November 7, 2009 ~~~~ AHOY ST.CROIX ~~~~

[Silly Little Pixie]

VERY EXCITING!!! Thanks so much for posting here. I didn't see the announcement until you pointed it out. Hmmm, now do I do Mexico first or Alaska? Decisions, decisions. I'd better start saving my money!!!



Thanks Kathy, I did see the chart on DCL's website. The benefits for cruises 2-5 are the same, except they took away the Castaway Club reception for us. Oh well, I can look forward to going to it in February.

Since I only have 1 previous cruise... and 2 more upcoming... I'm more than a little irritated that you can't even get the Castaway reception until 5 cruises. I know on other lines once you are a repeat customer you get the captain's reception. Disappointing!!

The Alaska itinerary doesn't interest me... we're going to do Alaska in 2011 with friends... but they want to do the one-way from Vancouver and then Denali on a cruisetour. I definitely want to go to Glacier Bay so I already knew DCL was out for me.

But I'm hoping for some CALIFORNIA resident rates like the Floridians get!! Especially on the Mexican Riviera cruise. DH and I have done that and we think the kids will really like it. ooooh, I'd love to go back to Stone Island in Mazatlan!!

Christine

 

[TiggerzFan]

Since I only have 1 previous cruise... and 2 more upcoming... I'm more than a little irritated that you can't even get the Castaway reception until 5 cruises. I know on other lines once you are a repeat customer you get the captain's reception. Disappointing!!
Christine

I gotta agree with you, Christine! I don't understand that and perhaps with enough public outcry they could change that. The reception doesn't cost them much at all - some sodas, cookies and krispie Mickey bars. We're now "gold" members but we were really looking forward to our repeat cruisemates joining us at the reception this time.
Maybe we should start the protest e-mails and letters now. It would be such an easy thing for them to change.

 

[minniemouse71]

My biggest fear about the cuise ship?? Hmmm...that is a good one. I guess it would be that it will rain every day, and we will just not have the sunshine and beautiful weather that I am expecting, and we will not be able to dock at Castaway Cay.
Hope everyone has a great weekend!
Vickie

 

[Silly Little Pixie]

My biggest fear about the cuise ship?? Hmmm...that is a good one. I guess it would be that it will rain every day, and we will just not have the sunshine and beautiful weather that I am expecting, and we will not be able to dock at Castaway Cay.
Hope everyone has a great weekend!
Vickie

DON'T EVEN SAY IT!!!

No rain on my ceremony! Castaway will be SUNNY and WARM and BEAUTIFUL. Just like in the pictures!! Everything will go off without a hitch!

My nightmare actually occurred the other night. I can't believe I already had one! I dreamed we got to the port and there were no upgrades to be had. While it was tragic in the dream... in reality... if that's the worst thing that will happen this is gonna be awesome!!!

*************************************************
Disney collectibles-
I've got several.

• 
  Disney pins- have a DLR lanyard and a WDW lanyard that are chock full!
  
  I have a vintage DL theme/stuff in my guest bathroom
  
  vintage Disney lunchboxes
  
  some plush, especially Donald/Daisy stuff
  
  ornaments- like Laurie we get an ornament from each place we visit. And have several Disney ornaments, going back to Christmas 1990!
  
  and finally- anything Figment!!
  

Christine

 

[Laurie from London]

Hi all

Fears/axieties about the cruise:
1. Travelling with extended family - enough said about that.
2. Anybody getting seasick. Although I know this is unlikely. My two neices have an uncanny ability to vomit at practically nothing. Yuck.

That's it. Not bad.

I"ll be out of commission for a few days at a managers' conference for work. Talk to you on Thursday probably.

BTW, I like the idea of the scrap exchange, but let's not forget that some people could already be doing something scrapping related FE gifts.

 

[LindaBabe]

Krista, hope everyone is recovered by the time you go away!

Dreary day here - hope to get lots done off my to do list!

Castaway club reception seems to be about the only thing that differentiates the gold from the silver. It's platinum where the differences really show up.

BTW, I like the idea of the scrap exchange, but let's not forget that some people could already be doing something scrapping related FE gifts.

Laurie, you are right - I am doing scrappy, myself. And probably no one has time to get involved in another project before the cruise.

I always lug a set of scrapbook stuff with me when I travel because I can't bear to go two weeks without cutting paper in some form or other. We'll be gone the whole month of November, so I'll pack a single complex project with few parts, packed in page kits, precut titles. Adhesive, cutter, scissors, pen, done.

 

[stampinshauna]

Happy Saturday!

Hope you don't mind if I post another question of the day. This one has been on my mind because I need to make some ADRs for after the cruise....

What is your favorite WDW restaurant? (And, if anyone has suggestions, where should we take my in-laws for dinner since they have only been to WDW for one day years ago).

I like Whispering Canyon Cafe at the Wilderness Lodge.

