September 22, 2012 Fantasy Eastern "From Fantasyland to the Fantasy"

[mouseears1]

Just a little note to let you know my mother had hip surgery/replaced yesterday and for the most part doing pretty good.

For those of you that know her from going on previous cruises know she is in a wheelchair due to her muscle disease. Before she was able to get around the house (or her stateroom) with a walker, but the last couple of months he couldn't walk 5 feet becouse she was in so much pain. We know she will always need the wheelchair and walker but we are hoping this new hip will make her be able to get around (with the walkler) like before. If this surgery was not successful she will not be able to go on the cruise. She really want to go on this cruise to see the new ship and to see all of you who have sailed with us before. (Plus I need her handicapped stateroom for the tour) Ha Ha.

P.S. We are having beautiful weather her in Ohio, mid 70's low 80's.

We are so hoping that she heals soon and that she will be able to use her walker and not be in pain. I just love your mom and I am hoping to see her again

 

[Grandma4ever]

Just a little note to let you know my mother had hip surgery/replaced yesterday and for the most part doing pretty good.

For those of you that know her from going on previous cruises know she is in a wheelchair due to her muscle disease. Before she was able to get around the house (or her stateroom) with a walker, but the last couple of months he couldn't walk 5 feet becouse she was in so much pain. We know she will always need the wheelchair and walker but we are hoping this new hip will make her be able to get around (with the walkler) like before. If this surgery was not successful she will not be able to go on the cruise. She really want to go on this cruise to see the new ship and to see all of you who have sailed with us before. (Plus I need her handicapped stateroom for the tour) Ha Ha.

P.S. We are having beautiful weather her in Ohio, mid 70's low 80's.

I too will send positive thoughts that she has a quick and complete recovery. Tell her we want to see her on this cruise and that we are counting on having the Handicapped stateroom for the tour!!!!!

 

[sssteele]

Hellooooooo new Fantasy Friends!!!

I just firmed things up with my TA switching us to this sailing so we're in! I have yet to swim thru all 30-something pages of your thread so bear with me. I'm just so excited I wanted to go ahead and introduce us and start the happy-dancin...

I'm Kelly..the old lady..will be 38 fabulous years old at the time of sailing. My sidekick..er..my old man, Tracey, who will be 40 years old next year will be along for the adventure. Yikes! The big 4-ooooh! We'll be bringing along our boys: Chandler (16 @ sailing) & Brian (14 @ sailing). Our hometown is currently Port Arthur, Texas which is a little over an hour outside Houston on the coast. I'd love to give you a stateroom # but we don't have that yet. We're a 6A GTY. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing but either way I'm treating our surprise room assignment as part of the adventure. Heehee!

We juuuust got home from our most recent WDW adventure and first ever cruise. We did 5 nights at the WL, 3-night Dream, and 6-nights at the YC. It was quite the long trip. We loved the cruise, looooved the Dream, but felt like it was waaaaay too short. Being our first cruise we learned a lot from the experience. Sadly, just when we were figuring things out it was time to get off the ship. I felt like I didn't have time to do hardly anything I wanted to. Soooo, we're ready to get back onboard but for a longer trip. Not sure if we'll pair any WDW time with this cruise. We weren't so thrilled with the parks with hot weather but loooooved Stormalong Bay. Maybe we'll just go spend a week at the Yacht Club again.

Off to start swimming thru the thread....

Welcome! Glad you found us here on the boards. I'm sure you'll find this quite a friendly group of active posters.

As you read through all the pages, you will become more excited. Lots of plans for activities before and during the cruise. Maybe even after if folks will be around The World. We usually try to visit a resort and/or parks before and after our cruises. We also love Stormalong Bay, and fall is a great time to be there with Food and Wine so close by. When we cruise in December, it'll be Wilderness Lodge!

Poor DH will have to hunt me down and drag me off the Dream in December since it's only a 3 night. Swore we wouldn't do that to ourselves again, but friends twisted our arms. Darn friends.

Hope to meet you and your family soon(time to start a new countdown).

 

[sssteele]

Most cruises we do a cruise sandwich a few days in the parks before and a day after. We'll do all our running around before the cruise so we can rest on board ship. But on this trip we are doing the opposit so we can enjoy the Food & Wine Festival over at Epcot, I think it starts around the time we get off the ship
Our plans have changed a little over the last few weeks on where we were going to stay, we became DVC members while on the Alaskan cruise can't wait to try out the Animal Kingdom Villas

Reading back over some posts on here, and I just noticed that you are new owners. Is AKV your home? DH and I own there, and absolutely love it! One of the best things we ever did for ourselves. Wish we had bought in earlier, but we have done so many wonderful things, and met fabulous people. Wouldn't change it for anything.


