January 13, 2007 - 7 Night Magic Western

[pdarrah]

Welcome to the DIS Happy Cat!!!

I love it when people come out of "lurking mode" and join us I lurked for about 2 weeks when I first found the DIS - just to get a feel for things and learn the acronyms. However, I had been very active on a compuserve board for years, so jumping into the world of online community wasn't too new.

My DS7 will be in the same club with your DD6. This is his 3rd time in the same group - he LOVED it the first 2 times and plans to spend a lot of time at the club again.

I wish I was organized enough to be cruise packing now ... I'm still finishing the "to do before Christmas" list! Then I have to get DS7 packed for his trip to Mexico with my parents. THEN I can pack for the cruise while he is gone....

Note to Everyone:

As soon as I get caught up (maybe even later tomorrow) I will update our web site with the "Who's going" stuff that has been sent to me in the last week or so and with the DIS Meets we discussed earlier. I think there was one suggestion on location for the "terminal meet" which I'll go back and find. Anyone else have a suggestion for location for that? The last time we cruised, they didn't have the number system for boarding or the in-terminal club checking so I am not sure how it is laid out now...

pdarrah

 

[sopandbass]

We're all looking forward to the cruise. I think the anticipation and planning are a big part of the experience. The date is drawing close, though, and we're more excited each day.

I have so much wrapping to do!!!! I was planning on getting a lot of it done (we have a DD6 as well, Happy Cat) yesterday but someone let the air out of all the school bus tires and the whole district cancelled classes - yeah, it's all fun and games until someone's packages don't get wrapped. Anyway, I'm scrambling at this point - lots of other unexpected things popping up, too! But, somehow, I'm sure it will all get done before Monday morning.

I hope you each have happy holidays!

See you all soon!
Sharon

 

[Bytor01]

Just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and say that in only 19 days we will be cruisin'.

Tim

 

[DiaLady]

Any cruise vets out there a question for you. Still not sure if I am just going with a suit to the formal night or a tux. But, if I do go for a tux (I don't own my own as it is not practical for me too) where should I get one. Should I rent it at home or rent it from the tux rental agency on board? Just looking for ideas.

Hey Tim - -

Good question! On our last cruise, my dh rented a tux from cruise line formal wear (www dot cruiselineformal dot com) He doesn't own a tux that fits him . . .LOL Unfortunately I was seasick through the first formal night so we ate in our room. We did take the opportunity to dress up for our night at PALOs.

DH was pretty impressed with how nice the tux and shirts were, that the tux showed up at our door, and with the price for rental. He almost wore it again (he a shorts and t-shirt kinda guy).

Anyway, this trip, we've already decided not to participate in formal night. We want to be casual for this cruise. DH is bring a jacket, but no ties. I really didn't want to have to purchase suits or jackets for our two fast growing boys (ages 12 & 10) b/c they will only get one wear out of them We thought we'd spend the money on another excursion instead (okay, that was my logic, but dh was set for the excursions anyway).

Bottomline, we found it extremely convenient to rent the tux and not have to lug it from hom. The quality and price were reasonable. It just depends if you like getting dressed up (or if your dw would like you to get dressed up . . .)

Merry Christmas!

Theresa

 

[DiaLady]

Well, our hope for a white Christmas has been swamped by tons of rain. . .if this were snow we wouldn't be moving for a week . . .LOL (SE Virginia has serious snow on the road phobias!!)

Now that the festivities of the big day are underway, all my family can talk about is plans for the cruise . . .LOL. Both boys got new luggage from grandparents as their big gift (thanks Dad & Patty!!!). I've never seen two kids so excited to get luggage . . . go figure

Well, just wanted to get on the DIS boards and wish all my fellow cruisers a very Merry Christmas! Enjoy this special day and then . . . let's cruise!!!

Theresa

 

[sopandbass]

Hello. We are from Canada (near Windsor, so it is a warmer part of Canada), family of 4 (myself, DH, DS - 4, and DD 6). ....

Hey, Happy Cat ~ We're from a suburb of Detroit and we have a DD6 also. Small world.

