January 28, 2010 3 Night Wonder

[kindra657]

Hi All,

Can we get in on the FE? We are doing back to back and this is our 2nd part. We have two adults and two children (girls aged 11/9). Starting to get excited now, got my Cabin for the 24th (Cat 11) and excited about the 28th assignment coming soon.

Tracy

Of Course!!! Whenever Danielle gets back from her vacation, she'll add you to the list I'm sure! Lucky to have a back to back!! Seems like there will be lots of girls around the same age on board!

 

[jendon1997]

Room assignments have been posted on Disney cruise line site. We got upgraded to a sideways category 11. Check it out!!

 

[Hanover]

Hey guys we are back. Still unpacking and looking at a mound of laundry. Our flight was delayed due to freezing rain in the North East so we didn't get home until about midnight Sunday. We had school/work yesterday then wrestling last night including team/individual pictures and official league weigh ins. I'm finally holding my head above water with work tasks getting caught up.

Welcome to those new to our sailing group.

We had a wonderful cruise and great weather once we got sailing. It was raining and in the 60's the Friday we were at WDW. The Christmas parade taping was supposed to be that day but was delayed due to the weather. It poured all day. We were able to ride the refurbished Space Mountain and several other rides before picking up my MIL at BLT and taking her back to AKV. We had a great dinner at Whispering Canyon and went to bed early to get up early to head to the port. It was overcast and misting most of the day we boarded and at the Sail Away party. I'm not sure if the Magic had an abbreviated Sail Away party or what, but it was no where near the energy we've had the last 4 Wonder sailings. We had great weather in Tortola and St. Thomas with it being 88 and in the lower 80s respectively. We had wonderful excursions with the exception of our big taxi carrying 30 of us running out of gas a mile from the St. Thomas port and not a single cell phone or radio on any of us. Police passed us right by and luckily my DH spotted an empty passing similar taxi and flagged her down. We did the kayak, hike and snorkel in St. Thomas and two excursions in Tortola: Rain Forest/Beach in the morning and swim with the dolphins in the afternoon. We had great dinner wait staff and a great stateroom host. Palo (as usual) was to die for and we probably ingested more calories between high tea, brunch and dinner than we'd need in a month but they were worth every one. The food in the regular dining rooms was great too. We had pretty smooth sailing which was great. We were able to see the premEAR at midnight Tortola time for the Princess and the Frog (Tortola is ahead 1 hour from Eastern Standard Time). Princess Tiana was onboard and she is beautiful. The boys had a great time in the club and met some great kids to hang with. We stayed at Jambo House/AKV concierge 2 nights before the cruise and at Bay Lake Towers the day we got off the cruise. We went to Epcot Saturday during the day, had dinner at Ohana and went to MK to see Wishes. Luckily we didn't stay to 1AM for EMH hours like we planned because several monorails got stuck from a computer malfunction. Some were able to get to unload that were near stations but 3 monorails were completely stuck for over 3 hours between 1-4 AM! On Sunday we went to Hollywood Studios in the morning and hopped to MK around 2:30 until we left for the airport at 5:00 PM. It was tough leaving 85 F sunny skies in Orlando and coming back to yucky overcast, cold weather.

We rebooked on board for me, dh and our 2 boys on the 7/24/11 5 night Dream with 2 stops in CC. We also rebooked with my MIL, and DH's two stepbrohters/wives/kids (13 total) for 11/26/11 Western Magic.

They had some great $ discounts for adding on DVC points but since we added on twice last year and are content with our points we skipped it.

Castaway Cay was a bit overcast but we still loved every second of being there. The new slides and play area going up near the teen beach look great.

Please let me know if anyone has any questions.

DVCnewgirl--sorry you can't join us. I hate when our boys schools do the same thing with make up days over Spring Break and MLK & President's Days. I wish they'd just build permanent quarterly vacations in the school calendar!

 

[kindra657]

Room assignments have been posted on Disney cruise line site. We got upgraded to a sideways category 11. Check it out!!

Holy cow we got our room number!!!! we had a GTY Cat 4. Our room number is 8022!!!!!! That's a 1 bedroom suite!!! I called DCL to make sure they didn't make a mistake and NOPE! FREE UPGRADE TO A SUITE A MONTH BEFORE THE CRUISE!!!! TOO COOL!!!!!!!!

