The Bunny Has Nothing On Us: OKW, The Magic & The Kaucher Family's Easter Vacation

[PrincessForLife]

Hi Everyone!

I am fresh off my trip report from my honeymoon and I am very excited to start my next Pre-Trip Report for or next land and sea adventure taking place during Easter break! I'll be starting the PTR later today but I just wanted to get this thread started!

If you would like to read my previous trip report, here's the link:http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3162760

Enjoy!

 

[scrpbookr]

I've subscribed here after thoroughly enjoying your honeymoon!

We have a spring break, 2014 trip booked to look forward to also. I can't wait to hear what you are up to!

 

[wiigirl]

Following along!

 

[JKSWonder]

Subbing!

 

[jedijill]

Following along!

Jill in CO

 

[PrincessForLife]

Thanks gals for already joining!!

Now that I'm going to FINALLY start putting together this report, let me start with the general overview of the trip and the cast. What are we going to be doing on this trip??
We are going to start with one night at Old Key West with a day at Typhoon Lagoon, a 4-night Bahamas DCL cruise on the re-imagined Magic, and finally 2 more nights at Old Key West in which we are going to go to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot for the Flower & Garden Festival!!!


The Resort

The Magic

The Festival

This trip is going to mark the second family vacation that I have gone on with my DH and his family. The first trip was a 8-night Bahamas from New York DCL on which my DH proposed to me. (There will be a lot of pictures from that trip to depict all the fun we are going to have on the Magic next year!) And now I would like to introduce the cast to everyone.....


2012

Cast of Characters:

Jackie (me): WDW trip expert, OCD newlywed, & beginner knitter. What do I want to be when I grow up? A travel agent specializing in Disney vacations.



Kevin (DH): My Disney twin, excellent vocalist, & former employee of Six Flags Great America and WDW CP. What does he want to be when he grows up? Commercial airline pilot! (Btw, he only needs less than 400 hrs to apply to the regional airlines!)



Jimmy (BIL): Computer expert, mad food scientist, & brewer. What does he want to be when he grows up? Alton Brown.



Linda (MIL): Scrapbooking junky, excellent cook, & lover of the color green/monkeys. What does she want to be when she grows up? A grandmother.



Bob (FIL): Philosophical, Fox News Channel enthusiast, & high school math teacher. What does he want to be when he grows up? Disney collector......& a grandfather.



I love my new family with all my heart. I am so excited to be going on another family vacation with them! We wanted to do this vacation sooner rather than later because Kevin and I might have to mover when he gets his airlines job, and my BIL is graduating from college next year which will place him ANYWHERE! lol Now that I've revealed the basics, let's dive right in!

 

[JKSWonder]

We visited Typhoon Lagoon for the first time this past August and LOVED it! I'm kicking myself that we never made the time to go there on any of our bazillion previous trips.

 

[PrincessForLife]

We visited Typhoon Lagoon for the first time this past August and LOVED it! I'm kicking myself that we never made the time to go there on any of our bazillion previous trips.

My in-laws love Typhoon Lagoon and I did too when I was younger. I haven't been there myself in 10+ years so it's going to be like going to a whole new place!! I think I'm most excited about the water coaster that they introduced in the past few years!!

 

[JKSWonder]

My in-laws love Typhoon Lagoon and I did too when I was younger. I haven't been there myself in 10+ years so it's going to be like going to a whole new place!! I think I'm most excited about the water coaster that they introduced in the past few years!!

That was our favorite!

 

[scrpbookr]

What a fantastic trip!! We're on the Magic for a 3 day March 14th with a bit of WDW on either side of the cruise! We can be SUPER excited together! Enjoy the planning!

 

[PrincessForLife]

What a fantastic trip!! We're on the Magic for a 3 day March 14th with a bit of WDW on either side of the cruise! We can be SUPER excited together! Enjoy the planning!

Yay! I'm glad to find someone with a similar trip!! Which resort are you staying at?? Enjoy your planning too!!

 

[PrincessForLife]

I do apologize in advance that there wont be as many pictures for this PTR. I promise I'll try to ad as many as I can!!

Planing this trip was a little different for me. For the past 5 years, I have taken over every booking for all trips I have have been on. (Minus my first DCL Magic cruise which my DH tricked me into going on last year to propose to me...) Let me start with the back story to this trip. Originally, it was NEVER suppose to happen!! lol

During our honeymoon cruise, my DH and I decided to book a place holder cruise because we didn't know if he would be at a airline by then. What we had our sights set on was the 12-night transatlantic from Spain to Puerto Rica. We were even going to have the SAME ocean view room that we did on our engagement cruise! We had everything planned out and set to book everything that accompanied the trip when we got home from the honeymoon. We even got the crazy idea to try and get my MIL and FIL to go on the cruise with us. We talked to them and the outcome was that they weren't able to because my FIL was not able to get off for that length of time before school finals in June 2014. Bummer....

