My FE experience on the Disney Dream

[TLinden16]

I just participated in a Fish Extender exchange on the Disney Dream for the 12/4/11 cruise (hi, to my FE friends). I thought I'd share some information about how it went for me.

For my fish extender, this is the basic stuff I handed out to each cabin:

Everyone got their own blue neck wallet, which I personalized with a business card featuring their Name and/or DIS name, and a Disney character. I love using the neck wallets when I'm at the theme parks to keep my ticket, fast passes, and money handy. I hope everyone in my FE exchange liked them as well.

I found the neck wallets online at www.liquidationprice.com for 50 cents each. The Ariel magnets were also 50 cents each! They also have Ariel window clings for 50 cents! There were a few other items on the site that I thought would make nice FE gifts for under a dollar, so if you are looking for ideas, you might want to check them out. I found the seller on eBay, and have ordered to them twice. They are quick with their shipments (I had my items in less than a week both times).

I also got age appropriate gifts for the kids (sorry no pictures). Amongst the items I handed out were Disney socks and coloring books, note pads, and pens. I found most of the items in the dollar section at Target or Walgreens. I also found some cute pirate cups and bracelets at iParty for 50 cents each (they were actually from Oriental Trading Co.).

Before leaving home, I organized my FE stuff in three seperate grocery store bags, seperating them by forward, midship, and aft. We had about 18 cabins in our exchange. Since the Dream is so big, I thought this made more sense than doing it by deck. My cabin was all the way forward, so I started with the forward cabins. I started on my deck (deck 8) and used the stairs to go to the other forward cabins.

I then went back to my room and picked up the bags for the midship and aft rooms. I started on deck 10, and worked my way down the midship rooms (using the stairs). I then took the elevator back up to 10, and moved on to the aft staterooms.

I was wearing a pedometer when I delivered my FE gifts, and when I was back in my room after delivery, I had walked 1.5 miles to deliver all of my gifts! It took me about a half hour to deliver all the gifts.

I was glad I thought to seperate them by forward, mid, and aft instead of by deck. It took a lot less than it did when I did a FE exchange on the Wonder and seperated them by deck.

I hope this information is helpful to some of you

 

[Trekker]

Thanks for sharing - sounds like you had fun getting this all put together and delivering!

 

[AmandaRG]

Separating by area is a great idea! We did it on the Dream by decks and it took forever!!! We are doing a 4/3 b2b in the spring, and we aren't participating if they have one. I really don't want to spend much time doing it. We had over 50 cabins on the last one!!!

We will be on the Fantasy in a year, and I will do that one. I think I am going to start working on them now. I'll probably be shipping them down as we plan to fly in then.

Love the gifts, too!

 

[jetskigrl]

That was exactly how I delivered mine as well (great minds think alike, LOL). I also had them in bags for Forward, Mid and Aft

I love your FE gifts...very nice

 

[psimon]

I just participated in a Fish Extender exchange on the Disney Dream for the 12/4/11 cruise (hi, to my FE friends). I thought I'd share some information about how it went for me.

For my fish extender, this is the basic stuff I handed out to each cabin:

Everyone got their own blue neck wallet, which I personalized with a business card featuring their Name and/or DIS name, and a Disney character. I love using the neck wallets when I'm at the theme parks to keep my ticket, fast passes, and money handy. I hope everyone in my FE exchange liked them as well.

I found the neck wallets online at www.liquidationprice.com for 50 cents each. The Ariel magnets were also 50 cents each! They also have Ariel window clings for 50 cents! There were a few other items on the site that I thought would make nice FE gifts for under a dollar, so if you are looking for ideas, you might want to check them out. I found the seller on eBay, and have ordered to them twice. They are quick with their shipments (I had my items in less than a week both times).

I also got age appropriate gifts for the kids (sorry no pictures). Amongst the items I handed out were Disney socks and coloring books, note pads, and pens. I found most of the items in the dollar section at Target or Walgreens. I also found some cute pirate cups and bracelets at iParty for 50 cents each (they were actually from Oriental Trading Co.).

Before leaving home, I organized my FE stuff in three seperate grocery store bags, seperating them by forward, midship, and aft. We had about 18 cabins in our exchange. Since the Dream is so big, I thought this made more sense than doing it by deck. My cabin was all the way forward, so I started with the forward cabins. I started on my deck (deck 8) and used the stairs to go to the other forward cabins.

I then went back to my room and picked up the bags for the midship and aft rooms. I started on deck 10, and worked my way down the midship rooms (using the stairs). I then took the elevator back up to 10, and moved on to the aft staterooms.