 

[minniemouse71]

Good Morning All,
It is a gorgeous Saturday here!! I will be helping out at the Zest Fest for a little while today, and then going to a wedding reception this evening. The bride sould not have asked for a more perfect day weather wise. I also am doing a scrapping project for the FE.
We are in the process right now of moving a couople of cabinets in my kitchen, bbecasue I had to buy a new fridge and it won't fit in my old space!
As for my favorite restaurant in WDW If it is breakfast, I love Crystal Palace. Love te breakfast Lasagna. YUMMMY. For Dinner, we like 1900 Park Fare and Ohana's if the kids are with us. If not...we usually don't do the parks for dinner.
Anyway, just wanted to send out a hello to everyone. Gotta run.
Vickie

 

[glindamood]

Happy Saturday everyone. I think that today has a nap in store for me.

Favorite restaurant - too many but I can tell you that the best meal we had last year was at Animal Kingdom - Yak and Yeti - fabulous. I am sad that it is in my least favorite park though so my guess is unless I splurge on hoppers again, I probably will not be going back. It would be so much better if the paths were flat. OK, no more ranting, but the food was the best we had all week.

 

[LindaBabe]

Still raining, but I got groceries in, took a nap, prepped all the veggies, and worked on my FE gifts.

Favorite restaurant - hmm. BOMA - I LOVE the roast anything with Tamarind mustard sauce, the chicken chowder, and the coconut tiaramisu.

I have a list of restaurants I have liked, but they've been becoming more and more homogenized as time goes on. The fabulous-ness seems to be disappearing in favor of average-ness.

Animal Kingdom is my favorite park. I've eaten at Yak and Yeti twice - once it was great and once not so much. I think you just have to go hoping for the best. I love their shrimp crisps - look like styrofoam, taste like heaven.

 

[Silly Little Pixie]

Happy Saturday!

Hope you don't mind if I post another question of the day. This one has been on my mind because I need to make some ADRs for after the cruise....

What is your favorite WDW restaurant? (And, if anyone has suggestions, where should we take my in-laws for dinner since they have only been to WDW for one day years ago).

I like Whispering Canyon Cafe at the Wilderness Lodge.

Since DD and I each got food poisoning last year at WCC...it's not on our list of favorites!

Our current favorite place is Boma. Coral Reef is very nice as well, a unique place to take the family.

Well we have left the kids with my parents and are almost to Vegas! DH will be there for a trade show all week, so we're driving up right now. Tomorrow we're renting a cabana all day at the pool with some coworkers of his, and going to see Cheap Trick tomorrow night. I'm playing hooky from work on Monday, driving home by myself. It's about a 3+ hour drive.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!
Christine

 

[GoofyTraci]

Hey All,

Sorry I have been all MIA. I have been busy moving. Wow what a mess. I am not ready to do that again for a long time. I begged to get the internet up an running to check in I was having withdrawls or something!

How is everyone? To catch up with everyone I do love to scrap but feel like I am not wanting to take my stuff with me. But everyone wants to do an exchange I can do that.

Fav restaurant at disney is Ohana.

Fears about the trip is that the weather will be not as we expected it or not docking at CC. I know terribel sorry to even say it but its our first cruise and I couldnt imagine not going there.

Ok so if I missed something let me know. I missed you guys.

 

[Laurie from London]

Favourite restaurants...
Well, we had kids with us, so...
We had a super awesome time at the Liberty Tree Tavern character dinner w/Goofy, Mickey, Minnie etc. We got a really good Goofy and we were there close to closing time, so by the time we left it was getting down to the last few tables and Goofy had all the kids doing all kinds of nutty things around the restaurant. He was awesome. The food there was pretty good, but pretty normal food, nothing spectacular. Served family style, which is fun.

We also liked the rotating restuarant at Epcot (garden grill?), again not so much for the food as the experience, you get to see some different parts of The Land as the restaurant goes round and round.

And then there was the castle... let's just say, don't go for the food. LOL. I'm sure you all know this story...

Now I really am off to the meeting first thing in the morning, so I'll talk to you on Thurs.

 

[LindaBabe]

Dinner at Liberty tree used to be so great! Now, though there are no characters, but the price is the same. A totally forgettable experience Lunch, however, when it's still a 'sit down' but off the menu is still pretty good. LOVE the Garden Grill - also Family style, as Laurie said, which is good if you have picky eaters, and the characters are so fun there.

A "sleeper" is the Plaza restaurant. It all also is a table service (For which I'd pay cash, even if on the dining plan) They serve soup, sandwiches, sundays and HOMEMADE Potato chips and French fries - worth going for those alone. And the AC and tranquility.

SCRAPBOOK RELATED:

To catch up with everyone I do love to scrap but feel like I am not wanting to take my stuff with me. But everyone wants to do an exchange I can do that.

