MAGICal Christmas 2008 - December 20, 2008

[tinksmom]

While I'm holding with DCL to ask about movies and special nights I've been checking weather for Cozumel and Grand Cayman.

Right now the forecast for Cozumel is rain with a high of 82. The forecast for Grand Cayment is light winds and a high of 82.

I'll post again when I've talked with DCL.
tenya

 

[nzdisneymom]

I had called about movies at the first of December.

I called to see what movies will be playing during our cruise. Here's what she said:

College Road Trip
POTC - At World's End
Swing Vote
Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Wall-E
Miracle at St. Anna
Beverly Hills Chihuahua
Morning Light
High School Musical 3
Bolt

I looked up Morning Light at Netflix:


We haven't seen (and have wanted to see) BHC, Bolt, and HSM3. Morning Light also looks good. We've seen College Road Trip, POTC, Prince Caspian, and Wall-E (we just got Wall-E on DVD and have probably seen it 10 times in the last two weeks).

 

[tinksmom]

I just got off the phone with DCL. Cindy's list of movies is up-to-date. The cast member did say we would have Bolt in 3D. I asked about premiering Bedtime Stories since it comes out Christmas Day. He said it wasn't listed, but could still be premiered.

Here's what he said about out schedule.

Saturday -- cruise casual
Sunday -- Castaway Cay, Formal
Monday -- at sea, Pirate Night
Tuesday -- Cozumel, cruise casual
Wednesday -- Grand Cayman, cruise casual
Thursday -- Christmas Day at sea, Semi-Formal
Friday -- Castaway Cay, cruise casual

tenya

 

[bigedwin]

Hi Gals,
I just wanted to post the names of participants in the ornament exchange thus far. If your name does not appear before you are more than welcome to still participate. Bring the ornament of your choice (not necessarily Disney themed) wrapped or in a gift bag to the exchange on Mon Dec 22 at 9:30 AM in the Promenade Lounge. We all aimed for an app price of $10 more or less. See you there!

Lisa Marie



BearFan – Lisa Marie
Alikat99 – Amy
Minnie 1 – Angie
DisneyZell – Deanna
Sailing Shamu -
nzdisneymom – Cindy D.
ShannonR – Shannon
Diana Lyn – Diana Lyn
AZ Pirates – Sheila
tinkerbell 29 – Lissa
xs Jackson – Susan
“ “ - Alexis
“ “ - Ginny
“ “ - Nancy
“ “ - Katie
perdy1234 – Melissa
corinnak – Corinna
DCLInauguralXmas – Denise
“ “ - Anita
KathyFP - Kathy

Hello!
My DW Will like to Join in the Ornament excahnge.
Michelle Cabin 5127

Thanks
Ed

 

[nzdisneymom]

Thanks to everyone for getting the details written out for us. I printed off the list of cabins - thanks for organizing them! And thanks for finding out what dinner-attire is for each night. I'm glad Formal night is on Sunday - it's our Castaway Cay day and we had planned to have Formal night in Topsiders - so this makes it a perfect fit for us. And pirate night on a sea day - that's gonna be good, too! No rushing back to get ready. Cruise casual for our in-port days, and semi-formal for Christmas dinner! Yay.

I told Gary that I'm not officially Packing yet, but I'm STacking And now that i have the dinner schedule, that helps me in terms of what I will want to wear which day.

Dec. 13th - Shop for whatever you still need.

We got the boys some new sandals last night (and new shoes for me), and new shoes for them today. Thank goodness for sales! And Nathan needed new sunglasses, so we stopped at Walgreens to get some BluBlockers for him and they had them on clearance for $3.79 each (usually $15 per pair). So I bought all three pair they had that are like he likes - that way if they break or get lost, no worries. I found some "over the glasses" sunglasses for Zachary and me, too -- I have a pair of prescription sunglasses but I was too cheap to bifocal them when I got them - and in hindsight wish I had. So I got the over-the-glasses ones for me, too - I'll re-do my prescription ones the next time I need to change prescriptions.

