~~~ May 16, 2009 ~~~ Western Magic ~~~

[krishouse]

We are on the 10am shuttle and their are 4 of us. Do you think that they have 2 shuttles leaving at the same time?
Kristin

 

[lillygator]

IDK - we have 6 booked and I know many others are booked as well.

 

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Quick post to say...We also have 6 people booked for the 10 AM shuttle--just called to verify.

Will post more later today to catch up from this weekend! Whew! You guys were busy! I'll show you what I was doing...unfortunately, not cruise related. But it was still fun! http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2008359&id=1122226710&l=ee475cfec1

 

[krishouse]

Hi there,
I am feverishly trying to get together my fish extender goodies, I have a few questions and I am sorry if they have been asked but here goes....
First of all, do we put everything together in one little bag and put it in the extender? Or do we drop off a little at a time?? I am trying to personalize to each family so I was going to tag each little bag.
Also do we still have any Hanna Montana fans? HSM or Camp Rock???

This is so much fun!!!!!
K

 

[lillygator]

K - you can do it however you want to - some people use bags - some just drop off the items, - it is up to you!

Has anyone in a gty been assigned yet? I am checking daily but haven't got a cabin number yet!

 

[dznyacct]

Has anyone in a gty been assigned yet? I am checking daily but haven't got a cabin number yet!

Just checked and no cabin assignment(s) yet for our 2 cat 12 GTY cabins .

 

[Marcy Mouse]

K - you can do it however you want to - some people use bags - some just drop off the items, - it is up to you!

Has anyone in a gty been assigned yet? I am checking daily but haven't got a cabin number yet!

Not yet! I'm waiting too. I'm expecting a 12 as there are only two of us and I got one of those $599.00 deals.

Still, you never know!

Marcy

 

[tinkattude6]

Just checked and no cabin assignment(s) yet for our 2 cat 12 GTY cabins .

I too have been checking nonstop. I also booked two cat.12 state rooms. I know there will have to be some upgrades because their are only 13 cat. 12's. i have already seen that more then 14 on our board have them booked. I know 11 are identical. So lets keep our fingers crossed for some of us to get upgrades.Pixie Dust to all wishing! Crystal,

 

[tsarina13]

The May 2nd cruise just got theirs starting on 3/31. That's 32 days out from their cruise. The May 9th cruise has not received theirs yet, but if they get theirs 32 days out that's tomorrow. If we get ours 32 days out it would be the 14th.

I CAN'T WAIT! The suspense is terrible!

 

[tinkattude6]

It looks like we will have Brent as our CD

We were keeping our fingers crossed for him. We have had him on every May Cruise. Brent is one of the best!

 

[Marcy Mouse]

Ok, I'm going to try this so that people know who we are. Don't know if it will work or not.

I guess I just try to post it.

If it works this is Chris and I.

Marcy

 

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Never mind...you got it!

GREAT PIC!! I'll put it on post #2!

 

[Marcy Mouse]

Ok, I'm going to try this so that people know who we are. Don't know if it will work or not.

I guess I just try to post it.

If it works this is Chris and I.

Marcy

It didn't work. I'll try again.

 

[Marcy Mouse]

I guess I needed a little help and then I think I did it on my own. Anyway it's there. All's well that ends well.

Marcy

 

[lillygator]

we'll at least be an 11 and my mom and sis may end up in a 12 as they are just 2.

 

[Bellamickey]

Ok....I'm back. I will try my best to catch up since I've been off the boards for a little while.

All --- heard from Belinda. She is ok, just not in a happy place right now due to some family things. Sure she will be back on the boards soon and is looking forward to her vacation. Keep sending happy thoughts her way!

Now off to go pack!!!!

Thinking of you, Belinda, and hoping things turn around for you soon.

Mati, thanks for keeping us updated.

Mati, Val, and JorDan, For all of your concern and your blessings, thank you. You don't know how very much it means to me.