Hey guys we are back. Still unpacking and looking at a mound of laundry. Our flight was delayed due to freezing rain in the North East so we didn't get home until about midnight Sunday. We had school/work yesterday then wrestling last night including team/individual pictures and official league weigh ins. I'm finally holding my head above water with work tasks getting caught up.

Welcome to those new to our sailing group.

We had a wonderful cruise and great weather once we got sailing. It was raining and in the 60's the Friday we were at WDW. The Christmas parade taping was supposed to be that day but was delayed due to the weather. It poured all day. We were able to ride the refurbished Space Mountain and several other rides before picking up my MIL at BLT and taking her back to AKV. We had a great dinner at Whispering Canyon and went to bed early to get up early to head to the port. It was overcast and misting most of the day we boarded and at the Sail Away party. I'm not sure if the Magic had an abbreviated Sail Away party or what, but it was no where near the energy we've had the last 4 Wonder sailings. We had great weather in Tortola and St. Thomas with it being 88 and in the lower 80s respectively. We had wonderful excursions with the exception of our big taxi carrying 30 of us running out of gas a mile from the St. Thomas port and not a single cell phone or radio on any of us. Police passed us right by and luckily my DH spotted an empty passing similar taxi and flagged her down. We did the kayak, hike and snorkel in St. Thomas and two excursions in Tortola: Rain Forest/Beach in the morning and swim with the dolphins in the afternoon. We had great dinner wait staff and a great stateroom host. Palo (as usual) was to die for and we probably ingested more calories between high tea, brunch and dinner than we'd need in a month but they were worth every one. The food in the regular dining rooms was great too. We had pretty smooth sailing which was great. We were able to see the premEAR at midnight Tortola time for the Princess and the Frog (Tortola is ahead 1 hour from Eastern Standard Time). Princess Tiana was onboard and she is beautiful. The boys had a great time in the club and met some great kids to hang with. We stayed at Jambo House/AKV concierge 2 nights before the cruise and at Bay Lake Towers the day we got off the cruise. We went to Epcot Saturday during the day, had dinner at Ohana and went to MK to see Wishes. Luckily we didn't stay to 1AM for EMH hours like we planned because several monorails got stuck from a computer malfunction. Some were able to get to unload that were near stations but 3 monorails were completely stuck for over 3 hours between 1-4 AM! On Sunday we went to Hollywood Studios in the morning and hopped to MK around 2:30 until we left for the airport at 5:00 PM. It was tough leaving 85 F sunny skies in Orlando and coming back to yucky overcast, cold weather.

We rebooked on board for me, dh and our 2 boys on the 7/24/11 5 night Dream with 2 stops in CC. We also rebooked with my MIL, and DH's two stepbrohters/wives/kids (13 total) for 11/26/11 Western Magic.

They had some great $ discounts for adding on DVC points but since we added on twice last year and are content with our points we skipped it.

Castaway Cay was a bit overcast but we still loved every second of being there. The new slides and play area going up near the teen beach look great.

Please let me know if anyone has any questions.

DVCnewgirl--sorry you can't join us. I hate when our boys schools do the same thing with make up days over Spring Break and MLK & President's Days. I wish they'd just build permanent quarterly vacations in the school calendar!

Awesome trip!!! Glad you had a great time! It does stink coming home to poopy weather, I completely agree!

Was this your first time staying at BLT? How'd you like it? What type of room were you in? What did you like better?: kidani or BLT?
We are booked for the last week in Aug but I doubt we will keep that vacation week and plans may change.
The monorail situation sounds a bit scary tho!

Question: are down payments the same when booking onboard?

 

[Hanover]

Kindra--it was our 2nd time staying at Bay Lake. We stayed there one night in October after being at Kidani 2 nights.

Personally we like Kidani better but they both have their pros/cons.

For BLT:

Pros:Can't beat the location!! It's awesome to be able to walk back from MK in less than 10 minutes. The monorail and boats are very convenient to get around. The bar/overlook on the top of BLT is fantastic. To see the MK fireworks and hear the piped in music is so cool.