Hope you and yours get many years of fun and a lifetime of memories for all.
WELCOME HOME!!!

 

[sssteele]

Sweetpea and Sssteele, you two are my type of people![/QUOTE

My girlfriend and I even get excited when the other is traveling, and usually spend an afternoon in the travelers home looking at everything we will be taking and perhaps contributing something of our own to round out the selections. Don't 'ya just love a like-minded friend?!

Just a little note to let you know my mother had hip surgery/replaced yesterday and for the most part doing pretty good.

For those of you that know her from going on previous cruises know she is in a wheelchair due to her muscle disease. Before she was able to get around the house (or her stateroom) with a walker, but the last couple of months he couldn't walk 5 feet becouse she was in so much pain. We know she will always need the wheelchair and walker but we are hoping this new hip will make her be able to get around (with the walkler) like before. If this surgery was not successful she will not be able to go on the cruise. She really want to go on this cruise to see the new ship and to see all of you who have sailed with us before. (Plus I need her handicapped stateroom for the tour) Ha Ha.

P.S. We are having beautiful weather her in Ohio, mid 70's low 80's.

Wish your Mom a speedy recovery, and hope to meet her in September.

 

[Dustin2008]

Check out the new video released of the FANTASY!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRmNYDSwKB8&feature=player_embedded

 

[Grandma4ever]

check out the new video released of the fantasy!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrmnydswkb8&feature=player_embedded

Awesome!!!!!​

 

[Canon]

I'm sure you can use the Onboard check-in service the question would be is if you are using Disney's Magical Express service? I think if you drove yourself to the port (rental car) or are planning to take a taxi to the airport you should not have a problem. If you are using DME you will need to call DCL and find out weather you can.
Hope that helps

Thanks for the great information. It seems that I shouldn't use the DME if I take the 10:57AM flight. I'd better taking a taxi to the airport and handle the bags by ourselves.

You cannot use the on board Airline checkin if your flights are befor 11:25. The reason being is that DCL cannot get your bags to the airport in time for the flights that leave prior to that time.

So your options are risk an eariler flight and take your bags to the airport yourself or book a later flight and let DCL handle the bags. The other item to check is to assure that the Airline you plan to use is included in the DCL onboard check-in program.

Another possible problem is that each Airline has the option of not accepting certain passagers in the program even when everything else is as it should be. This happened to my sister when she cruised last and although she had completed all the paperwork she needed to take her bags to the airport with her. She was not happy. But I was told that they do this every so often. I do not know what the red flags are but those are some out there. Lois

Does that mean even if the flight is earlier than 11:25AM, I still can check-in the flight onboard?

 

[alohabob]

Reading back over some posts on here, and I just noticed that you are new owners. Is AKV your home? DH and I own there, and absolutely love it! One of the best things we ever did for ourselves. Wish we had bought in earlier, but we have done so many wonderful things, and met fabulous people. Wouldn't change it for anything.


Hope you and yours get many years of fun and a lifetime of memories for all.
WELCOME HOME!!!

Yes AKV is our home, we stayed there way back in 2002 and allways said that we would go back but never thought it would be as DVC owners!
We wished we could have bought in years ago but just never seem to have $$$$$ on our last cruise they made us a deal we couldn't pass up. Will you be staying there on this trip? we are after the cruise so we can visit the Food & Wine Festival.

 

[alohabob]

Just a little note to let you know my mother had hip surgery/replaced yesterday and for the most part doing pretty good.

For those of you that know her from going on previous cruises know she is in a wheelchair due to her muscle disease. Before she was able to get around the house (or her stateroom) with a walker, but the last couple of months he couldn't walk 5 feet becouse she was in so much pain. We know she will always need the wheelchair and walker but we are hoping this new hip will make her be able to get around (with the walkler) like before. If this surgery was not successful she will not be able to go on the cruise. She really want to go on this cruise to see the new ship and to see all of you who have sailed with us before. (Plus I need her handicapped stateroom for the tour) Ha Ha.

P.S. We are having beautiful weather her in Ohio, mid 70's low 80's.

