October 15, 2005 anyone?

[txaggie94gigem]

I just reserved our rooms for this cruise!
we will be in rooms 5014 and 5013 so we can be very close to the kids clubs...now contrary to how some people fell, my kids are the minority that cry when we pick them up from the kids clubs because they do not want to leave their new friends and activities! LOL...

Me (32), dh (35), ds (12), ds (8), dd (6), ds (3)...all are ages at time of sailing...this will be our 2nd cruise...we took a 4 day last nov (the infamous pin trading cruise) and we need more time to relax this time...all early seating for dinner was gone so we will try late seating this time...

I AM SO EXCITED...unlike my husband who throws me dirty looks when i mention the disney cruise...he only gets excited when we start the trip so i must suffer and plan alone....

i look forward to getting to know you better these next few months...

 

[SamR]

Welcome Aboard!

If you are so inclined, be sure to join the Yahoo Group that one of our enterprising members (Thanks Paul!) set up for us. (You can join at October 15th Cruisers ) We have a database of DISers on the cruise, a few photos, and some other helpful files.

...ds (12), ds (8), dd (6), ds (3)...

Are those their ages at the time of the cruise? You've got a lot of overlap with my set. At cruise time, I'll have a DS12, DS9, and a DD5-6. (She'll be 5 when we board, but will turn 6 on Tuesday of Magic week!)

...my kids are the minority that cry when we pick them up from the kids clubs because they do not want to leave their new friends and activities!...

Consider yourself lucky! Mine liked some of the activities on our four-day Wonder cruise, but did not want to spend a "boatload" of time there. (Message to oybolshoi: How's that one, Brenda? Just trying to keep the pun-thing alive on the Molar Express! ) With one cruise under their belts, and a longer itinerary, maybe they will be more enthusiastic about the clubs this time around.

...so i must suffer and plan alone....

Wait a minute...You're not saying that planning is suffering, are you? Heck, I think most of us on here would be suffering only if we were NOT planning a Disney vacation!

Again, welcome aboard!

 

[jenmack]

Welcome txaggie94gige!

Your DH sounds just like my Dh. I did ALL of the planning on our last Disney cruise. This time around... Same thing. He really enjoyed himself & is looking foreward to going, but he saves all his "excitement" for when we are actually on the trip. I too get the dirty looks or the "not again."

Shmoogrrrl, Sorry to hear about the accident, but am glad that everyone is ok. A mercedes? How's the minivan shoping? I finally convinced my DH we "needed" one about a year & a half ago, and I absolutely love it! So does my DH, although he won't admit it.

~Hope everyone is having a lovely weekend!

~Jen

 

[shmoogrrrl]

Me (32), dh (35), ds (12), ds (8), dd (6), ds (3)...all are ages at time of sailing...

Woo Hoo! Your DS will be with my Daughter and her two best friends! (All will be various stages of three when we sail!

 

[shmoogrrrl]

Shmoogrrrl, Sorry to hear about the accident, but am glad that everyone is ok. A mercedes? How's the minivan shoping? I finally convinced my DH we "needed" one about a year & a half ago, and I absolutely love it! So does my DH, although he won't admit it.

Thanks! I was glad that everyone was okay too! Yep. I pick good cars to hit, apparently. It was a 97 at least, so it was older. I'll tell you what though, that car didn't have NEAR the damage that mine did! They obviously hold up well! Lucky for me, the guy who was driving was VERY nice about the whole thing. Thank goodness I didn't get someone who was just obnoxious or something!

We are officially Mini Van owners now! We got a Toyota Sienna LE. So far, we LOVE it. My husband even likes to drive it!

Thanks!

 

[txaggie94gigem]

well, I LOVE the planning but I must "suffer" by not telling my family everything I plan for the cruise....I get so excited even this far away!

I am also beginning to look at different excursions...my husband's ears did perk up when i told him about orient bay on st marteen (with the excellent "no line" tan that people can get there) but alas with four young children in tow I do not see us going there!

I do want to see the butterfly farm and do some shopping. On St. Thomas I think we may go to the coral reef place but i am not sure. we were so exhausted on the 4 day cruise that we did not leave the boat in Nassau so i am really looking forward to touring the virgin islands this time...we are somewhat restricted by the disney excursions since my youngest will only be 3. does anyone have any ideas on how to do transportation for 6...taxi, bus, or rental car?

 

[llyolf]

hi there txaggie94gigem,
So now we have an aggie and a hokie.... if we put you 2 together to we get a hoagie?


