The MAGIC is Back!!! ~ WBTA 2014 ~ Come & join the fun!

[Tod&Copper]

Wow those shoes are gorgeous, I'm sure Claire has some of those too

I've got WDW fit flops. I think Stevie would go mad if I bought more Disney shoes lol. Oooops forgot I have Mickey Mouse flip flops too for CC days

 

[TotallyAngelic]

I sadly don't have pictures at this second. They're super cute though

The man in my sig is Jonathan Coulton (aka the JoCo of JoCo Cruise Crazy) He's a nerd musician who does a cruise event once a year.

Thanks for enlightening me ... I am not very well-informed when it comes to bands and music etc, so I haven't heard of him.

 

[hazelandannie]

I also got some neat boat shoe crocs from Annie for my birthday.
I tried on a stunning dress last week but sadly it didn't fit.

 

[JustAnnieNotHazel]

Wow those shoes are gorgeous, I'm sure Claire has some of those too

I've got WDW fit flops. I think Stevie would go mad if I bought more Disney shoes lol. Oooops forgot I have Mickey Mouse flip flops too for CC days

Surely you will be ale to sneak a few pairs of shoes to go with your new dresses?

 

[SapphireMind]

Not to be too hipster, most people haven't heard of him. He is most famous for having written the end theme song for the video game "Portal" Oh, and a little bit back, Glee stole his cover of "Baby Got Back" *chuckle*

 

[hazelandannie]

How many pairs of shoes do you think is except able for a cruise?

 

[TotallyAngelic]

How many pairs of shoes do you think is except able for a cruise?

that depends on how many you need ... acceptability is governed by need in the case of shoe quantity for sure

 

[squitty]

I'm on my phone at the moment so can't post pictures.
I have 2 Labradors. We used to have 5 but over the years they've went to rainbow bridge. My chocolate lab Minnie passed away 1 year ago today. But I do have her daughter and son so I have always got a little piece of her.

Love seeing everyone's pets.

 

[NWmom]

How many pairs of shoes do you think is except able for a cruise?

Oh, I know the answer to this one as the shoe police (aka NWDad) told me it is 5 pairs of shoes.

I of course broke that law and managed to only bring 7.

I have it down to 5 for the 7 day we are taking next week.
Skye

 

[NWmom]

I agreed to do a recap of posts as a sum up on the Weekly/Monthly recap thread. To do that I read the posts and re-read the posts tyring to portray everyone in a nice funny way.

I've read enough posts over the last three months that have made that job very hard to do without wanting to cry. Exactly how do you put a nice light tone to it.

Here is my three month sum up,

Norman , who I never knew in person, but had grown to like through his sense of humor passed away. Many funny stories were retold of past cruises as people grieved his passing. His beloved wife Margaret will, I hope, still be cruising with us.

For the rest, this is how it reads to me:

Some nice discussion and chit chat.

For the rest-
"New people came, language differences, personality differences, old people were nasty, new people complained, old people complained, new people got nasty.

Old people tried to make peace, new people tried to make peace. (Repeat that in any order as it happened over and over again)

More new people came, some offered to help on things and that help was appreciated, some was not as the timing is still too early, others think the timing is okay.

More complaining. Some being rude. Some not being rude and trying to make peace seeming to be rude that it wasn't their intention.

We all are finding common ground in talking about pets and shoes.
Everyone can agree that each others pets are cute and lovable and that most of them hate the vet, or car riding because they think they are going to the vet.

Now the recap is up to date.

From here forward if you want to have it recapped a different way. Please act differently.


Now a reminder- Some helpful phrases to know and understand-
This is me trying to be a peacemaker, not trying to be rude or anything else.

I like all of you, I choose to like all of you despite your quirks. You all bring something to the table (offer something good) in regard to this trip.

Posting on forums can be very hard.
Re read what you post and look for things that might offend before hitting "send"

Be ready to acknowledge that tone of voice does not come across well in print. You can't ever say , "I am sorry what I said offended others" too many times.

WE ALL LOVE THE MOUSE- SO WE HAVE ONE IMPORTANT THING IN COMMON!

We are all here months in advance so in some ways we are probably all a bit of control freaks for the details.