Sending plenty of Pixie Dust her way for a speed recovery and less pain, I would like to meet her and your family on the ship, hope she can make trip

 

[alohabob]

Check out the new video released of the FANTASY!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRmNYDSwKB8&feature=player_embedded

WooHoo saw our Cabin Verandah on deck 10 aft
Thanks for finding the video

 

[sssteele]

Yes AKV is our home, we stayed there way back in 2002 and allways said that we would go back but never thought it would be as DVC owners!
We wished we could have bought in years ago but just never seem to have $$$$$ on our last cruise they made us a deal we couldn't pass up. Will you be staying there on this trip? we are after the cruise so we can visit the Food & Wine Festival.

Probably will do BCV for Food and Wine since it is the right time. Booked at AKV in January for DH's Birthday celebration. We don't own there, but just recently reserved Aulani, and looking forward to our first trip to those islands. Luckily, we got into Grand California for a stop there on the LONG... flight from home. Always ready for some DVC fun!

 

[alohabob]

Probably will do BCV for Food and Wine since it is the right time. Booked at AKV in January for DH's Birthday celebration. We don't own there, but just recently reserved Aulani, and looking forward to our first trip to those islands. Luckily, we got into Grand California for a stop there on the LONG... flight from home. Always ready for some DVC fun!

You will love those Islands some day we will get back there and stay at Aulani looks beautiful. It sure is a long flight over 12 hrs from the east coast. We did the same thing the second time around by staying at the Grand Cali on the way back, maybe in 2013 if DCL continues with sailings to Hawaii can't imagine the cost of a trip like that

 

[mouseears1]

Check out the new video released of the FANTASY!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRmNYDSwKB8&feature=player_embedded

Wow, I see our room on deck 12 So exciting to see her almost completed

 

[livingis2me]

Check out the new video released of the FANTASY!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRmNYDSwKB8&feature=player_embedded

Thanks for the link!

It looks like they have not done much to the pool deck. I was hoping for some improvements... Oh well. We'll make the best of it...

Ron

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Oooookay!

Spent the last 2 1/2 hours trying to keep busy on the laptop to see if I had a prayer of getting my HD video of Bucaneer Blast to upload to my Photobucket but no such luck. Never got past 5%. I guess 384.3 MB is big. I don't know. I'm clueless with some stuff.

I killed my 2 1/2 hours reading all 35 pages of our thread! Unfortunately, I gotta hurry up & shut this thing down so I can get some sleep. Maybe. Insomniacs of the World unite!

Sooooo, it seems we have at least 1 other homeschooling family in the group. Cool beans! Us, too!!! We've only been at this since last year so I'm still pretty fresh. Gotta say, this year has started out waaaaay better than last. I think we might make it after all. Figuring out what works for you really is the key. For those who might have never considered it there's so many options out there...some even FREE in some states...I truly believe anyone who wants to do it totally could!

As we get further and further post-vacation the hubby & I seem to reflect more and more. The cruise on the Dream truly was the highlight for us. Loved it beyond words. Personally, I feel like I'm done with WDW for now. I know! Did I just say that?!?! We've talked about whether or not to do any WDW time before or after the cruise next year and are leaning towards skipping it. We want to save DH's vacation time and the $$ to do our first trip to DL the week before Thanksgiving next year. That's the goal anyway. So most likely we'll be driving into the PC area a day before the cruise and staying nearby. I'd love to meet up and do lunch or dinner pre-cruise at Fishlips, etc.

Oh! Meant to ask! For our 3-day Dream cruise we parked in the terminal garage to have the covered parking. Do y'all know if any of the hotels that let you do the park-n-cruise or the off-site parking places have covered parking? I know. We're weird like that. Can't help it. I have much love for the DoomBugy!

Love love love the idea of the stateroom tours! We'll sign up when the time comes and I have a stateroom number to give!

Also, I guess it's the nice thing to do, it was our first cruise and all but we were on the Dream so if anyone has any questions about what it was like I'll answer the best I can. I am composing my 5th trip report, this is the biggest yet with a 14 day adventure, but none are posted on the Dis. I'm sure it's blasphemy in the utmost to admit it but although I love the Dis for the treasure-trove of info I've found here when needed and for the ability to find cruise groups (big yay!), it's never been my home WDW fan forum.

Cannot wait for our Fantasy adventure together!

