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

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Noah will be 7 in May.

Is the cruise his birthday present?!?!

I could only find one non-stop flight out of Kansas City.

Do you remember any specifics (time of day, etc.) about this one flight? (Just in case we decide to go the KC route...)

 

[Nik's Mom]

I just checked the flight again. It's Midwest Airlines and it looks like the price dropped. It came out to $188 per person. It leaves at 7am though. I think what we may do is leave the day before just to make sure that we get there on time. The problem is, the return flight leaves at 11:10am, so I don't think we would make it from the ship to the airport in time. We may have to stay that night too. I may check Southwest airlines. Too bad United isn't non-stop. DH just got back from a business trip to China and I think between the 2 of us, we have about 80,000 frequent flyer miles.

 

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

I just checked the flight again. It's Midwest Airlines and it looks like the price dropped. It came out to $188 per person. It leaves at 7am though. I think what we may do is leave the day before just to make sure that we get there on time. The problem is, the return flight leaves at 11:10am, so I don't think we would make it from the ship to the airport in time. We may have to stay that night too. I may check Southwest airlines. Too bad United isn't non-stop. DH just got back from a business trip to China and I think between the 2 of us, we have about 80,000 frequent flyer miles.

I've just started checking flights now, too. I wish I knew what was going on with our local airport though!!!!!! Last year, we flew in on Friday, and I'm glad we did because we found out firsthand about flight delays! We were supposed to arrive at MCO at 11 PM (that was even pushing it), but we didn't make it until about 2 AM the day of embarkation. Ugh. Then we had to get to the hotel and sleep for just a few hours before our car service picked us up at 8:30. Not fun with 3 & 5 y/o kids! Anyway, we're planning on flying in on Friday again this time and staying until at least Thursday after the cruise. (Sherry, I thought you were staying at WDW after the cruise, too. ) But you're right about the flight times--way too early for us to get to KC & leave again and also too early to leave MCO. I, too, was looking at those nonstop flights from KC because Lennon got sick (yes, again ) as we were landing in Omaha with "near misses" at every other takeoff/landing, so I'm wanting to reduce the # of stops to help his tummy.

WTG with the FF miles! What a nice bonus to have just in time for vacation! (China, huh? I bet that was a cool business trip!)

BTW--Southwest says they're only booking through 01-09-2009, so no prices yet. Snap!

 

[Nik's Mom]

I was going to stay at WDW for a few days, but that was before we knew about moving to Kansas. We are now a one-income family and are making adjustments to our budget. Which reminds me, for those of you who have cruised before, have you been in a category 8 or 9 cabin. We've only been in category 5 but I'm thinking of downgrading to cut $1000 off our total cost. I'm just wondering how it is in a category 8 or 9.
Thanks!

 

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

I was going to stay at WDW for a few days, but that was before we knew about moving to Kansas. We are now a one-income family and are making adjustments to our budget. Which reminds me, for those of you who have cruised before, have you been in a category 8 or 9 cabin. We've only been in category 5 but I'm thinking of downgrading to cut $1000 off our total cost. I'm just wondering how it is in a category 8 or 9.
Thanks!

Bummer about no WDW! I'm sure it's worth it to stay home, though!

We were (and will be again) in Cat 8. We were perfectly happy with it, but then we didn't have anything else to compare it to either. We don't feel the need to upgrade to a verandah for the extra money. There's a bigger price difference going from a porthole to verandah than there is from inside to porthole. As long as I can see outside, I'm happy! (Of course, if we were so lucky to get the magic pixie dust for an upgrade, then I wouldn't refuse it. ) We loved deck 5 so much that we're doing it again. I don't think there was too much difference in price between 8 & 9. The only difference is that Cat 9 is on deck 2 (and a few on 1) if that matters to you at all.

 

[Nik's Mom]

I checked on category 8 rooms, but they are all forward. I can't be forward for too long without getting sea sick. I cannot handle seeing the shows for that reason. Even with motion sickness medicine. I checked on category 9 rooms and they are aft. We were in aft category 5 last time and I had no problems. I'm still trying to decide....

 

[2_Eagle_Mom]

Thanks for all the help. I've tried to do the quote thing and hopefully it works out correctly.

Lime Green Mickey Head--the "official" symbol of the DIS. If you go to the paint dept at Home Depot and get some samples of the Disney paint in the lime green, you'll have some LGMH to do whatever you want to with them. I'll post my door picture, and you can see what I did with them.

Thanks for explaining this to me. For the life of me I just couldn't puzzle it out. I'll have to check out the Home Depot for some "samples".

We were out shopping this weekend and we wondered into a toy store and I started scouting out pirate items. Didn't buy anything but just checking to see what is out there. I'm starting to freak out about how much we need to pack for this trip. If it were just the week at WDW I wouldn't have a problem, its the formal/semi-formal nights on the cruise that are getting me nervous. We aren't the dress up type of people (we'd be happy in jeans & polos) but I have to dress up for work functions so I have stuff in the closet to pull from, but its having to pack just one more pair of shoes that I won't be wearing except for those two nights. Jim (DH) keeps shaking his head and saying "its over 10 months away, why are you worring about it now" We actually discussed not going to the restaurant on the formal night and ordering room service. Does anyone know if there will be any casual dinning options available on formal night?

