November 3, 2014: Four Nights to DREAM

[Marshay]

We just booked our 2nd DCL for Monday, November 3, 2014 and are so excited!!

Want to come along and Dream with us?

Please provide your DIS Name and list family by gender and age at time of travel, plus Cabin # so we can get to know you!

Dis'ers
Marshay = DW, DH, DD9 & DD5 in Cabin #7584 *FE #1*
bearbear (tbd) = DW, DH, DD14, DS12, DD8 & DS3 in Cabin #
byejou = DW, DH, DS12 & DS9 in Cabin #
lamdvc = DW, DH, DD7, DD7 & DS1 in Cabin #12510 *FE #1*
PatchFamily = DW, DH, DD3 & DS1 in Cabin #12528 *FE #1*
dsjerome = DW, DH & DD8 in Cabin #6684 *FE #1*
Sister of dsjerome (no Disboards name) = DSis & DD12 in Cabin #6682 *FE #1*
LuvDisney09 = DW, DD8 & DD1 in Cabin #7690 *FE #1*
Penguin73 = DW, DH, DD8 & DD4 in Cabin #7678 *FE #1*
4monie = DW, DH & DD9 in Cabin #12016 *FE #1*
anchorgirl1324 = DW, DH, DD8 & DS6 in Cabin #9152 *FE #1*
kra123 = DW, DH, DD8 & DS5 in Cabin #7118 *FE #1*
Camping Griswalds = DMom & DD10 in Cabin #xxxx *FE #1*
Coop67 = DW & DH in Cabin #6690
Murphy14 = DW, DH, DS12 & DD10 in Cabin #6096 FE #1
racerw31 = DW, DH, DD5 & DD2 in Cabin #xxxx *FE #1*
joreils = DW, DH, DS9 & DD7 in Cabin #xxxx
Amanduh = DW, DH (to be!!) in Cabin #8502 *FE #2*
HenrysMom2010 = DW, DH & DS4 in Cabin #xxxx
colachdec = DW, DH, DS12, DS9 & DS7 in Cabin #xxxx
cdclary1 = DMom, DS11 & DBFF (adult) in Cabin #xxxx *FE#1*
admepo = DW, DH, DS17, DS13 & DS11, DS8 in Cabin #2020 and #2022 *FE #1*
Starv06 = DW & DH in Cabin #10558 *FE #1*
Ellie657 = DW, DH & DD11 in Cabin #xxxx *FE #1*
BetsyRNBSN = DW in Cabin #8600 *FE #1*
brown1219 = DW, DH & DS5 in Cabin #6180
ryanshana = DW, DH, DS8 & DS7 in Cabin #xxxx *FE#1*
KellyNJ = DW, DH & DD10 in Cabin #xxxx *FE #1*
StarlightStarbright1 = DW & DH in Cabin #xxxx
MOMMABLUEBIRD = DBFF1 & DBFF2 in Cabin #6186 *FE #2*
jillemily = xxxxx in Cabin #xxx *FE #2*
mindy20 = DW, DH, DS8, DD5 & DD4 in Cabin #11016 *FE #2*
RazzleIsALove = DW, DH, DS11 & DD9 in Cabin #xxxxx
PuffyAnn = DW, DH, DS1 & DMom in Cabin #xxxx
fun4life = *FE #2*
baileyjack123 = in Cabin 1 *FE #2*
baileyjack123 = in Cabin 2 *FE #2*
baileyjack123 = in Cabin 3 *FE #2*
cbrazy = DW, DH(to be), DD17, DD15, DD8 in Cabin #7102 *FE #2*
Fancyheels = DW, DH, DD7, DD4 in Cabin #6042 *FE #2*
Fancyheels = DGMom in Cabin #xxxx *FE #2*
Carternc82 = DW, DH, DS5, DS3 *FE #2*
CeeCeeB = DH, DW, DD2, DGM in Cabin #12022 *FE #2*
Disneyfamily14 = DW, DH, DS, DD in Cabin #xxxx

 

[Marshay]

DIS MEETS on our Cruise!!

November 3rd Dismeet for FE#1-3 updates and general gathering of Dissers[/B]

Monday, November 3
3:30pm to 3:45pm
The District Lounge (next door to Club 687) on Deck 4

Contact: Marshay

 

[Marshay]

Anyone want to do a Fish Extender (FE) Exchange?

