January 13, 2007 - 7 Night Magic Western

[DiaLady]

DIS MEETS
We've chatted a bit about possible meets - now that we are less than 2 months from our cruise, should we start firming up those plans?

Please jump in and comment/correct me or just have your say! I think we have sort of agreed to try for 3 different meet times. All are welcome to attend any and all meets.

Meet #3: "Breakfast" Meet. What would everyone think of Monday morning at 9AM at Lumier's? They are only open from 8-9:30, but those with LAP will have Character Breakfasts that morning at either 8:15 (early) or 9:45 (late). By putting this in the middle, the Early folks should be able to come in afterwards and the Late folks can come early and then head to their meal. If they actually kick us out at 9:30 we could just move out to the atrium - but I suspect that is just when they stop serving food and we can still hang out there for a while. For those with Character Breakfasts or Palo Bruch (10AM?) there isn't any requirement that you actually EAT at this meet - it's just a convenient location to meet other DISers. If the first few to arrive explain to the staff what we are doing, I am sure they would be happy to seat us all together.

So, any thoughts? Comment? Suggestions? Once we come to an agreement, I'll put this on the website on the "Useful Stuff" page.

pdarrah

Pdarrah -

I'm voting for the breakfast meet (although 9 AM may be tough for us nightowls . . .LOL. I've gone into to Luminaires for lunch moments before they closed and they were gracious to let me stay and eat (I was actually alone - something I hadn't done in many years!) So I suspect they will work with us.

We've tried to meet before the drill on our last cruise. It was just enough time to share our goodies with each other and connect with some of the folks we were chatting with on the board. I agree that the sail away party is LOUD!!! We've always managed to stand on Deck 10 and wavy good by to the CM's on shore.

That's my vote! Thanks for all you are doing to coordinate. That is a big job, but you sound like a natural!!

Have a wonderful Friday . . .

Theresa

 

[sopandbass]

DIS MEETS
Meet #1: At the DCL Terminal before boarding. The terminal opens at 10am and they usually start boarding between 11:30-Noon. Should we just pick a spot in the terminal that we will "hang out" as we wait to board? Then any of us who arrive before boarding starts can meet in that area... Any suggestions on where that should be? I haven't been there since they started the "new" boarding procedure with the numbers, so I'm not sure where a good spot would be ....
pdarrah

I think it would be nice to meet over across from registration, where the seating area is. Some of us will get there early and it would be nice to sit and chat or at least have a place to gather where people could sit or stand.

It would be nice to have an identifying marker - maybe your DISmember on Board sign or something?

Thanks, pdarrah, for getting us organized!!!

 

[Bytor01]

Just let me know and I too will try to convince the family. I will try to make one even if they don't want to but the sail away party sounds good. We can all wave good-bye together. Still trying to come down from the week in WDW, boy what a great time. As I said, I was able to get a good rate from the Hyatt at MCO is anyone else staying there the night before the cruise?

 

[DiaLady]

It would be nice to have an identifying marker - maybe your DISmember on Board sign or something?

How about the Mickey Paint Chips? You can get them at any Home Depot. Wanna pick a color? There are so many?

AND .. .where is everyone staying the night before . . .I have to book a hotel.

Shhhh . . . we're going to Busch Gardens Tampa and SeaWorld the 3 days before the cruise. Since we have season pass at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, all other Busch parks are FREE. We'll get lots of Disney on the cruise (no flames, please . . .LOL)

Have a lovely evening!

Theresa

 

[Vulcandream]

Pdarrah -

It was just enough time to share our goodies with each other and connect with some of the folks we were chatting with on the board.
Theresa

Goodies? Did someone say goodies? Where? What? When? Vulcandream loves goodies!

 

[DiaLady]

Goodies? Did someone say goodies? Where? What? When? Vulcandream loves goodies!

LOL . .. Yes, well, not necessarily edible ones . . .

We figured out our total number and lots of folks brought things that represented where they were from. Like, I wanted to bring magnets that had the Virginia Crab on it (I don't remember if I ever found those!!). If we did it again, I'd have to find postcard or something for Jamestown's 400 anniversary in 2007 (very, very, very big thing here right now). The kids really got a kick out of it.

Well off to get homeschooling read for next week. One kid is at scout camp and the other is QUIET!! How weird is that?

Have a lovely Saturday!

Theresa

 

[Vulcandream]

If you want to take a look at the thread I started on cruise food... or make an entry, go to
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=15603516#post15603516

 

[sjunder]

Hello everyone. We are booked for this cruise and I figured I should go ahead and register on DIS. This will be our second Disney cruise and first 7 day. These boards were invaluable to me the first time we cruised.

I am cruising with my DH and 2yr old DD. We just got our passports in the mail this week. I think I read we don't need them now? Either way, I'm glad to have them.

Is anyone else cruising with a toddler? Got any suggestions on any excursions to do with a 2yr old? TIA!

