July 17th 2005 Magic?

[DonnettaR]

Goofy--- great pictures! I was pleased to hear about your conversation with the CM about our cruise. I think they should give us birthday hats for the sailaway. Did your family get special ears as well? Where did you see all of the princesses? How was GK for dinner? We will be staying at the DLH and have booked a breakfast, but might change to a dinner.

Disney Tart---Great Ears. I saw you post on another thread with just the little picture under your name. I didn't know what it was. I thought it was some type of egg I like the idea of the sail date. How many letters can you put on the hat? Can you get the writing done anywhere or is there a special place for that?

Cherta---I have been reading the other threads as well. According to one Dis' er, they don't pick up from DLH until 12:30. So our family will definitely be boarding later rather than earlier, but hopefully that will me a shorter wait. I am curious about the embarking or the 4th deck. that seems so strange to me. I didn't know that there was a door on that deck...I guess they remove a portion of the railing.

Well, everyone have a great week. We are getting so close now!!!!

 

[DisneyTart]

Disney Tart---Great Ears. I saw you post on another thread with just the little picture under your name. I didn't know what it was. I thought it was some type of egg I like the idea of the sail date. How many letters can you put on the hat? Can you get the writing done anywhere or is there a special place for that?

Thanks DonnettaR - Guess they do have a "golden" egg look to them . We got the ears digitally embroidered at the Disney Showcase shop on Main ST in DL, actually it's the little shop that connects with the D Showcase. They used to be a pin shop but now carry a variety of items. Not sure how many letters can go on the back of a hat, but one line is an additional $7.00 after the purchase price of $11.50/$10.50 for the Golden Ears. If you want just a name they will do that for free (at other locations throughout the park). We did the free name for the kids but got the 4 adults the nicer stitching. DH said it may actually wear his .

 

[GoofyontheHiSeas]

Goofy--- great pictures! I was pleased to hear about your conversation with the CM about our cruise. I think they should give us birthday hats for the sailaway. Did your family get special ears as well? Where did you see all of the princesses? How was GK for dinner? We will be staying at the DLH and have booked a breakfast, but might change to a dinner.

Hi DonnettaR
They currently have a princess picture and autograph session in California Adventure's Disney Animation building (Hollywood Pictures Backlot). There are usually 2 princesses at a time and change every 30 mins. There was a short line to get your picture with them. The princesses were very nice and spent extra time with the kids. We did not get any special Golden ears while there. We are not Ears people but watchout for Pirate night. Goofys Kitchen was the same as usual. Adult selections are limited, but taco bar is excellent IMO. This not a fine dining experience but a fun place for the kids. Every 1/2hr all of the characters do the Macarana (sp?) and also a trashing the camp pot banging session. Breakfast is the same as dinner, and they are both about the same. Hope this helps.
Roger

 

[ThreeJ's]

I just read about a special character meet and greet at Ca. Advenure. If you are a Disney Visa holder, you and up to 5 guests can meet Disney characters and receive a free 5x7 photo. You can find more information by logging onto their website under special offers - Disneyland. I think there is 6 offers right now. Another good one is free stroller rental.

The princess meet at the animation building is great. My daughter was able to see/meet almost all the princesses. Having 2 princesses together is great.

I think the animation building will also Host Turtle Talk with Crush this summer. Anyone hear of this?

 

[DisneyTart]

So did evryone on the West Coast feel our "morning wake up call"?

Born & raised So Ca so have felt a couple. Still gets my heart racing though. Actually thought the cat had jumped on the bed this time until I noticed he was sleeping on my feet. Cat slept right through it & so did DD16 (when she's out, she's out!).

Hope everyone is having a nice weekend!

 

[NEWCRUSR]

Hello Everyone departing on the July 17, 2005 cruise!! I am so excited. This will be my first cruise and I have no idea what to expect! I look forward to reading all of these discussions and talking to you all Maybe you all can throw me some hints about what to pack, what to expect, etc. Hope to hear from some of you soon ---Amber

 

[dumontmichael]

Hello fellow cruisers...This will be our third Disney Cruise (it helps when your brother is the National sales Manager for Disney). This will be our first on the West Coast but know lots about the ship. We have a 10 year old daughter and are looking for anyone else traveling with a 10 year old girl. We are arriving on Saturday and staying at the Long Beach Marriot....We just found Super Shuttle which for $50 will transport us to the Pier...

I look forward to hearing from fellow cruisers.

 

[dumontmichael]

Oh WOW, what a celeb list! The fact that Johnny Depp will be onboard for the party sent my DDs in a spin. Wonder if we can go and view them coming and going, like a red carpet event? We've never done that before. Since we plan on staying close to the ship that evening we'd be right around the corner

Roger thanks for the link!