We used to have a Ford (Fix or Repair Daily.. literally) Windstar.... from that we went the route of a Subaru Outback... We love that!!! went test driving newer windstars and saw the used Outback... test drove it... and decided the ride of the Outback was tons better than minivans... plus better reliability... that was like 2 years ago.... the only thing we've had the car in for has been maintenance and oil changes.... nothing like good foreign quality that's built in Indiana...

hope you love the sienna!!
TX, I also have a 3year old.... should be a fun time... Grace is a comedian... and never stops talking... and we were worried when sh took her time learning to talk... she's a 100,000 words a day girl...

good day to all!
Paul

 

[sara]

d'Isigny, thank you for the link. It took awhile, but I finally signed up. Now, I just have to find the time to catch up there, too. Seems like a fun group!

schmoogrrrl...sorry about the accident, but congrats on the new mini van. Glad you like it. New cars are so fun.

Welcome txaggie. I have a DS who will be 8 when we cruise! On our last cruise he never wanted to leave the kids club either. I remember thinking...hey, we're fun too, aren't we? DD-9 is a little more shy. So, we weren't completely lonely.

Oh...I booked the Hyatt for Friday night. We don't officially have airfare yet, but we will probably be arriving at 9pm.

Add my DH to the list of non planners. He knows I love Disney and just smiles when I start talking away. Of course, if he wants to go skiing or camping, he better plan it...cause I say

Have a great week!

Sara

 

[BABYJOSIE98]

You are alone no more!! Welcome to our obsessive group! Heck we are proud of it!!!
Go check out our Yahoo group!! lot's of pictures and information on others going on this same cruise.
My DD Will be 7 when we go and will be in the same club with your DD and DS. She makes friends with everyone...For the most part she did enjoy the clubs,but really liked the MICKEY Pool~~~~~~

That is ok...I mostly checked her in for evening if we had dinner at Palo. I also would check out what was going on during the day and if it interested her she would go. I am just glad I could get her to go to the Whale Bone dig at Scuttles cove so I could go to Serenity bay for an hour or so. The only thing bad is it is so hot on the island sometimes. When I went to get her both trips her little face was so red!! I can't imagine how hot SUMMER is

Anyway welcome........

 

[oybolshoi]

Greetings all! Just pesky ol' Brenda here with another question / suggestion...it never ends, does it?

I don't know if anyone else here has used the Magical Disney Cruise Guide as a reference, but I found it really helpful last year when I was planning our first Disney cruise and was looking for all the information I could possibly find. I was just wondering if we could add a link to the Yahoo Group so that people who aren't as experienced with DCL could use it as a reference. I think the link is at allearsnet.com/cruise/cruise.shtml

On the left side of the page you can click on the Guide and download it in PDF format (it's about 80 pages - I printed it out at work last summer!).

Just a thought...the newbies can cut their collective teeth on it!! (I can't resist the tooth jokes ).

And despite the helpfulness of this guide, I still bought the Passporter and lurked on these boards for months. More information... must have more information!!

Oybolshoi AKA Brenda
First Mate, SS Molar Express

BTW - I think we should make Paul the Chief Engineer of the Molar Express.

 

[Busymom]

Hello,
Yes! We are booked on the Oct 15,2005 cruise. I actually booked this cruise LAST JUNE, 2004..!!! Talk about planning ahead!!! We are in category 6 with a verandah. This is our first Disney cruise, but we have been on 3 Royal Carribbean cruises before. This is our first cruise with our daughters who will be 7 and 9 on the trip. Does anyone know the best place to stay the night before and best transportation? I have not heard very good things about the Disney Transport system so we are hoping to avoid it and go private transportation! Any suggestions are welcome!

 

[shmoogrrrl]

How many of us are repeat cruisers and how many are first timers on Disney?

Maybe we need a poll.

This will be our fourth Disney Cruise. We went on a 3-day in April 2000 as part of our honeymoon, then a 7-day in February of 2001 with my parents and neice (who was 5 at the time), then a 7-day in September of 2001 with our friends the Donovans, then a 7-day in April of 2003 with the Donovans again, and our little girls (ours was 10 months theirs was 15 months.)

 

[d'Isigny]