 

[pdarrah]

sjunder! I'm afraid I can't offer much on cruising with a toddler - my DS was 5 for our first family cruise and there is a huge difference between 2 and 5...

pdarrah

 

[ldeninge]

Meet #3: "Breakfast" Meet.
Pdarrah, I think I already voted for breakfast, so don't count me twice

Like Vulcandream, though, we'll make an effort to swing by no matter when.

Dialady, I doubt we will bring 'goodies'. I'm afraid our 'trinket' budget is already over the top. So please don't count us in for that. Just would like to meet everyone, make some new friends, and enjoy our fun cruise!

Sjunder, look forward to hearing what you plan to do with your 2 yo. We will have our DS 20mo. with us, so hoping he will like some of the activities we can do as a family.

Bytor, we are staying at the MCO Hyatt, too, on Friday night. That's the hotel on top of the airport, right?

 

[cepmom]

DIS MEETS
We've chatted a bit about possible meets - now that we are less than 2 months from our cruise, should we start firming up those plans?

Please jump in and comment/correct me or just have your say! I think we have sort of agreed to try for 3 different meet times. All are welcome to attend any and all meets.

Meet #1: At the DCL Terminal before boarding. The terminal opens at 10am and they usually start boarding between 11:30-Noon. Should we just pick a spot in the terminal that we will "hang out" as we wait to board? Then any of us who arrive before boarding starts can meet in that area... Any suggestions on where that should be? I haven't been there since they started the "new" boarding procedure with the numbers, so I'm not sure where a good spot would be ....

Meet #2: At the Sail Away Party. This tends to be noisy, so it isn't great for getting to talk to each other - but it can be fun to celebrate the sail-away with new friends. If you manage to get there early (meaning you RUN from the lifeboat drill to your room to drop off your vests and RUN up to the party) it is possible to chat before it starts. Those with late dining can linger after the party to chat some more. Skylynx suggested that we meet on Deck 10 overlooking the Goofy Pool/Stage on the side of the ship that faces the DCL terminal. This gives a great view of the stage, there are stairs down for those who want to go down and join the dancing and you can wave at the DCL castmembers at the terminla with the giant Mickey Hands as we sail away.

Meet #3: "Breakfast" Meet. What would everyone think of Monday morning at 9AM at Lumier's? They are only open from 8-9:30, but those with LAP will have Character Breakfasts that morning at either 8:15 (early) or 9:45 (late). By putting this in the middle, the Early folks should be able to come in afterwards and the Late folks can come early and then head to their meal. If they actually kick us out at 9:30 we could just move out to the atrium - but I suspect that is just when they stop serving food and we can still hang out there for a while. For those with Character Breakfasts or Palo Bruch (10AM?) there isn't any requirement that you actually EAT at this meet - it's just a convenient location to meet other DISers. If the first few to arrive explain to the staff what we are doing, I am sure they would be happy to seat us all together.

So, any thoughts? Comment? Suggestions? Once we come to an agreement, I'll put this on the website on the "Useful Stuff" page.

pdarrah

Hi guys ~ I am all for a terminal meet. I would like to arrive to the terminal around 10:30. This about the time DH and I arrived for our last cruise and it was great to walk in and get checked in rather quickly. I tend to stress until we are all checked in, so being able to check in without waiting more than a few minutes was great. After we checked in I was able to finally relax and really enjoy looking around the terminal.

This time, however we won't be arrving at MCO until shortly after 11:00 PM, then we'll be making the drive to PC to stay at the Residence Inn. I am hoping the kids just sleep the whole way there and we can just dump them in a bed until morning. Hopefully we can get ourselves together in the morning to get to the terminal early.

I thought a good place to meet would be the seating area all the way at the back of terminal, to the right of the Mickey Ears where you board the ship. It's close to the children's registration area and a nice place to check out the ship too.

We'll try to make it to the other meets as well. We do have Palo brunch on the first sea day, but I was thinking about cancelling it and just going on the second sea day instead.

I wish I knew which day we would be having our character breakfast, so we could do Palo on the other sea day. I hate not knowing the dining rotation until check in

 

[Vulcandream]

I tried to get into Palo brunch on the first sea day but by the time I could make reservations there were no brunches left. Let me know if you cancel yours please Cepmom. I intend to try as soon as we board.

We have Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years ahead of us and all I can think about is Jan. 13!!

 

[skylynx]

Skylynx here, checking in before we skip town to spend Thanksgiving in Monterey with a bunch of barking sea lions.

Impala and I will be at all the Dismeets, and I'll do my part for easy identification on embarkation day by wearing my oh-so-lime-green official Disboards t-shirt.

Can't believe how CLOSE it's getting!

 

[blacksmithcrm]

The "sail-away" would work best for us, but if we miss everyone then, we'll simply look for some lime green!

