Hello...it took me about a week to read these posts from the beginning....but I finally made it through and feel like I can introduce myself and ask questions that haven't been asked before.
I'm 38 and traveling with my DH (44), and DS (3). We'll be in room 7124.
"Home" is in California for us. We have a house in Santa Clarita, CA. However...for the last year we've been living in Japan. So, this cruise is part of a 3 week trip back to the USA (and Mexico) for us. We have a family wedding in Chicago to attend prior to heading out to California. We'll spend two nights before and 4 nights after the cruise at the Disney Grand Californian Hotel.
So, some questions that hopefully some of the experts here can help us with...
First of all Vern....is your son still in Japan? I found it interesting that there was another Japan connection here. I know that you wrote about at the beginning of this thread....a long time ago!! We live in Tokyo and are not in the military....but love to hear about others experiences living here.
There is another 3 year old on board.....Miranda I think. Will she participate in the club activities? My son is also 3.....but hasn't decided to be "fully" potty trained yet. We have good days many days and a few bad ones still. I'm concerned that he will get busy in the club and have a bad day. So, not sure if we can get him to the point he needs to be by the time the cruise leaves. We hope so (for our sanity as well as his ability to experience all the fun stuff in the club during this cruise).
Anyone have a Navigators Verandah in the past? We've booked one.....not sure what to expect. My son doesn't always nap...but when he has a day of running around and being busy, he will. I'm guessing that the entertainment on the ship will keep him busy and get him a bit tired. So, originally we thought we'd go with an inside room and changed it to category 7 so one of us could sit outside if he needs a nap.
We will stay at DGH before/after the cruise. We wanted the same hotel before and after the cruise in the event we want to leave a couple of suitcases at the hotel. I'm told, by Disney via phone, that this will be fine. Hopefully it will. Since we travel from Japan only once/year.....this is our time to shop for American sized clothes at American prices....so we do fill up lots of bags....as many as we are allowed to fit on the airplane. It may be unusual for folks to leave things at the hotel.....but if you have any experience doing so (or not being able to do so), let me know.
Also, are there any benefits to the Disney transportation from the Disney hotels the day of and after the cruise? Would we be able to check in from the hotels or give them our luggage at the hotel and not deal with it again? If there are no benefits, it probably makes sense to just take a limo for the same price or a little more and get to San Pedro earlier.....but just curious. We did not book the land portion of the trip with our cruise. We basically booked three trips -- the pre-land portion, the cruise, and the post-land portion. It was cheaper that way.
We are booked for late dining.......it was the only option apparantly when we booked. What are the chances of getting moved to early dining? We are on the waitlist right now. I just do not know if my son can make it that late. Does the waitlist ever clear before boarding.......or is it more likely we will need to request a dining change time when we get on board?
Any suggestions for excursions that include young children? There are a few listed......wondering if anyone has some first hand experience with any of them.
We will participate in FE.......just need to know more details on this...is it once/cruise that we deliver gifts or multiple days? My son will love walking through all the hallways looking for the signs...so he can help me out with these.
We're looking forward to the cruise and love the DIS boards....so much information!! My son has only been to
Disneyland in Tokyo. He is surprised to hear that Mickey Mouse has a house in California and a boat traveling to Mexico!! He thinks Mickey Mouse is Japanese!! The park here is great and even though we lived in California, I haven't been to the park there in years. We've spent much more time at Tokyo Disneyland than any other park. So, we are looking forward to the whole experience.
Looking forward to following this board, meeting everyone, and the cruise!
You can call 
My two boys really wanted to do the excursion with their cousins, but like you said....we'll have more time to play!!!
The two excursions overlap as well, so that maybe an issue. Maybe I'll check with the 
I hope you are all enjoying your long weekend.
about fish extender gifts and what would be appropriate as far as age and gender, so I compiled a list of participants and their cabin make-up. Please check to see if your info is correct. We don't have a lot of little kids in this, so that should influence what we plan to give. Seems we have a lot of tweens and teens plus us adults. Once we have all the info, we can have Robin post to the first page. (Thanks Robin!)
I'm putting everything in the guest room so I can think about the cruise every time I walk by!
KathyInCA to our Cruise meet thread !
Welcome Aboard KathyInCA!!!
