July 17, 2004 Magic (Western)

[KeenHo]

Hi everyone. I am not sure if there has been a thread created specifically for this cruise or not.

This will be the third Disney Cruise for my DW (Keenercam) and I and the second for our children (DD- 15, DS-11). We have enjoyed both the Eastern cruise (with children) and the Western cruise as a couple. We loved them both! We loved the Western so much we booked this trip while onboard almost two years ago. We wanted our children to enjoy it with us this time around.

This year we will be traveling with friends (from Staten Island, NY) and their two young children. The adults have experience sailing on the Wonder.

As with past cruises, we have used this forum to "meet" new friends and have had DIS meets onboard and have made what I would consider lifetime friends of those we met. Please post here to let us know if you will be crusing with us.

We'd love to share our ideas and experiences with those of you that are not veterans.

Thanks!

Howard

 

[KeenHo]

El- Bumpo

 

[KeenHo]

Ahem*

 

[dznyacct]

I thought we were going to have the ship to ourselves!!! Me, DH, DS and DS's best friend (both 14) will be on the 7/17/04 western. DH, DS and myself have been on the 3 day Wonder in 2001 and loved it so we decided to go for the 7 day one this time. My son's friend has never been on a cruise and is getting really excited. He IMs my son a lot on AOL and will ask him to ask me DCL questions. I told him to be sure and watch the According to Jim episode tonight to see what his "home" for 7 days will look like. He went with us on vacation for the first time last summer. We went to Vero Beach for a week and then WDW for a week. My son is an only child and had such a great time bringing his best friend (since they were both 4) along. They boogie boarded in the ocean until they were both raw! Before the end of the first day I was asking his friend to come along on this trip (I love him like he was my own son).

After our cruise we're headed to WDW for 9 days. We are DVC members and will stay at VWL.

We had cabin 7503 (cat 10 booked) and last week I saw on Expedia that a SPH cabin (5020) was available. I was so excited!! I e-mailed my DU agent (Tammy) and asked her to try and get it for me. She was able to get it, so now I'm getting a cat. 8, but paying cat. 10 prices!!

I booked this cruise over a year ago, so it seems like I've been waiting forever. I just bought our plane tickets this weekend, so it finally feels like it's a reality.

Hope to see you on the cruise!!

 

[KeenHo]

Hi, thanks for the reply, sorry its taken so long to reply. How exciting to have another family on the list as cruisers with us. For us it will be my DW (Cam), DD 15 (Jenn), DS 11 (Andy) and myself (Howard) going this time. We are also traveling with another couple and their DS (3) and DD (1). You will just love the Western Cruise... Key West, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Castaway Cay.... awesome times will be had by all.

I have a close friends that live in Carmel, IN are you close to there?

We are planning 3 days in the parks prior to the cruise, we are DVC, but will be staying at the Poly (2 nights on points, one cash). We own at BVC and have now stayed there twice, at VWL once and HHI 3 times (we love it there!).

We are going to stay at OKW from April 11-16, this will be our first time staying there. We have toured a unit there and had a nice dinner at Olivia's.

I hope we can keep in touch via this forum and meet some others who will be on our cruise. It would be great to meet up while onboard to say hello!

Take Care and have fun counting down the days with us!

Regards,

Howard

 

[dznyacct]

Hi Howard!

Nice to hear from you! My family is myself (Kathy), DH (Brian), DS (Jake 14) and "borrowed" son (Matt also 14). Friends of ours went with us to VB and WDW last summer and we had SOOO much fun!! I tried to talk them into the cruise, but it was just too much $$. Oh well, I'm sure we'll still have a great time I've been reading up on some of the ports on the cruise and they sound wonderful! I've got a good idea of what excursions we'll do. It was hard to pick, they all sound like fun.

We are in Lafayette, which is about an hour north of Indianapolis, so not too far from your friends. Carmel is a very nice town, with some beautiful homes.