 

[starlawyermom]

Thanks for all the great responses. My two girls are not into pirates, so we will probably opt for not dressing up. We are in a category 10 inside stateroom on deck 7 and there appears to be little to no foot traffic (rooms are quiet I am told). While I would prefer a porthole, since the cruise is a gift from my in-laws, we have no reason to complain. Besides, based on my past cruise experience, we will only be sleeping anc changing in the room. When I cruised on RC many moons ago, one of my clients was engaged to a woman who worked for and was pretty "high" up on the food chain at RC. When I arrived, I discovered I had been upgraded to a veranda (I was cruising alone). I was sooo thrilled - but in the end, I realized I spent little time in the room and thought that I probably would not have paid for this given the amount of use I made of the veranda, but it was nice to get for free. I think I will still decorate the door as I mentioned the idea to the kids and they are all excited and want to help create the decorations. Funnsy story: I was cooking dinner last night and things seemed awfully quiet in our family room - so I peaked around the corner and the girls had popped in the cruise DVD and were glued to the TV. The rest of the evening was filled with "Can we do this, can we do that, I want to see this, I want to go here" and the inevitable "Why can't we go sooner?"
hope everyone is well and enjoying the rest of the summer!

 

[Nik's Mom]

We were on deck 7 for our last cruise and it was pretty quiet. We were across from the laundry room and that didn't even bother us.

 

[2_Eagle_Mom]

The only other cruise that we've been on was in 2004 and I think we were on deck 8. We had the boys so we booked the cabin with a veranda. We did go out on the veranda a couple times, but our oldest DS is facinated by weather storms so he would go out on the veranda when he needed some quiet time and would sit and watch the distant thunderstorms for hours. This trip we have a porthole so we can see where we are going/at but we figured we didn't need to spend the extra money for the veranda.

Nik's Mom I'm so sorry to hear you get motion sick. Fortunately, neither of us have that issue (or at least we hope don't).

I can't believe summer is already half over! We had a heat wave last week (over 100) but this week its been unseasonably cool (in the 80s). This will be the first summer that I don't have anyone going to grade/jr/high school Now that the boys are "offically adults" it will be really difficult to step back and not worry about homework, assignments, etc.

 

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

I'm starting to freak out about how much we need to pack for this trip. If it were just the week at WDW I wouldn't have a problem, its the formal/semi-formal nights on the cruise that are getting me nervous. We aren't the dress up type of people (we'd be happy in jeans & polos) but I have to dress up for work functions so I have stuff in the closet to pull from, but its having to pack just one more pair of shoes that I won't be wearing except for those two nights. Jim (DH) keeps shaking his head and saying "its over 10 months away, why are you worring about it now" We actually discussed not going to the restaurant on the formal night and ordering room service. Does anyone know if there will be any casual dinning options available on formal night?

We would much rather be in jeans, too, and we seemed to take all our closets with us last time. We double dipped on our dinner pants/capris and even some shorts during the day, but we did end up taking basically 2 shirts for each day (Justin just can't double dip on shirts--it gives him the heebie jeebies! ) I had brought along 2 formal dresses (formal night and Palo/anniversary) and Justin wore the same suit both of those nights but had different shirt/tie for each one. I will probably only bring one dress next time and wear it twice since we don't have an anniversary to celebrate this time...unless I just can't decide which one to bring! I haven't worn either one of them since then, so it would be a tough decision. If you're not wanting to dress up for formal night, though, you really don't have to. To tell you the truth, I personally didn't pay ANY attention to what everyone else was wearing. But if you think you'd feel uncomfortable not dressing up, you can always go to Topsiders for the exact same menu(not buffet) that's being served elsewhere , but you obviously won't have your regular servers if you eat there.

Funnsy story: I was cooking dinner last night and things seemed awfully quiet in our family room - so I peaked around the corner and the girls had popped in the cruise DVD and were glued to the TV. The rest of the evening was filled with "Can we do this, can we do that, I want to see this, I want to go here" and the inevitable "Why can't we go sooner?"