I was wearing a pedometer when I delivered my FE gifts, and when I was back in my room after delivery, I had walked 1.5 miles to deliver all of my gifts! It took me about a half hour to deliver all the gifts.

I was glad I thought to seperate them by forward, mid, and aft instead of by deck. It took a lot less than it did when I did a FE exchange on the Wonder and seperated them by deck.

I hope this information is helpful to some of you

This sounds like so much work, time and money.... am I missing something?

To have all that to carry and worry about..... isn't it better to use that time and effort to enjoy the cruise considering the trip didn't cost $50?

Please, don't take this as a flame... but rather an expression of confusion and just lack of understanding.

Considering there is SO MUCH to do on board the Dream, why is there a need to find things to do and spend extra $ on?

I can't believe that whatever would show up in your FE from other people would be anything but trinkets in comparison to what could be acquired from the ship.

Why is there the desire to do this aboard a ship, yet you never see this at any Disney resort? What makes the ships so different?

Like I said, this really isn't a flame.... it's that just I don't get it. Seems like a considerable amount of time, money and schleping.

Thoughts gratefully appreciated...

---Paul in Southern NJ

 

[MagicFan75]

I just participated in a Fish Extender exchange on the Disney Dream for the 12/4/11 cruise (hi, to my FE friends). I thought I'd share some information about how it went for me.

Before leaving home, I organized my FE stuff in three seperate grocery store bags, seperating them by forward, midship, and aft. We had about 18 cabins in our exchange. Since the Dream is so big, I thought this made more sense than doing it by deck. My cabin was all the way forward, so I started with the forward cabins. I started on my deck (deck 8) and used the stairs to go to the other forward cabins.

I then went back to my room and picked up the bags for the midship and aft rooms. I started on deck 10, and worked my way down the midship rooms (using the stairs). I then took the elevator back up to 10, and moved on to the aft staterooms.

I was wearing a pedometer when I delivered my FE gifts, and when I was back in my room after delivery, I had walked 1.5 miles to deliver all of my gifts! It took me about a half hour to deliver all the gifts.

I was glad I thought to seperate them by forward, mid, and aft instead of by deck. It took a lot less than it did when I did a FE exchange on the Wonder and seperated them by deck.

I hope this information is helpful to some of you

Excellent idea, and one I didn't think of last month when I delivered our FE gifts to 24 staterooms in order of room number. On top of that, about three of our cabins changed rooms from lower decks to higher decks and I didn't find out about that until halfway through my distribution. I'm sure I walked at least 2.5 miles around the Dream delivering them. But on the upside, that definitely worked off all the wine and desserts I had at dinner!

 

[ravensilverlight]

This sounds like so much work, time and money.... am I missing something?

To have all that to carry and worry about..... isn't it better to use that time and effort to enjoy the cruise considering the trip didn't cost $50?

Please, don't take this as a flame... but rather an expression of confusion and just lack of understanding.

Considering there is SO MUCH to do on board the Dream, why is there a need to find things to do and spend extra $ on?

I can't believe that whatever would show up in your FE from other people would be anything but trinkets in comparison to what could be acquired from the ship.

Why is there the desire to do this aboard a ship, yet you never see this at any Disney resort? What makes the ships so different?

Like I said, this really isn't a flame.... it's that just I don't get it. Seems like a considerable amount of time, money and schleping.

Thoughts gratefully appreciated...

---Paul in Southern NJ

FE are definitely not a required thing - it's up to you if you like the idea or not.

We like to participate because it makes us feel like we have friends on board! We really enjoy getting little surprises, and choosing what to give out is a way for us to extend the excitement of the trip. Sure, I could spend $50 on t shirts and other stuff to bring home - and let's be honest, I probably will! - but it's kind of a double bonus for me. I spend the $50 on fun shopping and the time putting together my gifts - thinking of how much fun people will have getting them - and then I ALSO get to see what my $50 investment gets me FROM those people in return on the trip!

I also really enjoy getting to see the ways people decorate their doors and FE. It's a tour not only of the ship, but also of the kind of people I'm sharing my week with.

I'm not taking any offense, and I hope none is taken from me - but it's not for everyone. Plenty of people choose not to participate, and there's nothing wrong with that. Do whatever makes you and your family/friends happy!

 

[Patrickprincess]

Excellent idea, and one I didn't think of last month when I delivered our FE gifts to 24 staterooms in order of room number. On top of that, about three of our cabins changed rooms from lower decks to higher decks and I didn't find out about that until halfway through my distribution. I'm sure I walked at least 2.5 miles around the Dream delivering them. But on the upside, that definitely worked off all the wine and desserts I had at dinner!

i will be on the fantasy eastern caribean in september and i'm really looking foward to the fe exchange. My gifts are going to be verry smiple. I will do travel jounals. I FOUND A printer shop that will copy what i chose for about 23 cents a page not too bad. Also some hard candy mabey some chocolates and local coffee.

