MR October 28, 2012 "Halloween Time"

[Corsetopia]

We are a bit nervous, we thought taking the train would be a fun experience for our girls, but now I'm reading a lot of the times the train is hours behind! Hopefully we make it to port as scheduled. I just can't wait until we are there and not as stressed! But on a good note - all FE items are ready

 

[Kidlette]

Only 6 days until we start our vacation!
Hopefully the week will go by quickly. I'm hoping it will because Monday - Wednesday are busy days. I joined a Mommy's group and I'm meeting 8 other mom's and their kids in the park on Monday for the first time! Then, Tuesday we're meeting at a different park. Wednesday is Lorelai's 9 month wellness Dr. visit, Thursday is open, and Friday is not only the day before we leave for the cruise but also our 10 year wedding anniversary! There's a Halloween Party Mom's meet Friday too, so I might go to that. Then - Saturday morning we head to long beach, have a fantastic day at the aquarium, go to our hotel, and then wake up to head to the ship! SO EXCITED! We can't pack our clothes and things until the end of the week, but Lorelai's packing is almost done. It's FINALLY starting to feel real!

Is anyone in the 11:00 am boarding group going to get there early? If so, how early are you going to arrive?

 

[Claud22]

How do you know hat boarding group you are??? I don't recall seeing anything about time.

 

[Kidlette]

How do you know hat boarding group you are??? I don't recall seeing anything about time.

You go on the disney cruise website, pull up your reservation and complete your documents to print and bring them with you. When you do that you choose from available times. I doubt the first boarding group is still left though. Is be curious to know.

 

[Claud22]

I did that but I don't remember choosing a time, ill have to call tomorrow. I printed my docs and all if says is that we need t board before 4pm.

 

[hmhaase]

Hi my family is on this cruise, I know I am late on getting involved and I know it is too late to do the FE but I was wondering if we could still do the meet ups? I am traveling with my DH, and our DD who is 5 (almost 6). Meeting some other kids her age would probably help her want to go to the kids area. We were on the dream last summer(2011), and she only went in twice for about an hour each time, we are hoping she try it again this time.

 

[kindsoul73]

Hi my family is on this cruise, I know I am late on getting involved and I know it is too late to do the FE but I was wondering if we could still do the meet ups? I am traveling with my DH, and our DD who is 5 (almost 6). Meeting some other kids her age would probably help her want to go to the kids area. We were on the dream last summer(2011), and she only went in twice for about an hour each time, we are hoping she try it again this time.

Absolutely! Looking forward to meeting you.
By the way, my kids were the same last year- and I am praying they will go this year!

 

[sica1799]

Hi my family is on this cruise, I know I am late on getting involved and I know it is too late to do the FE but I was wondering if we could still do the meet ups? I am traveling with my DH, and our DD who is 5 (almost 6). Meeting some other kids her age would probably help her want to go to the kids area. We were on the dream last summer(2011), and she only went in twice for about an hour each time, we are hoping she try it again this time.

Absolutely!! You are more than welcome to join the meet ups!

 

[sica1799]

Only 6 days until we start our vacation!
Hopefully the week will go by quickly. I'm hoping it will because Monday - Wednesday are busy days. I joined a Mommy's group and I'm meeting 8 other mom's and their kids in the park on Monday for the first time! Then, Tuesday we're meeting at a different park. Wednesday is Lorelai's 9 month wellness Dr. visit, Thursday is open, and Friday is not only the day before we leave for the cruise but also our 10 year wedding anniversary! There's a Halloween Party Mom's meet Friday too, so I might go to that. Then - Saturday morning we head to long beach, have a fantastic day at the aquarium, go to our hotel, and then wake up to head to the ship! SO EXCITED! We can't pack our clothes and things until the end of the week, but Lorelai's packing is almost done. It's FINALLY starting to feel real!

Is anyone in the 11:00 am boarding group going to get there early? If so, how early are you going to arrive?

We are in the 11am group, but we are being shuttled from the Disneyland Hotel, so I am not sure how it works.

 

[AmanduhAnn]

Gave up on trying to fly Space A and bought tickets from Nartia to LAX. :/

Got to CA today at 3pm. Yay!

 

[hmhaase]

Thanks! We can't wait to meet everyone! We leave Friday and then headed to the Halloween party at DL, we are so excited!!! Does anybody know how early we can go in to disney if we have tickets for the Halloween party?

 

[Kidlette]

Thanks! We can't wait to meet everyone! We leave Friday and then headed to the Halloween party at DL, we are so excited!!! Does anybody know how early we can go in to disney if we have tickets for the Halloween party?

Yes, I believe it's 3:00 pm

 

[MickeyMinnie2Kids]

Only 6 days until we start our vacation!

