No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems: A Tremendously Tropical PTR

[jenseib]

I'm a fanny pack hater too.! I'd rather lug a back pack...but I would also rather have a stroller. I feel naked without something.

I think I know what your big surprise is...a new camera....I was going to say the waterproof one, but I think you got that already. ..unless that was for your b-day...if not maybe a SLR? Do spill the beans!

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Little girlie looks sweet in her red, white, and blue.

I like the new room.

I used to favor driving, but I have gotten way spoiled to flying now. We get ready at home, we're there in less than two hours, and we're ready to roll without having to get all fixed up again. When we drive, I'm a rumpled mess in 10 1/2 hours and have to redo my hair and everything. We're flying in October and December, and I am very glad.

Thanks!

Flying is so simple and fast isn't it? It certainly stresses me out though, but driving does too. If only there was another, better option. I just think driving will be the best choice for this trip. If we were going straight to WDW and straight back home, then I think we would fly again. But with the trip starting in Port Canaveral and ending at WDW, it will just be cheaper and easier with a car. DCL bus transfers are not free like ME is. Just the transfers alone for the 3 of us would have been $210.

I'm a fanny pack hater too.! I'd rather lug a back pack...but I would also rather have a stroller. I feel naked without something.

I think I know what your big surprise is...a new camera....I was going to say the waterproof one, but I think you got that already. ..unless that was for your b-day...if not maybe a SLR? Do spill the beans!

I just can't believe there are no fanny pack lovers out there!

As for the stroller... I have decided that I am going to stash it in the trunk just in case all you know what breaks loose, and I am desperate! I'm not telling DD that I have it though b/c I want her to try to walk this time. We like to stay out late like you do though so I'm just not sure she can handle it. We'll see.

Well, I won't keep you in suspense too long. I will tell you that my surprise is not a SLR. I wish it was, but it's not. Honestly, if I did get one, I don't think I would have enough time left before our trip to learn how to use it. I would probably still want to use my p&s for the trip. Maybe for Christmas though!

 

[Lady Lallie]

I went to the Disney Store today and was checking out all those nightgowns you were talking about, they are all really pretty. Too bad they don't come in adult size.

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

I went to the Disney Store today and was checking out all those nightgowns you were talking about, they are all really pretty. Too bad they don't come in adult size.

I know! They are so light and cool and just really pretty! I like them way better than the "real" costumes. There is nothing itchy on them at all! I wish they had more of them online though. I've been looking all summer for them to be restocked, but almost all of them have been sold out for months now.

 

[Lady Lallie]

I know! They are so light and cool and just really pretty! I like them way better than the "real" costumes. There is nothing itchy on them at all! I wish they had more of them online though. I've been looking all summer for them to be restocked, but almost all of them have been sold out for months now.

There were quite a few in my store, if you want me to pick one up for you just let me know. I would be happy to mail it to you if that would help! The Disney Store is literally 10 minutes from my house...which can be very dangerous.

 

[pooh'smate]

Add me to list of Teva Mush lovers. I love, love, love mine. I too wear them all summer.

There were quite a few in my store, if you want me to pick one up for you just let me know. I would be happy to mail it to you if that would help! The Disney Store is literally 10 minutes from my house...which can be very dangerous.

I am so jealous that you live only 10 minutes from a Disney store. I used to live 15 min away and would go to the mall just so I could go. Then when Disney bought back the stores and they closed a whole bunch of them ours got closed.

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

There were quite a few in my store, if you want me to pick one up for you just let me know. I would be happy to mail it to you if that would help! The Disney Store is literally 10 minutes from my house...which can be very dangerous.

10 minutes! Yes, that could be dangerous for sure! I know my DH is VERY happy that we do not have one too close to us!

Thank you so much for offering to do that for me! That is incredibly sweet of you! I really don't know for sure what I want yet. When the online Disney Store sells out of something, they take the picture off the website. So I haven't been able to really go back and look to see what else they have. I might want to get her the Cinderella wedding dress, but I haven't decided yet. I still have some time though, but if the website doesn't get them back in stock, I may just take you up on your offer! Thanks again for being so nice!

Add me to list of Teva Mush lovers. I love, love, love mine. I too wear them all summer.

I am so jealous that you live only 10 minutes from a Disney store. I used to live 15 min away and would go to the mall just so I could go. Then when Disney bought back the stores and they closed a whole bunch of them ours got closed.

Another Teva fan! They must be good! I sure hope so.

We don't have one here either. The closest one is an hour away. But that is probably a very good thing for my wallet!

 

[stace208]

Does your new ticker mean you have set dates now or are they still up in the air?
Our closest Disney store is 45 minutes away so I don't go often. I'm hoping to make it to the one in Chicago when I am there next week! If I get there, or to the one here, I will have a look at the gowns for you!

