JANUARY 27, 2007 "PAL MICKEY" Western Magic ROLL CALL

[threesit@yahoo.com]

Oh my gosh...I can't seem to get it together. My mother in law has been sick (thought we were going to lose her!) and I have started back to school for the first time in 18 years. So, I feel like I am behind on getting things ready for the cruise.

All 3 kids are packed, and my stuff is ready (I think) but can someone tell me if there is a pirate night, or a caribbean night, or an 80's night so I can bring what I need?

Also, I am trying to sign in for my cruise this morning, and they are having a problem with the website! Anyone else have this problem in the past? I am wondering how long it will last...

Thanks!

Beth

 

[taswira]

Oh my gosh...I can't seem to get it together. My mother in law has been sick (thought we were going to lose her!) and I have started back to school for the first time in 18 years. So, I feel like I am behind on getting things ready for the cruise.

All 3 kids are packed, and my stuff is ready (I think) but can someone tell me if there is a pirate night, or a caribbean night, or an 80's night so I can bring what I need?

Also, I am trying to sign in for my cruise this morning, and they are having a problem with the website! Anyone else have this problem in the past? I am wondering how long it will last...

Thanks!

Beth

Sorry about your MIL, and anyone else who has family who is ill or has been ill themselves. Between illnesses of the elderly and every virus that has been going around, this can be a tough time of the year. I am a bit nervous about leaving my 84 year old mother home alone while I am on this cruise, but my sister lives in the neighborhood so hopefully all will be fine.

As for parties: If it hasn't changed, there is a 60's Dance Party in Rockin' Bar D, The Golden Mickeys and an after-party (on formal night where many dress like going to the Oscars), the Pirates IN the Caribbean Deck Party, 80's Party (one in Rockin' Bar D for adults and one in Studio Sea for families), and a 70's Disco Party in Rockin' Bar D.

The DCL website seemed pretty quick for me just now, so maybe the problems have been resolved.

Not long until we sail!

 

[taswira]

Weather.com's forecast for Canaveral on our sailing day is out now: Partly cloudy, high 69f low 59f, chance of precipitation ZERO. Yaaaay! I hope it stays that way.

 

[threesit@yahoo.com]

Thanks for your kind words and your help.

Another question...Is Thursday Formal night?

 

[taswira]

You are very welcome.

On the western itinerary, Monday should be formal night and Thursday semi-formal night - always subject to change at DCL's whim though.

 

[WeCantWait]

Does anyone have buttons or something they wear with their 'Dis Meets' name on them, my DW thought it would be a good idea to make a button of some kind to wear with Cruising Canuck DH, DW, DD, etc., printed on it. It would be a easy way to identify each one of us as that is the names we are used to here. Any ideas?

We don't have buttons but the four of us will be wearing lime green shirts with a black mickey head silhouette. We plan to get to the port sometime arround 11:30.

 

[threesit@yahoo.com]

Hey I just cancelled my Palo ressies for 9pm on Monday, January 29, 2007.

It is currently the only one on the site available. At all! So grab it if you want it!

Beth

 

[taftdb]

Oh my gosh...I can't seem to get it together. My mother in law has been sick (thought we were going to lose her!) and I have started back to school for the first time in 18 years. So, I feel like I am behind on getting things ready for the cruise.

All 3 kids are packed, and my stuff is ready (I think) but can someone tell me if there is a pirate night, or a caribbean night, or an 80's night so I can bring what I need?

Also, I am trying to sign in for my cruise this morning, and they are having a problem with the website! Anyone else have this problem in the past? I am wondering how long it will last...

Beth, sounds like you've got it together better than you're giving yourself credit for. School, kids, sick MIL and you've got the kids and yourself packed! It is just my wife and myself going and we aren't even packed yet. Grab your Pal Mickey if you've got one and and give yourself a good pat on the back!

David

 

[taftdb]

Between illnesses of the elderly and every virus that has been going around, this can be a tough time of the year. I am a bit nervous about leaving my 84 year old mother home alone while I am on this cruise, but my sister lives in the neighborhood so hopefully all will be fine.

taswira, threesit (Beth), msaseifert's DH, my DW, et. al., sounds like there are a lot of you that really deserve treating yourselves to this cruise.

taswira, the Pal Mickey Gathering at Sea website is great. Thanks for setting this all up.

Oh yea, a P.S. to Beth on the Disney website. It was very slow for me a week or so ago and then a short time later it was fine.

 

[threesit@yahoo.com]

Beth, sounds like you've got it together better than you're giving yourself credit for. School, kids, sick MIL and you've got the kids and yourself packed! It is just my wife and myself going and we aren't even packed yet. Grab your Pal Mickey if you've got one and and give yourself a good pat on the back!

David

Thanks David!

 

[taswira]

taswira, the Pal Mickey Gathering at Sea website is great. Thanks for setting this all up.

You are welcome!

Note: I don't mean for that website to be "my show" or anything. Anyone on our cruise who has ideas, photos, planned meets or anything they would like on the site, e-mail or PM me the info and I'll get it on there. I'm also thinking we could add more photos or trip reports/cruise reviews after the cruise. So everyone keep that in mind as you shoot pictures or form opinions onboard.

 

[taswira]

I just reminded Holly of this and thought perhaps I should mention it here, just in case - - -

Do NOT forget to bring the addresses of people to whom you want to send postcards or letters! I've met so many cruisers who forgot their address book. You don't need to bring an entire address book, but write down the addresses you need and bring them with you!

