EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT FISH EXTENDERS (FE's)
YOU MAY SHARE WITH ANYONE WITH EXPRESSED PERMISSION FROM ALI KUSINITZ. Admin of FISH EXTENDER
DISNEY CRUISE LINE
WHAT IS A FISH EXTENDER? (FE)
Every stateroom has a fish of some kind hanging on the wall outside the door. This is part decoration and part message center. The fish is there for Disney to place important communications to you such as excursion tickets and notes from the Cruise staff. It is like a mailbox for your room. A Fish Extender (FE) it is something that you hang off the fish . By hanging the Fish Extender off of the fish, the Cast Members can still use it for its original purpose. All the people in the exchange buy or make little items and place them in each other's fish extenders. It is great fun to come back and check the items you have received.
*It has been brought to our attention that some TA's are giving wrong info. You cannot just show up on a cruise with gifts to randomly pass out (well you could but that would be more like Pixie dusting than FE) YOU HAVE TO FIND YOUR CRUISE PAGE AND JOIN An FE GROUP TO KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE PARTICPATING, HOW LARGE YOUR GROUP WILL BE AND ALL OTHER INFO! ( this is a voluntary program and is not sanctioned by Disney)
WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? WHERE CAN I GET ONE?
The most common Fish Extenders are ones that have a pocket for each person in that stateroom. Some are very fancy, some are very plain. Some are store bought, some are homemade and many are bought on eBay or Etsy.com. search on "Disney fishextender" and you will get options that range in price. IKEA also has a 4 pocket holder for about $5.00 you can personalize yourself Check out our albums for hand -made and re-imagined ones and even Duct tape ones
SIZE DOES MATTER!
You should make sure your Fish Extender is between 8" & 12"" wide. Otherwise it starts to get in the way of your stateroom door. It can be about 5-6 feet long. Longer than that It will hit the floor. If you are creating your own it is suggested you make the pockets a little deeper than normal too. It will keep items from falling out and keep curious hands from reaching in (average depth is 5-6 inches)
WHY DO I KEEP HEARING ABOUT FISH EXTENDERS? (FE’S)
Many of the DisGroups arrange the Fish Extender Exchanges. You can usually find them one the Disboards.com. Everyone that would like to participate will sign up by a deadline. Normally the deadline will be about 6-8 weeks before you sail. This allows everyone ample time to pre-buy/make what they want to exchange, even if you are adding a stop to Walt Disney World before we sail.
ARE THERE ANY RULES REGARDING WHAT I HAVE TO GIVE OR HOW MUCH TO SPEND? WHATS THE AVERAGE PEOPLE SPEND?
There are really no strict rules regarding gifts (no minimum or maximum dollar value). Gifts can be homemade or store-bought, Disney, non-Disney, totally up to you!
Its really hard to put an average dollar amt. on the gifts. Some people may be crafty, or thrifty, or really creative. Some may know how to use an embroidery machine. And that can help keep cost down compared to someone who has to special order an item. Its whatever you feel comfortable with
It is suggested that an FE is given to each child and a FE for the cabin. However, You can either give one gift to each cabin or a gift to each person in the cabin. Or kids gifts or Adult gifts…or something for everyone! It is the thought that counts.
**If you are signing up more than one cabin to participate, you should not combine them.. its not fair for people to make items for 2 cabins and receive from 1 of them. They should be counted as 2 separate cabins
WHAT DO WE EXCHANGE?
Some people get very crafty and make items, some are store bough. Again , no set rules.
Magnets, Anything Pirate, Anything Disney, Anything with our cruise sailing dates on it (pencils, pens, candy . . . ) (there is a file: Fe ideas for all, Check it out)
It isn't about how much you spend; it is about the fun in exchanging and seeing what you get! IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE DISNEY THEMED.
DO I HAVE TO BUY FOR EVERYONE?
Sort of. You have to do something for EVERY CABIN PARTICIPATING, Some do a cabin gift, and separate adult gifts too, and then do a few items for the kids. Some just give the kids and a cabin gift. Some people are crafty and make gifts, and some are store bought. Its across the board. Some gifts are to be used on board and some are to be used at home. Again.. up to you.
DO I NEED TO GIVE PER CABIN?
YES! you have to give every cabin that’s participating You choose whether its adult gifts or kids gifts or cabin gifts or a combination. YOU CAN NOT LEAVE A CABIN OUT IF THEY HAVE SIGNED UP At the very least, a cabin gift, per cabin. (Refer to last question). It’s up to you whether or not to give every day. Most give once during the cruise. And most split up delivery. Front of the ship one morning, back later that day and mid –ship the next.
DO WE PUT GIFTS IN EVERY DAY OF THE CRUISE?