For those who are not familiar: a FE is a group of Disney-loving people who want to spread some pixie dust while on the ship. It's kind of like a Secret Santa but everyone gives gifts to everyone else. Gifts can be handmade treasures or cute Disney/pirate/ship themed items or something special from your hometown/country that you want to share with others. I've seen everything from special candy, stickers, Disney pins, first aid supplies, custom CDs, tshirts, Disney bags, jewelry, magnets, Christmas ornaments, sand toys, sanitizer, etc. Really you are limited only by your imagination and budget -- this is just a way to have extra fun.

You can give one nicer gift to the whole cabin ... or give individual gifts to everyone ... or just give to the kids ... or give any combination. In my limited experience, I think the most common is to either give something to everyone or give one gift to the adults plus something small for each of the kids. However, there is no right or wrong as long as there is at least one gift per cabin. You can personalize the gifts, leave your name on a card or just give anonymously.

Here are some of the FE gifts my kids received on my last cruise. This was Elie's (DD3 at the time) stash!!


Gifts are delivered by you on the ship when it is convenient for you. Each participating family has some type of bag or 2-4 pocketed creation that you hang on the hook outside your cabin. As you make your way back to your room, you may find some surprises in there -- believe me, your kids will love looking each time to see what treasures they have. And even adults love this too!

Lots of cruisers like to decorate their door, too. Here is our door and FE (Darth Vadar/Ariel/Rapunzel/Aurora):


The FE exchange is for anyone -- couples without kids, grandparents, young adults and of course for families with kids.

I will keep a spreadsheet of information and create a closed/private Facebook group so we can talk more freely once we have a few members.

We will most likely have a few different groups for the FE, with various cut-off dates. The cut-off dates are necessary for everyone to know exactly how many are in the group so we can order supplies/shop and still have time to make/package the gifts. The first FE group will have an early cut-off like 3-4 (?) months prior and the other groups (if needed) will have cut-off dates closer to the sailing for those families that book later but still want to participate. Families are welcome to join one or more FE groups.

Once on the ship, we'll have a brief Cruise Meet prior to the Muster Drill and actual sailing. This way we get to know each other a bit and can note any changes to cabins (upgrades, room out of service, etc) so we all know where to give the gifts.

It's a fun way to meet others and spread some pixie dust. So are you in?

FE #1, #2 and #3 are now CLOSED.


FE #1
Marshay = DW, DH, DD9 & DD5 in Cabin #7584
PatchFamily = DW, DH, DD3 & DS1 in Cabin #12528
LuvDisney09 = DW, DD8 & DD1 in Cabin #7690
dsjerome = DW, DH & DD8 in Cabin #6684
Sister of dsjerome (no Disboards name) = DSis & DD12 in Cabin #6682
Penguin73 = DW, DH, DD8 & DD4 in Cabin #7678
4monie = DW, DH & DD9 in Cabin #12016
anchorgirl1324 = DW, DH, DD8 & DS6 in Cabin #9152
kra123 = DW, DH, DD8 & DS5 in Cabin #7118
Camping Griswalds = DMom & DD10 in Cabin #xxxx
racerw31 = DW, DH, DD5 & DD2 in Cabin #xxxx
Murphy14 = DW, DH, DS12 & DD10 in Cabin #6096
cdclary1 = DMom, DS11 & DBFF (adult) in Cabin #xxxx
admepo = DW, DH, DS17, DS13 & DS11, DS8 in Cabin #2020 and #2022
Starv06 = DW & DH in Cabin #10558
Ellie657 = DW, DH & DD11 in Cabin #xxxx
BetsyRNBSN = DW in Cabin #8600
lamdvc = DW, DH, DD7, DD7 & DS1 in Cabin #12510
ryanshana = DW, DH, DS8 & DS7 in Cabin #xxxx
KellyNJ = DW, DH & DD10 in Cabin #xxxx

FE #2
Amanduh = DW, DH (to be!!) in Cabin #8502
MOMMABLUEBIRD = DBFF1 & DBFF2 in Cabin #6186
jillemily = xxxxx in Cabin #xxx
mindy20 = DW, DH, DS8, DD5 & DD4 in Cabin #11016
fun4life =
baileyjack123 = in Cabin 1
baileyjack123 = in Cabin 2
baileyjack123 = in Cabin 3
cbrazy = DW, DH(to be), DD17, DD15, DD8 in Cabin #7102
Fancyheels = DW, DH, DD7, DD4 in Cabin #6042
Fancyheels = DGMom in Cabin #xxxx
Carternc82 = DW, DH, DS5, DS3 in Cabin #xxxx
CeeCeeB = DH, DW, DD2, DGM in Cabin #12022

 

[IrishCowboy]

I have added your thread to the cruise meet list
Have a great cruise!

