May 10, 2008 Ship of Thieves! Stealing the Magic..AGAIN!!! Panama Canal FL to CA!!! Part 5

[fourmcds]

Considering I can't even book a flight past April 27 right now on Alaska, I know this is ahead of the game, but.....

what airport is closest to port for return flights, is it LAX? And if we are leaving on the day of disembark. what time is a reasonable time for scheduling a flight home. There is a 547 flight Alaska offers, would that be too late or about right?

I am just paranoid about buying the tickets right now as I watched tickets for my trip back to CT this summer double in price over the last 4 days. Finally ended up buying first class tickets today as they were only 200.00 more than coach and instead of sitting in the middle away from Scott(only seats left on the plane were 4 middle seats!) I decided to pay the extra $ and sit in nice seats!

Thanks

 

[MrsMork]

Hi Lisa - Prior to DCL 2005 all our previous cruises were balcony...and that was before kids so we lingered out there, etc, it was nice. I thought we'd miss the balcony when we did Mexico but to be honest, we were hardly in the room and we didn't notice. When we were in the room, the kids enjoyed being so close to the water, which is nice about Deck 2. Of course, that was a 7 day cruise and it was jam packed with activities. I've had concerns about the 15 day just because it's longer and my thoughts are there will be more down time (but maybe not-with all us DISers we may keep each other too busy ) but at the time the rates came out, a Cat 9 is what we could comfortably afford, so I'm not going to regret our decision. I know it will be fun and in the end, I'm just happy to have a spot on the ship. Who knows, maybe the upgrade fairies will wave their wands our way.....

We have a Cat 11, have sailed always without balcony - so we can cruise more often! - We have done 10 days and spent our little bit of downtime at the Cove Cafe playing SkipBo.

 

[Jhalkias]

John....I remember Scott saying that the Brown's fans were really supportive of he and my dad when they were in Detroit for the superbowl (let's not bring up that bad game!), of course when we are playing each other it is probably a different story! Aren't the steelers your arch rival?

Yes, the Squeelers are our arch rivals. Not much of a rivalry the past several years though. Browns fans are passionate. Sometimes too passionate.

I have seen lots of fights and bad behavior at some games. Mostly because of the alcohol. We sit in the upper deck, near the last section above the dog pound, so we get to watch our fair share of shenanigans.

Since the Browns came back as an expansion team (don't get me started on the Ravens), sometimes watching the dawg pound is more interesting than watching the game.

 

[Jhalkias]

We are looking for a few opinions for our Western cruise in October.

The day/night before we are going to stay at the Nick Hotel (we have 10 children in our travel party - they win on this one!).

After the cruise, we only have one day before we have to head home and are going to go to an undetermined park (most likely MK). Or, is there a large opinion on a different park? We've been to all twice. Our girls will be 7 and 5 years old at the time. Anyway, what are all your thoughts?

On our two previous visits to WDW we have stayed at BCV. In September the girls went to the Princess tea at the GF and loved the hotel. So, we are thinking of staying that one night there. However, if you had just one night, we were wondering what resort you all might think is the best choice for our two young girls? We are also just tempted to stay back at BCV because we enjoy it so much. But, we not try something new? Also, if we are just going to go to MK, why not GF? Any thoughts? Thinking out loud here.

We have stayed at the GF once, and did not really like the atmosphere.

A bit too for us.

Of course if you want quick access to the MK, you can't beat it. How about the Poly? We like the Poly much better, and the access to the monorail is just as good.

Our favorite resorts (deluxe) are:

Beach Club and Old Key West (tie)
Wilderness Lodge
Polynesian

We have not yet stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge.

We also like Port Orleans Riverside as a moderate resort.