That's up to you. Some do one gift, some do multiple gifts. Some do multiple gifts for the kids and one cabin gift and also adult gifts. Some do all one night, some do it over a few nights and multiple times. You can break up delivery by floors, and rooms then figure out who is on which end of the ship and work from top floor down the stairs to drop gifts.
***HELP! I DON’T KNOW HOW TO FIND A CRUISE GROUP PAGE***
Finding a cruise group can be as simple as typing it into the search bar up at the top of the DISboards Cruise Meets page. There is also an album in the photos section on how to navigate the DisBoards.
WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP? HOW CAN I PARTICIPATE?
Once a Cruise Meet thread has been started for a cruise, (usually on DISBOARD.COM) someone steps up to handle the exchange. Once it’s determined that there are enough people interested in participating in it, someone will (or should) volunteer to organize it.
The FE organizer will maintain the FE list. Everyone will get a list of who is participating, this list usually will have participant’s names and room numbers. Other bits of information that can be included would be ages, genders, any allergies, favorite Disney characters, or any other item of interest to the other participants.
The organizer will make the "rules/guidelines" for participation. These rules/guidelines may (or may not) include how many gifts, whether one gift per room or one gift per person or whatever anyone wants to do; whether there will be set delivery days or just deliver whenever; maximum price of gifts. It's also possible for a FE group to get quite large (especially on longer cruises). Sometimes the FE group will decide on a maximum number of rooms in a FE group. For example a cruise that has 80 rooms wishing to participate may decide to break up into smaller groups of 15-20 rooms, adding additional groups as necessary. People can sign up to be in all the groups or just one or two, depending on how much they want to participate.
Generally there is a cut-off date for signing up. This usually is about 4-6 weeks from the cruise timeframe, in order to allow everyone participating to have time to purchase/make/finalize their gifts.
MY GIFTS ARE TO BIG TO FIT IN THE POCKET, WHAT DO YOU DO WITH IT?
1. You can lean it against the door
2. You can hang on door knob
3. You can leave it at guest services, marked for each stateroom and then notify each stateroom to go pick up.
4. You could try to ask the stateroom host out in the hallway to place it inside the cabin.
5. You can just hang it on the "fish.
WHO CAN JOIN?
Anyone and everyone! Even if your stateroom is 2 adults, you can join and have just as much fun! The only rule I would say is to HAVE FUN!! if it's not about the gift it's about the thoughtfulness behind it.
I’M IN A CONCIERGE SUITE, OR SOMEONE IN MY fe GROUP IS. WOULD THERE BE A PROBLEM BEING PART OF THE FE?
No, there are fish message holders outside all rooms on board.
WHEN LEAVING A GIFT, DO WE IDENTIFY WHO IT IS FROM?
This is totally optional. We have gotten them both identified and unidentified. I personally prefer to know who it is from but each person can decide for themselves.
WILL I HAVE TO WALK ALL OVER THE SHIP?
It depends. Sometimes If the group gets to be too large it gets split . If you end up being one big group, I suggest you break up your items by stateroom number before leaving home. Use large ziploc baggies - the empties can be used for so many other things - maybe even bringing your FE items home!
****ITS BEST TO DELIVER DURING HIGH TRAFFIC TIMES
Like breakfast or dinner. It’s suggested not in the middle of the night, when no one is around. or when people are off the ship. ***
DO PEOPLE CARRY ALL THEIR GIFTS IN THEIR SUITCASES?
Most do, however, you can ship your items down. They must arrive by the day before you sail and contain no food items (they will get snagged by the dogs and get held up). Make sure you packaged addressed exactly how your name is in your reservation and it will be in your stateroom when you get there (even before your luggage!). Below is more info on shipping items.
I HAVE TO DROP OUT.. HOW DO I DO THAT.
Its very important that if you have to drop out for any reason you notify the person running your FE. (They can usually be found on the cruise page you signed up on) NOT ON THE DISNEY FE PAGE.
Its important so that others who are participating don’t count you in, when you wont be there. Everyone’s time is valuable. Its courteous to let someone know
I’M CURIOUS, HOW DID THIS FISH EXTENDER IDEA GET STARTED?
The idea was the brainstorm of DisBoard member EpcotKilterFan (Debbie). For the first Magical Sailing through the Panama Canal back in 2005. Debbie thought it would be a fun way for Disboard members to exchange gifts. Apparently a lot of people agreed with her!
ANYTHING ELSE I NEED TO KNOW?
Yes, this is your vacation! You do not have to feel obligated to join anything you don't really want to do!
However, if you decide you do not want to participate, please let the organizer know. People put a lot of time and effort into FE gifts, and are expecting something in return. Its not fair to the group if you bow out without letting anyone know
