Mince Pie In The Sky - A Hopeful Pre-trip Report

Beautiful jewelry. I love all the pieces....that tiara is gorgeous!

Jill in CO

I still can't believe that I managed to find this. I have a sizeable collection of tiaras, but this is by far the most beautiful one.

I am hoping for the deal on that swim. I am hoping they have a conversion taxi van for the 9 of us and maybe you and Graham too if they have one. If it's cheaper to split then I will split my crew..:thumbsup2 Nelia is doing the Sea Lion encounter!

That would be great if we could share. We need to get plans coordinated as soon as I am officially booked. I have read in some recent Magic navigators that we stay on ship time in Cozumel so the first swim may work.

Love the pieces... one day I will commission a piece. There was a piece of yours I love so I will look for something done similar.

Which piece are you referring to?

Corinna
 
All the jewelry is fabulous!!! The Christmas one is so unique and absolutely gorgeous! Can't wait to see the tiara with the outfit.
 
Well, I am a very happy person at the moment. As of yesterday evening, I am finally booked on the cruise that I have been watching like a hawk since July. I was playing on my new iPhone on the train home from work and spotted that they finally released the travel industry rates that I had been hoping for. The only slight issue is that they did not have inside cabins on this deal, but we got an amazing price on a ocean view cabin. To make this even sweeter is that we got a cabin assigned straightaway and are on the starboard side on deck 6 forward basically diagonally across from our favourite cabin. We absolutely love this location. I am pretty sure that there will be a few occasions when we will go to the cabin and can't figure out why the door won't unlock.

I was absolutely surprised that I had no problems at all making Palo reservations. Considering how close we are to the cruise, I was resigned to getting in line on the ship to try to snap up at least a dinner reservation for our Platinum perk. Not only did I have no issue getting a reservation for both Brunch and dinner, but on the days I checked, every single slot still had availability. I think that is telling a lot about just how empty the cruise is. I also did our online check in and I have to admit is sweet not to have to select a port arrival time. I intend to be at the port just as soon as it opens.

So today was a busy day. I had to call Disney Cruise Line to see what we can do about the cruise documents. I was hoping that they could just send them to our hotel in Florida, but they were only willing to do this if it was a Disney hotel. I am staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge for one night, but they did not think this is long enough. So we agreed they will try to send it to my work address. Apparently as it is so close to the sail date it is coming by Fedex so I am hoping that it will get to me in time. I also requested our favourite server. I can't wait to see Edward again. He went back on the Magic last weekend.

I also have managed to book two one-way car rentals and transfers from the airport in Orlando to the hotel. So all I have to do now is book the dolphin swim for Cozumel, add the Disney Dining plan for the last night of our trip and buy a new lens for my camera. Life is good!!!

Corinna
 


Great news! Glad you were finally able to book the cruise! Nothing like making you wait until the very last minute! Glad you were able to book Palo!

Jill in CO
 
Great news! Glad you were finally able to book the cruise! Nothing like making you wait until the very last minute! Glad you were able to book Palo!

Jill in CO

Indeed. I really can't understand their motivation. Just looking at the Palo availability shows me that they are nowhere near filling this ship.

Corinna
 
I know that I already have shared a lot of the things I got or made for this trip, but I got a couple of other neat things that I wanted to show off.

I always print out all my confirmations for flights, hotels, dining reservations, etc. Normally I just put them in a brown A4 envelope, but a couple of months ago I saw a fantastic personalized planning folder on Facebook. So I contacted the person who makes them and she made my own version. After the trip I will use this to keep paper souvenirs like park maps, my wristband from the party, navigators, etc. safe.





I also made a bunch of t shirts for this trip. Here are the embarkation day t shirts that I had made for our cruise thanks to the generousity of various designers:

Graham’s t shirt



My t shirt



I also had t shirts made for my charity Ride-A-Thon.

Here is the shirt for day 1 (Expedition Everest; Rock’n’Rollercoaster; Dinosaur; Tower of Terror)



T shirt for day 2 (Test Track)



T shirt for day 3 (Space Mountain, Splash Mountain; Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin)

 


Itinerary

2nd December 2013
Check in at Crowne Plaza Manchester Airport after Work
Pre-dinner drinks at the Club Lounge
Dinner at Sampans Oriental Restaurant


3rd December 2013
Breakfast at the club lounge
11:15 Non-stop flight to Orlando
Transfer to hotel by Supershuttle
Check in at Doubletree by Hilton Orlando at SeaWorld


4th December 2013
Seaworld Orlando


5th December 2013
Shopping


6th December 2013
Part one of Ride-A-Thon for Give Kids the World Village: Expedition Everest, Dinosaur, Tower of Terror, Rock'n'Rollercoaster
Check in at Animal Kingdom Lodge
Disney's Animal Kingdom
11:40 Lunch at Tusker House
Disney's Hollywood Studios
21:30 DISApalooza


7th December 2013
Part two of Ride-A-Thon for Give Kids the World Village: Test Track
Epcot
13:50 Lunch at Restaurant Marrakesh (Candlelight Processional Package)
17:00 Candlelight Processional


8th December 2013
Aquatica AM
Seaworld PM to see Christmas shows


9th December 2013
Discovery Cove


10th December 2013
Part three of Ride-A-Thon for Give Kids the World Village: Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin
Magic Kingdom
Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party


11th December 2013
9:40 Breakfast at 'Ohana
Magic Kingdom


12th December 2013
Pick up hire car
Drive down to Miami
Check in at Holiday Inn Port Of Miami-Downtown

13th December 2013
Embark the Disney Magic


14th December 2013
Day at Sea


15th December 2013
Grand Cayman - Beach Day at Seven Mile Beach


16th December 2013
Cozumel - Chankanaab Park
20:30 Dinner at Palo


17th December 2013
Day at Sea
12:30 Brunch at Palo


18th December 2013
Disembark the Disney Magic
Drive from Miami to Orlando
Check in at Beach Club Villas
19:30 Dinner at Yachtsman Steakhouse


19th December 2013
9:05 Breakfast at Cape May Cafe
Quick Visit to Epcot
Enjoy the resort in the Afternoon
16:00 Disney's Magical Express to the airport
20:05 Non-stop flight to Manchester
 
I can't believe just how close this is getting. When I started this pre-trip report, I was not entirely sure that this would come off, but it all has done. This is going to be one wonderful trip.

