July 23, 2005 West Coast Cruise

[vrntnns]

He is working up at Ironwood Christian Camp - It is in Newberry Springs, CA. A great camp in the desert, it's been there for about 31 years. We are VERY new to this cruisin' thing. Any advise you can throw our way would be very helpful.

 

[A Litle Pixie Dust]

Just posting happy thoughts.. less then two weeks away!



But I'm not excited or keeping track..


Desiree

 

[pppiglet]

Have fun Desiree! It was nice to meet you. Wish I was going again!

Debbie

 

[dianagee]

12 days to go

 

[A Litle Pixie Dust]

Have fun Desiree! It was nice to meet you. Wish I was going again!

Debbie

It was nice to meet you. I appreciate your help!

It seems as though we have a lot of Disboarders in the area. We should have a meet at the park in the Fall.

Desiree

 

[atakaratemom]

We got our docs today after spending the entire day at Disneyland yesterday so we are in full Disney mode. My husband is even getting really excited and he is not the Disney fanatic I am. The kids got their autograph books while we were there and they are so excited about traveling with their favorite Disney characters. We always have fun at Disneyland, but knowing the cruise is coming in two weeks seemed to make it even more special.

I can't believe it is only 11 days away!!

Mary

 

[hereigns]

Hi, I'm packing, YEAH! I'm so excited that we have reservations at Palo's this time. Last cruise I was too late to get reservations. We are trying to decide what to do before the cruise. We have never been to California Adventure. My friend who has been to every Disney park (yes, even in Tokyo) hates it. I was wondering what others thought.

Thanks!!

 

[fantasia]

Hi all !! We 'll depart ten hours more later.

First we start our vacation at WDW !!!

I can't wait no more...................

Maybe tonight we can't sleep well, but that's OK.

It'll take for 20 hrs from my house(Japan) to WDW.

So we'll sleep well in the airplane.

I'm planing to join the pins trading !! Is someone join too ??

 

[prov3v56]

Hi, I'm packing, YEAH! I'm so excited that we have reservations at Palo's this time. Last cruise I was too late to get reservations. We are trying to decide what to do before the cruise. We have never been to California Adventure. My friend who has been to every Disney park (yes, even in Tokyo) hates it. I was wondering what others thought.

Thanks!!

I have been to California Adventure more times than I can count and have always enjoyed it mostly because it really isn't that crowded in comparison to Disneyland. We have been annual passholders for years though with the ability to park hop so we really don't spend a lot of time at either park on a given day. If you do choose to go to CA, some rides that are must do are:

Soarin over California
Tower of Terror
Grizzly Rapids
California Screamin

Also, I just saw the new show (Block Party) for the 50th anniversary and really enjoyed it. The trick to getting a good seat is when the parade starts go down to the Paradise Pier area. It is much less crowded and you will be able to get a front row spot and only hae to wait 15-20 minutes for the parade to arrive.

If you have any other questions feel free to ask.

 

[A Litle Pixie Dust]

I happen to like California Adventure quite a bit. One thing to remember if you visit: It is not Disneyland. I believe to many people are expecting another Disneyland and it's not.

Another place to visit in DCA is the Boudin Bread "factory" and the Mission Tortilla "factory". It only take a couple of minutes each but it is interesting on how they make the bread and tortillas (plus you get samples!)

Enjoy the rides! Although there aren't nearly as many as Disneyland, they are pretty fun. Soaring Over California is really good. If anyone in your group has a fear of heights, ask to sit in the last row - it doesn't go up as high.
Hope this helps!

Desiree

 

[disneyfamilyforever]