I have very fond memories of staying at The Poly. It was the first WDW that we stayed at when I was young. It was also the resort we stayed at on our son's first visit when he was 4 (seems like only yesterday!). I'm helping my sister and her husband plan a WDW trip for this May. She really wants to stay at The Poly because of good times there when we were young (Tonga Toast every morning for breakfast at the long forgotten Tangaroa Terrace for one!). I'm hoping room only discounts come out soon, so I can book their room. I LOVE the convenience of BCV (and the use of Storm Along Bay!). We stayed there last summer and wallked to Epcot and MGM many times. You'll have to let me know how OKW is. I'm so tempted to stay there because of the great point value, but I'm a chicken to try a new resort! I was checking DVC availabilty for my sister's dates in May and OKW did have a studio available. Just in case no resort discounts open up, I might be a TERRIFIC sister and give them a DVC stay. I think I should HAVE to go along as the tour guide since it's been at least 15 years since she's been to WDW!!!

Hope to "talk" to you again as our cruise approaches. I am counting down the days! I already have a suitcase out in our bonus room to start collecting vacation items. I also got a new swimsuit this weeekend, so I am ready!!

Kathy

 

[KeenHo]

Kathy,

It will be great to meet you, Brian, Jake and Matt on the cruise. I hope we can chat up until then and set a meeting time and place, perhaps on deck at the sail away party. (I'll be the one with a huge smile on my face and a "Man Over-Board" in my hand.)

As I had mentioned above, we just loved the Western Cruise. We had been on a Western Cruise a few years earlier on another unmentionable Cruise Line (Celebrity) and really enjoyed it so we had to do it ala-Disney.

Dining at Louie's Back Yard in Key West, Dancing the night away at Carlos & Charlies in Cozumel, Swimming with stingrays in Grand Cayman and sipping a Conk Cooler on Serenity Beach on Castaway Cay is really spectacular...we made life long memories on the Western and the Eastern Cruises on the Magic.

For the Stingray City excursion we booked directly with Captain Marvin's (www.captainmarvins.com ?), not through Disney. It was great!!! We have the shuttle driver drop us off at 7 mile Beach on the way back to the ship where we relaxed the afternoon away on one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen.

Can you tell I love Disney Cruises? Wait until my DW (Cam) gets on here and starts chatting with you... you are in for a treat.

If you need opinions or recommendations for the Western, just let me know.

Are you going to be late or early seating for dinner? We have adjoining rooms with our friends. We will be staying in Stateroom: 2530 or 2532. Since we booked them both I guess we get to choose which one we want when we get there.

When we visited our friends in Carmel for a wedding a few years ago we enjoyed for the first time a "Steak N Shake." Maybe you could bring me a cheeseburger and a shake, maybe some fries too. I'll pay you for it.

Take Care, I'll check back soon for your reply and maybe some other 7/17/04 Western Cruisers!

Howard

 

[MaryPSU]

Hi - count me in!

I will be sailing with my DH, DS(10), DD(8). This will be our third Disney cruise (first Western). We are sailing with another family who are first-time cruisers. They have DW, DH, DD(11), DD(7).

My son will be traveling with three girls so he would be thrilled to meet up with other boys! He LOVES the lab and has never had trouble fitting in.

We are also traveling with my parents - this will be their second Disney cruise.

We will probably have late dinner seating (always had early in the past but the children are getting older...). Will of course book Palo brunch and dinner. Also have heard such great things about Captain Marvin's so will most likely book that too.

We too are DVC members (OKW and VB - have spent quite a bit of time at both). Just returned from OKW in February and are booked at VB in November.

I do more "lurking" than posting on these boards, but they sure are informative and addicting ... and help with the excitement as the time for our cruise draws nearer!

 

[KeenHo]

Hi Mary,

As promised but a day late I am getting to respond to your post. Welcome to the thread. I hope it grows as time moves along towards our departure for adventure and excitement on the Magic.

I am sure my DS (Andrew) would enjoy hanging our with your son while onboard if we can get them to meet up. On past crusies he has made a lot of friends, he is very outgoing and loves to make new friends. To say he is excited about this cruise is an under statement. In the past, my son enjoyed the lab but spent most of his time paging one of us to get him so he could spend family time with us. We loved it.