 

[Jhalkias]

I am sure there will be tons of opinions on this one...my vote would be for Wilderness Lodge! It is my favorite MK resort, although it is not a monorail resort, it is a lovely boat ride over in the am. They have a hidden Mickey hunt most days, crafts in the cubs den and beautiful grounds. Of course there are pluses to all resorts I am sure...BCV due to the great water slide, GF because it is so pretty, Contemporary because I always have wanted to stay in the hotel the "monorail" goes through!!! Such choices, good luck!

Like I said we really like Wilderness Lodge too . . . Hands down, that is my favorite lobby to sit in and gaze. I feel more relaxed there than any other resort we stay at.

 

[Jhalkias]

Considering I can't even book a flight past April 27 right now on Alaska, I know this is ahead of the game, but.....

what airport is closest to port for return flights, is it LAX? And if we are leaving on the day of disembark. what time is a reasonable time for scheduling a flight home. There is a 547 flight Alaska offers, would that be too late or about right?

I am just paranoid about buying the tickets right now as I watched tickets for my trip back to CT this summer double in price over the last 4 days. Finally ended up buying first class tickets today as they were only 200.00 more than coach and instead of sitting in the middle away from Scott(only seats left on the plane were 4 middle seats!) I decided to pay the extra $ and sit in nice seats!

Thanks

Kaylee,

Kim's opinion when I discussed this with her was SNA (Orange County). I have never been, and this is taking Kim's word for it, but I trust her implicity. LAX is not too far, but it is much busier - although you may be able to get a better fare.

I am going in November and flying into Orange County. Probably too late though for that decision. I am sure others will have their opinion too.

 

[Tigger1221]

Good thing you were up early John!!!



Sounds like my kind of trip Was it a blast?!



Jill...is the scavenger hunt info on PJ's website? I haven't been there in a while (it seems to take forever to load for me so I get frustrated). We would be interested in one if you are still considering doing one for families as well.

Hopefully Scott and I are going to see Pirate's tonight!!!!!

I don't know if the info is on the website or not. I will still be doing one for families and one for adults.

Have fun at the movie. It's great I seen it twice.

 

[calmom]

That works for me. Are there any guidelines or anything to go by?

Not really - mostly people are getting teams together to help the cost be lower. Anyone can buy gifts on their own as well. For people that want to join a "team" I am helping organizing a team for each day. We have about 6 days covered so far. We don't have to have each day covered, although that would be fun. The days to pick from are May 11, May 12, May 15, May 17-18, May 20-24. Let me know what day you would like and we will rally some volunteers to join you. Once you get your team, you can discuss budget.

Did ya go to the spa while you were there? If my memory serves me correct they have outside treatment rooms, I had a massage and it was like having one in the jungle

I saw those cabanas but alas we didn't have time between the champange brunch at Kaanapali Beach Hotel and Mai Tai at the Leilani's and then ending the day watching the sun set on the beach while drinking a Cororona, no time for a massage. My liver could have used some relaxation though. Next time.

Sounds like my kind of trip Was it a blast?!

It was indeed a blast!

 

[ulittletinker]

We are looking for a few opinions for our Western cruise in October.

The day/night before we are going to stay at the Nick Hotel (we have 10 children in our travel party - they win on this one!).

After the cruise, we only have one day before we have to head home and are going to go to an undetermined park (most likely MK). Or, is there a large opinion on a different park? We've been to all twice. Our girls will be 7 and 5 years old at the time. Anyway, what are all your thoughts?

On our two previous visits to WDW we have stayed at BCV. In September the girls went to the Princess tea at the GF and loved the hotel. So, we are thinking of staying that one night there. However, if you had just one night, we were wondering what resort you all might think is the best choice for our two young girls? We are also just tempted to stay back at BCV because we enjoy it so much. But, we not try something new? Also, if we are just going to go to MK, why not GF? Any thoughts? Thinking out loud here.

hello gouodux
Just a quick note on the Nick Hotel, the kids will love it. We had a great time. We stayed two nights. The food wasn’t bad. There are two main dining restaurants. One is a character dinning and the other was a no frills buffet for 13.95 adult kids eat free. The nice feature about the no frills breakfast and dinner, they stamped your hand allowing you to return any time between the dinning hours listed. It was great because my youngest daughter wasn’t ready to eat when we were.. It wasn’t until 30 min later she would complain she’s hungry, so I walked her back to the restaurant showed them our hand stamp grabbed her bite.
:dance3
Virginia

 

[HollyTyler]

Now that was just too easy! Where were all the this morning?

