June 14, 2011 - Father's Day on the Wonder in ALASKA!

[wendy151950]

UGH! Disney website had a problem for an hour while I was trying to register for excursions. Didn't get much of what I wanted. Wanted dog sledding on glaciers. They are all booked up for a party of three. No good times left for PALO either. Here is what we did reserve.

Skagway - Mushers' Camp/Palo Dinner
Juneau - Mendenhall Glacier Float Trip
Historic Gold Panning
Ketchikan - Misty Fjords Float Plane

We are are a little disappointed.

There is a thread on the Disney cruise line forum called "Alaska Ports on Your Own." You may want to check it out - lots of ideas on alternate vendors, etcs to contact and schedule on your own that may be more what you're looking for.

 

[wendy151950]

Wendy - I talked to Danielle on Tuesday and we're all set to go on the same one with you and Sarah. That will work out great because they will only have to pick up from one place and return to one place. I'm mailing my check this weekend. And FWIW, my boys are (right now) only interested in girls as friends Looking forward to meeting y'all (and the rest of the DIS gang!) soon!

Great news! Looking forward to meeting you on board.

 

[ward3]

Steffilou,

We are on the same Misty Fjords at the same time. Any good reviews on this?

We changed the float trip to the kayak trip after reading reviews that you don't get near the glacier on the float trip. Anyone else doing kayak at Mendenhall?

Also, our triple Disney points finally showed up. We were getting worried. They did not give more than the max of 100.

Finally on spring break and can work on our trip. Is anyone going to the Goldrush National Park Visitor Center in Skagway? I wonder how far from port it is. Our daughter wants to get her national park passport stamped there.

 

[ward3]

Sorry steffylou. I saw you cancelled the floatplane. We must have been able to book it because you dropped it. We watched all of our excursions on YouTube. I must admit the floatplane looks scary over the mountains. Hope I don't chicken out.

 

[SteffyLou]

Not a problem- I'm glad you were able to get it! The reviews did sound really great actually. I had booked a different one originally and that one had better reviews.

The only reason we decided to cancel is that we thought we would rather do the helicopter. We were also just worried about weather and how much would we be able to see if it was cloudy or rainy. We know we are taking the same chances with the helicopter, so decided to try our luck with only one.

70 days out and still GTY. This is going to try me nuts!

 

[Smileneyes]

Just another FE update to advise of two recent additions to the list...

Welcome to jcarlstrom and jimmiemcinpa!

And congratulations on hitting the 10 week mark, gang!

--Drew

 

[go time hawaii]

SO excited to be here! Looking forward to getting to know fellow DISers!

We just booked our first cruise ever! had to go with the mouse for the best experience. With plane fare, cruise and some excursions, we could have bought a hole in the wall in some other state, LOL! oh well, can't put a price on memories!

There will be myself,
DH
my DD (13yr)
my DS (15yr)
my DH's DD (15yr)
and his DS (12)

this is our treat to get us past those tween,teen growing pains...thanks for all the great information! I'm still working on the port excursions, can't wait to see what we come up with. a hui hou! (until we meet again)

 

[Smileneyes]

SO excited to be here! Looking forward to getting to know fellow DISers!

We just booked our first cruise ever! had to go with the mouse for the best experience. With plane fare, cruise and some excursions, we could have bought a hole in the wall in some other state, LOL! oh well, can't put a price on memories!

There will be myself,
DH
my DD (13yr)
my DS (15yr)
my DH's DD (15yr)
and his DS (12)

this is our treat to get us past those tween,teen growing pains...thanks for all the great information! I'm still working on the port excursions, can't wait to see what we come up with. a hui hou! (until we meet again)

Welcome to the group! We have a good group of people here...very friendly folks. We're glad you are on board!

 

[Smileneyes]

A reminder to all regarding the Fish Extender group...the deadline for participating is...

TOMORROW (April 10, 2011)

if you wish to participate. Again, it would be helpful to have names, ages and genders for children, and hometown. Once you have it, please PM me with your stateroom number (those who have already done so need not provide again, unless you have received a "pixie dust" upgrade). A reminder that DisBoards require you to have posted in ANY thread on the board for a total of ten (10) times in order to send a PM.

If you want the Excel spreadsheet, and I do not already have it, please PM me with your e-mail address as well. I will be sending out the first draft of the list to participants around 4/15/11. If you are in a GTY room and do not receive your stateroom assignment by that date, don't panic...I will send a revised spreadsheet to all once I have the last stateroom number.