 

[Aurora76]

Can I ask a question that is a little off topic. Does anyone have any suggestions on travelling with young children on the airplane. We have about a 6 hour flight down to Orlando and i'm nervous about keeping my 19 month old son busy.
Also can anyone suggest a good place for dinner in Downtown Disney?

Thanks

 

[msaseifert]

Can I ask a question that is a little off topic. Does anyone have any suggestions on travelling with young children on the airplane. We have about a 6 hour flight down to Orlando and i'm nervous about keeping my 19 month old son busy.
Also can anyone suggest a good place for dinner in Downtown Disney?

Thanks

I would suggest not letting him nap until he is one the plane. We also used to give my kids a decongestant to keep the ears from getting clogged. I would also suggest a personal DVD player that he can watch a favorite DVD on - if he will wear headphones.

I don't know about dinner in downtown disney - we will be there too but plan to play it by ear. We didn't want to tie ourselves to a reservation at Planet Hollywood or the House of Blues but I hear they are both good.

Good Luck, see you soon!

 

[threesit@yahoo.com]

Can I ask a question that is a little off topic. Does anyone have any suggestions on travelling with young children on the airplane. We have about a 6 hour flight down to Orlando and i'm nervous about keeping my 19 month old son busy.
Also can anyone suggest a good place for dinner in Downtown Disney?

Thanks

Here are a few ideas that worked for me...

Playdoh. It is amazing how much fun a little tub can be with a plastic knife and a little tiny cookie cutter. Just open a napkin or two and lay it on the floor to catch any that might fall. (My kids were playing with playdoh at this age, but that homemade stuff you can eat will work too!)

Another thing I did was get a bunch of little gifts like from the dollar store and wrap them up in wrapping paper. eg...matchbox car, playdoh, little book, travel magna doodle, box of crayons, gummy snacks etc. It takes them 5 minutes to open the package and I found that you got about 20 minutes out of each gift depending...that adds up! Depending on your flight, wrap about 3 gifts per hour. It is so much fun to open a new present every 20 minutes!

I agree that a portable DVD player is a WISE investment! If you can bum a Game Boy advance or a PSP player off someone, you can get movies for them too and they are much smaller!

CU SOON!

 

[taftdb]

I think I have our excursions finalized. At Key West we are doing the Old Town Trolley to get around and get a feel for the place. Other than that we are going to ad-lib it. For Grand Cayman it's Stingray City Observatory & Island Tour in the morning and the Atlantis Submarine Expedition after lunch. Cozumel, just a fun day at Paradise Beach (www.paradise-beach-cozumel.com).

I don't know why in one trip report a person said the beach was rocky. It looks pretty sandy from the website. I think I read that it is only a short from the ship and the taxi fare is $12 and that there are always taxis waiting to take you back too the ship. They are supposed to have the best guacomole and margaritas and it's run by a friendly Canadian, eh!

Finally at Castaway Cay, it is Parasailing in the morning. Somwhere I read you get about 5-7 minutes of airborne time. Does anyone know if they will double our airborne time if DW and I go up in tandem? Later we will do the bicycle rentals, beach bumming, etc. In the late afternoon it is the Banana Boat Ride for 20 minutes of WoooHooo! We want to also try snorkling, but I'm not sure if we will try it at Paradise Beach or Castaway Cay. Who knows, maybe both. Plans are always subject to change, so if anyone has anyone has done any of these and doesn't recommend it or has another other recomendation, please feel free to chime in.

Thanks

 

[Cruising canuck]

We don't have buttons but the four of us will be wearing lime green shirts with a black mickey head silhouette. We plan to get to the port sometime arround 11:30.

We don't have anything lime green, that I know of, and home depot is an hour away from here so I won't have the paint swatches this time, but I think we are going to get something lime for our door (if you happen to see our door, knock and say "HI" we would love it) and maybe for our carry-ons too. We will look around and try to find all you 'Limeys' at the port and introduce ourselves. We have a town car picking us up at AS Movies @ 9:30 so we should be at the port around 10:30, knock on wood!

We arrive @ 2:30 on Wed. afternoon and we are going to DTD for shopping and supper. Thurs. our plan is to hit Sea World and then MK on Friday.

6 more sleeps!!!

 

[speakupjc]

We don't own anything lime green so will it help you guys id me if I wear the same themed shirt everyday - I have lots of Ohio State Shirts. Would this work? Also I don't have a door sign or clothes for my pal Mickey. Does it matter? Is it ok if not please tell me what I need to do. Thanks!

 

[threesit@yahoo.com]

Can I ask a question that is a little off topic. Does anyone have any suggestions on travelling with young children on the airplane. We have about a 6 hour flight down to Orlando and i'm nervous about keeping my 19 month old son busy.
Also can anyone suggest a good place for dinner in Downtown Disney?

Thanks

Ohh dinner...

I suggest Rainforest Cafe. It is so loud and there is so much to look at you are guarenteed to have a nice time because your baby will be very amused and entertained by all there is to look at!

 

[taswira]

We don't own anything lime green so will it help you guys id me if I wear the same themed shirt everyday - I have lots of Ohio State Shirts. Would this work? Also I don't have a door sign or clothes for my pal Mickey. Does it matter? Is it ok if not please tell me what I need to do. Thanks!

You're kidding, right? Of course it doesn't matter!

As for clothes for your Pal Mickey, maybe we should have a "wardrobe party" where some of the Pals with larger wardrobes could lend an item or two to some of those Pals needing attire. Since few of us know each other personally, we could have a sign-out sheet for the borrowers listing the item and the stateroom number it went to - LOL. I know my Pal won't lend his themed outfits or shoes but could probably muster up a couple of t-shirts or something.

Am I crazy? Hmmmmm.