Just Back from July 24 Wonder-Questions?

[AspiringCindy]

Thanks! I actually came up with an idea that may cover us though! Even DH amd I will be in the same room, and all 3 DDs will be in the adjoining room, we had to put his name on 1 room and mine on the other( the only 2 adults)! What I will do then is book a Palo ressie under each our names( cabin )! This should work!? Right?

 

[jan&theboys]

I believe as as long as the two stateroom reservations are linked you should be fine. I think I remember hearing that the reservations are only good for the adults assigned in each cabin unless they are linked, so I guess you could each make a reservation and link each other for the table. If all else fails you could also see if the onboard reservations staff for Palo can assist as well.

 

[auntie k]

Just curious about the evening weather on deck... did you need sweaters or was it still warm enough for sleeveless?

Did this get answered? I'm curious about this too.

 

[devotedchristian]

jan, can you describe the Golden Mickey's experience. I keep hearing you walk down a red carpet before entering the theatre. Is that true?

 

[hawaii5o]

The Golden Mickeys was my favorite show!!!! We were in the theater before the red carpet walk, but we liked watching the people on the screens being interviewed....... WELCOME TO THE GOLEN MICKEYS!!!!

 

[Contrariwise]

Just curious about the evening weather on deck... did you need sweaters or was it still warm enough for sleeveless?

It still seemed pretty warm and muggy even at midnight to me. I wore tank tops all day long inside and outside and was pretty comfortable. But I never went up to deck 10- it may have been breezier there.

 

[KAR3600]

I too was on the 24th Wonder. It was GREAT!!! To answer the sweater question, I am COLD everywhere, and always bring a sweater with me just in case. I did not use the sweater once!!

 

[jan&theboys]

jan, can you describe the Golden Mickey's experience. I keep hearing you walk down a red carpet before entering the theatre. Is that true?

Yes, absolutely true! They actually do a great job with it. The red carpet is laid out at the entrance of the Walt Disney Theater before you enter, then you have to walk through a barrage of cast members acting as paparazzi while they are "taking photos" of your arrival. It's actually funny because they can shout out saying you would expect to hear from the paparazzi, such as "Nice outfit!", "New hairsytle?" and the like. Then right at the entrance there is a celebrity reporter (aka Joan Rivers/Star Jones) who conducts interviews of some of the "stars" entering the theater. What's cute is that the interviews are shown on projection screens inside the theater so you can see and hear the interviews, and you could just imagine what some kids say on TV!! And that's all before the show starts...

The show is pretty nice and traditional Disney, with scenes from some of the classics shown on screen and performed live. The awards are given out in several categories, but I won't give too much away so as to not spoil it. All in all it's a very cute show and I'm sure you will enjoy it.

 

[holcomb-mania]

Top notch info jan! But you had me at...

We booked a room at the Comfort Suites next door to the Atlantis for the day

I really want to do this, cuz the kids just won't get into sightseeing and definitely not the casinos in Nassau, and we're gonna do our "EXTREME" excursions on CC. And the Atlantis pool sounds incredible.

We're booked on the 1/15/06 Wonder, how early did you book your room at the CS? Did you call CS direct or do it online? (My TA wasn't much help, and by "much" I mean "none.") Did CS seem resentful that you were "using" them, or happy to make the extra dough? What were the crowds like at Atlantis (ie, Do we need to get there real early? I'd heard sometimes they hit their max and shut down.) And most of all, how was Atlantis?!?

You've done a great job so far, so I almost hate to ask...but can you tell me EVERYTHING about your CS/Atlantis trip, in excruciating detail?? Pretty please? You can PM me if you like! Thanks in advance!

 

[michboro]

I'm also very interested in finding out all of the details of your Atlantis/Comfort Suites excursion, because I will be going on 3 night Disney Wonder on Nov. 10, and am thinking of doing this. How early do you recommend getting to Atlantis, and how crowded are the pools? Is the resort so big that it is overwhelming, and hard to fit everything in a short amount of time? Do you think it is worth doing? I will be going with my 2 sons ages 6 & 7, and if I take them only to aquarium without doing the pools, I think they would be disappointed. Please let me know as many details as possible. Thanks for all your help.

 

[jan&theboys]

Thanks for all the kind words! I'm glad all my typing's not in vain... I'll try to answer as much as I can.

For the Comfort Suites, we booked it as soon as we knew we were going on the trip. We checked the pricing at Atlantis first but at this time of year the prices were more than what we found at the Comfort Suites. We checked in at around 10:00 AM and we were encouraged to use the facilites next door right away. To be honest, once we paid for the room I don't think they really cared if we used it or not. At this point I am sure they are so used to all the cruise passengers (that's including other ships as well) that go through the hotel each day that offering the Atlantis privileges has basically become a cash cow for them. They could basically turn many of the rooms over twice in one day and make twice as much on each room.