 

[jiminyC_fan]

What a grand idea! I have walked up and down all decks on the Dream, Magic and Wonder delivering FE gifts. Why in the world did that never occur to me, LOL. You can bet your sweet bippy (dating myself) that I will do it for our Hawaiian cruise! Thank you!!!

 

[ssawka]

This sounds like so much work, time and money.... am I missing something?

To have all that to carry and worry about..... isn't it better to use that time and effort to enjoy the cruise considering the trip didn't cost $50?

Please, don't take this as a flame... but rather an expression of confusion and just lack of understanding.

Considering there is SO MUCH to do on board the Dream, why is there a need to find things to do and spend extra $ on?

I can't believe that whatever would show up in your FE from other people would be anything but trinkets in comparison to what could be acquired from the ship.

Why is there the desire to do this aboard a ship, yet you never see this at any Disney resort? What makes the ships so different?

Like I said, this really isn't a flame.... it's that just I don't get it. Seems like a considerable amount of time, money and schleping.

Thoughts gratefully appreciated...

---Paul in Southern NJ

Because it's fun! Not to be sarcastic, but we had the best time with the FE. Unlike Christmas, this is a case when it is better to receive than to give. Please don't take that the wrong way, it is just that we really enjoyed heading back to our cabin and finding the little presents that were left. Some of them were so creative! Also, with kids, it dosen't matter to them how much you spent on the cruise, or whether you buy souvenirs in the gift shop, sometimes it's the cheapest little toy that entertains them!

As for your question about why people don't do this at the resorts, I have contemplated that as well; then it occured to me. On a cruise, everyone is pretty much on the same schedule. You all board on the same day, you all have the same sea days and ship days, and you all leave on the same day. At the resorts, everyone's itinerary is different. Everything from arrival day to length of stay to what you do in a day is much more individualized. Because of this, there is less of a feeling of community than there is on the cruise.

 

[AmandaRG]

Because it's fun! Not to be sarcastic, but we had the best time with the FE. Unlike Christmas, this is a case when it is better to receive than to give. Please don't take that the wrong way, it is just that we really enjoyed heading back to our cabin and finding the little presents that were left. Some of them were so creative! Also, with kids, it dosen't matter to them how much you spent on the cruise, or whether you buy souvenirs in the gift shop, sometimes it's the cheapest little toy that entertains them!

As for your question about why people don't do this at the resorts, I have contemplated that as well; then it occured to me. On a cruise, everyone is pretty much on the same schedule. You all board on the same day, you all have the same sea days and ship days, and you all leave on the same day. At the resorts, everyone's itinerary is different. Everything from arrival day to length of stay to what you do in a day is much more individualized. Because of this, there is less of a feeling of community than there is on the cruise.

I haven't seen many WDW meet pages, so it would be difficult to do, plus there are many of us that book opening day and we start chatting in our meet thread months prior to booking.

We enjoy it, but will probably only do it for longer cruises!

 

[AbsyBabsy]

I found the neck wallets online at www.liquidationprice.com for 50 cents each.



Great idea - were they big enough for the phones?

Great planning and execution! I usually join the exchange as a way to build excitement, make friends and feel that sense of community on board! Plus it drive people around us crazy because they have no idea why we get so many gifts each day!!!

 

[TLinden16]

I found the neck wallets online at www.liquidationprice.com for 50 cents each.



Great idea - were they big enough for the phones?

Great planning and execution! I usually join the exchange as a way to build excitement, make friends and feel that sense of community on board! Plus it drive people around us crazy because they have no idea why we get so many gifts each day!!!

I didn't use the neck pouch on the cruise, so I never tried the wave phones in them. My iPod touch fits in it, just to give you an idea of what may fit.

 

[AbsyBabsy]

I didn't use the neck pouch on the cruise, so I never tried the wave phones in them. My iPod touch fits in it, just to give you an idea of what may fit.

If the iPod touch fits - the wave phone will. Thanks!

 

[simbasmom2]

Because it's fun! Not to be sarcastic, but we had the best time with the FE. Unlike Christmas, this is a case when it is better to receive than to give. Please don't take that the wrong way, it is just that we really enjoyed heading back to our cabin and finding the little presents that were left. Some of them were so creative! Also, with kids, it dosen't matter to them how much you spent on the cruise, or whether you buy souvenirs in the gift shop, sometimes it's the cheapest little toy that entertains them!

