Feb.4,2006. Who else is sailing?

[sbatty]

It isn't too bad in the DC area. We had a really cold weekend but you can expect day-time temperatures in the high 40s or low 50s (Nights are still very cold). When we come to Florida we are hoping it will be much warmer. We are staying in the Nick Hotel for two nights and the kids are really hoping to swim.

It sounds like we should have planned a meet in DC since so many people are in the area. We are now living in Columbia, MD but my parents still live in the house were I grew up in Reston, VA.

 

[mark_story]

We are in Kensington, Maryland and I can attest that the winter has not been bad thus far. December was unusually cold, but things really have not been bad in January.

What we Maryland people should schedule is a support group to deal with the post-cruise depression!

Mark

 

[sbatty]

Mark - Are you guys flying out of BWI, DCA or Dulles? We leave on Thursday from BWI. I am hoping for good weather at least for the day of the flight.

 

[Johnna_Story]

Mark - Are you guys flying out of BWI, DCA or Dulles? We leave on Thursday from BWI. I am hoping for good weather at least for the day of the flight.

Susan - we leave at noon from DCA. Mark has miles on some airline that we redeemed - it was so long ago that we booked our flights, so I don't remember why DCA over BWI, but it might be that the airline doesn't fly out of BWI, or it was just a better deal, which would be unusual for National. And the weather is exactly why we're going 2 days ahead of time. You never know what crazy ice storm, snow, etc. could cause problems!! Where are you guys staying??

So the offer goes out to anyone about needing DC area info!! It's not too cold here this week - highs in the low 50's and high 40's with some rain. Can't predict for next week... but I can keep you posted.

And Mark goes to Key West for work next week. Watch it snow then and I'll have to shovel the driveway!

 

[yachtsea]

Well, we got our docs today. I can hardly believe it is a little more than two weeks away. We are leaving on the second to begin driving down to the cape. We are spending the night in Brunswick, Ga. on the way. We aren't leaving until around 2 in the afternoon so that I can teach my 7th grade History class before leaving. (That is dedication for ya!) Then we will be down at the cape sometime on Friday evening. We may have to stop at some shopping areas on the way.

Johnna - It is funny! I got $6.50 for my CVS bucks yesterday. We are buying a small digital camera this weekend so I don't need film but there are certainly lots of other things to pick up. I also picked up my over the door shoe hanger at Ross yesterday and stuff to make our signs. I also bought a vinyl envelope and some Disney stickers so I can be totally "Goofy" and make a Navigator holder.

Thanks for the offer to give advice on where to eat. However, he works a lot in the room to get some of the paperwork out of the way. You know he has a big trip coming up.

So...how many are eating at 6:00?

Debi

 

[Johnna_Story]

I have to go to Reston, Virginia for work all next week so DH job is to make our door sign while I'm gone. I'm sure he'll be plenty lonely and probably signing in to chat with everyone.

Tell him to check out this site for clip art:

http://www.geocities.com/disneyclipsmain/

Ryan and I had so much fun choosing clip art that we decided to make a sign for every day, and for Mark's uncle's cabin door too!!

Can't wait to print them all out - I'm so excited!!!

 

[MarcyIn Florida]

Thanks for the offer to give advice on where to eat. However, he works a lot in the room to get some of the paperwork out of the way. You know he has a big trip coming up.

So...how many are eating at 6:00?

Debi

Congrats on the docs!

And about your dh -- I always eat in my hotel room, too. Bill, bill, bill!

We have early seating -- part of the reason we booked so far in advance, actually.

 

[Johnna_Story]

We have early seating too. Hoping the staggered dining times are going to work out okay...

 

[dee47]

So are Kat and I and Heather and Jeremiah the only ones with late seating?

I found this on a DISer's signature line, and thought I'd share in honor of all the lawyers and upgrades here:

"These are Your Verandah Rights: You have the right to sit on your verandah. You have the right to have a beverage served to you on your verandah. If you do not choose your beverage, one will be chosen for you."

