Sep. 7, 2015 on the Dream

[joannjoe]

It is 30 days for off site guests and 60 days for on site guests. Last time I booked my FP it opened up at midnight EST. Unless your 60 day has the MK open until 1 or 2 am. Then it will be after that. You can book 3 to start off. When you use those 3 you can go to the kiosk in the park and add another one, one at a time. If staying onsite you want to go to MDE and click on "Magicbands and Cards". You can then customize your bands by picking a color and putting your name or a nickname on it. The name does not matter, it can be all kinds of crazy My family is Goofy, Babsy, Booger, and Sunshine. They normally send the magicbands 30-45 days our from your trip. It is your door key, can be used for charging to your room, and has all of your FPs on it. It is linked to your account. Like Jo said make sure to link all of your things into MDE. If you don't have tickets linked you cannot do FP.

I LOVE FP+!! I know a lot of people on different threads majorly complain about it, but it works great for us. With the old system we always had to have a runner to run across the park to get FPs, and then they would run back to meet the group. Then we would later go back across the park to ride the ride. Guess who was always the runner? Now our trips are a lot smoother and relaxing. I organize our FPs for times when we should be in that area of the park. We go enough that we have a good feel for where we will be at what time. The big plus for us, is that we get to ride rides that often would run out of FP tickets with the old system. We do not RD at all!! It is vacation time, and I refuse to be woken up by an alarm. As a result DH leaves the room about 6am so he doesn't wake us vampires. DD, DS, and myself sleep until around 9 or 10 and get to the parks around 12.. Several trips we didn't ride TSMM or Soarin (not a necessity for us) because the lines are so long by the time we got there and there were no FPs left. With this new system I can schedule out times so we don't have to wait forever for all of our favorites.

Sounds a lot better than what I mumbled.

 

[Vegasnine]

It is 30 days for off site guests and 60 days for on site guests. Last time I booked my FP it opened up at midnight EST. Unless your 60 day has the MK open until 1 or 2 am. Then it will be after that. You can book 3 to start off. When you use those 3 you can go to the kiosk in the park and add another one, one at a time. If staying onsite you want to go to MDE and click on "Magicbands and Cards". You can then customize your bands by picking a color and putting your name or a nickname on it. The name does not matter, it can be all kinds of crazy My family is Goofy, Babsy, Booger, and Sunshine. They normally send the magicbands 30-45 days our from your trip. It is your door key, can be used for charging to your room, and has all of your FPs on it. It is linked to your account. Like Jo said make sure to link all of your things into MDE. If you don't have tickets linked you cannot do FP.

I LOVE FP+!! I know a lot of people on different threads majorly complain about it, but it works great for us. With the old system we always had to have a runner to run across the park to get FPs, and then they would run back to meet the group. Then we would later go back across the park to ride the ride. Guess who was always the runner? Now our trips are a lot smoother and relaxing. I organize our FPs for times when we should be in that area of the park. We go enough that we have a good feel for where we will be at what time. The big plus for us, is that we get to ride rides that often would run out of FP tickets with the old system. We do not RD at all!! It is vacation time, and I refuse to be woken up by an alarm. As a result DH leaves the room about 6am so he doesn't wake us vampires. DD, DS, and myself sleep until around 9 or 10 and get to the parks around 12.. Several trips we didn't ride TSMM or Soarin (not a necessity for us) because the lines are so long by the time we got there and there were no FPs left. With this new system I can schedule out times so we don't have to wait forever for all of our favorites.

I do understand the Magicbands....FYI they don't mail them out to Canadian Guests, we have to pick them up when we check in.

I'm just curious about the Fastpass part. I don't know what TSMM or Soarin are....maybe I don't need to.

So it's sounding like it's best to book the 60 days out for the rides you really want FP to. I suppose a strategy would be to do them all the the same area one after another? That's what I'm trying to understand. If I have a FP time for Splash Mountain at 930am - what time do I book Space Mountain? It seems like way too much rigid scheduling for a vacation to me. I understand the desire to not stand in lines all day either....that's why I'm trying to get a better feel for how people plan. What's the strategy when picking them. Do you use them for parades and fireworks and what does that actually get you?

Can anyone shed some light more on that side of things? I do understand the concept, just don't really understand the best way to go about it.

Thanks!

 

[butsy113]

Soarin is at Epcot and often has over an hour wait. TSMM is Toy Story Midway Mania at Hollywood Studios and also has well over an hour wait all day. I've seen both rides with over 2 hr waits.