But then got my MIL got thinking that we should take some type of family vacation before my BIL graduated college and my DH and I went off to an airline. And so the birth of a family cruise idea came into play. At first we thought of doing an NCL cruise from New York or something other than Disney. That got rejected when I priced it out and it came out to way more than Kevin and I could afford. We also decided that if we did a vacation together, it had to be Disney. So the plan of NCL was out... We then came up with a time frame that we could do the vacation. It had to be during the week before Easter because that was my FIL's spring break. We looked at DCL and came up with 2 options for a cruise, a 3-night on the Dream and a 4-night on the Magic. It just so happened that the 4-night on the Magic was cheaper than the 3-night on the Dream and the dates worked out better so we could have a couple days in Disney as well.

After my DH and I got approval from our workplaces, it was time to book the cruise and resort. My MIL was using some DVC points on the cruise so she had to book it. Not gonna lie, it was a little hard for me not to be the one on the phone with Disney. I'm very OCD with DIsney planning and I swear that I'm red flagged in the Reservations systems as "crazy." lol It all worked out though. Even though the cruise and resort is booked through DVC with my MIL, I've been handling the reservation numbers and making all and any reservations that are associated with the trip. I'll also be taking care of the FastPass+ if it is effective for the dates that we go to the parks. It's new for me too but I have a better understanding of it than anyone going on the trip.

What exactly did we book?

-1-night stay at Old Key West in a One Bedroom Villa

- 4-night DCL cruise on the Magic in 2 inside staterooms on deck 7...I think

- 2-night stay at Old Key West in a One Bedroom Villa

 

[PrincessForLife]

Yesterday, since I only had a half a day of work, I decided to start my formal planning log for the trip. Even though I have emails from every site all piled in one folder on my gmail account, I still like to have a written copy that organizes and highlights all the specific details. I also like to keep my to do lists in here as well. I usually throw trips in random journals or half-used notebooks, but I decided that I wanted to start a formal journal dedicated to all our travel planning. The question was: Did I really want to spend more money on a journal or should I find one barely used and start from scratch in that one? The answer came to me while digging through my wedding crates that housed extra thank yous and memorabilia from the honeymoon. I came across this journal!


The pretty gift bag!


This is an official Castaway Club journal still in the gift wrapping for our honeymoon. My DH is a Gold member so we got the extra gift of a luggage strap, note cards, and a leather bound journal with matching pen. Since most of the vacations we plan include Disney, I figured that this would be the perfect journal! So far I'm up to 7 used pages front and back, and I haven't even gotten to the packing lists! lol I like to organize my trip journal accordingly:

1) Accommodation Reservations
2) Flight Information
3) WDW Dining Reservations
4) Cruise Information
5) Need to Book: WDW
6) Need to Book: DCL
7) Current To Do List

And each of these pages have a back page that have ultimate to do lists. I know, I'm a little OCD. lol

In this journal I will also make my daily plans, packing lists, and other random to do lists. I'm also going to do something that will greatly improve my trip reports: take notes while on vacation!! lol That's the one thing I failed to do for the honeymoon TR and I feel like I would have been able to go into A LOT more detail if I just wrote things down!! lol. I also want to share some things that I haven't done on the last trip. Let's start with WDW...

1) Get pictures with Anna & Elsa from Frozen- I can't wait to see it Thanksgiving weekend!!


2) Report on the dining- This is something I don't normally do but I would like to at least give a detail about our experiences!!

(This should give you a hint of one of the places we are going! )

3) See every topiary & report EVERYTHING from the Flower & Garden Festival- I haven't seen it in years and can't wait to share with everyone!

(It's going to be so beautiful!! )

4) Details!!- I want to report on the little things most people don't consider. I plan on having a full report on the Old Key West room we are staying in!!


And now for the 4-night Magic cruise:

1) Get my picture with Cinderella!!- I forgot on the honeymoon and was terribly upset. (Going to the Princess gathering wouldn't hurt either!!)

(Our Cinderella picture on the Magic last year after my DH proposed to me! )

2) Report more on the food.- I did a little during the honeymoon but I want to expand the details

(This is the first appetizer on the first night on the 8-night Magic last year. I didn't get any further than this.... )

3) Get pictures of every new detail!!- Again, all in the details!!

(I love obscure details! This is an LED light in the former Rockin' Bar D on the Magic last year! lol I'm have a B.A. in theatre, so that should explain a lot...)

4) Make door decorations!- I've always wanted to and now's my chance!


I wont go crazy like this but I want something really cool!!

 

[PrincessForLife]

Okay, I'm going to post my feelings about fish extenders.....I don't know how I feel about them. lol



Fish extenders have intrigued me since my first cruise on the Magic last year. What are they? Why are people receiving gifts? How to I get gifts?? When we came home after that trip, I scoured the DIS to find more information about them and how to participate. I didn't do them on the honeymoon because I didn't want to have to worry about running around the ship distributing gifts and take time away from my husband. Now that we are going on a family vacation, I'm looking back into them, but I don't know if I'm cut out for it.


I've never seen any with only a couple's name. Are there any cruisers out there who participate without kids???