It was the same way at our house last time, too! I think we watched the DVD every night before bed for MONTHS! I know it'll come back out pretty soon and be part of our bedtime routine. I saw the tickers are saying today is exactly 10 months from sail date! Woooohoooo! The boys were saying tonight how excited they're getting for it and how they just can't wait any longer!! Only 300 days away! This seems like an eternity since our last one we only booked three months out. But it'll be here before we know it! I don't think you can ever plan too far in advance! (Jane, you can tell Jim I said that! )

 

[2_Eagle_Mom]

I'm sure glad you all are here for me to compare notes. I guess I've had a change of attitude and have stopped freaking out about our clothes. I've changed to worrying about how I'm going to lose the weight that I want to drop. I've been on Weight Watchers for about 5 years and did really well for the first couple of years and lost about 50 lbs. The last two years I've maintained pretty much the same weight. I'm now trying to kick my system back into the weight loss mode and see some results! I HATE to exercise, but I've gone to the gym three times this last week and really tried to watch my diet. I really want to get down a couple of dress sizes before the cruise (hence my not worrying about how much I'm going to need to pack. If I drop those pounds I'll have to buy a complete new wardrobe and I'll be thrilled to pack whatever I buy. I'm actually thinking of shipping a box with our shoes and dress clothes to ourselves while we are at OKW. That way I will have it with us for the cruise and I won't have to carry it on the plane. We will be traveling on USAir and they are one of the carriers that are charging for the first checked bag.

I don't think you can ever plan too far in advance! (Jane, you can tell Jim I said that! )

Oh, I totally agree! The benefit of almost 25 years of marriage is I can completely ignore his comments. Of course my obsessive planning is what he loves about me so he knows that we don't have to worry about forgetting anything or missing things. It's the times when I haven't planned that everything goes caddy-wampus (sp?).

My latest research topic is:
Has anyone used the spa on the cruise? I'm trying to decide if I want to try and book a treatment. I would love to relax, but the prices are kind of steep.

 

[lizzyb]

Hi Ladies! Now that our Disney world trip is over I can dedicate more time to planning our cruise. Looking forward to spending more time here.

 

[indigodisney]

Ready for a new member? So glad to be here.

We were booked in a category 6 and just switched to a 11 inside cabin on deck 7...I figured we would probably not be spending that much time in the cabin and it was worth it to save the $1400 difference...

I am having some second thoughts - is having a verandah that much better? <sigh>

We live in Canada and are looking forward to celebrating DD's 6th birthday on the cruise next May.

Looking forward to getting to know everyone better before we cruise!

Indigo

 

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

indigodisney! I'll get you updated on post #1 when we get back from a short weekend vacation in Kansas City. (I've been thinking of you Sherry...we were near Overland Park last night when we stopped at Town Center in Leawood for some quick shopping for school clothes.) We're glad you've joined our group, Indigo, and it looks like you've got another big trip coming up in December!! How exciting!! And speaking of other Disney trips, Lizzy, how was your recent trip?

 

[indigodisney]

Thanks Val!

We are excited - the December 7th trip on the Wonder will be our first Disney cruise and actually my daughter's first cruise and my husband's too. We are all pretty excited around here!

Hope you have a great vacation weekend!

Indigo

 

[lizzyb]

indigodisney! I'll get you updated on post #1 when we get back from a short weekend vacation in Kansas City. (I've been thinking of you Sherry...we were near Overland Park last night when we stopped at Town Center in Leawood for some quick shopping for school clothes.) We're glad you've joined our group, Indigo, and it looks like you've got another big trip coming up in December!! How exciting!! And speaking of other Disney trips, Lizzy, how was your recent trip?

It was great! Thanks for asking. The weather could have been better but we still had a great time!

 

[mother_hen]

Hi All!
We just booked our cruise and couldn't be more thrilled! We've been to the parks many times with our boys, but we've never cruised with Disney. We'll be celebrating our 25th Anniversary on the ship.

Here's our specs:

DIS NAME(s) Mother_Hen
ADULTS: Sara and Dennis
KIDS (AGES WHEN SAIL): DS - will be 9
STATE: TX
Deck 7
late dining (wait listed for early dining) - if we do late dining, do we miss the shows?

I've read through the posts - it's been fun hearing what everyone else is planning to do. I see I have a lot of work to do researching and planning before we go I've only cruised with Carnival before and it was a lot less scheduled - just mostly relaxing on deck! heee!
When we booked, our agent said the 2nd night was the formal night. Is that right? Is there a way to find out?
Looking forward to getting to know you all better before we go and then meeting up on the cruise.

 

[2_Eagle_Mom]

Hi Sara!!

Welcome to the boards and to the cruise! So glad to have another anniversary couple on board. We're on Deck 7 as well!

Your travel agent is right (according to the Passporter guidebook) Tuesday night is Formal night, Wednesday is a Pirates IN the Carribean, and Thursday night is Semi-Formal.

You don't have to worry about missing the shows. They are performed twice a night. If you have the late dinning you would see the show before dinner. If you have the early seating you watch them after dinner.

I've been reading trip reports on the boards to get tips. The only actual planning that I've done lately is to reserve rental cars. I did recheck the airline BOY am I glad I already purchased our tickets. The exact same flights have gone up over $100.

 

[mother_hen]

Thanks for the warm welcome, Jane! Congrats on your anniversary, too! Looks like Deck 7 will be the silver anniversary deck

Thanks for the info about the shows - I knew DS wouldn't want to miss those. He will love the pirate night. I'll have to pick up a costume for him.

I need to go pick up the Passporter book tomorrow and get cracking on our plans. I have no idea which excursions to do....