 

[bearbear]

We are looking at this cruise. If we book we will be interested in the FE. My DH and I just got off the Magic and did the FE and enjoyed it. My DH was making fun of me while I was making all my gifts but he was the first one to look in our pockets to see if we got any gifts. We will be traveling with our kids this time and they will love to be a part of the FE. I will let you know if we book. It will be soon as I need to budget for our trip.
Cindy

 

[Marshay]

We are looking at this cruise. If we book we will be interested in the FE. My DH and I just got off the Magic and did the FE and enjoyed it. My DH was making fun of me while I was making all my gifts but he was the first one to look in our pockets to see if we got any gifts. We will be traveling with our kids this time and they will love to be a part of the FE. I will let you know if we book. It will be soon as I need to budget for our trip.
Cindy

Welcome!! It was getting quite lonely in this waiting room

I certainly hope you book this trip -- let me know when you do.

That is quite funny about your DH! Next trip your kids will have to compete with him to see who gets the gifts first!

I know it's a bit of work to do a FE, but it truly is lots of fun, ESP when your kids are involved.

 

[byejou]

We booked this while onboard the Dream November 3rd. It will be our 6th cruise with DCL. We wanted a different itinerary but we needed this week since NJ schools are closed. Not decided on FE yet. Strange that its M-F this year, doesn't leave much for us to do after cruise. We usually do WDW pre and post. Happy planning.

 

[Marshay]

We booked this while onboard the Dream November 3rd. It will be our 6th cruise with DCL. We wanted a different itinerary but we needed this week since NJ schools are closed. Not decided on FE yet. Strange that its M-F this year, doesn't leave much for us to do after cruise. We usually do WDW pre and post. Happy planning.

Yay!! I'm in WDW right now. Loving staying here a week but also can't wait to do a cruise next year. We are lucky bc our schools have two days off while we cruise, so we can stay a bit longer pre/post cruise and only miss five days (which is what we feel comfortable missing)

 

[lamdvc]

We are booked on this cruise but haven't decided if we want to do a FE yet. Is there a FB group set up for the cruise yet. I am part of a Disney Cruising FB site but there is no FB group yet from that pool of people. We are in NJ also and have Thurs/Fri off from school. We are booked at VWL the weekend before and after the cruise.

 

[Marshay]

We are booked on this cruise but haven't decided if we want to do a FE yet. Is there a FB group set up for the cruise yet. I am part of a Disney Cruising FB site but there is no FB group yet from that pool of people. We are in NJ also and have Thurs/Fri off from school. We are booked at VWL the weekend before and after the cruise.

Welcome!

I haven't started a FB page yet...was waiting for more folks on the cruise. Looks like we now have 3 families -- it's a start!

 

[Patchfamily]

We just switched from a September cruise to November - we decided it would be more fun to sail for our ten year anniversary and son's first birthday. We go to Disney about 12 times a year but this is the first time we've taken a Disney cruise. So excited! I will have a ton of questions.

 

[Marshay]

We just switched from a September cruise to November - we decided it would be more fun to sail for our ten year anniversary and son's first birthday. We go to Disney about 12 times a year but this is the first time we've taken a Disney cruise. So excited! I will have a ton of questions.

Welcome aboard!!

Your cruise will definitely feel more exciting with anniversary and birthdays to celebrate!

We did our first Disney Cruise last year (3 night) and loved it. So we decided to add on another night. I guess we are working our way up to a 7 night, but I'm not ready to give up WDW yet!

If/when you know your room number, I'll add it at the top.

Also, let me know if you want to participate in the FE.

 

[dsjerome]

This is our second 4 night cruise. Last time 12/2012 we didn't get to stop at Castaway Cay because of strong winds. Looking forward to seeing it this time.

3 adults
1 child 12
1 child 8

 

[Marshay]

This is our second 4 night cruise. Last time 12/2012 we didn't get to stop at Castaway Cay because of strong winds. Looking forward to seeing it this time.

3 adults
1 child 12
1 child 8

Welcome aboard!! Oh, I really hope we get to CC. It truly was one of our favorite days ever -- not just on the cruise.

I will add your info at the top. Are your children boys/girls?

I have an 8yo girl (will be 9 then) and she is excited to meet other girls her age.

