Fish Extender Newbie

[melst5]

Can Disney Cruise Fish Extender vets help me....first Disney cruise, I have 3 kids (ages 12, 10, 8)...is the fish extender activity worth doing with the kids? I found the Facebook page to sign up but a little unsure how it all works. Do we just leave gifts for 1 family or do we leave gifts for all the families that sign up for the activity? Sounds like fun for the kids, just a little nervous about the cost and if we will spend a lot of time delivering gifts all over the boat? Anyone have experience with the activity that can offer advice? Thanks so much!!

 

[MickeyEarrings]

It may depend on the length of your cruise... If my first cruise was a week long, yeah I'd take the time to deliver FE gifts. But on a three night cruise? No way... time is too precious on a short cruise.

Maybe on your second cruise?...

 

[lanejudy]

Each FE group sets their own parameters -- 1 gift per family or gifts for each individual, number of staterooms involved, general expectations. Can you contact someone from your cruise meet to ask? My opinion is that there is so much to do and see on your first cruise, I really didn't feel like we missed out. Later or longer cruises, you might join in then.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[GPaLarry]

After 8 cruises we do not formally participate in the fish extender activity. However, I always take glow sticks and stickers and put them in kids' FE pockets which probably confuses things but is fun for me. I focus on door decorations and Mickey Bars.

 

[cmph]

You should definitely ask the organizer how they're running it. Usually, one person is the organizer and if there are, say, 50 families participating - they break that down into smaller groups. Most seem to be 10, 15 families per group. Some people will join more than one group b/c they really love it. I suspect those people are far craftier than me! But you'd never have to exchange with a really larger number of families.

If it's "worth it" totally depends on your kids. My eldest (who is now 12 but was 11 when we did it, and a girl) LOVED it and can't wait to do it again. She loved checking the fish extender for surprises, she loved delivering them, she loved seeing all the fish extenders, just the whole thing made her DCL experience more fun. My youngest (8yo boy) - completely indifferent. He didn't come with us to deliver, and he wasn't that interested in checking ours for gifts. In retrospect, this makes complete sense with these 2. Unless people are dropping video games and Roblox gift cards into that fish extender, he's not likely to be all that interested! Whereas my daughter is a huge Disney fan and will be charmed by nearly anything she gets. I thought he'd be more into it than he was just b/c of his age, but nope. I think he would have enjoyed it more a few years ago. But I think my daughter will always enjoy it! For our next cruise, I'll turn it into a mother/daughter project to prolong her fun. And maybe, er, capitalize on my daughter being far craftier than me. So worth is completely dependent on your kiddos.

 

[thumpie's mom]

We don't join a group. We just make Disney themed items and randomly deliver them. It is fun because it gives us something cruise related to do prior to the trip and since we don't get off the ship in the ports, it is the perfect time to go deck to deck and "pixie dust" other guests. Whatever you decide to do, have a wonderful time!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

You should definitely ask the organizer how they're running it. Usually, one person is the organizer and if there are, say, 50 families participating - they break that down into smaller groups. Most seem to be 10, 15 families per group. Some people will join more than one group b/c they really love it. I suspect those people are far craftier than me! But you'd never have to exchange with a really larger number of families.

If it's "worth it" totally depends on your kids. My eldest (who is now 12 but was 11 when we did it, and a girl) LOVED it and can't wait to do it again. She loved checking the fish extender for surprises, she loved delivering them, she loved seeing all the fish extenders, just the whole thing made her DCL experience more fun. My youngest (8yo boy) - completely indifferent. He didn't come with us to deliver, and he wasn't that interested in checking ours for gifts. In retrospect, this makes complete sense with these 2. Unless people are dropping video games and Roblox gift cards into that fish extender, he's not likely to be all that interested! Whereas my daughter is a huge Disney fan and will be charmed by nearly anything she gets. I thought he'd be more into it than he was just b/c of his age, but nope. I think he would have enjoyed it more a few years ago. But I think my daughter will always enjoy it! For our next cruise, I'll turn it into a mother/daughter project to prolong her fun. And maybe, er, capitalize on my daughter being far craftier than me. So worth is completely dependent on your kiddos.

Well, typically, the person who's "organizing" it really is just the "keeper of the list". Generally, the participants involved set up their "rules" as to how it's run.

Some Fish Extender groups just have one big list, with a closing date determining how many rooms are on it. Other groups break out the list every 10-20 rooms, and people can sign up to be on one or more lists. Others only set themselves up to be XX number of rooms. Once full, they close, and anyone else wanting to do a FE group needs to start their own group.