I still have a couple of questions regarding them. I wonder if anyone reading along could help me...First of all, do you have to have a family with children in order to participate in the fish extender gift exchange?? Every fish extender participant seems to have a family with kids. Ok, I get that, but will the wrath of the super soccer moms fall upon me if they find out we don't have kids to share the goodies with? And my second question is do we have to participate in the DIS meet at the beginning of the cruise in order to participate? I don't want to drag my DH along to a meet or miss out on family time aboard the ship because of DIS scheduled events. Could we just go along with the flow of the fish extender exchange?



I do apologize to anyone reading if my questions or comments offend but I needed to speak my peace on the subject. I've read SO MANY threads about how the fish extender gifts weren't "up to par" or had the uptight feeling of: SOMEONE DIDN'T FOLLOW THE RULES THEREFORE THE MOUSE WILL SMITE YOU DOWN!! I really want to participate in fun things like this but I feel like there are so many people who are so intense about the process, that if you don't follow their rules, you are out of the "in crowd."

Any thoughts??

 

[JKSWonder]

Tons of cruisers participate without kids. We've participated in two FE's so far and I delivered gifts to many a two pocket FE. Some were couples without kids, some were siblings traveling together w/out kids, etc.

I've never organized an FE (which is the harder job), but being just a participant is not really that hard to do. The hardest part is figuring out what you want to give. And delivering the gifts does take some time (depending upon how many cabins are participating), but I kind of enjoyed it since I got to walk all around on different decks and saw areas I normally wouldn't have been to otherwise.

I usually make one gift bag per stateroom and I ship them to the port ahead of time by regular mail so I don't have to pack anything in my luggage. The box has always been waiting for me in our stateroom.

I'm happy to answer any questions I can for you if you think you might want to do the FE and want to know more. First thing you would have to do is join your meet thread and see if their is an FE group started.

I think you might have read some really harsh threads. Everyone on our two prior FE groups were really nice and there were absolutely no expectations about how much or how expensive the gift had to be....just that if you signed up, you gave something. I loved everything I got from silly stickers to fancy scrapbook.

 

[jedijill]

I'm a single female and usually participate in the Fe exchange! Usually the FE organizer takes info including whether you are adult only or have kids and people sometimes customize their gifts around that. You should participate....there shouldn't be a requirement to be at the meet....generally the only reason you would want to be there (outside of meeting people!) is to get any cabin changes, etc.

Jill in CO

 

[PrincessForLife]

Tons of cruisers participate without kids. We've participated in two FE's so far and I delivered gifts to many a two pocket FE. Some were couples without kids, some were siblings traveling together w/out kids, etc.

I've never organized an FE (which is the harder job), but being just a participant is not really that hard to do. The hardest part is figuring out what you want to give. And delivering the gifts does take some time (depending upon how many cabins are participating), but I kind of enjoyed it since I got to walk all around on different decks and saw areas I normally wouldn't have been to otherwise.

I usually make one gift bag per stateroom and I ship them to the port ahead of time by regular mail so I don't have to pack anything in my luggage. The box has always been waiting for me in our stateroom.

I'm happy to answer any questions I can for you if you think you might want to do the FE and want to know more. First thing you would have to do is join your meet thread and see if their is an FE group started.

I think you might have read some really harsh threads. Everyone on our two prior FE groups were really nice and there were absolutely no expectations about how much or how expensive the gift had to be....just that if you signed up, you gave something. I loved everything I got from silly stickers to fancy scrapbook.

Thank you for clarifying a lot of things! I broke my one rule when it comes to reading reviews and judging things too far in advanced. I read SO MUCH and the negative things just stick in my mind. Thank you in advanced for any questions I might have! I'll definitely be PM'ing you in the near future about the FE's! lol

I'm a single female and usually participate in the Fe exchange! Usually the FE organizer takes info including whether you are adult only or have kids and people sometimes customize their gifts around that. You should participate....there shouldn't be a requirement to be at the meet....generally the only reason you would want to be there (outside of meeting people!) is to get any cabin changes, etc.

Jill in CO

Since I have the backing of good advice and experience from 2 great gals, I'm going to do it for sure!! Thank you for advice and insight!! I now can't wait to start writing about my first adventures with the FE's! Now to find my meet group!!

 

[jedijill]

Thank you for clarifying a lot of things! I broke my one rule when it comes to reading reviews and judging things too far in advanced. I read SO MUCH and the negative things just stick in my mind. Thank you in advanced for any questions I might have! I'll definitely be PM'ing you in the near future about the FE's! lol



Since I have the backing of good advice and experience from 2 great gals, I'm going to do it for sure!! Thank you for advice and insight!! I now can't wait to start writing about my first adventures with the FE's! Now to find my meet group!!

Jill in CO

 

[nikkistevej]

Can't wait!!

 

[PrincessForLife]

I don't really have anything new to report other than that I have the fabric and supplies for my fish extender. I'm making it hopefully next week and I'll be posting about the process soon!


I do however want to comment on the awesome radio and TV commercials that DCL has put out recently! Here in Chicago I listen to Eric & Kathy on 101.9 The Mix and every morning for the past week I've heard the DCL radio commercial at least twice per morning. I smile every time I here the, "Captains Log..." lol I've also seen the new DCL TV commercials on the Travel Channel! They look great! They also make we want to be on vacation right now!!

ONLY 5 MONTHS TO THE DATE!!