 

[TigerB]

Tim and I and DMom and DStepdad have late seating too!

 

[jblb1020]

So are Kat and I and Heather and Jeremiah the only ones with late seating?

I found this on a DISer's signature line, and thought I'd share in honor of all the lawyers and upgrades here:

"These are Your Verandah Rights: You have the right to sit on your verandah. You have the right to have a beverage served to you on your verandah. If you do not choose your beverage, one will be chosen for you."

We also have the late seating but I am on a waiting list for the main seating.

 

[skylynx]

John and I have late seating as well. We always request it now, even when we have the kids along. We had early seating once and we just couldn't get our act together in time to dress for it. I'm thinking the staggered seating times will make things go more smoothly for sit down meals and perhaps take a bit of the heat off the servers to have to deliver so much simultaneously.

We leave for Orlando on Feb 3, and I'm worried because we've been having an uncommonly long stretch of what I'll just call an absence of weather in Chicagoland. I just hope we're not gearing up for a wintry blast that will arrive, no doubt, the day we leave. Seems every time we fly in winter I could book odds that there will be a threat of a snowstorm (or a real snowstorm). Twice we've had to leave earlier in the day or a day early to avoid the chance of snow interfering, so we're poised to do the same if we have to this time. Still, I'll keep this risk over the risk of sailing again during hurricane season. The snow can be escaped on the departure end...but it's way harder to avoid your own personalized Typhoon Lagoon on the arrivals end!

I'm supposed to be doing work now, but my mind isn't there. Is there anyone out there NOT having trouble concentrating? Argh.

 

[jblb1020]

I will join you on the not being able to concentrate!! I am also at work and can you tell how hard I am actually working??? I think this is going to be a problem since we still have 2 1/2 weeks to go. Here in NJ we are also having very mild weather and have a flight booked for Feb 3rd as well. I don't have very good luck and my fears are snow storms and stomach flu! Everyone I know has gotten the stomach flu but us and I am just waiting for our family to get it and praying that it will not arrive the night before we leave. The snow storm has ways around it and if I had to I would force my husband to drive us to Florida if it came down to it and I don't care if there is a blizzard!!!

 

[TigerB]

Skylynx - I totally hear you. I cannot concentrate at all during work and at night when it's time to go to sleep, my mind just wanders to the trip. UGH! I feel like a senior in high school who's already accepted to college and is having trouble finishing up May and June of senior year...because it's basically pointless. UGH! I am *so* 'out to lunch' already.

So update (to anyone) about this surprise trip for mom. She TOTALLY has no idea about the cruise part (she thinks she's going to see boring relatives that week). The reason I am so sure is because she knows she is going to WDW the week before...but she only thinks she's going with DStepdad and staying at Dixie Landings (but surprise will be hers because we are staying at GF and DH and I are also going). So, they are getting to WDW the Monday before cruising...and DStepdad told her to get a 5-day park hopper. But, she decided to get a 7-day park hopper instead (not huge worries there...she's only losing out on $8 of those 2 days she can't use). But the kicker is she whispered to me last night, "I think I am going to ask Peter if we can stay an extra day to go to Sea World, before going to see the relatives." I was like (egging her on), "SURE! I think that's a great ideat!" This is funny to me because it really shows she doesn't know about the cruise part...because she is NOT that crafty to fake a story like that (Sea World on another day) *IF* she were trying to throw me off about her knowing. (Does that make sense?) Anyway...I clued-in DStepdad that I didn't see a problem *indulging* her idea of going to Sea World...that he can play along with that...but to just steer her into buying the tickets WHEN WE ARE DOWN THERE. LOL. This is truly fun. I can't wait to see her face when we pull up to Pt. Canaveral. (She is supposed to be thinking that the limo is taking us all back to MCO for me and DH to fly home and for her and DStepdad to pick up a rental car for their 'relatives' travel...I just hope we can distract her enough talking about our week in WDW that she doesn't notice we go right by the airport.)