Everyone learns and absorbs information in a different way. If anyone has questions I can explain how the brain works different ways, what makes total sense to one person may be confusing to another person. Having different formats can be very helpful to others.

Why I feel qualified to say this- I have worked with and raised special needs kids for 20 years. I have walked the walk of helping a kid that was not suppposed to learn beyond a certain point get way beyond that point, but that will be in my next post as I tell you of some exciting news.

SKye- who will restart her positive upbeat posts in 60 seconds and will restart the weekly recaps once she gets back from Alaska.

 

[Tod&Copper]

How many pairs of shoes do you think is except able for a cruise?

Lots and lots !!! I took 13 pairs on the last WBTA

 

[MedicGoofy]

I agreed to do a recap of posts as a sum up on the Weekly/Monthly recap thread. To do that I read the posts and re-read the posts tyring to portray everyone in a nice funny way.

I've read enough posts over the last three months that have made that job very hard to do without wanting to cry. Exactly how do you put a nice light tone to it.

Here is my three month sum up,

Norman , who I never knew in person, but had grown to like through his sense of humor passed away. Many funny stories were retold of past cruises as people grieved his passing. His beloved wife Margaret will, I hope, still be cruising with us.

For the rest, this is how it reads to me:

Some nice discussion and chit chat.

For the rest-
"New people came, language differences, personality differences, old people were nasty, new people complained, old people complained, new people got nasty.

Old people tried to make peace, new people tried to make peace. (Repeat that in any order as it happened over and over again)

More new people came, some offered to help on things and that help was appreciated, some was not as the timing is still too early, others think the timing is okay.

More complaining. Some being rude. Some not being rude and trying to make peace seeming to be rude that it wasn't their intention.

We all are finding common ground in talking about pets and shoes.
Everyone can agree that each others pets are cute and lovable and that most of them hate the vet, or car riding because they think they are going to the vet.

Now the recap is up to date.

From here forward if you want to have it recapped a different way. Please act differently.


Now a reminder- Some helpful phrases to know and understand-
This is me trying to be a peacemaker, not trying to be rude or anything else.

I like all of you, I choose to like all of you despite your quirks. You all bring something to the table (offer something good) in regard to this trip.

Posting on forums can be very hard.
Re read what you post and look for things that might offend before hitting "send"

Be ready to acknowledge that tone of voice does not come across well in print. You can't ever say , "I am sorry what I said offended others" too many times.

WE ALL LOVE THE MOUSE- SO WE HAVE ONE IMPORTANT THING IN COMMON!

We are all here months in advance so in some ways we are probably all a bit of control freaks for the details.

Everyone learns and absorbs information in a different way. If anyone has questions I can explain how the brain works different ways, what makes total sense to one person may be confusing to another person. Having different formats can be very helpful to others.

Why I feel qualified to say this- I have worked with and raised special needs kids for 20 years. I have walked the walk of helping a kid that was not suppposed to learn beyond a certain point get way beyond that point, but that will be in my next post as I tell you of some exciting news.

SKye- who will restart her positive upbeat posts in 60 seconds and will restart the weekly recaps once she gets back from Alaska.

I think this recap was perfectly noted!! Great job

Am hoping to be able to upload a pic of my dog....she is a princess

 

[NWmom]

Our exciting news. My mama heart is happy.

Our ds 19-we adopted him out of foster care at age 4. We were told at age 7 he would never get beyond a 5th grade education (10-11 yr old)

We never accepted that and never told him that. He learns like Jeffy in the Family Circus comics when he is sent to get something and goes all over the neighborhood. We have learned more about how the brain works in trainings
to help him

Recent accomplishments-
Passed his GED (the equivalent of a high school diploma based on testing)

Got his first job at McDonald's!! That means he was able to successfully complete an interview and talked to people!!

He has worked there for 3-4 weeks and is still employed!!

He just rented and moved into a studio apartment!! He can afford the rent on his own and only needs to get along with himself!! (I am still handling his money for him and did help with his deposit, that he will pay back)

Now to you- that might not sound like much. For us it is the equivalent of him graduating from Harvard as valedictorian.