Corinna
 
Sounds like a great trip! What parts is Graham doing with you? Is he transferring over to the Disney accomodations with you? I know he isn't keen on the parks like you are.

Great scores on the Palo reservations, you're right, the cruise sounds like it is going to be relatively empty!
 
We are doing Seaworld, Discovery Cove and Aquatica together and of course the cruise, too. He is definitely coming to Beach Club Villas with me. He was not very happy when I told him I made a reservation at Jambo House just for myself so I have added him. He still says he has not made up his mind if he will come along, but I am pretty sure that he will find the prospect of having a lazy day sitting on the balcony watching the animals pretty tempting.

Other than that, we will both do our own thing during the day and catch up again for dinner. He is planning a day at Legoland and the best day for that is December 5th so I will make this a shopping day and probably head over to Walt Disney World at some point to sort out my annual pass and get my Photopass+ lanyard to save time the next day.

Corinna
 
I won't forget that date in a hurry as I finally became a British citizen on that day last year.

Corinna
 
In 2010 we were in MK on Walt's bday for MVMCP and I made my girls and DH stay till 12:01am so I could say I was in MK on my bday!!!! :thumbsup2

My original plan had been to attend MVMCP on December 5th, but then I found out about DisApalooza the next day and figured no way would I make it to midnight two nights running that early in the trip when my body clock is still on UK time.

Corinna
 
Those of you who have been on a Disney cruise before will probably have come across Fish Extender exchanges. For those of you that have not, on the classic ships there is a fish next to each door which is really there so that crew can leave notes tucked behind it. The two new ships have the same set up, but there it is not just fish, but also other sea creatures. Many years ago, it has become a tradition on the DIS to hang a pocket organiser from this fish and use it for a gift exchange. If I remember correctly, this started on the first ever Panama Canal cruise. Other internet communities have now adopted this as well, but this remains a integral part of any cruise meet thread.

I have been involved in Fish Extender exchanges from my first cruise onwards and actually have a whole bunch of different Fish Extenders. I had a special Fish Extender made for what was supposed to be our vow renewal cruise and another one for our Hawaii cruise. As Stitch is my favourite character, I could not resist it.





I make jewellery in the broadest term as a hobby and I have always had great fun making my Fish Extender gifts. For me this is part of the cruise planning process. It is often also the only excuse I get to get my workbox out. On the ship, it is great to walk down the the hallways and see all the different Fish Extenders and decorated doors. It is also great to come back to the room and check what surprises have appeared, well up to a point.

When we went on our Hawaii cruise last year, we ended up with so many gifts that they completely overrun our cabin to the point that very spare millimetre was taken up with gifts and we could not find anything else anymore. At the end of the cruise, I had to buy an extra duffle bag just for the gifts and then pay excess baggage to get them all home. At that point, Graham said "No More". He had always humoured me, but I could understand where he was coming from after this particular experience and respected his wishes. So my Fish Extender days were over - or were they?

The getting gifts part was easy to let go off. I have received so many thoughtful and wonderful gifts over the years and I still treasure gifts that I got on my first cruise 5 years ago. However, packing them all and especially with luggage becoming more and more of a premium is something I don't miss. What I knew I would miss is making gifts. I enjoy plotting what to make, find the materials and then make the goodies. I could not imagine letting go of this. Of course, there was a way around this. There was nothing stopping me making gifts and giving them out as random acts of kindness. I have been on three cruises since the Fish Extender embargo and for two of those cruises I actually organised the Fish Extender exchange and for the third one I shared with the organiser what I was planning to do and it was no problem to receive the Fish Extender list.

So that just left one issue. I could not imagine not having anything hanging from my fish. Even Graham, who is generally bemused by the Fish Extender exchanges, likes to have something hanging from our fish. So I needed to find something suitable. I was worried that if I just take one of my Fish Extenders, people would drop things in it even if I am not signed up for the Fish Extender exchange. Last year, before our November cruise, I browsed on Etsy and I found that the person who I always got my Fish Extenders from has branched out. She now offered something called door spotters. They are embroidered and personalised panels of fabric with magnets on the back so that they stick to the doors. I liked the idea, but my door is always full of magnets anyway on cruises so there would not be room for a door spotter. I contacted her to see if this could be modified with a dowel so that it could be hung from the fish. She was happy to oblige. My first doorspotter had Stitch on it. I then had a special door spotter made for the Alaska cruise with Mickey in his fisherman's outfit.





Of course, I needed a special door spotter for this cruise, too. This will probably be my only holiday cruise as December is a difficult month to get leave. So I may as well do it in style. If this had all gone belly up, this would still have made a nice door decoration for the holiday season on our door at home. In any case, I always knew thatat some stage, a holiday cruise would be on the cards. So nothing was lost. She has a Christmas door spotter in her Etsy shop, but that was a little plain for me. I asked her if the had any holiday themed characters and she came up with this beauty:



I can't wait to hang this from my fish.
 
Beautiful Christmas door spotter! That's definitely something you can make dual use of at home.
 

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