June 26, 2011 5 Nights on the Disney Dream!!!!

[CSwan1]

Having run a couple of F/Es on past cruises, I for one appreciate the work you’ve done to organize the exchange. Thanks!

Thanks so much! It has been fun! I can't wait for this cruise and to meet all of you! I think I am going to start putting my FE stuff together this weekend!

Hi All I just finished putting all the Lanyards together and sorting by families. They look absolutely fabulous!!! This is so exciting! Remember that we will all meet on embarktion day at the Vista Cafe on deck 4 at 3pm to pass out all these beautiful lanyards. If you can't make it at that time no worries I will deliver to staterooms that evening! Thanks again to the FE families who chipped in.
Can't wait to see you all in June!

The lanyards look awesome! Thanks so much for doing these!

 

[PaceFamily]

Is it too late to get involved with the FE thing? How does it work? My husband and I are looking into various products that can securely carry our passport, ID, boarding pass, and other needed items. We are also looking at waterproof pouches or boxes, for things such as cameras or ID/money, stuff like that. If anyone is interested, let us know. Of course the price is cheaper if purchased in bulk. As far as the actual FE, we are thinking of making our own. My husband found an entry on this site that had directions and it seems simple enough. I understand that it hangs on the hook and has a pocket for each family member. These are used like a mailbox during the trip. Does anyone have any tips that might improve the use? Also, any general tips are welcomed, we've never been on a cruise before. We have a general idea but you know how it is when you don't think of all the little things. I deployed once for 6 months and forgot a WATCH and my CD player!!! Let me just say the travel for that was NOT FUN but I never did it again! LOL

 

[PaceFamily]

I just sent out another email with updated FE info!

Is it too late to get involved in the exchange? How does it work?

 

[PaceFamily]

Welcome Aboard

We're from Fairfax VA. My kids are older though. DS17 and DD13.5
We are driving down on the 24th and staying at WDW (no parks, just relaxing at the pool after the drive).

I noticed that you were in Fairfax, we should meet before the cruise. We were going to drive but when it dawned on us that we would be coming back around the 4th of July, we decided to fly. 5 hours in the air OR 30+ in a car, and with the price of gas rising... the total price was pretty close, so we decided to go with convenience! LOL

 

[CSwan1]

Is it too late to get involved in the exchange? How does it work?

I checked with Tammye (she is putting together the custom lanyards for our cruise) and we have enough to add your family to our list! I am the keeper of the FE list and there is some info I need from you. It is best to private message me with this info. However, you need 15 posts before you can send a PM. So, post away to get up to 15. Here are some questions you can answer in each post to get you up to 15:
*What are you looking most forward to on this cruise?
*Have you cruised before?
*Who is your favorite Disney character?
*What is your favorite ride at WDW?
Once you get to 15 posts, please PM me with:
*Your family's last name
*names and ages of everyone in your family
*Your stateroom number
*Your email address
Once I have this, I will email you a copy of the FE spreadsheet! Let em know if you need anything else!

 

[minnieandgrumpy1]

Sorry to hear that my fellow Louisisna traveler. Hopefully you will be able to reschedule

 

[minnieandgrumpy1]

Lots of Brithdays - how exciting!!

Since everyone is asking anyone have a girl near 9 and/or boy 7.5? My kids, mainly my daughter, but definitely both, love having friends to pal around with.

Wonder when I will get my room assignment if I am GTY?

My daughter and her friend will both be 8 1/2 (going on 18) at the time of the cruise. I also have an 11 year son. We have a group of 20 but he will be the one with no one his age. We will have 2 18 year olds, one 17 year old, three 14 or 15 year olds as well.

 

[WestPalmBucsFan]

Are we there yet???
I'm so excited I can't see straight!

 

[Va-NanaTink]

Hey everyone! We are so excited to be going on the June 26th cruise! We live in Fredericksburg, VA. My DH, myself, and our DS (11) will be flying the 26th and 1st and then taking advantage of the Disney shuttle service. We were planning on driving and even had a room at the Radisson BUT decided that we would fly instead. We are first timers for a cruise and we went to DW for the first time, last summer. We are also celebrating my birthday during our family vacation! We are in Cat4B, Deck8 and would love to meet more people that will be on the cruise, especially anyone with kids around 11 years old.

So glad to have you join us! We are just north of you in Prince William County. We are flying out of Dulles on the 20th as we are on the cruise before this one, but will be coming back on the 1st as well.
We are on Deck 9, Cat 5A, and it's just DH and I, we are the old empty nesters!

~Here Are Our Lanyards~​

THEY ARE SO BEAUTIFUL!!! I am so excited to have them!

So as you can see, the pocket is the perfect place to store (and also hide) your KTTW. The fabric is really soft and not scratchy at all. The safety clip in the back is not easily taken apart, but it does come apart if pulled by a random object. They are big enough around to go over anyone's head really easily.

Just so you know, if you are male your name will be blue and if you are female your name will be pink. My name on my tag is light blue because that's my favourite colour, I hate pink, and the tag designs are on my computer...

YAY!!!

Thanks for doing all the legwork on this! For all your hard work, if you want your name in light blue, you go for it!!