With that being said, I definitely encourage anyone considering doing this to book early. When we arrived, there were many other cruise passengers already there who wound up at the Comfort Suites because their taxi driver gave them the recommendation to try to get a room there for the day. However, the hotel was fully booked and no rooms were available for them, so those poor uninformed walk-ins were out of luck.

As far as booking the room, we booked it online and thanks to the smart DIS posters here we got a link for 20% of the cost of the room. I will be happy to spread the wealth and post it here:

http://www.smartertravel.com/hotel/mb.php?id=1417

Atlantis is an amazing place. First things first, this place is ENORMOUS. If you think you'll do a lot of walking on the ship, you'll do a lot more at Atlantis. There is a ton of gambling space for those interested, and the condition of the resort is kept well. The staff is friendly and very helpful, and you will find someone to assist you just about anywhere. One nice feature of the resort is The Dig, which is a nicely themed walk-through aquarium. Since we had resort privileges we had no problem going though it several times. The big attraction of course is the water facilities, and the place does not disappoint. There are plenty of choices for you there, such as snorkeling, non-motorized watercraft, slides, pools and more. We even saw a scuba class taking place there. The only thing is that the slides are so popular there were huge lines even at 10:00 in the morning. Perhaps you may have better luck than us though. You can get towels there as well as water tubes but you have to pay for those.

I'll try to post more when I finish my long overdue trip report, but hope this helps!

 

[BethA]

was the room at Comfort Suites ready when you got there?

 

[jan&theboys]

No, rooms are not "officially" ready until 3:00 PM. However, since it was a busy time of year I am sure at different times rooms can be available earlier in the day.

 

[michboro]

How much time do you think is needed to stay at Atlantis, to be able to use pools and slides, see aquarium and maybe grab a quick lunch? Do you know name of restaurant at Atlantis that is somewhat reasonably priced for quick lunch?

 

[jan&theboys]

I'm also very interested in finding out all of the details of your Atlantis/Comfort Suites excursion, because I will be going on 3 night Disney Wonder on Nov. 10, and am thinking of doing this. How early do you recommend getting to Atlantis, and how crowded are the pools? Is the resort so big that it is overwhelming, and hard to fit everything in a short amount of time? Do you think it is worth doing? I will be going with my 2 sons ages 6 & 7, and if I take them only to aquarium without doing the pools, I think they would be disappointed. Please let me know as many details as possible. Thanks for all your help.

Sorry, looks like I missed your post! Hopefully I have answered most of your questions though.

I could probably tell that once your kids see all the pools and the beaches they would probably want to dive right in. I guess it depends on what the priorities are for you. Keep in mind that most people get off the boat in port, which means that capacity at the pools onboard will be light if not empty. So I guess if you really want to see Atlantis without spending the extra money for the privileges you could make a deal with them and return to the ship earlier to head to the pools there. As I mentioned previously the slides were packed when we went, but the pools were not necessarily crowded. It may be better come November; hopefully someone else here could help with that one. Hope this helps.

 

[staceymerrill]

i didnt see this asked or answered on a previous post on this thread:

Was Hercules shown on your cruise?

 

[michboro]

If we did decide to stay and use the pools at Atlantis, about how much time minimum should we allow for use of pools, slides, aquarium, and possibly grab a quick lunch? Do you know of a somewhat reasonably priced restaurant at Atlantis to get quick lunch?
Thanks.

 

[jan&theboys]

i didnt see this asked or answered on a previous post on this thread:

Was Hercules shown on your cruise?

Yes, Hercules was shown on our cruise on the first evening. In my opinion it is a great show and the entertainers were terrific, especially with their adlibs and one-liners. What's great about the show is that it's a bit irreverent and sort of pokes fun at itself. Simply funny and a great way to start your vacation.

 

[jan&theboys]

If we did decide to stay and use the pools at Atlantis, about how much time minimum should we allow for use of pools, slides, aquarium, and possibly grab a quick lunch? Do you know of a somewhat reasonably priced restaurant at Atlantis to get quick lunch?
Thanks.

Well, keep in mind that the resort is huge, so it's going to take some time to even reach the pools! The Dig is really nice and you'll want to take some time looking at all the aquatic life and maybe take some photos. There is also an area where your family can actually touch some of the marine life there, as well as a small gift shop in the middle of it, so you could take a substantial amount of time just going through The Dig. Now time at the pools is up to you. We didn't spend as much time there simply because we missed being onboard, but again that's just us. We went traveling with some family members and they stayed at Atlantis much longer than we did. Again, it's pretty much up to you how much time you want to allocate.

As far as lunch goes, keep in mind Atlantis is not known for it's bargains. One idea that others have used here is to order some sandwiches from room service the night before, pack them in ziplock bags and put them in the stateroom cooler. When you head out the next day just take out the sandwiches you packed and put them in a softsided cooler perhaps along with some water and some ice and you'll be good to go for the day. However, they do have several quick service counters and restaurants by the pool areas for seated dining, takeout and snacks if that's what you're looking for.