Mom has been very ill and has had her second biopsy. It really got me down for a while, she's my bestfriend and I worry. Anyways, I'M BACK and want to thank you guys so much for keeping me in your thoughts and not forgetting me. You are the best online friends anyone could ask for.

macdonald family

mom and dad first time cruisers from florida
bill and mary and 2 dd from mass
ken and michelle and 3 dd from arkansas

this is the best group on the disney meet thread! So many wonderful people. Glad your here!

hey all got a quick question for you.

would it be to much to ask which is everyone's favorite character. we are trying to figure out items for the FE and have to divi everything up.

mine is THE Donald and DW is Pooh.

tks all.

nick

Shawn is a Mickey and chip and dale kinda guy and Im a mickey and tink girl!

This picture was taken at the Magic Kingdom (Not so Scary Halloween Party)
in 2007. We all basically look the same.. the kids are a little older now

This is from my sisters wedding...

You have a beautiful family,

I compiled these from a post on another thread. Any others to add?

Boarding Tips
Wear your swimsuits under your clothes when boarding, or bring them in a day bag.
There are bathrooms right outside Topsiders. Get the pool to yourselves for almost an hour

DON'T WAIT IN THE KIDS CLUB REGISTRATION LINE AT THE PORT!!!! Seriously, the line seemed to be over a hundred people long at most times (we were there around 11:00 AM and boarded around 12:30 PM). When you get on the ship just go to the kids club, we went to the Oceaneer's club on Deck 5 and registered in about 5 minutes (and got our pager).

DO YOUR CRUISE DOCS ONLINE AND PRINT THEM OUT!!!! So many people DO the online registration, but they forget to print them out and bring them with them. If you don't print them out, you have to do it all over again at the port

Cabin Tips
Over the Door shoe holders - shoe organizer was amazing! we have five people - so everyone got one row (oldest/tallest on top) to keep personal items and lanyards and such

If you have to have an inside stateroom, book on deck 7 aft, so you'll have the "secret verandah" to go out and enjoy.

The "secret" cat 7 rooms on deck 7 (used to be cat 5)

Mickey Mouse wake-up call

Feather Pillow - ask your stateroom attendant if you want one

Bring extra hangers! There isn't much drawer space in the cabins. or Better yet, leave the hangers at home and ask your stateroom attendant for more

The coffee table raises up to make it easier to sit on couch and eat from room service

Extension cord -- Used ours constantly, iPod, hair dryer, cameras, travel clock, etc., easy to plug things in overnight and take them for the next day

Ask the room steward to remove your coffee table and he did. We didn't use it and it gave us a lot of needed floor space!

Bring 2 bungee cords if you have connecting rooms to keep the doors open. They are heavy doors and will not stay open by themselves. If closed you cannot open them from the other stateroom. The cords worked great! You need one for each door.

The Glade Flameless candle was a great addition to our stateroom. Not only did it give the room a constant "pleasant" aroma... but it served as a great night light! We also brought along a mini fan. It wasn't used for cooling purposes but worked great as an air circulator in our inside stateroom.

3M command hooks are great for hanging hats & jackets/sweaters

Those close pin type magnets work wonders on the metal doors to hang lanyards and the navigator

Food Tips
Mickey bars, which aren't listed on the menu but ARE available from room service

Order room service the night before a port visit, and pack it and take with you as a snack

Order room service, sandwiches or go up and get burgers or chicken strips on
Deck 9, put them in Ziploc’s and bring them with us on our excursions

Carry-on beer and wine

Cookies BBQ, the line right in front is sometimes long (facing beach) go around the right side, and you'll find another serving station that is usually empty

Room service cake of the day!