Why- many diagnoses of mental health and former abuse and neglect in foster care before we adopted him. Organic damage from fetal alcohol exposure. (Hence my please do not drink when pregnant or trying to get pregnant stance as I have seen how he struggles)

Where he was a year ago- in April of 2012 he diasappeared and moved to the big city doing the homeless thing, got into drugs etc.

We found him, got him off the streets and into a program called Job Corps this past November. He struggled with their rules and did get kicked out, but got the GED while there.

Once he was kicked out, he went back to the streets of the big city and was doing the drug thing again in March of this year.

Only this time he decided it was not what he wanted for his life. So he came back. He spent over a month getting clean and interviewing for jobs. I always said he was stubborn, but turned around --that is Determination!!

He rode a bike 5 miles to work each way in the cold rain.

This is huge. He is off the streets, off the drugs, going to NA meetings.

So that is what I have been doing and why I have been a bit busy and the recap was not up to date.

Skye

 

[NWmom]

My dog is Molly- She was diagnosed in February with Mitral Valve Disease.

We are told to be prepared for her to pass over the rainbow bridge before the WBTA cruise.

She is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, the red and white coloring. Google the breeed and you will see what she looks like- ony she is cuter and more lovable.

She has a medical excuse for less baths than normal- Vet said she could have a heart attack if they distress her. She loves her baths though so that is good news just not allowed as many as before.

She loves car rides and going to the vet. She is a smart dog and realise that Dr Jim makes her feel better.

Oh, she also knows how to read and has taught my youngest how to read. (according to dd11). Molly knows when to turn the page and if you dont' do it, she looks at you then at the book during read aloud as iif to tell you to turn the page.

I would post a pic but I am technically challenged.
Skye

 

[MedicGoofy]

Thank you for the tip about EasyJet. Looked a little more and you are correct, they add a ton of fees. Looked at fares from Paris to Barcelona on Kayak for roughly the same timeframe this year and there were several choices on other airlines like AirFrance, Delta, etc.

Baggage will be something I need to think about. I'm going to be gone for at least three weeks and don't want to have to do laundry several times. So will have to figure out how and what to pack to keep it reasonable. I had figured I'd take a carry-on and two bags.

Seems more than likely, EasyJet may NOT be the airline to take. All those extra fees. And the cost for the extra bag....INSANE

Okay, I can see I'm really going to have to look at packing methods. Actually I should just pay my best friend to teach me how she does it. She can go on a 7 night cruise with just a carry-on and she still has plenty of stuff! I know she does the bundle method, but I'm also going to look at the packing cubes.

For me, this is likely to be at least a 3 week (or more) trip. Looking at spending three days in Paris, three days in Barcelona, and then the 14 day cruise. A possibility of a couple of days in San Juan. Guess doing some laundry on the ship is in the cards.

Maybe the key is to watch the extras? (i.e. shampoos, toiletry items, etc.) So my question is: In Barcelona are there places like a CVS or a reasonable retail store where one could get toiletry items at a reasonable price?

So tips or tricks for us newbie long-trip travelers? Looks like the European airlines are much stricter on the carry-on allowance size and weight than in the US!

I as well would love to hear any tips on how to pack a 'little' lighter. This will be a 3 week, plus, trip for me as well. While I need to keep the weights down on my bags, I need to make sure I have all the essentials. I know that Disney supplies stuff onboard, but what about being able to get stuff in Paris and Barcelona? Does DLP provide what WDW does?

Also, do you think the new and improved Magic will have a new and improved hair dryer? I used theirs on my last cruise, and quite frankly, it sucks!!

To do a propper comparison you will need Airfare + 1 hotel night vs train overnight trip.

A few glasses of wine can help you sleep.

I really like traveling by train, it's an adventure by it self. Once we went from Orlando to NYC and it was an unique experience (12 hours) and for our Med Cruise we went from Madrid to Barcelona in the AVE high speed train (300 km/h) and it was also a great experience allthoug it was only for 2 1/2 hours I spent the whole trip in the Bar Wagon

How did you find sleeping on the train? Were you able to? Is it a fairly smooth ride? If it was easy enough to sleep, it might be more of a consideration. I need to know that I could get good sleep.

