CruiseBoundnKY
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2006
- Messages
- 639
Hi all!!!
Welcome to the Walton's family vacation 2008. This is our 2nd Disney cruise. The first one was May 5 - 12 2007. It was called the Cinco Dis Mayo cruise.
Anyway, I'm a very novice writer and I just wanted to share some of my experiences and advice.
1st of all arriving early this trip has been a MAJOR blessing. We left KY Wednesday night around 7:30 drove to the FL state line. Family tradition has it that we nap there for an hour or so until they open and get their OJ sample and a handful of brochures. We went to the Millenia Mall in Orlando (another family tradition) to go to Bass Pro Shop, Sheplers, Steve & Barry's, Ron Jon's and the cheap Disney store. Then we drove over to the port and checked into the Radisson at the Port.
Timing things this way gave us a whole extra day to catch up on sleep and enjoy the port area. We also were able to see the Wonder for the first time
2nd - packing separate luggage for your pre-cruise stay is a good idea. I had 2 bags, a Friday bag and a Saturday bag.
3rd - We went to Grill's at the port to eat which I had heard about here from Disboards. Don't get me wrong the food was good, but I think overpriced for what you got and I just wouldn't go there again. Didn't do much for me at all. Not that there was anything wrong with it, but it just wasn't that great.
4th - We went to Kelsey's Pizza by the Radisson Awesome pizza and reasonable price. We just walked over because its so super close.
5th - There is a Wal-Mart right up the road. Turn right out of the parking lot and go down to the 520, I think it's about 4 miles down the road. They had reasonable Disney shirts, sunscreen and Florida souvies.
6 - This is our 2nd time staying at the Radisson. We have a really nice room and my db has a suite. Both rooms are very nice. Nice pools, hot tub, Koi pond, waterfalls, service.... We had the toilet overflow last night and within 5 minutes of my call I had 3 people show up. One was from maintenance and one from house keeping. I dunno about the third. They fixed, cleaned and disinfected within a matter of minutes. No further problems today. I was very pleased with their service.
7 - At Ron Jon's they have these bins that spin and hold lots of stuff like ink pens, key chains, etc. Anyway, on the bottom there are these money/key holders that go around your neck and they are waterproof. I LOVE mine!!! Great for Castaway Cay or any other beach to hold your money and room keys. They are $5.99 each and come in 2 sizes and various colors.
8 - Have fun and relax. Obviously since we are here we are all serious "over planners" with an immense love for a giant rodent. At some point you have to turn that switch off and just wing things. It is a vacation after all.
Well...we board in the morning. I will update this as soon as I get back.
More tips/advice to come. If you have any questions about current stuff or anything, shoot away.
Disclaimer -
Thanks to all those in the past who took the time to write the trip reports that have made my Disney vacations so wonderful.
Karen
Welcome to the Walton's family vacation 2008. This is our 2nd Disney cruise. The first one was May 5 - 12 2007. It was called the Cinco Dis Mayo cruise.
Anyway, I'm a very novice writer and I just wanted to share some of my experiences and advice.
1st of all arriving early this trip has been a MAJOR blessing. We left KY Wednesday night around 7:30 drove to the FL state line. Family tradition has it that we nap there for an hour or so until they open and get their OJ sample and a handful of brochures. We went to the Millenia Mall in Orlando (another family tradition) to go to Bass Pro Shop, Sheplers, Steve & Barry's, Ron Jon's and the cheap Disney store. Then we drove over to the port and checked into the Radisson at the Port.
Timing things this way gave us a whole extra day to catch up on sleep and enjoy the port area. We also were able to see the Wonder for the first time
2nd - packing separate luggage for your pre-cruise stay is a good idea. I had 2 bags, a Friday bag and a Saturday bag.
3rd - We went to Grill's at the port to eat which I had heard about here from Disboards. Don't get me wrong the food was good, but I think overpriced for what you got and I just wouldn't go there again. Didn't do much for me at all. Not that there was anything wrong with it, but it just wasn't that great.
4th - We went to Kelsey's Pizza by the Radisson
Awesome pizza and reasonable price. We just walked over because its so super close.5th - There is a Wal-Mart right up the road. Turn right out of the parking lot and go down to the 520, I think it's about 4 miles down the road. They had reasonable Disney shirts, sunscreen and Florida souvies.
6 - This is our 2nd time staying at the Radisson.
We have a really nice room and my db has a suite. Both rooms are very nice. Nice pools, hot tub, Koi pond, waterfalls, service.... We had the toilet overflow last night and within 5 minutes of my call I had 3 people show up. One was from maintenance and one from house keeping. I dunno about the third. They fixed, cleaned and disinfected within a matter of minutes. No further problems today. I was very pleased with their service.7 - At Ron Jon's they have these bins that spin and hold lots of stuff like ink pens, key chains, etc. Anyway, on the bottom there are these money/key holders that go around your neck and they are waterproof. I LOVE mine!!! Great for Castaway Cay or any other beach to hold your money and room keys. They are $5.99 each and come in 2 sizes and various colors.
8 - Have fun and relax. Obviously since we are here we are all serious "over planners" with an immense love for a giant rodent. At some point you have to turn that switch off and just wing things. It is a vacation after all.
Well...we board in the morning. I will update this as soon as I get back.
More tips/advice to come. If you have any questions about current stuff or anything, shoot away.
Disclaimer -
Thanks to all those in the past who took the time to write the trip reports that have made my Disney vacations so wonderful.Karen
