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

Another big part of the planning process for a cruise for me is making magnets for my door. Again, I was a slow starter. When I had booked what ended up being my second cruise, people where talking about making magnets and I had no idea what they were talking about. Then on my first two cruises I kept seeing doors that were decorated with magnets. Initially this left me slightly bemused. It was not until our fourth cruise that I decided that this may be a fun thing to do. We had some very talented designers on this cruise and they kept posting their works of art on the cruise meet thread. They also offered to personalise them for other people on our cruise. I absolutely loved what I was seeing. I still could not figure out how to turn those amazing creations into magnets. Eventually somebody pointed me in the direction of the Xyron Creative Station, which has a cartridge that adds laminate to the front and a magnet to the back. I asked for a few personalised designs and I was away. Over the years, I found a lot of different very talented designers so there is always a good selection of magnets on my door.

I normally have a selection of generic magnets that either feature our favourite characters or just because I like the design. Those are then joined by itinerary specific magnets. For instance for this cruise, I have a magnet with the map, some magnets with ports of call written on them and some magnets for the individual ports. The last category is for any celebrations. I went all out for our cruise that was part of our vow renewal celebrations. I had special magnets last year celebrating the fact that I had been granted British citizenship. I decorated our door for our birthdays. I even had some magnets for our Alaska cruise celebrating the fact that we were now Platinum Castaway Club members. This time round, there will be a huge Christmas focus.



















I have also turned to a different method to make the magnets. As much as I love my Xyron, I noticed on the last three cruises that they had re-coated the doors and the magnets on the Xyron cartridge are no longer strong enough. This was especially obvious during our two cruises on the Wonder when I kept coming back to magnets on the floor outside my cabin. For some reason they stuck quite happily to the inside of the door, but not to the outside. So this time round, I got a cheap laminator, some post card sized pouches and some heavy duty magnet tape. This is a bit more work intensive, but hopefully they will stick to the door better.
 
That's a lot of magnets! That must take a bit of work and planning! Very cute though! What great designers and you for having an eye to pick them out!
 
That's a lot of magnets! That must take a bit of work and planning! Very cute though! What great designers and you for having an eye to pick them out!

Yes, it definitely takes some time to get them all made, but I love seeing them on our door whenever I am coming or going.

Corinna
 


To my immense surprise, I am pretty much ready for this trip. My cruise documents arrived today and they were the last thing I was waiting for. I mailed everything that needed to be mailed before Christmas. I had my hair cut and had a manicure and pedicure. I still have to organize a handful of things, but most of those will be taken care off by the time I go to bed tonight. This will leave three things to do: book the dolphin interaction for Cozumel, which should hopefully happen tomorrow. I have to pack, which I will do after work on Saturday and I have to do online check in for the flight, which I can do Monday morning. Considering how much was up in the air with this, I am surprised that I am so organised. I am beyond excited about this trip.

Corinna
 
To my immense surprise, I am pretty much ready for this trip. My cruise documents arrived today and they were the last thing I was waiting for. I mailed everything that needed to be mailed before Christmas. I had my hair cut and had a manicure and pedicure. I still have to organize a handful of things, but most of those will be taken care off by the time I go to bed tonight. This will leave three things to do: book the dolphin interaction for Cozumel, which should hopefully happen tomorrow. I have to pack, which I will do after work on Saturday and I have to do online check in for the flight, which I can do Monday morning. Considering how much was up in the air with this, I am surprised that I am so organised. I am beyond excited about this trip.

Corinna

I'm so glad you managed to get everything sorted in time Corinna :thumbsup2

Not long to go now :banana:
 
Cute magnets!!!! Have you considered the magnet paper? That's what I do for mine, very easy and sticks strongly.


Not long now! I hope you're able to get a great deal on the dolphin swim :)
 


Cute magnets!!!! Have you considered the magnet paper? That's what I do for mine, very easy and sticks strongly.


Not long now! I hope you're able to get a great deal on the dolphin swim :)

I tried to print out some graphics on our printer before and they had stripes all over them. I get my magnet graphics printed as photos.

Not long now at all. Tomorrow after work I have to pack and then it is non-stop until I leave for the airport on Monday after work.

I managed to get the dolphin swim at a 30% discount. I was hoping for a slightly better deal, but less than $100 for a dolphin swim is not bad.

Corinna
 
Well, I am pretty much packed. I need to pack my carry on and sort out my purse and then I am ready for this trip. The only problem that I have is that I have put the gown that I got for dinner at Palo somewhere so safe that I can't find it at the moment. It is somewhere in our spare room, which also doubles as Graham's office. I have to have another look once he is out of there. I am on a late shift tomorrow and on an early shift on Monday so I will take the suitcase to work tomorrow. That way I don't have to struggle with a suitcase, my carry on and a purse on the train on Monday. I have booked a car service to take me from work to one of the airport hotels on Monday. We fly to Orlando Tuesday morning. I am getting so excited.

Corinna
 
Still to do

Do online check in for flight


Done

Booked Airport Hotel for night before flight
Booked flights
Booked seats for outbound flight
Booked hotel in Orlando
Booked Beach Club Villas for last night in Orlando
Made ADRs
Booked Animal Kingdom Lodge for night after DISApalooza
Got ticket for DISApalooza
Got dinner package for Candlelight Processional
Booked hotel in Miami
Ordered dress for formal night (received)
Ordered dress for Pirate night (received)
Ordered doorspotter (received)
Booked seats for return flight
Updated ESTA for me
Booked Disney's Magical Express for way back to airport
Booked Discovery Cove
Got ticket to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party
Pre-ordered Photopass+
Bought remaining dresses for dinner on cruise
Done online check in for Animal Kingdom Lodge
Customized Magic Bands
Done online check in for Beach Club Villas
Renewed Annual Pass
Ordered DISApalooza t shirt
Did new ESTA for Graham
Made Fastpass+ Selections
Got tiara for formal night
Booked transportation after DISApalooza
Got jewellery for Pirate night
Ordered US SIM card
Unlocked phone
Got jewellery for formal night
Made embarkation t shirts
Made t shirts for Ride-A-Thon
Printed of confirmations and other documents
Made magnets
Booked cruise
Booked Palo Brunch and dinner
Did online check in for cruise
Booked transfer from Orlando Airport to Hotel
Booked hire cars to and from Miami
Made fish extender gifts
Ordered new lens
Booked transfer from work to airport hotel
Ordered photo CD for cruise
Added dining plan to last night
Booked dolphin interaction for Cozumel
 
Whew! That's a big list! Very cool there's only one 'to do'. Hopefully tomorrow flies by and you're on your way before you know it! :cool1:
 
Whew! That's a big list! Very cool there's only one 'to do'. Hopefully tomorrow flies by and you're on your way before you know it! :cool1:

Yes, it is and it was not made easier as there was so much up in the air right from the beginning. So there were long periods of waiting for something to happen or something to fall into place and then a flurry of activity followed by more waiting. As they say good things come to those who wait and I am getting precisely the vacation I was dreaming off.

I am getting rather excited. There is now only a (hopefully) good night's sleep and 8 hours at work between me and my vacation.

Corinna
 
Yay! Have a good night's sleep and a quick day at work tomorrow! Have a great trip!
 
I am officially on holiday now. I did my online check in for the flights this morning and I am now checked in at the airport hotel and I am chilling out in the Club Lounge waiting for cocktail and appetizer hour. I will try to check in periodically during the trip. If I don't manage to go online, I see you at the other end or in case of some of you, see you at Walt Disney World.

Corinna
 

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