Our family is so excited too! Although last night I woke up thinking that I could not get the kids to the stacks and lab because I could not find their places----I was in panic which I thought was funny because I have been on the cruise before and know exactly where they are located. Shows you that is cruise is all that is on my mind.
Questions above---
California Adventure---to me it was like a big carnival type atmosphere. Not like Disney with shows and stuff. For our family I thought it was very hard because of the height restrictions they have on the rides. We were split up like crazy! Now at the time we went I had 11 year olds and a 6 year old. My 11 year olds at the time were new to the wild fast rollercoasters and stuff so they were a little questionable on some rides. Now other families we were with that had teenage kids only---loved the park!!!!! So if you have kids that like those kinds of rides you are going to love it. Also families with only young kids loved the park too. I think for me I just wanted us together since we were at Disney and was disappointed we were apart.
Pin Trading----my daughters are addicted and being their mom I guess I am too. My kids already have set aside pins to take that they are going to trade on the cruise. If you are new to pin trading, make sure you buy the starter sets that give you a lanyard and 4 pins. When we were at WDW over Easter they had the Incredibles Movie set for $15 which made the pins less than $4 each. Alot of people are doing this same thing so you have to look for cast members to trade with that do not have those, since they can't trade if they have them already. But it is easy to find someone. Trade them for anything, even if you do not like what they have so that it is an easier pin to trade later. (If you had time or even next time, bid on ebay and you can get the pins for less than $3 each.)
Oh well, my kids and I are off to find stuff for pirate night on the cruise. Disney just brings out the kid in all of us and I love it!

 

[disneyfamilyforever]

After I posted I saw that two people had responded already to you about California Adventure.
I should probably add...if I would have know that this board existed with great tips then maybe I could have found better ways for us to enjoy it.

 

[vrntnns]

Hey ya'll, How many of us is are on this message board? I was reading other cruise meets, some have really alot on their boards. Are ya'll meeting on Sun? hereigns, one thing about California Adventures... it's not Disneyland. Alot of people first go thinking that its a Disney park, and its not!
C A is a park that is taken from the old amusement park style w/ Disney upgrade. It's ok for kids 8-15 they will enjoy most of the rides. For teens to adults... so, so. "Soarin' over California" is a great ride, "It's a Bugs Life" is pretty funny. It might scare the little ones. The one advise I would give is don't pay for park hopper tickets, you'll waste time walking back and forth from one park to the other. C A is only open til 10pm. OH! The other great ride is "Hollywood Tower of Terror" If you can get into the show: "Disney Aladdin" is really a great show. So, all in all just remember, It's not Disneyland! I hope that helps. My wife is really getting excited about this trip she's not the computer type, so thats why I do all the posting, if that is ok ladies. (is there any guys on this mb) Today I'm going to AAA for info and look for that PassPorter book any suggestions? bye for now

 

[disneyfamilyforever]

Actually my husband is not on the board but in a way he is....I am telling him ever 5 seconds what I have found that we should do on the cruise, how to pack, what to pack, etc. He has told me to find out answers for him. He does thinks I have lost it with the amount of time I am reading these posts but he is still laughing about what I find and how fast I go out and get/do the same thing.
What I am trying to say.....even if the husband is not the one typing on the board....they are on the board, just like the wives being on the board even though they are not the ones typing.

 

[vrntnns]

Sorry for over infon' on C A. By the way, what is the door magnets all about?

 

[hereigns]

Hi all, thanks so much for the California Adventure info. My boys are 10 and 12 so I think we will try it! The tips everyone gave are great. We are leaving Saturday and spending a week in So Cal before the cruise. I've started packing and have given up on one suitcase for each of us and now have 5 for the 4 of us. It's those formal clothes that kill me, extra pair of shoes, etc.! Does anyone feel the same? I did get a great tip on these boards about leaving one suitcase just for the cruise clothes that we won't need before.

One more question, since a lot of Californians seem to be on this thread. We wanted to do a water park in the area (including San Diego) does anyone have a suggestion? I read about one near Knott's Berry Farm.

Thanks!!

 

[vrntnns]

thanks disfamforever, also what is all the thing about the pirate night? I told you that we are new at this..Disney Cruise and just taking a cruise altogether.

 

[fantasia]

Thanks 'disneyfamilyforever' !!

I already packed Japan Disney Pins !! (From TDS,TDL,JDS and M&P shop)

About 80 Pins !!

But I don't have the lanyard, so I'll purchase the starter sets.

This time we stayed Port Orleans French at WDW.

If someone knew the info please tell me!!

 

[vrntnns]

Well wish me luck, i'm going shopping for stuff. Again, any advise would be helpful. By the way does anyone know if the ship has Wi/Fi on it. So that I can take my laptop and still get on the internet? Without having to pay for internet access on the ship? Thanks All

 

[DL_DCA_fans]

vrntnns - Sorry, no wi-fi

vrntnns - From what I heard, the whole evening is pirate themed including dinner, the show/deck party later in the evening and a fireworks finale. Some people dress up from just wearing an eye patch to wearing a full pirates outfit.