I also picked up some stocking stuffers so I think my shopping is complete - and while I was doing that, I remembered I have some WebKinz in my closet that I had hidden for Christmas - oops, nearly forgot them!

DH slipped today in the car - we were on the way to the library and he said he was done with the new Clive Cussler book and would hang onto it so I could read it while we were on the cruise. Yep, he said CRUISE outloud with the children in the car. Fortunately they didn't hear, or if they did, they are smart enough to keep their mouths shut. I don't think they heard, though, because they were playing their DS's. We'll tell them on Friday morning - so when you hear an ecstatic scream from North Florida, you'll know it's them!

One week from today and we'll have all met face-to-face by now, getting ready to get our life jackets for the safety drill.........

 

[nzdisneymom]

Oh my -- I was Stacking stuff up today and ended up getting Nathan all packed up. And all the accessories and such, like FE gifts, door signs, over the door shoe holder, sandals, toiletries, etc. etc. etc..... I'm hoping that once DH and I get our clothes packed later in the week that we'll be able to move some of the things from one of the suitcases I packed today and split it between our two so we'll have one less to go. I've decided to not take the little tree or other decorations for the cabin - it's just too much! Mostly I'm thinking about re-packing to take it all OFF the ship

Whew.

 

[ajmanns]

Cindy, I cannot believe you are keeping the cruise a surprise to your kids! What an accomplishment! When will you tell them? Is it hard to start to get things together for the trip w/o them knowing what is happening?

We surprised our two older children (21 and 17) by doing a CSI-type 3-part mystery they had to solve, and after they figured it out, they learned we are doing this cruise! First they had to unscramble tile letters that they eventually figured out gave them instructions to check the bathroom mirror. (When the mirror was fogged up in our bathroom earlier, we had written the GPS coordinates & date of the cruise into the steamed mirror. WHen the mirror cleared, you couldn't see anything, but when fogged up again, you could see the numbers). The the kids went into the bathroom and realized they had to steam up the bathroom to see what was on the mirror...so on went the hot shower w/o the exhaust fan for a few minutes!) Then once they got the coordinates, they went onto the computer to figure out where the coordinates were. There was some confusion for awhile, because they couldn't figure out what the date numbers were referring to. FINALLY, they figured it out! They funny thing is that the GPS coordinates put us right in the middle of the ocean (which is where we'll be on 12/25) and they are like, "there's nothing there!" It was then that they realized it was a cruise! They were so happy!!!

It was pretty cool, because with older kids, you can do some challenging things like that. Altogether it took probably an hour for them to solve the mystery! That was 11 months ago! And now it's only 6 days away!!!



Let's get this show on the road!!

Amy

 

[KathyFP]

We are in 1030. Kind of excited - got upgraded from a Cat 12 to a Cat 9. Now we can see out!

 

[BearFan]

Hello!
My DW Will like to Join in the Ornament excahnge.
Michelle Cabin 5127

Thanks
Ed

Got her! That makes 23 as of today.

Lisa Marie

 

[xsjackson]

Kathy -
your fish extender is gorgous! My sister did a fantastic job. She sent me a picture from her phone yesterday.

Can't find my son's pirate costume. My daughter said she gave her's away. I can't tell my sister that has been sewing like a fiend that of all the 16 of us only my kids aren't dressing up. She'll kill me because she wants to do everything she can to thank me for setting up the trip and I dont want her to do anything more. All 4 of her kids came down with strep last week. thank goodness the doctor saw them yesterday and they will be on meds for 7 days before we sail. I told her to go see a doc in a box today to see if she is sick too. Better safe than sorry. If I lived close I'd take a day off and take her myself. But we live 3,000 miles away.

16 yr old is packed and he has lots of room for me to add my extras to his bag...

temps dropped to 24 degrees over night. brrrr. Maybe that's not cold for some of you but here in Western Washington our temps run 45 in winter and 70 in summer. We are cold ad snowy. PREFECT to start a cruise!