We are only about 20 days from our trip to OKW, our sites are set on that for now and surprisingly enough has most of our attention (not the cruise). However I am sure that will change after our WDW trip in April.

I am looking forward to seeing others on this thread that will be joining us on the Magic. Thanks for posting.. have a great week!

Howard

 

[MaryPSU]

Hi Howard - Thanks for your reply.

Have a great time at OKW ... one of our favorite places on earth! The best day of our February vacation was spent relaxing at one of the 'quiet pools' (by Turtle Pond), listening to Jimmy Buffet tunes and sipping some tropical beverages!

My son, Chris, is excited about the prospect of a new friend. Interestingly, he has many friends named Andrew! If your son has an e-mail ID, we can have the boys meet each other that way. Chris is just starting to check his ID on occasion and to send messages out.

I'm in the process of arranging an April cruise planning dinner party - for the three families cruising in July - sounds crazy but will help with our excitement and also get everyone focused on making decisions regarding excursions, dining rotation/seating time, etc. (Right now we have early but I want to switch to late.)

I just copied down the recipe for Konk Coolers to serve at the party!

Hopefully we'll 'chat' again after your WDW vacation - have a GREAT time!!

Mary

 

[NeedsNEscape]

Hi,

I saw your thread and I decided to jump in. My family will also be on the cruise -- two sons (15) and (13). We'll be traveling with another family who has two daughters (14) and (8).

I hope our kids can work out playing with some other kids and not just stick to each other! I am
trying to get them interested in the cruise, but they are all too busy right now. I might need to schedule up an April party, too.

Later,
Jeanne

 

[cathie]

Hi Everybody! Add another party of 8 to the July 17th Western! This will be our 1st 7 day Disney Cruise. We've been on the Wonder twice & loved it (just went on this past February on the 4 Day). We are 5 Adults: Steve, Cathy, Norm, Mark, Sue & 3 kids, Travis 16, Matt almost 13 & Sarah 10. Sarah , my niece is looking forward to her move up to the 10-12 yr. old Club. Travis, my son, & Matt , my nephew, kind of like to do there own thing, but may visit the Teen Club on the Magic. We will be staying on Deck 6 Aft Section. We travel with our buddy Steve who has muscular dystrophy & this will also be his 3rd cruise. Disney has been so good to him & all of us! We are soo excited. We're spending the kids Spring vacation week @ WDW. Can't wait to get into some warm weather! For those of you that have been to Key West, how did you like it & what are some of the must sees? Thanks for any info! Cathie & The Gang

 

[NeedsNEscape]

Hi Cathie!

Our families are all new to cruising! This will be the first trip for both of our families. My girlfriend and I are very excited but our DH's are more reserved. They are just happy to get away. We have been having such crummy weather here in DC that we envy you your trip to Florida.

Catch you later,
Jeanne

 

[cathie]

Hi Jeanne! We were a little nervous for our 1st cruise, especially with Steve in the wheelchair. Being in the aft section we had felt some movement of the ship the first night on board, but after that we were totally hooked! The first sight of that beautiful Caribbean blue water was breathtaking! I am absolutely in love with Castaway Cay ( I even went snorkeling for the first time!) Wish I could live on that island! The kids are so excited for this 7 Day cruise. I heard the weather in July on the Western is awesome! Talk to you soon! Cathie & The gang

 

[KeenHo]

Cathie & Jeanne,

Thanks for posting. It is exciting to see the thread fill up with others that will be on board with us this July.

We have been to Key West twice, some things I recommend are: The Conch Train Tour, walking the streets to see the Hemingway House, Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville (try the conch fritters... Yum!), the southern most point in the U.S. and stumbling over to Louie's Back Yard for a drink on their deck (or dinner). There are plenty of other thigs to do and see too. We love it there.

We just returned on Saturday from a week PLUS in Disney, then a overnight trip on the way home at Disney's Hilton Head resort. On our drive to Florida, we made it as far as Savannah, GA before we stopped for the night (12+ hours).

In the morning we decided to surprise the kids and detour over to the port and see the Magic before she departed on Saturday afternoon. We got really close and could see her on the horizon, then closer.. we drove up, took pictures from many angles and then made our way over to Disney World. It was exciting to see the ship, she is beautiful! It was bitter sweet though knowing we wouldn't be sailing on her that day. However we only have 86 days to go as of today!