Hi there!! I am also planning on doing this sightseeing plan with fellow cruiser Holly. I am flying out of Buffalo, but connecting in NY. Leaving on the Saturday to be able to arrive Sunday am. Looking at all the options! It will be a great trip

About 13 years ago,DH & I took the overnight train from Paris to Barcelona.....

Wondering how you found the night? Were you able to sleep? I know, despite the fact that you had a couple dozen kids with you

It is true, the night on the train would need to be factored in against hotel costs to make it comparable. Hadn't thought of that, but I think what still puts me against it is the time factor.

What is fun about discussing and having people throw out ideas though is finding out all the options that are possible.

I couldn't agree more with you Holly I love being able to discuss travel ideas and options with everyone on here. And seeing as most have done some of the ideas before, it's great to hear tips.

So, what I have been thinking about is landing at CDG, storing the two big bags at the Luggage Storage place and then just taking the High-speed train into DLP with the carry-on. If I pack it correctly, the carry-on can get me through the 3 days at DLP. As to whether to stay at DLP or in Paris, I would think about if you want to stay for the evening fireworks or see the Buffalo Bill Wild West show; that might make for a late train trip back into Paris proper. According to the website, it is a 12-min ride from CDG to DLP.

So - at this point - the game plan is:

Land at CDG - store the two checked bags, hop on the high-speed train to DLP with the carry-on. Wednesday morning we'll do it in reverse and then fly on to Barcelona. As Karyn said, at this point, Air France seems to be the best bet - although the luggage fees will add up. I'm not worried about the weight as I can split it among the 3 bags (carry-on gets repacked when I get the other bags out of storage).

Cristi

Do they have luggage storage right at the airport? I didn't realize this. Do you know how much it is to have luggage stored? And does it matter how long they store it? I have never heard of that before, but it certainly cuts down on having to roll 3 bags everywhere I go

I hope this works, first photo upload attempt....


This is Bob.

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Wow! It worked.
And this is Poppy....

While I am in no way a cat person, you have 2 beautiful cats!! I am horribly allergic, but I can appreciate the cuteness of them

This is Maisey Pink .... our part-time doggy friend. She is almost 1 year old and is a Chesapeake Bay retriever. She is actually my Mum's dog but we have a lot to do with her. I think she must have been a cat in a previous life as she definitely has a hidden agenda.




She was a very cute puppy

OH. MY. GOODNESS. That dog is crazy beautiful. And as a puppy, how did you not eat him up!

My new shoes

Hazel, I love those shoes!! I am assuming you got them off the Disney site? They are really cute!

Not to stray too far from our main topic, but I would like to say that I am so so excited as this time next week the Magic will be mine!!

And I would just like to point out how crazy jealous I am that you will be sailing on the Magic so soon! While I have a few trips planned before Sept 14, I am really ready for this cruise to happen

 

[NWmom]

spot reserved for the recap.

I will try to post the link before the section I am recapping from now on.

I will include the pages and posts it covers.

I am going on the Alaskan Crusie Monday. Followed by last week at school.

I will most likely do a 2 week recap.

Starting June 17 I hope to go weekly since school will be out and I will have more time!!

Skye

 

[wayneg]

We are a cat family. Thomas is aged 15. He and Matt have grown up together.
Matt has been away at University since last October, if Thomas gets chance to go upstairs he sits outside Matt's bedroom door and meows.

A few pics here from a few years back and a link to more.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/asters/thomasgallery.htm

In the garden

On Matt's knee

Smelling a pile of VMK cards.

 

[JustAnnieNotHazel]

I agreed to do a recap of posts as a sum up on the Weekly/Monthly recap thread. To do that I read the posts and re-read the posts tyring to portray everyone in a nice funny way.

I've read enough posts over the last three months that have made that job very hard to do without wanting to cry. Exactly how do you put a nice light tone to it.

Here is my three month sum up,

Norman , who I never knew in person, but had grown to like through his sense of humor passed away. Many funny stories were retold of past cruises as people grieved his passing. His beloved wife Margaret will, I hope, still be cruising with us.