I noticed that you were in Fairfax, we should meet before the cruise. We were going to drive but when it dawned on us that we would be coming back around the 4th of July, we decided to fly. 5 hours in the air OR 30+ in a car, and with the price of gas rising... the total price was pretty close, so we decided to go with convenience! LOL

At first, I thought you were flying some odd route, no way it takes 5 hours, but then I realized you were talking round trip.....

yeah, it's been a LOOOOOOONG day at work!

 

[1princess1prince]

The only time we were GTY was on our 2008 cruise and we found out about one month out from our cruise date. I would imagine it could be any time between now and a few weeks out

Thanks - can't wait to find out!!

My DD is nine! She would love to have a pre-made friend on the ship!

That would be great!! My DD would love to have a friend too!! What sorts of things does she like? Disney ?

I just sent out another email with updated FE info!

Thanks again for doing all this!!

~Here Are Our Lanyards~​

(Get ready for some image heaviness)

YAY!!!

Love the lanyards - they look so great!!

Is it too late to get involved with the FE thing? How does it work? My husband and I are looking into various products that can securely carry our passport, ID, boarding pass, and other needed items. We are also looking at waterproof pouches or boxes, for things such as cameras or ID/money, stuff like that. If anyone is interested, let us know. Of course the price is cheaper if purchased in bulk. As far as the actual FE, we are thinking of making our own. My husband found an entry on this site that had directions and it seems simple enough. I understand that it hangs on the hook and has a pocket for each family member. These are used like a mailbox during the trip. Does anyone have any tips that might improve the use? Also, any general tips are welcomed, we've never been on a cruise before. We have a general idea but you know how it is when you don't think of all the little things. I deployed once for 6 months and forgot a WATCH and my CD player!!! Let me just say the travel for that was NOT FUN but I never did it again! LOL

Welcome!! Another Virginian (well, technically I am WV) - but there certainly are a lot if us!! Funny, I got my dh a waterproof pouch at Sports Authority for his birthday - it is cell phone size but will fit a little more than that.

Just had a bump in the road - my flight has been puched back 3 hours on the way home from 7 pm to 4 pm and we were headed to WWoHP on Sat - really cuts it short. We may try to switch to Sun am.

 

[bombygriz]

Thanks for doing all the legwork on this! For all your hard work, if you want your name in light blue, you go for it!!

xD My mom did all the work since she was old enough to order them! But it was my idea...so yeah. xD

*yawn* I have had such a long day...I didn't get out of school until 4:30 because of lessons, then voice at 6:30...I have no social life xD

 

[CSwan1]

That would be great!! My DD would love to have a friend too!! What sorts of things does she like? Disney ?


Thanks again for doing all this!!

You are very welcome!

My DD is sitting here with me- she is very excited to have a friend on the ship. Lets see, for non-Disney stuff, she likes American Girl Dolls, her IPod and Michael Jackson.
As for Disney, she likes Wizards of Waverly Place, Shake it Up and Fish Hooks. She is a Brownie Girl Scout and wants to be a fashion designer when she grows up! Her favorite princess right now is Rapunzel! How about your little princess?

 

[1princess1prince]

You are very welcome!

My DD is sitting here with me- she is very excited to have a friend on the ship. Lets see, for non-Disney stuff, she likes American Girl Dolls, her IPod and Michael Jackson.
As for Disney, she likes Wizards of Waverly Place, Shake it Up and Fish Hooks. She is a Brownie Girl Scout and wants to be a fashion designer when she grows up! Her favorite princess right now is Rapunzel! How about your little princess?

I just read the email to my dd She is excited to meet a new friend.

She likes Wizards too - I am going to try to make her a tshirt with a mickey head and Alex inside. She also loves Shake it Up. She kinda likes Fish Hooks but when I am in the room I make them change the channel (I am not a big fan)

She is also a Brownie Girl Scout - doing a cookie booth this Sunday. Her favorite princess is really a fairy - Tinkerbell.

She takes a Hip Hop class and she likes the idea of fashion designing too. But sometimes wants to be a teacher like mommy. And she loves to write "books".

And her Smile choice -

 

[MrsScooby]

Is it too late to get involved with the FE thing? How does it work? My husband and I are looking into various products that can securely carry our passport, ID, boarding pass, and other needed items. We are also looking at waterproof pouches or boxes, for things such as cameras or ID/money, stuff like that. If anyone is interested, let us know. Of course the price is cheaper if purchased in bulk. As far as the actual FE, we are thinking of making our own. My husband found an entry on this site that had directions and it seems simple enough. I understand that it hangs on the hook and has a pocket for each family member. These are used like a mailbox during the trip. Does anyone have any tips that might improve the use? Also, any general tips are welcomed, we've never been on a cruise before. We have a general idea but you know how it is when you don't think of all the little things. I deployed once for 6 months and forgot a WATCH and my CD player!!! Let me just say the travel for that was NOT FUN but I never did it again! LOL

Funny about the watch...I had read a number of posts where other cruisers had forgotten them that too. Apparently many people use their cell phones to keep track of time instead of watches but on a cruise you don't usually carry your cell phone around...thus making the watch more necessary
We have a water proof camera and pouches for passports so we are set already there. But thanks for asking

I noticed that you were in Fairfax, we should meet before the cruise. We were going to drive but when it dawned on us that we would be coming back around the 4th of July, we decided to fly. 5 hours in the air OR 30+ in a car, and with the price of gas rising... the total price was pretty close, so we decided to go with convenience! LOL

I would have loved to fly, but my DH is set on driving. The drive down isn't bad but the drive back seems twice as long. I'm hoping to find a fun place to stop on the way back to break up the trip a bit.

