January 13, 2007 - 7 Night Magic Western

[thomprod]

Welcome, Jeff! Glad to be cruising with you, and welcome to the thread.

 

[sandym]

Hello everyone, we are officially on the 1/13/07 Western!

Just booked/switched one of our other cruises over to this one tonight.

SandyM, not sure if you remember, but we sailed on the 1/21/06 with you.

Jeff

I remember!!!! Can't wait to sail again!

 

[LuvEeyore]

Welcome everyone!!

One question for you all??? Is it January 12, 2007 yet?? Aren't we cruising tomorrow??

Have a great summer.
Lee

 

[Colorado Mom]

A shout out to Skylynx

I just noticed the photo you have on the who's going page. Looks a lot like my neck of the woods, was it taken in Colorado???

 

[skylynx]

Hey, Colorado Mom

Actually, that photo was taken on our wedding day in Bonnie Springs, Nevada, which is in Red Rock Canyon outside of Las Vegas!

Ironically, we just returned yesterday from Colorado. We flew into Denver Friday morning, drove to Ft. Collins, bought a saddle for my husband's new horse, went to Cheyenne Frontier Days in WY on Saturday, then drove through Rocky Mt. National Park on Sunday, stayed in Winter Park, then flew back to Chicagoland last night. Wow, it makes me exhausted talking about it!

We love the west, and have every intention of making Somewhere Out There our home before we hang up our spurs for good. Where in Colorado do you call home?

 

[Colorado Mom]

We are in Ft Collins and Loveland! we went up to RMNP a few sundays ago, and the landscape in your photo looks just like the area around Devils Backbone to me, there is a ranch that does a lot of weddings near there.

We love this area, close to the mountians and all. We went up to Buffalo Wyoming in June and liked it up there as well but everything in Wyo is so far away from everything else.

 

[Ginny]

Hello, All!!

We are getting so excited!! I guess I couldn't wait for January because I just booked a last minute trip to WDW for DD and me at the end of August. It will be just a Mother / Daughter trip and I can't wait. The last time we did this................I got strep throat (yes, Mom...not daughter) and spent most of the trip being pretty miserable and thinking I was a wimp or in the emergency room. So, I'm very happy we get another chance for memory making. must have been looking out for me!!

And, because DD will start middle school this year, we are pushing the edge of the envelope to let her out of school at all in January so I've hesitated at taking extra days before the cruise BUT I really want to celebrate my birthday aboard the Magic. So, rather than take extra days in January to visit the parks, we will go in August. DH has to travel and can't join us in August but he is being a GREAT sport & very supportive. He loves seeng his girls happy.

DD is away at Camp so has no idea what I've been up to this weekend. I was able to book our airfare and car using our AMEX points. I learned a valuable tool and will be booking our January airfare through AMEX as well. We got great departure and return times out of Dulles (which is really close to our house) as opposed to driving all the way to Baltimore for Southwest's new discount fares..............and it didn't cost a dime out of pocket - just points.

We are staying at POR - which is a favorite of ours when DD was little and we could use their little pull out bed. But, this year, since it's just the two of us, we can go back and, after much discussion about "codes", got a great rate of $110.00 (equal to Shades of Green, my other option). In January, we are planning on staying at the Beach Club or Yacht Club. We really love that locale and the theming.

Anyone else going to WDW before our cruise??

 

[JLDSMD]

We're going down at the end of October while DS has off of school. We have teachers' convention here in WI the last Th and Fr of October.

We are flying out on Wed night, spending 2 nights at POFQ, doing Blizzard during the day on Th, dinner at the Castle Th night before MNSSHP at MK. Then on Friday we are heading down to Disney's Vero Beach for 2 nights.

DW wanted a beach vacation but we also felt guilty of missing Trick or Treat back here (missed last year due to a 3 nt Wonder cruise). So we figured MNSSHP was a good compromise. We were planning on flying back Sunday evening, doing either Blizzard again or SeaWorld during the afternoon, but AirTran moved us to the non-stop flight, which wasn't bad at first, but now they moved it to 1:30 in the afternoon. At least now we'll be back in time for T-o-T at home.

Gotta get that Disney fix prior to the cruise.

 

[sandym]

I will be at Disney for work Sept. 6 - 10. I can't wait. We had planned to do Disney for 3 nights pre-cruise but may be staying for 3 nights after instead so that we can do the special pirate/princess party at Magic Kingdom on 1/22. I am waiting to make my final decision until the package rates for 2007 come out so we can book the dining package. Have a great time everyone!