We're heading to WDW on the 10th so I've got a couple weeks to get my packing together. I've done a lot of thinking about it but that's about it. We always take too much anyway so maybe if I wait, I won't have time to complicate the packing list...or I'll end up throwing everything we own into the suitcases!

I hope you each have a chance to enjoy these last few days before we cruise together.

Peace,
Sharon

 

[Bytor01]

Well, we are in between 2 and 3 weeks. Did anyone see and/or hear about their documents coming? MY TA said that she should get them right about now and get them out to me but no word yet.

Also, does anyone have a good list of what to pack on the cruise? I usually pack for half the week as we stay in a DVC room w/ washers and dryers so I don't have to pack as much. Without the W/D combo I think I will have to pack more.

Tim

 

[cepmom]

we just got our documents!! It is getting closer!!!!

I don't have a packing list ~ but I found that I can pack less if I plan on doing laundry at some point during the cruise. I bring a roll or two of quarters and my own detergent in a travel size bottle (found at Target for $1.00 for 4 loads) There are coin washers and dryers on deck 2, 7 and one other deck which I can not remember right now.

I hope to get packing next week while the kids are in school. They still don't know about the cruise, but I have planted the seed....I told them DH might have a "business trip" to FL sometime in January and maybe we could tag along if I could find cheap airfare. They were intrigued and excited about that idea. I figure I can get us to FL the night before the cruise without raising any suspicions and then the morning of the cruise, I plan on springing it on them. I am going to make t-shirts that say "our SURPRISE Magical Cruise" and a cool picture of the ship and Castaway Cay that I found on the creative DISigns board. I can't wait!

 

[skylynx]

While out doing Boxing Day sale plundering, our docs arrived! I know it isn't as big a deal anymore, since you can fill out your forms online in advance, and they'll still let you on the ship, but it was still CONCRETE evidence that we are actually going, and that we have baggage tags with the correct stateroom printed on them, even though the bags to put them on are far from ready. So, happy doc dance for us tonight!

We spent a lovely Christmas night working off the turkey dinner playing with our horses while no one else was at our barn. There is something very magical about a barn at Christmas and the warmth of the animals and the soft sounds they make eating and eating and eating.

We all got many wonderful gifts. I got DH a really nice pair of compact but really powerful binoculars...they'll get their inaugural run on the cruise. They are over twice as strong as our old "good" pair. Both of the kids got computers of their own...so now there will be no more fighting over domain of the main PC and my work laptop!

I hope everyone's holiday had moments of both excitement and peace, because we need both.

Cheers!

 

[skylynx]

While out doing Boxing Day sale plundering, our docs arrived! I know it isn't as big a deal anymore, since you can fill out your forms online in advance, and they'll still let you on the ship, but it was still CONCRETE evidence that we are actually going, and that we have baggage tags with the correct stateroom printed on them, even though the bags to put them on are far from ready. So, happy doc dance for us tonight!

We spent a lovely Christmas night working off the turkey dinner playing with our horses while no one else was at our barn. There is something very magical about a barn at Christmas and the warmth of the animals and the soft sounds they make eating and eating and eating.

We all got many wonderful gifts. I got DH a really nice pair of compact but really powerful binoculars...they'll get their inaugural run on the cruise. They are over twice as strong as our old "good" pair. Both of the kids got computers of their own...so now there will be no more fighting over domain of the main PC and my work laptop!

I hope everyone's holiday had moments of both excitement and peace, because we all need some of each!

Cheers!

 

[skylynx]

Wow...don't know how that ended up appearing twice...but sorry for the double message!

 

[DiaLady]

we just got our documents!! It is getting closer!!!!

Yes, and so did we! Just came on UPS (and I thought they came through snail mail - U.S. Post Office). DH just left to run some errands so I'm saving them for him to open when he returns.

We leave TWO weeks from tomorrow for FL

See ya'll soon!

Theresa

 

[Ginny]

Hi, All -

Bytor 01 (Tim) asked about packing for DCL vs DVC and I pulled up some old bookmarked threads last night BUT some of you have never cruised before or its been a while so thought I would share with the group. I couldn't use the "Search" function at 8PM last night when I wrote the original post but what crazies are up at 4AM (like me)...............so it was readily available this morning.