This one was at work!

 

[HollyTyler]

I keep wondering if I am going to miss not having a balcony. I haven't traveled without a balcony since I was a) teenager and b) on a cruise on the Island Princess that didn't have any balconies. I was nervous about being able to afford the cruise at all so that is why we opted for 2 cat 9. I also thought we could change our mind later and upgrade but now that these prices are so crazy it will be way too expensive to upgrade (and that is only if two adjoining balcony rooms become available). Argg...any words of encouragement? Anyone always travel with balcony and then went without and survived?? I keep telling myself just being on this cruise will be so incredible it won't matter. But I do love having the privacy of a balcony. It is nice to have this type of agony!!!

I feel your pain. I'm very claustrophobic, so I'm pretty worried about not having a balcony.....or even a window! But since I won't have my son with me, I figure whenever I start feeling too closed in, I can just go out on deck for my fresh air. We'll survive!

 

[JLSE50]

I always love that idea! Orion is the constellation that Scott and I had on the top of our wedding cake (no bride and groom up there for us!) because when we were dating we were often separated due to his school and that is the constellation we would both always look for in the sky to feel connected. Weird story about that...when I called my mom to tell her I was engaged, she was in bed and the only thing she could see in her skylight above her bed was Orion!! There was that song from a disney movie about that too...can't remember it at all though.

How did you put a constellation on your cake?

Jan

 

[LiserAnn]

Considering I can't even book a flight past April 27 right now on Alaska, I know this is ahead of the game, but.....

what airport is closest to port for return flights, is it LAX? And if we are leaving on the day of disembark. what time is a reasonable time for scheduling a flight home. There is a 547 flight Alaska offers, would that be too late or about right?

Kaylee - LAX is 21 miles away...Sunday's there shouldn't be traffic so you should be at the airport within 30 minutes, but it is a very busy airport.

SNA (John Wayne) is 35 miles away which on a Sunday should take about 45 minutes but it's a much smaller airport and thus will be less busy.

I'd have to say it's a toss up...you WILL have much more flight options out of LAX, just depends on the hassle factor....and maybe cost.

Either way, I would think 5:47pm is fine, maybe slightly too generous (but better that than rushing). With security stuff (especially if you go to LAX) you'll want to be there by 4:00. So, we dock at 8:15am--by the time you disembark, get your bags, a shuttle or car and drive to where ever, you'll be there by noon or 1pm...maybe sooner. You probably could get away with an earlier flight. Timing it all is tough....

 

[calmom]

hello gouodux
Just a quick note on the Nick Hotel, the kids will love it. We had a great time. We stayed two nights. The food wasn’t bad. There are two main dining restaurants. One is a character dinning and the other was a no frills buffet for 13.95 adult kids eat free. The nice feature about the no frills breakfast and dinner, they stamped your hand allowing you to return any time between the dinning hours listed. It was great because my youngest daughter wasn’t ready to eat when we were.. It wasn’t until 30 min later she would complain she’s hungry, so I walked her back to the restaurant showed them our hand stamp grabbed her bite.
:dance3
Virginia

Ditto - my kids had a blast. One comment: I found the Spongebob room not worth the extra premium. Spongebob theme is all over the hotel and it really isn't necessary to have it in your room. It wasn't much more to get it but even so, not worth it in my opinion.

The pool is a lot of fun, as is the show they put on. My son loved getting slimed.

