Land/Sea Trip Report - I *Promise* to Inform and *Hope* to Entertain!

[wallyb]

Anyway, sorry if I confused you. Good luck with your reservations!!

Thanks so for the clarification

Now on to the next installment girl!
Your fans demand it.

 

[dizziedupbaby0127]

Thank you! I am going to book through the DCL and will go with the POLY! Thanks for the advice!

 

[Our2Girls&Disney]

I love the GF photo shoot. Plus the matching outfits were so cute. Can't wait to hear more

 

[Crystal_27]

Thanks so for the clarification

Now on to the next installment girl!
Your fans demand it.

<Smooches> you really know how to make a girl's day, Wallyb!

Thank you! I am going to book through the DCL and will go with the POLY! Thanks for the advice!

Well, I'm so glad that you opted to go for the Poly - you'll love the monorail!! One other thing to consider, though. If you book your Land/Sea through a Disney travel agent, you *should* be eligible for a stateboard credit. We got a $125 credit with Dreams Unlimited. The "free money" is really the only reason we opted to use them, but my TA Barb ended being very helpful. We would have used them again except that I had to book the bounceback before we checked out. We will definitely be using them again for our next cruise. Anyway, just another piece of the pie to consider.

I love the GF photo shoot. Plus the matching outfits were so cute. Can't wait to hear more

Thank you, Our2Girls - The Disney Store definitely saw me coming with those matching outfits - I just couldn't resist.

 

[wallyb]

Just checking back to see if the new chapter was ready.
I'm not good with the virtuous patience thing.
Hey "The Big" is so cute!

We only got $100 ship board credit from Dreams Unlimited - What's up with that?

 

[Crystal_27]

Just checking back to see if the new chapter was ready.
I'm not good with the virtuous patience thing.
Hey "The Big" is so cute!

We only got $100 ship board credit from Dreams Unlimited - What's up with that?

I actually do have the next installment written; just need to upload the pics into Photobucket. And, for the record, patience isn't my strong suit either - just ask DH when Christmas presents start appearing under the tree with my name on them.

As to your stateboard credit, methinks that you may have gotten a bit gipped, my dear! Actually, though, if I recall correctly, Dreams gave us $100 and Disney gave us the other $25 since it was booked online. It *could* be that Disney is no longer offering that deal??? OR, maybe it's been there all this time and you didn't know about it - - wouldn't that be great?!? Anyway, GOOD LUCK with that and please do let me know what you find out.

 

[wallyb]

I actually do have the next installment written; just need to upload the pics into Photobucket. And, for the record, patience isn't my strong suit either - just ask DH when Christmas presents start appearing under the tree with my name on them.

As to your stateboard credit, methinks that you may have gotten a bit gipped, my dear! Actually, though, if I recall correctly, Dreams gave us $100 and Disney gave us the other $25 since it was booked online. It *could* be that Disney is no longer offering that deal??? OR, maybe it's been there all this time and you didn't know about it - - wouldn't that be great?!? Anyway, GOOD LUCK with that and please do let me know what you find out.

I'm going to sic Paul on them and see if we can do better.
He booked our trip - and he's great at getting the most he can for our money.
Thanks for the insight Crystal

 

[Haley Whippet]

We just booked our 2009 cruise and get a $200.00 shipboard credit..Saw the special deal on their banner..
We are also using Dreams Unlimited..
Deb

 

[wallyb]

We just booked our 2009 cruise and get a $200.00 shipboard credit..Saw the special deal on their banner..
We are also using Dreams Unlimited..
Deb

Hey Deb love Haley. My uncle had 2 whippets. Very sweet.
That's "Miss Stella" under my name She's our "Big" AKA princess.
Is that $200 for a 4 day cruise? We're only on a 4 day and in 2008.

 

[Haley Whippet]

Hey Deb love Haley. My uncle had 2 whippets. Very sweet.
That's "Miss Stella" under my name She's our "Big" AKA princess.
Is that $200 for a 4 day cruise? We're only on a 4 day and in 2008.

http://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/cruise/specials.htm#sbc
We are doing a land & Sea package..
Deb,
P.S. Your Miss Stella is cute!

 

[wallyb]

Here's a better one.

Crystal's going to kick our
virtual butts for railroading her trip report!