As for your question about why people don't do this at the resorts, I have contemplated that as well; then it occured to me. On a cruise, everyone is pretty much on the same schedule. You all board on the same day, you all have the same sea days and ship days, and you all leave on the same day. At the resorts, everyone's itinerary is different. Everything from arrival day to length of stay to what you do in a day is much more individualized. Because of this, there is less of a feeling of community than there is on the cruise.

Hey!! Remember me? We did the FE exchange last January. It was so much fun. Although it did take me awhile (first FE exchange). On the Dream last August I was more prepared...just like the OP. Soooo much easier. We love it because we start planning and making gifts way ahead of time and it feels like your vacation is getting closer.

 

[Goofy's_Gal]

I cruise next week and am participating in the FE's...so, is there a map of the ship in your cabin or should I bring my own? I didn't think to separate by cabin placement - what a great idea. Mine aren't sorted yet - I was going to wait til I got on board. There's about 18 groups...I figured it would take me an hour or so, but thought it would be a great way to check out the ship too.

I had a lot of fun making all my gifts and my dd (3) help out too. She will help deliver and hopefully learn a little about giving.

 

[AmandaRG]

I cruise next week and am participating in the FE's...so, is there a map of the ship in your cabin or should I bring my own? I didn't think to separate by cabin placement - what a great idea. Mine aren't sorted yet - I was going to wait til I got on board. There's about 18 groups...I figured it would take me an hour or so, but thought it would be a great way to check out the ship too.

I had a lot of fun making all my gifts and my dd (3) help out too. She will help deliver and hopefully learn a little about giving.

We always sort them prior to leaving for the cruise (we usually have a cabin gift and children's gifts separately). With only a few days onboard, having to do something onboard that we could have done at home can be frustrating. JMO.

Enjoy your cruise! Wish we were going to be there, but DH has to work to pay for the vacations we do get to take!!! LOL!

 

[TLinden16]

I cruise next week and am participating in the FE's...so, is there a map of the ship in your cabin or should I bring my own? I didn't think to separate by cabin placement - what a great idea. Mine aren't sorted yet - I was going to wait til I got on board. There's about 18 groups...I figured it would take me an hour or so, but thought it would be a great way to check out the ship too.

I had a lot of fun making all my gifts and my dd (3) help out too. She will help deliver and hopefully learn a little about giving.

I found the deck plan on line prior to my cruise, and organized it. You can see the deck plans here:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-cruise-line/dream-ship.htm

They do have the map on the ship as well.

The first time I did a FE we waited until we got on board to organize the stuff (mostly because it was coming from two different households), and it took over an hour to do that. I'd rather spend the time doing it at home before I leave than when I get on the ship.

 

[ssawka]

Hey!! Remember me? We did the FE exchange last January. It was so much fun. Although it did take me awhile (first FE exchange). On the Dream last August I was more prepared...just like the OP. Soooo much easier. We love it because we start planning and making gifts way ahead of time and it feels like your vacation is getting closer.

Hey! Good to hear from you! Glad you enjoyed the Dream as well! We have a reservation for a 4 night on the Dream for January (I hope the weather is better in the Caribbean in January than it was in Mexico) . We are going to combine it with a couple nights in Disney World. I'm really looking forward to checking out the Dream and Cataway Cay. Our cruise in January was our first Disney Cruise, so we haven't been to Castaway Cay yet.

 

[staffieri]

This sounds like so much work, time and money.... am I missing something?

To have all that to carry and worry about..... isn't it better to use that time and effort to enjoy the cruise considering the trip didn't cost $50?

Please, don't take this as a flame... but rather an expression of confusion and just lack of understanding.

Considering there is SO MUCH to do on board the Dream, why is there a need to find things to do and spend extra $ on?

I can't believe that whatever would show up in your FE from other people would be anything but trinkets in comparison to what could be acquired from the ship.

Why is there the desire to do this aboard a ship, yet you never see this at any Disney resort? What makes the ships so different?

Like I said, this really isn't a flame.... it's that just I don't get it. Seems like a considerable amount of time, money and schleping.

Thoughts gratefully appreciated...

---Paul in Southern NJ

I wanted to support your thought process. So glad so many join in doing this and I do love seeing people's FE, but I too will not participate in doing this again. People do wonderful things but it was just too much for me. Trying to find the rooms, packing the items, not wanting to take the time in doing it once I was on the ship. It was too much work for me!! AND THAT's OK. it is not for us, but others enjoy. We can still be DIS Board fans and love Disney Cruises. And even if we don't do FE we can be a part of the meet board. This is an amazing place where people support and share all their great information for the cruise week I am on.