 

[tinkerbell_29]

My mom is sick. We are praying that it is just a cold but if she is not better by tomorrow I'm making her go to a DR. It never fails no matter what steps we take to keep from getting sick one of us is always sick right before a trip. Oh well today we are packing and I'm finshing my mom's b-day shirts and then shirts for us to wear NYE. The high here today is 32 and possible snow I'm sooooo ready for some warm weather and sunshine.

Lissa

 

[SnowWhite2]

Dang! You folks are so on the ball. I have not made my FE gifts, although I have all of the parts. I have not yet started packing and I don't have gifts for two people (small, something to open) yet.

I don't know why I can't get motivated for this cruise all of a sudden. I think I have so many problems at work that I can't get past it. But the good news is I only have to work for two days this week and then 2 days off before we leave.

Thanks, Tenya for the dress schedule. I was hoping pirate night was Tuesday and made Palo ressies for that night. I guess I'm going to miss Animator's Palate. We have been on the same rotation for all of our cruises, we always start in Luminiere's. I hate having formal night after CC since I try to make every minute count on CC and usually get back to the ship after 3 - after I finish the 2 for 1 drinks

 

[minnie1]

We surprised our two older children (21 and 17) by doing a CSI-type 3-part mystery they had to solve, and after they figured it out, they learned we are doing this cruise! First they had to unscramble tile letters that they eventually figured out gave them instructions to check the bathroom mirror. (When the mirror was fogged up in our bathroom earlier, we had written the GPS coordinates & date of the cruise into the steamed mirror. WHen the mirror cleared, you couldn't see anything, but when fogged up again, you could see the numbers). The the kids went into the bathroom and realized they had to steam up the bathroom to see what was on the mirror...so on went the hot shower w/o the exhaust fan for a few minutes!) Then once they got the coordinates, they went onto the computer to figure out where the coordinates were. There was some confusion for awhile, because they couldn't figure out what the date numbers were referring to. FINALLY, they figured it out! They funny thing is that the GPS coordinates put us right in the middle of the ocean (which is where we'll be on 12/25) and they are like, "there's nothing there!" It was then that they realized it was a cruise! They were so happy!!!

It was pretty cool, because with older kids, you can do some challenging things like that. Altogether it took probably an hour for them to solve the mystery! That was 11 months ago! And now it's only 6 days away!!!

Amy, I love this idea. My girls are not quite old enough for that(plus they already know about the trip), but I am going to keep it in mind for another time when we plan a big trip.

Sheila, I love the list of rooms. Thanks for posting that. It should make the delivery easier for FE.

Lissa-I hope your mom is okay. I totally understand what you are saying that you work so hard not to get sick and something always happens. I am fighting a cold, but I will win. Taking airborne every few hours.

Cindy D.-I am excited to see how your boys react on Friday morning when you tell them about the cruise.

I have the girls almost all packed, just waiting for the jammies to get out of the dryer. Dh is for the most part packed. I on the other hand have not packed a thing for myself. I usually get everyone elses done and then I pack my own stuff. I will probably work on it while they are at school on Monday or Tuesday.

Angie

 

[nzdisneymom]

You guys realize we are sailing THIS WEEK, don't you??? So all of you who are sick or think you might be sick, please please please get well. Go to the doctor on Monday if you haven't already, even if you normally wouldn't. Get well! We're saying a prayer for good health for all of us DIS travelers!

Ok, so I know I keep saying I'm done with my gift shopping since the cruise is our really big gift this year -- but I had to go to Kohl's today because I really wanted another pair of jeans for the trip. While we were there, I found that they had the Disney Scene-It games on sale - so I got the Disney Movies 2 (we have the first one), and the Disney Channel one. When I checked out, the cashier gave me an extra 15% off, too! So I wrapped them up when we got home so now it looks less barren under the tree And I got a couple of more things for the cruise off the clearance rack - a cute top and some shorts.