I always plan my FP according to how we tour. Here's an example, we book our Big Thunder for 1p-2p and Splash for 2p-3p. They are right next to each other so when we get to the park we do Adventureland, and Frontierland. We go to the FP line at like 1:45 for Big Thunder. By the time we are off we can go and get Splash with our 2p-4p FP time. We then wander through Liberty Square (used favorite bathroom, I. Rapunzel's tower lol) and Fantasyland riding what lines we feel like standing in. We ride Space in the evening some time.

We aren't crazy runners though. We start late and stay late. We have spent the entire day in MK and barely ridden a ride at all. It would be a good idea to get a map to help you plan times

 

[Vegasnine]

Soarin is at Epcot and often has over an hour wait. TSMM is Toy Story Midway Mania at Hollywood Studios and also has well over an hour wait all day. I've seen both rides with over 2 hr waits.

I always plan my FP according to how we tour. Here's an example, we book our Big Thunder for 1p-2p and Splash for 2p-3p. They are right next to each other so when we get to the park we do Adventureland, and Frontierland. We go to the FP line at like 1:45 for Big Thunder. By the time we are off we can go and get Splash with our 2p-4p FP time. We then wander through Liberty Square (used favorite bathroom, I. Rapunzel's tower lol) and Fantasyland riding what lines we feel like standing in. We ride Space in the evening some time.

We aren't crazy runners though. We start late and stay late. We have spent the entire day in MK and barely ridden a ride at all. It would be a good idea to get a map to help you plan times

This information is great thank you! We've been before but looking at the map to help plan things out is a great idea.

We aren't going to Epcot or Hollywood Studios so that explains it.

Appreciate you taking the time to help me out!

 

[MadamG2U]

Hello everyone!

The cruise is getting closer! I've been MIA work is all time consuming but just wanted to stop in and say hello. Looking forward to this trip more than you could know.

Gloria
MadamG2U

 

[nearlyfallinstar]

Hello everyone!

The cruise is getting closer! I've been MIA work is all time consuming but just wanted to stop in and say hello. Looking forward to this trip more than you could know.

Gloria
MadamG2U

 

[Jasesmom]

Hello everyone!

The cruise is getting closer! I've been MIA work is all time consuming but just wanted to stop in and say hello. Looking forward to this trip more than you could know.

Gloria
MadamG2U

Good to hear from you

 

[RedwineFamily]

Hello everyone!

The cruise is getting closer! I've been MIA work is all time consuming but just wanted to stop in and say hello. Looking forward to this trip more than you could know.

Gloria
MadamG2U

Glad to see that you are still with us Gloria!!

 

[Kirsten.78]

Hi my name is Kirsten and my husband, daughter and I are booked on the Dream sailing out Monday September 7th (Labor Day). This will be a new experience for all of us. My daughter (will have just turned 6) has not done anything Disney nor cruised before, I have done both parks eons ago but have never cruised before and my husband HAS cruised but (lived a sheltered life) has not done anything Disney. We are all so very excited!! I keep seeing and reading all over Pinterest about these FEE things and I am very interested in joining in the fun but i am a total newb so someone might have to explain it to me. We are from Katy, TX. Idk our stateroom off the top. Kirsten (me - 37) wine, vodka, vaping, ANYTHING Jeep Wrangler related. Arthur (39) Bud Light, Mustangs (racing) and Olivia (6) ANYTHING Frozen, makeup, mani-pedi, and anything purple and hot pink. Can't wait to meet y'all!!

 

[Jasesmom]

Hi my name is Kirsten and my husband, daughter and I are booked on the Dream sailing out Monday September 7th (Labor Day). This will be a new experience for all of us. My daughter (will have just turned 6) has not done anything Disney nor cruised before, I have done both parks eons ago but have never cruised before and my husband HAS cruised but (lived a sheltered life) has not done anything Disney. We are all so very excited!! I keep seeing and reading all over Pinterest about these FEE things and I am very interested in joining in the fun but i am a total newb so someone might have to explain it to me. We are from Katy, TX. Idk our stateroom off the top. Kirsten (me - 37) wine, vodka, vaping, ANYTHING Jeep Wrangler related. Arthur (39) Bud Light, Mustangs (racing) and Olivia (6) ANYTHING Frozen, makeup, mani-pedi, and anything purple and hot pink. Can't wait to meet y'all!!

WELCOME TO THE GROUP!!!!! Glad to have another "newbie" to Disney Cruise Lines!!!!