 

[dsjerome]

Our family will be...my H(51), Me(47), D(12), D(8) and my Sister(60)

I can't wait, because it'll be my sister's first cruise! The FE sounds like fun, but have to double check to see if everyone is interested before committing. Can you tell me on an average, how many "families" each family gets?

Thanks!

 

[Patchfamily]

Welcome aboard!!

Your cruise will definitely feel more exciting with anniversary and birthdays to celebrate!

We did our first Disney Cruise last year (3 night) and loved it. So we decided to add on another night. I guess we are working our way up to a 7 night, but I'm not ready to give up WDW yet!

If/when you know your room number, I'll add it at the top.

Also, let me know if you want to participate in the FE.

Our room number is 12528 Theresa (W) kevin (H) Katie (3) Johnathan (1)
We are also going to participate in the FE - I've read about it briefly but you will just have to fill me in more on it.

Thank you!

 

[LuvDisney09]

Hi Everyone.
We are excited to be sailing on the Dream. Its my girls first Disney Cruise and I can't wait to see their faces. We are interested in the FE exchange.
Our cabin 7690 it will be me and my 2 girls Lex 8 and Cassadee 18 Months.

 

[Marshay]

Hi Everyone.
We are excited to be sailing on the Dream. Its my girls first Disney Cruise and I can't wait to see their faces. We are interested in the FE exchange.
Our cabin 7690 it will be me and my 2 girls Lex 8 and Cassadee 18 Months.

Welcome aboard!!

Your cabin will be very close to ours. And my 8yo daughter Rachel is so excited to see more girls her age on this cruise.

Last time they just loved the kids clubs both on the ship and on Castaway Cay. They can't wait to go back and have more fun.

Once we have a few more families joining the FE, I'll create a FB page and we can take the FE discussion off-line.

 

[Marshay]

Our room number is 12528 Theresa (W) kevin (H) Katie (3) Johnathan (1)
We are also going to participate in the FE - I've read about it briefly but you will just have to fill me in more on it.

Thank you!

Thanks for the cabin and family info. I'll update.

Also, the FE is a lot of fun. I did my first DCL last year and ended up organizing the FE for my first time. It was a lot fun.

Like I posted on page 1, some gifts are truly unique and crafted by talented people and others are just practical or fun gifts that are purchased.

I've actually already started collecting FE gifts from various after holiday sales in hopes that we would have a FE exchange.

Now with 3 confirmed families, it is on. We will have more families join as the time gets closer.

 

[Marshay]

Our family will be...my H(51), Me(47), D(12), D(8) and my Sister(60)

I can't wait, because it'll be my sister's first cruise! The FE sounds like fun, but have to double check to see if everyone is interested before committing. Can you tell me on an average, how many "families" each family gets?

Thanks!

I remember seeing the Dream for my very first time as we drove up to the terminal and it was so exciting. I just couldn't wait to get on!!

I was brand new to the whole FE thing last year when I did our first DCL. I ended up organizing it bc no one else wanted to and I sought advice from lots of others.

We decided to do separate FE. The first one had a cut-off about 3 months prior to the cruise and had 18 families in it. This gave people enough time to order supplies and craft their items (if desired) before the cruise.

Then we had some families that wanted to join after the deadline, so we opened up a second FE and closed that date about 1.5 months prior to cruise. It was optional whether people in FE#1 wanted to join FE #2. About 5 families in the FE#1 also joined in FE#2. There were about 12 families in the second FE. Obviously, this didn't give a whole lot of time for crafting so those who were doing a special handmade item and didn't make extras, did not join ... or they gave something different to FE #2. (If a family was in both FE#1 and #2, you didn't give twice so it really was only adding another 7...)

Lastly, about 3-4 weeks out, we had another 4 families that just booked and wanted to join the FE, so we created a FE#3 for them and only 5 families total joined that.

Once on board the ship, we all got together briefly to get to know each other, confirm any cabin # changes (i.e., port upgrades, room out of commission due to maintenance, etc). This was about 15 minutes but really was nice to get to know faces and when we saw each other on the ship later in the cruise or on Castaway Cay, it felt good to say hello and know someone else.

It also was a nice time for the kids to get to know one another, too. When Rachel saw her new friends in the kids club, it made it more fun to be there (which is already a ton of fun!).

I would propose that we do a similar FE -- one with an early deadline and if there is interest in doing a 2nd or 3rd one, that can be arranged, too.

We took the discussion off of Disboards and created a FB page and kept track of everything via an Excel spreadsheet.

Hope this helps!