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Does your new ticker mean you have set dates now or are they still up in the air?

No, I wish it did. I use a netbook, which has a small screen, and since I had two tickers and a bunch of other stuff in my signature, it was getting cut off. I could only see the first ticker and nothing else under it, so I changed it to a skinnier ticker and got rid of the rest of it. I told you I am type A! I couldn't stand for it to be messy like that!

Our closest Disney store is 45 minutes away so I don't go often. I'm hoping to make it to the one in Chicago when I am there next week! If I get there, or to the one here, I will have a look at the gowns for you!

Chicago sounds like fun! I've never been there, but I'd like to one day. I bet they have a huge Disney Store there!

replies in blue

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Be forewarned! This update isn’t very exciting, but once we get beyond this, we’ll get onto the fun stuff.

Okie dokie, here’s where I need the experts to chime in. Sheree, Jen, Michelle, other Disney cruisers…. that’s you! I have lots of questions about what to do at this point in the trip.

I’ve read that the terminal is now opening at 11:00, so I am curious as to what time I should arrive? And does anyone know what time the parking lot opens? Also, what’s the best procedure for parking, dropping off luggage, checking in, etc? I don’t have to be the first one on the ship, but I’d like to get on as soon as possible so that we can get the most out of that first, short day. I am also assuming online check in would be best???

Once we are on the ship, I’m sure we will head straight for some lunch. My DH becomes king of the grumps when he has not been properly fed, so that is of utmost importance! After lunch, the plan is to head up to the pool and maybe get on the Aquaduck if the line isn’t insanely long. We will be wearing our swimsuits under our clothes when we board the ship to help save time.

Hopefully by the time we are done at the pool, our room will be ready. Can any of you tell me about what time your room was available? From what I have read, the lifeboat drill will be at 4:00. Once that is over, I guess we will need to head back to the room, get unpacked and dressed for dinner. After dinner, we will see whatever show is scheduled for that night. Once the show is finished, I have no idea what we will do. I am sure I will want to take a walking tour of the ship on the first day and that may be what we do at that point.

If anyone has tips or suggestions for first day plans, I would love to hear them, or if you have an answer to any of the questions in bold, please share your wisdom!

One more thing… DH is going in for his second round of interviews on Wednesday at 3:00. We are praying that the Lord’s will be done! If any of you are so inclined, I would very much appreciate any prayers on our behalf. This promotion would be an enormous financial blessing for our family, and it would allow him to work from home about three days per week. My DH really has his heart set on it too, although we have both learned to trust what the Lord has in store for us and know that isn’t always what we envision for ourselves. But I will say that DH is a wonderful guy, and he absolutely deserves the job. He has more integrity and a better work ethic than anyone I know. I can assure you though that I will be SUPER proud of him no matter how it all turns out! If he makes it through this round, there will only be one more to go! Praise God! This has been dragging on for months now and we are both ready for it to end. Anyway, I will be sure to post an update as soon as I hear something!

Up next… Dining on the Dream!

 

[jenseib]

I personally would get to the port early, but thats just me.
Our first day wasn't typical because we had rain, but I have heard the Aqua Duck is extremely busy that first day.
The rooms are usually ready at 1:30, not sure if that has changed since then.

Do you have early dinner then?
You will most likely find some characters to meet and then exploring the shops as well once they open.

As you pull into the port you see a spot to stop and drop off your luggage. Your DH then can go on to park the car and meet up with you at the terminal. My one regret is that I didn't take time to take pictures of the outside of the building. I think I got one really bad one on my phone from the side.

 

[Lady Lallie]

Thank you so much for offering to do that for me! That is incredibly sweet of you! I really don't know for sure what I want yet. When the online Disney Store sells out of something, they take the picture off the website. So I haven't been able to really go back and look to see what else they have. I might want to get her the Cinderella wedding dress, but I haven't decided yet. I still have some time though, but if the website doesn't get them back in stock, I may just take you up on your offer! Thanks again for being so nice!

Just let me know, I really don't mind at all! I saw the Cinderella one and it was so pretty. I think I saw Little Mermaid and Tiana ones as well but if you would like me to investigate further I can, like I said...it's just 10 minutes down the road and I love love love going and looking around.

Good luck to your husband with his job interview, sounds like a great opportunity, I will have my fingers crossed for him!

 

[SoonerGirl]

It seems that Disney is going back and forth as to who gives you your boarding pass number, guess they are still trying to figure out what works best. Some people have had the person who checked them in give it to them, others, like us, were just handed a number when we got in line. I would try and get to the terminal early, but not super early, maybe 10:30 since the new terminal opening time is 11. We were delayed in getting there (you'll read about that soon ) and had a high boarding number, but were still on board by 1:30. We were told that our room was probably about ready when we boarded, but we elected to go get something to eat before finding our room.