Would definitely like to meet up before the cruise
If we can figure out a spot that is central to many of the Virginians here we can get a nice Dis meet going

My daughter and her friend will both be 8 1/2 (going on 18) at the time of the cruise. I also have an 11 year son. We have a group of 20 but he will be the one with no one his age. We will have 2 18 year olds, one 17 year old, three 14 or 15 year olds as well.

Any gamers in that group of teens? My DS17 is a World of Warcraft fanatic.

Are we there yet???
I'm so excited I can't see straight!

I wish...I tried to make the wait time single digits but it didn't work

So glad to have you join us! We are just north of you in Prince William County. We are flying out of Dulles on the 20th as we are on the cruise before this one, but will be coming back on the 1st as well.
We are on Deck 9, Cat 5A, and it's just DH and I, we are the old empty nesters!

Welcome!! Another Virginian (well, technically I am WV) - but there certainly are a lot if us!! Funny, I got my dh a waterproof pouch at Sports Authority for his birthday - it is cell phone size but will fit a little more than that.

Any suggestions for where a Dis meet would work for you guys?
I've met up with fellow cruisers at a museum in DC and at Potomic Mills Outlet. Not sure how much a hike that is for you guys though (too far for WV probably?).

 

[CSwan1]

I just read the email to my dd She is excited to meet a new friend.

She likes Wizards too - I am going to try to make her a tshirt with a mickey head and Alex inside. She also loves Shake it Up. She kinda likes Fish Hooks but when I am in the room I make them change the channel (I am not a big fan)

She is also a Brownie Girl Scout - doing a cookie booth this Sunday. Her favorite princess is really a fairy - Tinkerbell.

She takes a Hip Hop class and she likes the idea of fashion designing too. But sometimes wants to be a teacher like mommy. And she loves to write "books".

And her Smile choice -

I agree about Fish Hooks- I'm not a big fan either. DD and I do Zumba together- we love it! We actually did a Zumba event at World Thinking Day last week- it was a blast!
I guess I didn't realize you were a teacher as well. I teach in post secondary at a cosmetology school! How funny!

 

[MrsScooby]

Is anyone here a Platinum or Gold Catstaway Club member?

I thought the 105 day mark for Gold members was tomorrow, but the DCL website says March 13 (Sunday).

I am booked with Dreams Unlimited so I have to wait on the travel agent to let me know what is up.

 

[Va-NanaTink]

Is anyone here a Platinum or Gold Catstaway Club member?

I thought the 105 day mark for Gold members was tomorrow, but the DCL website says March 13 (Sunday).

I am booked with Dreams Unlimited so I have to wait on the travel agent to let me know what is up.

I'm gold....but I don't really know...since this is a b2b for us, and we don't have any big desires for excursions or Palos or anything...I haven't watched too carefully. I know that Tuesday was the 105 day for my first cruise, so it would seem right that March 13 would be the 105 mark

 

[Bullseyebaby]

I'm gold... and was told it was March 13. But, if I remember correctly, being out here on the west coast, I can book at 9:01pm on the 12th. At least I'm going to try. Really want to visit Remy or Palo. Keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[MrsScooby]

I'm gold....but I don't really know...since this is a b2b for us, and we don't have any big desires for excursions or Palos or anything...I haven't watched too carefully. I know that Tuesday was the 105 day for my first cruise, so it would seem right that March 13 would be the 105 mark

I'm gold... and was told it was March 13. But, if I remember correctly, being out here on the west coast, I can book at 9:01pm on the 12th. At least I'm going to try. Really want to visit Remy or Palo. Keeping my fingers crossed.

I just thought it odd that on the DCL website they have today as "106 days until our cruise", but the day to start booking for gold members is March 13th which is 2 days away
I was just expecting to start booking Palo and Remy tomorrow...but whatever.

I am also going to book my DD14 and DS17 for the Wild side teen excursion for the first visit on Castaway Cay.
My DS did that in 2008 and liked it alot.

Not sure about spa... I think I'll probably just wait to see what the daily specials are.

 

[We Love the Mouse!]

Okay, I guess I need to be up at midnight to book the the reservations I want. Hopefully, I am better at this than remembering to book my Radisson shuttle! I think we are the only ones not on the 10am shuttle!

I have been pretty lax on planning what and when we want to do. I usually have it all planned out. But, since we are doing a B2B I keep thinking we will just take whatever is available and work around it. I definelty want to book Palo dinner and brunch and we want to do the Dolphin swim in Nassau.

The Lanyards look great!!!