Here's a little summary I have:
Basically, someone just says “I’ll maintain the Fish Extender list”. Then a decision needs to be made as to what info is necessary to include in the list. Also a decision as to whether or not there will be a cut off date. And if it’s when X number of rooms has signed up (many groups limit themselves to 10-15 rooms), or a specific date (early enough for everyone to get their gifts prepared before the cruise).


At some point (generally about 2 weeks prior to the cut off date) the organizer will post the list for everyone to confirm their participation and correctness of info on the list. It’s very important that it’s clear that “ANYONE NOT CONFIRMING WILL BE DROPPED”. There are a lot of people who, when they first make a cruise reservation, are so gung-ho about everything cruising they will say “I want to participate” and then you never hear from them again (maybe because they cancelled, or just decided not to do it). And then, after the cut off day, post the final list and say “this is it!!!”

 

[Shanti]

Can Disney Cruise Fish Extender vets help me....first Disney cruise, I have 3 kids (ages 12, 10, 8)...is the fish extender activity worth doing with the kids? I found the Facebook page to sign up but a little unsure how it all works. Do we just leave gifts for 1 family or do we leave gifts for all the families that sign up for the activity? Sounds like fun for the kids, just a little nervous about the cost and if we will spend a lot of time delivering gifts all over the boat? Anyone have experience with the activity that can offer advice? Thanks so much!!

On the FE group we joined via Facebook for our Fantasy cruise, each FE group was capped at 10 families, and it was one gift for each family. That was very manageable. Dropping off those 10 gifts was fun for my son (I put him in charge of finding the cabins), and a nice way for both of us to get to know the layout of the ship. We delivered everything within an hour, then, for the rest of the cruise, had the pleasure of finding gifts in our fish extender regularly.

Gifts need not be expensive- it's the thought that counts. I created gift bags for each cabin of small but nice DCL-themed items I had purchased from Etsy. I didn't knock myself out by personalizing them or handmaking any items (busy working mom here)- I just kept it simple. I didn't spend more than $100 in total for all of the gifts & wrappings.

I plan to participate in an FE on every Disney cruise we take, no matter the length. It's fun to give and to get the little gifts, and the FE itself is a nice decoration that helps you remember which cabin is yours.

 

[melst5]

Thanks so much for all the info! This helped me understand so much more than I did before...I think we'll give it a shot, sounds like it could be fun! My daughter LOVES crafts so we'll see what we can come up with and scour Pinterest for ideas! We are on a 7 night cruise, hoping this will add to the fun!

 

[nyweller6306]

Is there a way to get in a FE group without being on facebook?

 

[dcassetta]

Is there a way to get in a FE group without being on facebook?

Check in your cruise meet thread here on the DIS and see if there is interest in doing FEs.

https://www.disboards.com/forums/disney-cruise-meets.85/

 

[mousefan73]

Is there a way to get in a FE group without being on facebook?

I am also new and have concluded that they all run via FB even the groups here refer you to the FB FE group... Is there a reason you won't join.. ? I know that here most cruises have a cruise meet thread.. Up on top of this board... Maybe find your cruise there..either a FE is there or FB groups will be stated there.. . Go to that thread and explain and may PN another Dis member your infos to add you to the list... Though you will miss out on the communication and getting to know other Cruisers with those posts... FB imo is a better tool for closed group chats.. FE groups should be closed groups..

 

[Twilight Terror]

Is there a way to get in a FE group without being on facebook?

I feel you! As @dcassetta said, check out the Cruise Meet list and find your cruise thread, you might get lucky. There are still some of us that create DisBoard FE groups! Despite rule changes, so many DisBoard groups appear to be offsite. FB groups are also not always closed/private groups, and also not DisBoard groups. So check out the cruise meet board, and I hope you get lucky!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Is there a way to get in a FE group without being on facebook?

Certainly. If your Cruise Meet group here on DISboards wants to, they can set up a FE group. (In fact here's where FEs started many years ago). Only in the last 2-3 years have others set up groups on other social sites and then combed the threads here to get people to join up with them.

As noted, such groups are not DISboards connected, but advertised freely here (against DISboards policy).

 

[angie4mil]

We did the fe on our 1st cruise last year and will be doing it again for our cruise in January! We loved passing out our gifts and coming back to the cabin was so exciting- always looking forward to see what was waiting for us!

We did Disney lanyards the first time for everyone in the room- so we bought around 50 or so - they tend to cap the lists at about 10 families- so 4-5 people in each room! This year we are going to do a bigger gift for the whole family- then a few smaller things for the kids - it’s pretty much up to you and your budget- Etsy is a great place to find items and/or ideas!!