Once you arrive at the port the guard at the shack will direct you where to go to drop off your luggage. You and your DD can then get out and get in line to enter the terminal while your DH parks the car. Tell him to park on level 3, then he can just walk across the skyway and straight into the terminal (there is a security check in up there too).

On line check in probably made our check in process faster, it did not help with getting an early boarding number. Doing it will make things easier for you once you arrive though. You can also pre-register your DD for the kids clubs, but you still have to stand in line to pick up her bracelet.

 

[Nbarker]

I am coming out of lurking to tell you I was so excited to see you had another TR in the works! I have been reading all the Christmas TR's I can find and your's was one of my favorites! (We are going to POR Dec. 15-22 for our first ever Christmas trip!) Anyway, I am looking forward to reading about your upcoming trip and preparations! Good luck with the job ...and you certainly have the right attitude about it! We would all be so much better off to remember that HIS will is not always our will, but HE knows so much better than we do!

 

[jenseib]

It seems that Disney is going back and forth as to who gives you your boarding pass number, guess they are still trying to figure out what works best. Some people have had the person who checked them in give it to them, others, like us, were just handed a number when we got in line. I would try and get to the terminal early, but not super early, maybe 10:30 since the new terminal opening time is 11. We were delayed in getting there (you'll read about that soon ) and had a high boarding number, but were still on board by 1:30. We were told that our room was probably about ready when we boarded, but we elected to go get something to eat before finding our room.

Once you arrive at the port the guard at the shack will direct you where to go to drop off your luggage. You and your DD can then get out and get in line to enter the terminal while your DH parks the car. Tell him to park on level 3, then he can just walk across the skyway and straight into the terminal (there is a security check in up there too).

On line check in probably made our check in process faster, it did not help with getting an early boarding number. Doing it will make things easier for you once you arrive though. You can also pre-register your DD for the kids clubs, but you still have to stand in line to pick up her bracelet.

We got ours at the top of the stairs,where we also recieved the medical forms too. I think every TR I've read it's been different. LOL!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Good luck to your DH. I'm praying for you guys.

 

[Mndisneygirl]

I don't have much to add to what Jen and Michelle have said. We arrived a bit later last time - but it didn't matter. We got dropped off, left the luggage with the porter and DH parked. We went through security (medium line) and up to check in. I got to go to the Castaway club line (returning guests) and it took about 10 minutes with having done online registering. I had DH's passport with me. We were done before he came in. He had to get his picture taken separately (just before you go on the ship). We had ours done at the check in desk.
Do as much online as you can. including register your DD for the club. You'll still have to get her the bracelet, but you can do it at the terminal or on the ship later.
The line for kids' club bracelets was long and we got called to board before we got close to the front of it, so we did that in the afternoon. Had lunch - room ready by 1:30, which was when we finished eating. Just explored the room (so cool!), checked in the kids' club and got bracelets there. We did not swim that afternoon. Just explored the ship. It is open house during the afternoon. If I recall, the shops open after you leave port.
We had late dinner, so we hung out after the muster drill and saw a bit of the sail away party. That's a fun time!

There's not much reason to get to the port too early. If you hate standing in line, you could be first, but you'll just be waiting at the other end to board. They have never boarded anyone before noon on the three trips we have taken. No matter what you do, there seems to be a lot of waiting. There's just so many people!
In the terminal they have a character meet by the cruise ship model and there will be a line there too.

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

I personally would get to the port early, but thats just me.
Our first day wasn't typical because we had rain, but I have heard the Aqua Duck is extremely busy that first day.
The rooms are usually ready at 1:30, not sure if that has changed since then.

Do you have early dinner then?
You will most likely find some characters to meet and then exploring the shops as well once they open.

As you pull into the port you see a spot to stop and drop off your luggage. Your DH then can go on to park the car and meet up with you at the terminal. My one regret is that I didn't take time to take pictures of the outside of the building. I think I got one really bad one on my phone from the side.

THANK YOU!!!

Yes we are doing the first dinner seating. We got bumped!

I hadn't thought about meeting characters that day! I've got to take notes. And shopping.... that's a good one too!

I'll have to remember to take terminal pictures. I bet I will be so excited to get in there and get checked in that I don't do it either.

Just let me know, I really don't mind at all! I saw the Cinderella one and it was so pretty. I think I saw Little Mermaid and Tiana ones as well but if you would like me to investigate further I can, like I said...it's just 10 minutes down the road and I love love love going and looking around.

Good luck to your husband with his job interview, sounds like a great opportunity, I will have my fingers crossed for him!

That Cinderella one is super pretty isn't it? I might just get that one for DD and let it be a surprise. I'll let you know! Thanks again so much for offering!