~~Bethany

Bethany,

Where are you staying? We are at the Long Beach Marriot but I don;t know how close that is to the ship....Karen

 

[DisneyTart]

Hello and welcome Amber and Karen

Amber it's my families first cruise also. We are all starting to get very excited! We are a family of 4 DW (me), DH, DD13 & DD16. We are cruising with my DBro, DSil and their 3 kidlets DD10, DS6 and DD3. This is their 2nd Disney cruise. These boards are a great place to find out everything and anything you wanted to know (and some things you don't) about cruising.

Karen our 2 families are staying at the San Pedro Holiday Inn. Less than 1 mile from the terminal. They have a park and cruise package that includes your room, parking for the cruise, bottle of champagne, cont. breakfast & shuttle to & from the cruise. The regular 2 adults and kids package is $149.00 plus tax. We are paying $171.00 because they count my 2 teenage daughters as adults (go figure?). But if you consider that the parking is included for the 6 days it's not bad. Is the Long Beach Marriott the one by the LB airport, if so I think you are about 20 mins away from San Pedro.

So glad we're adding two new families to the thread! ~ Bethany

 

[GoofyontheHiSeas]

We have a 10 year old daughter and are looking for anyone else traveling with a 10 year old girl.

Welcome Karen

We are a family of 4. We to have a DD10 and DD4. Another member of our cruise "Cherta" has an DD11. Our daughter has been PM'ing each other. We hope to see you at our meeting at Scoops 3pm on sailaway day. It was looking like a pretty small group, but now we may have a major group. I will let DD10 know that she will have another friend coming. She will be excited. Where are you coming from. We live about an hour from the port. Talk to you all soon.
Roger

 

[pclaire]

Welcome Karen and Amber! My daughter and I will be on this cruise as well. She turns 7 on July 15th. A lot of the other kids we've "met" on the board are having July birthdays as well. Its our first cruise, and we're very excited. We are flying in from Colorado sunday mornig and taking the Disney transfers to the port. (I think - I'm waiting to get more feedback from the cruises before us). We are all meeting at 3 on sunday at scoops - got some alien green mickey paint chips from home depo to make into pins so we'll recognize everyone. hope you'll join us.
Hey everyone, sounds like it's been cold in the Pacific - hopefully just the June gloom. I've never been on a Disney Cruise so I dont have anything to compare to, but it sounds like some cruisers have been dissapointed - what do you think?

 

[Cherta]

Hello everyone,
Hope all has been well! I've been so busy lately that I haven't been able to check the board in a while! You guys have been busy!!

Welcome Karen and Amber!!

Karen--we live just a couple of miles from the Long Beach Marriot Hotel! You should like it-it's a really nice hotel; I've been there for so many events over the years (sister's bridal shower/wedding, mother's 60th bday, my 20 year high school reunion to name a few) that I think I know that place like the back of my hand. The only down side is that the Long Beach airport is just south of it, so it can get a little noisy! It should take you about 20-30 minutes or less to get to the dock from there (there should be zero traffic since we're leaving on a Sunday). Also, as Roger said, I have an 11 year old daughter who has been chatting with his daughter and DonnettaR's daughter, so she would love to add a buddy to her cruise list. You can PM me or post on the July 17th kid's forum, if you like!

Amber--this is our family's first cruise as well. I am so nervous about so many things (getting sick from either the motion or the Norwalk virus, to do or not to do the Disney excursions, what to pack) that I'm kinda frozen right now! I better get over that soon--we're only 34 days away!

DisneyTart--yes, my DD11 and I felt the quake (my DS13 and DD6 slept through the entire thing!) I've lived here all my life and I kinda like the rolling motion of earthquakes (yes, I know that's a little strange )-I just always pray that no one gets hurt and there isn't too much damage!

pclaire--I got the same feeling! Now I'm starting to get doubts (albeit minor doubts) about this trip! I'm really hoping that the weather warms up and that my family will have a good time! Just gotta keep positive thoughts and make up my mind that we're going to have a good time in spite of the weather, excursions or ocean conditions!

Talk to you all soon and looking forward to seeing everyone at Scoops!

 

[DisneyTart]

Hey July 17th CREW, we're gettin' closer by each and everyday!

I made a list from the TIPS thread of things to bring and started buying a couple things this weekend. ( I do LOVE to shop) We've got a "cruise box" that I'm putting everything in until we pack. I found a clear over the door shoe holder that was highly recommended to keep all those little items organized in the bathroom and room in general. Remember I'm traveling 6 days sharing a bathroom w/ DH and 2 teenage DDs (yikes!). Also picked up Clorax wipes to help fight the germs and lots of sunscreen for everyone. It's been fun for me to start getting organized and have notice the girls & hubby checking out what I've bought. They are also starting to ask questions about the trip, the ship and their general excitement is starting to build.