 

[nearlyfallinstar]

Hi my name is Kirsten and my husband, daughter and I are booked on the Dream sailing out Monday September 7th (Labor Day). This will be a new experience for all of us. My daughter (will have just turned 6) has not done anything Disney nor cruised before, I have done both parks eons ago but have never cruised before and my husband HAS cruised but (lived a sheltered life) has not done anything Disney. We are all so very excited!! I keep seeing and reading all over Pinterest about these FEE things and I am very interested in joining in the fun but i am a total newb so someone might have to explain it to me. We are from Katy, TX. Idk our stateroom off the top. Kirsten (me - 37) wine, vodka, vaping, ANYTHING Jeep Wrangler related. Arthur (39) Bud Light, Mustangs (racing) and Olivia (6) ANYTHING Frozen, makeup, mani-pedi, and anything purple and hot pink. Can't wait to meet y'all!!

This is my family's first cruise as well! I am the only one out of the five of us that has been to WDW and I think I was nine at the time. There are plenty of people on here and on DISboards in general that know a lot though! It sounds like your Olivia and my Anna would get along! She will be six during the cruise as well. She also loves frozen and anything girly!

 

[sillecruisers]

Hi my name is Kirsten and my husband, daughter and I are booked on the Dream sailing out Monday September 7th (Labor Day). This will be a new experience for all of us. My daughter (will have just turned 6) has not done anything Disney nor cruised before, I have done both parks eons ago but have never cruised before and my husband HAS cruised but (lived a sheltered life) has not done anything Disney. We are all so very excited!! I keep seeing and reading all over Pinterest about these FEE things and I am very interested in joining in the fun but i am a total newb so someone might have to explain it to me. We are from Katy, TX. Idk our stateroom off the top. Kirsten (me - 37) wine, vodka, vaping, ANYTHING Jeep Wrangler related. Arthur (39) Bud Light, Mustangs (racing) and Olivia (6) ANYTHING Frozen, makeup, mani-pedi, and anything purple and hot pink. Can't wait to meet y'all!!

Welcome! We are cruise newbies too! We are super excited for this cruise!

 

[nearlyfallinstar]

I keep seeing and reading all over Pinterest about these FEE things and I am very interested in joining in the fun but i am a total newb so someone might have to explain it to me.

This is what I know about FE from what I have picked up from other people, forum reading, and internet searching. You will need something like this:

This is your fish extender that hangs off a hanger that is outside of your stateroom door. Some of these hangers are shaped like fish and that is where the name comes from. The fish extender in the picture is a fancy one and you can buy them off of Etsy or eBay. They can run from $35 to $50. However, it is completely unnecessary to buy one. As long as there is a pocket for each person in your room. Some people have even used grocery sacks. I am making my family's fish extender from canvas bags and it is only going to cost me about $7-$10. If you make your own, it should be no more than about 8" wide. I've heard that wider fish extenders can interfere with shutting your door, which I guess is not a huge deal if you don't mind moving the thing out of the way when you go in and out of your room.

As for gifts it is pretty much dealers choice! Some people chose to only give one gift per stateroom. Some people give one gift per person. Some people give one gift per day. It's completely up to you! You have already been on Pinterest and that can give you great ideas for gifts. You can also choose to deliver all of your gifts at one time or spread it out throughout the whole cruise. I am planning on giving out our gifts on the first night. My girls are going to be tired from driving so I know they will be in bed by about 9pm, so I'm going to go then to get a good feel for the ship as well.

Right now there are 15 families signed up for our FE in 17 staterooms. I believe that list will be at least divided in half? Maybe into three groups if more people sign up before the cut off date. I think the cutoff date is sometime in June? After the paid in full date. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong! After the cutoff date, you would get a list of the people in your group. You can chose to only give gifts to the people in your group or you can give gifts to all of the groups if you want to.

I think that covers the basics, right?

 

[joannjoe]

This is what I know about FE from what I have picked up from other people, forum reading, and internet searching. You will need something like this:

This is your fish extender that hangs off a hanger that is outside of your stateroom door. Some of these hangers are shaped like fish and that is where the name comes from. The fish extender in the picture is a fancy one and you can buy them off of Etsy or eBay. They can run from $35 to $50. However, it is completely unnecessary to buy one. As long as there is a pocket for each person in your room. Some people have even used grocery sacks. I am making my family's fish extender from canvas bags and it is only going to cost me about $7-$10. If you make your own, it should be no more than about 8" wide. I've heard that wider fish extenders can interfere with shutting your door, which I guess is not a huge deal if you don't mind moving the thing out of the way when you go in and out of your room.