So of course when we got home I had to lay things out and pack some more

I found my blank business cards so I can make some up this afternoon. What all are we putting? Cabin, DIS name(s), real names?

Still haven't decided how to tell the boys but I'll figure something out by Thursday night

 

[HFC1969]

Still haven't decided how to tell the boys but I'll figure something out by Thursday night

We are picking up Justin our 8yo from school at lunch on Friday and saying, "Lets go, we are headed to DCL for Christmas." Let him get a few "wows" from his classmates.


Just rolled in tonight from Beaver Creek Co, from a skiing weekend.. We had around 20" of snow this weekend.. and hopefully 80 degrees for the upcoming weekend.

Stay warm, stay safe...

 

[nzdisneymom]

I've decided what I'm going to do. I'm going to give each of them three days and then a secret code to go with the day. So one boy will have Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday, and the other boys will have Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Then by the day I will have our destination for that day -- so they will each get a Castaway Cay and an At Sea, then one will get Cozumel and the other will get Grand Cayman. They'll know it's DCL because of Castaway Cay. So they'll have to do a little work of it on Friday morning. I'll give them their new watches on Thursday along with a "decoder" that they'll have to keep and tell them they need both things for Friday's Ho-Ho present.

 

[hinsok1]

Good idea Cindy . . .

Well I just finished packing the suitcases or rather, I have finshed 3. DD is still working on hers . . . She is bummed that Christmas is semi formal night . . . so she asked if we can go out shopping tomorrow! Hasn't she been listening to me for the last 6 mo?? Now that we have 4 days she is worried about what she will wear!!!! oh well . Still need to print off door magnets, business cards and documentation . . . but that can go in the carryones.

Can't believe the suitcases are under 50 lbs. even with 17 shirts for the rest of the family!!! I have four more lbs left on mine.

Can't wait to meet everyone . . . so is the front page up to date on all the times. . . . what about the list for the FEs? Oh why didn't I take Thursday off?

 

[alikat99]

Can't wait to meet everyone . . . so is the front page up to date on all the times. . . . what about the list for the FEs? Oh why didn't I take Thursday off?

No, I don't think that it is. But, if someone can let me know all the times, I can update it all!!!

 

[nzdisneymom]

One thing about driving vs. flying is that we don't have to worry about weight limits - just whether we can get it all in the car or not. I want to take sand-buckets for the boys (just fill them with FE gifts) but DH says to just buy them there. We'll have to see how creative I can be... the boys like to dig and build in the sand - DH is worried that the water temp will be too cool to get in -- I looked online and it will be in the low-mid 70s at Castaway Cay -- about the same as the air temp will be. Thankfully Cozumel will be a little bit warmer as will Grand Cayman.

I'm going to do our business cards tomorrow. And pack Z and most of me.

 

[dbxazd]

I'm so unprepared - but I'm trying to just roll with it. After a very long, tiring and emotionally exhausting weekend at my mom's house for her viewing and funeral - we came home today (Sunday). Her viewing was on Friday and it was nice to see A LOT of people she worked with and A LOT of people I haven't seen in 10+ years.......wow. At the funeral on Saturday, we heard some terrific stories from some people who worked for mom.....and that was really nice.
So now that we are home (I live about 1 hr. 15 mins away from mom) I started to pack for Disney.......and since we have 3 days at WDW before the cruise.....I'm trying to pack fast - we are leaving my house Tuesday evening after DS's Tae Kwon Do to go back to my mom's house since it's only about 15 mins from BWI (as opposed to my 1 hr. 30 mins). So, I have to be super woman and get 5 days worth of things done in about 2 days......
Thank you everyone for your kind words, thoughts and prayers.....it's been an extremely difficult week for me and my family (I have a sister and a brother as well as an Uncle who lived with Mom).
I hope to have some distraction with this trip that we have had planned for over a year.......

Robin