Oh, last night DH and I went to Filene's and I picked up 2 cocktail dresses for her -- came to $40 total...I just hope they fit (We have the same body shape, though we are a few sizes apart...I hope they fit). I also got her 2 pairs of shoes that were on clearance. This is going to be fun!

 

[skylynx]

Hey there jblb1020, are you staying at WL before or after the cruise or both? We're staying there the two nights after the cruise (and Coronado Springs the night before). WL is our co-favorite with AKL but we only can afford to stay there when we get good AAA or Annual Passholder rates (in this case, AAA was cheaper).

I have to finish a document for work today, and I'm sitting at my desk in the home office with my work laptop open to work (boring) and our house PC open to Disboards (exciting)! Zero discipline.

We'd drive to Florida if we had to, too!

 

[jblb1020]

Yes we are staying at the Wilderness Lodge the night before the cruise. I was tempted to stay at another Disney Resort that we have not been to but I just couldn't do it!!! I love it there and we have been going almost every year since my son was 2 but we had a rough trip on our last vacation when my son was 3 and daughter was 1.5. The kids ended up being afraid of rides and my daughter got sick so we didn't go in 2005. I am so looking forward to going back there even if its only for one night.

 

[Johnna_Story]

"These are Your Verandah Rights: You have the right to sit on your verandah. You have the right to have a beverage served to you on your verandah. If you do not choose your beverage, one will be chosen for you."

Oh don't worry - I will exercise my right to a beverage (or two!)


And I hear you about driving if the weather or illness forced me to. Almost had that last year - Ryan had strep on the Wed before we left on Friday. Talk about crisis! Luckily they said after 2 days on meds he could fly. Thank goodness!!!

Concentrate??? HAH!
Lucky for me my boss is in Egypt for 3 weeks - she returns after we leave. The dilemma is to figure out just how little can I get done while looking productive enough for 3 weeks of work????

 

[Thasic]

Hi, just thought I'ld get a post in. I'm new to the Forum and a first time Disney Cruiser, the family and I can't wait for the 4th, see everybody there.

 

[yachtsea]

Welcome Thasic. I am kind of new at this myself, but this is my 4th Disney cruise (first 7 day though.) Where do you and your family live and have you been reading through our thread? What are your travel plans for getting to Canaveral, etc?

As far as work, I have been working my little brain to pieces. I have had to get report cards printed, verified, copied, and distributed or mailed to the correct families, along with my regular job at the school and teaching my 7th grade history class. (Oh my goodness, the material right now is sooooo boring!) I am pretty funny and do strange things to get excitement in the classroom, but there is not much to do with the explorations of South America and all those people's names!!! AAAAHHHH! Anyway, I keep thinking about all there is to do for the trip. I think that we are all obsessed. We have all waited so long for this and now that we are down to the last two weeks, it is going sort of slow.

Tigerb - I know that you must be so excited to see your mom's face. Isn't it fun when you go over that bridge and the ships are sitting there? Has your mom ever cruised before and how did you go about getting her passport or birth certificate to bring? I guess that it helps that your stepdad is involved.

As far as rooms - we have an inside cabin. We always do. It is too hard for us to justify the extra money right now. (Two daughters college debts to finish up and two weddings!) We are on deck 5 in 5629. I have read a review or two on it and it should be pretty quiet.

I really look forward to reading what everyone else is up to. Keep on writing.

 

[MarcyIn Florida]

Tigerb - I know that you must be so excited to see your mom's face. Isn't it fun when you go over that bridge and the ships are sitting there? Has your mom ever cruised before and how did you go about getting her passport or birth certificate to bring? I guess that it helps that your stepdad is involved.

We tried to surprise dd1 in 2004 with the cruise. We had talked about going on a Disney cruise, and she was very excited about the prosect, but knew it would be a long time before we went. But we secretly planned one, and planned to let her just see the terminal and then know what was going on.

Unfortunately, Hurricane Jeanne hit, and the cruise was delayed 2 days and we had to change a bunch of plans and leave out of yucky Ft. Lauderdale, so we let the cat out of the bag ahead of time.