 

[sandym]

Hi all- big change of plans came about today. We are unfortunately going to cancel our January cruise, but the GREAT news is that we are now going for an 11 night Disney cruise in September. It has been a pleasure getting to know you all. Maybe we will cruise with you in the future.

 

[LuvEeyore]

sandy, you are not the only one to have a change in plans. Because of my schedule and funds, the godchild switching school systems we are having to cancel our january cruise and I am so bummed that the Magic is in the Med next summer which is when we can go...so we are thinking aobut another cruise line and maybe an Alaskian cruise. Anyone have any advice?
Blessings to you all.
Lee

 

[Ginny]

Sandy and LuvEeyore -

I'm so sorry that you won't be joining us but either the Med Cruise or Alaska sound so exciting. I hope you both have wonderful cruises.

Take care

 

[JLDSMD]

I see we fell to mid-way down page 3.

Just getting us to page 1 in case someone is trying to find us.

 

[pdarrah]

Hi Sandym & LuvEeyore (if you are still reading this thread)

I'm sorry you won't be joining us. Good luck and best wishes for your alternate plans. LuvEeyore - I can't say much about other lines, we have only been on Carnival and DCL and the Carnival trips were in the early 90's so not recent enough to mean anything....

pdarrah

 

[Trixiezzz]

Did you notice? Today our countdowns went to FIVE MONTHS even!

Yay, it's getting closer!!

(Doing the happy dance)

 

[Colorado Mom]

I noticed the 5 month mark!! Very excited that day

the kids got their passports already, just waiting for mine to arrive.

 

[ldeninge]

Hi - I'm thrilled to find these forums!
I've been excitedly reading everyone's experiences, tips and advice!
DH & I are traveling with our DD (5) and DS (almost 2), as well as a set of grandparents, and DH 2 brothers/spouses/kids.

Any words of wisdom for the newbies??
THANKS! and can't wait to have a blast with everyone!

 

[Ginny]

Hello, All -

DD and I are back after 5 great days at WDW. We really missed DH but we still had a wonderful time!! The trip really got us so excited for our cruise in January and meeting all of you. I will say that the August heat reminded me of just how much I enjoy WDW and cruising in the off-season. We had such a superb time but just had to be flexible and work the schedule so we could deal with the heat!

The parks were great and now that DD is 11.5, we also spent time on finding some Disney secrets and the faster rides. We still did Buzz Lightyear 4 times and Mickey's Philharmagic twice and Peter Pan twice. And, that was even fighting some pretty impressive crowds!! We also did the "revised Pirates" and looked for costume pieces for Pirate's Night. Whoever did the "CAPT Jack Sparrow" character was dead on.................No pun intended!! We had such fun finding special little secrets in all the parks that we never noticed before..............or found the time to notice (I should say). We found the last tombstone at HM and she did open her eyes and move her head for us......DD loved that one. And, some secret scoring spots at Buzz and DD got her score up to 328,000!!

We also tried Hoop De Doo and I highly recommend it. It took us many years to get around to it but the food and the show were great. Erin had a blast and I wish I had done it when she was younger.

My to-do for January is starting to grow and I am definitely in planning mode now. It is great to be home but I'm really looking forward to January!

ldeninge = Welcome to you and your extended family. With such a large group, I'm sure you will enjoy yourselves. One thing I would suggest is that you do a search on these forums for "Flounder's Reef" for DS to gather info on times and reservation requirements, etc.

I know DD will enjoy the clubs but really encourage you to make sure she goes on the first night as there are special activities to make all feel welcome.

Take care, all. I'm excited to hear everyone' s plans.

 

[ldeninge]

Ginny,
thanks for the advice about Flounder's - we will definitely look into booking ahead of time.

One question I haven't seen answer for online: if DS (22mo) is in Flounder's Reef over meal time how does he get fed? the rules state 'no outside food' except for bottles (which he doesn't use anymore) and that they only give crackers to the kids. If we use FR for a few hours during an excursion, that will be too long for him to go without food!?!?

 

[Ginny]

ldeninge -

Here is a Link to a posting on the DIS by Buddy Bear that I found. It's for a Western Itinerary Flounder's Info sheet and Navigator. I can't find the date so am not sure how current it is but I know Buddy Bear just went on a cruise and one about a year ago. Perhaps you could search his posts. He is full of great info and always very kind about sharing. Just click on his name at the top and it will take you to his profile.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/cruise-new/photos/Flounders-Reef-Nursery.html

The Info sheet has several key points to consider (like a 10 hour maximum use time). You could at least use the sheet to ask questions of DCL.

Take care -