joe's is good, it's a sit down at DTD.

While it's not CS, I would recommend Storyteller's at GCH. I had made reservations for every dinner before we left (since we're WDW trained) and I didn't make a reservation for Storyteller's...it didn't appeal to me as I did my research. We ended up ditching Blue Bayou because it just seemed too much like Ralph Brennan's. We then saw Storyteller's as we were hanging out by the pool and I made reservations about 40 minutes before we went to dinner--no wait! It was really good, not too formal and a lot of fun. The menu at allears.net is dated, I thought there were a lot of good choices and it wasn't too expensive for our family of four. I had a lobster Cobb salad that was awesome and DH had spaghetti Bolognese, I think. My kids ordered off the kids menu. We also went back for the Character breakfast (again, called from the room right before we wanted to go, walked down and walked in--eventhough there were people waiting ) which was also delicious and very cute.

At DCA, there are a couple of quick service meal places in the Pacific Wharf area. We did like Cocina Cucamonga Mexican Grill. I just reviewed the DL restaurants at allears.net and realized that the only place we ate at DL was Bengal Barbeque, which was good, but like eating a lot of appetizers. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it does get expensive because the portions are tiny.

 

[Pooh Lover]

I now trying to secure a whale watching tour for Feb. 25th are second day in Cabo. Does anyone have any info on whale watching tours in Cabo?

We are doing a tour with Pez Gato on the 25th. They get rave reviews on Cruise Critic and were much cheaper than the Disney tour. It's from 10am-12 so fits within the really short time we are in Cabo that day.

 

[Bchdreamer]

We are doing a tour with Pez Gato on the 25th. They get rave reviews on Cruise Critic and were much cheaper than the Disney tour. It's from 10am-12 so fits within the really short time we are in Cabo that day.

Hi Pooh Lover,

I tried to book directly with Pez Gato for the 25th, but they were all booked. Did you book directly with them or thur another provider?