Cons: You have to check in at the Contemporary.
We stayed in a studio each time and they are smaller feeling than the ones in Kidani. I HATE the sliding bathroom door. It has a 1 inch gap and even though it's only my DH and boys in the room with me I don't like that feeling that it's not completely private. The bathroom sink is also outside the bathroom in the kitchen galley area. Costs way more DVC points than the other DVC studios.

Kidani:

Pros: very small, quiet lobby/check in. It's not the very loud/busy check in you see at other resorts. Rooms are a great size and so beautifully decorated. The one bedroom was phenominal to stay in for 8 days this past August. I could have lived year round in it!
Where else outside of Africa can you stay and wake up with animals outside your bedroom window? Beautiful resort with great artifacts. I read somewhere they have the most African artifacts in one place outside of Africa. The covered parking is great in bad weather! Kidani is the first stop for bus pick before Jambo House and first to be dropped off. The Super Target is just down the street. It's not as far out as what people think compared to other parks.

Cons: I don't like the fact that you can't use a Counter Service credit there from the dining plan. DVC guides have told me there's been lots of complaints and they can see that changing soon. The rooms are a tad dark, but it's with the theme and is plenty to see/read in.

In terms of down payment, do you mean for the cruise or DVC add ons? If it's for the cruise, you get 10% off and an on board credit. In terms of adding on points, supposedly it's a better deal to add on while cruising. I know the guide last week said they were getting tons of add ons. We added on twice last year while cruising and are happy with our points. Of course we just got an email this week saying they are giving out free annual passes with an add on of 100 or more points to AKV and the Grand Californian. That would have been nice seeing as we just paid almost $1600 for them to be renewed. I don't recall the exact price per point for AKV but I do know it was less than when we first bought back in 2007. I think it was something like $23 off if you bought 100 or more add on points.

 

[kindra657]

Kindra--it was our 2nd time staying at Bay Lake. We stayed there one night in October after being at Kidani 2 nights.

Personally we like Kidani better but they both have their pros/cons.

For BLT:

Pros:Can't beat the location!! It's awesome to be able to walk back from MK in less than 10 minutes. The monorail and boats are very convenient to get around. The bar/overlook on the top of BLT is fantastic. To see the MK fireworks and hear the piped in music is so cool.

Cons: You have to check in at the Contemporary.
We stayed in a studio each time and they are smaller feeling than the ones in Kidani. I HATE the sliding bathroom door. It has a 1 inch gap and even though it's only my DH and boys in the room with me I don't like that feeling that it's not completely private. The bathroom sink is also outside the bathroom in the kitchen galley area. Costs way more DVC points than the other DVC studios.

Kidani:

Pros: very small, quiet lobby/check in. It's not the very loud/busy check in you see at other resorts. Rooms are a great size and so beautifully decorated. The one bedroom was phenominal to stay in for 8 days this past August. I could have lived year round in it!
Where else outside of Africa can you stay and wake up with animals outside your bedroom window? Beautiful resort with great artifacts. I read somewhere they have the most African artifacts in one place outside of Africa. The covered parking is great in bad weather! Kidani is the first stop for bus pick before Jambo House and first to be dropped off. The Super Target is just down the street. It's not as far out as what people think compared to other parks.

Cons: I don't like the fact that you can't use a Counter Service credit there from the dining plan. DVC guides have told me there's been lots of complaints and they can see that changing soon. The rooms are a tad dark, but it's with the theme and is plenty to see/read in.

In terms of down payment, do you mean for the cruise or DVC add ons? If it's for the cruise, you get 10% off and an on board credit. In terms of adding on points, supposedly it's a better deal to add on while cruising. I know the guide last week said they were getting tons of add ons. We added on twice last year while cruising and are happy with our points. Of course we just got an email this week saying they are giving out free annual passes with an add on of 100 or more points to AKV and the Grand Californian. That would have been nice seeing as we just paid almost $1600 for them to be renewed. I don't recall the exact price per point for AKV but I do know it was less than when we first bought back in 2007. I think it was something like $23 off if you bought 100 or more add on points.

Danielle, I actually think I asked you this before (BLT vs. Kidani) because now I remember you saying this sorry.
About the down payment, I was curious about the down payment on the cruise. I know it's $200 per person and I was wondering if I should scramble together an extra $600 to book our next cruise during the one in Jan. I've been trying to avoid adding on points again! If I'd stop bringing everyone with us to Disney and using my points for large rooms or multiple rooms, I wouldn't need so many points!