 

[alohabob]

Disney Cruise Line announced some changes to how the staterooms on the Disney Cruise ship, the Dream, and Disney Cruise ship, the Fantasy, are categorized. There were several guest comments that Disney Cruise Line listened to regarding this change, and I think it is notable that they will make the change and actually credit people if they are in a stateroom that was lowered in category. It is similar, but a bigger change, to when they changed the category of some staterooms on the Disney Cruise ships Magic and Wonder. (There are some category 7 staterooms that used to be category 6 on those two ships.)

The change in Disney Cruise Line categories for the two Disney Cruise ships, the Dream and Fantasy, will go into affect on October 18, 2011. There will be five new categories created with this change, and a total of 120 staterooms are affected. The five new categories are:
■4E – Deluxe Family Oceanview Stateroom with Verandah – Oversized Verandah
■5E – Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom with Verandah – Oversized Verandah, some with solid white wall
■7A – Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom with Navigator Verandah, Undersized or Obstructed Verandah
■9C – Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom, One Porthole, Obstructed View
■9D – Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom, One Porthole, Obstructed View – limited view of ocean

Here is a list of all the staterooms affected by this Disney Cruise Line change of stateroom categories.

Deck 5



Stateroom Number Previous Category New Category





5024 & 5524 5E 7A
5026 – 5052 5E 4E
5150 – 5164 5E 4E
5526 – 5552 5E 4E
5650 – 5664 5E 4E
5180 & 5680 6B 7A
5188 & 5688 6B 7A

Deck 6

6000 – 6006 9A 9D
6500 – 6504 9A 9D
6178 & 6678 6B 7A
6190 & 6690 6B 5E
6192 6B 5E

Deck 7

7000 – 7004 9A 9C
7006 & 7504 9A 9D
7500 – 7502 9A 9C
7022 & 7520 5C 7A
7170 & 7668 5C 7A
7182 & 7680 6B 7A
7190 – 7194 6B 5E
7688 – 7690 6B 5E

Deck 8

8000 – 8004 9A 9C
8006 & 8504 9A 9D
8500 – 8502 9A 9C
8022 & 8520 5B
8164 & 8662 5B 7A
8176 & 8674 6A 7A
8184 – 8188 6A 5E
8682 – 8684 6A 5E

Deck 9

9012 & 9512 5A 7A
9152 & 9652 5A 7A
9164 & 9664 6A 7A
9170 – 9176 6A 5E
9670 – 9674 6A 5E

Deck 10


10158 – 10166 6A 5E
10658 – 10664 6A 5E

 

[Dustin2008]

ANNOUNCING THE NEW "AQUALAB!"

AquaLab, a new addition to deck 12, is a fanciful wet play area filled with pop jets, geysers and bubblers – designed to drench the entire family.

As the story goes, AquaLab was created by Donald Duck’s nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie. But now they’re away – leaving young cruise guests to operate AquaLab and keep AquaDuck running! By turning wheels and moving levers at three wacky aqua stations, guests “control” the speed and temperature of AquaDuck. At a leaky wall, kids cover holes in squirting and spurting pipes with their hands. In another area, water leaks and sprays from the Ducky Dinghy, suspended overhead.

Also new to deck 12 is another area for families to cool off – a wading pool with a fountain. This area has ample seating and lounge chairs under a canopy, offering a respite in the shade.


And, there’s even a brand-new water feature exclusively for adults. Satellite Falls, a circular splash pool with benches and a gently falling rain curtain, provides cool comfort on deck 13 forward.


http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/bl...lp-guests-cool-off-aboard-the-disney-fantasy/

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Very encouraging to see the added water features! We marveled at the insanity if the jam-packed kiddie cesspools every time we walked by on deck 11 of the Dream. I promise you couldn't have wedged another little body in one of those pools if you had a bucket of crisco and a shoe horn. I would look at the pools, shake my head, and think "not me in a million years". Lol! The only time I remember seeing the pools not packed was during dinner times and CC morning. I'm hoping the added features will spread folks out more. That adult radar dome feature thing is gonna be some prized real estate for sure! I also think this stuff is great uses for deck space that I don't recall seeing used hardly at all. The wading pool above the adult pool is a bit confusing in a way. I wonder if a plexi wall or something will be utilized to create a ruckus-buffer.

 

[Grandma4ever]

Found us on Page #3. So this is just a small bumb to move us back to page one. Happy weekend to all. Lois