 

[calmom]

I can't recall if I mentioned Owen Wilson was on our flight to Maui (sat to my right - we were in the middle seats and he was on the right side) We fly through L.A. He wasn't with Kate - by himself and hardly said a word. Some Hawaiin guy picked him up in a VW bug - apparently a friend as they were friendly when they saw each other. And then on our return, Tessa from the Bachelor was a few rows up. I never saw the show but both my sister and friend saw the whole thing. She was really cute and her ring was pretty. She too was by herself - I think the Bachelor is stationed in Oahu (which we fly through on the return).

I think it would be hard to be "famous." The flight attendant asked Owen if a family could take his picture after the family already asked him directly and he said no. You must get no down time. My sister said she doesn't feel sorry at all - it is the life they chose. I suppose that is true. Still, I would just die if someone came up to me after a 5 hour flight and wanted to take my picture (especially after all that champange!).

Lisa

 

[ibouncetoo]

Well, before I left work I typed a long post blathering on about one night WDW hotel suggestions....then lost it. I don't know why I can't remember to copy my posts when I'm at work....the stupid computer/DIS drops me as a logged in user after a certain amount of time!

In a nutshell.....I say go for some themeing you haven't done before. For one day you aren't in the hotel that much, so why not check out a place you haven't been? I personally find it difficult to spend the big bucks for one night (since you aren't there long enough to enjoy a place as special as the Grand Floridian). So for deluxe, you can sometimes get a good rate at Animal Kingdom and Wilderness Lodge, or you can go with the fun of POP Century or All Star Movies, I love PO French Quarter for some place small, quaint and close to shopping, or for a nice contrast from the Magic/Wonder...how about a night at the cabins at Fort Wilderness?

 

[ulittletinker]

Ditto - my kids had a blast. One comment: I found the Spongebob room not worth the extra premium. Spongebob theme is all over the hotel and it really isn't necessary to have it in your room. It wasn't much more to get it but even so, not worth it in my opinion.

The pool is a lot of fun, as is the show they put on. My son loved getting slimed.

I agree with you on the spongebob room, not worth the extra $$$$ even using AAA. I would love to stay before the PC cruise, but because of the amount of time the girls will be out of school, were flying in the day before and driving to the port.

Virginia

 

[been2marceline]

W.I.N.O.S.
Women In Need Of Sanity

Cookbooks and matching cocktail napkins by Bonnie Jesseph
bonnie@jesseph.com
www.winoshavefun.com

828-719-0253

fax m 828-963-4905

let me know what you think.
Jan

Thanks Jan!

I'll look into it in the next couple of days!

Karen

 

[been2marceline]

!

Pirate ye be!!

Congrats John! I was trying to stay up to do it last night, but just couldn't keep my eyes open!!

Karen

 

[been2marceline]

We are looking for a few opinions for our Western cruise in October.

The day/night before we are going to stay at the Nick Hotel (we have 10 children in our travel party - they win on this one!).

After the cruise, we only have one day before we have to head home and are going to go to an undetermined park (most likely MK). Or, is there a large opinion on a different park? We've been to all twice. Our girls will be 7 and 5 years old at the time. Anyway, what are all your thoughts?

On our two previous visits to WDW we have stayed at BCV. In September the girls went to the Princess tea at the GF and loved the hotel. So, we are thinking of staying that one night there. However, if you had just one night, we were wondering what resort you all might think is the best choice for our two young girls? We are also just tempted to stay back at BCV because we enjoy it so much. But, we not try something new? Also, if we are just going to go to MK, why not GF? Any thoughts? Thinking out loud here.

Magic Kingdom is probably the best for the ages of your girls, and for one night, I would definitely stay at The Grand Floridian, as it is a lovely place to spend an evening. It makes it so nice to be able to take the monorail right to MK as well.

We have stayed at both places and of course, the villas are much bigger than the rooms at GF, but for one night it's worth the proximity to MK.

Just my thoughts...

Karen