Let's see,,, the Crips wear blue, the Bloods wear red, and the DISers wear lime green. Just wanted to get my colors right! Is there an official hand sign for us to flash?

Word up

(with tongue firmly in cheek)
Blacksmithcrm

 

[cepmom]

The "sail-away" would work best for us, but if we miss everyone then, we'll simply look for some lime green!

Let's see,,, the Crips wear blue, the Bloods wear red, and the DISers wear lime green. Just wanted to get my colors right! Is there an official hand sign for us to flash?

Word up

(with tongue firmly in cheek)
Blacksmithcrm

I usually put my lime green Mickey head (from Home Depot) in my lanyard KTTW holder. Here's a picture of DH and I from our 3 night cruise this past August.....

It's not the greatest picture, but if you recognize us, please stop and say hi!!

 

[DiaLady]

I usually put my lime green Mickey head (from Home Depot) in my lanyard KTTW holder. Here's a picture of DH and I from our 3 night cruise this past August.....

Great Idea! I did this on our last cruise and it was cool running in to DIS folks. Guess I need to make a trip to HomeDepot (I prefer Lowes here).

Stay warm!

 

[Luckymomoftwo]

This is my first time posting anything on DIS. I just found this site last week and I am addicted to it!!

Anyway, we (DH, DS, DD, IL's and I) just booked our flights for our big family cruise on 1/13/07!!!

DH & I are members of DVC and this will be our FIFTH DC!!!! My son is 7 and my daughter is 3. We live in NW Indiana and are looking forward to getting out of the cold in the middle of January!!! Also looking foward to meeting all the nice people on this DIS

 

[pdarrah]

Wecome to the DIS Luckymomoftwo!

I can certainly understand wanting to get out of the cold - we should have similar weather - though you probably get more lake effect snow than we do!

I also have a DS7, so if your's is interested in exchanging emails or PM (Personal messages through the DIS) just let us know.

When you have a chance, take a look at our cruise website - it is fun to see who all we are cruising with on the "Who's GOing" page. If you would like to be listed, just let me know.

It's sunny today but only 45 degrees here to the west of Chicago today!

pdarrah

 

[familycruiser]

I haven't posted much lately but as I realize that this cruise is just after the holidays, I am getting really excited. THis is our first DC so I'm sure I will have lots of ??s. We did not get a brunch on sea day for Palo but I will try on board, got a Palo dinner but its at 9:00 pm on Tues so may try to change to an earlier time.

Haven't booked any shore excursions so I need to look into this. Any suggestions?

Please add us to the list : We are DW(36), DH(39), DD (8), and DS (5).

If any one you have any DD8 or DD9 that would like to correspond with my DD, let me know..she is in 3rd grade.

I have booked Ron Jon for the 2 nights prior to cruise (getting in Thurs. afternoon). Considering doing MK or Universal on Fri. so thinking of switching the ressie to somewhere in Orlando or weather to just relax at Ron Jons and maybe do Kennedy. Went to MK a few years ago, but kids don't really remember it so I know they would love to go but won't they get enough disney on the cruise? Anyone stay at Ron Jons before?

Where do you get lanyards? Haven't found any good car rental rates so let me know if any of you have discount codes for that time. Thanks for all the info. Reading this board always gets me more excited!

 

[pdarrah]

Hi familycruiser - wecome back!

Try not to worry too much about the Palo ressies - from what I've seen in trip reports and posts, most people have been able to get the ressies/changes they want when they board.

About MK before the cruise - just my opinion, but I feel like the MK and the cruise are totally different Disney experiences. We did not do the parks before or after our first cruise in 2004 (DS really wanted to cruise and agreed to give up a trip to the parks in order to go on DCL) and really missed it. I think going to the MK is a great start to a Disney cruise and gets you all ready to enjoy all the Disney stuff on board (shows, characters, etc.) Our last cruise (2005) we decided a visit to the parks was an important part of the trip. We will be as WDW the Friday before and the weekend after (just Saturday & Sunday - fly home Sunday night).

We went to the space center in 2004 (DS was 5 then) and it was OK, but I dont' think he was really old enough to appreciate it (and he tends to be very into museums, exhibits and such). He didn't hate it, but it certainly doesn't seem to have been that memorable an experience for him.

We've never stayed at Ron Jon's - we've stayed at the Radisson at the port twice and this time we are going to stay at WDW at Caribean Beach before the cruise. We'll just get up early and drive over to the port on Saturday morning.

Lanyards - I bought ours at Walmart. For some reason they are in the section with wallets and watches I tried several times to find them with no luck and finally a kind DISer posted a picture of one which I printed out and took to the store. I had to ask 3 or 4 employees, but eventually I found someone who knew where they were! They probably thought I was crazy

Rental Car discounts - have you tried looking at the discounts listed on the mousesavers.com website? We have often found a good rate using codes we found there.

pdarrah