Order coffee, etc via room service the night before so it is delivered the next morning

Arrive 5-10 minutes after your scheduled dining seating time. There are no points for being the first 50 into the dining room. Avoid the lines and the cattle waiting to be seated

Candy for movies and shows

Pack Ziploc baggies. Order a sandwich or 4 from room service before going on shore and then pack in the baggie - walking around lunch/snacks for on shore. Best of all - "free

If you can't decide what to what to order for dinner, choose both. One night DH & I got an EXTRA dinner to spilt and another night my Dad actually orders 2 of the appetizer he wanted. That was the same night DH & I ordered our appetizer from the kids menu

If you have a late seating for dinner on pirate night...don't eat...there is a beautiful buffet on deck

Souvenirs
You can have your purchases sent to your stateroom from the shop on CC. I was hoping I didn't have to bring my stuff with me on the beach!

Take a roll of bubble wrap for anything you buy that's breakable

Laundry pen for t-shirt autographs

Take a pillowcase or picture frame or whatever to guest services at the beginning of the cruise and leave it with Sharpies and request just princesses, Fab 6 or all the characters sign it

Buy the matte, take the cellophane off of it, and bring it on board with you. You can either give it to guest services for the characters to sign (you'll get it back on Friday night of the cruise), or you can take it around by yourself and have it signed by whoever you want throughout the cruise. Very important tip here, have a photo direction (vertical or horizontal) in mind before asking for signatures, that way you'll know which way they should sign. As you get the professional pictures taken throughout your cruise, you can ask the photographer to take them any direction you want.

If you are a scrap booker, the evening before disembarking, pick up extra luggage tags of all the characters - great for your scrapbook pages!

If you scrapbook - take a plain scrapbook page and pen to dinner one night and have your servers sign them...because you *will* have pictures of them and it is nice to have a memento from them. Do the same for your, travel companions, table mates, room steward and other cast members you associated with often or enjoyed. Take pictures with the cast members, they like knowing you enjoyed their work and efforts.

You can turn off charge privileges on your kids KTTW card but you can add a preset amount for them to use for smoothies, movie candy, arcade, etc.... this saves them running up big $$ on the room account but they still have some "pocket money".

Give the photographer or his assistant your camera too and ask them to take your picture with it...they will

Keep piling up your pictures in Shutters, one behind the other, until the end of the cruise. Then you can pick out the best of the best to use with your package.

Take all the memory cards you own. once you've finished one, put it in a separate place from your camera so if you lose one, you don't lose both

Don't buy souvenir Tshirts for the kids -- they get them and Mickey ear graduation hats for free from the Kid's club the day before the cruise ends

Take your own pics at EVERY opportunity that the photogs do or ask them to take the pics -- we didn't buy one single photo from shutters because ours were identical!


Toiletries/Meds
I also need good old chapstick after a day in the sand and wind.

My dermatologist recommended Neutrogena sunscreen with SPF 70 (with helioplex)- it was fabulous. We made sure to reapply every few hours, but none of us had any problems with sunburn issues- and we spent a good 6 hours in the water at CC.

There is free dramamine in a box outside of the first aid station on deck 1

If you use a loofah and body wash at home -- buy the Huggies brand disposable wash clothes with body wash in them, cut them in half and use and dispose

If the ship's stores are closed and you need a toiletry item of some kind for the ladies, like tampons, you can ask at guest services and they will get some out of the back room and give them to you discretely in an envelope. They also have aspirin and seasick meds. No charge

Downy wrinkle spray...works great

Lysol everything. You can even ask for one of the tubs of hand wipes in your room!

For our family of 5, we needed one full can of sunscreen for every port plus half a facial sunscreen stick. We also needed one can for every two days on the ship.

Misc Tips
Purchase pirate gear ahead of time (Party City, etc.)

Re-book on board! Save at least 10% on your next cruise

Buy your own cruise insurance

***************** and dcltribute.com also seem to have good information

Booking excursions on your own, most are very easy to get to on your own and are much cheaper than if you book them through DCL

Pack half the clothes and twice the cash

Get your bill from guest services midweek, just to see how much you've spent, and also incase they do make a mistake or two.