I hope we will all have a chance to meet at some sort of get together on deck as we sail out of port.

Thanks! Enjoy your week!

Howard

 

[MaryPSU]

Hi everyone! I've seen your replies and thought I'd check in again. We are also counting the days until we board the Magic!!

Howard, sounds like you had a great trip - I was thinking about you being at OKW. I hope you liked the resort! Did you see any construction for the new water slide?

Jeanne, we won't have any teenagers ... but will have two girls ages 8 and 7 so perhaps the DD8 in your group will enjoy meeting them.

Cathie, your niece Sarah will be in the same age group as my DS10 and our friends' DD11. Chris (my son) loves the lab and can't wait to show his friend Veronica what it's all about. I'm sure they and Sarah will be spending time together there!!

Looking forward to meeting you all.

Mary

 

[KeenHo]

Did you see any construction for the new water slide?

We totally enjoyed the trip and I got to see most, if not all, of OKW. I did not see construction on a new water slide. I may have missed it, but I made a point to walk the complete bike trail and look at each pool. My wife told me I missed one though...ugh. I guess I'll have to go back and check it out again. (darn!) LOL

Only 80 days to go!!!! YEEE HAAA!

 

[NeedsNEscape]

Hi Folks,

Yes, it is getting pretty close. We just order the Passporter guides, since everyone talks about them on this board.

Mary, that would be great if our DD8 could get together with yours. It will be nice if the teens don't always have the little sister to worry about.

Howard, your vacation sounds like it was really nice. It made me feel like I was almost there.
We'll be driving down from the DC area before the cruise and are thinking about places to break the drive up. Hilton Head or Savannah might be a nice, one extra day stop along the way.

It would be great to do a get together on the cruise,
Jeanne

 

[keenercam]

Hi, everyone!
Have been meaning to check in for a while but have been swamped, especially with dealing with details for the trip. I see that my DH (KeenHo) has been doing his part to keep this thread on the front page So, Mary - is "PSU" Penn State University? Did Howard mention he is an alum? We were just in State College this weekend!

I'd love for our kids to "meet" some others before the trip! DD15 and DS11 had such a great time on the last trip and met some awesome kids! If anyone would like to set up some email penpal activity for the kids, feel free to send me a PM and I will pass the information along to our kids. Thank God school is winding down -- they will actually have time for trip-planning!

So, has everyone just received their DCL excursion information? Ours arrived Thursday-what an eye opener for how close the trip is! We have decided this time just to book a non-DCL stingray city excursion ahead of time, and that is now taken care of. We finally found affordable airfare from PHL, but had to move our flight dates from Weds to Thurs going down and having to fly back Sunday morning instead of Saturday. Still have to figure out all the transportation issues and an airport hotel for Saturday night. Then, can focus on the packlist!
Looking forward to getting to know all of you better in the next (exactly!!!) 2 months
Have fun planning!!! We LOVE this part of the process!

 

[MaryPSU]

Hi!

Yes, I'm a Penn State alum ... and no, Howard didn't tell me he too spent time at Happy Valley!! We were there a few weekends ago for the Blue-White game (annual family/friends reunion). We also have oodles of season football tickets - both of my brothers are PSU alums and our parents are fanatics! - and we love going back when we can.

(My children are beginning to wonder if they will have a choice once college time rolls around...).

We didn't receive any excursion information yet ... but I suppose that's because we're not yet paid in full? One of our three reservations has a minor issue - DU problem that should be resolved today - and then we'll get things paid off.

We've already booked Captain Marvin's, and the kids want to try the Disney dolphin excursion - so I'll book that just as soon as I can (hopefully today or tomorrow).

My children - DD8 and DS10 (10 on Thursday, that is!) - aren't big e-mailers but they do have their own accounts so maybe we can get something going with your DS11. (Actually, teenage girls tend to love my daughter - dimples and all - so who knows, maybe your DD15 will too!)

I've never done a PM, but will try right away.