What I had been thinking of is a 'page swap' - each one of us make a page about some aspect of the cruise for which we're all likely to have photos, leaving a space for at least one photo and duplicate it however many times needed for the gals who signed up. Then we'd all go home with our albums well started, so they "might" actually get finished.

The issues are - size - and time.

I think they would go relatively fast because we only need one idea - and could use a sketch /page map/previously made page for the layout plan and just copy the first one however many times, in a mass production style. A page could have a title, mat for photo, and space for journaling. Anything else would be up to the maker. Sign the back so everyone would remember who made the page.

But, what size to make? 6x6? A little small for anything but a 3x5 photo, but easy to accomplish and inexpensive. 8x8? big enough for one or two photos. (although either smaller sizes could be put on a 12x12 piece of cardstock to fit in an album if you scrap larger) or 12x12? I think we'd need to agree on a size.

Page Ideas - Fabulous food, sail away party, pirate party, around the ship, characters (breakfast, or seen on board), Pool fun, Golden Mickeys, toy story, Disney Dream, Animator's Palette, Parrott Cay, Castaway Cay, St. Martin, St. Croix, our cabin, towel animals . . . .

Anyway, it was just a thought. If there's enough interest, I would be happy to host.

 

[glindamood]

Favorite restaurant - I forgot all about California Grill. And going outside after drinks to watch Wishes - it is just awesome. We have eaten there twice and had great meals and service, both times.

 

[minniemouse71]

Happy Sunday All,
It is another gorgeous day here, I have one more day at the Zest Fest and then it is done. The wedding yesterday was beautiful, but then aren't they all? The father daughter dance was pricless, they danced to Elvis Presley singing "Jail House Rock" It was perfect for them. Not the usual "make you cry" dance. Very kewl.
Got my cabinets moved for my new fridge, and got the mess cleaned up too.
I need to get busy on the rest of my FE gifts. Time is quickly catching up and I still have a lot to do.
Here is a question for today. What is the one ride in WDW that you refuse to ride?
Have a great day everyone!!
V

 

[glindamood]

Happy Sunday All,
Here is a question for today. What is the one ride in WDW that you refuse to ride?
Have a great day everyone!!
V

Well - I have never been on Tower of Terror. We had a family reunion cruise booked for Thanksgiving 2007 and our family was going to go to the parks before boarding the Wonder. My kids had talked me into going on it. But, that was the year David ended up having his spinal fusion and everyone went - except us. So I still have not been on it.

I also refuse to do the simulated (think Body Wars) stuff although I have done most of them once, just never again. Funny what the screen can make the mind (and stomach) do.

 

[Silly Little Pixie]

I've been thinking about a swap too. I'd prefer 12x12, as I'll be using the DCL album with "2009" on it. I normally use CM albums, except for my WDW trips. I also will have to fit in those Shutters photos! We had really great ones last year. I love the idea of each of us making a set page production style! I think if we do we should make sure we each have a different topic. I'm going to ship a box to the ship ahead of time with our pirate outfits and FE gifts, so it would be easy to put 12x12 pages in the bottom. But like Shauna said, 8x8 pages could be made to fit on a 12x12 page too.
Sounds fun!

Christine

 

[minniemouse71]

I forgot to answer my own question of the day.
Mine is also "Tower of Terror" I just can't make my feet step onto that ride. My mind tells me that it makes no sense to get into an elevator that I know is going to drop me. I do have a funny story about that. I decided to go through the line as far as I could go to see the special effects and then get off at the last minute. When it came time to get off there was myself and two or three others who were then led to the "escape route" well, they lead you to the "chicken exit" and guess what? You have to get into an elevator to ride down. I thought out loud "what if they are tricking us, and this is the elevator that drops us?" The looks on those other peoples faces was priceless.
I also have the same fear about skydiving. I just cannot make myself jump out of a perfectly good airplane. My mind just does not process some things "normally"

 

[yargrnhoj]

I forgot to answer my own question of the day.
Mine is also "Tower of Terror" I just can't make my feet step onto that ride. My mind tells me that it makes no sense to get into an elevator that I know is going to drop me. I do have a funny story about that. I decided to go through the line as far as I could go to see the special effects and then get off at the last minute. When it came time to get off there was myself and two or three others who were then led to the "escape route" well, they lead you to the "chicken exit" and guess what? You have to get into an elevator to ride down. I thought out loud "what if they are tricking us, and this is the elevator that drops us?" The looks on those other peoples faces was priceless.
I also have the same fear about skydiving. I just cannot make myself jump out of a perfectly good airplane. My mind just does not process some things "normally"

I also thought the same thing when I had to do the 'chicken exit' with my then-five-month-old for a baby swap. I was thinking the whole time that people who were afraid of the ride were going to be afraid of that elevator.

ToT is probably my least favorite ride, followed closely by Splash Mountain. Just two rides I never saw the thrill in. Of course, my family likes both of them.