Again, there are no "rules" for participation. Some people give one small gift to a stateroom each day, while others give one bigger gift. Some break it down by each person in the stateroom, some give to just kids, and some have one gift for the entire family. Be as creative as you want...the goal is to have fun, and for each of us to enjoy the surprises that come in our FE during the cruise!

--Drew

 

[go time hawaii]

so the fish extender is a way to surprise fellow diser's?

 

[go time hawaii]

so the fish extender is a way to surprise fellow diser's?

 

[Smileneyes]

so the fish extender is a way to surprise fellow diser's?

Correct. Each person obtains (either making or buying on eBay) a banner with pockets which hangs from your mailbox fixture outside of the cabin, shaped like a fish. Hence the name "fish extenders". There are numerous threads in the "Disney Cruise Line Forum" on how to make or purchase them.

Then we get little "gift items" prior to sailing, and we secretly distribute them to the people participating at various points throughout the cruise. It really is fun to come back from a port of call to find the little surprises!

Feel free to read through our thread, as a few of us have given our thoughts (and past experiences) on how the "gifting" is done...and what I will need to include you on the list. In order to allow for all to have enough time to plan their gifts, we had set a deadline for participation. I'm sending out the spreadsheet this coming weekend...so, should you wish to participate, please let me know as quickly as possible. Since you're new (to DCL sailings, to the thread, and to the group in general), we can probably be a little generous in the deadline and give you an extra day or two to decide.

Consider yourself part of our "DisMeet group"...whether or not you decide to participate in the FE exchange!

--Drew

 

[go time hawaii]

k..got the scoop on the fe... we're in, i've got 3 more posts before i can pm so this is 1 down

 

[Mineu]

We received our FE this week-can not wait to hang it up for the first time Have some of our gifts already as well... Getting a little worried about staying under the 50 pound packing limit with all of the winter clothes, casual clothes, and dinner clothes-may have to leave Louisiana bundled up

 

[Smileneyes]

k..got the scoop on the fe... we're in, i've got 3 more posts before i can pm so this is 1 down

Glad to hear it! I'll put you on the list. Please send info when you are able.

 

[Smileneyes]

We received our FE this week-can not wait to hang it up for the first time Have some of our gifts already as well... Getting a little worried about staying under the 50 pound packing limit with all of the winter clothes, casual clothes, and dinner clothes-may have to leave Louisiana bundled up

Oh, do I know the feeling. They say that one should dress in layers for Alaska. I have a feeling we may be layered on the flight out of Cincinnati. Let's hope that Delta has the AC cranked to the max!

Congrats on getting the FE.

--Drew

 

[go time hawaii]

oh... yippee! i just pm'd you and went to this forum to tell you and there we are, on the list! mahalo for all your help!

 

[mmmears]

Oh, do I know the feeling. They say that one should dress in layers for Alaska. I have a feeling we may be layered on the flight out of Cincinnati. Let's hope that Delta has the AC cranked to the max!


--Drew

I am sure that my family will be sporting the "layered look" as well when we fly. At least there's laundry machines available on the ship if we need them.

 

[mmmears]

Steffilou,
We changed the float trip to the kayak trip after reading reviews that you don't get near the glacier on the float trip. Anyone else doing kayak at Mendenhall?

I think that was a good move. We liked the float trip until I read lots of reviews about it. We're doing kayaking at Mendenhall, plus a trek on the glacier (not through DCL, though) since my DD and DH want to be ON the glacier (I'd be happy just looking at it from the kayak).

If you want the Excel spreadsheet, and I do not already have it, please PM me with your e-mail address as well. I will be sending out the first draft of the list to participants around 4/15/11. If you are in a GTY room and do not receive your stateroom assignment by that date, don't panic...I will send a revised spreadsheet to all once I have the last stateroom number.

--Drew

We're in... and I think you have my email and our info. I won't have consistent internet access until May though (traveling) but whatever the group wants, we'll go along with it.

 

[SteffyLou]

Well 63 days and both rooms are still GTY status. I almost feel like I should have just paid more so I could have had a room number.

My end of the school year/summer vacation countdown has begun. 63 days left until the cruise, 60 left until we leave for the trip, and 41 days left of school/work. By the end of the week when I am in the 50's and 30's I'll be rejoicing!

Bought all my FE gifts for adults. The kids/teens are getting to be a little trickier. That and I'm trying to figure out how the heck we are going to pack everything. I'm so surprised that flying to Canada doesn't allow you 1 free bag. I would have thought the major airlines would give 1 free and have to pay for the second.

I can not wait until the first Alaskan cruise goes and we hear about the schedule for food and shows. This would make things a lot easier packing/planning wise.