Is anyone in the 11:00 am boarding group going to get there early? If so, how early are you going to arrive?

We are in the 11:30am boarding group and we plan to be at the port around 9-9:30am.

I would love to meet you and thank you personally for all the info you have shared to us!

~mickeyminnie2kids~

 

[MickeyMinnie2Kids]

Hi my family is on this cruise, I know I am late on getting involved and I know it is too late to do the FE but I was wondering if we could still do the meet ups? I am traveling with my DH, and our DD who is 5 (almost 6). Meeting some other kids her age would probably help her want to go to the kids area. We were on the dream last summer(2011), and she only went in twice for about an hour each time, we are hoping she try it again this time.

We are not joining the FE as well but would also want to join in the Sun. 10/28/2012 - 3:05pm Initial DIS Meet & Greet at the Promenade Lounge.

~mickeyminnie2kids~

 

[MickelMouse]

We are in the 11:30am boarding group and we plan to be at the port around 9-9:30am.

I would love to meet you and thank you personally for all the info you have shared to us!

~mickeyminnie2kids~

We are on the 11:30 am boarding group too. We are leaving Sacramento by car at 3am. Maybe we will see you there.

 

[Claud22]

Found my boarding time it's 12 noon!!! Woop! What time are wee meeting again for a meet and greet??

 

[Kidlette]

We are in the 11:30am boarding group and we plan to be at the port around 9-9:30am.

I would love to meet you and thank you personally for all the info you have shared to us!

~mickeyminnie2kids~

Ah, that's sweet. Of course we'll meet! I don't know yet if we will be at the group meet - the day of boarding we have other events and things because we're DVC members. We will try to make it though. Forgive my memory, but, are you staying in Long Beach the night before or anything? Also - what is your first name? (Sorry if you said it before, I have a horrible memory).

Jessica

SOOO EXCITED!

Found my boarding time it's 12 noon!!! Woop! What time are wee meeting again for a meet and greet??

Glad you found it
Page 1 of this group, second post. There is a link to all of the meet times and places.

 

[MickeyMinnie2Kids]

Ah, that's sweet. Of course we'll meet! I don't know yet if we will be at the group meet - the day of boarding we have other events and things because we're DVC members. We will try to make it though. Forgive my memory, but, are you staying in Long Beach the night before or anything? Also - what is your first name? (Sorry if you said it before, I have a horrible memory).

Jessica

We're just 1.5hrs away from the port so we'll just drive down there on Sun. morning.

Maybe we'll see you at the terminal / at boarding.

~mickeyminnie2kids~
ELSIE

 

[jayXgomez]

Two questions for any cruising veterans.

How much earlier should we arrive before our boarding time ?

and how easy is it to park ?

 

[Kidlette]

Two questions for any cruising veterans.

How much earlier should we arrive before our boarding time ?

and how easy is it to park ?

Eh, how early you arrive is a personal preference - it's really up to you. Someone else mentioned they were arriving at 9:00 or 9:30 for an 11:00 boarding. Personally, I think that's a little early. lol, then again, if we wake up early enough and are too excited we can't stand it, then we may get there that early too Most people will probably arrive about an hour early, but it doesn't really help much. You're put into a line based on your docs/cabin/castaway status and it's all pretty quick. I think it's more about the time of day than how early you get there before your boarding time. The more mid-day it is the more people will be there - no matter what boarding times are. 1st thing and late in the day are usually slower inside the terminal (because a lot of people have already boarded). Either way it goes pretty quick though. You'll get to your area. Before you can get in line they make you fill something out saying no one has been sick within "x" number of days of sailing. Then they funnel you from there.

Parking is simple - depending on where you are in the parking lot though, it can be a long walk if you have a lot of bags. There are little buses than go around the lot, but they're hard to get sometimes. Sometimes it's easier and faster to walk. You get to the port, go through the little person in the booth who gives you a ticket for your car. (I think) you pay at the end of the cruise, not when you first park. Either way, it's $82 or $84 for the week. Pretty straight forward. I think it's more difficult at the end trying to find your bags. You go through customs, get off the ship, and then based on your debarkation sticker/group your bags are piled all around a gigantic room in the terminal. Or, maybe you go through customs after you get your bag I can't remember. Either way, this is WAY more frustrating than parking. Plus, the parking lot is a mess when you leave because so many more people are trying to leave all at once than there were people arriving in the beginning.

For those of you wondering -
No, there really isn't a place to park outside of the cruise terminal. You have to pay the fee and park there, unless you found a park & fly at a hotel somewhere. But - the pier area is more industrial and there isn't very much there anyway. You pretty much have to pay the $82 or $84. It's well worth it tough.

I hope that helps!