Pack clothes with dry cleaners plastic between layers and ROLL to avoid wrinkles -- we had none when we unpacked

If you have kids don't bring a white board or water bottles -- they give them away for free in the kids' clubs and Ocean Quest

Make contact with the entertainment staff running the programs -- when they see you, they tend to call your kids up on stage

Take everything you can that is disposable and just leave it there.

Before you leave, if you have extra supplies, ask your servers or host if they would like them. My servers practically jumped up and down at the prospect of getting my shoe organizer! I wound up giving her the organizer, humidifier, full size conditioner, lysol and room fresheners. The crew doesn't get off the ship much, so they're very appreciative!

Take advantage of the $15 day pass to the Rainforest Turkish bath in the spa. It was absolutely amazing and my pores are still looking amazing! Next time, I'm getting the week pass.

This one was by accident thanks to my DIS buds on board: take glow sticks for when you're meeting each other in the theater and it's pitch black -- they are the only way you'll find each other!

I always bring two rolls of quarters for the laundry. That way you don't have to "flatten" your one dollar bills, or pull from your room service tip stash.

Call before boarding the ship to find out the list of movies playing: 1-888-325-2500

The May 2nd cruise just got theirs starting on 3/31. That's 32 days out from their cruise. The May 9th cruise has not received theirs yet, but if they get theirs 32 days out that's tomorrow. If we get ours 32 days out it would be the 14th.

I CAN'T WAIT! The suspense is terrible!

It didn't work. I'll try again.

Marcy Mouse - That is such a cute photo! I love it when the guys will don the mickey ears!!


Jane,
Thank you so much for finding this and sharing it with all of us. It is very helpful.

I also got your pm on the dining reservations. I did call and confirm and its all set up!!
I'm sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. We can't wait to meet you and Jim and Andy and Ashley!!!

 

[Tink113]

It looks like we will have Brent as our CD

Woo Hoo!

love Brent! He was GREAT on our Dec 07 cruise.


MORE TIPS

1) After the safety drill, put your life jackets & empty suite cases under the bed to make more closet space. If they don't fit when sliding, lift the edge of the bed and they will!

2) Keep in mind that MID SHIP tends to have the most elevator traffic.

3) When you go to spa write "NOT INTERESTED IN PARODUCTS" on your form or you'll end up with a sales pitch & extra $300 bill in product by the time you walk out.

4) I read somewhere that you get $30 off any service over $100 in the spa booked don the ship day 1. Let's hope this one works!

5) pack kids clothes in sets inside zip lock bags. In the morning, the kids can grab and bag & they should have everything they need.

I'll try to remember more...

 

[adedward]

Add me to the line of people who checked for room assignments today. I have the 14th marked on my calendar as the probable official day for notification, but am sure I will check every day in the meantime anyway.

 

[miksilver]

So I'm being to freak out a little bit. I'm getting pretty worried about having late dining and being waitlisted for early. It's just the 3 of us travelling and with a 4 year old I've never had late dining. We always eat together in the dining room on the cruises we take and now I'm afraid if we stay with late dining it'll mess everything up. My 4 year old just can't wait until 8pm for a long dinner -- even with snacks and such. She's good, but that's pushing it.

Since there are some experienced DCL cruisers here, any suggestions?

Thanks,
Kim

 

[tinkattude6]

So I'm being to freak out a little bit. I'm getting pretty worried about having late dining and being waitlisted for early. It's just the 3 of us travelling and with a 4 year old I've never had late dining. We always eat together in the dining room on the cruises we take and now I'm afraid if we stay with late dining it'll mess everything up. My 4 year old just can't wait until 8pm for a long dinner -- even with snacks and such. She's good, but that's pushing it.

Since there are some experienced DCL cruisers here, any suggestions?

Thanks,
Kim

Kim,

I would just try again on the cruise. Call Disney direct if you haven't. Once onboard alot of people switch to late dinning, so you have a fair chance.
Crystal,