 

[Haley Whippet]

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
She is just way too cute!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(Sorry Crystal)
Deb

 

[Crystal_27]

Oh, I could just kiss, kiss, kiss all over your sweet little pups, Haley W. and WallyB!! Definitely no butt kicking from my end - I can't ever get enough of cute pets. Thank you both so much for making my morning a little bit brighter!!

 

[monkeygirl]

I love the TR! I can't wait for the rest and to see what happens to the car

 

[tparbs]

Stayed up that night (actually it was easy to be awake as I was too upset about the Packers losing to the Giants) and booked our Palo res and a couple of excursions.

As one Packer fan to another, yeah, did that sting or what?

Hmm...maybe the Giants will lose tomorrow in the Superbowl, but I'm kinda rootin' for 'em. Sigh....not that excited since my Pack isn't playing.

Terri

 

[tparbs]

Crystal....add me to your fan club! LOVING your TR!! Thank you SO much!!!

Your daughter is ADORABLE!!!

Just read this from you, "I think that booking separately is the absolute BEST way to go - I wish that we would have done it that way, but I definitely learned my lesson."

I am thisclose to booking a Land/Sea for this May 14th-22nd: $3,472.44 for the 3 Day Land/4 Day Cruise. Plus, for $196.88, an extra night at the Port Orleans French Quarter. We won't be renting a car and want to hit the ground running Thurs A.M. We're doing this as "cheap" as possible, including (sigh) the standard inside stateroom. But.....what do u think of the price? Do you think I can get it cheaper booking separately? And don't you lose the Magical Express and stuff that way?

Input from any of you would be much appreciated..but I'm about to book so hope to hear from you all soon! But don't think I'm gonna find a better price.

This is our 1st cruise and 1st trip to WDW!!

I'm sooooo excited!!! AND..it's the Double Dip cruise! TWO days at Castaway Cay!!

Thanks so much!!!

Terri

 

[pammyjsb]

Hi Terri,

Nice to hear from a fellow Pack-Fan. Yeah, we are going to root for the Giants too - always go for the underdog. Yes, their last game was horrible, but the way we look at it, we got to enjoy a terrific season that wasn't expected.

Now we just need to keep our fingers crossed that Brett comes back and we can get back in the playoffs next year.

Sorry for the off-topic discussion. Can't resist........

 

[Crystal_27]

Crystal....add me to your fan club! LOVING your TR!! Thank you SO much!!!

Your daughter is ADORABLE!!!

Just read this from you, "I think that booking separately is the absolute BEST way to go - I wish that we would have done it that way, but I definitely learned my lesson."

I am thisclose to booking a Land/Sea for this May 14th-22nd: $3,472.44 for the 3 Day Land/4 Day Cruise. Plus, for $196.88, an extra night at the Port Orleans French Quarter. We won't be renting a car and want to hit the ground running Thurs A.M. We're doing this as "cheap" as possible, including (sigh) the standard inside stateroom. But.....what do u think of the price? Do you think I can get it cheaper booking separately? And don't you lose the Magical Express and stuff that way?

Input from any of you would be much appreciated..but I'm about to book so hope to hear from you all soon! But don't think I'm gonna find a better price.

This is our 1st cruise and 1st trip to WDW!!

I'm sooooo excited!!! AND..it's the Double Dip cruise! TWO days at Castaway Cay!!

Thanks so much!!!

Terri

Hi, Terri - thank you so much for reading and for the compliments about my DD - - I'm pretty partial to her myself!! Regarding your Land/Sea prices, to give you a point of comparision, we paid $3,800 for a Category 5 (verandah) stateroom with no insurance or transportation. However, early December is considered non-peak and is probably one of the cheapest times to cruise. Also, I've never used the Magical Express, but I would assume that if you are flying you would need to automatically add the transportation fees to get you to and from the port (which is about 40 minutes away from the airport), although insurance would still be optional. Did you price your cruise and rooms separately? If so, what was the difference? And I would totally recommend that you hop on to the Codes board and see if there are any May codes available. Also, if no codes, it might be benefical to join AAA so you can get a room discount at POFQ.

Maybe I was totally mistaken about the Land/Sea package being more expensive but I found it to be in my case for both of our potential dates that we were considering. Anyway, good luck with the bargain hunting and please let me know!!