For the rest, this is how it reads to me:

Some nice discussion and chit chat.

For the rest-
"New people came, language differences, personality differences, old people were nasty, new people complained, old people complained, new people got nasty.

Old people tried to make peace, new people tried to make peace. (Repeat that in any order as it happened over and over again)

More new people came, some offered to help on things and that help was appreciated, some was not as the timing is still too early, others think the timing is okay.

More complaining. Some being rude. Some not being rude and trying to make peace seeming to be rude that it wasn't their intention.

We all are finding common ground in talking about pets and shoes.
Everyone can agree that each others pets are cute and lovable and that most of them hate the vet, or car riding because they think they are going to the vet.

Now the recap is up to date.

From here forward if you want to have it recapped a different way. Please act differently.


Now a reminder- Some helpful phrases to know and understand-
This is me trying to be a peacemaker, not trying to be rude or anything else.

I like all of you, I choose to like all of you despite your quirks. You all bring something to the table (offer something good) in regard to this trip.

Posting on forums can be very hard.
Re read what you post and look for things that might offend before hitting "send"

Be ready to acknowledge that tone of voice does not come across well in print. You can't ever say , "I am sorry what I said offended others" too many times.

WE ALL LOVE THE MOUSE- SO WE HAVE ONE IMPORTANT THING IN COMMON!

We are all here months in advance so in some ways we are probably all a bit of control freaks for the details.

Everyone learns and absorbs information in a different way. If anyone has questions I can explain how the brain works different ways, what makes total sense to one person may be confusing to another person. Having different formats can be very helpful to others.

Why I feel qualified to say this- I have worked with and raised special needs kids for 20 years. I have walked the walk of helping a kid that was not suppposed to learn beyond a certain point get way beyond that point, but that will be in my next post as I tell you of some exciting news.

SKye- who will restart her positive upbeat posts in 60 seconds and will restart the weekly recaps once she gets back from Alaska.

WOW!!! Not much more I can say to that. Not really called for when we have spent the afternoon trying to lighten the mood after certain disagreements.

All I can say is I hope nobody new joins for a while until this post is well drowned as if it was me I wouldn't stay 5 minutes after reading that recap!

 

[annichan]

We got back from the Panama Canal cruise (plus a few days at Disneyland) last night, and I am going through such severe DCL withdrawals at the moment ... sniff ... Nobody really understands me, but I am sure you guys do!

(I wrote the same post on Facebook btw, I really need all the support from fellow DCL fans I can get at the moment )

Anyway, I am SO, SO glad that I now have this cruise to look forward to and to plan for! Who cares that it is still far over a year away - may the fun begin!

So, now to read everything here on the thread that I have missed in the past three weeks on this thread ... I have spotted some cute cat pictures already. Am typing with one hand currently because a cat is sleeping on the othe hand, and another cat keeps trying to invade my keyboard. They are apparently as glad to have me back as I am to have them!

EDIT a bit later: Haven't started my backlog-reading really, but from the post above me I just glimpsed that there must have been some disagreements going on. I hope everything will smooth itself out - and since I am currently so happy remembering my just-finished cruise and thinking about this next one, let me express the wish that everybody else here stays happy too! And in that mood, I will continue to talk about cats: I now have THREE of them sitting partly or totally on top of me. You won't believe the lengths I have to go through to type these posts!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend everybody,
Annika

 

[MagicMe]

I personally have two dogs and a cat. We had a third dog but he passed away almost a year ago at the age of 17.

First - welcome to the group! And I actually believe that multiple places for information is always great! Thanks for volunteering and thanks to all those that continue to volunteer!!

Claire - I can't say enough for the huge amount of effort you have put into making this a wonderful cruise! I have loved how our name and logo were democratically decided. This could not have happened without all the time you took!!

Skye - assume about your DS. What a great accomplishment for your son and for you. It's wonderful to see his work and yours reach it's goal.

I am told I am a grandmother to Tiggles (my DS and his GF's cat)!! He's a super fat black cat!! I would love to post pictures but all pictures of an all black cat just look like a big black blob!! Really - he looks so cute when I'm taking the picture and when you see it two dimensional he disappears!!