 

[Hanover]

The down payment for the 5 night 7/24/2011 Dream was $100 per person. For the Magic, it was $125 per person for the 7 night 11/26/2011 Western.

 

[kindra657]

The down payment for the 5 night 7/24/2011 Dream was $100 per person. For the Magic, it was $125 per person for the 7 night 11/26/2011 Western.

Not Bad!! I just got my new Disney Rewards Visa today too!...we can book with it and earn visa rewards along with 0% interest for 6 months. We also go our ME documentation in the mail today too!! Did you read about our free upgrade?

 

[Hanover]

Not Bad!! I just got my new Disney Rewards Visa today too!...we can book with it and earn visa rewards along with 0% interest for 6 months. We also go our ME documentation in the mail today too!! Did you read about our free upgrade?

Did you get your Disney Visa through a DVC code? Even though I had 2 Disney Visas, I applied for another over the summer and got $100 Disney gift card after my first purchase. My husband did the same thing and got one too.

We haven't received our ME documents yet or anything on any upgrades. We are only doing ME on the way home and taking a town car from the airport to the Residence in Wednesday night. I just checked my reservation and we are still in the same stateroom. I wrote my TA to see if she can get us a more midship room on deck 2 because right now we are near the back portside. I've never been on deck 2 but if it's like deck 6 or 7, the back and the front rooms have more motion.

That's awesome about your upgrade!!

 

[kindra657]

Did you get your Disney Visa through a DVC code? Even though I had 2 Disney Visas, I applied for another over the summer and got $100 Disney gift card after my first purchase. My husband did the same thing and got one too.

We haven't received our ME documents yet or anything on any upgrades. We are only doing ME on the way home and taking a town car from the airport to the Residence in Wednesday night. I just checked my reservation and we are still in the same stateroom. I wrote my TA to see if she can get us a more midship room on deck 2 because right now we are near the back portside. I've never been on deck 2 but if it's like deck 6 or 7, the back and the front rooms have more motion.

That's awesome about your upgrade!!

no i didn't get the visa thru a dvc code! i didn't know anything about that ...guess i'm going to have to keep a lookout for that! you said that back and front rooms have more motion...we are toward the front ...i hope i don't get too sea sick!! i need to go back to page 1 of this thread and see any updates you've made. i hope we get that week off of work for the new year that the company is considering! it'll give me some more time to get everything together! this trip is creeping up on me so fast!!!
also, MIL and FIL expressed an interest in going to dinner where they can "dress up" so we did make Palo resies for the 2nd day of the cruise at 6:30pm.
if you could choose which restaurant you would skip from the rotation, which one would it be? why?

 

[Hanover]

no i didn't get the visa thru a dvc code! i didn't know anything about that ...guess i'm going to have to keep a lookout for that! you said that back and front rooms have more motion...we are toward the front ...i hope i don't get too sea sick!! i need to go back to page 1 of this thread and see any updates you've made. i hope we get that week off of work for the new year that the company is considering! it'll give me some more time to get everything together! this trip is creeping up on me so fast!!!
also, MIL and FIL expressed an interest in going to dinner where they can "dress up" so we did make Palo resies for the 2nd day of the cruise at 6:30pm.
if you could choose which restaurant you would skip from the rotation, which one would it be? why?

I just checked on dvcmembers.com and under members privledges, there's still an advertisement with the $100 deal. You could always buy something, get your $25 and cancel and reapply. Or you could also apply with the $100 code and you'd have it by the time we cruise. With Southwest Airlines, we always take the deals they have and cancel and reapply. We've received 4 free flights in the last 2 years from applying to get the credit card and paying the $59 annual fee but got reimbursed $39 under a deal once and paid $59 the other time. Even with the annual fee you can't get a round trip flight for $59 anywhere these days. Marriot has great deals too with free hotel rooms if you spend $100. We always pay them off then cancel and then later reapply. We always get approved even after cancelling and we really make out!