On our first cruise, I packed as if we would be "LOST" on a desert island for years. I have cut way back and really bring more sports shorts and tops and bathing suits and coverups than anything else. And I do use the washers and dryers on board.

Last night I pasted a link here to packing tips from our friend JGALECPA but I found a more recent thread in which he incorporated the previous one so I am editing this post with the most recent one. If you've never cruised before, please take what applies and don't feel (if you are a bit obsessive-compulsive like me) that you must take everything.

Here is a link to Jim's latest thread:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=468132&highlight=Packing+Tips

Plus a link to another packing site:

http://cruisediva.com/luggage.htm

There are practical suggestions on these links. The author of the DIS one is a great guy - We cruised with their family over Christmas 2003 and have stayed in touch.

I plan to pack a box to mail to the Beach Club with practical stuff in it so I'm not shlepping it on the airplane. Of course, I plan to do that on every cruise and I've yet to successfully accomplish that goal.

Biggies I recommend: Ziploc bags (2 gallon, 1 gallon and 1 quart size) are all invaluable to me.

Extension Cords and nightlights

Travel Clock with glow in the dark dial

Quarters for the washer dryer, dryer sheets and OTC meds.

I hope this helps with packing.

 

[pdarrah]

Hi everyone! I'm back

DS7 is pretty much packed and we're taking him and my parents to the airport early tomorrow morning. THEN I can really concentrate on cruise stuff (Well...OK, we do have our annual "holiday" party on Saturday to prepare for, but we're in pretty good shape on that )

Does anyone else want to update or add their info to the "Who's Going" page on the cruise website? I just updated DisLady's info (but am having trouble getting it to upload - the hosting site seems to be having trouble. It will hopefully be up in a little while.) Just email or post here if you want me to add/change anything.

I went back through the posts from the last month or two looking for what all we have said about DIS Meets. We seem to have pretty much agreed that there will be 3 DIS Meets. The details are pretty much together except for where exactly we will meet in the terminal. Here is what I have and a 'suggestion' for the location based on a couple posts here.

Meet #1: At the DCL Terminal before boarding. The terminal opens at 10am and they usually start boarding between 11:30-Noon. We will 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... We will try for "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." If that doesn't work or already has been snagged by someone else, then we will try the seating area directly across from the Registration desks. I will bring a DISer On Board sign and try to make it visible.

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. 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.


Any final comments before I post this on the website???

pdarrah

 

[pdarrah]

WHoo Hoo!! Doc Dance time!!!



They came today - DH just called to tell me they are at home!

pdarrah

 

[Vulcandream]

Those times and places for meets look good to me, with the same proviso, that we may not make every one of them. Thanks for your work on putting all this together!

 

[Ginny]

pdarrah -

As always, thanks for all of your work and for bringing the "DIS on Board" sign for the terminal. We will definitely make the terminal as we plan to arrive by 1030....it may be a bit nuts given that so much can be done online now BUT we still love to walk in the terminal and just enjoy all that there is to see. I will be wearing my DIS lanyard and we have DIS tags for our luggage.

 

[cepmom]

yes, thank you pdarrah for all you have done! I am looking forward to meeting everyone. We will plan on going to the terminal meet as we also want to arrive by 10:30 or so. I hope to make the other meets as well.

 

[DiaLady]

Thanks pdarrah . . .

We're hoping to make the meets, too.

Ginny, you're not the only wild one getting there at 10:30 AM. We'll be waving at you as we pull up right behind you . . .LOL. My DH just laughs at this now.

We're hoping to see what kind of upgrade we might be able to pull off at the port. Last time they had a category 3 for an additional $1200 (we were category 9 ). Great deal, but we figured we could spend it on excursions.

I'll have my green mickey in my lanyard as well. Maybe I can find the one from the last cruise instead of going to HomeDepot again.

Do they still sell the DCL lanyards at the Guest Services? I'd like to get a new one.

Have a wonderful end of December - watch out for snow (except here where my very confused crocuses and daffadills are already coming up!!!)!

Theresa

 

[DiaLady]

Duplicate . . ummmm

Theresa