Yeah, we are going to root for the Giants too - always go for the underdog. Yes, their last game was horrible, but the way we look at it, we got to enjoy a terrific season that wasn't expected.

Now we just need to keep our fingers crossed that Brett comes back and we can get back in the playoffs next year.

Sorry for the off-topic discussion. Can't resist........

Pam, we are also rooting for the Giants. I too would have loved to have seen the Packers in the Super Bowl but since DH is a die-hard Vikings fan, I have to be careful about saying that. Either way, I'm hoping is going to be a great game. We are going to have 8 little girls in our home all under the age of 8 (with their parents) so that should definitely be fun! Anyway, gooooooo Giants!!

 

[Crystal_27]

One thing that I’ve neglected to mention (although given the length of this TR, it seems impossible I would have omitted anything) are my comments about the Polynesian. I told you all previously that I had really struggled with our choice of resort but finally opted for the Poly simply because it seemed to be reviewed a little better than the Beach Club. Well, yes, the main building of the Poly really is gorgeous, but I found myself a bit underwhelmed with our actual room. In my opinion, the décor just wasn’t that pretty - it seemed very brown to me. Our room views were pretty nice, though,

and the bathroom was fabulous. I really loved the counter space in the bathroom, and the tub was HUGE (although it took forever for the water to fill it up). Our room also had a lot of storage space, both closet and drawer, so that was helpful. However, the one thing that sets the Poly apart from many of the other Deluxes is the convenience of the monorail. I was a true doubter about the monorail, but by the second day, both DH and I were certain we would never stay in a non-monorail resort again (or at least until The Big got older).

Anyway, back to my TR... After our magical morning at the MK, we decided that we would take advantage of Epcot’s Extra Magic Hours that night. After viewing Wishes on the Poly’s beach, we headed out.

Upon arriving at Epcot, I knew that it was going to be hopping-busy, but I thought that it would get less crowded as the EMH went into effect. Eh, not so much. FastPasses for Test Track and Soarin’ were gone for the day and we found ourselves walking aimlessly around, without any sense of direction or plan. Finally, we stopped at a hotdog kiosk to eat and to attempt to make some sense out of the chaos, at which point a dear, sweet woman gave us 5 FastPasses for Soarin’. YAY – what a wonderful blast of pixie dust. We promptly headed to Soarin’ (getting lost a few times) and readied ourselves for the this *experience* that people consistently wait 90-120 minutes for. We also, of course, passed the other 2 FastPasses to a father and daughter who were just about to enter the 90 minute stand-by line. Let me just say that I found Soarin’ to be very neat, but it’s not something I would ever wait longer than 20 minutes for (flame away, guys). Next, we headed toward Nemo and the (infamous) Turtle Talk With Crush. The Big was pretty lukewarm about Crush, but I thought it was pretty neat.

At this point, I was ready to go, so we slowly made our way toward the exit. On our way out, we found that there was going to be a Character Connection in about 15 minutes, so The Big and I hung out while DH went in search for some ice cream. While standing in line, I had the opportunity to chat with two very nice groups of people (2 moms with their cheerleading daughters and a family from Canada), which so rarely happens in “real” life. The Character Connection was very well done, and it was very impressive to me how it ran like a well-oiled machine. The Big found Minnie Mouse and Stitch to be especially sweet and loving.

After that, I was definitely ready to go. Epcot has never been a favorite of mine, but I actually saw a great bit of potential that night which I hope we can explore during a future visit. We just definitely need to plan a bit better.

I hope everyone has a wonderful rest of the weekend. To those who are watching, enjoy the Super Bowl!!

 

[wallyb]

... Let me just say that I found Soarin’ to be very neat, but it’s not something I would ever wait longer than 20 minutes for (flame away, guys). Pam, we are also rooting for the Giants. I too would have loved to have seen the Packers in the Super Bowl but since DH is a die-hard Vikings fan, I have to be careful about saying that. Either way, I'm hoping is going to be a great game. We are going to have 8 little girls in our home all under the age of 8 (with their parents) so that should definitely be fun! Anyway, gooooooo Giants!!

Well Crystal. We were doing soo well. But now...
You see ... I'm for Boston so I've gotta put in a - Go Pats!
And I LOVE Soarin’!
But I'm going to say -
one "opposites attract"
two "It takes all kinds to keep the (Disney) world spinning!"