In terms of room motion you might not even feel much more motion yourself. I was one of the kids that always got sick on merry go rounds and anything that spins. I take a bonine a few hours before we leave on embarkation day and sometimes on the ship and I'm fine. The smaller boats are what gets me good. Brennan (my ds8) has never gotten sick on 10 DCL trips but gets sick every time we go on small boats. I felt the ship the most when we were in the very last room on deck 7 and the 4th from the front on deck 8. Those were on 7 day cruises and we were traveling further and I think faster than what we'll do on a 3 night. My TA did manage to get us a little bit further from the back on deck 2. Now we are near the aft elevators as opposed to 5rooms from the back. I think that will be a decent location with spending a lot of time going up to decks 9 and 10.

About skipping a restaurant--- I'd say if you are going to skip one, I'd skip Lumiere's or Parrot Cay. I would suggest not missing the "show" in Animator's Palate. Both Parrot Cay and Lumiere's do breakfast so you can always experience the ambiance of the restaurants. Check out the menus on castwayclub.com and see which one appeals the least to them for dinner. I like being in Lumiere's on "dressy night'' and parrot cay on pirate night but they are all good on any night. We won't know our rotation until we get to the terminal so you just have to hope and if you don't get the one you request (if you did make a request) then you can make changes once you board. Last time we had to make Palo changes on the Wonder it was in Studio Sea. Beth and I are doing Palo the last night. We figure we won't have a lot to pack with it being a 3 night --you have to have everything out by 11PM and we didn't want to miss the 1st night or Pirate Night. I think Keegan and Jake will still go to dinner and we will let them give the wait staff our tips. I get Palo free since I'm now a platinum Castaway Cay Club member and I didn't want to give that perk up. We still want to try and make Disney Dreams too which I think is the best of the shows.

 

[kindra657]

Thanks for all your info Danielle! Being in Cat 3, we were able to choose our dining rotation. Here's how I decided: 1st night: Animator's Palate, 2nd night Palo, 3rd night Triton's. We can order room service from any menu on the ship so if there is something someone really wants from the lunch or dinner menu at Parrot Cay, we can order room service from there for lunch or something.
How cool to be a Platinum CC member!! I'm not even a normal CC member yet!! Maybe by 2020 I'll be platinum like you lol!!!

Omg I so cannot wait until the crusie! I'm getting super excited! Between the massive amount of hours we are working at work and school, the time is flying by!!!!

 

[tigger0215]

Just think, in thirty days (well by the time ppl are reading this it will be.. ) we will be cruisin with the mouse

I cannot believe how fast time has flown by!!

 

[Hanover]

Just think, in thirty days (well by the time ppl are reading this it will be.. ) we will be cruisin with the mouse

I cannot believe how fast time has flown by!!

We can't wait!!!!

 

[kindra657]

we can't wait either!!!!! Hope everyone had a great Christmas and has a wonderful New Year! Just found out today that as of Thurs at 3pm EST, I am officially laid off from work until further notice! Hope this layoff lasts until I finish school in June....though I doubt it....

 

[AbsyBabsy]

Not long now! It was so cold this morning, only 59 degrees. I had to put on two pairs of sweat pants and two jackets because of the wind. It made me realize that I do not have any winter clothes. Don't think I will buy any - then it will have to be sunny and warm!

Here's to wishful thinking!

Amanda

 

[tigger0215]

It is pretty chilly here in Arizona! I am SO looking forward to the sunny beaches of CC

So, for all you participating in the FE we are thinking about personalizing some of the kid's presents so if you could be so kind as to telling us their names and ages.. gender would be much appreciated! TIA!

see you all sooooon!!!

 

[AbsyBabsy]

So, for all you participating in the FE we are thinking about personalizing some of the kid's presents so if you could be so kind as to telling us their names and ages.. gender would be much appreciated! TIA!

see you all sooooon!!!

My daughter Abigial - she is 9 years old

My niece is Anna - she is 4 years old.

 

[AbsyBabsy]

Hanover - can you please add our 2nd room to the FE's? Two people in the room, Alice and her 4 year old granddaughter, Anna. They don't know they are participating - I am going to surprise them and make a FE and bring gifts for them to give away!

Thank you

 

[kindra657]

Tigger. My dd is 8 and her name is Ramiah. I missed that message you sent!
You guys are silly complaining about 50 degree weather!!! It was 13 degrees when I woke up this morning!! BURRRRR!!!! I'm ready for my escape to FL!!! 24 days till we leave for the world and 29 days till the cruise!!!!!!