Hello Sara...
You are welcome...glad it worked out. Agree...it took me a while to get set up. WELCOME!!!
Hey Brenda....
I agree with you...any one that asks me for advise/suggestions on DCL...this is one of the first links I pass. Do believe there are two places this is posted at - another can be found at http://hometown.aol.com/entropym/
This 80-90 page document is OUTSTANDING. It’s kind of like a training manual for anyone wanting to take a cruise with Disney.
Hi Busymom...
WELCOME!!! there are a gambit of options on where to stay the first night before cruising. A popular place near port appears to be at the Radisson. Others might choose hotel options around the airport - Barb/Tony http://**********************/
discuss the use of Priceline/Hotwire and normally stay at an off airport hotel…price appears to be around 25-30 per room/night. Try looking on their main page for hotel/transportation link. As far as transportation from airport to port...we like renting a car. With 5, Disney transportation would exceed $100. I can rent a van for $55-60 and $3-4 for tolls. Depending on the company...you might add $10-11 (plus tip) for a cab from the agency to port. Renting is a little more time consuming, however you have the flexibility to stop for necessities - like 'daddy juice' – I meant to say film...yea..film and batteries. Someone who outlines the pros/cons for renting a car is Dave’s site.
http://www.dcltribute.com/
Hey Shmoogrrrl,
Sorry to hear of your accident – blessings that no one was hurt. Hope you enjoy your new mini van.
You ask a good question about number of cruises for ‘our group’. OK – I’ll start…October will be our 4th cruise with Disney and 5th overall. One of the Disney cruises was pretty special…my Bride and I celebrating turning 39 + 1 and our 15th wedding anniversary – WITHOUT THE KIDS.

Well – best to all…may be a few days before I get back on line. I bought a new laptop and have been putting off transferring files, preferences and adding software. Granted…I’ll be having some ‘daddy juice’ when this is finished. Am excited about taking this tool (Nancy chimes in - “TOY”) on our vacation. I’ll be able to transfer photos from our camera to the computer without going to walgreens/Costco or Ship.

My best to all….Kevin

 

[BABYJOSIE98]

We have always stayed at the Radisson at Cape Canaveral before our cruises and we loved it. Great Pool and free shuttle to the port. This year rates seem to be a bit higher and we won't get into town till evening on Friday so was thinking of trying Price line and see what I get. We are renting a car. I have one on reserve from Budget and we can turn it in at the port and they will take us by shuttle to DCL terminal. $44 for a full size car for one day. DCL transfers are $59 per person.EEK!

Plus renting a car gives you more freedom.

I just cruised RCL in January and had a good time,but this ship I was on just did not compare to the Disney Ships!! I can't wait to sail on the MAGIC! We have been on the Wonder twice. When I first get a glimps of the Disney ships they take my breath away....I can't explain it...The RCL ship did not have that effect on me. Plus I was spoiled by being anounced when we step on board and greeted by Mickey and Minney. Plus I missed Ice Cream anytime I wanted it!

You will have a great time...My DD will be 7 when we sail and so she will be in the same club level as your DD.

I booked a year and a half out too....my countdown timer was over 500 when it started! Now it is almost too 200 days! I can't believe it...

Time flys........

Bye

 

[llyolf]

waaaaaaa
HTML has been shut off on signatures... so all countdowns that were the basic ones are now bye bye.... I got my new one from http://www.tickerfactory.com

welcome busymom txaggie94gigem and !! if you are in deep when it comes to planning, join the yahoo group. it's got polls, and a database of fellow cruisers and excursions and some useful links... plus you'll belong to a select group of cruiser planners anonymous...

This will be cruise #2 for 3/4 of the Bradfords... Lily was but 12 weeks old...

have a good day!

Paul
Chief Engineer of the Molar Express.... Extractions extra!!

P.S. my wife can now be added to the Molar Express....
does this hurt how about this root canal to follow...
BTW: she is lurking on the yahoo group

 

[BABYJOSIE98]

I don't like the new countdown timer!! They are not nearly as much fun as our other ones.....

I hate change.....

 

[shmoogrrrl]

I think I have mine updated! Strange!

 

[wayneg]

Will have to look for new countdown then. Don't like the ones I have seen so far.
Snow here for the last 24 hours. Couldn't get my car out at 3:30 this morning so left it and went back to bed. Hope it clears for 3:30 tomorrow.
Still seems a long way off October.

 

[oybolshoi]

Paul, OUCH! Root canal...yucko. Give my best to your wife - I hope she makes it through the process with a minimum of discomfort (she'll probably get some pretty good painkillers, that should help). Perhaps she would be interested in signing on as an Ensign aboard the SS Molar Express?

At this rate we're going to need a separate DISmeet for those of us who've gone under the drill this year so we can compare dental work!

BAD JOKE ALERT...maybe we can have that special dental DISmeet on the bridge?!


I was bummed last night to see that the countdowns have been disabled - I don't like any of the other timers that I've seen so I just erased my whole signature. I guess I'll have to count manually in my work planner so I'll know each day that we're getting closer and closer - it really helps to see the number of days shrink.

 

[jenmack]

Welcome Busymom!
We too have reserved a car thru Budget Rental. we used them last time & everything went smoothly being shuttled to and from port for our return trip home.

This will be our 2nd Disney cruise, our 2nd cruise ever. We went last time, myself, DH & our 3 kids. We were on the 7-day western cruise and stopped @ Costa Maya instead of Grand Cayman (hurricane damage). This October it will be just myself and DH.

Shmoogrrrl, cute picture.

~jen