As for gifts it is pretty much dealers choice! Some people chose to only give one gift per stateroom. Some people give one gift per person. Some people give one gift per day. It's completely up to you! You have already been on Pinterest and that can give you great ideas for gifts. You can also choose to deliver all of your gifts at one time or spread it out throughout the whole cruise. I am planning on giving out our gifts on the first night. My girls are going to be tired from driving so I know they will be in bed by about 9pm, so I'm going to go then to get a good feel for the ship as well.

Right now there are 15 families signed up for our FE in 17 staterooms. I believe that list will be at least divided in half? Maybe into three groups if more people sign up before the cut off date. I think the cutoff date is sometime in June? After the paid in full date. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong! After the cutoff date, you would get a list of the people in your group. You can chose to only give gifts to the people in your group or you can give gifts to all of the groups if you want to.

I think that covers the basics, right?

You pretty much explained it all. I would add to bring a plastic zip tie to tie your fish extender to your fish on your wall and something to cut it off before you leave the ship of course. Also to remember when passing out gifts if you have gifts that pertain to a certain days events or something people can use the entire stay. If your gifts can wait until the second day I would shoot for that only because if everyone went on the first day there would be no room for everything in the fish extender and gifts may get swiped. So maybe later on we can tell Amber if our gifts can wait or they cant and she can knock out a list of who's doing first day and etc... Maybe also on the list of names and room numbers it can say where the room is at to as far as front, middle, back, right, or left side. That's Funny 9pm LOL NO WAY My kids cried at midnight because they wanted to stay. They do sleep well when you get to a bed though.

 

[joannjoe]

Hi my name is Kirsten and my husband, daughter and I are booked on the Dream sailing out Monday September 7th (Labor Day). This will be a new experience for all of us. My daughter (will have just turned 6) has not done anything Disney nor cruised before, I have done both parks eons ago but have never cruised before and my husband HAS cruised but (lived a sheltered life) has not done anything Disney. We are all so very excited!! I keep seeing and reading all over Pinterest about these FEE things and I am very interested in joining in the fun but i am a total newb so someone might have to explain it to me. We are from Katy, TX. Idk our stateroom off the top. Kirsten (me - 37) wine, vodka, vaping, ANYTHING Jeep Wrangler related. Arthur (39) Bud Light, Mustangs (racing) and Olivia (6) ANYTHING Frozen, makeup, mani-pedi, and anything purple and hot pink. Can't wait to meet y'all!!

 

[Arimya14]

Hello My name is Monica and I just booked the Sept 7th Dream cruise!! This will be our 2nd time doing this cruise! Last one was almost 3 years ago. I will be traveling with my husband and 2 daughters ages 8 and 2 very close to 3 when we sail My mil and nephew age 11 will be going along as well it will be their first Disney cruise. My husband and I decided to keep this a secret from the kids until that morning. Don't know if we will be doing the exchange not sure what it all entails so I will look into it further. When is the deadline to be apart of the exchange?

 

[Jasesmom]

WE

Hello My name is Monica and I just booked the Sept 7th Dream cruise!! This will be our 2nd time doing this cruise! Last one was almost 3 years ago. I will be traveling with my husband and 2 daughters ages 8 and 2 very close to 3 when we sail My mil and nephew age 11 will be going along as well it will be their first Disney cruise. My husband and I decided to keep this a secret from the kids until that morning. Don't know if we will be doing the exchange not sure what it all entails so I will look into it further. When is the deadline to be apart of the exchange?

WELCOME!!!!!!!!!!

 

[joannjoe]

Hello My name is Monica and I just booked the Sept 7th Dream cruise!! This will be our 2nd time doing this cruise! Last one was almost 3 years ago. I will be traveling with my husband and 2 daughters ages 8 and 2 very close to 3 when we sail My mil and nephew age 11 will be going along as well it will be their first Disney cruise. My husband and I decided to keep this a secret from the kids until that morning. Don't know if we will be doing the exchange not sure what it all entails so I will look into it further. When is the deadline to be apart of the exchange?

I think some where around June something. Amber can let you know when she gets back on here.

 

[party-of-five]

 

[nearlyfallinstar]

That's Funny 9pm LOL NO WAY My kids cried at midnight because they wanted to stay. They do sleep well when you get to a bed though.

Well, my 6 year old and maybe my (will be) 5 year old could last longer than 9. But my 3 year old won't. If she lasts later than that I will be surprised!