I too am hoping my family will have a good time. I've read all the cruise "report" threads about the West Coast, and have seen the negative or luckwarm comments. My 1st reaction is oh great, what have I got my family into ... then I step back & think about it. First off it is so much easier for people to be negative than positive. I also think alot of the reports come from previous cruisers who have expectations based on their previous cruises. They are used to the warm weather in Florida/Carribian. They are used to estasblished excursions that have been running for years. They are used to current CM who have moved on. Remember this Mexico cruise is new to Disney and they need to work the bugs out. By 7/17 they hopefully will be a well oiled ship.

As for the weather . It will be warm in July. This "June gloom" is a southern CA thing and we always have it so it's not a surprise to me. But here in San Diego, by the end of July I have a nice crop of tomatoes from all the beautiful sun we get . I can't guarantee the weather but that's my experience and I've lived here all my life.

This is the DDs last week of school Can't wait for their summer vacation to start! Hope everyone here has a great week! TTYS ~ Bethany

 

[dumontmichael]

My daughter's name is Ashley and she looks foreward to meeting the other girls. The Marriot we are staying at is in Long Beach and the address is:
111 East Ocean Boulevard
Long Beach, California 90802 USA
We are coming from Lowell, Massachusetts so we are a long way from home.

Talk to you soon.

Karen

 

[dumontmichael]

My daughter's name is Ashley and she looks foreward to meeting the other girls. The Marriot we are staying at is in Long Beach and the address is:
111 East Ocean Boulevard
Long Beach, California 90802 USA
We are coming from Lowell, Massachusetts so we are a long way from home.

Talk to you soon.

Karen

P.S. Mydaughter is celebrating her 11th birthday on July 19th so this will be a special week for us. She is also celebrating recovering from major eye surgery 7 weeks ago. So no bad weather can get our moods down!!!Think SUN!!!

 

[Cherta]

OOPS! I assumed you were staying at MY Marriot and not the downtown Long Beach Marriot! That is also a very nice hotel and San Pedro (where the Magic will be leaving from) is just over the Vincent Thomas bridge. You should be able to get there in 15-20 minutes. If your interested, the Long Beach Aquarium and the new Pike (restaurants, shops, and theaters) are just a hop, skip, and jump away.
My daughter Erica says to your daughter Ashley and looks foward to meeting her.

 

[PoohJanice]

Hi All

I just joined this Dis Board as I'm getting excited about going on our first Disney Cruise! I'll be traveling w/ my DH, DS7 and DS5. We are also going w/ 8 other families w/ kids about the same age. My only concern is getting seasick since I am very sensitive to motion. I get a little quesy if I snorkel too long or I even loose my balance a little after walking on the treadmill for more that 15 minutes!! So this is a major concern of mine!! Otherwise I'm very excited about this cruise!

 

[DisneyTart]

Welcome PoohJanice , glad you found the thread. Wow did you say 8 other Families? Now that's a big group! I've never been on any type of boat before so seasickness is something I've thought about also. Plan to bring Bonine (sp?) and hope for the best

Karen - How exciting for your daughter having her Birthday on the cruise! Make sure you tell your server, room host , etc. Hopefully they will make it a very special day for her.

What type of excursions has evryone booked/or planning? We're planning to check out the El Cid Hotel in Mazatlan, big pool w/slides etc. And have booked the Horseback Riding on the beach, a DCL excursions in Cabo. Have heard great things about the El Cid but nothing about the HBR in Cabo.

~ Bethany

 

[PoohJanice]

I read someones reply about having a birthday onboard. My son will be 5 in August but we will be celebrating a little party for him onboard. A friend told me that for $35 you can surprise them w/ a little cake (feeds only8) and they will also decorate your room as a surprise. You just have to call and tell them what day/night you want to do this. I thought this would be a fun thing to do!

I have also thought about going to the El Cid Resort in Mazatlan on our own since I read about it somewhere. Looks like taxis are readily avail and the resort will let you use their pool and beach if you tell them you will be buying food and drinks there.

Some items I bought at Target today were...a collapsible ice chest, an over the door shoe holder, little goodies for my sons birthday goodie bags (compass, water squirters, swim goggles, etc...) Lots of fun getting ready for the trip!

Janice

 

[NEWCRUSR]

Thank you to all who responded to me that was very nice
Pclaire- I hope your daughter has a wonderful birthday! My birthday is the 16th of July, so this trip represents a birthday celebration as well.
However the reason we are going is because my little sister received a kidney transplant a year ago. Her make-a-wish wish was to go on a Disney cruise and they booked us on this sailing. I cannot believe that we have had such good fortune with this whole experience, she is healthier than shes ever been and we get a cruise to celebrate. I hope that you all are getting as excited as we are. I am still nervous about going to another country. I agree with what Disneytart said about what other people are saying about the cruise and I hope that the bugs have been worked out before our trip. Karen, I wanted to tell you that I was happy about your daughter recovering from her eye surgery, that is always great news and an even better reason to celebrate!