Oct 3, 2009 Wester Carribean

[kpflillirpf]

Hey all! It's been awhile since I shouted out atcha! Hope everyone had a great 4th. As for eveyrone having a hard time waiting, all I can say is HANG IN THERE! We waited a long time for our last cruise but certainly not this long so I can sympathize completely. I'm there with ya! One of the things we did the first cruise and we're going to work on tonight for both our DisneyWorld trip and the cruise, was a countdown chain. My DD had a BLAST putting the one together for our first cruise and so she's very excited to be working on two of them for the next two trips. We'll do a simple one for the trip in August but will work on coloring and putting stickers, etc. on the next one for the cruise. If you haven't done this, this might help you out. It's a visual of how long you have to wait and then watching it get shorter and shorter helped us. I've known people to do these and have them draped all around the kitchen at least once.

Anyway, the other thing you could do is work on t-shirt designs. We're going to do t-shirts for the August trip and, hopefully, they'll either be still good so we can use them on the cruise or we'll just have to create new ones. I'm doing something simple on the front side just above where a pocket would be and I'll leave the back blank for any logo that we decide to create for our group.

Frankly, I'm kinda surprised that this is all we have on this thread at the moment. There were lots of people on the thread I was on for my 07 cruise by now.

Anyway, I realize I've now dragged on and on and on. If it will help, we could decide on a name for our cruise and then come up with a cool logo design. That would entertain us for a little while anyway. Let me know your thoughts!

Take care all! Kristi

 

[schmoopiecat]

When I was a kid, we couldn't afford to go anywhere on family vacation. It was only after being married for more than 10 years that DH & I took our first real vacation. We still couldn't afford much, but we would go with family & rent a house really cheap. Disney was never an option since I do not do well on most amusement rides. Even Hershey Park (which is quite near & pretty tame) can be too much. DH & I had been talking about wanting to cruise so when BFF Kristi (you all know her by her posts) was so excited about the possibility of our joining her family on the cruise we couldn't turn her down. By time we cruise I will be 52 & DH will be 53, but we're still kids at heart. I don't think I have ever planned this far ahead for anything. Well, you can tell that BFF & I are both alike & that we can ramble on for hours. Can't wait to meet everyone. Have a great summer,

 

[dismom73]

Schmoopiecat, you will have the time of your life!! Then you will be like the rest of us and your lifegoal will be to find a way back to the "Magic" as often as possible. I was just in PA the beginning of this month. I took my girls and met up with my parents (who live in TN) and my brother and his family (who live in MA) and we went camping at a TT near Hershey. It is so pretty out there! We went to the Hershey factory, not the AP, but we did the little ride that shows you how Choc. is made. We also went to Intercourse, to where the shops are with all the stuff made by Amish people. It was lots of fun! We are from CA, so it was a long trip, but we enjoyed it. The next time I see my brother and his family will be on the Disney cruise. He's the one I was talking about, it will be their first Disney vacation too!

On a side note, I have found a way to pass some time and get the girls excited, ok, more excited. We are making the longest countdown paper chain known to man. (we are now at 458 days/chains) For the past two days we have been decorating chains with glitter and paint. I'm guesing it will take us another two to three days of decorating before we can even start to put the chain together, don't ask me where we are going to put it, because I'm not sure yet. I think it will be long enough to loop the neighborhood.

P.S. I finally figured out how to add my ticker!

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer, as usual it seems to be going fast, yay!

 

[schmoopiecat]

Dismom73 - You were within throwing distance of both Kristi & me. Glad you enjoyed your time at Hershey & Intercourse. While at Hershey did you do the 3D ride in Chocolate World? We haven't been yet, but plan on making it.I love going to the little shops that the Amish have set up. Our car game is to count the number of buggies we see. If there is a team working in the fields they cout as 2! One Sunday afternoon I was coming home fromNJ & pass the farm where they had gathered for their service. There must have been over 100 buggies parked everywhere. It looked like they couldn't fit another one in.

 

[dismom73]

My kids thought it was fun to watch the car dodge the "piles" the buggies left in the road.

 

[disneydiva16]

Just curious, is anyone flying in the night before the cruise? I know it is still too early to book flights, but we cant decide if we are flying in the day of or the day before the cruise. We dont want to end up missing the boat if we fly in the day of, but then adding in a hotel stay to an already expensive trip hurts the wallet too.

 

[dismom73]

We have too, coming from the West coast we wouldn't get there in time otherwise. If you have the option (I know some people don't) I would if I were you. I have been a flight attendant for over 13 years and I can't tell you how many passengers I've had on flights that have missed their cruises. Any number of things can ruin your day, mechanical, weather, airline slowdowns/strikes. It also gives lost luggage a little extra time to catch up with you, and you get to start your vacation a little sooner.

 

[LisaG520]

We always make sure we are there the day before (before the repo we got there 2 days before - was not taking any chances!).

We usually stay at the Radisson at the port. I think it was around $150 a night and breakfast was included.