Thanks for the well wishes for DH too! He will need it. There are 9 people going after that job!

It seems that Disney is going back and forth as to who gives you your boarding pass number, guess they are still trying to figure out what works best. Some people have had the person who checked them in give it to them, others, like us, were just handed a number when we got in line. I would try and get to the terminal early, but not super early, maybe 10:30 since the new terminal opening time is 11. We were delayed in getting there (you'll read about that soon ) and had a high boarding number, but were still on board by 1:30. We were told that our room was probably about ready when we boarded, but we elected to go get something to eat before finding our room.

Once you arrive at the port the guard at the shack will direct you where to go to drop off your luggage. You and your DD can then get out and get in line to enter the terminal while your DH parks the car. Tell him to park on level 3, then he can just walk across the skyway and straight into the terminal (there is a security check in up there too).

On line check in probably made our check in process faster, it did not help with getting an early boarding number. Doing it will make things easier for you once you arrive though. You can also pre-register your DD for the kids clubs, but you still have to stand in line to pick up her bracelet.

THANK YOU!!!

I don't think 1:30 is bad at all to have arrived late. That really makes me feel better.

Level 3..... I'm taking notes....

Everyone seems to agree that online check in is a good thing. I will be doing it then!

I am coming out of lurking to tell you I was so excited to see you had another TR in the works! I have been reading all the Christmas TR's I can find and your's was one of my favorites! (We are going to POR Dec. 15-22 for our first ever Christmas trip!) Anyway, I am looking forward to reading about your upcoming trip and preparations! Good luck with the job ...and you certainly have the right attitude about it! We would all be so much better off to remember that HIS will is not always our will, but HE knows so much better than we do!

Thank you so much for such kind words! I had a good time doing that TR! I'm so glad you decided to de-lurk yourself and join the fun! There are some super great ladies here on the DIS and all the ones posting here on this PTR are just the best! I promise they won't bite, so make yourself at home here! And you are so right... I once heard someone say, "If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans!" He always knows better, it's just hard for us to get out of His way sometimes.

We got ours at the top of the stairs,where we also recieved the medical forms too. I think every TR I've read it's been different. LOL!

Great!

Good luck to your DH. I'm praying for you guys.

Thank you! That means a lot! He is one of 9 very qualified people going for this job, so I'll take any prayers that anyone is willing to give!

I don't have much to add to what Jen and Michelle have said. We arrived a bit later last time - but it didn't matter. We got dropped off, left the luggage with the porter and DH parked. We went through security (medium line) and up to check in. I got to go to the Castaway club line (returning guests) and it took about 10 minutes with having done online registering. I had DH's passport with me. We were done before he came in. He had to get his picture taken separately (just before you go on the ship). We had ours done at the check in desk.
Do as much online as you can. including register your DD for the club. You'll still have to get her the bracelet, but you can do it at the terminal or on the ship later.
The line for kids' club bracelets was long and we got called to board before we got close to the front of it, so we did that in the afternoon. Had lunch - room ready by 1:30, which was when we finished eating. Just explored the room (so cool!), checked in the kids' club and got bracelets there. We did not swim that afternoon. Just explored the ship. It is open house during the afternoon. If I recall, the shops open after you leave port.
We had late dinner, so we hung out after the muster drill and saw a bit of the sail away party. That's a fun time!

There's not much reason to get to the port too early. If you hate standing in line, you could be first, but you'll just be waiting at the other end to board. They have never boarded anyone before noon on the three trips we have taken. No matter what you do, there seems to be a lot of waiting. There's just so many people!
In the terminal they have a character meet by the cruise ship model and there will be a line there too.

THANK YOU!!!

I want to go through the Castaway Club line.

Take DH's passport with me.... I'm still taking notes....

I wonder if DD needs a bracelet for the kid's club if we are going in there with her? I seriously doubt she will be willing to stay without us (she is EXTREMELY shy) but I still wanted to take her in there and let her see it. What do you think?

The Sail Away party!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OH MY! I had forgotten all about that!!

Character meet by the ship model.... that's on the list too!

See, you had lots to add!

 

[SoonerGirl]

Take DH's passport with me.... I'm still taking notes....

I'm so glad Sheree remembered to tell you this! Yes, take his passport with you and then hopefully he will be in the terminal before you complete your check in and he can get his picture taken while you are checking in. That is what we did, Don got up to the counter just as we were finishing up so she was able to take his picture then.

 

[sjs314]

Rinky -

Keeping DH in my prayers that he does well on the interview. The position sounds wonderful, more $ and working from home 3 days a week, what could be better.

Cruiseing sounds very involved so much to do, and for some reason it never occured to me that there were lines to be standing in foolish mortal I am