 

[kpflillirpf]

Hi all! I hope everyone is having a great summer! We are making our own arrangements for flights. We are checking into a flight the day before and a flight the day of. When we went the last time we had DCL do our flight and it worked out just fine. We just want a non-stop flight this time. I'll pass the info along to my DH that many of you are going the night before and we'll go from there. Have a wonderful one! Kristi

 

[dismom73]

Well, summer sure is going by fast, as usual! It's been really hot out here, and lots of fires, so the air quality hasn't been that great. I have actually been looking at prices of airfare for this October (just to get an idea of what we might have to pay next year). I've never had to pay for plane tickets since I've worked for the airlines since I was 21, and my dad retired with the airlines, so I flew on his passes before I got my job. Anyway, we will be buying 5 tickets ( I don't think I will be working for the airlines by the time we go on this cruise) from the west coast so it is going to add to the expense of our vacation. But, it will be nice to have confirmed seats on a flight instead of having to go stand by.
Well, I hope that everyone is doing well and I will check back in soon. Have a great weekend.
Andrea

 

[pls5286]

Hi...My kids and I are thinking about doing this cruise next year. We usually do the Wonder during this time, but, since the wonder will be in dry dock I am looking into doing this one...the only thing is i would have to take the kids out of school on Fri early to get down there. I am hoping we can swing the price of a 7 day, because we really would enjoy going. I will be looking into rebooking on board in Oct

 

[disneydiva16]

I have decided to fly in the night before the cruise. You guys make a good point about lost luggage and such. We wll just have to stay somewhere near the airport because we are doing the Disney transfers. I know it is cheaper to use different transportation to get to the port, but being our first cruise with Disney we want the full experience.

pls5286 I hope you can make it on this cruise. Let us know if you do rebook onboard.

 

[dismom73]

I have decided to fly in the night before the cruise. You guys make a good point about lost luggage and such. We wll just have to stay somewhere near the airport because we are doing the Disney transfers. I know it is cheaper to use different transportation to get to the port, but being our first cruise with Disney we want the full experience.

pls5286 I hope you can make it on this cruise. Let us know if you do rebook onboard.

I highly recommend the MCO Hyatt. It is right inside the terminal, so you don't have to get a shuttle to your hotel when you arrive or a shuttle back to the airport in the morning. Plus it is a really nice hotel, comfy beds, etc. It is well worth the extra money. If you book it in advance I think you can get it for $99. Another added bonus is if you are taking the DCL busses you can register for them at the Hyatt and they will pick up your bags outside of your room.

 

[dismom73]

Hi...My kids and I are thinking about doing this cruise next year. We usually do the Wonder during this time, but, since the wonder will be in dry dock I am looking into doing this one...the only thing is i would have to take the kids out of school on Fri early to get down there. I am hoping we can swing the price of a 7 day, because we really would enjoy going. I will be looking into rebooking on board in Oct

It would be great to have you join us for this cruise. WARNING you may get hooked on the 7 day. Since we've done it my husband has said "7 day or nothing". How old are your kids? We will be taking ours out of school the Friday before since we are flying from the West coast. My oldest will be a sophmore, one in 4th grade and my youngest will have just started kindergarten. We have always pulled them out for a week at a time for park vacations (until my oldest entered middle school) and done independant study, just so we could go when it wasn't crowded. So taking them out for one day doesn't even phase me. Anyway, let us know if you book, good luck.

 

[schmoopiecat]

Well, I started a countdown chain on Friday. We have a LONG time until the trip. I didn't quite realize how long until I stated cutting strips. Did my hand hurt or what! I still don't have everything cut. I will be going to the craft store for Dis stickers to put on each link. I'm even thinking aboiut writing the date & how many days are left until we fly out. As for flying a day early, I need to talk to our travel buddies to see what they are doing. I will be waiting until they return from WDW at the end of Aug since they have enough in the works now.
pls5286 - hope you can join us. I think we have a pretty fun sounding group here. I can't wait to meet everyone. Type at cha' all later, gators.

 

[2Pirates&1Princess]

I have to wait and see what my husband wants to do about the airfare. Our budget is kinda limited, so we may have to come in the day of. I am not sure yet. I also dont mind taking my kids out of school. It is more economical and less crowded during the school year than it is on school breaks or summer vacation.

Is anyone making magnets for their stateroom door? I am busying myself with that task right now. I just wish it were October already ('09) so that we can begin our adventure !!!!

pls5284 I hope you can join us for this cruise...we are gonna have soooo much fun!!!!!

 

[dismom73]

We started our chain last week...it is still in the works. It is a loooonnnnggg chain! We didn't do stickers though, I got some of the glittery glue stuff and decorated the links with that. Everytime my husband sees me and kids working on it he just walks by and rolls his eyes. I tell him I started so the kids would have an art project to work on during the summer, nevermind that he often catches me working on it alone . His latest concern is where we are going to put it when it is done.
I am planning on doing door magnets. It's funny because this will be our third cruise on the Magic, but our first time doing door magnets. I think it is because the other two times were kind of last minute trips and this time we have lots of time to wait, I mean plan.

 

[pls5286]

Hi! My son will be in 6th grade and my dau will start kindergarten. I will probably pull them out at lunch time and head down. It is about an 8 hr ride, so just missing a half day will be better than an entire day...as long as my son doesnt have any afternoon exams...if he does, it will be a long night ride...but it is very possible that he will have exams, as we are going on mid semester break.

 

[disneydiva16]

dismom73 I noticed that you will have a dd that will be 10 at the time of the cruise. My dd will also be 10 (Gabi) , as will bff's dd (Taylor). Has your daughter done the kids club in the past? If so, did she like it? My dd is very excited about what the clubs will offer. Disney makes it look fun in their videos, but I just wanted an opinion from someone who has actually done the clubs. Thanks for the info

 

[dismom73]

Yes, Riley will be 10 (Ashley will be 15 and Bailey 5) so we have experience with both the lab and the club, as well as flounders reef. All the kids areas on DCL are amazing! So is the staff. Riley is my shy one, so I thought it could go either way, she doesn't always handle new situations, or people, all that well...but she loved going to the club! Other than the times that we had reservations at Palo, we never told them they had to go to the clubs, but there were plenty of times that they begged to go, or had to be dragged out. If you have any specific questions feel free to ask.